From Captain's Daughter to Army Mom: Bundt-n-Breakfast

Of course, I thought about Brandon's letter all night... The realization he seems to have had that what he was Used to, comfortable with and Enjoyed about home and his life before the Army are now all things he misses very much hit me pretty hard. But worse for me was realizing along with Brandon that his coming home is No longer a choice either of us can make. He's no longer a Civilian and that College student at ASU isn't who Brandon is any more. Coming home any time he wants is no longer an option, for either of us. And I am powerless to change any of this. Oh, yes... that does means I didn't sleep at all. I also couldn't help thinking about Brandon's I miss these things list. I thought about the Cookies Brandon said he misses and somewhere between 2AM and five o'clock this morning, I decided I'd bake those cookies. Not because I can send them to him, but just because I wanted to bake them and think about Brandon while I baked.

But what began as a bake-Fest quickly turned into a scavenger Hunt because no matter where I looked, I could not find my Baking soda! And, I know I have baking soda... lots of it! I mean, every time I decide to bake or cook I usually end up buying all-new ingredients, so there are at least four Boxes of baking soda somewhere in my kitchen or pantry. But no. I even tried Distracting myself by moving on to other things, hoping I'd stumble on the baking soda along the way... I pulled out the chocolate, the Heath toffee chips, the brown Sugar, my vanilla, baking POWDER, and set the Butter out; but still, no baking soda appeared. And, since I vowed yesterday not to leave the house today, going to the Market was not an option. But I really wanted to bake... So I moved to plan B. Because while I cleaned out the pantry I came across those 10 boxes of cake mixes I bought last summer for that cake decorating class I took. So the decision was made for me. It had to be a Bundt cake. Besides, a bundt cake requires less oven babysitting, which will allow more time for a Nap - so a Bundt cake it is!

And, not just any old Bundt cake... I remembered that new American bundt cake pan I found in June; the one I thought would be great for the 4th of July. The one I didn't use because who bakes a Fourth of July cake in 100 degree weather? Besides, I was burnt out on cake baking after that decorating class I took in June... But today is a Fine day to try out my Patriotic bundt pan, especially since I'm thinking about Brandon, my new Favorite patriot!