Deby's Doings

Eric Clapton Concert, June 23

2009-07-11T20:34:00.004-05:00

What a great concert!!! Not many pictures obviously, but a great memory for sure. Steve managed to get us good tickets to the concert, they were in the 'nose-bleed' section, but so close to the stage that we felt like we were on top of EC and Stevie Winwood. Jesse (Steve's son) flew in on Saturday for the concert on Tuesday. Was great to see someone who's been such a big part of our musical lives for so long and it was so nice meeting such a great kid and being able to spend some quality time with him before he headed back to NY and completely different weather for sure! Funny thing...he actually enjoyed the warmer weather while he was here and seemed just a little sad to leave our 'warm' Texas weather and return to the cooler temps of Syracuse, NY.

Dinosaur State Park, Cleburne, TX

2009-07-11T20:29:00.002-05:00

Steve and I spent the day with his son, Jesse, at Dinosaur State Park in mid-June. It was hot, hot, hot but we had a great day, did a lot of hiking, climbing up and down the rocks and even discovered our very own dinosaur track.

Fairy Toadstool Cake

2009-07-11T19:48:00.007-05:00

Ashley and I made this cake this morning at our cake club meeting, Cake Divas. Rather than doing 2 separate cakes which is usually what we do, we created this one together...2 creative minds, 2 sets of busy hands and the completed project produced a really cute and whimsical cake. The inside is pound cake and the outside is covered in Fond-X (a fondant that is delightfully easy to work with and tastes great). We had a great time working together on this cake and are already looking forward to next month's project.

October

2008-12-19T14:43:00.012-06:00

I need to do some real catching up here cuz there are few events worth posting. Gonna have to stretch and dig thru the memory bank to remember as far back as the last time I posted, but gonna give it a try (thank goodness I keep a calendar of events, etc).

Biggest event in October was Lexi's b'day. Ashley and I created another cake for her based on her requests. She turned 14 this year and although she's had a tough one, she still struggles on and continues to surprise us with how smart and special she is.

We also made some some pumpkin cupcakes and a pumpkin layer cake for Halloween events. Both recipes were found online and both were enjoyed by all. Will post those recipes later.

We also had our first 'demo' meeting of our newly established Cake Divas club. Our first meeting consisted of discussing some business issues as well as demonstrating how to apply rolled buttercream to cookies and decorate. We also tested out several different types of fondant. Regina's husband took pictures and they should be on the Cake Divas blog soon (http://cakedivas.wordpress.com/).

Ashley & Blake's New Home & Open House

2008-09-28T21:57:00.007-05:00

I'm behind obviously, so let me attempt to catch up a little.
September 27...
The day Ashley, Blake and I prepared & planned for finally arrived yesterday. The event was the Open House to show their new home to family and friends. We'd designed and sent the invites, they'd worked on getting their house ready, we planned a menu that would last the day and feed plenty, we'd bought groceries and prepared food. It was a long but great day. They had lots of visitors, from both families and friends. Everybody loved their new house, had a good time and ate lots (glad for that as there weren't many leftovers!). Here's the link where you can visit Ashley's new home and ck out the menu too (http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=3ct7ivar.cmhhfz2r&x=0&y=d6yiry&localeid=en_US).

It was a great day. BTW - my truck in front of her house.

1st Birthday Cake

2008-09-28T21:25:00.005-05:00

A little pair of 'First' birthday cakes for the young lady next door. Her mom asked me to make these cakes for her daughter's birthday and since Ashley and I've made cakes for some of her other children, of course it was a pleasure to make this one as well. She said she wanted a cherry chip cake shaped as a #1 as well as a 'smash' cake. Both are covered in buttercream icing flavored with a little bit of cherry extract.

Oops! Why no posts lately?

2008-09-09T19:36:00.004-05:00

So sorry that there haven't been any postings lately. Have been busy with helping Ashley & Blake get moved into their new house, making mine a little more homey, buying school supplies for the grand kids, dealing with a difficult job, learning about web pages, starting a cake club (called Cake Divas) and lots of other things to deal with recently. Haven't had any cakes to make lately or been to any fun places worth taking pictures of, but Ashley & Blake's housewarming is coming up soon (will post those pics) and who knows what will happen between now and then. I promise there is more to come...please stay tuned for lots more cakes, fun and who knows what! Hugs to all!

More cakes classes and completed projects

2008-08-11T22:14:00.024-05:00

Okay, here it is...finally. I've been waiting to add this entry so that I could put all these pictures into one post. These are the completed class projects from another set of cake classes that Ashley and I decided to take as well as the 'homework' that we were asked to present giving 5 of the concepts that we'd learned in the previous 4 classes (the last class, #5, was about cookies). Prior to this series of classes, all of the cake decorating classes we'd taken were from one source and even though we had discussed that we were interested in taking some more advanced classes, we hadn't yet made the commitment to do so. While on vacation recently, I read some posts from a fellow blogger, Stephanie of Frosted Garden http://frostedgarden.blogspot.com/. Via her blog, I learned that she was planning to teach a series of cake decorating classes. We emailed back and forth for a bit and finally, Ashley and I decided to sign up for and take her classes. We were looking foward to getting additional perspectives on how others go about decorating cakes, cookies, etc and to learning something new. We did both. Stephanie is a remarkable young lady who has become very successful as a cake decorator (cupcakes and cookies, too) and is totally self taught which meant that she really was able to share a lot of information with Ashley and I about more than just technique; she was able to share a lot of the trials and tribulations that she'd experienced since beginning her career as a cake decorator. Stephanie's classes were very well attended and were a lot of work, for both her and her husband. And yes, her husband is much more than just an observer, he is a very big part of her completed projects. Rodney helped Stephanie with a couple of her classes by instructing us on how to do some of the things that he does when helping her design and make some of her beautiful cakes. I get the idea that he does a lot of the fondant work and I also hear that he can make some amazingly detailed cookie cutters (and sells them BTW). Stephanie (and Rodney) covered a lot of techniques in a short period of time and did it very well, especially given the time constraints. The end of each class found us all rushing to finish our project of the evening, but rest assured that each and every time we were able to take our completed project home to share with family and loved ones. Stephanie was great, Ashley and I both learned a lot and made a lot of new friends. Thank you Stephanie and Rodney.

