Smith Island Cake Nom Nom Nom

We've been learning about the 50 states for the kids' geography lessons. Along with the lesson comes a recipe typically including the states "official food". Recently (ok like a month ago because I've put off blogging this) we learned about Maryland. The recipe that came along with Maryland was "Smith Island Cake". Beginning in the 1800's Smith Islanders would send these cakes with the men when they went to the Autumn Oyster Harvest. It typically consists of 10 thin layers and frosted with fudge instead of buttercream as the fudge would last longer. Obviously this sounded delish and I like a good baking challenge; ask my sister-in-law Hope, we up and tried baking a checker cake on a whim one night just because we were bored. :) It didn't come out as pretty as this 10 layer cake did, but man it was SOOOOO good; chocolate cake, white cake, raspberry filling and cream cheese frosting........ excuse me while I go wipe away the drool.

Ahem, anyway. 

So, Thursday night before our small group Cheyenne and I worked together on this cake. And by worked together I mean, Cheyenne played in the flour and once she tired of that off she went to play with her friends, leaving her mom to make a 10 LAYER CAKE ALL BY HERSELF, let's not forget all the awhile attending to a wee one! But, have no fear, the cake was a lot easier then I thought it was going to be! Even a novice baker could make this! I promise! The key here are the aluminum cake pans, ya know, the ones you just throw away. This way your not only baking two layers at a time and having to spend all day baking/cooling/cleaning; repeat. You can bake 3-4 pans at a time and have the next ones ready to pop in right away. 

I used this recipe from Bakerella. She used a 12 layer recipe, which is what we made too, but we only put together 10 layers since the actual Smith Island Cake is only 10. Don't worry the other 2 didn't go to waste, but rather were ravaged by hungry neighbor kids in and out of the kitchen while I was assembling the cake. I did also make the chocolate cream cheese buttercream frosting for mine too, but mine wasn't dark chocolate. It definitely looked better with the buttercream frosted on it instead of just the drippy fudge icing. It was a hit at small group! It's very rich so everyone had a sliver of the cake, but it must not be that rich, because someone, I won't mention who, but someone had like 3 pieces of the cake the next day, starting with one for breakfast. So, really it can't be THAT rich right? 

Ok, now go buy disposable cake pans and hop to! Let me know if you make it and how it comes out! I promise it's one of those impressive but easy recipes! ;)

~Susan 

If I Could Write A Letter To Me

Do you listen to country music? If so, you've probably heard that Brad Paisley song; "If I Could Write A Letter To Me".  It's basically a song about how if he could, he would go back in time and tell himself not to worry over simple things that seemed to be such a major crises to him in his high school days. We all know what that's like. Middle school/high school probably got the best of us. We thought we had SO much responsibility and so many worries when in fact, we really had no clue what was to come.

So, in trying to come up with something to write about, this song came on. It made me think, what a great blog post this would be! Make your own version of the song! Of course, mine won't be all
rhyme-y and cute, but it will be REAL. So here it goes:



Oh Suzy-Q,

High school days are fun, but they aren't the end all, so I'm here to let you in on a few secrets:

Spend more time with your dad. You won't have much longer with him. Laugh more at his corny jokes as they will become important to you later on. Don't be intimidated by him, he's a bigger softie then you think. Tell him you love him more, and when he offers for you to do something with him, whatever it may be, take him up on that offer. The more memories you can make with him, the better. Know that loosing him will be the hardest time in your life up until now, but it will prepare you for dealing with future losses.

Stop chasing that boy who claims to love you but won't even return your phone calls, he really only cares about himself. Listen to what other people say about him and take it into consideration. Don't let him back in your life when your dad dies, he's just trying to take advantage of the situation! Take off your blinds and and be patient, someone better will be along soon enough. He will be a gentleman, he will become your best friend and treat you the way you deserve to be treated. He will open your car doors, give you undivided attention and fall in love with you after your first date (and you'll make the most beautiful 9lb babies together:) It might not be the person you envisioned yourself with, but he will be so much more to you then you could ever dream of! And, you won't find a better set of in-laws who will love you and care for you just as much as their own children (it's true, those kind of in-laws do exist!)

Pick up your mom's camera and learn how to use it! Take a photography class in high school! You'll need it one day! Stop rolling your eyes when your mom wants to take 10 (million) pictures just to be sure she got one good one; you'll understand why someday!

You probably won't believe me on this one; but childhood friends won't be there for you forever. Time is not what makes a friendship strong. As you mature you'll realize your priorities aren't the same, and that's ok. You'll meet people who have the same goals, beliefs and faith and that's where your true friendships will be found. You'll get burned once, shame on them, you'll get burned twice, three times and more, shame on you. Don't be afraid to stand up for yourself and know when to walk away. Listen to your inner voice telling you you've had enough. The sooner you do, the easier it will be and the less disappointment you'll have to endure. Surrounding yourself with positive, like-minded people is what God wants for you.

Don't be such a brat on your trip to England over the summer just because you had to leave a boy behind. This is a once in a lifetime trip, and with that attitude you'll miss out of the beautiful scenery and learning about history. You'll one day so badly wish you could go back with a better attitude and enjoy the trip to the fullest. The boy will be there when you get back, I promise!

Breaking your foot your senior year of volleyball season isn't the end of the world, but yes, it's gonna stink!! Enjoy being part of the team anyway, you'll miss the camaraderie that a sports team brings.

Don't quit Jubilation (youth church choir). You'll miss being with your friends and wish you hadn't quit. You'll be jealous of the fun they have on their summer trips and be mad at yourself knowing you could have been there with them too.

Pick up a book and read more often. You'll love reading when you're older but won't have the time to as much as you'd like, so learn to enjoy it now!

Don't be scared of change; starting a new school in 11th grade will be one of the best decisions, even though a hard one! You'll make better friends and meet your future husband. This decision will give you the encouragement, support and confidence to get through the loss of your father. You'll have more opportunities to play sports and be involved the way you wish you could have been at your previous school, and the teachers will actually care about your loss and be sensitive to it.

Don't get that perm in 12th grade. Enough said.

Go with your mom more often to visit your Grandma. You won't get to say goodbye because you'll be out of state dealing with another loss when she gets sick and passes away. So, enjoy the monotoney of watching Jeopardy, Wheel-of Fortune and Murder She Wrote with her, even if there are other things you'd rather be doing, you'll miss the simplicity of her visits and the company of her sweet demeanor.

Cut the attitude because you know how your mom says "One day you'll have a girl JUST like you"
???
Well it's true. Maybe you can prevent having to deal with her attitude if you can learn to loose yours now ;) Hey it's worth the shot, TRUST me!!


Sincerely,

Your future/wiser self



Once I got writing, I could have included a TON more! Most of which though, I wouldn't want to share publicly. But, I'm sure we can all relate. What if you wrote a letter to yourself? What do you wish you knew then that you know now? I'm sure 10-20 years from now I'll have more advice for myself. With that, I'm saying good-bye; going to turn off the tv and spend some time with my kids; as I'm sure that will be at the top of my list in 20 years, man they grow so fast!

If you write a letter to yourself, would you mind sharing? I'd love to read it!


~Susan