Five Years, Baby!!

Remember this?

And these?

How about this one?

Or this story?

Five years ago today I started a goofy little cake blog, just for fun. I never intended for anyone other than a few close friends to read it, and I was terrified the first time a stranger found it and commented.

Within two months, though, my goofy little cake blog went viral, garnering about 50,000 visitors in a single day.

It's been a wild ride since then. I realized my life-long dream of becoming a published author not once, but twice, and Cake Wrecks even landed on the New York Times Best Sellers List. John and I got to travel across the U.S. and Canada meeting thousands of you readers, sampling dozens of your bakeries, and only almost-dying that one time.

I was invited on more TV shows than I can remember, including David Letterman, Rachael Ray, and I think even Martha Stewart - and one of my proudest achievements in life is that I turned them all down. I've also turned away TV producers, web content "gurus," and website conglomerates offering a pretty penny to purchase Cake Wrecks and turn it into something else - something less personal, something not ours.

Cake Wrecks has been a labor of love from the beginning, and I've fought - and will fight - to always keep it that way. It's not a vehicle to make me famous, or a stepping stone to get me to where I *really* want to be in my career, because I'm already here. True, it has become my job - John's, too -  and like every job it causes heartache and frustration and burnout sometimes. But at the end of the day, I get to check my e-mail, find a cake that makes me giggle, and share it with all of you. That's pretty frickin' awesome.

Five years ago I never would have dreamed my goofy little cake blog would last this long, or that it would amass such a devoted readership. I mean, this blog was supposed to fizzle out four and a half years ago, and yet here you all are! I always told John I'd quit when the readers left, but it turns out you guys are more stubbornly loyal than I anticipated. Curse you.

So here's to us, my dear wreckies, five years, 1,800+ posts, and roughly 8,000 cakes later.

And if all that doesn't deserve cake, then I don't know what does.

So here's Brent Spiner trying on a Carrot Jockey necklace:

Let's be honest: it was all downhill from here. :D

Oh, and I have to give a million thanks to John for getting me through these past five years - and also for not dying that one time - as well as to Lindsey, who writes more than half of our Sweets posts these days, and to Sharyn, who helps me write to the wrecks. You guys are awesome, and get a lifetime pass for extra sprinkles.

Sunday Sweets: Game On!

This week I've been talking video games over on Epbot, swapping recommendations and researching the best non-violent titles for adults, so naturally I HAD to see if some of my favorites exist in Sweet form!

First up, if you like puzzles and adorable robots, and you haven't check out Machinarium, then you're missing out:

Submitted by Amy S. and made by Sweet Disposition Cakes

Look how perfect! And I could have sworn those were real lights, the little light halos are so convincing. Ah-MAZING.

Do games you play on your phone count? I hope so, because I will never get tired of amazing Angry Birds cakes:

Sub'd by Elizabeth M. and made by Artisan Cake Company

Look at the detail!

Have they made an Angry Birds playset yet?* That comes with Lincoln Logs and a slingshot? They totally should. I'd buy it just to line up a row of Piggie heads on my office shelf. :)

One thing I've learned from the last few days of reading video game recommendations: I totally missed out by not playing any Zelda games as a child:

Sub'd by Sarah and made by Flickr member Junebugg79

In fact, I'm not sure which game this cake is from**, and that makes me sad. How could I have frittered away all those hours on Mario brothers when characters this cute existed?

I've promised the Epbot readers that I'm going to remedy this, though, just as soon as I figure out which Zelda games will work on my current consoles, and what order to play them in.

And based on this next cake alone, I'm REALLY looking forward to playing The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask:

Sub'd by Kimmy R. and made by Cakecrumbs

Isn't it gorgeous? I love the colors!

And another long-running series gamers all know and love: Final Fantasy!

Sub'd by Donna M. and made by Cake Rhapsody

I still remember the year I bought John a used PS1 for Christmas, and we spent our whole week off playing Final Fantasy 7 together. Ahh, those were the days.

Speaking of Ye Olden Days, let's get SUPER old school for a minute:

Sub'd by Aliza R. and made by Highland Bakery

Q*bert!

Now, I'm not going to admit that I've played Q*bert, because that would be revealing my age, but... that snake guy is a TOTAL JERK.

I know I was mean to him just a minute ago, but really, how could you ever hate on Mario?

Sub'd by Mira C. and made by Fays Cakes

Especially when you can (sometimes) beat your husband at Mario Kart?

Speaking of husbands, John's an Angry Birds guys, but I am TOTALLY a Plants vs Zombies girl:

Made by Chef Sam

Check out the little triple pea-shooter! Hee! To quote Crazy Dave, "HEAUAHKKAAAHH!"

I've yet to get sucked into World of Warcraft - which is probably a good thing, since I tend to get a little obsessive with games - but I'm still in awe of this Deathwing head by my friend Renee:

Sub'd by Wendy Q. and made by Renee White

It looks like your knife would CLANG if you tried to cut through it! Wow! (Get it? WOW? No? Oh, c'mon, that was perfect.)

Remember how I said I get a little obsessive with games? Well, John does, too, so one time for a good two or three weeks I was what they call a "Skyrim widow." (Fortunately that game *does* have an ending, though, or else our Xbox might have suffered a little "accident.")

Sub'd by Unmuse and made by Baking Obsession

This feisty little dude is Alduin, aka the World-Eater from Skyrim. He looks... grumpy. And hard to chew.

If there's one thing better than a cake themed to a video game, though, it's a cake themed to a BUNCH of video games!

Sub'd by Jamie K. and made by A Piece of Cake Bakery

Ahh, what a great mix of old-school and new-school games! It's all TERRIBLY educational. Plus there's a companion cube, so I can rest easy knowing this post has at least ONE reference to Portal.

(It's NOT a lie! Woot woot!)

Hope you guys had fun this week! Now, go play!

Have a Sweet to submit? Send it to sundaysweets(at)cakewrecks(dot)com.

*As it turns out, there is an angry birds game! It's called Angry Birds: Knock On Wood. Now I have something to get Jen for our anniversary! You think I'm kidding... -john (the hubby of Jen)

**Apparently, this cake is from Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. Thanks everybody! Looks like I've finished my Christmas shopping, too. -still john