Cake Master

A few weeks ago I saw this picture in the grocery store:

Looking at it's delectible frosting and delightfully seasonal colors and layout, a passionate longing to be able to make good cakes from scratch emerged within me. Since then, I have made two cakes. The first one, although tasting good, sank in the middle and looked like a mess. The second one, using the recipe from the magazine above, was a little better:

I still need lots of practice before I feel confident about my cake making skills, so now I need people to feed cakes to. Any takers?

An Adventurous weekend

Last Saturday, Scott and I went on an adventure.

We boldly went where no man had gone before... (except maybe the man who built the bridge)

We went to perilous heights...

With dangerous drop-offs...

Through deep, dark caves...that were oh, so scary... (see Scott's smile-o-fear below)
Throughout it all, we had to dodge ferocious animals...And evade the hostile natives who were following our path...
But it was worth it for the breathtaking scenery.

Thank goodness we made it out alive! What a great trip.

eight random facts, revisited

These are about me, Scott.

1. Britta tells me I "jerk" and that my body convulses immediately after or before (she's not sure, it happens so quickly) I fall asleep each night.

2. I don't believe that's true.

3. I live my life by one major maxim (and several little ones, which won't be itemized here): Never do anything which may be recorded and held against you in the future in front of friends, family, or an uncaring public, whatever the case may be. Consequently, I refuse to be videotaped while dancing in the home, tape record my voice singing, or any other potentially embarrassing display. Sorry. I have too great inhibitions.

4. I am certain I know everything, even knowing that I don't (but then I do, don't you see the meta-level there?) until someone (usually Britta) convinces me I am wrong to which I quickly distance myself from my previous error by either twisting my previous position to show I actually was right, after all, or by ignoring the fact I was wrong completely, usually by changing the subject quickly or by making a joke..

5. I have spent much of my leisure time this summer reading political biographies about George Washington, Harry S. Truman, and Abraham Lincoln (each of them HIGHLY recommended). I have fallen in love with our political and national history and now plan on reading additional biographies of John Adams, John F. Kennedy, Teddy Roosevelt, and Alexander Hamilton. Next, I will likely dive into some modern political themes, but I'm holding off on that for now.

**author's note: #4 and #5 are not related.**

6. I am planning on owning three cars when Britta and I have a family and a stable career. #1. Our Hyundai. We have both loved this car. Loved it. We would buy another Hyundai in an instant. We plan on keeping this car for our teenagers to drive; so that would be at least 17 more years. (absolutely no announcement is implied by the previous statement. . . that is just the biological possibility) #2. A good family car: which may be either an SUV or a minivan . . . undecided as of yet. #3. A date car. This car will serve two purposes. a) a nice car to go to nice places together. b) motivate our children to have ambition, because they will see it but won't use it. I am thinking something like a Lexus SC 430 in British racing green or jet black.

7. One of my life's ambitions is to own a plane. I have been trying to bring Britta on board for about two years now. I think this has to do with listening to G'Pa Pete's stories of flying from back in the day. I feel that there is something romantic about the freedom of flying which draws me, as well.

8. I love to make others laugh. the end.