Money, Money, Money, Must Be Funny, In the Rich Man's World

I am not a saleswoman! As a child, I begged my mom to let me sell Christmas cards for a fundraiser. She tried to talk me out of it, but I insisted. I had visions of all the wonderful candy bars I was going to buy when I sold all those cards! So, the first day I started selling, I donned my winter coat and headed out into the cold. I must have gone to four, maybe five houses, when I realized, 'I hate this. I hate asking people for money.' And I quit. It took a good week before I told my mom what I had done and she made me take the checks back the good women of the ward with what felt like a really humiliating explanation on my part that I just didn't want to do this whole card selling thing. Naturally, then, when I heard about Connor's required participation at the school's economics fair, I got a little nauseous in my stomach. Then I remembered Natasha's great success selling my baked goods when it was her turn two years ago, and determined I could do the same for Connor. But, I'm a little lazier now than I was then. When I realized he really didn't care much about what he sold, I decided to just find something kids would want to buy--Rice Krispie Treats won! When I took Dane and Fynn to visit the fair and check out how his sales were going, he was all smiles. I adored his little sign and thought it hilarious that he chose to dump his "wares" all over his desk. But, he sold every treat (or so he tells me) and made $100 Dilly Dollars for his trouble. That's some selling even I can get interested in!

I Like Big Buns and I Cannot Lie...

Warm, slightly nutty, a bit chewy and definitely satisfying...I LOVE wheat bread. Not just wheat bread, pretty much ANY bread. I wholeheartedly adhere to the creed that bread is the staff of life! My favorite memories of and clear association with my young, stay-at-home-Mom were of her making breads and cookies for us when we came home from school (a funny side note being that my three youngest siblings have no memory of this!) She made the best cookies, cinnamon rolls and bran muffins around. To me, nothing wafted "I love you" more than the smell of baked goods in our red-and-white Toile kitchen. I guess that explains why I adore baking! Whenever I am melancholy, frustrated or feeling little motivation to do anything else, I bake! Whenever I just want those around me to feel the same happiness I do, I bake...and share. I long ago became obsessed with making "perfect" chocolate-chip cookies. I literally sit by the oven and baby-sit them to make sure they come out complete with the requisite golden brown ridges and cracking I feel is a must in a perfect cookie. I have been known to throw away trays of perfectly edible cookies because they didn't meet my standards! It's a bit crazy, but, to me, it's just who I am. I have also made sure to start teaching each of my children how to make cookies from the moment they are old enough to sit on the counter and "help" dump ingredients into the bowl. At nine months old, all of my kids have become addicted to cookie-dough. For, as I see it, not much tastes better in life than a big spoonful of sweetness hitting the palate! But what haven't I mastered, or even attempted? Baking my own wheat bread. I decided this week to turn that task into history. I got what looked like a good recipe, followed it exactly, and voila--lovely, wheat bread! I was pretty darn proud of myself. One more baking recipe to add to my repertoire--love it!