One of the things I love most about being with Kevin is that we have a blast doing normal, everyday things together. We cook (and clean up!) together, which is one of our favorite things to do. And we talk about vegetables... a lot.

While cooking is definitely Kevin's forte, I've been the designated baker. This last weekend, per his request, we made a cake together so I could teach him a thing or two about baking. Plus, we both happen to be quite fond of cake. Kevin claims he's had minimal baking success in the past, although I'm fairly sure he's just trying to boost my ego since he is already so good at everything else).

We agreed upon a Hummingbird Cake, which is said to be a cross between banana bread (minus the bread) and carrot cake (minus the cake).

If you bake a cake with an engineer, ... You will give him the grunt work, such as fitting the bottom of the cake pan with parchment paper.

He will take his assignment very seriously and decide he needs a tape measure:


After a tutorial and demonstration in layer one, Kevin braved the frosting for layer two (and did quite well!)



Tah dah!

Happiness

I've waited a long, long time to have a "real" Valentine's. It was worth the wait!

Quick Update

The weekend in Hibbing was great! Lots of emotions, Sunday especially (seeing Alison's family), but we made it through. Kevin was a stud (He has been granted blog-viewing privileges so now I really have to start hyping him up, should he ever decide to investigate my Secret Blogging Life) - he obviously took heed of the advice from the Beet Cake blogger. He gave me a tour of Hibbing (sort of like Washougal (?), but stretched out, and with a Wal-Mart), I got to see old photo albums, got to know the family, ate a lot of good food...

And the weekend was topped off with booking (2!) flights to Portland in April! :-)

Here We Are

January was a good month, but January also felt like a very long month. A lot happened in January, especially in terms of growth in my relationship with Kevin (is this the first time I've given him a name?). I've been staying up late(r) and putting more miles on my car. And I've never cleaned my bathroom so often.

I think my faithful blog readers all the know the whole story, so you'll understand when I say we have ours ups and downs. The ups are great, and the downs make us stronger.

I'm 1 week (and counting) without Facebook. Not momentous in the grand scheme of things, but it's been a refreshing change. And it just leaves me more time to navigate Pinterest, which is healthier for me right now. And to scheme... like where to go to dinner on Valentine's Day. (I'm looking forward to celebrating my first "real" Valentine's Day, and you better believe I am going to embrace it in all it's commercialism glory.)

This weekend is Meet the Parents. Kevin and I are road-tripping up to Hibbing tomorrow AM. I'm excited to make this trip with Kevin, nervous to meet his family, and still marveling at how we got "here." It will undoubtedly be hard, given the circumstances, but I'm hoping for the best. I'm packing my Big Girl Pants, going to look to that cute boy when I need some encouragement, and gonna make the best of it.
One of my best friends Pinned a recipe, thinking I would like it. Unbeknownst to her, the actual recipe source had a very timely blog entry:
http://joythebaker.com/2012/01/chocolate-beet-cake-with-beet-cream-cheese-frosting
(Sorry, couldn't hyperlink it for some reason).

Happy Super Bowl weekend!