once around the block

I am nervous about the carrot cake that just came out of the oven.
I'm nervous for a couple reasons. One, though I know carrot cake is delicious, I still feel weird about baking with vegetables. Two, there were a lot of carrots in that cake. A lot. Three, I altered the recipe a little, and completely forgot the cinnamon. It probably would have been a better idea to just go with exactly how the recipe was written, but I couldn't help myself.
I was driven to make a carrot cake because we had two pounds of carrots in the fridge and because I was given a Kitchen Aid stand mixer for Christmas, which I was terribly eager to use.
So we'll see . . . and if it doesn't taste good today, there's still hope, because many things taste better the next day. If it still doesn't taste good, then I'll coat it in cream cheese icing and try to forget I'm eating vegetables. If it's absolutely horrific, I'll toss it out or feed it to the dog, who could probably do without the cavities I'm sure he'd get from eating it.
Holidays are over. Here I am, on the other side of them, wondering what in the world just happened. It all happened so quickly! And next week I will be 25. I'll be sure not to bake a carrot cake for my birthday. I wonder what kind of cake I will bake for myself? I should do something that has layers, and icing. Not the kind of casual cake I usually make, but something special and pretty. After all, my birthday only comes once a year.
In baking news, I made a cobbler two days ago that was polished off one day ago. My friends came over and used my stand mixer to make (gasp) boxed brownies. They were Ghiradelli boxed brownies, though, so it was okay. And that's it in baking news! In broiler news, I made some delicious and easy black bean, salsa, and cheese quesadillas.
I am quite happy to be back at my own house, ruling the roost, so to speak. I spent a week and a few days at my mom's house, where I did nothing at all, seriously. I did not cook, I did not clean, I did not take walks. I hung out with Finn and with my mom and her husband. I ate way too much, and because Michael cooks with too much butter, I definitely ate way too much.
In baby news, you would be amazed to see Finn these days. Not only is he a roly poly of 15 pounds, but he is grasping, babbling, and almost always holding his head up on his own. Yes, he is a wonderchild. I know everyone thinks this about their own kids, but I am serious. He's going to outsmart both Scott and I, I just know it. Hopefully he'll still fall for vegetables in cake. Muahaha.
Besides all of this, I have so much catching up to do on my blog reading. I can't wait to see what new recipes everyone has come up with, and what sorts of news is circulating. Last but not least, our internet connection is back so I finally can read blogs and post. Hurrah.
It's good to be home.