Guitar Cake

2008-07-28T22:31:00.007-05:00

Here's another Creme de la Creme http://www.cremedelacremecatering.com/ cake that Ashley decorated. She sent me these pictures with the comment, "Here's the latest cake that I did at work recently :-) This was one of my first BIG projects that I worked on by myself." I may be her mom, but I think it turned out really well. It looks pretty real and from the pictures she sent, I'd have to say, "If I didn't know it was a cake..." Wanna see more detail? Click on the individual pictures and you'll be able to see all the detail that went into this cake. I'm not sure about the flavor of this cake, but I do know it's buttercream icing with fondant & gum paste details.

Basketball & Wedding Cakes

2008-07-12T22:34:00.013-05:00

First let me say, "I love making cakes! I love decorating cakes w/Ashley. And delivering cakes isn't so bad either when you get to participate!" We had another busy weekend. We made a 'basketball' cake for the boys who live next door to me. They both have birthdays on the 20th of the month, they are both on basketball teams and we needed to make a cake for our latest cake decorating class, so...it was a win/win situation. They totally loved the cake that we delivered to them and I had a picture of it but was unable to retrieve it at the time of this post. This particular cake is a 1/2 chocolate and 1/2 vanilla flavored cake with BC icing and fondant decorations.

We also delivered and set-up another cake for Creme de la Creme Bakery http://www.cremedelacremecatering.com/. It was a beautiful 3-tiered wedding cake that we delivered to Sky Creek Ranch Golf Course http://www.skycreekranch.com/ in Keller. The last cake we delivered, I mostly just stood around and observed, but today, Ashley let me help. As a matter of fact, she gave me the job of adding the hydrangeas to the cake because she said I was better than her at that type of detailing. I'm not so sure about that, but I was happy to do it anyway and we were both pleased with the results. What do you think?

New Grill/Big Challenge

2008-07-06T19:30:00.010-05:00

When my old Char-Broil grill bit the dust from using it so often, I thought I'd be able to do without one, however, I've been missing my grill buddy ever since. So, this weekend I bought this little baby while on a shopping trip at Wal-Mart. My thinking is that this is the perfect way to determine if this little thing will do the the trick or do I actually grill enough to justify buying a bigger one. Once home, I opened the box up and OMG! there were a 'gillion' pieces! After my initial shock at seeing so many pieces, I began putting it together. Basically, the instructions stunk, but the pictures were fairly good and although I had to take a couple of things apart and then put them back together again after seeing the errors of my ways, I accomplished the task of being able to hook up the gas and am now grilling my first meal, using my Pampered Chef Grill Basket, on this little baby - a single turkey brat and veggies. She's little but she rocks!

Yum! HM Banana Bread

2008-07-06T14:46:00.006-05:00

Dad would have loved this. I made homemade banana bread today. I found the recipe at http://www.allrecipes.com/ and used it since I was cooking away from home.

Banana Banana Bread
INGREDIENTS
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

Recipe submitted by: Shelley Albeluhn

The Herds Retire!

2008-07-06T08:50:00.015-05:00

We found this article while catching up some webnotes this morning and have spent the whole morning in mourning:

http://www.timesrecordnews.com/news/2008/jun/30/all-in-the-family/

This article talks about the retirement of a couple of true legends, Claude & Orlene Herd, from one of the oldest hamburger stands in the state, Herd's Hamburgers. Herd's is located in Jacksboro, Jack County, Texas. This historic burger stand dates back to and has been owned by the same family since 1916 beginning with Claude's aunt, then his mother and father and of course, most recently, Claude & Orlene. This lovely couple have decided it's time to hand it over to the next generation and enjoy retirement. You can read more about Herd's Hamburgers and Claude & Orlene in this article.

Breakfast at Hicks Airfield

2008-07-05T21:49:00.024-05:00

Woke up this morning with the thought that we should do something different for breakfast and the morning, so suggested that we go to the Rio Concho Cafe at Hicks Airfield http://www.hicksairport.com/index.htm and watch the planes take off and land. I thought that it might be the perfect weekend to go there given the weather and the fact that it is a holiday weekend. I was right as there was lots of activity including many take-offs, landings and the opportunity to check out a lot of interesting planes.

Per their website, "Hicks Airfield is located about 12 miles North of downtown Fort Worth, Texas. Typical days at Hicks Airfield yield single and multi-engine aircraft, home-built planes and Warbirds. If you are interested in plane rides or flight training, they are both available through businesses located at Hicks Airport, or one could watch planes from the local restaurant if they so desired. Aviation with a neighborhood spirit is the main theme at Hicks Airfield!"

Honestly, the food at the cafe leaves a 'little to be desired', but the experience of being there and watching all the outside activity makes it worth the experience. As we sat in the little cafe, waiting and then eating our breakfast, we were witness to no less than 20 small aircraft taking off, landing, fueling up, etc. We've been here before, but never when there was so much activity in that there were lessons being conducted, multiple husband/wife flights, multiple fuelings, planes being 'pulled' from the fueling spot to their parking spots, an old 'warbird' taking off and then flying and more. You can also see that there are lots of hangers that have been converted to and are mult-purpose hangers, i.e., living quarters, offices, etc. It truly was a rare treat and one that we totally enjoyed.

Patriotic Trifle Dessert

2008-07-03T22:14:00.019-05:00

I made this beautiful, and very patriotic dish to take to work on the Wednesday prior to the 4th...my way of celebrating the 4th of July a little early and with the office since we'll be closed that day. Nobody even realized that it was totally fat-free or sugar-free! It was gobbled up so fast that I didn't get a chance to get any myself! This recipe is courtesy of the Kraft Foods website and I made it in my Pampered Chef trifle dish, which by the way is the terrific party dish in so many ways! I topped this work of art with a sprig of mint right out of my herb garden.

