Sick Girl

As I was driving the other day, I started thinking about all of the strange illnesses I've had over the years. My body gets weirder as I get older, but I normally think of myself as a healthy person. I don't get too many colds, haven't had flu in years, but I get these freakish bugs from time to time.

It began with childhood croup, not uncommon, but then I had adult croup in my early twenties. Aaron and I began our marriage in a very cool old apartment building downtown (ooh, downtown Muncie..I know you're jealous). Many of our friends lived in the building, Canopic, and we would hang our heads out of the windows and talk to each other through the breezeway, a la Friends [insert more relevant pop-cultural reference]. It was all fine and grand, except for the random robberies, our stolen bikes and THEN bronchitis. Not just "10 days on antibiotics and its over" bronchitis, this bugger lasted for months. Going on a year, we finally concluded after false diagnoses of GERD, seasonal allergies and plague, that I was allergic to the building. So we had to move, and two weeks after moving to a newer, infinitely less cool apartment complex, I was cured. But then the next winter I had massive croup that took me to the emergency room. That was a one-time croup, though. Whew! I haven't had bronchitis since.

So, what else? There was the Scabies incident of '03, the random rashes of all my life, the Bane of My Existence Poison Ivy Trauma of '07, the recent 2 months of daily headaches and migraine to go along with morning sickness, the Baby-sized Fibroid Tumor Named Filbert and currently: the Cold Sore Plague of '08. I just hope this goes away, like everything else I've ever had. I can't take it anymore! Aaron NEVER gets sick. He never caught my scabies or cold sores or bronchitis, no matter how hard I tried to give it to him. He's had flu once and a vericose vein on his balls that just went away. That's it! No fair.

Whew, glad I got that out. I know I sound like a 70-year-old woman relishing the recitation of all her illnesses, but really--some of it is funny looking back, but it is hard as hell when you're going through it. Especially those scabies. GOD!

My First Cake

Mothers Day Cake
Originally uploaded by Steph Fisher

Here's my first attempt at fancy-schmancy cake making earlier this year for Mother's Day. I borrowed two cake pans from my aunt. I researched methods on frosting a cake. I stole a cool idea for making chocolate letters from one of my favorite food blogs (bakerella.com). I called my aforementioned, experienced cake-decorating aunt multiple times for advice and coaching. In all, I was a nervous nelly about this thing. Especially about cutting the two cakes in half for my four layers.

But it was fantastic. Four layers, Triple chocolate (Betty Crocker, people...you think my first cake is going to be from scratch??!), with raspberry sauce and cream cheese frosting between the layers, and a pink buttercream frosting on the outside. I was celebrating my awesome mother, my own motherhood, and all the wonderful moms in my family with this cake. I need an excuse to make another one soon!

Tip: The letters and flower were really easy. First, draw your design on a piece of wax paper. Next, melt some chocolate or candy melts (if you want something colorful) and put the melted chocolate in a pastry bag with small decorator tip (or cut a small hole in the corner of a sandwich baggie....not as easy, though). Then, draw with the chocolate over the design on your wax paper. Freeze it, and your done!