Powdered Sugar hangover

Wow - I just completed my first "official" order meaning: I worked hard, served well, and got paid for it!  When Miriam's preschool director asked me last week to help with her teacher's luncheon and the graduation reception, I was super excited - a chance to try out my skills, under pressure, for lots of folks.  Then, after the weekend, some changes were made and not only was I providing 30 jumbo cakes for Wednesday, but TEN DOZEN regular cakes for Thursday.  They turned out great, got rave reviews, and folks are wanting more!  Just a few thoughts from this week's cupcake adventures:
1. Don't ever buy cupcake liners from Michaels. They are too big for the pans and fold in with the batter to make the finished cake ugly.
2. Don't ever use more strawberries in the frosting than what it calls for just because you have them and you like that strawberry flavor.
3. Don't ever think you have the right amount of ingredients - you'll certainly run out of something when you realize at the last minute you still need "one more batch of...."
4. I'm somewhat disgusted when I think about the 4 pounds of butter, 3 bags of powdered sugar, and 1 can of cocoa, and 2 things of oreos that I went through in 48 hours.
5. Don't forget to eat a meal while baking, or else you'll find yourself eating cupcakes for your dinner.
6. Don't bake the cupcakes alone, or else you'll find yourself testing each flavor and consuming more than what you should.
7. Fresh fruit always makes a poorly frosted cupcake look quite tasty.
8. Don't attempt to bake/frost the cupcakes while your almost two year old can watch - she'll quickly demand "cuh-caaaaaake"
9. Always have 1-5 "duds" so that you can play with the artistic skill of icing - then enjoy them afterwards, or share them with someone.
10. Have a cookout milkshake before icing the cakes - it keeps you from eating the cakes (thanks Terri!)  then, have a glass of wine while icing the cakes - makes for a real steady hand. 

Jumbo cakes for the teacher's luncheon (Vanilla w/vanilla buttercream, Oreo, and Strawberry)

A sampling of all of the flavors for the Preschool graduation - I sent over 10 dozen to school today!!

I had a blast, enjoyed good conversation and company (thanks Erin!), and created that sweet smelling aroma of baked goodies.  And, I even made a few bucks.

I can't wait for another order! Until then, back to the experimenting lab for new recipes!