1-1/2 cups cold fat-free milk
1 pkg. (4-serving size) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Fat Free Sugar Free Instant Reduced Calorie Pudding & Pie Filling
1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP LITE Whipped Topping, thawed, divided
1 pkg. (13 oz.) angel food cake, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 6-1/2 cups)
2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced
1 cup blueberries
POUR milk into medium bowl. Add dry pudding mix. Beat with wire whisk 2 min. Gently stir in 1-1/2 cups of the whipped topping.
LAYER half each of the cake cubes, strawberries and blueberries in large serving bowl; cover with pudding mixture. Top with layers of the remaining cake cubes, fruit and whipped topping.
REFRIGERATE at least 1 hour before serving. Store leftovers in refrigerator.

Choc/PB Cupcakes & Pink Princess Cake

2008-07-03T20:58:00.012-05:00

Ashley did 2 projects on her own, for Treasured Cakes, while she was off work for the week. The first was cupcakes and are the result of a recipe she came up with using peanut butter cups in the middle and peanut butter buttercream frosting on top of chocolate cupcakes…and 'just for fun' she added a piece of a peanut butter cup on top. VERY rich and VERY good were the apparent responses from her softball team which she'd made these for.

The other Treasured Cakes project she worked on was a Pink Princess cake for a 1st b'day party. She was given a picture of what the customer wanted and was able to recreate it as a smaller cake. When presented to the b'day girl, the cake will have a princess tiara placed on top and a pink boa around the bottom of the cake. Ashley said she had a few challenges with this cake just as we always seem to do (fortunately we always manage to overcome those challenges and issues). She says she loved adding the edible pearls and some fondant details to this cake and personally, I think the bow was the perfect finishing touch.

A Trip to the Hill Country

2008-06-28T15:35:00.023-05:00

We spent last week doing a little bit of sight seeing and a whole lot of kicking back and relaxing down in the Hill Country of Central Texas. We stayed in a very cute little place that we found at the last minute...literally - Country Sun B&B Cottages (http://www.country-sun.com/). We checked in on Sunday nite. We met Vera, one of the co-owners, on Monday morning. She did an exceptional job of taking care of us. She brought us a very nice 'European' style Continental breakfast every morning at precisely 8:30 a.m. (our request). It was always very well done w/the pastries warm and in a pretty basket, the OJ was poured into champagne glasses, it also included sliced meat/cheese, little boxes of cereal, assorted jellies and butter - more than enough to fill us up so we were always able to share with Abby of course. On Monday, we went into Wimberly and San Marcos and did a little bit of shopping. On Tuesday, we went into Gruene (http://www.gruenetexas.com/), toured historic Gruene Hall where we made it our job to sit in the bar and drink one of their Texas beers (a Shiner, of course), had lunch at the Gristmill (http://www.gristmillrestaurant.com/) and then more shopping before returning to the B&B. On Wednesday, we went to Shiner and toured the Shiner brewery (http://www.shiner.com/home.php). That was not only fun and very enlightening, but free! They also give out 4 tokens each for free tastings of their various brews. More shopping and free beer - who could ask for more? Our personal favorite was the Shiner Blonde. We weren't done yet though. On our trip back to the B&B, we drove thru Luling (http://www.lulingcc.org/4584868_37583.htm), once known as 'the toughest town in Texas', the home of not only some of the greatest BBQ I've ever eaten, the very best BBQ sauce I've ever eaten (which I plan to order lots of via their website), but also, the home of the big Watermelon Thump (http://www.lulingcc.org/4951471_37583.htm). Yes, you read that right - the Watermelon Thump. Apparently the biggest annual festival in Luling. They have a pageant where all the contestants post signs literally all over the town of Luling - and I do mean ALL OVER! They were setting up for the festival before and during our visit on Wednesday (the festival was to begin on Thursday - it's held the last weekend of June). During this 'big-time', much anticipated (for Luling) festival, this little south Texas town hosts local and not-so-local bigger name bands, beer gardens, a carnival, street dances, cook-offs, a giant parade, craft & food booths, and yes...watermelon eating and seed spitting contests and much, much more. While there, we ate at the previously mentioned BBQ joint, the Luling City Market (http://www.lulingcitymarket.com/) and it was as good as promised and better than anticipated. Very primitive, as their are no plates or utensils so to speak, but between the brown paper, the massive amounts of paper towels, we managed just fine. You get your meat (and pay for it BTW) directly from the smoker room in the back of this fine dining establishment and then move to the front of the restaurant where you can pick up the most awesome BBQ sauce I've ever tasted, any of their other menu items and a drink, directly out of an old cola box! After eating, we walk around town in an attempt to walk off some of the food we'd just eaten and took a few pictures. Before leaving, we discovered another set of unusual items that this 'sweet' town has to offer - their decorated oil well pump jacks, mostly located along and/or near the railroad tracks. You can see a few of these here (http://www.lulingcc.org/4951475_37583.htm c c.org/4951475_37583.htm .htm).

Baseball Glove Cake

2008-06-21T20:36:00.019-05:00

This cake was the result of a request for a cake for an end of the season baseball party from a good friend of ours. The only real prerequisites were that the cake feed a whole lot of hungry young men and their families. We thought this one would fit the bill. It's a white 1/2 sheet cake topped with a chocolate baseball glove shaped cake that is probably about the size of a 10"-12" round cake. The icing is a chocolate butter cream that tasted totally decadent...like fudge but was the hardest thing to work with that we've found to date. I found the recipe online and as good as the reviews were, it was really hard to work with. It didn't smooth well, but it did pipe and decorate well and as I've said already it was absolutely delicious. It's a miracle that Ashley & I did so well at WW's weigh-in the next morning, because I think we did more than the usual 'tastings' due to the fact that it was so incredibly yummy. We delivered it on Saturday morning and hopefully it was a hit at the party.

