The Life of a Dough Dough

Really Duff?

2011-02-28T17:11:00.004-06:00

I have been on Team Duff for as long as I can remember. I've watched every episode of his show and own an autographed copy of his book. As fans go, I'm one of the biggest one can be without stalking the poor man.

That being said, I was super stoked when I found out he was coming out with his own line of cake decorating products. There's everything from pans, cutters, and every color of fondant you can imagine.

When I saw it at Michael's the other day I let out a silent squeal of delight. That is, until I saw the price of the fondant. A 2-pound tub (which is no bigger than a can of soup) will set you back $25.

25 DOLLARS?!? Good lord that's a lot of money (I'm channeling Chris Rock right now)!!

I make all of my fondant from scratch, and by my best calculations it costs me around $5 to make a 5 pound batch. And honestly, fondant isn't that hard to make if you have a little time and patience. So let's see, make it myself and pay $5 or buy the same amount of Duff's for over $60? I think you see what I'm getting at.

Sadly most of his other products were fairly overpriced as well, and so I left Michael's without anything bearing the Duff logo. While I'm sure Duff himself isn't responsible for coming up with the pricing, I hope he realizes that I (and plenty of other baking enthusiasts I'm sure) will not pay through the nose just to get a softball sized piece of fondant that may or may not be as tasty as homemade. My love for Duff is still in tact, but for now it will not be partaking in any of his retail items.

Setting the Record Straight (I Hope)

2010-10-06T12:04:00.007-05:00

A couple of months ago I signed up to make some cookies for church. They were for a reception for the third graders who were receiving their first Bibles. I made little sheep sugar cookies with butter cream wool and fondant heads featured below:

Cute right? So I go deliver the cookies to church on a Friday afternoon and make my way to the kitchen along with some other women doing the same thing. Some of them were dressed in business suits and carrying in store-bought cookies. As I'm placing my cookies on the counter, one of the women in the suit takes one look at me and says, "Wow, what great cookies. Looks like someone has a lot of time on their hands!"

Now, I'm not even sure she said that to be mean (I'm betting that she didn't), but I definitely took it as a band-handed compliment. For one thing, I do NOT have a lot of time on my hands, it's very much the opposite. For another, why does making cute cookies suddenly mean that I need to get a life?

If you can't already tell, I have had this happen to me before. I've heard everything from, "Oh, I wish I could show off like you." to "Well, my Oreos seem pretty lame now." I've even sat and watched a group of women stand around something I've made and rolled their eyes. For some reason whenever I (or anyone else for that matter) decide to make something creative, or even from (gasp) scratch, suddenly the passive-aggressive claws come out.

So I just want to say right here, right now, that I do not bake anything to start a fight, or make anyone else feel inferior just because they may work outside the home and don't have the time or energy to do anything but swing by the bakery at the grocery store. I also don't do it to rub it in the faces of others who might not have the same artistic talents or tendencies. I do it because I love it. Baking is my hobby and my escape. Some people read or jog. I make cookies and cake in the shape of sheep, poodles, cowboy hats, and armadillos. If that makes me weird, so be it, but please don't feel threatened by it. I come in peace.

Hello?? Anyone Still Reading??

2010-07-03T22:58:00.002-05:00

Oh brother, has it really been 4 months? I'm so sorry!

In the event that anyone even reads my blog anymore, let me do an uber-quick catch up: Yes, I am still alive. Yes, I am still a vegetarian. And YES, I still love to make cakes! Although, I'm pretty sure I *think* about making them far, far more than I actually do these days. Wrangling 2 little ones has eaten up the majority of my time, along with trips to Iowa and Australia (which we just got back from on Tuesday--and the jetlag has just about worn off thankfully).

Alrighty then, back to business. As I stated, you haven't missed much cake-wise, but here is the ONE cake I have managed to do recently:

My baby brother Drew graduated from high school (which explains the trip to Iowa). So of course I made his cake. One thing Drew is known for is his "catch phrase", which consists of him pointing into the air and saying, "Very nice!". I did my best to re-create this, making a gumpaste Drew popping out of the middle of a sheet cake.

Here is Gumpaste Drew closeup:

He turned out looking sort of Peanuts/Charles Schultz-like, and I was cool with that.

Until next time, and hopefully the next time will be sooner rather than later!

A New Path.

2010-03-05T21:26:00.005-06:00

So here's the scoop: I have decided once and for all to give vegetarianism a real go (the lacto-ovo kind--I will still eat dairy products). I have been going back and forth on this issue in my head for a while now, but now I believe I am finally ready to embrace my inner-herbivore.

Why now Lauren?
As many of you may know, Richard is a vegetarian and has been for over 20 years now. But he has not, I repeat NOT, pushed me into this in any way. In fact, he was probably the most shocked about this out of everyone I've told so far! He doesn't eat meat because he is somewhat of a picky eater and just doesn't like it.

I, on the other hand really like the taste of meat, but have been feeling increasing guilty about liking it. I blame this mostly on 2 things--watching Food, Inc. (A great documentary...if you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it, though I don't recommend eating right before watching it!), and those "stop animal cruelty" commercials on TV. Suddenly I feel like a big hypocrite--I love animals, yet I've had no problem stuffing my face with them for the past 31 years.

Also, and probably worth noting, I'm in the process of trying to shed my baby weight. I've noticed that the less meat I eat, the more fruits & veggies I eat, thus making the weight loss happen more consistantly.

Is this going to be hard for you?
Honestly, I don't think so. I was already living as a vegetarian about 90% of the time, thanks to having a vegetarian husband. I hardly have enough time to cook one type of meal as it is, so meals at our house have always been meat-free (unless it's been something I can just add chicken to easily, although usually I don't mess with it.) The only time I really eat a lot of meat is when we eat out, so that will be my biggest hurdle. That and Thanksgiving...saying no to the turkey might be difficult.

Will this affect your love of cake?
NO! I am still a cake-head and will continue to be so. The only thing I will need to tweak for a cake I am eating is the fondant, which contains gelatin (which, in case you didn't know, contains ground up hooves...ew.). Happily, I have already found a vegetarian gelatin (yay Whole Foods!) that will hopefully work just as well and won't change the consistancy of the fondant. I'll be making a batch in the next week, so keep your fingers crossed for me.

So there you go. I'm not going to promise that this will go 100% smoothly. But I want to give it a legitimate shot and see how I do.

What? I Made a Cake??

2010-02-16T21:45:00.006-06:00

Yeah, so my blogging for 2010 has had a very slow start. I really need to clone myself so I can do everything that I need/want to do in a day!

Anyhoo, after something like 10 months since my last big cake project, I am happy to share this:

We held a very belated holiday party with Richard's team, and so I grabbed the opportunity to get creative. My execution wasn't as clean as I know it could have been, and I blame that on a lack of time and me being a bit rusty. But that's the great thing about whimsical cakes like this--no one but me can see all the little flaws. So now that I have a recent cake under my belt, I can prep for Olivia's birthday coming up in 1 month.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We've been keeping busy here. We had a snowstorm on Thursday that broke the previous snowfall record for a 24-hour period in Dallas. It was the heavy, slushy snow that is perfect for building snowmen, and so I helped Olivia build one which we dubbed "Cowboy Frosty".

(Because really, how can you build a snowman in Texas and not put a cowboy hat on him?)

Ruby continues to be a very mellow baby. She loves to be carried around so she can look around at everything, which up until about a week ago was just fine. But now that she's at least 15 pounds, it's taking a toll on Mommy's back!

What can I say, I'm a great chef I guess. This little chunker loves her some breastmilk!

2009 (aka Best Year Ever!)

2009-12-31T16:35:00.005-06:00

This has been hands-down the busiest & best year of my life. I would summarize, but I'll just let you go back through my posts at your leisure :)

But the biggest event of the year happened a little over a month ago (and also explains my huge lack of posting lately). Everyone, meet the newest little love of my life, Ruby Elizabeth:

Ruby decided to make her debut 18 days early, but everything with the birth went flawlessly (except maybe the part where my mom had to drop everything and drive down here more than a week earlier than she expected). And after having one baby with an epidural(Ruby) and one without(Olivia), I highly recommend the method WITH one!

Other than my expected lack of sleep, Ruby is a very good baby. She only cries when she's hungry, and even sleeps in her crib at night (a feat that her big sis Olivia didn't accomplish until she was about a year old). She's already 6 weeks old and starting to grin and smile, which makes all the sleepless nights more than worthwhile. Olivia adores her, and can't wait until Ruby is bigger and does more than eat and sleep all day!

We had a wonderful Christmas at home, and in very un-Texas like fashion, we ended up with snow on the ground Christmas Day!

My baking was kept to a minimum (I plan to make up for that next year!), but I did manage to whip up some festive sugar cookies:

I used homemade fondant, royal icing, and sugar sprinkles. Very tasty if I do say so myself, but now that I'm back on WW I will have to watch myself around my baked goods once again. I'm actually pretty excited about getting the baby weight off though, since I was only 2 pounds away from my goal before I got pregnant. I will achieve lifetime membership if it's the last thing I do!

I think that about does it for 2009. It will be a hard year to beat for sure! My only resolution this year is to take time and enjoy life (and to maybe keep up the blog a bit better than I have lately) :)

Happy New Year to One and All!

This About Sums it Up!

2009-11-05T13:40:00.000-06:00

The First Time I Saw Your Face...

2009-10-23T17:12:00.002-05:00

Yesterday at the doctor I had an ultrasound to make sure all was well with "The Tadpole". While they had me on the examining table with the lovely goo smeared all over my belly, the technician decided to try for a 3D image.

Boy, am I glad she did! All together now:

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!

I for one was floored at how clear the images were. We didn't get this opportunity with Olivia since we were living in a tiny little Iowa town that had a tiny little hospital that didn't have access to cool ultrasound gadgets. I'm sure I was lying there with a great big goofy smile on my face--it was a very surreal moment.

The baby looks a lot like Olivia did when she was born, but not completely identical. They are definitely siblings!

Only 6 weeks (or less) to go...

