The Week in which I became a Horrible Cook

The title of this post is only a little bit dramatic and only slightly exaggerating but I laugh about it all so it's ok. I hope you'll laugh with me.

Let me explain.

I have been getting ready for a party for the past week because that's just how I am. I love to plan; that's half the fun for me when I host a gathering. So I've been busy, busy, busy. And of course because my mother's blood runs though me thick, I also took on additional projects this week because JUST getting ready for a party wasn't enough. I created a gallery wall (something I've been wanting to do for a long time), I painted a frame because the color has been bugging me every time I look at it, I took down winter decorations since I wanted my house to be "springy" and the list goes on.

Well along with all this springtime atmosphere, I started craving carrot cake with yum, cream cheese frosting. Oh man, doesn't that just sound so good? I found a recipe on PW's site for carrot cake and decided to try it out since she tends to have very delicious looking food and often delicious tasting food as well (I've already tried several of her recipes). It was a tried and true recipe that PW had found in her mother's old cookbook.

And that's when I started re-evaluating my baking skills and my life in general. It seemed all of a sudden that everything I touched, rather than turning to gold (as in the mythical Midas touch), turned to goobers.

Again, let me explain.

Oh, wait you are. Well let me get to the point...

I decided to double the carrot cake recipe because (first mistake) I read the recipe as saying that it made 12 servings.

Because I was planning on making cupcakes, I thought that meant 12 cupcakes (duh, it meant it made one cake that would serve 12!) and I wanted to have more than 12 cupcakes.

Well, in doubling the recipe, here's what the first batch looked like when the timer went off...

I had filled 4, count 'em, FOUR muffin tins with cake batter and I do believe, my cup doth runneth over.

Here's another shot. They're hard to see, I know, but in a minute I'll explain why I was taking the pictures through the door.

Now, you can see in the background (kind of), the back tins have started IMPLODING.

(I guess I should be grateful they didn't EXplode since that would have surely made more of a mess.)

But one more picture before I get to the real doozy.

I really could hardly believe my eyes when I looked in on the results of my efforts only to find a gooey monster taking over my ENTIRE oven. At that point, I decided I would open the oven door to, well I don't even remember why I opened the door. Maybe to take a closer look at the horror but as soon as I opened the door I slammed it shut because smoke billowed out.

I raced to the doors and opened them wide, as DJ and I are unsure what would ever happen if the smoke detectors went off. We're not sure how the fire sprinklers are wired (yes, we have fire sprinklers in our house) so we're deathly afraid that if the fire alarms ever go off, so will the fire sprinklers and then all will be ruined.

So as soon as I open the doors

(I should add here that there was a high wind warning in effect and the gusts were in full force at that moment but read: deathly afraid of fire sprinklers above),

I raced back to the oven to keep looking.

You know how you pass an accident on the road and you can't help but look? That's what was happening in my kitchen. I couldn't NOT look!

This whole time Jayden is in his bouncer watching me rush around, gasp in horror repeatedly as I peer into the oven watching the cake drip off the sides and then listen as things start falling off shelves because the wind is whipping through our house.

He then began wailing.

I had scared him.

Or maybe the wind scared him.

I don't know but I rushed over to him, picked him up and brought him back to the scene of the accident so we could continue staring, yes that's right, in horror.

And now for the grand finale of all pictures...

Oh yes, it's hilarious. (I've already cleaned off one of the tins so that's why there's only 3 in the picture.) I laughed and laughed.

And then a friend stopped by and I ushered her into the kitchen so she could laugh too.

And then we discussed how on earth this could possibly have happened.

I'm still flabbergasted because I honestly didn't know such things could happen. I've been baking for 20 years and this has never happened. Ever. Granted I've never lived this high in the sky but still, I had never even heard of his happening. Things like this usually get around.

But anyway, my friend and I discussed it and we decided that doubling the recipe was the culprit. We knew that doubling recipes often doesn't work for certain types of foods and cake is one of them. So with that resolution in mind, I decided to try again.

I cleaned my oven...

And got to work again.

I figured it was fate of some sort that I had bought an extra bag of carrots and had all the ingredients for another batch. You've gotta at least pat me on the back for my determination right?

Well, maybe not.

I went for a bundt this time. I figured that's what the recipe was for so why deviate? I really didn't go into this to fail again. And the picture above may not look so bad but I pulled this out of the oven after 20 minutes.

It was supposed to bake for 50 minutes.

Once I saw the side start to spill out, I hung up on my mom who I was relaying my story to and pulled out that bundt. I didn't want to have to scrape my oven again. It was hardly cooked at all and it was rising so fast that I just know the end result would have looked like this...only in bundt shape.