Another Baby Shower Cake - Winnie & Eeyore

2008-06-16T21:30:00.022-05:00

This was a very cool cake - our customer sent us a scan of the napkin she was using for the baby shower she was giving and I think we hit it dead on! This cake was a 2-tiered hexagon shaped cake (one of our favorite cake shapes thus far) with buttercream icing throughout (8" & 10" layers). We replicated everything all the way down to the butterflies and the caterpillars and in almost exactly the same colors as the napkin. It took a lot of time but was totally worth the effort! We loved it and so did our customer.

Graduation Time

2008-06-14T21:38:00.008-05:00

Recently attended my nephew's High School graduation and it was way cool for a lot of reasons....1) to get the opportunity to once again see what an incredible young man my brother & SIL raised, 2) to get the opportunity to spend a little extra time with my beloved family members and 3) to have the opportunity to realize that even though there are much larger graduating classes, a small graduating class can add so much to the event and the nite. Each one of those young ladies and men had the opportunity to speak for 1 minute and they each did a very eloquent job of thanking their loved ones, which included family, friends and those that helped each one of them get where they are. Thank you to my brother, SIL & nephew for allowing me to be a part of that terrific event and I totally love being an aunt to an amazing young man - my idea for the perfect son!

A Busy Weekend for Cakes!

2008-06-07T21:10:00.028-05:00

We're working on 2 cakes this weekend. The 1st is a cake for a 50th b'day. The request was pretty generic - white cake/choc icing that will serve approx 50 and not to much more direction and/or requests than that. We opted to do a 2-layer, 1/2 sheet cake carved in the shape of coffin as you can tell.

The 2nd cake we made was for a baby shower. Our client sent a picture with pretty detailed instrux. She wanted a marble cake with buttercream icing using 'boy' colors and a ducky on top. The little boy baby's name is to be Edon so rather than use the ABCD letters that were on the example cake, we opted to use the letters of the baby's name.

In addition to making these 2 cakes, Ashley and I delivered & setup a very simple, but absolutely beautiful wedding cake for the bakery she works for (http://www.cremedelacremecatering.com/). This was my first 3-tiered cake delivery ever. My truck was the perfect vehicle to deliver this cake in as it's back seat is designed in a way as to give plenty of room but it was a little nerve-wracking to take an already stacked cake for that long of a ride...okay, it wouldn't have mattered how long the ride was, it would still have been nerve-wracking. Anyway, we got the cake there in perfect shape, did the set-up work to it that needed to be done, took a couple of pictures and then scooted out of there with nary a problem.

Memphis in June!

2008-06-04T20:28:00.037-05:00

You've heard of Memphis in May (http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/Content?oid=oid%3A40285)? Well this is/was Memphis in June. Flew in on Monday nite for MK work related stuff. Because downtown Memphis is apparently not a safe place to be out alone as a woman (in the evening), I've spent much more time inside than I'd care to admit. However, during the day, I've had the opportunity to meet and spend a lot of time with some really amazing women who've given me so much good information to take back to work. Because of the 'safety' issue, I haven't had much opportunity to explore the town until tonite when Marie & Angie took Randall & I to the Flying Saucer (http://www.beerknurd.com/) and then to the Blues City Cafe (http://bluescitycafe.com/) where we had some amazingly good pork ribs. I took a few pictures inside the cafe and then when we left, right outside on Beale Street, we saw more motorcycles than I've ever seen in one place...and that includes the time RH and I went to Kerrville/Fredericksburg for the Honda Motorcycle Rally!!!!!! I am not kidding you...there were motorcycles all up and down the street and they were still coming when we walked away. We walked and drove around for a little bit, exploring, kindof, and saw the Peabody (http://www.peabodymemphis.com/) and the Orpheum (http://www.orpheum-memphis.com/) as well as a few other historic places. It's been way fun and I would really love to come back and spend some time here w/RH doing some serious exploring. FYI - while here we've eaten at Lenny's (http://lennyssubshop.com/) and Sam's on Main - and both were definitely good eatin'. I'll be going on tomorrow having made some good friends and with a lot of useful information. Thank you to all who took their time and energy to spend with us - you were all great and very helpful.

Biker Babe

2008-05-28T22:50:00.006-05:00

I don't think I've put a picture of my youngest little girl on this blog, but I couldn't resist sharing this one! How can anyone resist that sweet little face? Spoiled...oh no! Not this one...not at all!!!

Fondant/Gum Paste class #4 and a great class it was!

2008-05-28T22:25:00.010-05:00

Finished this class tonite and everyone's cakes turned out to be beautiful works of art as you can tell. Thank you Belinda - again we learned a lot from you and look forward to learning more and the opportunity to share even more tips and ideas in the future. You are a great teacher and this was, once again, a great class. The white cake with the pink and purple daisies is Ashley's final cake, the pink and coffee colored one with daisies is my final cake, the yellow and white cake is Sonia's and the pink and white cake is Veronica's. And, once again, we had fun and made some new friends. Good job by all!

More Cake Classes

2008-05-24T22:29:00.006-05:00

After so many things happening between the last 'official' cake decorating class that Ashley and I took and now, we are finally able to take the final class that Wilton offers for cake decorating - 'Fondant and Gum Paste'. Lesson #1 was a quick replay of previous lessons after which we learned the process of covering a cake base with fondant. Lesson #2 was using that covered cake base, adding fondant to the cake we brought and using gum paste to make this drape and some simple flowers. This is the completed practice cake that I made for that class. I missed Lesson #3 in lieu of making the cupcake 'pops' for my Keno group (see 'A request for cupcakes' below), but Ashley assures me that I can catch up and be ready for Lesson #4. Stay tuned for our final graduation cake using all the techniques that this class has taught us.

Awesome Kyle Field Cake!

