time for dessert!

it's time for a new cake. any suggestions?

i was thinking of some kind of vintage-y cake, like lady baltimore or hummingbird.

or should we have pie instead...?

anybody have any good recipes they would like to share? i am posting several next week and it would be nice to have enough recipes to make a complete meal. i will put all the recipes on a separate entry, searchable by name, type and course. sound good?

i will start it woth grandma's cake. remember, there is no shame is making a masterpiece with a boxed cake mix. it's all cake in the end. plus it's the good frosting that makes a cake good. i always try to use white or butter recipe. they seem to have a less chemically taste to me. one of my husband's aunt makes this cake but sometimes she pokes holes in the top and lets the juice soak in the cake after she ices the top. she always has a nice coating of shredded angel flake coconut over the top. after that rupert murdoch song, she would sometimes add a can of crushed drained pineapple to the top to make a "pina colada cake". gotta love old lady cake!

Grandmother's Cake Recipe
(Julia Ewan for The Washington Post)

10 to 12 servings

This is the cake that my grandmother served my mother for her 15th birthday and that I served my daughter when she turned 15. My grandmother would make this cake by hand, but I take advantage of modern electric mixers and parchment paper. The frosting, a seven-minute icing also from my grandmother's book, has a marshmallow-like flavor and consistency.

For an elegant presentation, you can create a four-layer cake by splitting each layer in half. If you do that, double the amount of frosting. Adapted from "The American Woman's Cook Book," by Ruth Berolzheimer (Avon Books, 1941).

~ Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

~ For the cake:
3 cups sifted cake flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups heavy cream
4 eggs, beaten thick and lemon-colored
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

~ For the frosting:
1 egg white
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cold water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Use a boxed cake mix or,

Lightly grease two 9-inch-round cake pans or line them with parchment paper.In a medium bowl, sift the flour, salt and baking powder together. Set aside.

Using a hand-held or stand mixer on high speed, whip the cream until soft peaks form. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until light and foamy. Add the sugar, then the vanilla extract. Gently incorporate the flour mixture into the egg mixture. Place half of the batter into each of the prepared cake pans and bake 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake has only loose crumbs attached. Transfer to a wire rack. After about 20 minutes, invert the cake layers on the rack to cool completely.

~For the frosting: Place the egg white, sugar and water in the top of a double boiler or in a large bowl set over simmering water. With a hand-held mixer, beat on low speed for 7 minutes or until the mixture thickens and appears glossy. Add the vanilla extract and beat to incorporate.

Place one of the cooled cake layers on a serving platter. Spread on a thin layer of the frosting, then gently place the other cake layer on top. Spread the remaining frosting on the top and sides. Serve immediately or cover loosely with waxed paper and refrigerate until ready to serve.

~ Per serving (based on 12): 437 calories, 5 g protein, 67 g carbohydrates, 17 g fat, 125 mg cholesterol, 10 g saturated fat, 272 mg sodium, 0 g dietary fiber

clothing the naked masses

itchy came over last week-end. we make to a carnival together and went to steak-n-shake afterwards. we ate frozen waffles and bacon on a rainy sunday. we made a profile on some fashion tween site and she downloaded that freaking justin beiber song to her little player- if i never hear it again, that will be finr eith me! if she wasn't playing it, she was singing it. or listening and singing at the same time.

we also dressed the naked barbies.

but all i could find that would work fast was this ugly knit fabric, pink and brown and orange stripes. so i was able to cut out dresses for the 3 girl dolls.

the boy doll will require some sewing, so we will do him later.

i can't decide if her dolls look like a band or a very small cult. i will determine that later when i take a picture to post here.

when we got home from the grocery store, i hear some rustling in the back of the house. when i looked out, i saw two does scampering across the yard toward the pond area. of course, THE SUN WASN'T OUT, so i can't show you how beautiful the pond looks. i have never posted any photos of where i live but maybe i will start. i live in a plain house with an extraordinary lot. i have ancient cedars that hover over the pond and make a canopy that encircles it, almost like some pagan-ish worship site. or maybe something hobbit-y. it's neat.

