book club

i love my book club.

i love reading books that i otherwise wouldn't have picked out myself.

i love discussing things that dont have anything to do with my kids or birth.

i love hearing ideas that i hadnt thought of on my own.

i love book club.

last night we reviewed the Alchemist, which i really enjoyed. it was a very quick read and had some thoughts in it that i truly loved.

here are my two favorite quotes from the book:

"the world we live in will be either better or worse, depending on whether we become better or worse.And thats where the power of love comes in. because when we love, we always strive to become better than we are."

"the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself."

the second one really hit home for a couple reasons. first of all, in the past, i used to worry to an extreme level about being safe while chris was working nights. i couldnt sleep. i was paranoid and it took some sharp words from my dad to get me to snap out of it. and lately i have had some pretty overwhelming fears about things that are out of my control. like my kids. i have been so so so absorbed in feeling like i would never be able to handle it if something happened to them. i think most moms go through this after they have their first baby. and i did to a certain extent. but for some reason since charlie has been here, i have experienced real true fear. like i have never known before. i have stayed up with panic attacks thinking about what i would do if one of the kids got hurt or i lost one. and this part in the book was kind of like a shake to the system. i need to stop worrying about it because i've made myself a basket case for no reason and i need to start enjoying now. and of course i dont like to think about it, but if something ever did happen, then thats when i should be worried about it. not now. i dont know if any of that made sense to anyone else, but its (obviously) been on my mind so much and it feels good to write it down. it feels like i've officially let my fears go. and it feels great. great enough that im not even going to re-read this to see if i made any major mistakes. and that feels great too.

ok, onto something much sweeter...

please pretend those saran wrap marks arent there :)

this was last nights treat.

"To Die For Banana Cake" with cream cheese frosting.

luckily, no one died because the cake was THAT awesome, but it was pretty tasty for a banana cake. usually when its my turn to bring the treat, i like to try and tie it in with the book, but the book never mentioned bananas. we just happened to have an abundance of overly ripe bananas on hand so thats why i picked this. some of the ladies wanted the recipe so i'll put it after this picture of charlie. he was doing some serious concentrating in his jumper this morning after our bike rides...

here is the recipe:

banana cake

(9x9 pan or double for a two layer cake)

2/3 C sugar

1/2 C sour cream

1 egg

2 tbs softened butter

2 mashed ripe bananas

1 tsp vanilla

1 C flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

preheat oven to 375 for a metal pan and 350 for glass. grease and flour pan(s). cream together sugar, sour cream, egg, and butter. add mashed bananas and vanilla and mix well. add flour, salt, and baking soda and mix well. pour into pan and bake 20-25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. cool completely, then frost.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Beat:

1 8oz pkg softened cream cheese

1/2 C softened butter

then add:

1 lbs powdered sugar

beat till fluffy

then add:

1tsp vanilla

and beat

i decorated mine with pecans, which was delicious

enjoy!