Life is not perfect. Not even close.
I am recently married and am starting to embark in a new phase in my life. Married life. But beyond that, I am trying to navigate life as best as possible. I have some big challenges ahead. First, we need to get our expenses under control. My husband has a year and a half left of his master's degree and we face some difficult financial situations ahead. So we need to find new ways to cut back on expenses and create extra income. Second, I need to focus on my health. I am very overweight and I am in the process of overhauling how I eat and adding more exercise in my daily life. I want to make more healthy home cooked meals, that not only I love; but meals my beef-loving husband will enjoy. And finally, I want to try going to go back to basics by learning how to sew, knit, canning, gardening, doing fun crafts with my step-children, etc. I want to lead a life that makes me feel proud and content.
So what better way to start than with a party! Today happens to be my husband's birthday. I took the day off from work to clean the house and get ready. There are many surprises planned for him this weekend. I have been so focused on my no sugar/no white flour baking, he really wanted a box cake mix. In the past I have only have used box cake mixes in emergencies. So I picked up some vanilla frosting in a can and I whipped up some chocolate cake for him. I believe baked goods should be homemade, so it really goes against my principals making his birthday cake out of a box. But this is not his actual birthday cake, This is his "decoy birthday cake" so I don't feel so bad using the box mix. I have to admit, it is kind of nice to not have to worry about measuring everything out. I used some no sugar blackberry jam as a filling. Not too shabby as a decoy cake! Now I just need to finish tidying the living room, give the house a quick sweep, and a quick clean in the bathroom and I will be ready for all of the surprises that are happening this weekend!
