Happy b-day Becca

If any of you know anything about me, it's that my birthday no longer is important. See, it's just a place-holder for Becca's birthday, which is the day after mine. :)

Becca had a smaller party this year than she has in the past few -- thank goodness! (Mind you, it was by force, not by desire. :) Anyway, I am so impressed with her friends. They are such good kids. One of the guys gave her a MoTab CD, which she was excited to get. Then they put it on, and one of her friends even said, "Becca, you're lucky that you have friends who will listen to this with you." So true! I am so grateful that she has the friends she does, and she's the main reason I feel like we were led to this house/neighborhood. We are blessed to be surrounded by amazing youth (more than 100 in our youth program, even though our ward is 3 blocks wide x 1 block deep!).

In any case, she enjoyed her party, which was followed by a regional dance where she got to dance with her crush TWO times! Oh, can the life of a 15-year-old girl get any better? :) I'm not sure I'm ready for this ...

Easter morning (her actual birthday) she got to open gifts. She loves reading, so she got a couple of good books:


She also really wanted roller blades. She almost didn't get them, because the first few places we looked had then for $50 and up. Sorry, but no way! Fortunately Kmart came through at about half that price so she could get some. I took them out of the box so the weight wouldn't give it away right off, so she was very confused as she opened them:


Both Paul and my mom are convinced that she's going to break her arm trying out her new roller blades. Little do they know that that's just fine with me -- then she won't be able to drive!!! I know, evil ... but she thinks she's ready and I think she's not. As it is I won't even let her get contacts! Maybe we'll start with contacts and work up to driving ... sigh ...

Anyway, the cake Becca wanted was my favorite: orange poppy seed. This cake is DELICIOUS and relatively healthy as far as cakes are concerned since there's no oil. Here she is blowing out the candles -- although she didn't get one out on her first try:


So, since I love the cake so much I told Paul to count it as my birthday cake as well. Here is the recipe for anyone who'd like to try it. Believe me, it is magically delicious!

Orange Poppy Seed Cake

1 pkg yellow cake mix

2 T poppy seeds

1 c. fat-free sour cream

¾ c egg substitute (or 3 eggs)

1/2 can frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed

1/3 c. water

¼ t. almond extract

2 T sugar

½ t. ground cinnamon

Glaze:

1 ¾ c. powdered sugar

2 T milk

1 T orange juice

1. In a large bowl, combine the cake mix and poppy seeds. In a small mixing bowl, combine the sour cream, egg, orange juice concentrate, water and almond extract and beat until smooth. Stir into cake mix just until combined.

2. Coat a 10-in. flouted tube pan (Bundt pan) with nonstick cooking spray. Combine the sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle evenly in pan. Pour batter into pan.

3. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

4. Combine glaze ingredients; drizzle over cooled cake.