Back in the Baking Saddle

2009-10-22T17:08:00.006-05:00

After what has seemed like an eternity for a lot of you I'm sure, I'm proud to say that I've been keeping busy with a few sugary projects this past month. As you will soon see, this has been a time for cookies & other mini creations!

First up, I baked these leaf cookies for Richard's monthly district manager meeting:

These are sugar cookies decorated with yellow, orange, & red fondant, and brushed with a touch of bronze luster dust to give them a bit more life. The verdict: Everyone loved them, but Richard said they were a tad too sweet. (Mind you, the man doesn't care for cake because the frosting is too sweet...he's sort of weird, what can I say?)

Next up, I had a blast creating this mini cake "wreckplica" for the extra-special occasion of Jen Yates of Cake Wrecks fame making an appearance in Dallas for her book signing:

I didn't win the contest, but I did manage an honorable mention on Jen's Facebook page. I also got my picture taken with her while she was signing my book!

(As it turns out I was extremely lucky to get to meet her, as her book tour came to a screeching halt mere hours after this photo was taken. Check out Cake Wrecks for the full story...)

A couple of weeks later my parents & Drew came down to Dallas for a quick visit, so I whipped up some candy corn cookies for refreshments:

Again, sugar cookies with fondant, but this time I used food coloring to paint the orange & yellow stripes on. This method works pretty well, as long as you allow plenty of drying time.

And last but certainly not least, I made these house cookies:

Stephanie had sent me the cookie cutter and sprinkles as a housewarming gift, and asked me to do a poll of what our family thinks the gender of the baby will be.

Olivia VERY quickly sprinkled lots of pink on her cookie (and really, is anyone that surprised?), I did mine in blue after listening to my motherly instincts (and for anyone who doesn't know, I was more than certain I was having a boy the last time, and, well, you can see how accurate I was!), and Richard couldn't be swayed one way or another. Only time will tell, and that time is coming up fast!

It Takes a Lot of Little Nuts to Make a Jar of Peanut Butter...

2009-09-30T18:35:00.003-05:00

I have been eating a LOT of peanut butter sandwiches these days. I blame this on the baby, who apparently loves the stuff and makes me crave it every day around lunchtime. For as long as I can remember, every single time I make a peanut butter sandwich (or anything else with peanut butter for that matter), I get the classic song from Sesame Street in my head.

I'm sure any of you who are at least 25 or older will remember this and start singing along. Enjoy!

Because Regular-Sized Cupcakes Apparently Suck!

2009-09-17T18:07:00.004-05:00

I saw this commercial on TV today and just had to share:

I think this ad is hilarious for a few reasons:

- It has your typical "cheesy infomercial" feel to it. The announcer's voice, the acting, the sub-par product...it's all awesomely bad! I also love how they make up a problem that really doesn't exist in the real world. I mean, how many of us lie awake and night and think, "Man, cupcakes just aren't BIG enough. If only someone would make a giant cupcake to feed my face better!"

- Contrary to it's name, the "Big Top Cupcake" is not technically a cupcake at all. To be a true cupcake, it has to be baked in one piece (Poor Duff Goldman learned that the hard way when he was stripped of his world record for baking the world's largest cupcake when it was revealed that he had baked his cupcake in several pieces. Oops!). You'll notice that they have to bake their "cupcake" in two separate pans, and then stack them together. There is a reason why cupcakes are not that big--if you really tried to bake a cupcake that huge, you would have a mass that was burnt on the outside and still raw on the inside.

- You would think that they could have maybe hired better decorators for the finished product...the first thing that popped into my mind while watching was "Wow, I think these people watch & worship Sandra Lee".

P.S. No, I haven't given up making cakes myself. I plan on getting a few creations completed before Tadpole 2 makes his/her debut into the world. Stay tuned!

Dancing Queen

2009-09-14T21:04:00.004-05:00

I had always said that when I grew up and had a family of my own, I wanted to have at least one little girl so that I could put pretty bows in her hair and watch her in dance recitals. Well, the hairbow thing is still pretty hit and miss, but today my other wish is starting to come true: Olivia had her first ballet class!

After taking several years of dance myself back in the day, I was more than willing to sign Olivia up after she told me she wanted to take ballet. "But NOT tap, JUST ballet!" she specified. So okie dokie, I registered her for JUST ballet class on Monday afternoons.

Today was the big day. Just the smell of her new little ballet shoes took me right back to my dancing days. Olivia was so stinkin' cute! But don't take my word for it:

She couldn't wait to practice her new moves:

And after class was over, she was beaming ear to ear, and wanted to do it all again right then and there!

I'm so glad she loved it, and I'm hoping this means many years of dance recitals complete with cute little costumes!

It's the Little Things That Make Life Grand.

2009-09-01T15:46:00.002-05:00

If you read my blog regularly you already know I'm a Craig Ferguson uber-fan. And after 3 long weeks of reruns I was giddy when he was finally back last night.

Not only is he now in HD, but he has new opening credits!

Welcome back Craigers! My life is complete once again.

There's Something I've Been Neglecting Lately...

2009-08-27T21:21:00.004-05:00

...my poor, innocent blog!

This is by far the longest I have gone without a post, and for that I am sorry. However, if you knew how frakkin' busy I have been these last few weeks, you would truly understand!

The big news, of course, is the move. After 8 1/2 years of being gypsies, we have finally settled into what I hope to be our home for a very, very long time. We've pretty much gotten everything unpacked now, and we're settling in very nicely. You would think the more times you move the easier it gets, but no matter how organized you are it always takes every ounce of strength you have to get through. But in this case, it was well worth it!

As far as other things going on, I am getting along very well with my pregnancy. By the end of next week I will already be starting the 3rd trimester, which is pretty mind-boggling. This new little one will be here before we know it! I've got all of our baby gear stashed in what will be the nursery/extra bedroom, but I will need to go through it all and organize it a bit better. The room has come with lovely bright purple walls, so if it's a girl we're all set, but if it's a boy we may have some redecorating to do unless we can figure out a way to make it work.

Olivia starts her final year of preschool on Monday, and it will be nice to get back into a better routine. She coped very well with the move, but I can tell she's ready to play with other kids on a regular basis again. Plus it will be nice to get to have a little "me" time in the mornings!

So I think that about sums it up for now. I will try my hardest to get back into blogging more often!

Home Sweet Home

The Half-Way Point

2009-07-18T18:27:00.004-05:00

Friday marked week 20 of my pregnancy (20 down, 20 or so to go!). With the exception of a few dizzy spells, I'm feeling pretty darn good. I'm also finally starting to show a little bit, so when I tell people I'm pregnant I don't get quite as many "oh, sure you are" looks.

I had my doctor's appointment, and we had our routine 20-week ultrasound. The Tadpole (or "Scoot" as we've started calling this one sometimes) is growing right on schedule, has all his/her internal organs & appendenges working and in the right spots, and we were treated to a demo of his/her's suckling & swallowing abilities!

No, we did not find out the gender. And no, we didn't want to. I have no problem with other people finding out ahead of time with their babies, but for some reason I like the idea of being surprised on delivery day. Otherwise it feels too much like picking up someone you already know from the airport for me. Besides, everything we already have from Olivia is very unisex (jungle animal theme mostly), and there's really no real rush to find out one way or the other.

Here are some profile shots of our little bun in the oven:

Keep on baking, little one!

Next Stop---> Homeownership!

2009-07-05T16:08:00.005-05:00

When we moved to Texas at the beginning of the year, we decided to rent at first so that we had an opportunity to get familiar with the Dallas area. And after 6 months of exploring, we decided that we really liked Plano. It's not that we don't like Frisco, but Plano is way more established & closer to the main highways that Richard uses all the time for work. Plus Plano doesn't have as much of a "little boxes made of ticky-tacky" feel to it.

And so with that, we began our homesearch online. Lots of houses caught our eye, but we somehow managed to narrow it down to 10 that we wanted to view. We were able to see 8 of the 10 in one day (2 were contract pending), and of those we really liked 3 of them, and of those there was one in particular that we really, REALLY liked. The house had 99% of what we wanted, and it was in our price range to boot!

We took the weekend to think everything over, and decided to just go for it and make an offer on our #1 pick, assuming we would probably be going back-and-forth before an agreement (if any) was made. But to our surprise, the next day we got word that the sellers had agreed to our first offer! Now we are awaiting the inspection on Wednesday, and the final approval of our mortgage loan. All going well, we close on the 29th, and move in on the 2nd.

So how am I feeling about this? I'm honestly trying to contain my excitement until I know everything is going according to plan. I think this is mostly because the whole process has gone WAY faster than I had pictured, and in the back of my mind I'm waiting for something to go wrong. Buying a house can't be this easy, can it?? But I'm also thinking happy thoughts, and enjoying looking at new furniture for the new place. Besides, worse case scenario is that we don't buy the house, and if that happens we'll just stay put until the house that's really meant to be comes along.

But keep your fingers crossed for us, and just as soon as we know all is well I'll post pictures of our new home!

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-04T12:53:00.001-05:00

Road Trip 2009 (Part 2)

2009-06-19T16:00:00.014-05:00

So the main reason we took our roadtrip early this year was so that we had a great excuse to get back to Iowa in time for my cousin Bethany's wedding. And we also allowed time to spend a couple days in K-ville to catch up with family & friends.

One highlight: Olivia was finally big enough to ride my dad's Trail-a-Bike attachment! Dad used to use this with Drew all the time when he was little, and it had been sitting in the garage just waiting for grandkids to come along to use it. Needless to say, both Olivia & Grandpa had a blast together!

We also managed to arrange a impromptu visit with some of my Iowa friends & their kiddos.

Stephanie, Zack, Isaac, & Ian:

Kelly & Carter:

Andy (and me):

The kids had a blast at my parents' house. It has the perfect layout for running laps!

Carter & Olivia also treated us to a piano concert:

We mananged to get the kids to sit still long enough (barely) to snap a group shot. Boy o' boy, those girls look like trouble!

Then it was off to Council Bluffs for the wedding, and on the way we stopped in Atlantic to pick up Nathaniel & Amber. We got to see their house, and they surprised me with a framed drawing of a dodo bird in a baker's hat. No doubt this will be the Dough Dough logo one day!

