Next On A Very Special MandiCrocker

OUR STORY

My Most Important Blog to Date

I had hit rock bottom.  I was not making enough to pay my bills, I had just totalled my car and I had gained so much weight working at the bakery I didn't even know who I was anymore.

I knew something needed to change, something big.  My friends Jenn & Cory (aka:  Jennifer Love Heater & Boomer) had just done a half marathon through Team In Training and somehow managed to drag me to an informational meeting.  I signed up for a marathon and long story short ran the 26.2 mile Mayor's Marathon in Anchorage, Alaska.  (Okay, so it was a run for 5 minutes, walk for a minute kinda deal but COME ON.  26.2 miles people!!!  And 8 of them were on GRAVEL!)

Anywho (I have such a love-hate relationship with that word), while most people know I participated in this event, not as many know the romantic comedy underlyings of how we met.  So I thought I'd share...  :)  :)  :)

The Sweet Lovin' Man lost a beloved young cousin to Lymphoma years back when he was living in Los Angeles & donated on his behalf.  During this time, he lived about a block away from me but we never met.  The Sweet Lovin' Man says, 'And we never met.'  (I like to pretend we're one of those old couples at the end of 'When Harry Met Sally'). 

When he went to donate again to The Leukomia & Lymphoma society, my fundraising site came up in the search.  He decided to donate to me due to my witty banter & headlines that screamed 'GIVE ME YOUR MONEY, I'M 800 POUNDS & RUNNING A MARATHON FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!!'  Just kidding, I think it said, "Donate here!"   Is that right, honey?  The Sweet Lovin' Man says, "It was your commitment to finish the race and your gentle, wise spirit.  The way your heart sang across the page and dedicated itself to such a noble cause."  I totally made that up.

Anyway!

I came home that day and got the e-mail from the LLS website saying I had a donation.  It was for more than I had yet to recieve & I was completely dumbfounded by this stranger's generosity.  So, like I did with all of my donations, I sent him a letter of thanks.  I'm sure it said something like, "HOW COOL ARE YOU!!??? WOOOOOW!!!  I DON'T EVEN KNOW YOU!!!" 

And then a lovely thing happened.  He wrote me back.  :)

I think THAT letter probably said something like, "Kudos to you on your journey.  You're doing God's work.  Best, The Sweet Lovin' Man."

And then I wrote him back.  And he wrote me back.  When someone lives halfway across the country & you're very settled in your Los Angeles ways and broker than a joker (cash depending on if it's pre or post Batman entering the picture- in this case, post!), you don't really think about 'Hey, could this be something?'  In fact, I just looked at it as a bright spot in my week.  Bills are more palpable when sandwiched with a hand-written letter.  I've always been a crazy letter writer.  I LOVE mail.

Because of the definite impossibility of anything even remotely romantic, what I was able to do was pour my heart out.  I'd write him & be all, "Life here in LA BLOWS.  Today my mom had to co-sign for me to have a car.  Do you know how that feels?"  And he would write back, "No, I'm a responsible financial analyst.  I only pay for things when I have the money."  BAHAHAHAHAHA... Pays for things when he has the money.  *sigh*  His humor gets me every time.
But before you know it this pen pal had become a true friend.  And when he came out to visit, we went to In 'N Out... and the rest is history.  :) 

Now why am I writing all of this?  Because this wonderful blessing in my life is a Type 1 Diabetic.  And on October 25th, I'm going to be participating in an event called 'Step Out' to benefit the Amercian Diabetes Association.  While he helped me raise money for Leukemia and has saved my life in more loving ways than you could imagine... it would make me sooooo happy to raise as much money as I can for HIM.  :)  :)  :)

Diabetes is a bear of a disease.  Every moment of the day you have to think about what you're eating & then you have to make sure you shoot the right amount of insulin for it... make sure you check your blood an hour later, etc.  And sometimes your body just decides to flip out for no reason.  It's a constant battle that can be truly tiring and heartbreaking.  And yet these people are champs!

So, in honor of my man and all the happiness he has brought me...  And if I have brought YOU any happiness on this here unimportant blog.  Could you?  Would you?  Please donate?  I understand times are tough, so if you can't, no worries.  But please send some extra prayers out tonight for the SLM & his amigos.  And if you can, AWESOMENESS.  :)

Here is the fundraising site:  IN YOUR FACE DIABETES!

Thanks, you guys.  It really means so much.  :)
Mandi

Beverly Marsh Makes Retarded Frog DNA Cookies

Hi guys! :)

Yowsers.  Boy am I tuckered 'oot!  I'm currently in the process of making some mini chocolate pb cup & vanilla buttermilk cupcakes but I'm moving at a snail's pace.  I's is tired.  I'm supposed to make brownies, too.  BAHAHAHAHA.  HA.  *ahem*  That ain't happenin' tonight.  I'm just plum tuckered!!!  But it can't just be me.  Does anyone else ever get tired?  BAHAHAHAHAHA!!!  (We all laughed on that one).  I know, I know... laughter through the tears.  Oh, look!  And now I'm writing my blog and NOT baking cupcakes, awesome! 

You know what's the woist?  When you make mini cupcakes out of a cake batter that you ADORE and then when they come out you realize this particular cake batter does not translate well into mini cupcakes.  Take my vanilla buttermilk, for instance.  The cake itself RULES (Delicious!  Magnifique!).  But when I make mini cupcakes out of them, they don't 'poof' up into beautiful little puffs.  They kinda just bake into themselves and then the paper starts to peel off. 

