Wedding Cake

This is a huge mile stone for me because it's my first! Yes...my first wedding cake!

 They wanted the cake pearlized (can't really tell, but it's shiny) And then brushed embroidery. Orignially they were just going to have the one 10inch layer, but decided the cake needed to be bigger. I'm glad they did that cause it looks more like a wedding cake.

The flowers were furnished by the florist and look pretty cool!! Of course...I had hesitations as I was working on it. With the pearling and then the embroidery. But again...once it had all the "required" elements...it turned out well. I really need to learn to relax!

(Cake: Chocolate with cool whip chocolate filling)

Alice In Wonderland

This cake has been in the "works" ALL year long! Ordered all the way back in January. It was until about 1 1/2 months ago that the theme was picked, so I've been stewing for a long time. I even watched the movie and took notes! Seriously! I had a notebook and pen the whole way through it.

 They wanted Alice but focused more on the Tea Party aspect of it. SO...to incorporate enough of the movie to make the cake a reconizable "Alice in Wonderland" cake, I snatched a few key elements from the movie to hint as such.

 Flowers

 Checkers and hearts

 The Twinkle twinkle little mouse.  *the blue little stars* This is "steam" btw.  :o)

Tea Cup and the little "Eat me" cookie.

And it is finished!

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Bottom layer: Checkerboard vanilla and chocolate with buttercream filling

Middle layer: Chocolate marble with my secret chocolate filling.

Top: White with pink buttercream

Messing around

This technique is called Embroidery-ing. ;o) It looks SO elegant! It is now my new favorite kind of piping over fondant.

I'll be doing it on a wedding cake I've got coming up. But it will be white on white.

On the white fondant...I attempted scrolls. CURSE my shaking! It looks like crap! But if you ignore that wiggles....That sheen you see there on the right side of it...is pearlizing. I'll be doing that on the wedding cake as well. It'll be SO pretty!

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I had never made fondant roses that were supposed to look like roses, I had always just made the "ribbon" roses or gathered roses. SO...because I was curious. I tried it out!

 Not too bad, eh? I LOVE them! My new favorite kind. Although, they are pretty time consuming since you have to make each individual petal.

 Preps for the Alice cake.

Black fondant rose. So sleek looking.  :o)

Camo Cake

I've been kinda busy lately. Making cake. LOTS of it! I'm still not done. I've got two more before the end of the month (next week!). But got a break for a second to come and tell you all I'm still here!

 Barely!

This was Ashton's birthday cake. He couldn't make up his mind till the day before his birthday. Needless to say...his birthday was postponed two days! Which was fine. Grandma and Grandpa were able to come. So it was worth the wait....AND the motherload of cash that kid brought in! Holy moly, I wish we got that kind of dough when we were younger!

Happily Ever After

*If you haven't read the post directly under this one. Do so, first. This is part two!*

....After last nights emotional ride, I couldn't sleep AT. All. It was really horrible. I kept thinking about Aspen and when I'd try to close my eyes, I would instantly invision having her on my finger for those few seconds. Only this time...kicking myself for not pinching her feet against my finger to trap her til I had both hands securely around her. PLUS...all the noises of the night kept jarring me from almost being in a sleep state. I planned everything I was going to do in the morning. Wake up with the sun when all the other birds were up and head back over to the park. We kept the large cage in the car for that sole purpose.

 When morning finally came, I dressed VERY WARMLY! and headed out with Dylan. Jax in the little cage. Of course. The instant I walked down the front steps... I could hear her! VERY CLOSE! Jax was chirping crazy too. I frantically searched the trees around my house and found her in this one....

 Yea, that BIG TALL pine. Nice! So I walked over to that drive way and peered up into it. You wouldn't think you could see anything in it because it's so thick. BUT I saw her! In that one little hole way up high. She could see us too! Of course. I had no idea what I was going to do now. As I was staring up into the tree, something caught my eye and I looked away for a split second and she was gone when I looked back. I didn't see where she flew to either. SO....I walked up and down this sidewalk, praying she hadn't headed back over to the park!  I found her on the other side of our house in those neighbors, trees......

 Yeah....those big huge one, right there! U.G.H.!!! I'm kind of sick of all the huge trees now! There is NO way to climb them because a good 20ft of trunk is in the way of that first climbable branch. I never could see her in these trees, but I could hear her. And Jax too. They were going off at each other. When Jax wasn't chirping, I had youtube parakeets playing on my phone to keep her noisy to try and pin point her. It wasn't until she started flying that I saw her again, heading in this....(see picture below)....direction! She headed toward the direction of the mountains you can see in the bottom right side of the picture then circled back around and landed in the tree that you see between the to skinny ones in the middle. That's two houses down from me and I headed over there.

