Yummy cake for the daughter's big 13!

My daughter is turning 13 on Saturday. She was born on Thanksgiving. That was really nice since I did not have to cook that year!! Anyway, it's also kind of a curse since I have to cook for Thanksgiving and I usually have a party of some sort for her around the same time.
   Since we are a gluten free family (and she needs to avoid nuts and dairy), I always bake some sort of goodie to sing Happy Birthday with and serve. It's been brownies the last few years. This year, thanks to an Adopt a GF Blogger that happens every month thanks to Seamaiden at the Book of Yum, I found Thomas from The GFCF Experience. He has a fabulous Jewish Apple Cake recipe that is super easy and beyond good!!! My non-celiac husband said it did not taste gluten-free.

It was extremely moist! It has beautiful layers that show very well if made in a bundt cake pan.

   I made my cake tonight, planning to put it in the refrigerator for Friday. Well, there isn't any left. It was THAT good. So, if you are gluten-free and casein-free, I recommend you check out what Thomas shares.

Supporting Small Businesses

I have noticed on Facebook, over the last week, a "Small Business Saturday" page that is supposed to take place on Saturday, November 27th, this year. Almost 750,000 people have clicked the "like" button for this page. I think it is great that people want to support small businesses, especially since I am one. However, I do not think people have looked very closely at the page. It is basically an ad for American Express.
If you want to support your small businesses, you need to know that most can not afford the costs involved in credit card sales, let alone American Express which is more expensive than Visa or Mastercard. Definitely support the small businesses in your area. Help them even more by using cash, if you can, and checks, if accepted. Do not use an American Express card. Support your small businesses consistently, not just for one day or by clicking a "like" button.
I sell handmade aprons made from re-purposed materials. I have some friends who run a yoga studio called Evolve Yoga. I have another friend who makes gorgeous, funky jewelry and apparel from re-purposed items. And, I am friends with another company that sells handmade, organic teas, Yera de Herbal Teas. Lastly, there is a struggling small business in our area that is crucial to those with food allergies. None of us accept American Express. We are small businesses that would appreciate your support, however.
Please realize this is a ploy for American Express to obtain information from you. All it is is an ad. To help small businesses, tell them to waive fees the companies have to pay them to "honor" their cards at their establishments. That is what would help small businesses, not a "like".

Turning into a TechnoGeek

I've never really been into technology. Our tvs are older models (one takes at least two people to lift it. I am scared what will happen when it actually dies.) We do not have HD. We did have an 8 year old desktop, but it recently died due to the power source frying. It died while the hubs (my resident computer/technology nerd) was out of town. This was extremely disconcerting since the internet was pulled through the desktop and my kids can not live without the internet. That meant I had to figure out how to re-do everything through a laptop.

I am thinking that was when my inner-geekiness started to peek out of the closet. Since then, I have started to figure out the workings of code. **GASP!!** My cell phone was dying. Lucky me, I was eligible for an upgrade!! I went from a Symbian based Nokia Smartphone to an Android based Samsung Galaxy S. Oh my goodness!! It is like going from a VW Bug from the 70s to a 2011 Tesla Roadster 2.5!! I am having so much fun with my phone. I feel like I don't need/want my iPod Touch anymore. It feels "outdated."

Which brings to me to adding extensions to Google Chrome. Oh wow!! Upgrading again. Internet Explorer is useless. Windows is useless, actually, I am just taking all of this upgrade stuff slowly and can't put all of my computers to Ubuntu just yet. The two that have it on aren't using the internet efficiently.......YET! I will be getting there. I know I will. I can't be outdated by my own children so quickly!!!