It's just too funny not to look at again.

After that, I resigned myself to buy Walmart cupcakes. I know, ick. But actually they turned out being pretty good and when people asked me if I made them (God bless you sweet souls who assumed I made dessert, so sweet, although, a little like salt being rubbed in a wound since I would have LOVED to say yes, yes, I did make that yummy dessert...), I then went on to share my ridiculously funny story about imploding cupcakes.

Tomorrow I will try to share some pictures from the party. It was last night and it was so much fun. Although I will tell you that there is another mystery to be solved and it has to do with rice.

Monday Musings

**Edited to include announcement about email subscription**

We had a great weekend here at the Martinez'. (Random thought...when I first started dating DJ I realized that I was going to try avoid saying the name Martinez in the plural form as much as possible because I find it extremely hard to say and it usually comes out wrong...try it...Martinez's or Martinezes...I really don't even know how you're supposed to write Martinez plural, both ways look wrong, and now I'm one of them and actually have to say it a lot. I usually just try to say it fast and blend it into the next part of what I'm saying...) Anyway........

• We ended up having a spontaneous marathon of both the Pirates of the Carribean trilogy and the Harry Potter trilogy (Another random thought...I call all movies with at least three in the series a trilogy, regardless of whether there are 3 parts, 4 parts or in the case of Harry Potter, 6 parts...) I really like those movies. Have you seen them?

• DJ is winning on our bracket challenge. So far I have pampered him with a deluxe foot rub. I guess I did a good job because he commented that his feet felt really good today. Go me! We tied on the next round (again!) so I'm really hoping that I win the next round since it's double or nothing.

• I have decided that even though spring may not arrive outside yet, that doesn't mean it can't arrive inside! I'm removing all traces of winter in our house this week and replacing the decoration with something "springy". Spring gives me such a lightness in my spirit. One of my favorite quotes is by Anne Bradstreet:

“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.”

It's so true! Although that doesn't mean that I still won't wish for springtime year-round.

• On Monday mornings, I get these really cool emails from an Audit partner in the Denver office and I've actually really started looking forward to seeing what it says when I see it pop up in my in-box. He always has a different title for them (something suggested by someone in the office) - today's was "Bearup or Bulldown". I don't really know what that means other than it's a play on Mike's (the partner) last name, Bearup; Mike admitted he didn't know either but the titles are always something catchy. Anyway, they usually start out with something about a current event in the Denver office and then something about business in the office and then ends with what he calls Random Musings. The last part is usually something inspiring and straight from the mind of Mike. These emails have really made me feel a part of an office again and keep in touch with current events in the KPMG business. Plus I feel like they set a good tone for the office. It's obvious that Mike really loves what he does and that in itself is inspiring. I emailed him once to let him know who I was and that I appreciated the emails. I hope other people do too so he continues doing them!

• I have discovered these new coffee creamers that rock. I tend to steer clear of creamers such as Coffeemate or the like because they're really not cream in any sense of the word. I switched to using good ol' half n' half and coffee syrup because then at least I knew what I was drinking but I still missed the flavored creamers once in awhile. And then.... one of my favorite bloggers introduced me to La Creme. Mmmm, I got some this weekend and it's soo yummy. You can go have some fun at the La Creme website if you have some time to kill. I'm currently in love with the Cinnamon Vanilla flavor. I had two cups of coffee today because it is so gosh darn good. (That, and Jayden didn't let me sleep much last night.)

• Speaking of Jayden...he has a tooth!! I first noticed it last Thursday evening as he was gnawing on my finger. I really wasn't sure of what I was feeling at first but I finally decided the little pokiness I was feeling had to be a tooth and sure enough! It's getting pokier and pokier by the day. Jayden is handling the new tooth like a champ. He is fussy but not bad and he's not even drooling! I'll post a picture as soon as you can actually see something (right now, it's a little pinprick of white) and given that Jayden will actually open his mouth long enough for me to get a picture.

• To make it easier to read my blog, I have added a new widget to my blog that allows you to subscribe via email! Since I'm not a consistent every day, or even every other day, blogger, this will help you know when I've actually added a new post. Here's where you go on my blog to set it up...

That's all for now! What did you do this weekend?

DOUBLE RAINBOW!!!

This has got to be one the funniest videos that I've seen in a long time. I was dying with laughter, as in tears rolling down my face. I hope you crack a smile too and HAPPY FRIDAY!!!

(Warning: This guy is definitely tripping on something and says OMG about a million times...)

