gimme dem cupcakes

Life knows how to serve it up fresh and hot, if you know what I mean.  Most of the time, I’ve been enjoying the blissful rhythm of a healthy life; but here and there, I really get shown my place.  It reminds me not to be complacent, to keep trying to be better.   Recap: my little sister is taking the slightly rockier road to high school graduation; I still have to find a car to replace Can Can; and as I re-budget with my new raises at work, I realize I’m not really ready to make Gimme Dem a registered business and revise my vision.

A week and a half ago, I had my first day off (that wasn’t an allergy induced sick day) in over a month.  It was beautifully hot and I spent most of it doing exactly what I wanted with people I wanted to be with.  I dropped off a cupcake donation for the worldwide vegan bake sale and settled back in at Lars’s for a nice big breakfast with The Grit‘s gravy, sauteed tofu, home fries, marinated strawberries, and big dollops of vanilla mascrapone.  As we settled into a long afternoon on the porch enjoying mint juleps and Derby Day banter, the  evening evolved into napping and noshing on neighborhood tacos.

But somewhere things turned and the day ended with a frantic phone call from dad pleading for help.  My sister had been detained by authorities for underage drinking and trespassing in the wooded neighborhood near her boyfriend’s house.  It’s difficult to reason with a tipsy 18 year old ranting about society brainwashing the populous into submission for meaningless rules that stunt people’s happiness and independence.  I told her, “If you had been screaming at your bf on my property, I’d be upset and call the police, too.”  The whole situation is just a big  expression of her stress as graduation and real-life responsibility rush at her.  She’s been more naughty than focused the past 6 months, but I reminded her that everything was not lost and everyone was safe. I said I really thought that the situation showed us we need to refocus on the present responsibilities before we try to deal with the next steps in anyone’s life.  I really respect the way my sister challenges the world, but I also see the typical young American girl: trained to be a student, a daughter, a sibling, but not trained to be a person; not trained to be confident in her beliefs and actions; not trained to accept mistakes or stress easily.  So we talked through her stupor somewhat and realized we all needed rest.  We did finally come to an accord and we did refocus our responsibilities.  I told her mom, dad and I would figure out the legal stuff and eventually she’d have to repay it, but in the meantime, a stricter schedule of after school homework, tutoring, chores, and puppy care should lead her through the last leg of McLean HS.  Mom and Dad have both stepped up and are acting like engaged parents in stead of the hands-off/authoritarian anti-team.  It’s not been long, but it feels right and it feels better.

Aside from the fact is totaled, Can Can is starting to be raspier and raspier.  So, next on deck, finding a new car.  I’ve redone my Artie’s sched, and for my doubles Sunday and Monday, dad could drive me and pick me up and then Thursdays, I could just drive dad to work.  Secretly, I really wish I could get away with not having a car.  Meanwhile, I have few leads and a tine budget ($2k>) if you scope any sweet rides (especially wagons) let me know!!

So, while I’m encouraging the health of all these other things and people, I have to demonstrate with myself and set realistic goals to motivate myself.  So that said, I have been a lot better about getting sleep and I’ve actually had some fun exercise outlets inserted:  break dance practice once a week and running with Artie’s coworkers at Van Dyke Park.  It’s been making me feel ambitious about maybe fitting in weekly pilates.  The other super sweet thing about Van Dyke is it has a farmers market the mornings I run!  This means delicious local food and the opportunity to talk to the vendors.  I have decided to go back to being vegan instead of just a vegetarian and having fresh French Baguettes is going to be a lifesaver for my summer sandwich habit.

Speaking of baked goods and farmer’s markets, you might be wondering, “What happened to Gimme Dem Cupcakes and their progress toward being a vendor at a local market?”  Well the rules are not so dissimilar from openning a storefront.  Not only do I need liability insurance, registration as an LLC, and a kitchen inspection/certification, many local markets are following the food movement for all local ingredients (which is awesome!) but buying local Earth Balance is not an option.  So boo.This has humbled the growth of my friends of friends made to order catering turned shop a much slower vision.  So, Ithink I’ll stay on at Artie’s at least through the holidays and see if I can’t build a nest egg and then get a job at a bakery to learn the ropes.  Then maybe I’ll have the resources and contacts to open a storefront with a kitchen thats ready for that kind of professionally recognized production.

Moral of the story.  Expect a pic/recipe for a humble pie -a recipe inspired by pulling the pieces together and making something wonderful anyway.  Have a great week everyone!