The Easy Bake Oven

Remember that toy you wanted as a kid? The one that your mom said was too expensive, or that you didn't need, or that she thought was too violent. I had several, but one of them was an Easy Bake oven. Remember those? They came with little packages of powder, and you added water or milk or something and poured the dough into a little tray, then put it under the warmth of a light bulb for about 15 minutes. It actually did make cookies; at least, one, anyway. I wanted one, but either I wasn't insistent enough or it really was too expensive. I didn't get it, and after I'd grown out of that desire my sister got one. So the Easy Bake oven ended up being part of my childhood after all.
Well, I was in Value Village, trying to scrounge up some props, when I saw it. Sitting on top of a clothing rack as if no girl had ever wanted it as much as she wanted blonde hair. A hot pink and purple box, containing the little metal pan and the plastic oven with a heat lamp to bake little cookies. An Easy Bake oven, complete with the original packages of powder.
I looked at it and thought; "I should buy that. It's only four dollars." But I couldn't bring myself to do it! It seemed so...ridiculous. I could hear Jeremy, Jonathan, Barrett, and Dale's laughter at my stupidity for buying a toy oven. So I left it there, alone on the clothing rack.
Later in the evening, we were at Salvation Army, where Reneyah fell in love with a desk. It was one of those school desks that was a chair and desk in one, with four green metal legs. And she bought it for five dollars.
That was it. If Reneyah could buy a desk for no apparent reason, I could buy an Easy Bake oven. At 8:45, Rhonda raced to the other side of Lethbridge, trying to get to Value Village before it closed at 9:00. We made it with six minutes to spare (Lethbridge isn't that big), and I walked out with that Easy Bake oven in my arms.
I don't plan to use those original packages of powder, because they could be ten years old. I don't know if it works yet, but tonight I'll find out and let you all know.
Everything is going well. It's crunch time, and we're all a little tired, but it's all good. We hope to perfect humming "The Star Spangled Banner" on our kazoos. The juggling is coming along, and our first dress rehearsal is on Friday. On Tuesday we head to Vancouver.

Yikes.