Heck if I know what I want to do with my future. I sit and ponder this as the years go passing by and I become more and more confused.
I said before that my childhood-self had wanted to be a teacher (and a nurse, and a mommy, and a princess), and I thought the most realistic of those childhood dreams would be teaching. There are those who don’t take it seriously because I have changed my major so much.
If you aren’t familiar with that drama let me list it for you.
- Information Technology at Florida Institute of Technology Online
- Paralegal Studies at Liberty University Online
- Business – General Cognate at Liberty University Online
- Applied Web Technology at Liberty University Online
- History at Liberty University Online
- Elementary Education at Liberty University Online.
Now I’m considering yet another childhood dream. Baking. Now, ask anybody who knows me and they’ll tell you I don’t like to cook. They’re only half right. I don’t like to cook in MY kitchen and with good reason, thank you much.
There’s no stove and no sink. There’s a single burner plug in the wall cooking unit, a toaster oven and a microwave oven. Pray tell how I’m supposed to work with that? Please. But y’all, put me in a kitchen with decent stove, some appliances, and a fridge full of ingredients to work with… and we can start talking and baking, and cooking.
Mama told me today that I don’t sound like a Kindergarten teacher. I asked her what I sounded like, and she told me I sounded like a frustrated baker.
Mind you I was waxing poetic about the cupcakes I’d like to make and how I wanted to have a small bakery where people came in and got my stuff and walked out with a smile, because I had made something that made them happy.
My mind is filled with cupcake and other dessert ideas.
Like an eggnog cupcake with a whipped cream nutmeg and cinnamon topping, sprinkled with a touch of nutmeg.
Or like this chocolate chip cupcake with chocolate buttercream icing sprinkled with chocolate sprinkles. Or similarly this chocolate chip cupcake with an edible cookie dough ‘frosting’.
A lime cupcake with a cherry frosting and a cherry on top! Cherry Limeade Cupcake!
Little cupcake cheesecakes and pies.
Edible glitter candied or caramel apples.
Lemon berry cupcakes with a lemon glaze and fruit whipped cream frosting.
Coffee cupcake with Italian cream frosting.
Lemon cupcake with meringue topping!
Banana cream cupcake!
Coconut chocolate and almond cupcake with a fudge icing! Almond Joy in a cupcake!
A cinnamon cupcake with a caramel apple filling and a cinnamon frosting and caramel drizzle.
I have so many ideas going through my head that I can’t list them all.
Oh, I had this idea for a pavlova shaped in a cupcake liner to look like a cupcake, and drizzle it with fresh fruit like strawberries, kiwi, blueberries, or blackberries.
I want to experiment with tea based flavors. This is the south after all. A sweet tea cupcake with a lemon or peach buttercream frosting.
A vanilla chai spiced tea cupcake with a vanilla bean and cinnamon frosting.
I have so many ideas, ideas which I think could potentially be popular.
So, ideas I have. But the place and finances to experiment and master my recipes not so much. Realistically I know that I need to take courses in not just baking techniques, but kitchen management, business management (ew!) and various other skills, because if I want to do this, I want to do it right, and I want to do it myself. I’d love to work with somebody, but not really for somebody. I can take suggestions, but at the same time, I think I tend to be rather bossy in the kitchen.
So, there you have it. The battling of the careers. One’s a childhood dream, the other a passion. Which is more realistic? Which would I not be miserable getting up and stupid-o-clock in the morning to prepare for the day? Teaching or baking.
I like the DIYness of dessert making, because I do like crafts and DIY and I love the idea of being able to be imaginative and creative and I especially love the idea of making people happy with my food.
There’s a lot to consider, and this is not something to just jump in to headfirst without research.
Stay tuned as this dilemma unfolds and I make my final decisions regarding my future.
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I said this wasn’t a cooking blog… it may end up that way, at least to some extent! Go figure!