And we had just enough time to stop by and see my grandparents. Olivia was a little bit shy, but by the end of the visit was happy enough to sit with Grandma Betty for a quick snapshot:

Whew! I think that pretty much sums up our busy May. June hasn't been nearly as exciting, but believe me I am not complaining at all! As hot as it has been down here, we've been spending plenty of time either in the kiddie pool or inside watching cartoons. Aw yeah!

Road Trip 2009 (Part 1)

2009-06-16T15:13:00.022-05:00

At least once a year we find ourselves going on an epic journey somewhere in the good ol' US of A, and this year was certainly no exception! This year took us on a loop through Texas, New Mexico, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, and Oklahoma (whew!).

Here are some highlights...

First stop: Lubbock, TX to visit Buddy Holly:

Roswell, NM. This is where (supposedly) the UFO crashed & the government covered up the evidence. I'm not so sure about that, but the town sure embraces the idea. There were about 50 alien shops that looks just like this one:

But we did run into a couple of green guys out in front of the UFO museum:

Then in was off to Fort Sumner to visit Billy the Kid. Understandably, he wasn't too talkative:

Olivia liked the Billy mannequin in the gift shop!

We took a drive through Palo Duro Canyon (think Grand Canyon, only way smaller):

Next it was off to Cadillac Ranch. A bit on the tacky side, and the paint fumes kept me at a distance:

Olivia didn't quite know what to make of it either. She wanted to climb the cars after watching some punk teenagers do it, but needless to say we didn't let her:

Sticking with the car theme, we made the loooong trip in the middle of nowhere to Nebraska to see Carhenge. Carhenge is a close-to-actual-scale replica of Stonehenge, only instead of rocks they used cars painted grey. Very cool:

Next I treated Richard & Olivia to a tourist spot of my childhood, the Danish Windmill in Elk Horn, IA. I'm about one-eighth Danish (mom's side), so I've been there a few times, although I hadn't been back in about 15 years:

Our last stop before K-ville was John Wayne's birthplace in Winterset, IA:

Part 2 next time!

Playing Catch Up

2009-06-13T21:24:00.014-05:00

In an attempt to redeem myself for slacking off on here lately, I'm going to take advantage of a relatively quiet June and fill everyone in on what I have been up to this past month. I'll probably need to do this in a few entries, so I'd better get crackin'...

HOT SPRINGS, VA (May 2009)

Every other year, I get to go with Richard on his annual regional directors' reward trip for work. This year we were whisked away to a 3-day jaunt to The Homestead in Hot Springs, which is up in the mountains of Virginia.

We flew in to North Carolina where the company jet was waiting to take us the rest of our journey. I have never flown in a private jet before, and let me say it was quite the experience!

Here I am, a little bit on the queasy side, but putting on a brave face...

This sign on one of the panels was both amusing and alarming...

Our landing strip, which was about the size of a Band-Aid. It sat on top of a 4,000-foot mountain, and the wind made landing nothing if not thrilling...

But we survived the landing, and soon we arrived at the Homestead Resort, which was absolutely breathtaking to say the least:

This was just the lobby!!!!

And the indoor pool:

Other than a super-short morning meeting Richard went to on the first day, this was a trip mainly for relaxing & doing our own thing. Lots of the other couples went on hiking tours, skeet shooting, & horseback riding, but since we are in the "family way", we opted out of that and did a lot of mild exploring around the grounds, took in the scenery, and my personal favorite, napped!

The afternoon group activities that were planned made me dust of my high school P.E. badminton skills. I did pretty good considering I haven't whacked a birdie in about 12 years...

Richard did alright too, but he called the birdie a "shuttlecock", which made us giggle...

There was also a mini-golf course. The picture makes it seem mild, but what you can't see very well is that this course was very hilly, and you had to be careful or your ball would roll down the hill and off the course, which piled on the number of strokes, at least for me!

On the last night we got dressed up for our Civil War Costume Party. As you can see, I was a dead-ringer for Little Bo Peep, and Richard was an army Captain (or General, or something):

We all gathered for cocktails & appetizers outside, and as a special treat we got to watch a Birds of Prey demonstration. The handler seemed to enjoy trying to get the bird to fly down as close to people's heads as possible:

And finally, after dinner all the ladies in the house decided to party like it was 1899. I believe the song we were dancing to here was Black Eyed Peas, "Boom Boom Pow", which isn't exactly historically accurate, but fun anyhow:

And there you have it. We had a great time (thanks Keith & Charlie!!), but we were also happy to get back home so we could rest up for a couple of days before leaving home once again for ROAD TRIP 2009!!

to be continued.....

It's MY Blog...

2009-06-06T20:35:00.003-05:00

...and I'll post as many Craig Ferguson clips as I want to!

Seriously though, this was his opening Wednesday night, and it is a true gem. Biffy, this one's for you:

P.S. Happy Birthday Dad!

There's Something In The Oven...

2009-05-22T17:47:00.003-05:00

But this time it's NOT a cake...

WE'RE PREGNANT!!

I'm 12 weeks along, which makes me due December 4th. We couldn't be more excited if we tried!

So in case you were wondering why my blogging frequency has tanked in the past couple of months, there's your answer. I have been feeling the lovely effects of being with-child, mostly the tiredness & the nausea. Oh, the nausea... I'm very hopeful that I will be feeling much better in the next couple weeks so that I can get back to caking. It's very weird to love making cake but not being able to stand the smell of it!

Olivia is psyched about becoming a big sister, although she's a little confused about the whole process. Every morning she'll ask me, "Is the baby coming out today?".

I will be sure to post our ultrasound pictures as soon as Richard scans them, but I wanted to fill you in on our exciting news before we took off for our road trip tomorrow. All I can say is that Richard is a saint for willing to travel many long hours with a 4-year-old and a pregnant woman, both of whom will need to go to the bathroom every 10 minutes!

Rain, Rain, and More Rain.

2009-05-04T12:23:00.005-05:00

It has been quite the rainy & stormy few days around here. I've been through many storms in my life, but Texas storms seem a bit more intense so far. The Cowboys were about blown away to Oz over the weekend (I'm referring of course to the scary collapse of the practice facility!), our neighbors down the street had their entire backyard fence blow away, and the empty lot next to our house has been converted to a pond. Talk about fun times, NOT!

On a more positive note, Olivia has made her transformation into a Texan quite gracefully:

Now, I've never been that big into the whole "country" thing, but as adorable as Olivia is in this getup I could be converted yet. Well, probably not, but hey anything's possible right?

Prepare to Shake Your Rumps!

2009-04-18T16:31:00.003-05:00

Yet another reason why I love Craig Ferguson...his use of dance-inducing music & puppets are top-notch:

And Now, Happy Bunnies...

2009-04-12T17:27:00.007-05:00

Happy Easter Everyone!

8 Years

2009-04-07T12:53:00.002-05:00

Or as Richard was saying this morning before leaving for work, "8 long, looooong years." He was kidding. I think.

We don't have any big anniversary plans for today, but we are gearing up for Friday night when the two of us get to go see Morrissey in concert.

It should be a great show!

Things That Make You Go Hmmmm...

2009-04-02T14:49:00.002-05:00

There is this store down here that has me a little bit baffled:

As opposed to what exactly???

Store Clerk: And will you be taking your condoms to go or will you be enjoying them here?

Customer: Gee, we normally just take 'em to go, but today I feel like dining-in. What do you think, honey?

Oh my.

2009-03-29T08:49:00.006-05:00

Few things leave me speechless.

That being said, I was told that a couple from my hometown in Iowa was going to be featured on CMT's hit (?) show My Redneck Wedding. And so I made sure to TiVo it, thinking it would be just a nice, simple, perhaps country-themed ceremony. After all, I got married there, and I feel my wedding was pretty darn great, so how bad could it be?

Even as I sit here, I'm having trouble digesting what I saw.

First off, let me just say that I consider myself a laid-back, kindhearted person, and as long as someone is happy with their life, who am I to judge? And I also understand the fact that reality shows go out of their way to edit the content that makes the show as "ratings friendly" as possible. But still...

I should also add that Richard watched it with me, and this made the experience that much more entertaining. His mouth was literally hanging open from start to finish! And afterwards, he said (and I am NOT making this up), "If I had watched this 10 years ago, I would never have flown over & met you." Wow.

So let me try and answer a couple of questions some of you may have:

Is that REALLY what Knoxville is like?
Well, yes & no. Yes, people like that do exist in my hometown, as they do in many towns all over the Midwest. But no, not everyone thinks rolling down a hill in a tractor tire or getting married at the fairgrounds in a pile of cow dung is a good idea. And I would also like to point out that this couple was actually from Bussey, which is a tiny little town about 10 miles out of K-ville. That should make me feel better, right?

Is this wedding an accurate portrayal of an Iowa wedding?
I sincerely hope not! First off, this wedding screamed "thrown together quickly because we haven't got anything better to do". Both of them were unemployed (by CHOICE, mind you) and they had $7.65 to spend, if you go by what they counted out of their money jar. And I could be wrong, but neither of them seemed that excited about getting married at all. Do I smell a shotgun?

Secondly the, ahem, wedding attire was less-than flattering. The bride wore a dress that did NOT fit her (you could actually see she was wearing an old t-shirt & jeans underneath because the dress wouldn't close all the way!!), and the groom was wearing what he always wore, some camouflage coveralls and a nasty hat w/ duct tape that had the word "hat" written on it w/ a marker. And the wedding party wore basically the same thing. Classy with a capital C.

And the cake?!?! I really don't know what to say about the cake, I had to look away it was so bad. All I can say is that I hope "The John Deere Colored Nightmare" wasn't too expensive.

Finally, the touching ending where the bride & groom exchange gifts (a CB radio & what looked like a teddy bear-like thing) and the bride says, "this is all touching & all but can go and feed my face now?" *sniff* I just love happy endings.

I am only at the tip of the iceberg of what I could say. I didn't even get to the part where the bride's self-written wedding vows included "you know I love cheeseburgers..." But perhaps I should quit now before I have an angry mob at my doorstep. Besides, don't just take my word for it...I'm sure CMT will air the episode a few more times, so you should just see it for yourself.