2008-05-24T22:09:00.030-05:00

Ashley sent me these pictures this evening after she'd spent the day delivering and setting up a cake designed to look 'exactly' like Kyle Field http://football.ballparks.com/NCAA/Big12/TexasA&M/index.htm at Texas A&M University. Her co-worker, Amber and her have spent weeks designing it and working on it. It was a Groom's cake for a reception held at the Fort Worth Club http://www.fortworthclub.com/. As you can tell it's huge so it took several trips from the bakery http://www.cremedelacremecatering.com/ and lots of work to get it completed in time for the reception but they pulled it off with only a little time to spare. I am a little jealous but ever so proud that she's finally doing what she really wants to do and is apparently pretty darned good at!

A request for cupcakes....

2008-05-23T11:36:00.013-05:00

...turned into an excuse to experiment with something new and different for Treasured Cakes to make. I was asked to make some 'Spring themed' cupcakes for my Keno group and was having a hard time deciding just what I could make that would 'impress'. While cruising the cyberspace highway, I read about and was intrigued by a blog on http://bakerella.blogspot.com/ about 'cupcake pops' and decided that this might be the perfect way to come up with something that would bring thoughts of Spring to mind and impress all at the same time. Fortunately, for me, it did both. And I took the extras to work the following day, in another flower pot, and they were equally delighted and impressed! Both groups claimed these cupcakes were totally decadent and a few even claimed they were the best they'd ever eaten!!!!!! Just for the record - these are made with red velvet cake mixed with cream cheese (on the inside) and then dipped in candy molds (shaped to look like the bottom of a cupcake) filled with melted chocolate. The tops are then dipped in pink tinted white chocolate. Each one has a candy/sucker stick stuck into the bottom and is individually wrapped and tied w/a green ribbon.

Walk for the Cure - Tyler, TX

2008-05-23T11:10:00.012-05:00

The family (mom, daughter/Ashley, brother/Gary & SIL/Debbie) and myself did the 5K 'Walk for the Cure' in Tyler on the Saturday prior to Mother's Day. It was lots of fun and a great event for an even better cause. In addition to losing my father this past year, my SIL lost her mother to breast cancer so it was doubly meaningful for all of us. We all found out that 5K (3.3 miles I think) was a little harder than we'd anticipated but mostly because it was mostly on brick streets that wound thru some of the neighborhoods of downtown Tyler - a beautiful area really. It was a great time and a good way to spend some special 'family' time together doing something that was important to us all.

A Re-Trip to The Shed Cafe & Blue Moon Nursery

2008-05-06T20:49:00.066-05:00

A truly terrific day we had on Saturday (the 3rd of May). Ashley, Aunt Margie and I drove to Edom to meet my Uncle Charlie, Aunt Frances & Mom for lunch at The Shed Cafe http://www.theshedc afe.com/. This place is crazy good and crazy popular (for motorcyclists and non-motorcyclists as well). The service is great, the food is great, the crowd is a total mixture of everything imaginable. I LOVE THIS PLACE and this tiny historic little town in E.Texas.

After a great 'country' lunch (we all ordered the sweet potato fries & black eyed peas and our 'protein of choice' - mine was fried catfish fillets which were waaaayyyy gooood), we went back to the Arbor Castle Birdhouses shop http://arborcastlebirdhouses.com/. This is a must see for sure and the website is just a little taste of the of walking thru this amazing place. This little store has the most creative and whimsical birdhouses I've ever seen and the rest of the group was in total agreement. This was my 2nd trip and I couldn't wait to share with everybody else.

After our walk thru downtown Edom, including our 2nd trip to the most amazing and whimsical bird house place I've ever seen, we went to Blue Moon Gardens http://www.bluemoongardens.com/, aexperience pprox 4 1/2 miles from downtown Edom, which is another great place to visit/tour. We all wandered around in amazement at all the fairy gardens, the gnomes, the mosaic animals and yes, all the gorgeous plants! This is, for me, the ultimate nursery. They have everything you could possibly want in the way of plant and much more....in the way of 'fairy gardens', knick knacks, custom jewelry, gnomes, books, etc. They also offer 'how-to' classes which is something that I'll be looking into for sure.

Here ye, here ye....

2008-04-28T19:29:00.007-05:00

...announcing the latest in the saga of near impossible accomplishments...taking (and passing!) 2 tests at the 'ripe' old age of 51......I did it, they are officially over - the Series 7 (with a score of 77!) and the Series 63 (with a score of 81!). That makes me, again, officially (after the State imposed 30 day waiting period, of course) a 'Registered' Sales Assistant! YEE-HAA! I am happy and even more relieved that test taking is finally over. If I NEVER have to take another test that requires studying multiple hours each day, it'll be too soon. Thank you to all of you who sent well wishes and prayers my way and thank you Dad & God for watching over me from Heaven! Only 1 more task to complete - a trip to our home office in Memphis, TN for some one-on-one training and a tour of the MK offices.

Latte & Pink Daisy Cake

2008-04-26T23:59:00.024-05:00

This weekend Ashley and I were able to redeem ourselves a little after the disastrous 'Tiffany Box' cake we attempted a few weeks ago. Because we are determined to improve upon our cake decorating skills, we decided we'd make another practice cake using fondant. And because we'd learned so much from the last one, we went after this one a little differently, in several aspects, and as a result, this one came out so much better. I was delighted to present it as a gift to the neighbors since the whole family is great (even the little boys rush to help me unload the truck when they see me come in with groceries and such). And they all gave a huge gasp and lots of smiles when I showed up with this one and once again, I totally ruled as the 'Cake Lady' next door!

Another cake, another grandbaby....

2008-04-20T22:27:00.011-05:00

...and another weekend over way too soon! I didn't help with this particular cake because Ashley had my #1 grandchild, Alexis there to help. She didn't but it wasn't her fault. Ashley had taken Alexis to the orthodontist on Friday to get some dental/braces work done, and bless her heart, she was in such pain, she wasn't able to help. Ashley did well despite that though. She even experimented with more new recipes that came out very well. This cake (design, flavor and icing) was made by special request for #3 grandchild, Damion Jr. He wanted a yellow cake w/chocolate frosting and wanted it to be in the same exact style as his big brother's cake that we'd made in February.

