Chocolate Carrot Cake

I got this recipe from the Company's Coming Breakfast and Brunches book.
I love carrot cake and I love chocolate cake, but I thought, "who the hell mixes the two?"
Well, you will after you have tried this cake! Here is the recipe, complete with chocolate cheese icing!


Chocolate Carrot Cake
4 lrg. eggs
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup cooking oil
2 tsp. vanilla

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa
2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

3 cups grated carrot

Beat eggs together in bowl. Add sugar. Beat together well. Add cooking oil and vanilla. Beat together well.
Stir flour cocoa, baking soda, and salt together in sep. bowl. Add to egg misxture. Mix well.
Add carrot. Stir. Turn into greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake in a 325'F oven for 40 - 45 mins until toothpick comes out clean. Cool.

Chocolate Cheese Icing
8 0z light cream cheese
1/4 cup butter or hard marg., softened
1/2 cup cocoa
2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups icing sugar

1 tbsp instant coffee granules
1 tbsp boiling water
*** I don't even have instant coffee in my house, so I used 2 tbsp of hot coffee, worked fine!

Combine 1st 5 ingredients in bowl. Beat on low to moisten. Beat on medium until fluffy and light.
Stir in coffee , beat.

Top cake with icing and serve!

The Therapy of Songs

I find such therapy in the lyrics of songs. Not all songs, but a lot. I will find menaing in the lyric to fit my current situation or mood. At different tiem in my life the same song will mean many things. Amanda Marshall is one of my favourite modern composers, she puts such feeling into her lyrics. I appreciate so many of her songs but I think this one has the most meaning for me, on many many levels.


Out of Bounds Lyrics by Amanda Marshall
Standing on the edge of time
Playing out a reckless pantomime
And every day’s another wrong to rectify
I dream about a stranger’s touch
And voices in my head I cannot hush
And every night’s a hunger I can’t satisfy
Chorus
It’s the secret that I keep
It’s the ache that makes me weep
And I know I’m in too deep
I’m gonna drown
It’s the emptiness I fear
Baby, please don’t leave me here
’Cause I’m lost inside a dream
That’s out of bounds

I close my eyes and it’s so real
And all at once I know just what I feel
And baby it’s the kind of rush that terrifies
I am weak -I am wrong
And every day I swear that I’ll be strong
But there’s a bond between us that I can’t deny
Chorus
I wanna surrender
I wanna give in
I wanna lay down and let it be now
And let it begin
Let it begin
It’s the secret that I keep
It’s the ache that makes me weep
And I know I’m in too deep
I’m gonna drown
It’s the emptiness I fear
Baby, please don’t leave me here
'Cause I’m lost inside a dream
That’s out of bounds

Scrapbooking Studio Update

I did it! The room is clean and organized. Trevor helped me figure out furniture placement, (he's born organized!), and then it was up to me to get everything in its place. It helped me to think of the space as stations like stamping, cutting, planning, paper, embellishments, tools, work area, etc. then it was easier to know where things should go.
The only real snafoo I came upon was all my unfinished projects. Lisa, I swear you will have you Wedding album before your 50th Anniversary! I gotta set up appointments with myself to get these things completed.
I need to buy a really neat 12 x12 album for my Favourite Photos layouts, I also need to get some more page protectors since I completed 20 pages while at Black Cat Ranch!
So, its ready... who wants to scrap with me?