Super Little Bear

2009-03-25T14:28:00.004-05:00

Olivia's preschool has a class "pet" named Super Little Bear, who is a teddy bear from the Cheesecake Factory (at least I got that impression because of the logo on his T-shirt). The kids get to take turns taking SLB home with them for a couple of days, and Monday was Olivia's turn!

Olivia & SLB were best buddies and did everything together, including Olivia's 4-year checkup, which included 4 shots and a finger-prick (Olivia was very brave and only cried while the shots were being done, but I don't think she's in any hurry to go back to the doctor any time soon!).

This morning Olivia was a little bit sad that she had to take Super Little Bear back to school, but she understood that she needed to so that someone else could get their turn. What a smart, kindhearted girl I have!

A Labor of Love

2009-03-18T13:41:00.006-05:00

Olivia turned 4 on Monday, and as promised I made her a pink castle cake:

While this was a fun cake to make, it was also hands-down the HARDEST cake I've ever made! The brick pattern, the flags, the windows, all of the rest of the little details...needless to say I was pretty wiped out when it was all done. I'm happy how it turned out, but I've gained wisdom for any future castle cakes I do in the future that may help them be even better.

But the only opinion that truly matters in the client, and she was thrilled!

"Thanks Mom!"

And now, for your enjoyment/amusement, and also to go along with the 4th Birthday theme, I came across this photo of yours-truly on my 4th birthday WAY back in 1983:

Doll cakes were all the rage back then, and so my mom made me one complete with trick candles that kept relighting (note me laughing to the point of getting hiccups!). And yes, I had gotten my hands on a pair of scissors and trimmed my own bangs right before my birthday. You're welcome.

Hehehe.

2009-03-11T09:56:00.002-05:00

Here's the latest comic from Drew, which made me giggle since I am a "watcher"...enjoy.

www.superpoop.com

Life is Good.

2009-03-08T18:28:00.002-05:00

I love this photo for a couple of reasons.

First, it shows the beauty of the pond & fountain we found while exploring Plano the other day, along with a certain sweetie in a cute pose taking it all in.

But more importantly, it shows that Olivia has finally opened up to the idea of wearing pretty hairbows, which has always been nothing short of a challenge. She normally hates having anything in her hair, but on this particular day it was HER idea to put it on!

And best of all, she left it alone the entire time we were out, which was at least 3 hours...she waited until we got home before she yanked it out and threw it on the floor. Hey, I'll take it!

Gotta Love Smokey!

2009-02-28T18:15:00.006-06:00

Today Richard & I watched Smokey Robinson as a guest on Elvis Costello's show Spectacle (which if you have Showtime, I highly recommend it!). Smokey has always held a soft spot in my heart, and it was great to see him chat about the good ol' days with Motown & then sing a few of his favorites with Elvis & the Imposters. I can only hope I age as gracefully as Smokey has...he's still such a cutie!

One of the songs they sang was "You Really Got A Hold On Me". Now, maybe this will show my age a bit, but I cannot hear that song and NOT think of this priceless gem from Sesame Street:

It's got it all...Smokey, groping muppets, a catchy tune...ahh yeah!

I know...

2009-02-22T11:15:00.002-06:00

...I have been a horrible blogger lately.

But hey, don't blame me! For one thing, I've been trying to get out into my new surroundings and take it all in. It's been fun exploring the area and getting familiar with the different suberbs (although I've mostly stuck to Frisco & Plano). Olivia loves her new school, and Richard seems to be enjoying the challenge of getting Texans aquainted with Family Video (in case you didn't know, Blockbuster originated right here in Dallas, and they're everywhere!).

For another thing, my caking has all but grinded to a halt this month. That's what happens I suppose when:

1. I don't know anyone well enough yet to say, "Hey! I can make your upcoming birthday/baby shower/random holiday cake for you!" and not have them slowly back away in fear.

2. I am married to a man who doesn't care much for cake (FREAK!).

3. After losing nearly 50 pounds in the last 6 months(THANK YOU WW!), it's probably not a very good idea to have cake in the house all of the time calling to me, "Laauurreenn, come on, one little bite won't hurt youuuuu..."

But don't dispair, things are looking up! Olivia's 4th birthday is coming up in 4 weeks, and she has ordered "a big pink castle cake with a unicorn & carriage in front, and gingerbread girls for dessert." Those are her exact words...apparently the cake isn't the dessert?

Also, coming up in April is a local sugar art show, and I would really like to enter at least one (maybe two) cakes in that and see how I do. Thankfully these cakes can be dummies, so I can start working on them ASAP.

So stay tuned and (hopefully) be wowed!

Kittens!

2009-02-16T20:59:00.002-06:00

I just had to share this video...

Makes you just want to run out and adopt a kitten, doesn't it?!?

The Hippity Hop Dance

2009-02-07T20:46:00.001-06:00

Olivia learned this little diddy from one of her favorite shows, Max & Ruby.

Take it away Olivia!!

Happy Happy Joy Joy!

2009-02-03T15:17:00.007-06:00

One of my favorite sites on the World Wide Web is CakeCentral. I visit there several, if not hundreds of times a week. It is a website that cake decorators from all over the globe congregate and talk about, what else, CAKE! We also share photos, stories, tricks of the trade, etc.

Today I go there and I am greeted by this screen:

Take a look at the cake on the top left hand side under the heading, "Popular Valentine's Day Cake Photos". Does it look familiar?

Perhaps this will jog your memory:

That's right...it's MY cake from last Valentine's Day!!! I'm officially POPULAR!

Needless to say, I was very pleased with myself:

(Wow, am I really that goofy-looking? Yowza!)

Anyhoo, now if I could just make it onto the "All-Time Popular Cake Photos", I can die a happy cake-fanatic.

Help a Dough Dough Out, Please?

2009-02-02T20:12:00.004-06:00

Okay so here's the deal...

There are only a few states right now that allow selling baked goods out of one's home. And unfortunately, Texas is NOT one of those states. This really stinks because as a gal who loves making cakes and also loves the idea of being able to have a cake decorating business out of my home, I cannot do it legally.

There are ways around this. Option A: I could spend a boatload of money to buy or rent a commercial kitchen. Or, I could go with Option B: Just say, "Damn the Man!" and sell cakes out of my home anyway, running the risk of being hauled off to jail.

Well, Option A is just not in cards, yet. It is a definate goal of mine for down the road, but for now it's pie-in-the-sky thinking. And Option B, well...even though the chances of anyone turning me in are slim (not to mention the fact that many, many people do it all the time), I know I would be the ONE unlucky person to get caught.

What's that? Get to the point Lauren? Oh, alright...

A fellow cake guru from Texas has mananged to score a meeting with one of our congressman on Wednesday, and she is taking along a petition for legalizing home bakeries in Texas. So, if you would like to add your name to the many who have signed it, please click HERE. The petition doesn't specify whether or not you have to be from Texas to sign it, so I figure the more the merrier!

The chances seem pretty slim for anything to come from this (I have come to learn that Texas is known for dragging its feet with things like this), but you never know. Thanks for listening.

Happy Birthday To Me!

2009-01-28T13:21:00.003-06:00

So far so good...I don't feel like too much of an old lady. I'll keep you posted though.

A lot of people were surprised when I told them I was making my own cake. But I loved doing it, and will probably always make my own cake. That way I get exactly what I want every year!!

Anytime I need a laugh...

2009-01-19T15:16:00.001-06:00

...I know I can count on Swedish Chef!

Here he is working on my favorite subject!

Top Chef: The Next Generation

2009-01-14T15:33:00.006-06:00

My love of baking has spread!

Santa brought Olivia her own apron & chef's hat, and since then I have had no shortage of help in the kitchen, whether I'm baking a cake or getting a glass of water!

I Like What I See So Far...

2009-01-14T15:16:00.004-06:00

Disclaimer: By posting this photo, I am IN NO WAY trying to peeve any of my beloved friends & family who are currently freezing their bums off in the upper Midwest. I am merely doing my duty of keeping everyone updated, and if that means I have to share the fact that we have been having GORGEOUS weather down here, then so be it. Thank You, and stay warm everyone! :)

We have been in Texas for 2 weeks now, and are feeling fairly settled. One my highlights during the afternoons is getting to take Olivia on bike rides (well, I walk/jog while Olivia rides her bike w/training wheels).

We have explored our neighborhood & found this beautiful area just 2-3 blocks away from our house! There are fountains, ducks (and a HUGE Great Blue Heron one day!), and a playground at the end of the bike trail. There is also a big hill with an outlook (which you can see in the photo). We're going to have to take advantage of this as much as we can.

The Kwanzaa Cake Immortalized

2009-01-09T14:10:00.003-06:00

Obviously I wasn't the only one horrified by Sandra Lee's, shall we say, "different" creation.

The folks over at One Horse Shy have created this fabulous poster:

If anyone is looking for a birthday present for me, here ya go!

Happy Birthday Richie-poo!

2009-01-07T22:41:00.005-06:00

I love you so much! (And who couldn't love someone so adorable??)

Yee-haw!

2009-01-07T20:15:00.019-06:00

Whew! It's been a very busy, very hectic, very exciting couple of weeks. So allow me to fill you in on what I've been up to:

We drove back to Iowa for a quick visit with everyone for Christmas. And it wouldn't be Christmas without the traditional family poses by the tree...

After a couple days of Christmas cheer, it was time for Richard & me to head back to Illinois to complete the final phases of packing up for the big move. Olivia stayed with my folks during this process, since we figured she would have a lot more fun playing with the uncles and the kitties, and also so we could pack up everything without her underfoot!

A few of Richard's co-workers were nice enough to come help us load our U-Haul (well, they were paid to do it, so I'm sure that helped entice them too). Then my family arrived the night before we left to help finish the job.

