I'm Ready! I'm Ready?

I'm writing this post because I feel like writing a post, which actually means I feel like doing everything.

I'm ready to do market research for a startup. I'm ready to scrub the baseboards. I'm ready to make posters. I'm ready to finish off my freelance job. I'm ready to write about everything in my head. I'm ready to sew dresses. I'm ready to cook dinner. I'm ready to read real books. I'm ready to make schedules and plans and nail them all.

Or at least I was an hour ago when I planned out this post in my head. Then I got hungry and frustrated with the library catalog. And my heightened sense of self-worth and ability came down just a notch. That's better than yesterday when it crashed altogether. When that happened, I did things that needed to be done, but inwardly hated it.

My desire to change my world is finicky like that, like an old dog raring to catch a ball who realizes there's not enough reward and its legs are too tired already. Every day is a little bit different. Sometimes I can settle on just one thing to do, maybe it's useful, maybe it's not. Other times I want to do everything and wind up do nothing for lack of decision. And there are definitely days in which I will not and cannot do anything other than the barest of minimums.

But some days I feel like doing everything and I do. I clean, cook, create, cultivate, and conquer, even all before noon occasionally. The troubling part is that when I don't, I stop believing I ever did. I might do all on a Tuesday, but by Wednesday, I'm convinced that I am a lazy, no good person. I'm making slow progress in rejecting that belief on my non-doing days.

But one thing is becoming clear: the doing days will return. No matter how little I feel like doing on any given day, the desire to do more will come back. It may take a day or two, but either way it won't show up again because I told my non-doing self that I was lazily and pathetically wasting away. My self-talk can be as negative as it wants, but it can't bring back the drive.

So, I'm learning to trust, cozy up on the couch, and patiently enjoy watching Psych until the readiness returns and I successfully go and do, because I know I will.


As a side note, I can't use the word ready in any context without thinking about SpongeBob. Does anyone else suffer from this same problem?  

This Is Not the Cake You Were Looking for, But It's Chocolate Cherry Cake

I'm still a few days away from having a completed cake of awesomeness, which will be Super's official spring term cake. In the meantime though, Super and I have been enjoying a lovely chocolate cherry cake, made by our kind friend, Miss Berry.

She kindly shared with me the recipe, which I now give to you. It comes from a very old magazine, which means it's legit. According to her, the frosting always comes out grainy, meaning you can feel the sugar granules still. I don't mind though. This is one of my favorite textures. I love unabashed sugar.

Cake

1 pkg. Fudge Cake Mix

21 oz. can of cherry pie filling

1 tsp. almond extract

2 eggs, beaten

Frosting

1 c. sugar

5 Tbsp. butter

1/2 c. milk

1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour 9x13 pan. Combine cake mix, cherry filling, almond extract, and eggs. Stir by hand until well mixed. Pour into greased pan. Bake 25 to 30 minutes. While cake cools, prepare the frosting by combining sugar, butter, and milk in a small saucepan. Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and stir in the chocolate chips until smooth. Then pour over cake. 

Speaking of cherries, we spent the morning at a U-Pick cherry farm in Payson, Utah. It was fantabulous in every way imaginable: great cherries, amazing prices, lovely company, beautiful trees, and tall, sturdy ladders for the climbing. I highly recommend going. Their last day is Monday, July 8th, but they are open Monday (and the rest of today) from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., so you can still make it! It's 75 cents for a pound, which is a great deal. More info here.

I'm making Super's cake for real today; pictures will be up on Tuesday. But all these cherries are tempting me to make this cake instead . . .

Spanish Fork Christmas: Just as Good as I Remember

The month is rapidly dwindling down to January (though it feels slightly less rapid after that Mayan thingy). There are still so many great Christmas things we'd like to do!

Luckily, we got this one great one in: the Spanish Fork Festival of Lights! My family and I went to this when I was young. Of the twenty or so years the festival has been going, I attended within the first five or so. I worried I'd be disappointed with the display as an adult, especially since I thought the lights at Thanksgiving Point were lame.

But not so my dears. No lameness here! The Festival was perfectly thrilling and festive. Go while there's still some semblance of snow!

Here's the info. Happy light-loving!

You know you're an editor if

You know you're an editor if

1. you're already aware there shouldn't be a colon after if in the sentence above
2. you've already found an error or two in this post that Chicago wouldn't sanction
3. you didn't find all the errors and went straight to Chicago 6.121 to double-check
4. you see more possibilities in these cake pans than the average baker

This woman is an editor. She has schwa earrings.

5. you don't believe any of that crap about split infinitives or beginning a sentence with but
6. you wanted to cry joyfully when you first learned about old-style numbers
7. you could actually find a need for ten of these magnets
8. you support the return of the interrobang (well, not all editors do; but they should)
9. this video by College Humor speaks right to your soul

Also, you're an editor if you want there to be a number ten on this list. But alas, I have left you hanging like a dangling modifier.

On a related note, I hate it when there are typos and other errors on my blog. Should you find one, feel free to point it out to me. I'll be sad at my original failure. But I will correct it, and the world will stand greatly improved.

If you'd like a grammar question answered, ask away! I will write a post just for you.

There are so many other things that could go on this list. What would you add?

An unexpectedly divine dining establishment in Provo

When the server brings out your "Goat Burger" at the Black Sheep Cafe in Provo, Utah, your first concern maybe: how can I get this massive burger—filled with goat cheese, mushrooms, and goodness and wrapped in Navajo fry bread—into my mouth while still looking attractive? My answer: 1) take small bites so you can better savor the different flavors coming at you, and 2) don't worry about it. Anyone who knows how the burger tastes will find the thought of your recently goat-burger-graced lips very, very attractive.

This new cafe serves up a delightful host of Navajo influenced items. From the Navajo tacos to the burgers, this menu provides a new take on something which was already great to begin with.

I'll confess that from its name I expected the place to be a coffee spot trying to attract the 1% of Provo. (I don't mind coffee places. I just don't like when they try to be "oh so different.") This is not that place. It's a great restaurant, and I highly recommend it. You can expect to pay about 8-12 dollars for each main dish. Totally reasonable? Why yes, goat burger. You are worth every cent.

Pardon the fact that my burger is falling open in the pictures. I was a little too over eager to give it some camera love before I dove into it.

This pretty lady who payed for my burger is my mom.