St. Patrick Shout-Out

Today is St. Patrick's Day.

I'm not wearing green.

Jayden is not wearing green.

I can't remember if DJ went to work wearing green.

What a bunch of Irish we are... (DJ is Irish by marriage...)

Happy St. Patty's day! Maybe you will celebrate it better where you are.

As for me, it will just be a normal day in the life of the Martinez family. Here's what's been going on around here. (The pictures are from Jayden's 6 month photo shoot and other various random events, including Wyoming scenery..)

• DJ had the last two days off for spring break. The first day was "Best Buds" day as noted by DJ since he and Jayden spent the day together while I worked. The nannies had the day off. The second day I took a half day off work and we made a little drive out to a place called Roger's Canyon and then spent the rest of the day chillin' at the house.

• March Madness has begun in NCAA basketball and DJ and I decided to try something new this year. We both filled out brackets for the men's tournament and then determined awards that we would like to win after each round if we earned the most points between the two of us. We chose things like back rubs, foot rubs, chores around that house that we would like to see done but not have to do it...that sort of thing... So far we are tied and according to DJ, that means it's a wash. I guess he'd rather not have to do anything than get an award. I'm from a differing point of view...I'd rather take the back rub and endure rubbing his feet. Here's to the next round not ending in a tie!

• Jayden is teething I think. He doesn't have any noticeable swelling on his gums yet but sometimes the teeth take awhile to actually start popping through. He's not continually fussy but he is fussier than normal and since nothing else seems to be the problem, I'm associating it with new teeth. Occasionally we'll rub baby Orajel on his gums and yesterday I gave him some baby Tylenol as well and it seemed to help.

• I officially have the spring bug. Which is not good. Spring doesn't arrive for another 3 months here in Laramie. So I have un-officially decided to start taking monthly, and later, perhaps weekly, treks "down the mountain" to Fort Collins so I can enjoy my favorite season of the year.

• I leave for Washington DC in less than 3 weeks and I am so anxious about that trip. Jayden is going with me and my mom is coming to watch Jayden while I attend trainings all day for an entire week. Every time I think about it, I get a worried, light-headed feeling. I've tried praying about it to ease the anxiety and I just need to keep doing that because I can't stand the worry. I'm mostly worried that Jayden is going to have issues eating. Since I will be in training, my mom will have to bring him to me at the office where the trainings are. And its the logistics that have me in a panic. Thankfully we have a very nice hotel that's only two blocks away from the office (except for one day when the training is in another city) so I hope it's much easier than I anticipate.

• Last night we attempted to give Jayden a bottle for the first time. He had no idea what to do. Sucking on a bottle is a different way of holding your mouth than is required for breastfeeding so Jayden was clueless. Then we tried a sippy cup. Still clueless. We will give it another try when I'm not in the house and maybe Jayden will try harder to figure it out. As it was, he knew I was near by so I don't think he cared to try too hard.

• I went with a friend to Walmart on Tuesday and got a pedicure. I brought my own magazines that I never have time to read otherwise and my feet now feel more like feet than a substitute for sand paper. It was well worth the money and I have pretty spring-colored toenails too!

• Our house is undergoing a spring-inspired organizational overhaul. Of course, that means there are piles all over the place but little by little, things are finding a place and odd jobs are getting done. I'm also preparing for a yard sale that I'm going to host for our HOA at the beginning of summer. Needless to say, I'm having great fun. DJ, on the other hand, is probably very glad that the nannies are here to help for the most part so he doesn't have to endure much of the chaos.

• Lastly, the fun task of preparing the tax return has been happening around here and let me tell you, I am learning all sort of things. And when I say fun, you do know that I mean dreaded, right? Every year that DJ and I have been married, we have ended up paying taxes as of April 15. And I'm not talking a hundred dollars or some measly amount... This year, we thought we would finally be past that, what with a new baby, new house, new job... Well that is not to be the case and it has us perplexed but I am set on learning the tax laws to fix this issue so next year... next year.... I'm not sure, but I bet if you looked at the statistics, every year around April 15 or so, I bet there is a big increase in voting Republicans. Just sayin'.

First Foods

Last week we started giving Jayden solid foods for the first time. It was a night we had been anticipating ever since I realized he would turn 6 months old on the same day as DJ's birthday.

We started with sweet potatoes.

It was not a failure by any means, but I wouldn't say it was a huge success either. DJ was able to feed Jayden for the first time, which he loved. DJ, that is, although I'm sure if Jayden could talk he might say he loved it too!

DJ said he had been looking forward to feeding Jayden for a long time so that was sweet.

