SUGAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A few short weeks ago I helped host a lingerie shower for my roommate, Alison. She's getting married and we needed to celebrate.


I decided to make some cupcakes. Then I got all these ideas. Then I looked at blogs and then I looked at pictures and then I combined other people's brilliant ideas and set off to create something marvelous for Alison.


I decided that fondant is not the devil.


It was fun, like Pioneer Woman told me it would be.


And everyone ate it! Because it tasted not only edible, but good-edible!


Here's the full set. This was fun.


I like baking more and more these days.


And for once in my life, I got paid for it. Mostly covered my expenses, but I got paid to make this cake with four friends from church who spent a long, long afternoon at my apartment then drove me to work with these four extremely heavy-probably-because-they-have-seven-total-pounds-of-butter cakes that thoroughly wore me out so much that I had to take the next day off work after they served their purpose at my co-worker's baby shower. Truly. was. exhausting. But...oh so pretty. I'm considering a little business on the side after that grueling weekend, because I actually really liked it. I've thought of calling it "The Red Apron" after the first apron I ever had which Rachel bought for me, or "Sweet Talk" after some cool graffiti I saw in Brooklyn. What do you think?


Those church friends also helped me create one last sweet thang. I will never EVER look at tootsie rolls the same way. But imagine the faces when this kitty litter cake showed up at the church pot luck.


Now. I'm off to contemplate the next creation...

In Progress

How many people have learned this lesson before me? And how many times did they have to learn it? And how many times do I have to learn it?

This is why I like grace. Grace doesn't laugh at me when I mess up in the same way that I have messed up numerous times before.

I've noticed that I like to think about things that I can't control and then proceed to worry about them. I also like to use other words for worry like "ponder" or "think about things I can't control," because I know God tells us not to worry (Matthew 6:25 - "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life..." Matthew 6:27 - "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?")
but what I really mean by these semi-synonyms is "FREAKING OUT AND WORRYING". Did you like that sentence I just wrote? I'm worried it's very grammatically incorrect. AHHH!

I really have convinced myself that I'm not a worrier. But it hit me today on the subway that if I let these things control my thoughts, I am certainly a worrier. I try to plan, try to guess, and constantly wonder. But not in an imaginative way. In a FREAKING OUT way.

Anyway, I was reading about King David. His story is enough to hold my attention and wonder (in a good way) about who he was and how God used him. For about 12.5 seconds I got so immersed in King David that I forgot about my worried life and felt REALLY EXCITED ABOUT GOD. It was the best feeling of my day so far. I decided it was a really good feeling. And then I decided I wanted to just go ahead and keep feeling that way. Because it was so nice to let God have my worries for 12.5 seconds. But the worry crept up again, and that's when I entered the struggle between lies and truth. Oh boy.

The good news is God is stronger than me and God is Awesome when I am not. And...his strength is made perfect in my weakness! So I will rejoice in my weakness! So if I'm worried that I won't be able to stop worrying, that's okay, because I don't have to exhaust my own resources that will ultimately not even last a thirteenth of 12.5 seconds. I get to ask God for help, and because He is perfect and He loves me, He will help me. I love that about Him.

The best thing about not worrying this morning? I got to focus entirely on what was in front of me, without my thoughts wandering. And what was in front of me was a fresh cup of pumpkin spice coffee. And it was heavenly.

Disaster.

I decided I would make sugar cookies for Easter. I have an awesome recipe that requires time and skill, but really pays off in the end. The cookies keep their shape and the frosting is perfection, as documented in the photo of my boss's holiday gift:



So I thought I'd make some Easter egg shapes. I even bought some edible markers to decorate with.

I failed in the following ways:

Placed them too close together. They are now very misshapen eggs.
I stacked them overnight. They stuck together.
So I warmed them up a bit to loosen them. Now they are crumby on top.
I lost about 5 in the process.
I dropped the final batch on the floor.
I'm now down to 15 ugly cookies.
I'm eating the broken pieces.
I feel sick.

Now I'm trying to decide if I want to try to salvage them with icing. Normally, icing is when I fail the most, so I'm afraid if I try to ice these suckers, I'll end up a big sticky mess on the floor, bawling as I lick the spoon clean.

It doesn't help that I just watched the incredible season finale of Friday Night Lights, so I'm a little emotional at the moment.

So, sugar cookies? You win. I cannot dominate you. But I can devour you. So I win. TAKE THAT YOU CRUMBY DISASTERS!