Piece of cake

Have you ever wondered where the expression "piece of cake" comes from? Or why it means something really easy? I mean, I love cake, and eating it is definitely easy, but making it... not so much. Especially when you're house-sitting and not in familiar kitchen territory. Or starting a new job and haven't made it to the grocery store yet this week.

I'm going to a vegan dinner tomorrow night, and I wanted to make something from one of these many vegan cookbooks I've been checking out from the public library, skimming periodically, and returning. I picked "Kentucky Velvet Cake" from The Garden of Vegan, by Tanya Barnard & Sarah Kramer, because it sounded tasty and fairly easy, and I had all the ingredients already. The plan was to then make a mint chocolate icing to frost the cake. And I'm house-sitting for 2 weeks.

So I brought all my cake stuff over with me, and planned the timing carefully... I'll be going straight to the dinner from working my new job tomorrow, so I had to make the cake tonight. After choir rehearsal. The chocolate chips took longer to melt than I expected, and I may have over-stirred a little, but otherwise the batter came together pretty well, I think. I had just enough soy milk left in the carton to make the 1/2 cup required.

I went to put the cake pans in the oven, only to find that setting the oven temperature isn't enough to turn it on - there's another knob that has to be turned from "Off" to "Bake." So the oven wasn't preheated after all. Having no idea what impact this was likely to have on the consistency of the cake, but not having much choice in the matter, I set the oven to start heating, set the timer to be ready once the cake went into the oven, and put away the dishes and utensils. The oven heated pretty quickly, and I put the two cake layers in the oven, and turned to the icing recipe.

Turns out the icing calls for soy milk, too - and I had none left, not even the 1/4 cup listed in the recipe. So I went to work on some email and worship planning.

Approximately 35 minutes later, the lovely chocolatey smell coming from the kitchen was starting to change to something a little less sweet... I went in to check and realized I never started the timer!

So my cake is a little overdone. And unfrosted. So I'll have to make frosting after work tomorrow (at the location of the dinner... fortunately, I'm dating the host, so he probably won't mind!), set it to chill during dinner, and frost it right before we eat it - assuming it turns out to be edible. Sigh. The best laid plans... rarely turn out to be a piece of cake!

Updates: New job, CROPWalk, filling in

Yes, after a couple months of searching, applying, and interviewing, I have a new job. Starting tomorrow, I will be serving as Administrative Coordinator and Grants Manager for Family Voices of Colorado, a small grassroots organization (and local affiliate of a national network) that does advocacy for families whose children have disabilities or other special health care needs. Yay for employment!

I'm also trying to recruit sponsors for CROPWalk, which I am participating in with my church next Saturday. We walk 5K/3mi through the neighborhood, raising funds to fight hunger in the local area (northwest Denver) and around the world. If you would like to help out, you can visit my donation page.

And, because life is better full than boring, I'm filling in at church while our senior pastor is away for a couple weeks, so today I was liturgist, next Sunday I'm preaching (and kicking off our Stewardship Campaign), and the week after I'm coordinating several pieces of the service for Laity Sunday. It's all lots of fun and very meaningful, but the downside of starting a new full-time job in the midst of this is I no longer have quite so much leisure time to do things I'm not exactly paid for! Ah well. I've read lots of novels over the past month already anyway.

Ah, transition

So, after spending the four days of our closing retreat talking with the volunteers about the stages of transition, I now get to go through one myself! God is such a joker sometimes.

Some of the details are still being officially worked out, so I probably shouldn't share too much just yet, but I will say that the volunteer program I have led for the past year has had success in every area - except raising a continuing source of incoming funds to sustain it over the long term. So we are officially moving into a multi-year planning phase, led by the Board, during which there is not funding for either staff or volunteers. All of this means that I am in the market for a new job, though I'm okay financially for a couple more months.

Add to that some changes in my parents' lives over the past month - my dad was laid off, and my mom is getting remarried next year - and it feels like this is a bit more of a curve in the road than I was expecting at the moment! Over all, though, I think it will work out okay.

On the plus side, I may have more time to keep this blog updated more regularly...

Museum of Creationism

Did you know that dinosaurs and humans were created on the same day? That originally, all dinosaurs were herbivores, and that Noah's flood is the cause of fossils?

These truths, and many more, are now on display in life-size dioramas at the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky. See in words and pictures why the Word of God is a more reliable source of information about the formation of the earth and all that lives on it than scientific evidence or theories of evolution. Learn how Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden of Eden, and some dinosaurs became carnivorous as a result of sin entering the world.

Read the New York Times review, or see photos at Beliefnet.

Or convert to pastafarianism now, and learn how bringing back pirates may help combat global warming.

Young Adults: Apply to Serve with GraceWorks Community

Young adults (age 18-30) are invited to commit one year to serving as volunteers with GraceWorks Community: The Bishop's Young Adult Initiative for the Rocky Mountain and Yellowstone Conferences of the United Methodist Church. Participants work full-time at local non-profit organizations in Cheyenne, Wyoming, engaging in direct service and advocacy with persons who are poor and marginalized, while living together in intentional community.

Young adult participants share a house and a simple lifestyle during their year of service. The Bishop's Young Adult Initiative provides housing, health insurance, a food and travel allowance, a monthly living stipend, and an education award at the end of the year. Volunteers have regular opportunities to reflect on the work in which they are engaged and the gifts and challenges of community life, while local congregations provide hospitality and support. In keeping with Wesleyan tradition, volunteers are encouraged to make connections between spiritual growth and "social holiness" as they learn skills for servant leadership in church and community.

Service placement possibilities include Boys and Girls Club, Interfaith Hospitality Network (providing shelter and resources for homeless families through religious congregations), COMEA House (emergency shelter and transitional housing), Cheyenne Community Clinic, Court Appointed Special Advocates, and ARC of Laramie County, among others.

Volunteer applications are now available for placement this August. If you or someone you know might be interested, please contact Kerry Greenhill, Director, at 800-536-3736 x153. Visit www.graceworkscommunity.org to learn more, or to download application forms.