MMM-mmmm... roast beef... set an extra place, i'm comin' over for dinner!!! :D

wait... i already had dinner. no matter. i'll have it again!

and a slice of that pound cake with coffee afterwards, maybe?

it is good to hear from you Kay. good that you got through to your sister you are having a hard time.

play things by ear for the trip. go if it feels right, and "ok", otherwise, don't. you know, if your mom were here, she would want only the best for you. she would try to take care of you. by taking are of yourself, you honor your mother, no matter what you decide about the trip.

i hope your roast and cake both turn out splendid! :)

~ waves ~

The dinner turned out wonderful. I also made mashed, gravy, and "white acorn squash."
The cake situation turned out to be a chore. My grandmother gave me 2 special cake pans that are designed to help you make a filled cake. The directions said not to grease the pans...

I made angel food cake. I didn't grease the pans...

Try as I might, I couldn't get the cake out of the pans and they turned out mangled. I "made lemonade," and trimmed it to be a 2 layer cake.

I decided to do a chocolate cream filling. The recipe wasn't clear, it said to stir it "vigorously" over low heat for 4-5 minutes until "very thick." I stirred it for about 40 minutes until it thickened. Once it cooled, it was like candy.

So I regrouped and folded it into homemade whipped cream. My husband loved it (he ate a quarter of it for breakfast).

It really wasn't worth the effort.
All said and done, I spent 5 hours in the kitchen between the cake and dinner. I just ended up more depressed, frustrated, tired, and sore. WTF!!!
And 5 hours in the kitchen leaves a lot of time for thinking.

Also, my aunt and uncle called for help with picking automatic cat boxes (I have 2 because they're much easier for me). It ended up being a huge ordeal.

So distractions didn't help me yesterday. :(

I'm still planning on going tomorrow, but it's not set in stone.

-Kay

P.S. Packer Girl, I'm so glad that you were able to quit smoking and make some positive changes in your life!
I'm not trying to quit right now because of reasons listed in the rest of this thread.