What Are You Afraid Of?

A good friend asked me this question Tuesday night.  Well, a couple of things put fear in my heart to include failure, lack of employment (money), ridicule and some other things I can't name now.  However, there is something I want and it's not just want.  I need it.  I need the freedom to be the baker I want to be.  Baking, creating flavor combinations, and feeding/serving people are a part of me.  It's time I looked to it instead of running from it. 

On Wednesday, I spoke with one of the most centered people that I know.    We spoke of my fear how it is the stick jamming up the wheel of life.  And that is what I have let it do to my life.  Fear has kept me paralyzed and stunted my creativity and freedom.  For the first time in my life, I felt like I was seeing it clearly.  

Yesterday, I also spoke to someone who had been where I am.  Her advice was to keep working, but not to give up my dream.  Be patient, have a plan, and start making my fledgling business grow.   She encouraged me to stay focused and offered her support.

Being successful is about having the right tools, good motivation/motivators, and passion.  I now have some of the components that I know I was lacking.  Now, I'm not going out and quitting my job, but I am going to mine my potential and make my dreams come true.  I will keep the channels of communication open with those who help feed my passion for cookies, cakes, pies and assorted baked goodies.  I want to one day in the near future bring the tastiest products to all of my family, friends and fans!


What are you afraid of?  What is your dream?  Where does your passion lie?  What are you doing to make it a reality?  Have  you gotten complacent and caught up like I did?  Let's talk about it.

Dang, It's June! I've Let Half the Year Go By!

Really, where does the time go?  Most of it is spent at work.  Another chunk goes to commuting. That's ten to 15 hours a week I'll never get back.  The next portion is sleep.  I try to manage a good fifty hours, but it is probably less with all the trips to the bathroom, drinks of water and searches for food.  No, I don't actually eat in the middle of the night.  I just look to make sure there's something in there if I were so inclined.  I haven't mentioned cooking in there.  Well, who really has time to cook anymore?  What's my motivation?  Where's the inspiration?  After all, who really appreciates the work that goes into a good meal?  Your family scarfs it down, mumbles something incoherent, then races off to the next time eater. It's almost enough to put a girl off her feed.  Almost, nothing's quite that bad. 

So, this brings me to a crossroad.  I like the stability of a job, but I need the freedom of my kitchen.  I long to be covered in flour surrounded by the scents of cinnamon, vanilla, lemon and that oh so intoxicating aroma of brown sugar melting with butter.  In my lonely cubicle, I feel as if I am dying a slow agonizing death one order record at a time.  There is no passion here, no fire, no satisfaction.  There is no joy here.  I know where my joy lives.  It lives in my kitchen.  Baking dwells in my heart.  When the two are together, we produce a love unlike anything you've ever tasted before. 

I'll keep you posted on when my joy and I can be together permanently.  If all goes right, it will be soon.  Get your wish lists ready.

Snowed In Again!

What do you do when the weather witches and warlocks, oops I mean meteorologists, predict massive amounts of snow and ice?  Do you head out to the store and buy up all of the milk, eggs, bread and toilet paper that will fit in your Hummer?  I'll admit that I am not one of those.  I think about it then realize that I have enough rations in the house that will sustain MJ, TY and myself. About the only thing that I think that I should probably pick up is some bottled water.  Of course, I have enough pitchers in the house that water really isn't a problem either.

I don't know where the whole idea of rushing to the grocery store came from. Where I grew up, that really wasn't an option. Mom could make homemade bread. My aunt had chickens so eggs weren't a problem. And these women were country folk so there was always some evaporated milk in the cupboard when fresh wasn't available.  You just made do with what you had.  I miss those ladies.

I actually miss being snowed in with them.  My mom used to make us something called snow cream.  She's collect fresh snow (never the first falling though).  Then, she'd make a custard and let it cool. She's mix the snow into that then freeze the mixture.  It was so good.  Of course, I loved anything sweet, but I'd like to think that the snow cream was better than ice cream.  It was special because you couldn't have it all of the time.

What did you do as a kid when you got snowed in?  What do you do now?

OMG!!! IT'S 2011!!!

That means I really have been slacking.  It's been about 49 weeks since I last blogged. Well, I won't bore you with the mundane details of my life. Let's talk about the exciting things on the horizon.  I realized that my passion lies in the kitchen w/a certain hot appliance. That's right. I'm mad about my stove.  It helps me produce some absolutely D-VINE gems.  In the words of Kanye West and friends, I'm a monster.  Don't worry. I'm a good monster.  I'm a cookie monster.  Thankfully, I am not covered in blue fur. Can you imagine being in a hot kitchen covered in fur?  HOT!!!  :)  I'll be bringing you some of my favorite recipes, the good, the bad, and the unrepeatable in the coming months.  Stay tuned.