After what seemed like an eternity, we finally had all of our worldly belongings loaded up and ready to go:

Of course, there are always those odds & ends that don't make the cut...we had quite a bit more of this than in previous moves, since we only wanted to take what we absolutely wanted and needed for when we finally buy a place in a few months. Behold, our sad reject pile headed for the dump:

And so we started our journey down south on New Year's Eve. The caravan consisted of Richard & Evan in the Jetta, Me, Mom, Drew, & Olivia in the van, and my dad in the U-Haul (we had so much stuff that there was no room for anyone else to ride in the cab!). We made it about halfway before stopping for the night, and had our own New Year's party in our hotel:

Party Party! (I especially liked my dad's tux shirt!)

The next day we got back on the road, and on New Year's night we arrived at our new (rental) house in Frisco:

It's a very nice house, and we hope to find something very similar when we start househunting. Here's a quick tour...the living room:

The kitchen (I LOVE this kitchen...hopefully the houses on the market have this exact design!):

Olivia's room, complete with pink walls:

The 4th bedroom, that we're using to store all of our stuff that we don't want to bother unpacking until we find a permanent nest:

All of the houses in our subdivision are brick, and each one comes with a matching brick mailbox. Olivia was pretty impressed!

So there you go...a quick summary of our goings-on. We have settled in fairly nicely so far, and it will be interesting to get out and find our way around the Dallas area. Our GPS's are definately going to get a workout! And thankfully, this thing called the Internet will help me keep in touch with everyone back in the Midwest. I only have one resolution this year, and it's to keep in touch with all of my friends and family, especially now that we are Southerners!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2008-12-24T10:23:00.005-06:00

What better way is there to get in the Christmas spirit than to watch a preschool Christmas program??

See if you can spot Olivia the Shepherd:

Did you find her? She is in the front row, third from the right, in the purple robe. Maybe I'm a bit biased, but she was by far the cutest shepherd there! And the stuffed sheep props certainly up'd the ADORABLE factor. Cannot move...child..too..cute...must..get help...

We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Our new year is going to be full of change and excitement, that's for sure!

Time for a Little Christmas Cheer...

2008-12-19T23:14:00.001-06:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Cake, Cake, and More Cake!

2008-12-14T19:46:00.005-06:00

I've been a busy bee packing lately, but I need to pause long enough to play a bit of catch up on some of my recent creations.

First up, I got to do a pink poodle for my BFF Steph's mom:

It was a lot of fun to do, and it gave me the opportunity to work on my fondant "fur" technique!

Next, there was this 4-tier number for my get-together with my peeps from Iowa:

I did a 4-tier cake to represent the 4 birthdays that fell around the same time as our party (Kelly, Isaac, Rory, and Stephanie).

And finally, this past weekend marked my final cake gig in Illinois. *sniff*:

This was for a guy who is a big fan of the University of Illinois. So I made him a 2-tier cake sporting the great Orange and Blue, complete with a curly bow on top. This was my first curly bow, and I was psyched about how fun it turned out!

So there will probably be a lull in cake activity for the next couple of months. But don't despair, I have big plans for making myself a rockin' 30th birthday cake next month (unless Richard suddenly becomes a baker between now and then, but I'm not holding my breath). And my cousin just asked me to do her wedding cake, which isn't for another year-and-a-half, but I can still be excited about it!!!

Semi-Horrible Baking with Sandra Lee

2008-12-08T22:55:00.004-06:00

Maybe I'm being a cake-snot here, but take a gander at this:

Ummmmm...yeah.

I am not against the use of store-bought cake and frosting (although, once you know how to make these things from scratch, it's really hard to go back). But I have some issues with this "festive" cake...

1) I almost turned into a diabetic just LOOKING at this thing. And I don't even want to know how many points it would be!

2) Sandra honey, those aren't acorns, they are CORN NUTS!! And call me crazy, but I have never had a craving for cake slathered in them.

3) After frosting a cake so carefully (*snicker*), what on earth would possess someone to take huge candlesticks and then skewer them into it? I understand wanting candles to tie in the theme, but last time I checked you can buy smaller candles just for putting on cakes!

I'm done being a cake-snot now, sorry.

Getting my thoughts in order...

2008-12-01T12:33:00.002-06:00

So the next chapter of my life will be starting in a little more than a month. I have many of the same emotions I've had before with my other moves, and anyone who has ever moved knows exactly what I'm talking about. Even though this will be move #6 for Richard & I since we got married over 7 years ago, it doesn't get any easier. So many things to do...pack all of our possessions up into boxes, make dozens of phone calls to disconnect utilities and then start up new ones at the other end, driving our stuff in a U-Haul 12 hours...Ugh. The only thing that keeps me going is the fact that somehow everything turns out fine despite a few days of insanity.

We have explained to Olivia what will be happening, and thankfully she seems okay with it. I know it would be worse if she were older, so the fewer moves we do in the future, the better. Speaking as someone who had to move when I was in high school, it really sucked (but thankfully I gained some amazing friendships that would never have happened had my family stayed put!).

Richard is down in Dallas right now and will be spending the majority of the next couple weeks there getting his ducks in a row. He will also HOPEFULLY find us a nice place to rent for a few months. Our plan is to get familiar with the area, decide on which suberb will suit our needs best, and then find a house to buy. The housing market in Texas is thankfully not as messed up as it is in other areas, so it's our hope that the whole house-hunting process won't be too painful.

I've enjoyed my 3 years in Illinois...truthfully it's a lot like Iowa, so it wasn't a huge adjustment. Texas is a whole other story! Apparently the wintertime is fairly mild, and IF it ever gets cold enough to drizzle a tiny amount of snow, everyone freaks out and everything gets cancelled (hehe, wimps). And the summers get a bit toasty, which won't be too bad as long as I have ample access to air-conditioning and a swimming pool. Richard says Texas weather reminds him a lot of New Zealand, only backwards (their summer is during our winter and vice-versa).

The one thing I am not looking forward to is saying goodbye to everyone here. Even though we were fairly sure we weren't going to be here on a permanent basis, I still went ahead and got myself some friends (I'm not just a pet rock you can sit on a shelf...I need stimulation!) through my mom's group and church. I'm hoping and praying that I will find a similar environment down south!

Alright, I've started rambling. That's the signal to change gears and do something else for awhile! Laundry, here I come...

Some news.

2008-11-25T20:46:00.002-06:00

Here it is: Our days in Illinois are officially numbered. Richard went and got himself promoted again!

Now it's off to a new place for a new adventure. Where you ask? Here's a hint:

Yep, we're on our way to becoming Texans! It's exciting and a bit daunting at the same time. I don't really know much other than we're going to move sometime in mid-January, so the chance of a somewhat normal Christmas is still alive. I think I'll feel a bit better about the situation when we have somewhere to live...and the thought of having to pack all of our stuff and start fresh in a new place is a bit of a drag right now too.

I'll keep you posted.

Seriously. (Chapter 3)

2008-11-16T21:53:00.007-06:00

*WARNING: Some may find the following rant a bit hard to follow and even a bit boring, especially if you don't follow NASCAR. So for that, I apologize in advance, and I will try not to be such a dork in the future.

Dear NASCAR President Mike Helton,

As a longtime fan of the Sprint Cup (formerly Winston Cup & Nextel Cup), I feel that I cannot remain silent any longer.

So Mike...WHAT THE F***?

I really don't know where to begin. Watching NASCAR has been a guilty pleasure of mine for as long as I can remember. But this season I found myself watching less and less, especially these last 4 weeks. Why? Well for one thing, I already knew who was going to win the championship (Jimmie freaking-Johnson for about the 47th year in a row). But I don't think that's what bothered me the most.

The truth is, this season was a total yawn-fest from start to finish. I honestly cannot think of one single race that was worth remembering, except for maybe Tony Stewart's win a couple months ago (but I'm a bit biased, since I feel that Tony is the bomb-diggity).

So here are a few things you might want to consider changing if you want to keep my (and from the sounds of things, a lot of other fans') attention:

1. THE "CHASE"- My vote is to ditch it entirely and go back to the original format. But if we must have one, let's rewrite the schedule and have a better variety of tracks instead of all the 1.5 mile cookie-cutter styles week after week. It blows my mind that there isn't a road course in the Chase! Might I also suggest cutting back from 10 Chase races to maybe 6...it might make for more of an exciting finish to the season instead of this year's ho-hum finale.

2. QUALIFYING- In my humble opinion, the fastest 43 cars should earn a spot in each race. Period. No more of this "top 35 in owner points automatically get a spot in the show" crap. If this means that my beloved Tony has to sit out a race because he's not fast enough that week, then so be it. There are so many talented drivers out there wanting to compete, but don't have the sponsors or the money to do so. But if you make it a level playing field in qualifying, we'll get to see who's REALLY ready to race.

3. POINT SYSTEM- For the most part it's alright, but someone needs to decide on a system and stick with it instead of changing it every year. I'm not against the idea of making wins worth more, but not so much so that it takes away from the teams who are consistantly good each race. So decide on what you're going to do, and then leave it alone! It's confusing enough!

Maybe if these things are addressed, this sport will get the shot in the arm it so desparately needs. Thanks for listening.

Sincerely,

Lauren

P.S. I do applaud the recent decision to cut back on testing in an effort to save fuel and money. Kudos.

Go get 'em next year Tony!

It's Tinker Bell Olivia!

2008-11-14T12:13:00.003-06:00

My parents & Drew came to visit us this last weekend, and my mom had found a Tinker Bell costume in the Halloween clearance that she knew Olivia MUST have. Olivia is all about the new Tinker Bell movie that just came out on DVD, and was super excited to have the perfect outfit to wear while watching it.

Note the matching Tinker Bell pajamas that my mom also grabbed...and Richard took this opportunity to try out the "single color" feature on our camera!
Olivia rocking out in her new duds!

Mmmmm...Muffins.....

2008-11-11T14:52:00.005-06:00

Craving pumpkin muffins but watching your waistline? Well you are in luck!!

I've just created some 100-calorie (or 2 points for my fellow WW peeps) pumpkin muffins!

(Makes 2 dozen standard-size muffins...NO they will not be as big as the muffins you get at Perkins, but really, no one needs muffins that huge!)

