baby, I'm back

let me explain.

i fell in love with cupcakes about a year and a half ago when i was assigned to write an article on the cupcake shop explosion in nashville for the local paper, the tennessean. i started baking like crazy and applied myself diligently to becoming the best little cupcake maker i could be. what fun.

my friends (and the boy's teachers) loved it that i always showed up with cupcakes. rich buttercream icing. fancy baking cups. edible glitter. creative home-made toppers. it was fun being known as the cupcake lady.

and then. it happened.

criticism.

as i began talking to other women who bake, i sensed something negative. something competitive. many were supportive, but a few found ways to let me know i wasn't up to their level.

it knocked me for a loop.

i started feeling like what i had to offer wasn't good enough. it stopped being fun.

yesterday i hit rock bottom when i showed up to the boy's class potluck with store-bought cupcakes. i just couldn't bring myself to get into the kitchen. the boy looked at the brightly colored, shortening-laced icing and turned up his nose.

"my friends and i like your cupcakes, mommy. the lemon ones. why didn't you make some of those?"

so when i got home i drug out my mixer, dusted it off, set aside my wounded pride and started doing what i do best. making my own crazy mixed up cupcakes, using some upscale ingredients and some plain old store-bought ingredients too.

and you know what? it felt good.

here's the boy and his buddy isaac doing what they do best: eating cupcakes!