soon, there will be pictures. i promise.

i have a birthday party to go to tomorrow. the woman is 62 and loves to deer hunt, so i bought her some really nice socks, pink wool ones, to wear under her big camo socks. i also bought a 12 pack each of coke and pepsi to take to the party. i was price matching the coke but the pepsi was regular price. the cashier informed me that pepsi was not a coke product. she sounded exasperated with me. i told her i knew, that i was only matching the coke, as well as the cherry dr. pepper for my house, but i would not be matching the pepsi as it was not a coke product. she kept saying, "i can't match that, it's not a coke product anywway", then i would say, "i know, i only want to price match the coke and dr. pepper, please." then it would start over again.

the woman behind me was laughing at us.

finally she rang them up. i know she rang them up correctly, because she verbally verified each keystroke.

and the sad thing is i knew how to do it anyway. i've price-matched so many times, i know the ringing sequence.

sad.

i realzed tonight was the first time i have been out of the house since last saturday night.

i've got to get a social life.

a new show for kate gosselin

i really miss "jon & kate plus 8", i mean in a major way. i don't like the idea of the children being exploited. i would make the kids a secondary plot line. i would & focus on the dynamics of the relationship between jon & kate. they could just go on having their little spats and slap fights, and she could tell him he was breathing too loud, and he could tell her to take the stick out of her behind.

but this would be a sitcom, about a couple who have a reality show about their 8 children. Due to marital disharmony, they are in danger of losing their show- and all that money!- so they secretly decide to act as if their marriage is all hunky dorry! we could introduce a couple of core FRIENDS and then add the randoms who pass through the snow. the teacher of their sextuplets could be a good character to include, as well as their baby-sitter. jon would have a job, because kate didn't treat him quite like dirt when he had a job. all the money from the show is going toward some tax lien, so they aren't really affected by the money, but they need it. they are still appreciative of all the freebies and trips. they still have the stress of jon needing to work.

they are still ordinary people, not paparazzi fodder. they are so vanilla no one cares. no slut clothes, no ed hardy, no hair plugs or weave, no purse-toting sexy bodyguard. wait, we'll keep the bodyguard and make him gay! and an uncle! yeah, a guncle. and kate would keep fixing him up with her female friends. hilarity will ensue!

i may buy the dvd's of the series. i will check and see if my library has them. otherwise, i will have my sister buy them for me for christmas. i usually say pillows, but i think i have the exact right number of pillows and blankets. oh, but i could use another set of sheets! well, maybe my mom will buy some sheets. i just always have a hard time coming up with stuff when i'm put on the spot.

i bet if i wait long enough, tlc will come up with another likeable family to run to ruin and i will be happy once again.

cheapo

i found the most incredible deal at the store today but i think i threw the receipt away.

wal-mart had some dairy stuff about to expire was on sale and i found yoplait yogurts for .10! then i used a coupon and got .80 off of the ten. so i paid twenty cents for 10 yogurts.

the cashier called over her supervisor to see if they could take it. i ended paying .02 each for the yogurts!

blogger is acting funky with pictures or else i would show them all lined up in a row!

my next long term goal- a mystery give-away!

i've noticed with the site meter count that i have a lot of visitors. so i've got a new goal.

i would like to get as many followers as possible and get a ton of comments. i would like to get a lot of twitter followers. i would like to win the lottery.

lottery aside, if i get 100 followers on my blog, i will host a dual giveaway. everybody that follows me and was referred to me by someone else will earn them an entry, as well as the person who invited them.

so here's the deal: 2 prizes, one for followers of the blog and/or twitter followers, the other for people who invite people to join. this will occur if i have at least 100 followers here on the blog. the twitter followers are just gravy, okay? i always follow people who follow me. i don't twitter often, i prefer to just answer tweets.

