almost a criminal

On Thursday I was at the grocery store Alone.  This is a rarity.  Grocery visits are usually accomplished with eight little limbs flying from my cart, two tiny voices shouting for This and That, and a finale of one wanna-be-dog child crawling on the ground (they clean those floors, right?).  I hardly need to say that I don’t stop to look at labels.  I seldom smile at strangers.  And I certainly don’t pause to peruse the magazines.  Alone on Thursday, I did. 

Yes, a house full of sick boys awaited the o.j. reinforcements, but I did pause to Look & relish the Alone.  So many magazines to choose from, each one representing a world that Invited with the promise of Escape - breathtaking gardens, a perfect body, luscious food, exotic travel.  A twinge of Pause Guilt struck, and I picked up a wedding magazine.  Mostly Business to this Pleasure, of course, since I definitely need to be looking for more cake ideas with Jenna’s wedding only weeks away.  So what if I’ve already made my plans…there's always room for inspiration.

Flipping pages, face to face with an amazing cake, it was Love at first sight.  I’m a firm believer, part of the reason why the walls in my house stay empty for so long.  I have to fall in Love before I hang something into permanence.  And cake love, infinitely important, of course.  Well, the cake, while lovely, did not warrant the thoughts that crossed my mind.  I had to have the magazine, of course, but I looked at the ridiculous $9.99 on the cover.  My reaction was Anger (one part magazine price, more parts piled up frustrations from the week).  Not that $10 can’t be spared, but for one picture of one cake?  I decided to solve the anger issues by simply tearing out the picture and discreetly returning the magazine to its place on the rack.  Of course I would never steal, but this felt more like Justice to my frazzled mind.  I wheeled my cart to an empty aisle, eyes flashing back & forth to guard against witnesses.  Nervous, I moved to another aisle, eyes still darting.  My hand was on the page, but that was the limit of my defiance.

I came home $10 poorer, one cake photo richer. 

 

I still think it's beyond lovely.   

Comments

[Aunt Judy]

Oh my, I clearly can picture you sneaking around the isles of the store trying to find a private place to unceremoniously rip out the photo of a cake. So glad you resisted... it would have haunted you in your dreams, something like a magazine chasing you screaming for you to give back its missing part...

The cake is lovely. It's hard to imagine that you really can create these masterpieces. Not that I don't believe you can be artistic, it's just that I never have had a chance to see it. I only got to see your "brains" and genius in the classroom. Wow! I'll hang on to your shirt-tail for a taste of fame and glory....

Give those sick little guys a big hug from Aunt Judy...I remember when all four of my little boys were ill at the same time with chicken pox...well, as the soap opera says, "These are the days of our lives."

Oh, and a quick note about the laundry that all of you cutie pie young mommies were moaning over; believe me, the day will come when you will do one load of whites a WEEK and one load of darks. The house will be quiet, the walls will be sparkling clean. The cobwebs will be gone; and you'll wonder how it passed you by so quickly. So, love every moment. Love every load and every little dirty thing that goes into it. It is but a moment and then it's gone.

And while I'm rattling away...here's something to consider. I did it years ago and it revolutionized my laundry. I created a laundry center where all of their clothes stayed in the laundry room. Then I would wash, dry, stand there and fold and put away without hardly moving a step. The bedrooms stayed remarkably clean when the clothes were never there. I'd strip them for their baths in the laundry room, and get their pj's for them. In the morning they'd take off pj's in the L. room and get their clothes for the day. It was amazing for quite a season in our lives. Maybe it's an idea that can work for you or your friends.

[Megan]

This cracked me up because I had a similar incident yesterday as well. I didn't go so far as to ripping out a picture from a magazine, but I did find myself miraculously alone at the grocery store the other day. I leisurely wandered the aisles in enjoyment and also found myself on the magazine aisle, something that just can't be done with two little boys. The one that caught my eye was a Log Cabin Mansions magazine. It was beautiful, the homes too amazing to even fathom living in, and my ultimate dream of living in a mansion cabin in the forest could seriously be fantasized about through this magazine. But like yours it was $9.99!!! I think it's a crime to charge that much for a magazine! Unlike you though, I didn't leave there $10 poorer, I kind of wish I had though. I LOVE log cabins...

