Of desserts, departures and Dark Lords

I can't sleep.

I know I'm not the only one in this house who's still awake. Bard's awake. Bo's awake. Houdin's awake.

In less than six hours, we will be standing in an airport waving goodbye to our dear daughter as she boards a plane to China.

China.

Half-way around the world.

I think I'm going to puke.

We all tried to occupy our minds today by keeping busy. Since it's Houdin's birthday, and since I've been promising him that I would teach him how to make cheesecake since Christmas, and since there are too many "sinces" in this sentence, I spent the morning in the kitchen, first making bread (which turned out loverly) and then assisting Houdin with his first Milk Chocolate Cheesecake with Oreo Crust. He insisted on tempering the melted chocolate before adding it to the cream cheese/sour cream/egg mixture because Alton Brown said that was the thing to do. I have to admit, it was the first cheesecake I've ever made that didn't crack on top.

While the cheesecake cooled in the fridge, Bard, Houdin, Monet, Bo and I hopped into the car to drive the 45 minutes to the movie theater to see Revenge of the Sith. All I can say is that Anakin should have noticed when people's eyes turn inhuman colors, that they're most likely evil and should not be trusted. Oh, and I can say this, too; Am I the only one who knew from Episode I that Darth Sidious had the same horrible chin and pointy nose as Senator Palpatine? Bard insists that none of the Jedi had ever seen Sidious, but I find that hard to believe, what with all the "I sense great confusion in you," stuff. Couldn't they sense great EVIL when that creepy Palaptine sauntered into the room? Mace Out-the-Window didn't get the "I sense great freakiness in you and can tell that you're going to do me in" message from our pal Palp? Sheesh. But I suppose George Lucas knows what he's doing. He's just a tad wealthier than I am, after all, so I suppose I can't argue.

After a brief jaunt to Don Pablos for shared appetizers, we drove back home to cut the cheesecake. It was absolutely delicious and Houdin was quite proud, repeatedly drawing everyone's attention to the flawless, uncracked top of the decadent dessert.

And now...oh, my. It's after midnight. I'm going to have to wake up before I even get into bed. Did I mention that I can't sleep?

In less than six hours, my daughter will be flying half-way around the world.

I think I'm going to puke.