By this time, she stopped chirpping. Nothing would get her going again. I walked back into their yard (the lady said I could go back there when I was looking yesterday. I extended that invitation into today. It was for a noble cause.) With Jax in tow we went back there. She was on the end of a branch, puffed up (cold obviously) and sitting there watching us. In that tree, is a treehouse platform that I attempted to climb (with Jax and cage), albeit very weakly and clumsily. I'm not as slim and limber as I needed to be. I did managed to get up into it. By this time she had tried to fly down to closer branches, but was still about a foot out of reach. I wasn't going to ruin this opportunity so I was talking to her really calmly and moving slowly. She didn't need to take off again! I climbed up a bit more and slowly reached out with a cupped hand. She was pretty anxious to hop on my finger but still pretty jittery as well. I reached up enough that I was able to pinch her tail quite firmly. She didn't like that one bit. It was more discomfort than trying to fight me. She was ready to be caught! I quickly got her in the cage and she was SO excited to see Jax! They greeted each other quick warmly. Smacking beaks together and chirping.We came home and she's literally been sleeping ALL. DAY. only waking to eat. Not one peep has escaped her beak. Jax chirps quickly, almost as to not wake her. So cute!

And that is the end of this story. 

And, YES! She will be clipped!

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This next picture is just a picture of the new sound barrier that they have FINALLY placed.No more ugly construction. Just landscaping. 

  I don't think I like it. Nothing like a big huge wall to stare at! Covers too much and I can't see the mountains on that side of the valley anymore.  

Aspen

Aspen got out today. I was in the back yard working with Jared when Eli came running around the corner telling me "the bird got away". I was in the middle of talking to Bonnie about wedding stuff when he interupted. Thinking back now, I totally feel bad because I cut her off and ran into the house to see if it was for real! Jax was loyally perched on top of the cage with all the doors shut. I let him in and went back out to look. (Aspen is the blue one in front)

Sometimes the boys like to get the birds out and shut all the doors so they can't get back in. Angers me to no end! But this time, she got out as Eli was standing with the front door open  and Aspen followed the light. Right out the front door! I was just sick! Another beautiful bird of mine. Gone.

    I kept trying to ask which way she flew because I wanted to try and track her. But his finger pointed in a different direction everytime! I was so frustrated! It was around 5:00pm when this happened and still very light out. All wild birds were still very active. And as it happened before with Kortanah and Selene, every stinking bird was chirping. Every car on the freeway was rumbling by twice as loud, and every freaking kid was screaming! I couldn't hear a thing. Or at least the ONE thing I WANTED to hear!
   
   I wandered from yard to yard, trying to listen so intently, but nothing sounded familiar. OH! I might add...it was FREEZING today. WINDY too! No ideal conditions to be staring up into the trees. I brought Jax out in the big cage (locked!) to see if his chirping and the presence of the cage would attract Aspen from wherever she was hiding. For a good hour or more...we wandered, waited, listened and nothing. I finally got cold enough to bring Jax in and warm myself up. Jared got dinner for the boys and I just sat in front of a heater thinking.

   I decided to try again and go with one of the directions Eli had originally pointed. I crossed the street to the park. Going from tree to tree. Staring, whistling, and listening. For those familiar with the park, I ended up back by the sandpit. By the "haunted house". I was calling her by name at this point and saying what I always said to her. "Aspen! Little one, Come here". And I SWEAR I heard her! For those who don't know...there are a TON of HUMUNGUSly tall trees. It was almost impossible to pinpoint a tiny parakeet. But I KNEW I could hear her! She'd respond everytime I called her name. And I DID FIND HER! WAY up high! I almost couldn't believe it! (the picture is from a LONG time ago. But this is the park. Minus the gazebo and CAT loader (tractor)m and blue dumpster. The trees....pretty much look the same!)

   I called Jared to tell him to bring Jax over in the little cage to try and coax her down. So, he did. All this time, she's still calling back to me. (So sweet!) I knew she was scared and exhausted and wanted to come down. Having never manuevered through such thickly concentrated branches, she was having a heck of a time trying to come down. But she WAS doing it. Slowly. I sent Jared back home for the big cage. If she came down, she'd definitely fly to that! I was ringing the bell in it to keep her focused on the objective "homebase".

