I set a goal to blog three times a week and I haven’t done it yet. Why would that be? Fear of not doing it “right”, I suppose. How does one blog “right” anyway? Blogging is so new that it hardly has a definition much less a right or wrong. So get over it, Renae!
Last Thursday, Sept 24, 2009, was my granddaughter, Camilla’s eighth birthday. Their family of 8 drove over five hours from Driggs, ID to Orem, UT celebrate the event. I got to make her birthday cake.
After going on line and researching all sorts of themes for birthday cakes, Camilla settled on the Big Birthday Cake on page 109 of Hello Cupcake which they found on Amazon.com. It consists of 37 cupcakes stacked in four layers. Each layer has a different colored cup with white frosting and an assortment of novelty candies on top of each cupcake. It looks especially festive with Pirouette cookies on each level, serving as candles with a banana runt trimmed with orange frosting set in the top of each cookie for the flame. You really should look it up. It is so cute.
There would be a large gathering of cousins, aunts and uncles besides Grandpa and me so this would be a great way to serve everyone easily.
The day before the party I got serous about getting it done. When I looked at my milk glass pedestal cake plate I didn’t think the cupcakes would all fit so I called a creative friend to see if she knew where I could buy specialty cups that were a bit smaller. She was going shopping and went to four party or craft shops to find the cups she thought I was looking for. By the time she got back with several choices in hand, I had gotten out my measuring tape along with some empty muffin cups and decided I had made a mistake and they would probably fit.
I apologized to my friend and went shopping for the right colored cups myself. I only went to two stores and found what I thought would work, red, yellow and blue plus a yellow party print. There was only one store where I found bulk candies and only a couple of them that had enough variety to do the job. When I got home I realized I had forgotten to look for the Pirouette cookies so I went back to the store. I saw they cost $6 and I said, “Nope, we can do something else.” I had gotten the tall skinny candles that don’t go out when you blow on them, so I decided we could place them on the different layers and it would look fine. Guess what! It did. The birthday girl and her sister frosted the cupcakes. Mom decorated them and placed them in layers. It looked very cute and Camilla was tickled when the candles wouldn’t go out with the first blow.
There is a big difference between the picture perfect cake in the cookbook and the one that was placed in front of the birthday girl in our back yard. You know, I don’t think she could have been happier, even if I had given in and bought the Pirouettes. My point is that I sometimes put too much energy into making things “right” instead of just making them FUN. Do you ever do that?
After ten children and seventy years of life, I am a great advocate of FUN. I have lost some pretty great opportunities to enjoy life in favor of stressing out over doing it “right.” Who cares? Why not loosen up and enjoy life right now instead? It isn’t that I can’t afford Pirouette cookies, or several bags of gourmet candies. I am glad we let the children frost the cookies. I am glad I surrendered to the cups that were easily available. I am glad I got the funky candles. I am glad Camilla and everyone else enjoyed the cake. Is there anything more important than that? Next time, I will assume the recipe means what it says. I will follow directions and I will choose to make it simple and FUN.
Maybe blogging can be simple and FUN, too. That’s my plan. What do you think?
I love my life! I hope you love your life, too!
Check out “About Renae” above and leave a comment below. Le’s get acquainted. I’m going to be around for a long time and hope you will, too.
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