[Kelly]

That is a beautiful cake. I have no idea how people make cake look like that. Is it stenciled or something? I can't quite tell.

Your almost a criminal story made me laugh! I don't think it would ever occur to me to rip a page out. Too much mentholatum, I say! I hope everyone is completely on the mend soon!

[Jordan]

Is it raining out in your part of the valley?

Love the close call with criminality (a word?). I've thought of doing the very same thing many times.

[Annalisa]

When I was a copywriter we had a plethora of magazines in the the department for our perusal and inspiration. One of the copywriters was constantly ripping out pages and getting in trouble. While I never ripped out a page, there was a Life magazine that reviewed last century be the decade mostly in famous pictures. The descriptions of each decade was so powerful and real to me I wanted to confiscate that magazine for myself. And I would have too if my description had not been too much for one of the other copywriters. He asked to read the magazine and I never saw it again.
I would have never thought of ripping out the page. I would have retrieved my camera and taken my own picture of the cake, not as beautiful, but free. It is a beautiful cake. I expect my birthday cake to look just like it! :) And thank you so much for the package! It was so cute. How adorable were those hot chocolate mixes? Where did you get those. And your card was very sweet. I agree it seems strange we have never met. Thank you.

[Mandy]

That is funny that you ripped out the page. You are much braver than me.

That cake is amazing! I can't even imagine all of the work. You will definitely have to post pictures.

[AMy]

Clarification: I DID NOT rip out the page. I thought about it deeply, but did pay my $10.

other clarification: my wedding cake will look nothing like that perfect picture. It will look nice, but that is simply perfect.

No rain, Jordan, but dark skies. I'd love to have it rain & open all the windows....we need that sort of cleanse.

[jenny]

I was about to say I know you wouldn't have ripped it out and not paid. You don't even seem like one who would. Sometimes we pay the price for a little piece of joy right? It is a beautiful cake. P.S. I think that is why I don't go to the store very often alone I spend double the amount of money because I browse longer!

[barb]

That is a beautiful cake. Somehow I don't think I'll learn how to do that at the cake decorating class in HFPE this week.

You know something funny? I have never bought a wedding magazine. Not even when I was - correction - my mom was planning my wedding. Maybe it's time I start. I keep reading blogs where people get their creative inspiration from wedding magazines.

[lelly]

this reminds me of an 'incident' last fall, while my cousin & i were having our pedicures done for my sisters wedding. my cousin found a photo in one of the nail salons magazines of an updo that she really wanted for the wedding. we waffled on whether or not it would be OK to just rip out the page from the magazine. we were very sly about it... the whole coughing while she ripped it out bit and everything.

i mean, it was a recycled magazine in a nail salon, so it's o.k., right? RIGHT?!?

(her hair looked GREAT for the wedding...)

[lelly]

fyi, in case you haven't stopped over recently, i have TAGGED you!! tee hee

[Price Cream Parlor]

I can't wait to see your finished product of a beautiful wedding cake! I love that you thought about ripping that our, even went to another aisle - and didn't do it! SO ME! Thinking, just can't do it! - hope you fam feels better soon!

[amy m]

I think it's funny you almost tore out the page. I can just see you now hiding in a isle trying to make that decision...blood racing. I'm glad you decided to buy it. Perhaps you will find more treasure in it the more you look through it.

Hope you family starts to feel better.

[Emily]

I'm so glad that my blogging sistah decided against a career as a criminal!

[Cozzette]

Great story. Hey maybe next time you can take a picture of it with a camera phone. It would of saved a 10 bucks and I don't think there is a law against it;)