Baking love

So I am once again awash in dreams of sugar and eggs, bursting at the (currently especially plump!) seams with excitement for holiday baking, and once again regularly making sweet things!

Last year, I thought perhaps that baking was essentially too unhealthy for me to embrace it life-long. But alas, I don't think this is the case. And even though I am concurrently entertaining visions of me jogging, etc, and generally leaning more towards health, the love of pretty baked sugar is stronger than ever.

I have cute little fantasies of being a combination librarian/baker, running a little establishment that is comfort to the core. Although that is unlikely, the library has a break room tradition of the many baking librarians bringing in treats to share, so there's that. :) And I read an article in Yoga Journal that delighted me! The author spent a year with a Saturday morning tradition of baking a cake and giving it as a gift to someone. As bakers, we often give treats away, but how neat to make a ritual of it.

Last night, I tried a recipe for french parfait, which was delicious and much creamier than the homemade ice creams I've made. They usually seem to be perfect after a few hours, but after a full day in the freezer have an internal iciness that I don't like. This parfait seemed to avoid that. Yet when I just had a bowl now, I did notice a bit of that iciness as well. So I don't think I'll add the recipe yet.

But I am back in the baking and blogging mode again. Yay!

Love List

I am filled with so much delight right now that I can hardly handle it. There is cuteness all around. Things I am adoring right now:

1. The richness of the world, and wallowing in it.
2. Cats. Stoli is so cute right now. Seriously. I've never been struck by his cuteness so hard.
3. The inherent delight of life. Sparked by the baby dancing to Beyonce video. Watch it! :)
4. The beauty in expression.
5. Thoughts of building community.
6. Lists.
7. A cold brownie.

Man, I love fall! :)

In a week of 90 degree + days, this morning feels crisp and breezy, and like the cozy comfort of fall that I LOVE! I got up early, did a yoga workout, had fruit for breakfast, and took the time to jot down my intentions for the day. I have a feeling it's going to be a good one!

There is a long study session in my future (which I'm oddly excited for), potential house dreams to keep me dreamy or even to become reality at some point soon maybe.... and a morning routine incentive that I think is finally the real stuff that'll keep me from hitting snooze too often. :)

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is a 4.5 for me. The narrative was very sparse, and I tend to enjoy a more rich and full spinning, but the story was GREAT and I grew very attached to the characters. I want the sequel now!! (And luckily for me, I believe it just came out. :))

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Manna for the writer within!

It's been fun being back in school again. The old dread of finishing has turned into enjoyment. And after the old plans of investment banking and then elementary education, and the more recent intention to wrap it all up in history and then english literature, I've settled on the specifics of finishing my degree in english with a writing emphasis. It's funny to imagine ever having planned to do otherwise. Like I told my friend Janey the other day, it seems to have been a slow and thoughtful progression towards the obvious!

It's nice to have a couple year vista of not only lovely literature classes awaiting me, but now creative writing classes as well. While I believe that all I need to know to be a fiction writer is already inside me (and my collection of 30+ writing books!) and simply requires practice, why not do aspects of that practice while in class, learning from other viewpoints, and enjoying the process as I earn credits?

I even had the new idea to possibly get my MFA in fiction, and then have the option of teaching creative writing myself, as I work on my own novels. Perhaps putting on a free community class for youth? :) A nice option, although I still lean toward getting my masters in library science. If the path of a masters is what is in store for me at all. :)

Something absolutely perfect about my re-introduction into school this summer has been my 7:30 am class. Hmm, that sounds awfully masochistic, I suppose. But it's thrilling to me that after this week, when it ends, I can continue on the same schedule and grasp that ever elusive early morning routine I've been softly and lazily pining for for years....!

While I'm busier than I was before I returned to school, it is still the perfect time to tip into a daily writing practice. Now that my two-summer-classes-in-the-same-session experience (that sucked every spare moment out of my day) is winding up, I am getting ready to blossom into a lovely busyness: busy with requirements like school and work, but also using my own time to fully embrace the creative demands I love but have let linger on the sidelines.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

rating: 4 of 5 stars
While I didn't immediately connect with this heroine, I ended up becoming completely immersed in her story. The second half of the book, I didn't want to put it down.

I only wish I found the ending a bit more satisfying. Otherwise, I would have given it 5 stars.

I'm looking forward to her next book, which is listed as a "companion volume" to Graceling with a new cast of characters, Fire.



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P.S. Something neat I stumbled upon this weekend

The Optimist's Creed/ Promise Yourself

"To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet. To make all your friends feel that there is something in them. ~ To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true. To think only of the best, and expect only the best. To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own. To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future. To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile. To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others. To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble."

~ C.D. Larson