Paula Deen Raspberry Limeade Cake

So I've decided to try blogging again.

Not because anyone reads it, but because I think it will be therapeutic.

So, Cake.

There is whole buttermilk in my refrigerator right now, which of course means that it must be a good cake! Well here's the story.

On Thursday I went to the hometown and a fantastic friend came by to drop off a wedding gift. She had gotten the world's most fantastic deal on the PD teakettle we registered for! However, she felt bad for spending so little money so she threw in 2 PD cookbooks too! Such a great gift! The first recipe in the book was a Raspberry Limeade Cake. It looked heavenly, but

what's even better is that K LOVES raspberries and I LOVE limes. So that pretty much makes this our perfect cake. I gathered the necessaries from the local Super Target, told the boy to go away and practice so I could surprise him (no objections on his part), and got to baking.

Here's the stink of it though. I am a terrible baker. I will cook 'til the sun goes down, but baking? It's not my forte. However, I am very willing to learn if presented with a fabulous cookbook. I can't look at the pictures without salivating so I'm just gonna have to learn to bake.

So after calling my brother-in-law for advice on which KitchenAid attachment to use, I was off!

Until. I realized. This is a 3 layer cake. I have only 2 pans. So I call K, who is at the Apple Store, next to the Williams Sonoma!

"Hey! Could you stop at the Williams Sonoma and get me a 9" circle cake pan?" (because that's what the recipe calls for)

"Sure thing!"

He's great, I know. So he gets home with the cake pan. And I realize. My pans are 8". Not 9".

"How much do you love me and cake?"

"Ummm......"

"Could you take this back and exchange it for an 8" pan? Ya see, I messed up..."

And he did it!

See, I told you that he's great!

So, after those set backs I was off again. I baked and I baked. I made filling, I made icing! I called my sis-in-law because I've never made a layer cake! I slaved and sweated! I watched my dog play with his new sheep and I laughed! It was truly a fun experience.

So, before I show the pictures, here's what I learned.

1. If the cake looks too soft, that means it will fall apart.

2. Levelling the top is harder than it sounds.

3. Don't take the filling all the way to the edge. Red filling + white icing = a big mess.

4. Baking can be fun and rewarding!

5. Husbands don't care if the cake is leaning, or if the top layer is in 3 pieces as long as it tastes good.

So here are the pictures of the Paula Deen Raspberry Limeade Cake!

Thoughts.

I have lots of thoughts.

If you came to my senior recital, you would know that. :-)

These are some thoughts for today.

Am I graduating on Saturday? No. Surely not. Already? Nah. The Cap and Gown sitting next to me must have been meant for someone else.

I only had one final. One. And it doesn't really count because it wasn't written. I had to act out a scene for Fundamentals of Acting. That's it.

I had my last SAI meeting yesterday. That was sad but I know that good things are coming for my lovely SAI girls.

Cap and Gowns are UGLY.

I'm old. Really really old. 22. Eesh.

Where should the wedding reception be, anyways? In the yucky gym or on the HPU campus. From one undesirable option to the next.

Now I have to go teach.

Excuse Me?

Today I went to Wal-Mart to pick up some things for the Delta Pi and Sigma Alpha Iota Winter Bonfire. I didn't make a list of things that I needed before I left so I stopped by the produce section to write everything down while Kris made a quick trip to the bathroom. The following occured while I stood there in between the seasonal cookies on my right and the apples on my left. (All things in italics and not quoted are my thoughts throughout this conversation)

"Excuse me, are you Kristen."

Who? Kristen? Uhhhh...

"No sir, I'm not"

Ok, back to my groceries now.

"Are you sure you're not Kristen? I think you're the person I'm looking for!"

Seriously? Did you find someone named Kristen on eHarmony and agree to meet her here? At Walmart? Classy.

"No sir. I am definitely not Kristen. I think I would know if I was."

Do I look like the kinda girl that would meet for a blind date at the Wal-Mart? In these ridiculously cute tights and boots? No. Kristen is probably in something trashy. Yeah.

"Well do you know the name Jesus."

Ah, so since Kristen isn't here you're going to hit on me instead.

"Yes, actually I do very well."

"But you're not Kristen?"

O. M. G.

"No! I am NOT Kristen."

"So you know the name of Jesus but you're not a Christian?"

Christian? Wait.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! Are you asking if I'm a Christian?"

"Yes, exactly. I have this book here if you're interested in learning more."

Now, it's all coming together!

"I'm sorry, sir. I thought you were asking if my name was Kristen. I totally misunderstood what you were saying. I am a Christian and I have my own Bible."

"I see. That was the devil. He's always trying to distract us from the goal."

