don't be fooled...

my mom may appear all sweet and innocent, but the woman is a fierce competitor. don't let her smiles fool you.

i don't come by my competitive nature naturally. neither does my sister, whitney. we'd both rather keep the peace and make sure everyone has a good time.

well, i had promised my brother sam an apple pie while i was home. we took a trip to the local treasure of an apple orchard to get the perfect apples to make the perfect apple pie. somehow, while we were there, my mom got the idea that we should make TWO apple pies... one would be her's and one would be mine. then, the boys could judge who had made the superior pie. now, i am not afraid of a little friendly competition, so i jumped on board.

again, the woman is a trickster. we got home and had dinner and i settled in to make my pie. well, my mom decides to decline from her pie making duties and i realize the competition is over. it is just me with my lone pie. of course, i am still going to do my absolute best, but as i am not being compared to another sweet treat, the pressure is off a bit.

i am about 3/4 of the way through making my pie when all of a sudden, my mom is at the sink, fiercely peeling and slicing apples! a late entry!? this just doesn't seem fair. she breaks out her oldest and most tried-and-true cookbook (the one she used to make my dad gain some lb's back in the day) and combines two recipes to make hers all fancy! she decides to make her pie have a streusel topping and lattice work! i tell you, the woman is a competitor!

luckily, i did have one trick up my sleeve... my pie came out of the oven with a glorious "I-U" symbol on top and i scored some huge points with the boys. but, i tell you, we don't come by competitiveness naturally... they wouldn't declare a winner for fear of hurting someone's feelings!


my mom's pie is the pretty one on the left. you can't tell, but the "I-U" symbol on mine was quite lovely.


and several friendly golf games were had. i believe that many bets were made, one which included the losers hitchhiking home with no clothes and only a golf club head cover for modesty. yikes...