leave me comments and let me know what you did. if someone invited you, please include their name and email in your entry. if you just want to comment, that's an entry too.

i don't know what the giveaway will be, you know i am a bargain shopper, so it will be something good. i may even wait until they win and i will let them tell me what kinds of things they like. maybe it will be a regift from christmas. or something i was going to put on ebay. or maybe i'll make something fabulous and sparkly. but i promise you'll like it1

tell all your friends!. here is the tiny url to put up on your blog. it links back to this entry: http://tinyurl.com/mostcake

my husband is talking to his aunt about holiday plans. i think we are having thanksgiving here and christmas at their house, unless something changes between now and then.

that's good, i have a lot of thanksgiving serving dishes. i can make a presentable table that should be on the cover of a food magazine. i also make a cherry pie with dark and regular cherries, so it's kind of polka-dotted. it's delicious!

lasy year, i make this pie and i made a very elaborate in the top of the top crust. smokie- my husband's cousin- didn't think it was real and accidentally pulled a huge hunk off of the top. then he had the nerve to say, "i didn't think it was real. i didn't know you could make anything that looked like that."

then he tried to make some cornbread to outdo my jalapeno-onion corn cakes. he didn't know that part of the way it turns out is the pan is use. so he failed. i win. go, me!

i think i will make my cherry pie and some kind of egg custard or chess pie. maybe pecan pie with something besides pecans in it.

i want to make a cake too. maybe delicious coconut with cool whip frosting. i saw a recipe you made a week ahead of time. i have to find that recipe. southern living? martha? bhg? i hope i haven't given the magazine away.

i have to begin making plans for thanksgiving. i always make a master list of all the dishes, then i make a list that has the ingredients for each dish, then i have a consolidated list to shop for all the dishes at once. much list-making to be done.

then i have to look for coupons for all of it. and mark the list if item is couponed.

then shop, cross referencing several exel spreadsheets to make proper choices.

then load and unload the groceries- i must remember to take a laundry basket or two, so i can load them up at the store, then drag/kick them into the house to unload.

then everything for thanksgiving is marked with a sharpie letter T, so nobody will eat up thanksgiving before the day arrives.

then you get to cook.

for hours and hours, and before then, you chop and peel and make stock and it's a never ending spiral until the meal.

then all is good.

but later, you will clean.

but that will be later, after you have had pie, too much pie.

and cake!

i am redeemed!

my stupid dil has done a complete 180 from last week. i think she is a freaking fruitcake.

suddenly, i am able to see the kids again! i will have the little girl from friday night until sunday night. i have great plans for us: i have IHOP coupons we can use friday, then there is a FREE carnival saturday afternoon. they always have food- hamburgers or hotdogs), drinks, lots of candy, carnival-type games, inflatables (like bouncy houses and slides),a petting zoo with pony rides and a cake walk.

i went last year with root and both kids. i had to go to the bathroom REALLY bad. i walked toward the church building and followed the arrow that said restrooms.

somehow i ended up in line for the cake walk.

now, i love me some cake. and these were homemade cakes made by little old ladies. so i had every plan to win me a cake. but first, i need a bathroom in the worst of ways!

but i'm in the cake walk, about to wet my pants and ruin my good time. then it happened.

i won.

i won a HUGE homemade butter pound cake. this was a heavy buttery hunk of old lady deliciousness. i ended up giving the cake to my son, as he kept trying and he never won a cake. the little girl won some cupcakes and the little boy won a HUGE chocolate truffle cake that i think came from wal-mart.

but if my granddaughter is hungry after the carnival, i have coupons for steak 'n shake. she loves that place. she's all about the milkshakes.

we need to make some kind of craft. i have some felt we can use to make a dog poncho for her dog. i just need to run up a bobbin to use in my little sewing machine, the bobbin is out of thread.

