The Glorious Truth

(Above- one of my earliest cupcake photos, I was very proud of these at the time)

I'm a perfectionist.  A grade of an 'A-' is almost the same as an 'F' to me.  I almost never feel pretty enough, thin enough, talented enough, good enough...  I usually assume everyone else has it all together, and since I don't... I must be doing it all wrong.  Some of these thoughts are just part of my wiring... and many are thanks to the society we live in.  Our entire economic system is completely dependant on everyone being so dissatisfied with their life that we have to always be buying things that will surely help us be thinner, prettier, more organized, more popular, happier.

I think women are particularly hard hit with this... we are all convinced that other women are prettier than us, smarter than us, better wives, better moms... you name it!

I've realized overtime that in some small way I may be simply another voice in your head reminding you that you are not good enough... your cupcakes don't look like mine, your parties don't look like mine, your photos aren't as pretty as mine...

Today I want that to stop!

No one is perfect, and that certainly includes me!  Can I make pretty cupcakes?  Yes.. but that's not the whole picture.   When I post a photo on this blog you don't see that my kitchen that looks like a bomb just went off... You don't know that my family had pizza for dinner because I spent all day making pretty cookies...  You didn't hear me snapping at my little girls to get away from my project.

Please consider that I'm only showing you what I want you to see!  You don't see the cookies I've made that are ugly.  Yes, ugly... I assure you that not everything I touch turns out beautiful!  More than once, I have put an entire batch of cookies or cupcakes right into the trash!  And, not every photo I take magically comes together the way I imagined.  For that matter, when I post two or three photos of a project, those are out of a set of maybe 40 photos.  Not to mention, I often use Photoshop to enhance the lighting, and have even been know to edit out a misplaced sprinkle or two!

So, just for today I want you to see me in a bit more realistic light....

Here I am (with hubby) in my gourmet kitchen...

Don't we look glamorous?  =)

And here are some of the less than "glorious" treats I've made over the years.  Granted,  I don't take photos of projects I'm really not happy with, so these are sort of the best of the worst  =).  This may be the one and only time I post 100% un-edited photos! 

Not exactly photos you'll see on the cover of a magazine anytime soon, right?  =)

I do hope that my pretty photos (the ones I usually post) are a source of inspiration for you, but I never want anyone to read my blog and feel that they are somehow lacking.  Every person on earth has so many wonderful strengths, please don't expect that yours should be exactly the same as mine.  And don't be discouraged by the well lit, cropped, and edited version of my life that I usually show you... it's not the whole picture!

Baking, party planning, crafting... these should be fun activities!  Allow yourself to enjoy the process, regardless of the end results.

I have spent the past several years baking hundreds and thousands of cookies, cupcakes and treats.  They don't all come together perfectly, but in the end most of them are eaten, enjoyed and then I get to "practice" some more another day!

From one imperfect person to another...

Happy Baking!