"Ah. Yes."

Ok, I'm SO glad that we're on the same page now. Back to my grocery list. That's right, walk back to your buddy over there. Now where was I? Oh yeah, marshmallows...graham crackers...

"Excuse me ma'am but I would love for you to have a copy of this book."

He came back. Again?

"Oh, no thank you. Like I said, I have my own Bible."

"But this isn't a Bible. It's a book that can't be bought in stores and I won't charge you anything for it. It's free to all people."

"Really, I'm ok. I'm sure you can find someone else who could use it."

Pushy much?

"No, I would love for you to have it. Do you know what happens to people when they die?"

Haven't we established that I'm a Christian already?

"I think it depends on what they believe."

"So you believe in a heaven with God and an eternal hell?"

"Yes, that is what I believe."

Sigh.

"Well, you're wrong."

What the mess?!

"Excuse me?"

I have never. Ever. Met someone so pushy.

"Please. Just take my book. It explains everything. The Bible never mentions heaven or hell. Christians have been deceived by society and I want you to know how to be a real Christian."

Flaring frustration. Are you even allowed to do this to people in Wal-Mart?

"I'm sure it's a lovely book but I know and understand what I believe."

"Please just take it."

"No thank you."

Forced smile.

"Take it!"

"No! I need to start my grocery shopping now." (Best clever come back ever.)

Because I came to Wal-Mart to shop not to have a book shoved under my nose by a pushy dude.

So I walk toward the frozen foods just to get away from homeboy. Then Kris walks up. Praise Jesus! (Whom I believe is my Lord and Savior. Just in case you've forgotten!)

"Do I need to go beat somebody up."

"No, he's just looking for Kristen."

"Who?"

"Yeah. That's exactly what I thought."

An Update. Stage 4.

An Update. Stage 3.

Literally 2 days after getting engaged we undertook yet another adventure!

We visited this campus...

With these wonderful people...

And we even stopped here along the way.

That's right, folks! We went on our very first grad school visit with my parents to the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary!! The campus is just gorgeous (humidity soars, but that's ok!), the people there were all very nice, and we felt very comfortable with the school. We're not making any decisions yet, but this was a great place! As you can sort of see from the last picture, we also made a stop at the Audobon aquarium. It was really awesome!! We walked in from the pouring rain, which is why Kris and I look like we just stepped out of a pool. Oh, in the picture he's pointing at Stingrays and I'm just excited about being newly engaged, hence the ring-flashing. We both enjoyed the trip and the quality time with my parents. The drive was long, but we shortened it by stopping along the way there and back at the Fi's hometown. His parents put us all up for two nights and they gave us a party. But, alas, the details will have to wait for tomorrow!

An Update. Stage 2.

The weekend after my lovely SAI convention I sang at a convention for Eastern Star. I got all dressed up and sang "How Deep the Father's Love For Us" and "The Lord's Prayer" when suddenly I was surprised by an unexpected guest.

I'm engaged! He surprised me at the convention and in front of over 1,000 people he asked me to marry him! I said...

YES!

Duh.

And now we're engaged! Things work out like that sometimes. :-)

We're coming up on our two year mark this month and what better way to enter this time in our lives? Knowing that I'm going to marry the man that God designed for me is more fulfilling than I ever imagined. The wedding is on June 5, 2010. Are you coming?

An Update. Stage 1.

I have been quite the delinquent blogger as of late. To all 2 of my readers, I apologize. In an attempt to catch up on all the things that have been happening in my life, I will be updating my blog in stages. It will all happen in chronological order and today is Stage 1! Get excited!

July 29-August 3 I went to the Sigma Alpha Iota national convention in Chicago.

I made some lovely new friends and we made our own Crystal Glass Choir when we were supposed to be listening to speeches.

I got lots of compliments on my chapter's SAI ladybug shirt on the same evening had my face painted with a sparkly red treble clef.

At the end of the trip when my new friends andI changed our departure time we got upgraded to a limo! This was the first limo ride I've ever taken, so I was excited!!

The convention was absolutely wonderful and I'm very glad that I have that experience. I learned so much about the women's music fraternity that I'm a part of at school and got many ideas for the coming year. I spent most of my days in the meeting room doing lots of official business "stuff" but there were many mini-recitals throughout the day to keep things spiced up. I bought a few things at the Phlea-Phlam picnic which was carnival themed. Phlea-Phlam is an opportunity for chapters to set up booths and sell homemade SAI merchandise. It was really creative and fun! I was sad to leave at the end of it all, but the next weekend held an even more wonderful and exciting event. You'll hear about that tomorrow.