i guess this means i need to buy my dil something for her birthday. i am going to target tomorrow, so i can pick up something for her then. i also have a set of lip glosses someone gave me for my birthday that i never opened. so yes, i am guilty- i am regifting! but i never opened it, it didn't come from her and she doesn't even know i have it. so i will buy something to go with that.

it's hard to buy a good gift for someone you don't like.

i might just buy her some potholders or kitchen towels. you don't have to be emotionally invested to buy potholders.

broke!

payday is tomorrow, which is good as i am broke.

i have begun thinking about christmas. i want to get the grandkids nice gifts but i don't know exactly what to get them, as i haven't been around them a lot lately. my son and chicky are getting a big bottle of laundry detergent.

bobo is getting new glasses tomorrow. he has a second job interview for a job. i hope he gets it. we have been trying to communicate more. i can see where he is making an effort. me? i've been trying since we got married! i never stopped "being there". he had just checked out and i guess i can blame it on being depressed about having no job. but things are better. we still have out separation agreement in place, just in case. can you tell we are kinda on the fence about this thing? i just don't want my heart broken.

i have to try to balance the money better this month. with the car repair bill paid, i have more cash. plus i don't have to buy CELLPHONES this month! stupid little horse's ass of a dil!

i feel so much freedom since i cock-blocked her on facebook. i feel like a burden has been lifted off my shoulders. it a good feeling.

enough about her, her rent-free days of living in my mind are over! evicted!

so tomorrow i get to go to target to pick up my medications. big whoop! i heart target!

we have no groceries, so i guess we will do that this week-end. but first we are going to red lobster tomorrow night! it's endless shrimp time! plus i have a coupon! i got it on the internet! you can find one too over at . he's a fun read! i asked him about the aacye etiquette and he answered me. amazingly it was what i do anyway. but shrimp is good! we need to be hungry when we go there. i promise not to make a pig of myself!

okay, okay, i will try.

unfriended: friend or fiend?

it's no secret that my dil "unfriended" me on facebook after a disagreement. she told me it was a "social thing" and it was her choice to have only those who she wanted to be social with as a friend. i even send her a friend request with a semi-spology, something along the lines of "we don't have to be friends but we don't have to be enemies. i'm extending you the olive branch so that we can get along for the sake of our families and not cause them anymore hurt."

she declined my invite.

i don't really care about the facebook thing. i only started using it at her urging. there was an incident last year where she left some very disparaging remarks about me and i confronted her about it. she said she left her account logged in and her friends posted it as a joke. i was greatly offended, as anyone would be. she never apologized for her friends, did anything in the way of showing those were not her true feelings or removed the post. so the nasty remarks stayed there.

the fact that anyone knew anything about me tells me that she runs her mouth way too much to too many people.

back on point: i could care less about facebook. it's like an arcade of fun things and games. you can send little e-gifts to people. i have bonded with a few people i never got to know in high school. i am friends with bloggers i have read. i can take facebook or leave it. if it disappeared tomorrow, i wouldn't miss it. well, maybe for a day or two. then i would forget about it.

she reveres facebook like it were a religion, so what bothers me is the amount of hatred and vengenance she put into her decision to unfriend me. heck, her ex-husband is on her friends list and she claims her beat the stew out of her everyday for 2 years! my son has both of her parents listed a his friends, but it's too hard for her to just leave me as a friend and ignore my posts.

unfriending someone is a coward's way of managing conflict. tiff with someone? don't resolve it, just unfriend them. just cut them off cold. they don't matter anyway. just get them out of your life. i saw online a definition as: to unfriend someone is to silently tell them that you don't like them and hope they die, but that they die a slow painful death. very passive-aggressive, don't you think? that big "f" logo now stands for F U!

being that i am no longer her friend, i'm sure she will understand why there will be no gifts for her on her birthday, no nice designer handbag for her this christmas, no anything special or "friend-like" ever again.

remember, she's not my friend.

