The Cake that Took the Cake

I missed a February post by that much. Blimey. Oh well, I prefer March to February anyway - now that I don't get Presidents' Day off from work. Happy March! Beware the Ides of it! Aaaaand scene.

I've been home over a month now. Can you believe it? I can't. I left Arlington, VA, on January 24th and arrived in Tulsa on January 25th. I think we can all agree that I've been home over a month. And this week will be my fourth on the job. How did I get so Tulsan again so quickly? I don't know where the time went, but I'll tell you this: I'm loving it. Who knew I'd be back on the streets of Tulsa - driving, not walking, as this is no pedestrian city - and so happy to see that Taco Cabana and that Panera bread and that ORU?! It is good to be home again.

Alright, I'm going to insert my foot into my mouth RIGHT NOW and tell you what my goals are for this year in Tulsa. Yes, please remind me of these in 9 months and listen to my sob stories of how I just couldn't quite get them all accomplished. Whatever. Here we go: I want to take violin lessons again, I want to learn to cook more foods, I want to pick up this physical fitness thingy again and I want to spend more time poolside during the warmer months. My first goal isn't set in stone, but I would love to be a sub again for the Tulsa Signature Symphony. I did that when I was living here last and it was great fun. Plus, this October my dad and brother will performing with the symphony, and it'd be jolly good to play with them. I told my mom I wanted to learn to cook more and I'm worried that will be interpreted as let-me-cook-for-you-often. Nope! I just want to try new recipes and...okay, that does sound like let-me-cook-for-you-often. Okay, maybe I'll start trying one new recipe a week. Geez, I should just take some initiative. I'm not shaking on it!

Alright, here's the rub with the physical fitness thing. I really have to do it. Problem! I don't walk everywhere anymore. In DC I walked two miles everyday just to get to and from the metro. I canceled my gym membership because that was enough of a work out for me in the winter months. Well, now I'm driving everywhere AND sitting at a desk all day AND sitting on my couch at night to (re)read Harry Potter. But how to get motivated to pick up those running shoes again? Maybe look in the mirror. Ha! Self-deprecating humor! It's like I'm hilarious and British! Anyway, that's a goal. March is a good time for this. Perhaps I'll pair that goal with giving up something junk foody for Lent. Perhaps.

Finally, let's spend some time at the pool, people. I don't have one, but I know people. I have pool connections. I just have to milk them for all they're worth. Not that I'm using anyone. Aaaand scene.

You know, I've found myself a lot busier than I thought I'd be upon returning home. For some reason I had this expectation that I'd be home every night, wondering what activities I should get involved in so I could "plug in" to the community. I guess that's been my task the last two moves I've made (i.e. Kentucky and DC), so I assumed the same would go for Tulsa. Nerd. How about all the friends I haven't seen in ages? How about the musical events I attend because I'm finally in the same city where my dad and brother play? How about it?! Maybe that's why this month flew by...

Alright, I have a cake story, slash explanation for the picture that won't seem to copy and paste to the bottom of this post. My Sunday school class made a cake to auction off at the annual FUMC Birthday Banquet, an event to raise money for youth missions. Not only were we making a cake to raise money for the youth, we were making a cake to win the "Best Cake" prize. Last Saturday we gathered, tools in hand, to make a penguin and his igloo look impressive. We even incorporated a class "uniform" into our presentation. Gotta admit, victory tastes sweet.