Fourth of July 2012 - Celebrating Freedom from ED

About a month ago, I went to a Fourth of July party at one of my friends' house. Every July she throws a big party and most of the people that attend are in recovery. We always manage to have a good time, eating great food and setting off fireworks! I know that the Fourth of July is when most Americans celebrate the United States' independence, but I celebrated my independence from my eating disorder. I did this first by being proud of the way I looked and feeling comfortable in my clothes, even though I was wearing tight leggings.
The necklace was a birthday present.  I have no idea where the leggings came from and the shirt is from Marshall's.  I sort of look like I'm in camoflage!

The party that I went to was a potluck and no longer feeling constrained by my eating disorder, I made cupcakes.  The recipe I used is incredibly simple, but it's still fun, because I cooked the cakes in little mason jars and I colored the batter red, white, and blue!
I must admit, they turned more like hot pink, white, and baby blue.  I guess I should have used more of the food coloring.  Still, they're really fun!  I got the idea from the blog, Lovely Little Details.

Here's the recipe:
ingredients:
white cake mix (or your favorite white cake recipe)
food coloring
4 3 small bowls
spoon
4-oz masons
white buttercream frosting
pretty sprinkles blueberries

directions:1. mix up your white cake mix according to directions.
2. pour in to your separate bowls and add 1-2 drops of food coloring in each. stir well to mix the color.
3. pour about 3 -4 tablespoons of each color in to your mason jars, layering each color as you move up towards the top. leave about 1/4 cup of space towards the top of the jar to leave room for the cake to rise.
4. cook as directed, using a “water bath.” (Put the jars on a cookie sheet that has a raised edge and fill the cookie sheet halfway with water before putting in the oven.  The blogger explains how to do this more thoroughly in her post about making s'mores cupcakes.)
5. remove from oven and let cool off, then frost each cupcake and add sprinkles blueberries to your liking.  Strawberries would be good too!  
As you can see, the cupcakes are slightly browned on top when they are done.  Guests oohed and ahhed about the presentation at the party and I was told that they were very "moist."  They looked so fancy, I felt like Martha Stewart!

Look at all those colors!  How fun!

As the fireworks exploded into the night, I felt proud of myself and satisfied.  I am only moderately patriotic to my country and as I thought about the meaning of Independence Day, I wished for my country freedom from envy, greed, corruption, prejudice, and oppression.  I smiled as I celebrated my own freedom from ED.