My first birthday as a single mom has come and gone. I had a wonderful day! The kids went with their Dad last week to purchase gifts for me which was very nice of him. They chose gift cards so that I can go buy what I want. They gave me a cute card and sang happy birthday while eating cake. My Mother In Law came for dinner and also gave me a card with money and a lottery ticket, which was very thoughtful. I am very glad that I have a good relationship with my Mother In Law. Since I live far from home and in a country where I have no family, other than my kids, it's nice that she came to celebrate with us. I cooked ham, mashed potatoes, and asparagus; one of my favorite meals! I also made my favorite cake; German Chocolate, which to "to die" for! This was the first cake baked in my new/old oven and I am glad to find that it worked. As much as I'd love new appliances, the old oven does the job. As does the old dish washer, washer, and dryer. The temptation to go into debt for new appliances is subsiding. I refuse to buy anything that I can't pay cash for (except those symphony tickets that I just had to have for the coming season - including ones for Yo Yo Ma).
I have always baked my own birthday cake. I love to bake and cook and no one can make that cake the way I can so I'd prefer to make it myself and then enjoy it instead of have someone else try to make it and it not be very good. That sounds awful, but it's my birthday and I want MY CAKE! The only bad part of making my own dinner and baking my own cake is the mess that's in my kitchen... I try to clean as I go, but at some point it got out of hand (I know you can relate). But I'll wash the pots and pans and let old dish washer do the rest! Here's a link to the icing for the cake (note that I use 2 sticks of butter instead of margarine - being from the South, I use butter). http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/german-chocolate-cake-frosting-ii/Detail.aspx. I cheat and use a Duncan Hines cake mix for the cake because I just didn't have enough time to make it from scratch. http://www.duncanhines.com/
I have started a list of all the projects I need to do around the Nest. I still need to finished my drywall patch job and switch out the light fixture as well as put in new trim (the old trim now has yellow paint all over it) and paint the ceiling (since there's paint all over it)! My Dad advised that I purchase a meter for checking electrical current before working on the light fixture. He almost died once when he thought he'd turned the power off but found out, after being shocked, that there was another power source and the wires were actually live (and he was laying in a puddle of water - long story)! SO - guess what this means? ANOTHER TRIP TO THE HARDWARE STORE! I am not sure what to ask for. The guys at Home Depot http://www.homedepot.com/ are very helpful though. I guess I'll say, "I need a meter thingy to check for electricity before I switch out light fixtures so I don't get shocked". They usually melt when they hear my Southern Accent and offer lots of unsolicited advice, all of which is greatly appreciated. I have been warned, however, that the sales associates usually are not licensed electricians and I need to be careful accepting their advice. I'll let you know how it turns out.
I am preparing for my first drive home alone. I am not concerned at all and am looking forward to the drive. I will download a couple of books onto my MP3 player before I head out http://audiobooks.borders.com/. I love listening to audio books. My most recent download is Rhonda Byrnes, The Power http://www.thesecret.tv/. What a great book! I have been practicing The Secret, her first book, for a couple of years now and love this additional resource for fueling my positive thinking. I think I'll try out Tony Robbins, Awaken The Giant Within http://www.tonyrobbins.com/products/personal-achievement/. A friend recommended it so I'll let you know what I think.
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