We delivered it on Saturday and he was delighted. The cake itself must have been quite good because it was all but gone before we left.

While there, Ashley and I were able to play with the newest grandbaby. At 2 months old, he's grown a lot and has really huge beautiful eyes - not that you can see them in this picture because Ashley had just gotten through rocking the little guy to sleep.

A Special Invitation

2008-04-12T22:24:00.015-05:00

Check out the comment on my 'It was fun and a good learning experience' post:

Greg Lane wrote, 'I am a New York Times bestselling author working on a new book about mother-daughter relationships and thought you might want to contribute. Please visit my page for details about submitting stories for Mom's Little Angel. Gregory E. Lang, Author of “Daddy’s Little Girl,” “Why a Daughter Needs a Dad,” “Why a Daughter Needs a Mom” and more.'

After pondering on it for a couple of days, I responded and who knows, maybe one of these days you'll be able to read about an 'inspirational story' featuring my daughter(s) and myself in a 'real' book rather than here on this crazy blog ;-)

See http://www.gregoryelang.com/ for details about him and his books.

Keno Night

2008-04-12T21:27:00.039-05:00

This past Wednesday nite was Keno nite with the ladies and as always, we had a blast. What a great group of women to have as friends. We all get along so well and really enjoy our monthly get-togethers. This isn't the entire group, but it is the group that played this month. It was my turn to host (which for me means bring the food). It's a small group and we try to take turns having it at a different a member's house each month, but since I live so far away from the remainder of the group, it falls on one of the other girls to let me host it at their house. Lisa is always a very gracious hostess and I'm so grateful that she allows me to host at her house.

This time I made a chicken enchilada casserole, a layered salad and a banana cream pie. All recipes were healthy and low-calorie. I figure if I go for making the 'healthy' stuff, we don't have to feel so bad about eating so much and these days everybody seems to feel pretty much the same way. The food must have been a hit because I didn't bring any leftover home and recipes were requested. See recipes below (and notice I used Pampered Chef cookware in honor of my personal consultant and daughter, Ashley).

Chicken Enchilada Casserole
3 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast

18 corn tortillas, medium

3 cups enchilada sauce

5 cups colby & monterey jack cheese, shredded

1 cup onions, diced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Boil the chicken in water until done. Drain & chop into small pieces. Chop onion. Spray a 13x9" pan with cooking spray.Dip tortillas in the enchilada sauce one at a time, making sure they are completely covered with sauce. Layer covered tortillas in the bottom of the pan, it should take six. Add a layer of chicken, onion & cheese. You don't want the tortillas to be completely covered with any one of the ingredients but you should put about half of the chicken & onion & about 1/3 of the cheese. Add a another layer of the tortillas dipped in sauce. Press down gently all over the pan. Add the remaining chicken, onion and cheese mixture. Add remaining layer of tortillas dipped in sauce & press down gently again all over the pan. Add the remaining cheese on the top. Bake for 30-45 minutes, until cheese is bubbly, starting to brown and the casserole is hot all the way through. # of Servings: 16. Note: recipe can be easily cut in half and lean hamburger or ground turkey can be substituted. Recipe courtesy of www.sparkpeople.com

Classic Layered Salad

Makes:8 servings, 1 cup each
8 cups chopped iceberg lettuce
Cauliflower, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen peas, thawed
1 pkg. (6 oz.) OSCAR MAYER Smoked Ham, chopped
3/4 cup KRAFT Mayo Real (Lite) Mayonnaise
1/4 cup KRAFT 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 cup KRAFT Shredded 2% Cheddar Cheese
LAYER lettuce, onions, peas and ham in large straight-sided clear glass serving bowl.
MIX mayo, Parmesan cheese & sugar. Spread over salad to seal; cover. Refrigerate several hours or overnight.
TOP with cheese crumbles and tomatoes just before serving; toss gently.

Note: The variations are endless.

Recipe courtesy of www.Kraftfoods.com

Banana Cream Pie w/Caramel Drizzle

1 banana, sliced

1 reduced-fat graham cracker pie crust

2 cups fat-free milk (or 2%)

2 pkg JELL-O Banana Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling

2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Free Topping, divided

1/4 cup fat-free SMUCKERS Caramel Ice Cream topping

Arrange banana slices on bottom of crust. Pour milk into large bowl. Add dry pudding mixes. Beat w/wire whisk 2 min or until well blended. Gently stir in 1 cup whipped topping. Pour into pie crust. Refrigerate 4 hours or until set. Top w/remaining whipped topping and drizzle with caramel topping before serving. # of Servings = 8. Recipe courtesy of http://www.kraftfoods.com/

Winnie the Pooh Baby Shower Cake

2008-04-12T20:15:00.014-05:00

Ashley and I created another really awesome cake. This one was for a baby shower, the first request we've had for one of these. We were hired by the new grandmom-to-be and I think she was very pleased when we delivered it today. The cake was a two-tiered, hexagon shaped cake using the classic Pooh colors in the icing. The bottom tier was white cake and the top was chocolate, as requested by her and was covered in buttercream icing with a strawberry glaze filling in both tiers. It was a fun one to make and involved a couple more 'firsts' for us.