I, on the other hand, felt entirely different about this whole experience. It was surprisingly sad for me. It's silly but I like being the sole provider of Jayden's nourishment. It's amazing that my body has kept Jayden alive and thriving for the first 6 months of his life (and, well, if we're being technical here, my body has actually kept him alive for the additional 9 months prior to that as well). I'm proud of that. And now that Jayden is moving on (or will be soon) to other things as well, it makes me a little sad. I know it was inevitable and I know that all babies go through the stages and I know that I need to get over it but whatever, this momma was a little teary about it all.

But anyway, as for the sweet potatoes, we got a lot of cute, funny faces from Jayden but I don't think any of the sweet potatoes actually made it to the gut.

We waited a few days and then tried out some banana next. This time, we let Jayden feed himself, or rather, paint himself. Again, it was cute and entertaining, but I'm almost positive he didn't eat any of the food.

So I think we will wait another week or so and then try again, possibly with some avocado. Jayden will eat solids when he's ready, but lucky for him, he still has momma's milk to nourish him until he's at least a year old!

40 Days of Lent - Feelings of Anticipation and Excitement

This year I am especially excited about the time of Lent. Growing up in a Protestant family, we were never taught about Lent, or at least not in the sense of how the Catholic church teaches and recognizes these 40 days before Easter. This year is different for a couple different reasons and I'm excited that God is teaching me something new.

First of all, I had decided a while back (about this time last year in Knoxville) that it was important that I attend church with DJ. As a family. When we were first married, DJ and I had agreed that we would each attend our respective churches. I went to an Evangelical church because that is where I felt most comfortable. DJ went to a Catholic church. But, although I very much enjoyed attending the Evangelical worship services, I always felt like something was missing. It felt strange to meet people and let them know I was married but my husband wasn't someone that they would probably ever meet. He was my other half and I didn't feel like people could really get to know the person that I am without also knowing DJ. That wasn't always true but for the most part, I didn't like that DJ was always this unknown person to them. So I decided to start attending church with DJ. I feel like that is where God wants me but it took me awhile to figure it out. There is a whole other post there which I might someday decide to write but for now I want to stay on the topic of Lent.

So in attending the Catholic church I have learned to enjoy the rich traditions that the church follows. One of them, of course, is Lent.

The second reason that this year is different from past years is I am in a place in my life right now where I could really use a focused time to get my heart back into the right place. My priorities have been skewed for a number of different reasons and I think this Lenten season is just the thing to get those priorities back into the proper focus. The timing is right. Again, it's very exciting to see God working in my life and I want to give Him the full reins of that task. Since Lent focuses a lot on prayer, I know that time spent in quiet will give God that opportunity to teach me.

And lastly, because I'm in a constant state of learning when it comes to the Catholic church, I'm curious (and excited) to see what the Lenten season does to my perspective of Easter and the Resurrection. In years past, Easter, of course, means the Resurrection of Jesus and it's exciting because we worship a risen Saviour but I don't think I ever fully dwelled on that fact. It was just a fact that I grew up knowing and believing. But I yearn for something different, something deeper. I want to feel the impact of what our Lord has done for each and everyone of us. Not just on a superficial level but on a much deeper, more profound level.

So I've been reading a lot about what the Church teaches (and requires) during Lent. I don't think I've fully grasped everything yet but this is not an all or nothing thing. I'm pretty sure God will use whatever I give Him so I'm not worried about getting it perfect.

Here are a few things that I've decided to do:

• Not eat meat on Ash Wednesday or the Fridays during the Lenten season (including Good Friday)
• Wake up 30 minutes earlier each day and spend those minutes in quiet prayer and meditation of God's Word
• Give up Facebook for 40 days and pray when I "miss" it (This one is a little embarrassing to admit because I spend a ridiculous amount of time each day checking Facebook just to see what's going on. Hopefully it won't take long for me to stop "missing" Facebook and I will just use that time in more productive ways.)
• Participate in a Lenten devotion with DJ
• Find little ways each day to increase my giving to others whether it's through my actions or monetarily.

I have great expectations of how God will use these 40 days to work in my life. It's obvious to me that He doesn't need anything special to work in however He sees fit because He's continually working in my life everyday. And I'm so grateful for that. However this time will help me to get back in step with Him sotospeak. Hopefully it will create new habits. Habits that I can carry past the Lenten season.

And that's just exciting to me.

While you wait...

I have another post ready to be, uh, posted but I need to insert some pictures first so while you wait, you must watch this clip.

It's a hoot.

Gotta love JT.