A few friends have asked for my soft gingerbread cake recipe, so I thought it would be easiest to share it here. I first baked it to use in this amazing Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle, but it was so great by itself that I’ll have to make it again.

And again.

Oh, and you should try that pumpkin trifle recipe this Thanksgiving— it’s fabulous. It’s good using the gingerbread mix called for in the recipe. But it is positively awesome using half a pan of this gingerbread.

Happy Baking!

Old Fashioned Gingerbread Recipe

• 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/4 Tablespoons ground ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup solid shortening
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/3 cup molasses
• 1 cup room temperature water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Spray a 9″ X 13″ baking pan with vegetable spray.
3. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger and cinnamon. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl of a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat together the shortening and sugar until fluffy.
5. Scrape sides of bowl. Add the egg and mix again, then the molasses, scraping if necessary.
6. On low speed, add dry ingredients, alternating with water until the batter is smooth. Scrape sides of bowl one more time.
7. Pour into prepared pan and bake for approximately 45 minutes or until tooth pick comes out clean. Cool on wire rack, and serve warm, by itself or topped with whipped cream and caramel sauce.

**Note: This is not the kind of gingerbread that can be rolled out for cookies. It’s a fluid batter that results in soft cake.

1. In November, I most look forward to Thanksgiving.

2. Halloween is over…phew!

3. It’s right there, in the place you left it. Where it doesn’t belong. (Guess how many times a day I say THIS?)

4. Money doesn’t buy happiness, but having enough of it might purchase a little peace of mind.

5. Water is my favorite beverage.

6. “Well, hang fire!” is what my grandmother used to say!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to family pizza and a movie night featuring Donnie’s homemade pizza, tomorrow my plans include taking Eli to a birthday party and Sunday, I want to relax. I won’t have time to, but I’ll want to just the same! LOL!

For more Friday Fill-ins, click here.

November might just be this tired mom’s favorite month of the year. I used to think it was October, what with the arrival of autumn and all the fun family events surrounding Halloween. And my October was truly delightful—I finally made good on a two-year promise to my kids that we’d host a Halloween party, and we all had an awesome time enjoying friends, food and fellowship.

Halloween night, we met up with friends who combined trick-or-treating with a hayride, and I’m convinced that riding around, snuggled in a blanket on a warm bale of hay, is the only way to go.

It was such fun to see my little two-year-old Jonah running around dressed as a perfectly-sized Yoda from “Star Wars,” thrilled to discover the joy that is trick-or-treating. At the first house, he wasn’t sure about the whole thing, but then he realized he’d been given rare, precious candy. When the people at the second house gave him a pack of M&Ms, he clutched it in his little fist and said, “Eat snack! Eat snack!” all the way back to the car. And then he was hooked!

But even though it was a blast and worth every minute of work that went into it, I’m kind of glad that the Halloween madness is over.

November feels like pure peace after all the hurrying and scurrying to accomplish everything on our October calendar. The weather is still perfect, the leaves are at their beautiful peak of fall color, and the Christmas craziness has not yet begun—no matter how hard the retailers try to prematurely shove it down our throats. I refuse to accept it, as stubbornly as a toddler clamps her mouth shut against a spoon heaped with boiled spinach.

This month is a gift I look forward to every year, a blessed lull in an overscheduled calendar, a time for Thanksgiving and family, a time of peace. I want to relax and enjoy the downtime, not turn November into an extended December, no matter how wonderful the holidays might be. As the book of Ecclesiastes says, “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.” For me anyway, the purpose of November is to rest and focus on gratitude.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could bring a little November into every day? My friend Tiffany Hendra is one of the most inspirational people I know. She posted something on Facebook the other day that resonated with my soul and reflects this concept of finding a bit of gratitude and peace in every day.

She suggested that each night, just as we take a good, hot shower to wash away the dirt, sweat and grime from the day, we should also take an internal bath before going to bed, to cleanse away the cares of life.

Unclench your jaw, let out a long exhale, loosen your shoulders and clear your mind. Let go of any drama or irritations that plagued you that day, forgive those who offended you, and give thanks for the gift of life and the comfortable bed you sleep on.

November is the perfect time to do this on a larger scale. Instead of fretting over what December might bring, instead of starting the Christmas planning and shopping, just release all the stress and enjoy the gifts hidden in today. That steaming mug of coffee, the brilliant red cardinal hopping among the orange and golden leaves, the cool breeze refreshing your lungs, the soft flannel enveloping your shoulders, the calmness in knowing there is nowhere else you have to be but enjoying life in this very moment—all those simple things are the gifts of November.

Take the time to enjoy them, won’t you?

Two-year-olds are such fun! I awoke this morning to the sound of Jonah happily playing his little keyboard in his bedroom—after sleeping all night in his own bed! Woo hoo!

Then I discovered that he’d stripped—again!—and was sitting there on this chilly morning totally naked save his diaper, which, thankfully, was still intact because it held a quite malodorous surprise.

Couldn’t that possibly be the definition of “joy”? I mean, how amazing it must be to be able to play that happily while cold, unclothed and sitting in a pile of poop?

After I changed him, he helped me feed the cat breakfast, as he does every morning. He reaches into the container, holds the empty scoop in one hand while he uses the other to grab a fist full of kibble. Then he drops the tiny handful onto Max’s plate, and Max invariably looks up at him as if to say, “Is that all?” Sometimes Jonah repeats the process, but not today. He zeroed his attention on one little piece of cat food, picked it up and asked me, “Candy?”

Hey, at least this time he asked so I could say “No” before he tried to put it in his mouth!

Then he pulled my shirt, saying “Sausage? C’mon!” trying to drag me into the kitchen to fetch him some food. I microwaved his favorite sausage, chopped some grapes and added a handful of dry cereal to his plate. He watched me carefully, every so often saying, “Sauuuuuuusage!” and laughing.

Of course, being two, after begging repeatedly for sausage, he dug into the grapes and ate all of them first.

It’s Halloween and I can’t wait to take him trick-or-treating tonight. He has this new love affair with candy and is going to be completely amazed to find himself in possession of so much of it.

I’m afraid that when Zach and Eli were two, I tended to see the two’s as more terrible than terrific. What a gift to have another child at a mellower, more mature stage of life, when I have the hindsight to appreciate the jewels hidden in every ordinary day. Because this, too, shall pass. And oh how quickly it passes by.

This column ran in the October 12th edition of “The Covington News.”

It’s no secret that autumn is my favorite season, but there are five things about it that stir up a “Jekyll-and-Hyde” love-and-hate style response in me.

1. Having the windows open. I love it because the cool, fresh air circulating through the house feels so amazing. Nothing beats sleeping with the windows cracked open and hearing the leaves stirring outside as the crisp night air sneaks in and curls over my bed. I love snuggling under the blankets, waking up in the morning with a cold nose, and warming up again over a steaming cup of coffee.

However…

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