1 package spice cake mix (I used Betty Crocker brand)
1 package vanilla pudding mix (fat-free & sugar-free version)
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup water
3 eggs
1 heaping tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put all ingredients into a mixing bowl and mix at a low speed for 1 minute. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix at a medium speed for 2 more minutes. Scoop batter into 24 equal-sized portions (I used my #20 disher) in standard size cupcake pans. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until muffins spring back when tested.

These things are pretty darn good if I say so myself. And the best part is that you can have a couple and not feel like a total pig. Enjoy!

The Wind of Change

2008-11-05T13:13:00.005-06:00

No, I'm not referring to the Scorpions song, I'm talking about OBAMA! OBAMA! OBAMA!!!!!

I have to say that it's been pretty hard not to have a smile on my face today. I'm very proud of us for getting out there and making our voices be heard.

As much as this election has (hopefully) steered this country in the right direction, I was discouraged about the backwards steps some states made regarding gay rights. Taking away the right to adopt? Really??? And as for the gay marriage reversal... as a happily married person, I can honestly say that I am NOT threatened by same-sex marriage, and those who are really need to stop and think about what marriage should really be about----->Love. Partnership. Unity. All of these things can exist regardless of your nut/bolt status.

And now, because I couldn't resist, enjoy the video:

Candy, Care Bears, & Cuteness

2008-11-02T16:54:00.003-06:00

Our Halloween was a smashing success!

The cutest Care Bear ever.

I 'Vant to Suck Your Blood!

2008-11-01T18:14:00.001-05:00

Halloween Cake With Bats, originally uploaded by Sheehan Family.

So here it is--my entry in the 2008 Spooky Cake Contest hosted by Cakecentral.com.

I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out...I was originally going to have the bats suspended by wire, but the wire I had was way too flimsy for it to work. So it was either panic and rush to the hardware store to find stronger wire, or use toothpicks instead. I was pleased that the bats cooperated!

The voting begins tomorrow, so I'll keep you informed on how I do.

It's a Hat Parade!

2008-10-30T15:11:00.002-05:00

Little girls are just too cute aren't they??

Olivia's BFF Megan comes to play at our house 4 afternoons a week while her mom works. These two are almost exactly the same age (Megan is approx. 3 weeks older than Olivia) and absolutely adore each other. It's almost like having twins in the house!

On this particular afternoon the girls had raided Olivia's closet (throwing stuff all over the place in the process) and had found the perfect headgear for a what they called "a hat parade" (I susupect they had just watched a cartoon that had featured one). Megan was wearing Olivia's sunhat, and Olivia was sporting a bonnet (backwards, of course, since that's what all the cool kids do) that my grandma had made for me when I was a baby.

They were so pleased with themselves, it was hard to be upset with them for completely trashing Olivia's room.

Is it Election Day YET?

2008-10-28T17:53:00.003-05:00

I think I speak for many when I say that I am more than ready for this election to be done and over with. After nearly 2 years of campaigning, I definately know who I am voting for, and from the sounds of things it should be a decent turnout (if only we could get everyone who votes for American Idol to vote for president!).

My man Craig was in fine form last night...the following clip had me laughing so hard I was crying...

And the Wassup guys are back after 8 years with a message that I'm sure we can relate to in some way or another:

And with that, I hope everyone has a great time making it down to the polls and making your voice heard.

A Calm Before the Craziness Ensues....

2008-10-23T08:28:00.004-05:00

These last couple of weeks have been relatively calm compared to most. I'm certainly not complaining, especially when I know what comes my way soon! The more I think about it, the more I know I need to savor these next 3 days. Olivia has 2 Halloween parties next week, and then once November hits it's going to all become a big blur of activity...all GOOD of course!

It's been especially quiet in the cake department (stupid economy is making people think twice about ordering a cool cake, grrr!), but I have taken on a new challenge in light of the situation- my first entry into a contest. This is a photo contest, which means I make a cake from home, and send in a picture of it to be voted on by other cake-fanatics like me from all over the globe. A cool thing about this contest is that I'm being able to make my cake with styrofoam underneath, which is great for a couple of reasons:

1) I've been watching my waistline these days, and the one thing I DON'T need is a lot of real cake in my house calling my name.

2) I don't have to worry about rushing, because there isn't a freshness issue with display cake!

The theme is Spooky Cake, and I have decided to go with a bat-theme, because I'm sure there are going to be a million entries with pumpkins, witches, etc. I will be sure to post the finished product when it is completed!

My Daughter The Acrobat

2008-10-21T10:00:00.002-05:00

At least that's what Olivia told me she was when she spontaneously struck this pose while riding her bike:

Look at that form! Maybe she will be an acrobat one day...or at least enjoy dance lessons!

I Love the Movies Again!

2008-10-18T18:32:00.002-05:00

After what seems like, I don't know, AGES, I have a newfound love of going to the movies. Is it just me, or has there been just a ton of crap over the past few years?!?

So here are my 2 new favorite flicks. The first one is Mama Mia, which I had to go to with a bunch of my friends from MOMS Club because Richard would have rather gotten neutered than be caught dead seeing. This seemed to be the case with quite a few other husbands, so the women had to unite!

And then last night on our monthly Date Night, Richard & I went to see Nick & Norah's Infinate Playlist. Okay, seriously everyone, drop whatever you are doing right now and GO SEE THIS MOVIE!! If you liked Empire Records, then you will go ga-ga for this one!

These gems will be in my DVD collection and treasured for years to come. They are what movies are supposed to be; good, goofy fun!

Back to Normal Life Again...

2008-10-11T17:16:00.003-05:00

We're home after an action-packed, memorable road trip! Richard is currently in the process of sorting through pictures, and they will be up for everyone to see in the next few days...so I will leave it at that until then!

Soooo, I need to play catch-up and post a cake that I did about a week before we left:

If this looks a little bit familiar, you are right! A friend of Richard's had looked through my portfolio and really liked the cake I had done for my birthday, and wanted the same sort of design, only with pastel colors (it was for her 62-year-old mother-in-law). So after a little bit of tweaking, I made a cake that was toned down, but still fun (and yes, I had a blast making balls again!).

It's great to be back home. Not that vaction isn't fun, but sometimes it's nice to return to familiar surroundings, you know?

Road Trip 2008

2008-10-03T16:12:00.003-05:00

It's that time of year again...time for our annual fall road trip!

This year we are doing a loop around Lake Erie, which includes stopovers in Dayton, Cleveland (Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, boo-yah!), Niagara Falls (something about a big waterfall?), Toronto, & Detroit.

This trip is only about half the number of miles that we drove last year, which is just fine by me because I think we were insane! The longest travel day we will have is tonight (about 5 1/2 hours), so once we get to Dayton tonight the rest of the trip is going to be easy-peasy.

Soooo, I will be sure to share pictures when I get back as always. I doubt that I will have much access to a computer while I'm gone, so everyone had better behave themselves (or at least be ready to fill me in on your adventures the second I'm back!).

Ta-ta!

I Like Cake (duh!)

2008-09-30T13:48:00.002-05:00

This is the tune I normally hum to myself while I'm making a cake. The cat in the video kind of freaks me out, so I normally just listen to the music.

And now a word from our sponsors...

2008-09-23T15:03:00.017-05:00

You may recall my post a while back about my drama with reusable shopping bags. Well, my cries reached all the way to Andy Keller, who is the CEO of ChicoBag.

Andy was kind enough to email me and told me that he was sending me a free sample of his bags. And if I liked them, I would return the favor and write a review for some free advertising. When he said, "sample", I thought he meant one bag. But I was very surprised when I opened the box & saw that Andy had sent me SEVEN!

These things are too cute! They come with their own little carrying case that is no bigger than a baseball, and when you take them out to use they are about the size of your standard-issue plastic grocery sack. And they come in many stylish colors!

I have been using these from the moment I received them, and I really do like them! They are super easy to take with you, just stuff a couple in your purse, or stash some in your car, and you'll be ready to say "Buh-Bye" to plastic sacks forever!

So if you're in the market for some reusable bags, I would definately recommend ChicoBags. Thanks Andy, you have made my grocery shopping experience more bearable, not to mention cute & colorful!

*Note: I do still get weird looks from the regular grocery store employees, but I have started shopping at my local health food store more often, where they LOVE these!

Eat It or Wear It?

2008-09-16T12:21:00.005-05:00

I have to say, I'm pretty darn proud of this one:

This was for a 1st birthday party. The mom wanted a cowboy theme and asked me if I made cowboy hat cakes. I said, "I do now!"

I pretty much flew by the seat of my pants making it, and it turned out very hat-like.

Since the the cowboy hat was going to be the centerpiece of the party, I was also asked to make a "smash cake" for the birthday boy. And so this tiny creation was born:

It's kind of hard to tell by the picture, but this cake was only about 6 inches tall including the bear. And since it's sole purpose was to be destroyed by a toddler, I kept it simple.

Happy Birthday Owen!

What Would Reunions Be Without Cake?

2008-09-16T12:11:00.003-05:00

This cake was for the 45th reunion of the Air Force 66th Company. These guys have lived long enough to know that it's not a party without cake. :)

The design is based on the company's seal...I was a little confused why the 66th would have a 9 on it, but I double-checked before I decorated!

You Da Bomb Craig!!

2008-09-12T14:43:00.002-05:00

If I had to choose, I would say Craig Ferguson is my favorite late night talk show host (I have a thing for older men with accents, if you didn't already know!). And his monologue on Wednesday night sealed the deal for me.

So I want to share it with you. Craig said exactly word-for-word what I think about this election, and of elections in general. Enjoy...

I would buy an "If you don't vote, you're a moron." T-shirt in a heartbeat!

A Football With Split Personalities

2008-09-10T15:29:00.002-05:00

I was asked to make this cake for a tailgate party for Monday's Packers/Vikings game. Being a Cheesehead myself, I made sure the Packer side was chocolate :) And the Packers played just fine without Mr. Whiner, er I mean Brett Favre...

I have been slacking on posting lately, sorry. I have been getting into the fall groove with Olivia's preschool, choir, handbells, and now our little mini-orchestra which I like to call the God Squad. Also, I have started watching another little girl in the afternoons (her mom is in MOMS Club with me, and just went back to work). Olivia is thrilled, because Megan is her best friend (as much as 3-year-olds can be I suppose!).