   Little by little she had gotten down so close, I was able to stand on a stump and reach up to get her to hop on my finger. I couldn't believe it SHE WAS ON MY FINGER!!!! As I turned to walk back to the cage and before I could get a good pinch on her tail or feet so she couldn't fly away, she took off. Right back up into a stinking tree. And it only got worse from there!

(Picture shows the playground RIGHT by the trees she was hanging out in.)

   When the sun started to set, I decided to call a friend in our neighborhood who has a cherry picker. (crane like machine that reaches up high into trees for Tree Trimmers.) We had made the mistake of loosing Kortonah because we were too proud to call someone for a silly ol' bird. I was NOT about to do that again!

   He was so kind, he came over and attempted multiple times. I even went up with him to get her on my finger. SO CLOSE....but she'd get scared and fly away. After 5 attempts and 2 repositions of this massive truck... We were going to try one last time. She was in a good opening for the cherry picker to get to. He just had to move the truck again. And, Again....I was/a, supremely grateful for him to be doing this for us!

   Just as he put the truck into reverse, that loud beeping that large trucks have...scared her off back down into the thicker trees and we couldn't see her. She stopped chirping too. To tired I guess. I felt bad enough for asking the man to come out in the first place, I told him I would just come back in the morning to try again. Seriously, so thankful for his help!

   It was too dark at this point to keep straining the eyes AND NECK! OUCH! That we packed up and came home. I was shaking uncontrollably because of the cold and the boys were getting tired. It was 8:30 by that time and the sun, pretty much set.

   The one thing that kills me the most about all this, is that I KNOW she was wanting to come back. She made that very clear! And knowing that.....I HAVE to go back and try again! This time trying different methods. I have so many "if only's", that I have to have a second chance!

   SHE WAS IN MY HAND!

Biscuits and Gravy or (savory scones)

Here ya go Lish....the recipies you have deprived yourself and family of for HOW MANY YEARS!???!

*Biscuits Supreme  (there's really nothing supreme about them. That part bugs me but that's what they're called)
2 C. White flour (or more)
4t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
2T honey (I use more cause I like mine sweeter)
1/2 C. vegetable oil
2/3 C milk
1egg

Mix dry ingrediants together. Then add wet. (This recipie calls for a lot of oil so I usually add more flour). Mix and then knead until well incorporated. Roll out to desired thickness (1/2inch-ish). Cut out with your butterfly cookie cutter (or the boring round one.). Place on ungreased baking sheet and cook till golden brown (8-10 min).


Chipped Beef Gravy

2T. Butter
2T. Flour
1C. milk
salt and pepper to taste
Cut dried beef. (you can find it in a jar by the canned meat (like tuna) section of your grocery store) Don't forget to save the jar to drink out like mom, grandma, and now, I, do. :oD

Melt butter in pan and add flour. Stir to make a thick paste. Add milk stirring constantly *whisk those unsightly clumps away. Add the beef and bring to a boil. Turn off heat.
Gravy will thicken as it cools.

Note: This recipie is for 1 c of gravy. (dumb considering you just made a pan of biscuits!) Good luck trying to be satisfied  with just one cup. SO....I do about 4T butter 4T flour and pour in milk till I think it will be enough to feed my mini army here. If it doesn't thicken...I had more flour (causing it to clump and become ugly). But still tastes fantastic! 

Another Note: this recipie (minus the beef) is called a "rue" (I think that's how it's spelled) and is used as a basis for A LOT of different recipies. Instead of dried beef, add 1C parmesan and you've got alfredo sauce! Make it more soupy (less flour) add steamed broccli and you've got an awesome homemade creme of broccoli soup! Add cheddar cheese and you've got a yummy cheesy gravy. The skies the limit. Be creative and let me know how it comes out!

p.s. don't burn it! Please.

Anyone else know of some great recipies using a rue?

Becoming who you want others to be...

It's easy to point the finger and say, "I wish that person was more understanding." "I wish that person wouldn't talk like that." "I wish that person would just listen to what I have to say." or "I wish that person would see their potential". But looking behind that finger, just isn't possible because it doesn't "bend" that way.

