Adorable

One of the hardest things for me to stop doing after I decided I needed to go Paleo was baking. I LOVE baking. Growing up, we were never allowed to buy pre-made, pre-packaged things. My mom said, if you want cookies, make them. I ALWAYS wanted cookies, so you can imagine what happened. Holidays, birthdays, basically any occasion was celebrated with home baked goodness. I watched my mom make hundreds of birthday cakes for her co-workers. *Side note- one time I even dropped one of the cakes she made for work on our driveway full of fall leaves and debris. I thought she might kill me. She brought it to work to show them that she at least made an effort, and guess what? THEY STILL ATE THE CAKE! Leaves, twigs, and all! My mom was blown away by how much her co-workers wanted to eat a cake she made.

So I have inherited the "making birthday cakes for my co-workers gene" I've taken on this role at nearly every job I've had, because EVERYONE deserves a homemade birthday cake on their birthday. Everyone. Today is my co-workers birthday.


This photo was taken about 30 minutes ago. We celebrate BIG in this office! (We are actually in a contest to see who can keep their stupid hat on the longest). These things are not designed for comfort.

Yesterday, I struggled a little internally as I knew I had to make a cake, I had to make a cake that my co-worker would like, and I also had to make a cake that may not necessarily appeal to me. When I bake, I have a serious problem with batter. I began thinking of options, and then, it struck me! I saw this cute Martha Stewart recipe for Oreo Cheesecake Cupcakes. I loved the idea because you put a single Oreo in the bottom of a cupcake liner, and then pour the batter on top. So, essentially, the whole Oreo is the bottom "crust" for the mini-cheesecake! I loved it.

I am not a big fan of cheesecake (gasp!). I knew it would not be hard for me to resist eating a batter of cheese and egg and sugar. I'm indifferent to Oreos, so there was no problem there either. WIN! So I went ahead, and made these ADORABLE treats:

Onto some Crossfit news:
Yesterday kicked so much ass. My official first week started on Monday. I'm now doing what is called their "on-ramp" program. I don't do the regular workouts, but instead I work with a trainer to learn the 9 basic movements, work on skills, and get slowly acquainted with the equipment/format/etc. There are 4 different levels of Crossfit. In order to pass from one level to the next, you must complete a standard set of skills. Once you get checked off for completing all the skills in Level 1, you move onto Level 2, etc. Yesterday, was skills day for me, and I was able to check off 5 things (out of 15-20?). Some things I won't be able to do for awhile. But still! I felt pretty damn accomplished.