So anyway, I will try harder to post, even if it's just to say "hey".

Our Labor Day Adventure

2008-09-02T16:34:00.003-05:00

This Labor Day we took advantage of the nice weather and had a field trip to Allerton Park. It's a huge park with hundreds of sculptures & gardens, along with trails in the woods for people to hike.

Olivia's favorite statue was this fish. It was just her size and perfect for a quick ride!

After our hike around the park, we had a late lunch at Panera Bread. As you can see, there was possibly more goofing around then there was eating...

Here's to long weekends, pretty parks, and little camera-hams!

Another Summer Gone...

2008-08-30T21:55:00.003-05:00

Is it just me, or did summer fly by even faster this year?

Oh well, it's time yet again to look forward to fall, which is by far my favorite time of year! Buh-bye hot & humid weather, hello jeans & sweatshirts! In my perfect world, it would be 65 degrees every day...not hot, not chilly...just cool.

Olivia starts preschool on Wednesday! Everyone has asked me if I'm ready, and I have to say yes and no. Yes, I am looking forward to a couple of hours to myself 3 mornings a week, but NO I can't believe she is already old enough to go to preschool. But really, it's not me that has to be ready, and Olivia is about to pop! She is very excited about going to school, and can't stop talking about it. Every morning when she wakes up, she runs into my bedroom and asks, "Mommy, am I going to school today?" Too cute!

September is gearing up to be a very busy month. In addition to preschool, handbells & choir, and MOMS Club activities, I have 3 cakes booked so far, and Richard's brother Paul is coming for a visit from Australia in a couple of weeks. Fasten your seatbelts, it's back to breakneck speed from here on out!

American Gothic

2008-08-24T21:29:00.003-05:00

While we were back visiting Iowa last week we stopped in Eldon to visit the American Gothic house. We've been there before, but this was the first time since they built their swanky new visitor center!

So we toured the museum, bought a couple magnets, and then got all dressed up & made our own masterpiece featured above. My costume wasn't that flattering, but I must say Richard makes a cute farmer!

Cake Wrecks

2008-08-20T21:10:00.000-05:00

Note: I did not do the following cake. I repeat, did NOT!

If any of you are in need of a good laugh, look no further than Cake Wrecks.

This example was one of my favorites:

It's supposed to be a watermelon, but to me it looks like a frog-like creature that appears to have "female problems".

Mental note: Try not to be featured on that website!

Seriously. (Chapter 2)

2008-08-19T09:10:00.000-05:00

Olivia & go grocery shopping about 2-3 times a week (more if I keep forgetting things) to the local County Market, the Illinois version of Hy-Vee. About 6 months ago I purchased some reusable shopping bags, partially to do my part for the environment and partially because my house had been overrun with plastic sacks.

You would think that this would simplify my life somewhat, and it has to a certain degree. But you would think by the reactions of the employees that they are being asked to perform brain surgery each time they check me out!

Problem 1: Employees are baffled when I hand them my bags.

They always pause, look at me, look at the bags, and then say something to the effect of, "Soooo, are these yours?" Ummmm, YEAH!!

Problem 2: Employees at register don't give bags to employees sacking groceries.

9 times out of 10 I am having to fight to get eye contact with the sacker while he/she has started sacking my food in plastic. When they finally realize that I want them to use my bags, they always try and place the groceries they have already sacked into my cart as though I'm not going to notice. So I usually say something to the effect of, "It's okay, I'm not in a hurry so you can rebag those please."

Problem 3: Employees are stumped about how to put groceries in bags.

I must admit, I have always been a stickler about properly sacked groceries (blame 5 years of working at Hy-Vee). And for some reason, my bags make employees forget every basic sacking rule (keeping cold items together, keeping chemicals seperate, not
putting a watermelon on top of a loaf of bread, etc). It gets to the point where I can't watch them or I'm afraid I might go insane.

Maybe one day reusable bags will be the norm & these issues will be resolved...but judging by my experiences it might be awhile. Oh well, nobody said saving the world was easy!

Mommy's Kitchen Helper

2008-08-11T16:33:00.000-05:00

The oven mits are almost as big as she is!!

Well I'll Be!

2008-08-08T13:40:00.000-05:00

It's crazy how things just happen sometimes.

Monday morning Olivia & I were shopping at Target, and happened to wander into the little girl's socks & underwear section. We had just had breakfast with some of our MOMS Club friends, along with a couple of little girls who are the same age as Olivia. Well, in an effort to convince Olivia that potty training is a GOOD thing (see past blog entries about this saga), I said, "You know, your friends Megan & Lily both wear big-girl underwear." Just like that, not thinking Olivia would even acknowledge me.

But she looked at me, thought for a moment, and said, "I want to wear big-girl underwear too!"

You could have knocked me over with a feather! So I ran with it, and grabbed a package of Disney Princess undies (we already had some at home, but I figured you can't have too many pairs of underwear when you're potty training!).

Underwear was in place by 11am. By 11:30, we had a puddle on the floor. And for the next 3 hours, we went through another 9 pairs from not making it to the bathroom in time. I thought to myself, "Oh great. Here we go again." But little did I know that this was going to be the turning point in Olivia's potty career.

It was as though a switch had been turned on in Olivia's head. From then on, she started telling me she had to go, and then did it perfectly! And for the rest of the evening until bedtime, that was how it was. I was surprised (not to mention estatic!), but I didn't want to get my hopes up that this would continue.

Tuesday morning, Olivia woke up, and after a little bit of whining, put her underwear on. The entire day we only went through 3 pairs (and these were just damp from not quite getting to the potty in time). And by the end of the day, I wasn't even reminding her at all, she was telling me each time!

And that's been the story for the rest of this week...no accidents, no whining, no nothing! Not only that, but now Olivia's been completely dry for 2 nights in a row wearing training pants, which just floors me. Olivia is a classic example of "when they are ready, they will just do it"!

So now I'm not nearly as anxious about Olivia heading off to preschool...I thought I was going to have to send her and fib a little ("Sure, she's potty trained...She had an accident? Well, that never happens at home!"). But now we can focus on back-to-school shopping & saving $$$ not buying diapers!

Here Fishy Fishy...

2008-08-04T23:27:00.000-05:00

This was a 13-year-old boy's birthday cake that I made this past weekend. It was inspired by the ultra-talented Colette Peters (who is like the Elvis of cake decorators...all others must call her Sire).

When the birthday boy & his mom came to pick up his cake, he took a look at it, grinned and said, "Cool.". Hey, as far as 13-year-old boys go, that's a great reaction in my book!

Happy Birthday Andrew Lloyd!!

2008-07-30T17:25:00.001-05:00

Sorry, I just couldn't resist embarrassing one of my oldest, dearest friends since I know he is a regular reader! (Old in terms of years of friendship, not age...He is still a pup.)

Hope you are having a great day!

Sad Day :(

2008-07-29T13:19:00.000-05:00

So I log into Facebook like I do most mornings, and one of the first things I do is check to see if I need to take any turns on any of my Scrabulous games. But alas, my computer screen came up blank.

I knew that this day was coming (f&%#ing Hasbro!), but now that it has, I feel as though I have lost a friend. If only I could have played just one last game!

*Sigh* Well, I can only hope that this whole copyright mess can get resolved and Scrabulous will return. But I'm not holding my breath!!

Update: I am now playing Scrabble Beta on Facebook (Thanks for the invite Erin!). It'll take some getting used to, but it's definately better than suffering from Scrabulous withdrawel.

Toot Toot Chugga Chugga

2008-07-28T21:37:00.000-05:00

Here is the star of the sheet cake that I made for our youth director's going-away party. The van is made out of Rice Krispie Treats & fondant, along with some luster dust "paint" and some silver dragees for a lil' bling. Add a fondant road, some buttercream grass, and some tiny flowers, and viola!

Stay tuned for my new creations that are in the works for next weekend!

Mike, You Are A DICK.

2008-07-22T14:31:00.000-05:00

It usually takes quite a lot to get my blood boiling. That being said, I want you to take a look at the following video showing Michael Savage (a radio show host) ranting about kids with autism, and then trying to explain himself later on Larry King Live:

As a sister of someone with autism, and as someone who has worked with many autistic individuals, it makes me so sad that there are people out there who feel that autism is a bogus condition. I can tell you from over 12 years of experience that is most definately NOT!!

Are there kids who have been diagnosed as autistic who really aren't? Probably. Are there dishonest parents who get their kids labeled autistic to get money? Maybe, although knowing what my parents have gone through to get my brother assistance through the school system, it's definately easier to just suck it up and get a job or go on welfare. But autism is a real condition, and don't you dare try and minimize the effects that it has on millions of people & their families.

So in the future Mike, try and stick to topics that you know about. Although honestly, I'm not quite sure what those would be.

Finally...

2008-07-11T13:51:00.000-05:00

For all you patient readers, our photos from London (& 4th of July) have been downloaded. CLICK HERE FOR ALL THE FUN!

It's been a fairly quiet week for a change...it's been great! I can't even think of anything to write, so that must be a good sign huh?

Olivia The Ham

2008-07-09T10:58:00.000-05:00

The many faces of Olivia Grace...

The Sweet:

The Happy:

The Sad:

The Scary Monster:

The Naughty!:

The Curious:

And finally, The Darling Angel:

*A BIG Thank You to Kirsten at Treasured Portraits for taking such great pictures! Kirsten has been my/our photographer for over 12 years now...She did my Senior portraits, our wedding, and now has the great pleasure of taking pictures of Olivia as often as we can. Plus, now she's officially a member of our big Adkins/Meyers family!!*

It's the 4th of July...

2008-07-04T17:38:00.000-05:00

...but it doesn't quite feel like it for some reason. Maybe it's because I think this summer has flown by and it can't possibly be the 4th of July already!!

Anyhoo, we are planning to drive down to the Capital and watch fireworks tonight, so that should spark the American pride in me. Richard is excited to use the "Fireworks" setting on our camera for the first time! I keep telling him that he needs to take a photography class, since he loves taking pictures so much.

So a big Happy 4th of July to Everyone! Don't be stupid and blow off any important body parts!

