for Beth

Let me talk a bit about my relationship with cake making: I do it all the time, but it's not obvious that I have years of experience. I have made every birthday cake for our kids (and I believe one each for my other kids!). I love making them their themed cakes, but I'm not technically good at it. I mean, it's really hard to screw up a box mix, but my cakes are always lopsided, and ALWAYS have bits of cake mixed into the frosting. I would never, ever make a cake for someone I didn't know-- and I would only make one for someone I did know if they understood what they were getting. That being said, no child (or adult, for that matter) has ever complained.

The checkerboard bit of this didn't really show up-- the colors were too similar to stand out as being distinct. I'm sure I'll have another opportunity to try again in a year or so...