this became an issue today when her BOOTIFUL face appeared on my wall, via a tagged photo on my son's page. why should i do anything for anyone who is not my friend? the church i sometimes attend collects gifts for people in a nursing home, i'm sure the money i would have spent on her will be more appreciated by someone there. it will go a lot further and might actually bring joy to someone who isn't as spoiled as buttermilk. maybe they'll be my friend, even if they don't know me.

to avoid seeing her, i took it up a notch today.

i blocked her.

i can still access her page using a friend's account, so i can see photos of the grandkids if i desire. but i will no longer be subjected to her face randomly popping up on my wall and ruining my day.

i started to delete my account altogether, but that's not fair to me. i shouldn't penalize myself because she's being a horse's ass to me. i am by no means addicted to it, but if i want to play yoville or send a heart to a friend who is down, i should be able to do it. she can't dictate my actions.

by blocking her, i am being a friend: to myself.

cake is magic

i put up a new cake for us. in fact, it's a cake with cupcakes. i think it's cute. i am going to start changing out the cakes at the beginning of every month, so we don't get spoiled.

but i think i still prefer wedding cake. white icing, white flowers, white writing, white, white, white. that way the only thing you taste is the sugar and butter. not dyes. they have a funky taste.

there was nothing sweet in my house this week-end. trust me, i looked. i kept looking in the cabinet hoping to find the goodie fairy had slipped something in there.

then this morning, i find two boxes of brownies. behind the box of stovetop stuffing.

but i will try to hold off on making them until thursday. or friday.

or until later this afternoon.

cake is magic.

dear dr. pepper

dear dr. pepper,

if you're reading this, you've thought about me and the man. we miss your company.

it's ok to come over. just please don't come over messed up. and don't bring drugs with you. call before you come. don't bring your dates with you please. i don't like being judged in my own home.

we aren't exciting people. we live a slow life. if you want to play monopoly sometime, stop by.

i'll even let you be the cowboy.

another day

i got up at 6 and loaded my car with yardsale stuff. i was ready for a good yardsale from 5-noon. i hoped to make $50, enough to go to red lobster and have endless shrimp.

long story short, the yardsale is going to go down next week. that will give me enough time to get some stuff together and sell lots of crap. i think i will put the money toward paying off my car. i am so close! that's almost $250 bucks i will free up and be able to save it up for things that need to be paid.

like propane.

it seems like every month, there is $300 that needs to fall out of the sky. i am making a little bit selling things on ebay and the occasional yardsale, but i need some type of business that can be done with a minimal investment. any ideas? right now i am setting up a set of shelves for ebay auctions. i'm stashing boxes and tape and odd paper to use for packing. every bit i can reuse or recycle is money in my pocket. i am wrapping the clothing up in flashy tissue paper and closing it with a hello kitty sticker, just trying to give it more perceived value.

i wish i knew how to suddenly make a million dollars a day with my blog, like suddenly i become one of the big money-making non-mommy bloggers out there. would i crack under the pressure or would i remain myself and make being fat suddenly the hottest thing out there. i would just like to have cash and pay off everything at once, car and house! then i would be happy. it's hard to believe that at one point in time, i owned 2 rental homes that brought in $500 each, 1 that rented for $750, not to mention my huge house on the rich side of tinytown. i used to be on easy street. one day i will have all that again, and this time i know enough to respect it.

i have a secret money story that i will share someday. once you read it, you will see everything totally different. it turns the entire world around. you will understand how i can be so blase sometimes about money. or why i am having such a hard time with money right now. but that is for another day.

since october 1, i have been spending at least 5 minutes a day on my balance ball, sometimes 5 times a day. it's getting me moving. i just sit on it and bounce around the room as i put stuff away. every day. i lost 6 lbs. last week. i think i have finally broken through a 4 month plateau. i have to get a pound a week off. if i could do that, i would be happy. but i would rather lose like 3-4 lbs. instead. if i did that, i'd be fine in no time.

