A New Approach to Blogging

I really want to be a great blogger and have a blog people feel is worth reading, but I often get stuck in a rut. I either think I have nothing exciting to write about, or I start a post but never publish it because I can't make it perfect. But from now on, no more excuses!

I am a big believer that we our shaped by those we love. Parents, siblings, friends, co-workers, extended family, teachers, etc all help to make us who we are. I feel like I sometimes fail to express gratitude or even recognize those who have helped me reach where I am now. From now on, whenever I think I have nothing to write about I am going to write about someone who has touched my life for good (I don't believe in cyber-bashing, so I pledge to say only good things about the people I write about). Hopefully my readers will feel like this is a blog worth reading.

Devil's Food Cake

I am determined to perfect this cake. My Grandma Roos was famous for her desserts and Devil's Food was one of her specialties. She used to make this for my dad, her "Little Keesie" all the time and it is one of his favorite desserts. The problem was, my Grandma always made the cake as a surprise so nobody ever watched her make it. When she passed away nine years ago, we thought the recipe was gone with her. About two years ago we found the recipe on a card in her recipe box and a few months ago my mom joked that if I really wanted my dad to make me a wooden shoe shelf (because he spends all his woodworking time making toys for the grandbabies) I should learn to make this cake, so I decided to try.

Some recipes are easy - you just do what it says. This cake is not one of those recipes. If the water is not the right temperature, it won't turn out; if the oven shelf is in the wrong position, it won't turn out; if the butter and sugar are not perfectly creamed, it won't turn out. These are all tricks Grandma had perfected but never shared because she never taught anyone to make the cake. The boiled frosting isn't any easier. You heat egg whites, corn syrup, and sugar over a double boiler until the sugar is dissolved (under cooking means grainy frosting and raw egg white, overcooking means all the unpleasantness of burnt sugar), then you have to beat it until it is just the right consistency (not long enough makes it runny, too long and it becomes a giant marshmallow).

I have made this cake three times so far. It gets closer each time, but I still haven't perfected it. I made the cake for a Stake Relief Society Meeting last week and it was okay, but not great. It was a little dry and I had to ice it before it was completely cool so the peaks on the icing were saggy. Thelady in front of me in line looked at the cake and (without tasting it) said, "Who would put Fluff on a chocolate cake. That's a little disgusting." I just had to bite my tongue.

If anyone would like to be a test dummy with this cake, let me know. If I eat all of my practice cakes I will end up shaped like it!

A Perfect Saturday

Woke up, made homemade bagels, went on a walk with my mom and Anastasia, made new friends (and by that I mean I waved awkwardly at Anastasia's friends in Russia as she was Skyping with them), made a Devil's Food cake, and enjoyed an amazing Stake Women's Conference. It was a perfectly relaxing without feeling overly lazy. Top it off with a great Fast and Testimony meeting, a nice "family" dinner with the Gregorys and a kids from the ward, and the Oscar and it was an almost perfect weekend.

Dear Winter

Dear Winter:

Thank you for visiting this year, but you can go now. I enjoyed the January snowfall and the February snowfall, but it is now March and I don't want anymore snow.
Tell Spring that everyone in Georgia is anxiously awaiting her arrival.

Sincerely,
Rachel

So Proud!

This little lady is one of the loves of my life (she's making a funny face in the bottom picture and has chocolate all over her lips, but it's my favorite recent picture of the two of us). When I found out I was getting a niece, I could not wait to teach her everything I know. Over the last two years I have taught her love frosting and jello, the art of great water fight, and how to sound like a snake.

I have been proud every time she has learned a new trick, but tonight topped it all! Ensley doesn't really like bedtime, so Lisa and Evan have a rule that if she gets out of bed her babies go to timeout for the rest of the night. Tonight, after about an hour and a half after putting her to bed, Lisa went to check on Ens and found her reading a book with a flashlight! Lisa wasn't pleased, but Ens never got out bed. She was obeying the rule.

Now, I may not have "taught" her this trick, but I am sure she gets it from me. Maybe it can be taught telepathically or something because I don't know how many times I stayed up with a flashlight (once my mom even found me hiding in the walk-in-closet because it had better light). I can't wait to see what this girl comes up with next!

I can admit to being wrong

I am not very good at being wrong. I know that most people dislike being wrong, but I REALLY hate it! It has taken me fifteen years to admit that giving up piano lessons was a mistake, but I have recently admitted to it. I feel regret every time somebody asks for a volunteer to play the piano at church or when I see someone sit down to play just because they enjoy it.

Now that I have admitted I was wrong, I have decided to fix it. I started piano lessons to day and I am so excited. I don't ever plan on being a concert pianist, but I will be happy if I can play a hymn in church when needed. I'll let you know how it goes.

Conference Weekend

This weekend was amazing! For those of you not familiar with the LDS Church, this weekend was general conference weekend. Twice a year (the first weekend of April and the first weekend of October), instead of having regular church we have an international conference broadcast from Salt Lake (the church headquarters). Over the course of the two day conference, the Prophet and many other international church leaders speak to the world and give us council that we need for today. None of the speakers are given topics, they each pray about it to decide what they Lord would have them say to the world.

My parents, several friends, and I spent the weekend at the cabin because we have a satellite dish and can watch it on TV. I love being up at the cabin and it is nice to watch Conference there because there are so few distractions. There were several quotes I loved and want to apply to my life:

"We don't need to know more, we need to do more of the things we know to be right." -Elder David A. Bednar

"Don't intend to be the one to help, be the one to help." President Thomas S. Monson

"Learning and teaching are not optional activities in the kingdom of God." -Elder Osguthorpe