Helping Others

Today I feel good. Yesterday, not so good. I am on an emotional roller coaster ride and I am ready to get off. I woke up early this morning because I realize it is time to help others who are diagnosed with cansor. That means starting a non-profit for anyone who is diagnosed with cansor and is financially not prepared for it. I wonder how many people ever give this topic any thought. This all ties in with Big Fat Cupcake. I will donate 10% of all proceeds to my non-profit to get it off the ground. I am researching a sugar-free cupcake recipe and icing. An absolute must for a cansor thriver!! More later.

Tuesday

I have been busy packing up my place here in the mountains for my new tenant. It has been very cool here. You can smell the fall in the air. The dogs are having a blast as well as Maggie. Koby is doing much better. I think the cool air makes him feel like a young puppy again.

I am excited to come back to Denver. I have an order for cupcakes in September and I am thrilled. I think I found a tenant to rent my Denver place. I am excited to have a simple little apartment and to start fresh. More later.

Boston Cream Cupcake

Today I worked on my Boston Cream Cupcake. I had the vanilla cupcake down and the ganache but I wasn't happy with the cream filling. They turned out so good. I am so ready to have my own retail location. I know I need to let things unfold slowly after my diagnosis. More later.

All my Cupcake

I had a great week in Aspen but I sure did miss making cupcakes. I am in Denver for a couple of days and then need to head back to Aspen to pack my place up.

Good news. I went to my bank today and met a wonderful lady named Susan. She is the Vice President of 2 branches. I told her about wanting to start Big Fat Cupcake and what were my options as a very broke girl with 2 houses I can't sell but one is now rented. Turns out she had breast cansor too!!! She really listened to my plight and told me she would assist me with getting a line-of-credit on one of the houses while using the other one as collateral. I am so excited!!

Monkey Love

I am not going to complain anymore. Especially to a blog. My job interview was a disaster. My friend Scott mentioned in a very sweet way that I am unemployable. Yipee, I think? I really wanted this job but maybe it wasn't meant to be. I reduced my Aspen condo to a fire sale and I am determined to move forward with my life.

On a good note, I made Monkey Love cupcakes that consisted of banana cupcake and cream cheese buttercream frosting. Out-of-this-world!

Back to complaining. I haven't heard from Children's yet. I am dealing with a rather large hospital system and I imagine there is a chain of command. I am going to cry like a baby if they say no to me. Sometimes I wish I didn't care about things so much. More later.
P.S. Happy Birthday to Meggles and Virg. I miss you!!!

Chemo Cakes

Today I made the kids at Children's Hospital Twinkies cupcakes. They were fabulous. The kids loved them and it really made my day to put a smile on a child's face. As I was leaving the hospital I thought what a great idea to provide/sell cupcakes to Children's Hospital for the little patient's and their visitors. I made a phone call to the head of Children's and will meet with Terry who runs the cafeteria tomorrow. Wish me luck!!

Hostess Cupcake

Today I perfected my chocolate ganache and I am officially unveiling the Big Fat Cupcakes version of the Hostess Cupcake. I am pretty proud of it. My first version of ganache tasted great but it wasn't thick enough. Today, however, I achieved perfect thickness. They even have 7 white loops on the top just like Hostess.

I did my first official order today for a little girl's birthday tomorrow. I don't think this little girl knows how happy she made me today filling her order. It is always so peaceful for me to be in my kitchen making something. In my cupcake world, today was a good day.

Cupcake Couture

Cupcakes have come a long way since I was young and ate them in my Grandmother's kitchen. The decorations, food coloring and sprinkles are just incredible. I love to go to my local cake store and pick out new colors. Picking the right outfit for my cupcakes is very important to me. I think that a cupcake should be as beautiful to look at as they are delicious to eat. You can't skimp on the packaging either.

For me there is a healing quality to making cupcakes. After my last surgery my Oncologist recommended I have Chemotherapy. Although my cansor was caught very early, my biology of the tumor suggested I would be a good candidate for Chemo. I struggled with the decision to have or have not for a very, very long time. I knew in my gut that Chemo wasn't right for me and it was just too much. I decided against it. Instead I went home and baked chemo cakes. They worked just as well with less side effects and I got to keep my hair. More later.

My Cupcake Path

Moving on after a cansor diagnoses is no cupcake walk. Although I am doing better and feel that things are getting back to normal I still feel rattled from it. I feel my best when I am making plans for the future and baking cupcakes for my friends.

I started to bake cupcakes when I returned from New York and for some crazy reason this process of baking, decorating, boxing them up and even decorating the boxes has become very healing for me. I took more pictures of cupcakes on my iPhone while in the city then anything else. Because of all of this, I have decided to start a cupcake bakery named Big Fat Cupcake. Maybe I was in New York to help me find my cupcake path. Cansor has taught me so much about myself and what I need to be happy. More Later.

Fresh Batch

Hello,

I know it has been a long time since I have posted anything. January 27th to be exact. I apologize for the long silence. On February 14th I was diagnosed with early-stage breast cansor. My life has become upside down cake. I endured 2 surgeries and have just finished my 9th radiation treatment. I think I have 21 days to go. The days of my innocent Aspen life seem to be on hold. I hope to get them back one day.

Lots has changed. Both of my homes are on the market to help simplify my life and I put myself back on Facebook to stay connected to my friends. I wish I could say I was completely grateful for my life and all of my accomplishments and didn't need this wake up call called cansor, but I guess I did. I know one day it will make complete sense.

Koby, and Maggie are doing great and I have a new addition named Harry. I adopted him on February 13th. One day before my diagnosis. He is amazing. Oh, yea, I can't wait to tell you about the cupcakes!! More Later.