Tomorrow is Sprite's birthday. This Spin isn't about that. Oh, no. The B word has become its own swirling vortex of tantrums and requests and pleading and screaming and that's just me. Let's not go into Sprite's side. Yet.
I've been thinking all week about perfection and how I would approach it, each Spin falling flat before it ever left my thoughts. I was distracted by Sprite's birthday, and more, the cupcakes I would need to bring for her classmates today. I kept considering the amount of time I had left before last night, to plan, when I would have to tether myself to the oven and turn out bakery gold.
I should just buy cupcakes, you say?
Nope. I was going to make them from scratch. And they were going to be perfect.
I had offered to do this, for Sprite and for her friend Samantha, who shares her birthday. Both girls love pink and vanilla. How perfect could that be? A couple dozen cupcakes, done in an hour, whip up some pink frosting, (Buy a tub of ready-spread, you say? Nay nay!) (Yeah, yeah..) pipe it on, and done! Thirty-three perfect cupcakes for 2 birthday girls to share with their friends.
Thirty-three.
The recipe yielded 24. I would have to make a double batch. It would take double the time.
Crap.
No. I could do this and still have Sprite in bed by 8.
Getting the supplies out, I noticed for the first time, despite having read it several times before, that the paper called for regular flour AND self-rising flour.
I didn't have self-rising flour.
Crap.
(I totally Googled the question "What if you don't have self-rising flour?" And it totally gave me the answer! Perfect!)
Measuring out everything, I brought out Ruby and mixed up a thick batter of sweet promise. Once they were in the oven, I set about measuring for a second bowl of batter, realizing as I went that I had mis-measured and left out a half cup of flour in the first go round.
Crap.
Oh, how much of a difference would a half cup of flour make anyway?
Apparently, it makes a difference.
Once the second set was done, I compared a perfect recipe with the, um, lighter version? Actually, no. It turns out when you go a half cup lighter, it makes the cupcake heavier, turning the treats into more of a muffin. So I now had 24 muffins and 24 cupcakes.
Crap.
Should I make another batch? I was out of milk, down to a cup or less of flour, a dash of sugar, and no patience. (And it turns out patience is a big ingredient in baking..) The duds would have to do. I set to work with decorating.
At 9:30, John walked through the door, tired from his own long day, to see me standing before my mixer, clouds of confectioners sugar suspended over my head and every other surface, and Sprite quietly trying to sneak another half hour of Wonder Pets by shrugging down into the couch so as to escape attention.
The kitchen was a mess, the cupcakes had just been finished, three hours after I started, Sprite's bath hadn't even been thought of, and I still had not begun my Spin.
All the planning and the timing and the execution added up to me recruiting an exhausted John to help me get the kid ready for bed, a kid who didn't want to go to bed, most likely because of the contact high everyone was getting from just breathing in the sweet air.
I still love to bake. I still love to try my hand at perfection. But sometimes, I need to step back and let someone else make it perfect. Then if things go wrong, I can just blame it on them, because if I were to make them, they would have been perfect.
Ahem..
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And now for the perfect combination of Spinners!
Ellie Belen over at Distracting Minutia
Kate over at Recommended Daily Dose -Halloween Show and Tell!
KJ over at When You Have Doubt, Dance It Out
Alaina over at View from Down Here
Vandy over at The Testosterone Three and Me
The South Dakota Cowgirl over at The South Dakota Cowgirl -Updated Friday! Fresh Spin!
Peg over at Square Peg in a Round Hole -Updated Friday! Fresh Spin!
Mama Badger over at Out of the Boondocks and Into the Burbs... -Updated Friday! Fresh Spin!
Kendra over at Life in the Slow Lane -Updated Friday! Fresh Spin!
Jimmy over at Jimmy's Opinion -Updated Friday! Fresh Spin! New to the Spin Cycle!
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Next week's Spin Assignment: Giving Thanks
Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away so this topic is perfect (Hey! Look at that! Something DID turn out perfectly!) for getting us all in the mood for seeing family, taking a day or two out of the hustle and bustle of life, and just enjoying who you're with.
If you've been watching and waiting for a Spin topic to come about that would suit you, this may be the one to weigh in on. This will be the last Spin for a while.
I will get into the background of it a little later, but the Spin Cycle is going down for now.
So get your gratitude ready and serve it up by next Friday to be in on the last Spin!
See you next week on the Spin Cycle!
Oh, dear - no Spin Cycle?
Excuse me while I go into this corner over here and have a quiet panic attack...
Posted by: Jan | November 12, 2010 at 06:49 AM
oh no! Say it isn't so! I'll miss the Spin Cycle :-(
Posted by: Alaina | November 12, 2010 at 07:22 AM
Noooooooooooooo! No more Spin Cycle for awhile? Say it isn't so!! :)
I loved the image you painted of your cupcake making finesse - I was sort of in the same conundrum yesterday, since they're celebrating Princess Nagger's birthday in her class today (another girl has the same birthday on Monday, so SHE got the actual day for her celebration...darn Alphabet!) Though I was lucky - there are only 24 kids in PN's class...and I sort of accidentally forgot on purpose she wanted to bring a cupcake for her regular teacher and gifted teacher...I didn't want to have to make two batches just to make sure there were 26. ;)
Happy (early) Birthday to Sprite!! I'm looking forward to reading about all the fun! :)
Posted by: Stacy (the Random Cool Chick) | November 12, 2010 at 07:35 AM
My spin is in! http://thesouthdakotacowgirl.com/2010/11/perfection/
Posted by: ~the south dakota cowgirl~ | November 12, 2010 at 07:59 AM
I second, Jan, BTW.
