Author Archive
Finally, Birthday Cake
I haven’t had birthday cake on my last three birthdays. Mostly due to my hesitancy and worry about baking and cooking of any sort. The other part is due to my gluten intolerant issues.
So this year I planned ahead. I found and bought a gluten-free chocolate cake mix in advance. I was uncomfortable with the idea of making a whole cake. I kept planning on making a trial run cake in advance, but found that I was scared of doing it, kept forgetting, and then when remembering kept putting it off. It was overwhelming to me.
I looked for a good recipe for chocolate frosting, but there seemed to be far too many ingredients to research about being gluten-free and for buying. Each time I would go to the grocery store I would forget to buy any of them or wander the aisle not being able to decide to buy or not to buy. Many visits and I still didn’t make any decisions.
It was very frustrating. It was overwhelming to me. When I get frustrated and overwhelmed about purchases, especially gluten intolerant food purchases I tend to keep putting off buying things. This is exactly the same way about cooking and baking. I attribute all of those food related issues to being abused by my mother around food and her rejection and exclusion of me from “her” kitchen.
Finally I found a recipe online for chocolate cake in a mug.
Mix one cake mix and one 4 oz. pudding mix. This mix is enough for about eight or nine cake mugs.
Use 1/2 cup of this cake and pudding combination and then mix one Tablespoon water, one Tablespoon oil, and one egg white.
Use Pam or some other vegetable oil on mug. Spoon mix into mug.
Microwave mug on high for two minutes.
I thought this might be my solution for my birthday cake. I thought it would be very good with ice cream instead of frosting.
When my birthday came I found that I had not bookmarked the recipe and the evening of my birthday, after my dinner with a relative, I found that I couldn’t find it and really was too tired. Almost too tired for a candle, but I did manage that.
But on Monday night, finally, a birthday cake, in a mug. It kind of looked like a tiny muffin. Kind of funny. Kind of cute. It was pretty great.
Healing Quotes Littles 78
Inside of a ring or out, ain’t nothing wrong with going down. It’s staying down that’s wrong.
~ Muhammad Ali
An Egg Salad Sandwich
I wasn’t planning on having an egg salad sandwich, and even though I love them, I only rarely make them. Eggs just tend to sit around in my fridge, but I figure eventually I have to use them.
Some time ago I bought a little device for boiling eggs in the microwave. I love it. But I don’t do it much. So today I decided to cook some eggs.
When they were done I was deciding what to do with them. Most of the time I just eat them with some salt, which I think is pretty great. But as I was deciding at the kitchen counter today I thought of making egg salad and so I did. I ate it with some corn bread. I had a little celebration meal. It was wonderful.
It wasn’t until afterwards that I remembered one of my posts based on an overheard conversation. A woman on the bus was talking about her partner and how he did anything for her that she wanted, even to getting up and making her an egg salad sandwich when she wants it. I remembered at the end of the post that I wrote that it made me hungry for an egg salad sandwich and a man to make it for me.
Then I remembered this quote I had first heard when I was in my mid-twenties:
“So you plant your garden and decorate your own soul,
instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.”
~ Jorge Luis Borges
Or egg salad sandwiches.
Blog Carnival Against Child Abuse Archives
Blog Carnival Against Child Abuse Archives:
Posted at the Blog: From Tracie
2006
~ June ~ July ~ October ~ November
2007
2008
January ~ February ~ March ~ April ~ September
2009
~ February ~ March ~ April ~ May ~ June ~ July
August ~ September ~ October ~ November ~ December
2010
January ~ February ~ March ~ April ~ May ~ June ~ July ~ September ~ October ~ November ~ December
2011
January ~ February ~ March ~ April ~ May ~ June ~ July
August ~ September ~ November
Healing Quotes Littles 77
Life will bring you pain all by itself. Your responsibility is to create joy.
~ Milton Erickson
Birthday Week Day Seven
I had a lovely birthday.
It rained a lot in the morning. I had plans for the afternoon and the evening. I wanted to get some things done on my own, so I went bike riding to do the errands.
I went to Starbucks and used my birthday coupon for a free coffee. I sat and read. It was busy and loud in the store. But I still managed to read and listen to the jazz and blues music playing. I had a good time, perhaps made better due to the fact that I don’t go to the coffeeshop much lately.
I shopped. I got a few things that I had been wanting for a while. I especially was glad that I got some rechargeable batteries, which I use for my cd player and camera. I kept forgetting them until I would get to the front of the store and they don’t have rechargeable batteries at the checkout counters, probably for good reason. Then they can sell much more of the regular batteries. I was so glad to get them. Then I got home and discovered that it wasn’t the batteries that wouldn’t charge anymore, it was the cd player that wouldn’t work.
Once I get a new player, which will be soon, I can listen to my music cds again. I haven’t been doing that the last couple of months and that has had a negative impact on my life and my moods. It will be nice to have more music in my life again.
I had set up a time to phone my best friend in the afternoon. We had a wonderfully long conversation. It was lovely to feel as though I had her for part of my birthday. Her presents had arrived early and we were happy with them, but she is our best present.
We went out for supper with a relative. It was great fun. The meal, gluten-free, was excellent. Oh my God, I am still thinking about the meal and craving it again. I got so full.
And then we went to Culver’s for turtle sundaes with their frozen custard. It is so rich and creamy, it is like a dream. I always forget and call it ice cream. I don’t really know what frozen custard is supposed to taste like, but apparently it is supposed to taste like the best ice cream you have ever had. They only have stores in 19 states so far. If you don’t have Culver’s in your state, you have my sympathy.
I went home and lit a lilac candle, one of four that one of my two best friends sent me. And I made a very big wish. It was a very lovely day.
Healing Quotes Littles 76
I hated every minute of training, but I said, “Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.”
~ Muhammad Ali
Healing Quotes Littles 75
Nina to Olivia: You’ve had the most extraordinary gifts, but the only thing you were denied was knowing it. You’ve had the power all along.
Fringe, Brave New World Part 2, Season 4, Episode 22.
Birthday Week Day Six
First of all, it was hot days Friday and Saturday, so I had to cancel some plans. I decided to just stay inside in the air conditioning and not do much of anything on Friday.
I wanted to go to the movie theater, but didn’t on Friday or Saturday. Now I am hoping to go see it Wednesday or Thursday. I didn’t go on a bike ride on Friday, but I did on Saturday. First of all, it was way too hot and humid to bike with doggie on Saturday, but the forecast I read online sounded okay. It was not exactly accurate.
We went to the park and we sat around and just tried to stay cool. I read some of a book. It seemed to be too hot for most people and for most dogs, because the park stayed pretty empty of kids, parents, and doggies, but still we had a good time. I had brought some water and a plastic bowl for doggie and what she didn’t drink, I spread on her back to help cool her down.
The nicest part of the day and the biggest present to myself was getting to talk for several hours on the phone with my best friend. What a gift. We made plans to talk again on my birthday, a great treat.
Blog Carnival Against Child Abuse: May Deadline
The Blog Carnival Against Child Abuse will be hosted this month at SurvivorsJustice.
The deadline for inclusion in the Blog Carnival Against Child Abuse for this month is Wednesday, May 23rd. Here is the link to submit one or more blog posts of yours:
Now I have to go off and figure out what to submit myself.