Happy Anniversary MOMS Club!

2008-07-04T17:20:00.001-05:00

My chapter of MOMS Club celebrated its 6th Anniversary last month! Every year in June we have a big party (Okay, maybe a "big party" is stretching the truth a bit...we have a potluck lunch at a church multi-purpose room), so I had the perfect excuse to make a cake!

Our logo is in the center, and all 41 members' names are on it in the flowers. The logo was a bit trickier to recreate than I had anticipated, but I think it turned out quite nicely. No one wanted to cut it!!

I'm Baaaaaaaack!

2008-07-02T13:46:00.000-05:00

Did you miss me?

Richard & I had a great time in London, and as soon as we have gotten over jet lag, unpacked, and given Olivia about 1,000,000 hugs & kisses (I missed her SO MUCH!!), we will have a ton of photos to share! (Seriously, Richard took 700+ pictures there!)

London is a fun city to see & explore, and Marianne & Geoff's wedding was superb...I don't think I can quite put it into words, so I'll just let the pictures do the talking in a few days!

That about does it for any more big travel plans for the year. Thinking back to the past 5 months, we've had 3 major vacations (New Zealand, Florida, London) and a long weekend away (Chicago). So other than trips back to Iowa, I am officially on Travel Strike until further notice!

Warm Feeling!

2008-06-21T21:40:00.001-05:00

Pregnant Belly Cake, originally uploaded by Sheehan Family.

This is the baby shower cake that I made yesterday...it turned out awesome, and the girl who ordered it was estatic when she came to pick it up! It was hands-down the best reaction I have had. I was on such a mental high the rest of the day, it was fabulous!

This must be what Oprah always calls an "ah-ha!" moment. I found something that I love to do, seem to be pretty good at doing it, and it makes other people happy to boot. Ah-ha!!!!!

Playing Catch Up

2008-06-17T15:06:00.000-05:00

I have a couple of big cakes coming up this week, and as I was going through my portfolio I realized that I hadn't shared this one with you:

Yes, you read that right...a 100th birthday cake! I was honored and delighted to make this cake for Florence, who is a member of my church, for her big bash back in April. I don't think I had ever been to a 100th birthday party before...so now I can check it off my list.

Dads Are The Greatest.

2008-06-15T19:14:00.001-05:00

In honor of Father's Day, I thought it would be appropriate to share one of my favorite pictures of me & my dad.

Dad & me, 1979.

Happy Father's Day Dad! Hope everyone spoiled you rotten today!

Holy Water Batman!

2008-06-13T14:36:00.000-05:00

Top story on CNN today: Major flooding in Iowa. Cedar Rapids, where I lived just a few years ago, is underwater. Des Moines, where my dad works & many of my friends live, looks like it could be next.

It feels really weird watching all of this happen on TV, and I also realize how lucky I am to be (so far) avoiding the flood. So to any of you who have been affected by Mother Nature's bad practical joke, I'm thinking about you and praying that the rain stops and the water goes away as soon as possible!

Note to self: When I buy a house, no matter if it is considered in a "flood plane" or not, I AM GETTING FLOOD COVERAGE!

Seriously.

2008-06-02T15:06:00.000-05:00

Alright, I guess I am officially an old fart. Richard, Olivia & I decided to go to the mall on Saturday afternoon, and after that experience I learned 3 things:

1. While the mall is a great place to shop around the holidays, during the rest of the year it becomes a hangout/playground for junior high & high school aged "hooligans".

2. Teenagers really suck.

3. I hate them.

In all seriousness, I don't recall being that bad as a teenager (although I'm sure my parents or other people who knew me at the time might disagree). Sure, I had my share of raging hormones to deal with, but at least I didn't run wild in the mall terrorizing the shoppers! These little turds were everywhere- chasing each other, very obviously shoplifting, and hogging the elevator so that people like us (Olivia was in her stroller) couldn't get on until we gave them the evil eye to make them get off. Once on the elevator we got to listen to this conversation between 2 girls (and I swear that I am not making any of this up):

Girl 1- "Like, I love riding the elevator."

Girl 2- "Me too. I remember this one time I rode it for, like, a whole hour!

Girl 1- "Um, yeah I was with you remember?"

Girl 2- "You were? That was totally awesome wasn't it!"

Girl 1- "It was alright. God I need some coffee!"

Girl 2- "Me too...let's ride on here a while longer and see if those bitches from Glenwood show up so we can spit coffee on them!"

And so on.

When I got home all I wanted to do was take a shower and lay down. Mark my words...if Olivia is that bad in 10-15 years she is getting shipped off to boarding school.

4 Weeks of Calm...Maybe.

2008-05-28T11:20:00.000-05:00

Olivia & I had a great time back in Iowa last week. I really should get back more often, especially since I never know when Richard will come home and say, "Guess what? We get to move to (insert random state name here)!" We've been in Illinois for close to 2 1/2 years now, which is a record for us.

So with our May traveling behind us, I now have a little while to recover and get ready for my trip to London with Richard coming up at the end of June. It will be fun to go to a new country & continent, and since Richard lived there for a few years he will be the perfect tour guide!

But until then, I would love to just take a few deep breaths, and enjoy just a short amount of "normal" time at home. I love traveling, but I also love being a homebody!

Summa Summa Summa Time!

2008-05-17T17:31:00.000-05:00

In Florida, anyway!

We had a great, relaxing time once again this year. I'm counting down the days until next time!

We spent most of the week either on the beach:

Or at the pool:

Olivia was a happy camper...she LOVES swimming and is already showing fish-like ability!

Hey, cut that out!

Sunset on the beach...sorry, but you can't beat it, so don't even try.

Quote of the Week

2008-05-06T13:47:00.001-05:00

"Mommy, make me a scotch!" -Olivia

What she meant was draw her a chalk hopscotch on the sidewalk, but it came out as though she was requesting a shot! Let's hope that this isn't a glimpse into her college life.

The Sunshine State is Calling!

2008-05-05T14:42:00.000-05:00

T-minus 3 days until we leave for Florida!

It's going to be so great to get back to Sarasota again this year...last year was a blast and then some! Unlike other vacations where you try to cram in as much sightseeing as possible, this trip is specifically for relaxing and unwinding ONLY. The condo is right on one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen in my life, and I plan on spending as much time there as humanly possible. Olivia is about to pop too...she can remember the beach from last year, and if she can remember as a 2-YEAR-OLD it must be pretty freakin' good!

So there really isn't much to pack other than swimsuits, books & DVD's that we need to catch up on, and our new GPS to get us around when we do deicide to do a little exploring (it was a lifesaver in Chicago). So far, we think we might catch a Rays game since the Yankees will be in town while we're there (I don't particularly like the Yankees, but Johnny Damon is another story...can you say YUM?!?).

May is shaping up to be quite the exciting month...Florida (twice for Richard! He flies home with us on the 14th and then goes right back on the 18th!) and then Olivia & I will go for a visit to Iowa while he's gone. Crazyness for all!

Two by Two

2008-05-03T16:25:00.001-05:00

Baby Shower Cake For Twin Boys, originally uploaded by Sheehan Family.

I was asked by one of Richard's store managers to make a cake for her cousin's baby shower. She had twin boys, hence the Noah's Ark "two by two" theme!

I was very pleased about how it turned out...this was one of those projects that I wasn't quite sure how the final design was going to be until I started making it!

Computers & Chicago

2008-05-02T18:31:00.000-05:00

No, I haven't forgotten you...just my busy-ness rearing its ugly head again.

Also, my computer is acting funny...so I'm having to do most of my internetting on either Richard's laptop or at the gym. Hopefully I'll either figure out what's up with my computer or get a new one soon.

In the meantime, I'll share a couple of photos from Richard & my's trip to Chicago this past weekend (which, as you'll see was pretty baseball focused):

Chicago skyline.

Me sitting on the Cubs on-deck circle at Wrigley Field.

Richard & me at a White Sox/Yankee game (Yes, we're Cubs fans all the way, but they were out of town the weekend we were in Chicago. Plus, neither of us had been to the new U.S. Cellular Field yet!)

Happy Earth Day

2008-04-22T16:09:00.000-05:00

I know all of you are hard at work making our planet cleaner and brighter today, or at least not going out of your way to make it worse!

Just wanted to update you on the last week's worth of news...other than the usual hustle and bustle, Friday was definately the highlight of the week. Richard was sworn in as an American citizen at the Old Capitol, the same place Obama declared he was running for president!

Dad & Daughter on the steps of Springfield's Old Capitol

Richard Taking the Oath- I was amazed at how many people were getting naturalized in the ceremony(98!), and how many different countries were represented.

And it couldn't have been official without an American Flag cake! Congratulations Honey!

Armadillos & Other Random Things

2008-04-15T13:10:00.000-05:00

Right now I am sitting at my desk that is propped up w/ styrofoam pads...we had our carpets cleaned this morning, which kicked off my Spring cleaning for the year. The carpet looks great, but I'll like it better when it has dried and doesn't smell like chemicals anymore.

On to other things, I wanted to share my latest creation that I took with us to Iowa a couple of weeks ago:

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At last I have made an armadillo! I have wanted to make one ever since I saw Steel Magnolias in theaters back when I was 10 years old. And when I found out that my mom & sister-in-law were going to be in the community theater version of the play AND my brother was going to be directing it, I knew the time had come to make my dream a reality. (Shut up, I am NOT lame!! Well, okay maybe a little).

Olivia had her 3-year-old checkup last week. She is smack-dab in the middle for both height & weight (I suppose the correct term is average, but I just can't put "Olivia" and "average" in the same sentence!). The doctor was impressed with Olivia's counting, reciting the alphabet, & colors. I was also reassured that the potty training will happen, and that things will go much smoother once Olivia figures out the feeling of having to go BEFORE she goes! As long as she is pretty much potty trained by September for pre-school, I will be happy.

Hope everyone has gotten their taxes done. We've had ours done for over 2 months now, and I'm looking forward to tomorrow when the people dressed like the Statue of Liberty are done dancing around the side of the road next to all the tax places. I don't know if it's a state capital thing or what, but it's gotten quite annoying!