Broadly speaking, I'm doing something I love (writing), but day-to-day that means doing something I merely like (all my business writing--the resumes, the grants, brochures, etc.) because I'm not yet making money from the part I actually love (my fiction, and to a lesser degree magazine work).

Am I doing the right thing? I certainly think so. Would I go back to my old job or something similar? Only if that were the only way for DH and me to pay the rent and put food on the table. Is it easy? No. It's much harder than going to a regular job and magically getting a regular paycheck automatically deposited into my account on the 10th and 25th of every month. But so far I think it's worth it.

Regular paychecks can be nice. I just spent a good portion of the afternoon chasing after invoices so that I'll have rent money by the end of the month.

Still, I wouldn't go back to working for a big company. I love running my own business and dealing with my own designs and such.

Quick question...

I'm making a cake. My 8 inch layer pans are shot. My 9x13 is nearly so.

I have two square 8"x8" pans. If I use these for the layers, should I bake for approximately the same time. I'm using a mix. The suggested baking times provided are (in minutes):

13"x9": 33-38

Two 8" rounds: 33-38

Two 9" rounds: 28-33

I was going to just use the time for the 8" rounds, but since it's the same time as what is suggested for the 13"x9", I'm thinking it's too long. What do you think?

t tangent

I have a kind of clueless OTC headache meds question. I woke up with a very bad headache this morning. I took one Aleve at about 8:45AM. That didn't make the headache go away, but brought it down to a dull throbbing that I could mostly ignore. Now the headache is reasserting itself, and I'm not sure what to do. I don't have any Aleve with me, but I do have Advil Cold & Sinus caplets. Should I take one of those? Would it be okay if I took one of those and an extra ibuprofen? Yes, I'm a clueless worry-wort when it comes to combining any meds.

t /tangent

Cindy, I'd go with the time on the 9" rounds.

Jilli, I've done that, mixed and matched, but maybe Tylenol would be a better choice, since it's not an NSAID and both aleve and ibuprofen are.

Cindy, I'd say to go with the time for the 9" rounds, and check it frequently to see how it's doing. The area of an 8x8 pan is about the same as the area of a 9" round; the 8" round time is a assuming a smaller but thicker cake.

Cindy, I'd bake it for 28 minutes and check it to see how much longer it neeeded.

Mom, Cindy's making us do math.

The thickness of the cake is the main factor in the cooking time, so go with the 9" times. Or, you know, what everyone else said.

IIRC, the recommended dosage on the Aleve is 1-2, so it shouldn't do you any harm to have a little more ibuprofen. I was on the equivalent of four ibuprofen at a time three times a day for years and look how I turned out.

Jilli, I haven't tried Aleve, so I don't know what to tell you, except to protect your tummy. Take it with food, or better yet, get some Tylenol, and take that, instead.

Thanks, everyone. Wish me chocolate.

Yes, and now you all know about NSAIDs and what they do, so I expect you all to drug responsibly!