Sweet Life October 2018

HELLO! Thank you for stopping by!

This is Sweet Life #2! Sweet Life is just a little monthly overview of my progress for the month of October and a chat about my real life… “real real” life?

Working with sugar all the time is my real life… trying not to EAT the sugar all the time is also my real life!

Tried Diet Bet

Last month Rene and I tried a Diet Bet for the first time. Lucky us, we both won by losing 4% of our total weight and made $10.66 each off of splitting the pot with the entrants! Yay us!

It kept me accountable, but I felt resentful for having to do it the WHOLE time! Even though I was the one who wanted to do it. Crazy, I know.

After it was over, I see how it made me feel more accountable for all the little things I eat all the time that I could do without, but it made me feel like the fat kid who needs a diet because I’m not good enough. I’m almost POSITIVE that was an unplanned outcome for their program.

SO… I have uncovered some things to work on there… writing it down.. “I’m resentful for always having to be on a diet as a child…” Ahhh, so I’m a baker out of rebellion?

The self-work goes deep today!

Still, no fall leaves

Last month I said we were going on the Talimena Scenic Byway in October, BUT fall got delayed! WTH? Well, actually the leaves turned later than the original prediction. Now peak viewing is supposed to be this upcoming weekend in November, so we are ON IT!

Gorgeous fall foliage, here we come!

Having been on the Diet Bet, I’m also looking forward to eating out while we are on the drive! I don’t even care what it is! Just so someone else cooks it for me.

Sweet Bytes progress

I made quite a few posts this month! Not as many as I had hoped to make. In my mind, I can post a recipe every day. In reality, the recipes are so involved with pictures, steps, and writing, that they take many hours to prepare.

So, if I can get 2 a week up, I think I could be proud of that. I’ll make that my goal for November!

Rene and I also did Inktober again this year, which is always fun. This year I focused on baking tools and I did a drawing every day during the month.

You can see my ink drawings on my Instagram page.

High points of October:

  • I posted 3 new recipes: chocolate cake, chocolate frosting, and vanilla buttercream 
  • I made some adorable little Trick-or-treater cakes using those recipes
    a dracula mini cake from October for my sweet life
  • I made my first income from this website! $.62!! Don’t laugh, one day I will make a full-time income with this site. In the meantime, I’m happy to prove to myself that if I do my best I can get paid for the work.

Low points of October

  • My dog, Jack, a 148-pound Labradane, has discovered that a neighbor feeds a group of feral cats near the pond by my house. Whenever we get near the pond he yanks as hard as he can to get away from me and goes and EATS the whole little plate of cat food as fast as he can! This has made for a royal pain in the butt trying to figure out how to keep him from acting like there are free hors d’oeuvres at happy hour.My dog Jack, a black labradane riding in the backseat of my car
  • I didn’t watch Hocus Pocus again this year. I had really planned to fit it in, but we don’t own it and I couldn’t find it for free on any streaming service. We also don’t have cable because of reasons… SO no Hocus Pocus for me. I’ll put it on the list again for next year… sigh.
  • I am still not dealing with some hard things. I’m beginning to think I don’t have to “deal” with them. Maybe things work themselves out after all.

On to November!

Well, I just made the commitment to do 2 recipes per week. I think I’ll focus on PIE and PIE accessories!

Hope to hear from you soon! Feel free to drop me a line. 

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About Mikel Ibarra

Mikel Ibarra holds a BFA in painting, is a certified cake decorator, teaches baking and cake decorating classes, and frequently combines her passions for the sake of art. Sweet Bytes is where she shares everything she knows about the art of baking and running a baking business.