Restless, Bored, Unmotivated....

Maybe it is just prep-work for the premiere of Mad Men this Sunday, but I am feeling like a seriously pent-up housewife today. No, wait, it's more than just a general malaise, it stems from the fact that my middle cupcake, Cooper, has a wretched fever and is keeping me tied to the house. Normally, I'd relish the chance to waste away in the house all day, but my dear husband was planning on taking all of the children to the cottage in Iowa this weekend! I had BIG plans to buckle down and put together some writing samples to submit to Madison Magazine (thanks again, craigslist!).... now, I'm catering to my baby's every whim, which doesn't amount to much, as he is easy to please, thank God. Alright, no need for arm-twisting: I have been playing Mario Party 8 and Rock Band all day, okay? I know, I know, kind of like throwing B'rer Rabbit into the briar patch, right?

Still, I find my motivation sapped and after compulsively checking facebook about 100 times, writing in my blog, and listening to the new Cold Play album, I find that all I am still thinking about is the fact that I've got the Season 2 disc for Friday Night Lights loaded into the DVD player, ready to go.... Oh, Coach, how could you leave your lovely pregnant wife behind to follow a JOB?!?!? Seriously, do people really make these kinds of decisions? I could go on, but since very, very few of you have seen the show (sadly, disappointingly....) I fear I would just bore you.

Oh, here's a recipe that will KILL if you don't have any of those bizarre nut/coconut haters in the crowd. It seems like a lot of work, but it is actually a pretty easy, from scratch cake:

Italian Cream Cake

1 stick butter
1/2 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
5 egg olks
2 cups cake flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla
3 1/2 oz toasted coconut
1 cup chopped fine pecans, toasted
5 egg whites, beaten to stiff peaks

1. Cream butter and shortening until fluffy, add sugar and continue creaming until sugar is dissolved and very fluffy and smooth. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
2. Sift flour. Add baking soda and salt to flour and sift again.
3. Beating slowly, alternately add flour and buttermilk. Stir in vanilla, coconut, and pecans.
4. Fold in the beaten egg whites.
5. Pour mixture into THREE-8" or 9" cake pans (greased and floured, or generously sprayed with my fave, Baker's Joy). Bake at 350-degrees for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool.
Cream Cheese Frosting

1 8 oz. package of cream cheese (room temp.)
1/2 stick of butter
1 lb. box of powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

1. Beat cream cheese and butter together. Add sugar and mix well. Add vanilla.
2. Whip for a couple minutes.

To assemble Cake:

1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted
3/4 cup toasted coconut

1. Place first layer on cake stand, spread frosting on top and then sprinkle with some of the pecans.
2. Repeat for second layer.
3. Place top layer on and then frost the entire cake (top and sides).
4. Sprinkle remaining pecans on top.
5. Press coconut onto the sides of the cake.