I was talking to someone very dear who is a huge supporter, somewhat of a life coach. In turn I try and do the same for her. We were talking one afternoon, discussing the goals we had in our life. And in particular, we were talking about putting ourselves out there for advertising. She was telling me about people who write on their websites "about them". And some of the stuff they came up with was so far out there it was almost ridiculous. We laughed a little about it and then I had remembered something I had read along the lines of, act the way you want others to act. And the idea was that your example would rub off onto them and they would begin to act in that manner. (I may be slaughtering that concept but hopefully you understand what I'm trying to say.) I asked her, "Why not be "Extrordinary" or "Unique" or "Amazing" or "Gifted" and even "Successful". As fantastical they seem. Why not?"  You can still have all these things and yet be grounded, accepting, selfless as well. Or at least that's the goal.

SO we challenged each other to sit down and write a list. Of all the ridiculous things we wanted to be. I went home and started writing my list of things. I guess you could call them goals, that I wanted to eventually become and/or work towards. I categorized them into three different....uh...categories? Personal, business, and relationships. To be successful in my life, I needed to write down exactly what it was I wanted to strive for. I love making cakes and eventually I want to have a thriving cake business. In the meantime....it will take babysteps to achieve that. Personally...I want to try to be someone that has more positive than negative in my life. In this day and age, there is A LOT of hard things happening to people. I being one of millions, I'm sure. And it's REALLY easy to allow those things to bring you down. Depress you. And make you feel helpless and discouraged. That alone gets really old. Really fast. So I'm going to try and be more positive. Or at least focus on the positive while I ride the negative out. Things will happen in my life that I will have no control over. But it's up to me how I will react to it. Easier said than done.

As far as relationships...I've  focused on things that I wanted to improve on to have relationships that were remembered fondly rather than with resentment or regret.

After I wrote this big list down. It was almost like it became a living thing. That life had been blown into it and it started happening. As odd as that sounds, just hear me out. All these things were always swimming around in my mind wishing for the day that it would just come out and manifest itself and I'd be changed. Just like that. It wasn't until they were written on paper that it became more real. I was more aware of what I was doing or how I was reacting. I was actually accomplishing what I have wanted to do without having to motivate myself. I've had setbacks and days of laziness. But having the list to read, re-energizes it all over again and I can slowly and eventually mark off everything on my list.

I just wanted to share that with you. And maybe you'll sit down and write a list of who you want to become. Why not?

Here chicky chicky chicky!

Hypothetically speaking. If we were to get chicks, they would look like this.

 And hypothetically speaking. If I were to have a chick of my very own. I would name "her" Sparkles. And then she would die because she was just too little.

But... hypothetically speaking, if the kids were to have their own chicken, they would name them:
*Ring Ring- Dylan
*Halo 1- Eli
*1337- Ashton
*Deadspace- Jade
*Adonia (short for Addy)- Mykael

We may or may not have chickens. And it may or may not be legal to own chickens. I guess we'll never know.

YUMMY!

I made biscuits and gravy with chipped beef the other day and they were REALLY good!

Just wanted to share the love.

You're welcome!

Jelly bean trees and candycoated sunflower seeds

While I was busy in the kitchen one afternoon, Eli came in to me and announced he wanted to plant some seeds. My garden is far from being ready to plant anything and I really didn't want to dig any out for him to play with. So I instantly thought of the the bag of black jelly beans I have hidden in the cupboard and handed him one. I told him it was a jellybean tree seed and to go plant that. SO....he did.

 But he decided he was going to need some "furtilizer" and asked for a bottle of sprinkles. Then Ashton wanted in on the action and noticed the candycoated sunflower seeds I had used on my fishbowl cake last year. (They were old. It was time to plant them.) And he needed plant food as well and grabbed another bottle of sprinkles.

 For some reason, it attracted the attention of all the other kids and it turned into quite an event. Mykael picked the spot. She ordered Jaden to dig the holes (in socks, mind you) and the planting ensued.

 I REALLY don't know WHY she picked the middle of the lawn to dig the holes and by the time I caught it, the holes were already there! Whatever.

 I think the sunflower seeds actually look kind of magical. Like they'll grow into some pretty magnificent and I'll be able to climb up a huge stock and retrieve my wildest dreams.

 And the "plant food"....genius! Which I myself did not come up with.

Mykael had high intentions to keep this little fantastical event going and even went back the next day and stuck sticks in between the clump of grass and the untouched portion to make it look like they were "sprouting". Then by the time easter would come she would have retrieved bigger ones with leaves on them and tied eggs filled with jelly beans. Unfortunately....the "sprouts" turned into makeshift swords and guns and now litter my back yard. Or maybe they've made it to the wood pile for later marshmellow roasting.