Posted by: ~the south dakota cowgirl~ | November 12, 2010 at 08:00 AM
It's not about perfection, it's about knowing what you put into your kid's mouth (and her friend's mouth). Bravo for not going out and buying a cake mix and canned frosting!!! When she's old and doesn't have extra limbs growing out of her, she'll thank her mother for sacrificing her sanity and actually making the food she ate.
And in the future, make both batches at the same time, in the same bowl, and save yourself a lot of time. And for 33, I would make one full batch and cut the recipe in half for the 2nd so you don't have 48 in the end.
And can a kid really tell the difference between a cupcake and a muffin if it's wrapped in homemade frosting? I think not.
Posted by: sparkling74 | November 12, 2010 at 08:22 AM
Crap.
Just as I was getting back in the swing of things with Spin Cycle, it goes on hiatus.
Crap.
Posted by: Joanie Mack | November 12, 2010 at 08:50 AM
Oops! Sent too soon!!
Happy Birthday Sprite!!
Posted by: Joanie Mack | November 12, 2010 at 08:51 AM
I knew it was coming and what a good topic to end on.
At least you tried to make all those cupcakes. You put more effort into it, than a lot of parents even think about. I knew I wouldn't have the time, so I opted for buying. MJ wanted muffins for class instead of cupcakes, so it worked out.
Remember, those kids that are going to eat those cupcakes/muffins, only want the sugar that is laced into and on that sweet treat - they really don't care about the looks or the taste. You should only worry about...are they edible?
Posted by: Laufa | November 12, 2010 at 08:52 AM
Happy Birthday, Sprite!
I did Spin, too. http://outoftheboondocks.blogspot.com/2010/11/spin-cycle-perfection.html
I'm early awaiting your excuse, I mean, reason for depriving us of our spins...
Posted by: Mama Badger | November 12, 2010 at 09:06 AM
Wait... What? What do you mean no more Spins.... What are you talking about.... Wait Jen, come back.... What does this mean... Jen wait.... JENNNNNN!!!!!
Yup, just had my own little panic attack here.
Posted by: KJ | November 12, 2010 at 09:09 AM
You must keep in mind that perfection to a four year old is the quantity of the sprinkles. Cut yourself some slack.
Posted by: Michele | November 12, 2010 at 09:11 AM
Welcome to the world of baking from scratch. I'm learning all of these lessons the hard way too. Happy Birthday, Sprite!
Posted by: Casey | November 12, 2010 at 09:35 AM
Happy birthday Sprite! I'll miss the spin cycle. Don't be gone too long.
Posted by: VandyJ | November 12, 2010 at 10:27 AM
First, Happy Birthday Sprite!
Second... NO SPIN??? WTH?? Did making those cupcakes do you in cause I'd have definitely helped! No Spin???
Third... I can just see you in my mind's eye all covered in flour and confectioner's sugar but with a grin saying "I did it!"
Fourth, NO SPIN??? Are you serious? What can we do to convince you otherwise? You give me much needed inspiration...
Fifth, WTH??? NO SPIN????
Do I need to keep going? :-( I think I just sank into a new level of depression....
Posted by: Peg | November 12, 2010 at 01:15 PM
As long as you love doing something and continue to do it then end result is perfect no matter if you need to change the recipe a bit for next time or not.
It looks like I may be a bit behing since you are only doing one more but here is my spin on this weesk subject of perfection
http://jimmysopinion.blogspot.com/2010/11/my-perfect-perspective.html
Posted by: Jimmy | November 12, 2010 at 01:24 PM
So what did you do with all the "muffins?" I'll take them off your hands.
Posted by: Captain Dumbass | November 12, 2010 at 08:56 PM
Oh, I totally get this. I am a horrible perfectionist. I try working on it, easing up on things, but that's just not the nature of a perfectionist, now is it? Sigh.
Happy Birthday Sprite!
Posted by: robin | November 12, 2010 at 10:51 PM
I know my spinning has been sporadic these last months, but some of my favorite posts came out of your spin cycles. Sniff. Plus a lot of my blogging buds I met over here. I think you are the glue that holds us together Jen....
On another note, I love people that bake from scratch. I can cook, but basking is a bit of a crap shoot for me. I can, however, so a great job of eating bake goods ; -)
Posted by: Pseudo | November 13, 2010 at 12:39 AM
You know I would totally have helped! Although I get the urge to have the perfect cupcakes come completely from your own hands. I usually don't start my baking until after 9:30, and I suffer for it.
Posted by: Rachel | November 13, 2010 at 08:02 AM
Wait, what? It's me, isn't it? I came back and I'm stinking up the joint? :(
I have the "perfect" recipe for vanilla cupcakes. Or so the recipe claims. I've made them probably 10 times and they always turn out 'meh'.
I mean, they're still CUPCAKES. So you can't really go wrong there.
Posted by: Keely | November 13, 2010 at 10:28 AM
I definitely understand the slinking in the couch trying to get away with watching more tv! And I missed that the spin was going away for awhile until I read all the comments! What?!
Posted by: Kendra | November 13, 2010 at 11:09 AM
The spin cycle is leaving orbit? Well, I'm glad I was a satellite for a while.
I will miss it, but a birthday cupcake will make me feel much better.
Posted by: Ellie Belen | November 13, 2010 at 09:48 PM
No more Spin Cycle for me to intermittently participate in?? Yeah. I get it. I could never commit. Curious to hear the background....
Just may have to pipe up for this last one though.
Posted by: tulpen | November 14, 2010 at 04:57 PM
Am I missing something? Where do we our giving thanks posts? :-) It's too early in the a.m....brain hasn't turned on :-) http://viewfromdownhere-viewfromdownhere.blogspot.com/2010/11/spin-cycle-giving-thanks.html
Posted by: Alaina | November 18, 2010 at 07:19 AM