i sometimes read mckmama at mycharmingkids.net, and i was somewhat shocked to read of the charges against her. the examples i found on another site were kind of shocking. who thinks they can get away with plagarism like that? i would have summarized it differently and explained that i was paraphrasing their work, assuming of course, i had their permission.

there seem to be a lot of people suddenly getting cancer. i don't know if it's really happening, or if cancer is the new depression, but there's a lot of people out their blogging about their cancer adventures. i think they are brave if they are true, and slapped upside the head with a wooden ruler if they are faking. i have seem somoe articles about people faking cancer, and i always wonder now if someone is real or fake when they announce they have cancer. if you go from point a to point b, one might assume that blogging causes cancer. i hope not.

october is breast cancer month and think i will find a new cake for us.

someting that tastes like roses.

something that tastes like life.

something pink.

still sitting at home

i am having a yard sale this week-end, or Friday at least. i am takinig some stuff over to a friend's house in the nearest town. her house is on tthe way in and out of town, as well as 1/2 block from the farmer's market. we should get a lot of traffic there for sure!

i have several more rubbermaid totes of stuff ready to be sold. i have fat ladies clothes listed on ebay. i figure i will get more money selling them there. i have 2 blouses on there right now, as well as a relisted pair of kenneth cole unlisted red shoes.

i won't have any money until the end of next week if i don't sell some crap. paying for those car repairs has kicked my butt and emptied my wallet. i need some juice, if you know what i mean.

i am rejoining the ymca, since i now have a car everyday. i miss the morning water aerobics classes, as well as swimming. i never touched the weight room, but well, it's there if i ever get the urge to pump iron. the ymca in super tinytown is having a special enrollment wth no enrollment fee, so that's a savings of $90! once i have my membership, i can go to the fancy one in richbabytown.

i got to see my grandkids last night. we had a good night. i went to their soccer game then we went out to eat. i ate my side salad and brought the catfish poboy home to bobo, who is sick. otherwise he would have gone with me.

i lost 6 lbs. last week in some fluke of nature. i just hope i don't put it back on this week. i would like to lose at least 1 lb. a week.

my closets will be almost empty when i finish selling all the clothes that are too big for me. i just got a pair of jeans from amazon.com, using swagbucks and a credit from the cionstar machine. coinstar services are free if you get an amazon.com or other certificate. it's hard to find a machine that gives certificates, so check it out at coinstar.com.

wish me luck and sunshine as i try to foist off my junk in exchange for money. paper money, hopefully!

church?

i have been invited to go to church with a friend. her church is having a potluck dinner. i have been to a few functions they have had and they have some good cooks at that church!

they are non-denominational. it is not even called a church, it's a christian fellowship center. they play the electric keyboards and have a house band. i have been to one of their services which was a food function. then i went to a fall carnival with chris and the kids, where i ended up in the cake walk instead of the restroom and i really had to pee. then i won a cake and almost wet my pants to make it in time.

i guess if you want me to go to church, you better feed me.

i ended up going to bed very early yesterday, like taking a nap at 3 p.m. that i never woke up from. yeah, i had a couple of calls but i couldn't ever stay awake. i ended up sleeping until 5 a.m. tv sucks at that time of day.

over the past few days, i have been trying to clean out the pantries and stuff, and purge what doesn't need to be in the cabinets. i now have shelves in the garage, so i have somewhere to put those big items i use once in a blue moon, like a turkey roaster or crock-pot.

a very good friend of mine sold me a very beautiful mirror for less than the price of a cup of coffee- at starbucks, of course! i am going to get some 1/4 round and have it cut to the length of the mantel, then paint it white. then i will nail it down halfway across the middle. that way the mirror will have something to hold it in place. i don't trust these walls to hold up a mirror.

i need to look for some mint while i am at lowe's. i need some mint for the back yard, to keep the ants away.

well, i better get it in gear if i am going to be at church at 6!