It makes me want to braid my hair, call myself Beverly Marsh and melodramatically scream into Ben Hascom's arms, "Why does it have to be so mean!!??  Why does it have to hate!!!??" 

*sigh*

I love the movie 'It.'  It's delicious.  So delicious in fact I just IMDB.com'd it's memorable quotes for nostalgic purposes & now I have some SERIOUS heebie jeebies.  Even reading the dialogue makes my heart palpitate!!  I love it, I love it, I love it... and yet I will never look at a bathroom sink the same way ever again.  *shudders*  Waaaah, I want my mommy!!!

Moving on toooooo...  more procrastination.  YAY!!!

I had two 'orders' this week so I figured I'd post the results.  One, a Disney princess theme cake for my good friend Lisa!  I swear in person it didn't look nearly as fuschia. Sort of.   (Candy, I tried to upload your pictures from Flickr & they wouldn't save as a bitmap- thanks anyway, though!)  ((Candy takes really nice pictures cause she has a super fancy camera, envy, envy- *swoon, swoon*)) 

Thar she blows:

I really liked the door.  :)

Then my other friend Beth asked me to do some-- what I call-- 'Warm Fuzzies.'  Basically, they're sugar cookies or gingerbread cookies with special messages on them.  For these she asked me to do DNA cookies since she just finished her dissertation at YALE.  She's a smart broad!!!  She's definitely read a book or something!

She sent me a cartoon picture of what DNA looks like.  Seemed simple enough... UNTIL, I began the attempt.  DNA= HARD.  Those little buggers are deceiving!

My roommate came home & said, "They're DNA cookies!!" 

And I said, "Yeah.  Retarded DNA from a frog cookies maybe." 

Hence the title of this blog.

*sigh*

She also asked me to do a Yale Graduate of the Arts & Sciences Shield. 

Then I did some little mini Yale cookies cause I wanted to make up for my/the other cookies' retardation. 

And after doing all of these Yale cookies, I promptly inserted a dvd into our player & haven't stopped watching Gilmore Girls since.  I love that Rory Gilmore.

...On that note, I'm off to bed.  Feel free to stay as long as you want... you can show yourselves out, can't you?  :) 

MANDI J. SMITH:

MINI CUPCAKE MAKER

&

KITCHEN DESTROYER

I have a confession to make. When I make large quantities of baked goods, I am not a neat person. I become a tornado & my kitchen becomes the aftermath.

"But... but... I'll need that flour for the next batch! Why put it away?"

So I thought I'd humor you all with my reality:

This is also the reason why at 3 in the morning, I'm tearing my hair out screaming, "WHERE IS THE CAP FOR THE FREAKIN' VANILLA!!!???"

Then a few moments later, usually after a good cry & I've updated my Facebook status to "I HATE EVERYTHING," I make a deal with God.

"Okay, God?...*deep sigh*... I'm tired. *Another deep sigh.* I haven't slept and I have to work tomorrow. EARLY tomorrow. You know this. Please help me find the cap for the vanilla. I promise next time I'll clean as I go."

Then ten minutes later I find the cap and know in my heart that I've lied to God. I also wonder why in the world He keeps on falling for this!?

AND IT'S ALWAYS RIGHT WHERE I LEFT IT.

Which is typically on the floor & now I'm thanking God for helping me to find the vanilla cap but am brutally angry I had to step on it ("OW!!!! #$%&!!!") to find it.

"Thank you for the cap but seriously!? SERIOUSLY!?"

Then God quietly says to me, "Holmes? It's your own dang fault. Get to sleep at a reasonable hour and clean your stinkin' kitchen already!"

"And for the love of all that is good and holy, throw the oven mitts in the wash!!!"



And then I cry. Then I'm done. Then I go to bed.
And that's the story of how I bake! YAY!!!! :) :) :)





The next day is always the best, though. After a few hours of sleep I get to take another look at the results, bring them into work & make people happy!



I mean look at these beauties!

From left to right:

Banana Caramel
Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Candied Pecawwwwns --
(you have to say pecawwwns like an old rich English woman)
Chocolate PB Cup Cupcakes






I was really happy with the way they turned out!

I was slightly disappointed with the banana caramel. I mixed the homemade caramel into the buttercream too much so it didn't have bright swirls. Very disappointing. They were also a little too sweet. :(


But I'm being hard on myself...



WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT A JOHNSTOWN FIELD HOCKEY CHAMPION DOES, MARTHA FOCKERS!!! AWWWW, YEAH!!!! JHSFH Champions believe in excellence, people!!! Pride! Dedication! Tradition! *cue Lunatic Fringe*

(Suddenly I feel the need to punish myself through sprints).



((Oftentimes I wonder if anyone understands anything I'm talking about or if it all just makes sense to me. I'm too scared to know the answer to this.))


I thought these ladies turned out just lovely, though. :)



Ever since I read 'To Kill A Mockingbird' in Mr. Maderic's 9th grade English class, I've always thought of cupcakes as ladies... or vice versa.

"Ladies bathed before noon, after their three-o'clock naps, and by nightfall were like soft teacakes with frostings of sweat and sweet talcum."



I love mini cupcakes.
They're just so freakin' cute. :)




Num. :)
The end.