This, that and a little of the other...

Hrm, life is continuing to be what I used to consider "busy" and now I'm thinking that it's actually just life. So, going to have to readjust the way I approach it, this means no letting dirty dishes pile up until they resemble the trash heaps in Labyrinth. It also means getting the garbage out before it starts to grow and walk and talk. And... you guessed it, it means trying to make a re-dedication to my journal. I started this thing to be a bit of a running commentary for my life, thoughts, beliefs, situations, etc. That lasted about 4 months... then it turned into a scattered commentary and bits of randomness. Sooo...

* ( The Goals for the year )

Today's big accomplishment is the Tres Leches cake (3 Milks Cake for you non-spanish speaking folk) in the kitchen and the quilting mess in the living room. The quilting mess looks like a great deal of a mess, but it isn't really. Essentially I'm in the process of cutting my pieces, some of which are still being cut from large pieces of fabric, and some of which are actually being cut from smaller strips of fabric that I've already sewn together. This particular project is going to be a hand tied quilt for a full or queen sized bed. A large task from the piecing stand point, but hand tying will be significantly easier than either hand quilting or machine quilting, so I think it's a worth while first project. Then of course there's yarn all over in various stages of completion, but it wouldn't be my house if there wasn't, right?

Ok, off to the gym, then home to finish the cake and get dressed for Mauricio's birthday party, and then off to the party!

Tres Leches cake

For a bit of back story, I offered to bake a cake for Mauricio's birthday party as I really don't know what to give him if I were to go shopping. When Jena and I were brainstorming ideas, she had the marvelous idea that a Tres Leches cake would be fabulous as it is something that is commonly served in Costa Rica (where he's from) and she knows he likes it. I've served Tres Leches cake when I worked in the Mexican restaurant, but I've never made it. Nevertheless, I agreed, and went tripping off to the internet in search of a recipe. I found one that looked like it fit the bill, collected ingredients, and today, set out to bake the cake.

So I baked the cake, that part went fine. Cake was cooked to a beautiful golden brown. I allowed it to cool, as I was supposed to (and went to the gym - yay!). When I got back, I mixed the 3 milks (and rum) and are meant to saturate the cake. There was a distinct moment of looking at the bowl of milk, looking at the cake, not believing that the amount of liquid could possibly be correct, looking at the recipe, looking at the bowl of milk, looking at the cake... you get the picture. Finally, I got brave and started pouring. The next thing I know, the cake is totally covered by the milk in the 13"x9" pan. And immediately after that... the cake floats.

:::Wide eyed nervous squeak:::

At this point, the cake is in the refrigerator, and I am trying very hard to resist the desire to look at it before the necessary 2 hour chilling period is up.

If I botch Mauricio's birthday cake I am going to have one disappointed very scary looking Costa Rican on my hands. And his wife might kill me.