Another new restaurant experience

2008-04-05T22:38:00.011-05:00

Russell and I checked out another new restaurant tonight called Momo's (http://momosrestaurant.com/). We both love Italian and when I saw that it was listed as the #2 Italian Restaurant on Yahoo's 'Top 10 Italian Restaurants in the country' list, we decided we'd check it out. Every once in a while, they feature a restaurant within driving distance from us and so when they do, we try to make it a point to check them out, especially when it's cuisine we're fond of. We mapped out the address that was listed (8300 Preston Avenue), drove the 45 min-1 hr to get there only to discover that the Preston Ave location no longer existed. Guess we should have called to check it out rather than relying on website information, especially given that we both do so much Internet research! Fortunately we'd brought along our very reliable and dependable Garmin toy, the Nuvi 650, and it located the 'replacement' location on Forest Ave, a mere 4.5 miles away. Lesson learned....check out the address before leaving, because if we'd driven all the way over there only to find out it'd been closed permanently...well, lets just say that would have really been depressing. However, it wasn't and the day/dinner was saved, as they say. The website did accurately describe the cuisine as 'authentic' Italian, which was different than the type of 'Italian' cuisine usually found. It was quite tasty and not really a disappointment, but next time I think I'll take them up on the BYOB thing and order a little more differently - not that what I ordered wasn't tasty, it just wasn't exactly what I'd expected. Russell on the other hand, ordered something that I couldn't even begin to pronounce (thank goodness for the American descriptions underneath the Italian dish names) that was quite tasty and came with a delicious side of spinach gnocchi. All in all, it was a fun evening because the food was good and the drive there and back took us thru territory that we'd not been to in many years and gave us the chance to do a lot of sightseeing and reminiscing.

It was fun and a good learning experience

2008-04-05T22:12:00.007-05:00

Ashley and I decided to make a 'practice' cake last weekend with the idea that we'd try something we'd never tried before, have a fun learning experience, get some practice in and give the neighbors a sweet treat. Our plan was to make a 2-tier Tiffany gift box cake. Unfortunately, it didn't come out as perfectly as we'd hoped, but as anticipated, we did learn A LOT and the children next door loved it so much that they offered to wash my truck in return! Pretty good deal I'd say! We started out by making 2 3-layer cakes (6" & 8") and covering them w/fondant. Our trouble began with the fact that I used a different cake recipe than usual that was much too moist which made the cakes difficult to handle and even more difficult to ice. Our trouble continued when proceeded to roll our fondant too thin because we were afraid we wouldn't have enough and even though we've made bows before, this particular one didn't come out well at all and basically fell all apart when we tried to attach it to the top of the cake (hence the Christmas bow stuck on the top for the benefit of the little ones next door and picture taking, of course). All said, it was a good learning experience, the children next door think I'm the greatest neighbor they've ever had and the mother/daughter time together was, as always, fun.

Celebrating is Very fulFILLING!

2008-03-23T13:53:00.012-05:00

Another first....yes, it was and a great one too! Russell promised a real treat when I passed the Series 7 and last nite he delivered. He took me to Del Frisco's Double Eagle Restaurant (http://www.delfriscos.com/fortworth/) in Downtown Ft Worth and it was awesome! The experience began with their incredibly terrific fresh bread (their website boasts.....THE BREAD: Rip it. Break it. Just don't cut it with a knife. The bread is baked fresh daily and served piping hot to your table.) and some sort of truly decadent whipped butter. To begin our meal, I ordered a Caesar Salad, the Governor's Fillet (6 oz and cooked perfectly medium rare as requested) with Chateau Potatoes (these were sort of a creamy mashed potato(s) w/lots of garlicky, cheesy taste and slightly browned on top). Afterwards we really treated ourselves by ordering dessert and it was even more decadent than the bread! Russell had a huge slice of chocolate layer cake covered in chocolate ganache w/white chocolate shavings and I had the White Chocolate Cinnamon Creme Brulee w/fresh raspberries. I'm telling you, by the time we were done, we had to be all but rolled out the door. Frankly I was glad that we didn't take them up on the valet parking, because we needed that 3 block walk to the car to walk off some of the dinner we'd just eaten. An amazing dinner for an extraordinarily amazing accomplishment given how many years it's been since I've had to study and pass a test for anything other than the renewal of my driver's license.

Ever Heard of Herd?

2008-03-23T11:26:00.048-05:00

Yep, there really is a place called Herd's Hamburgers and it's located in Jacksboro, TX. It's been around and in the same family since 1916 (www.bikerroads.com/possumkingdom/pk.html). Claude Herd does the cooking and Mrs. Herd does the order-taking while lots of younger Herds perform the other tasks. The place is small and what little seating is on the inside consists of some old-style school desks with lots of memoirs on the surrounding walls. There is some extra seating on the outside in the form of picnic tables or you can do like we did and sit on the tailgate of your truck.
The menu is short and sweet and totally to the point - people come for their terrific burgers and pretty much nothing else. There are no fries or other 'sides' on the menu as any 'sides' you might consider consist of a small bag of chips. I had a cheeseburger and Russell had the double double. Take my word for it and go ahead and order the double double. It's worth the few extra calories because the single cheeseburger I'd ordered definitely left me wanting more. It was a bit of a cruise (approx 1 1/2 hr from home), but worth the trip if you want an outta-sight burger!
A little background and history of Herd's Hamburgers: http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=20897&#313847

Time to Celebrate!

2008-03-17T18:47:00.005-05:00

OMG....I passed the Series 7 (Genl Securities Registered Rep Exam)! Not with the 80 that I'd prayed for, but true to form, the 80 was all about giving myself a little working room. I made a very well earned and very hard fought 77....and I'll take it with pride. I went in believing that both Dad & God were with me and that I'd be fine - even if for just that 8 hours and I was. I'll even admit that I cried (tears of relief, gratefulness and thankfulness) while walking out on legs that truly felt like jelly! I do absolutely believe, with all my heart, that all the prayers and well wishes from each and everyone of you that sent them (along with Dad & God's help of course) were what carried me through and got me to the finish line. Thank you - each and every one. Now I only have to take the Series 63 (State Law exam) and be shipped off to Memphis for a little bit of corporate training and I'll be all done!!! Yee-Haa and thank you very much. Soon I'll be able to get back to 'real' life (my house is a mess), cake decorating, having some fun without feeling guilty about not studying (definitely includes Keno nites with the gals) and dare I say it....grieving. Yes, I know I've put that off and studying has kept my mind busy, but I need to get there so I can get past some of this anger I've felt since Dad's passing. Thank you, again, for your support, encouragement and friendships and for letting me share. Now, I've gotta go watch Dancing With The Stars! Hugs to all.

