"Piece of cake". Makes it sound so easy doesn't it? Like cake is so EASY!?!? As for me, trying to make a simple cake is my biggest challenge. Do you ever get a dessert on your mind? Where you just can't stop thinking about it and you keep thinking about it until you just know it's what you want!?!? You've been deciding; white, chocolate, lemon, strawberry or carrot? Square, layered, white, chocoate or cream cheese frosting? You put so much time into gathering all the right ingredients to make this cake you've been wanting for so long. You pass up all other desserts, knowing you're saving your calories for THIS cake. You carefully read the instructions, follow each step to ensure it's perfect. You measure everything right, the batter looks and tastes perfect. You the cake in the oven, set the timer...then....POOF! The cake is burnt, toast, as dry as a crouton! You forgot to set the timer, became distracted and that cake you thought was going to be so perfect and waited so long for, is GONZO MALONZO! You spent all that time making the cake, wanting the cake and now it's down the garbage disposal or cat food.

Now if you talk to my sister Linda she will tell you that I can't make anything in the kitchen (edible that is) to save my life. For heavens sake I mess up meatloaf and macaroni and cheese. I know, how can someone mess up mac & cheese??? I mean, even an 8 year old can make it!

I'm also going to add another ingredient to this recipe for disaster... something that I'm not so lucky with...
Yes, my friends, RELATIONSHIPS!!!

I'll give myself some credit and say not all of my relationships are burnt cakes. I have really amazing friends whom I love and cherish. I adore my many nieces and nephews and hope I have good relationships with them. I'm mostly talking about....(DUN DUN DUN) romantic relationships.

If you're a close friend if mine and you're reading this, I'm sure you're just shaking your head saying, "this is going to be goooooood".

I would just like to point out the correlation between my skills in the bakery and my skills in romantic relationships. Why does my cake always burn? WHY? As most of you know I've tried baking every cake out there. Tall cakes, short cakes, sweet cakes, jerk cakes, hot cakes and let's not forget... FRUITCAKES!! HAHA

I always start out thinking it's going to be GOOD! That this is going to be the piece of cake I've been wanting for sooo long. I mix the ingredients, set the oven, call some good friends over, make some frosting, even get out the fancy cake knife and crystal cake plate. I can smell the baking treasure and my excitement is climbing the ladder. "It's going to be soooo goood" I keep telling myself. I'm going to love the cake". With excitement I peek in the oven to check on my masterpiece and ....ya...uhm.... it's burnt. I frantically try to save it by taking it out of the oven. I think putting it in the refrigerator for a few minutes to cool off will save it. Unfortunately it's too late. It's a gonner. Don't even try to put the frosting on, it's just a waste of time and good frosting!

After you burn so many cakes and don't know why they never worked out, it makes you wanna put the apron in the closet and hide the cookbooks away. I mean, who likes to fail repeatedly? So for the time being...You will not find me in the kitchen.

As Delta Smith said: "A cake is a very good test of an oven: if it browns too much on one side and not on the other, it's not your fault - you need to have your oven checked."

I'm going to trust in Ms Delta Smith and hope that it's not the Baker, that I just haven't found the right oven.