New Content In The Horizon
Years ago, when I first started caking, I knew it would never amount to anything. I was just a mom, trying to make my child's birthday magical. I should have known better, truth be told. I am driven by an intense need to know the in's and out's of everything. Once upon a time, it was business law. Then it was pregnancy. Then it was parenting. Then calorie micros and macros. And then budgeting and personal finance. And the list just goes on. I would blame it on my OCD if I could, but the truth is, it probably is my type A personality that refuses to be one upped. I can be awfully petty and competitive at times, even with myself.
So, when my daughter began begging me to open up shop, I was hesitant. I didn't know enough. I mean, I had spent A LOT of time researching recipes, tweaking ones I found, making changes that I like, and so forth. I had learned what made a cake look nice and what not so nice. But I was still very much in the field of not knowing. I hate not knowing. Or maybe, it is fear. I don't know. What I do know is, I refused to open up shop until I did know. I spent so many hours reading up on laws. So many hours researching business insurance. So much time trying to figure out WHY something happened or why it did not happen and how to prevent it for next time. I took bits and pieces from around the world from a variety of sources and tested theories and came to my own conclusions. Caking really is a science. So, once I did open up shop, I was shocked to find out how much I truly did not know. So, I researched some more. I find every cake I make, every single one, is a new experience. A naked cake? That's new. A cake with real roses? Oh...there are food safety guidelines for that. Gumpaste flowers? Oh crap, need to learn how to make those. Gumpaste stiletto?!?! Oh my gosh...how do you even do that?!? A stenciled cake? How....??? But you know what was really neat? I learned I knew just enough to know how to do these things. And what was even neater? I learned I was a guru of sorts for many cakers. Wait...what?!? How did THAT happen? I certainly do not know it all. I ask plenty of questions. I struggle with a lot of cakes. It defied logic! This past month, I figured it out. I knew just enough. And if I did not know the answer, I knew how to find it. Talk about a humbling experience. Or wild. I am not sure what to call it really. It was crazy. Learning I had a following of several thousand people in an online cake group was not something I ever expected. I am known for extreme anxiety if I don't live up to expectations...and now I have a LOT of people who have a standard set for me! Insert meek little "eeeeeeep" here.
Why am I bringing this up? What does it matter? How does it play into THIS blog? Well, it made me realize something. I need to provide content that can be easily referenced from this point forward. Be a repository as it were. Provide useful hints, tips, and tricks in a spot that can quickly be looked up. It means my blogging is fixing to switch to a whole new level. Oh joy of joys...just something else for me to learn the in's and out's of! I thrive on learning, this ought to be fun...if not terrifying. Or would that be scarifying? To be determined at a future date. My content will start being updated more often. Videos and tutorials will start popping up. Pictures of experiments. A whole new world of things very new to me. I am honored to be the source for so many, scared to have that honor, and a smidge excited it has been bestowed upon me. Right now, my following is small. Only a handful of a couple thousand. But where the future may lead, one may never know. And even if the following drops to just a mere one, it is still WAY bigger than I ever anticipated. So thank you. I hope I don't let you down. And since I have to learn this as I go and not have the opportunity to be prepared before hand, bare with me. But I got this. It is in my blood to take on any challenge presented to me. Game. Set. Match! For more one on one information, join my group at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/TTVCakes/