Another first - Sugar Paste Figures

2008-03-09T18:00:00.005-05:00

In an effort to expand our cake decorating talents, Ashley and I created our first sugar paste (fondant) figures. We decided on teddy bears, however, I think mine looks more like a pig than a bear. We used leftover fondant from other projects and did it totally without instruction or directions. We decided for a first attempt, we did pretty darn good.

Left Lane is for PASSING Only!

2008-03-09T14:41:00.011-05:00

I guess it pays to pay attention to hi-way signs. Saturday evening, Ashley & I were returning from E.Texas where we'd gone to visit mom/Grams for her upcoming b'day and after passing a Highway Patrol pulled over on the side of the road and being thankful that for a change, I wasn't speeding - I got pulled over by said Highway Patrolman. Ashley and I had just had a discussion about how even though he didn't pull out after we passed, thankfully, we like to look in the rear view mirrors to see if any other 'law breaking' citizen might be in the process of having that experience. Not 5 minutes later, as I'm talking on my cell phone and no longer paying attention (but still not speeding of course), I see flashing lights in my rearview mirror! Oh crap! was my response. I pull over, completely puzzled as to what I might have done...other than not possibly the lack of attention I was giving the road because I was having a conversation on the phone...maybe this was what I was being pulled over for???

Nope, that wasn't it at all as said Highway Patrolman informed me that I'd been 'driving' in the 'passing' lane and that particular lane, the LEFT hand lane, was to be used for passing only and if I'd been paying attention to the road signs that I was passing, I would have known this! (Law says something like, 'left lane is for passing only and once you've passed a vehicle, you have a certain amount of time to return to the right hand lane or be in violation of said law'.) I had to think this thru because I'm slightly directionally challenged and have a hard time with right and left!!!! I omitted the part that I wouldn't have seen the signs anyway, cuz I was too busy talking on the phone! Officer Jackson then asked me for my insurance certificate and driver's license, which I promptly handed over. Oops...another snafoo on my part...the insurance certificate I'd handed him had been expired since November! Another Oh crap! moment. I quickly told him I was sure I had a current one, which he suggested I locate while he went to run a check on my license. Thankfully, Ashley and I were able to locate it along with several other expired ones in the glove box.

After what seemed like a very long time, he comes back to the truck with his clipboard in hand and kindly informs me that he's only writing me a warning ticket - no penalty no points he repeats several times. 'Kindly' was the key word here - he was very nice and I appreciated him not giving me a real ticket as I definitely don't need anymore of those!!! Moral to this story is...don't talk on the phone while driving (or anything else) because it takes attention from highway signs we should be paying attention to and KNOW THE LAW and replace the insurance certificate in your wallet with the new one when you get it instead of just piling them up in the glovebox!

Series 7

2008-03-04T22:08:00.004-06:00

Big couple of weeks - am attending a 'crash' course school to take my Series 7 exam on Monday (St. Patrick's Day) and am truly nervous but looking forward to getting it behind me. I'm totally positive that I'll do well, but am asking for all your well wishes and prayers that I not only pass, but make 80 or above. I know that Dad is looking down on me and saying 'You'll do well' and for that I'm motivated and grateful. For any of you who can fit it into your 'prayers for the day', please include me, because I want it really, really bad x infinity +1. Prayers and positive thoughts are the very things I need and want from you. Please and thank you from the bottom/top and both sides of my heart.

Surprise B'day Party!

2008-02-24T12:40:00.017-06:00

Yes, it was a total surprise! My Uncle Charlie's 80th b'day was this past Thursday (2/21) and in honor of that, my Aunt Margie (Elaine to most people) and I planned a special surprise party for him. He and my Aunt Frances are living near Tyler so we made arrangements for them to be picked up (by their nephew and his wife, Eddie & Sue) on the pretense that they were going to the The Shed in Edom, Tx (http://theshedcafe.com/) for lunch which they were...they just didn't know what awaited them when they arrived. And when they did arrive, we were there along with a few other friends, Loraine, Mickey & Frank. I don't think he or Aunt Frances could have been any more surprised. I made a sugar-free cake w/sugar-free icing (both Sweet-n-Low mixes) which was good and lunch at The Shed was terrific. They are quite well known for their chicken-fried steak and people drive or ride (motorcycles) from all around to eat there. Our waitress was a real sweetheart and took care of everything for us. We wandered around Edom (http://www.edomtexas.com/) for a bit and enjoyed a little more 'family' time together before parting. While wandering around we discovered this great little shop full of the most whimsical birdhouses (http://www.arborcastlebirdhouses.com/). Apparently, Edom is well known for more than 'The Shed'....it is full of craft & antique stores as well. Who knew??? And what a terrific day full of truly terrific surprises!!!! Lots of love to the family and to Edom, Texas!

Two more cakes ordered and completed

2008-02-17T12:06:00.007-06:00

Ashley and I made these cakes last weekend. The Snake cake was ordered by one of her co-workers for her 5yr old son. He wanted a Mario cake at first and then changed to snakes. Go figure! Anyway, they/we decided on a 'snakes in the grass' theme and he loved it. Ashley had a little too much fun with the green icing, because don't know if you can tell it or not, but she's actually wearing almost as much of the icing as she has on the cake at that point.

The Flower Power cake was ordered by our aunt for a cousin's 17th b'day. This one was covered in a pink tie-dyed fondant (over flavored buttercream icing) and then decorated w/neon flowers made of a specialty fondant. It, too, was loved by it's recipient.

Two More Birthdays!

2008-02-17T00:21:00.022-06:00

Happy Birthday to 2 of my grandsons this month - Dylan just turned 9 and Dom will be 5. Ashley and I made them each their own birthday cakes (Spiderman and Skateboard cakes) and I'm thinking that you can tell what they are each into by the theme of their particular cake. The other 2 children pictured here are their brother, Damion Jr and sister, Alexis (yep, more of my grandchildren). The boys were pleased with their cakes and their presents and Ashley and I had a good time making their cakes and visiting with them today.

A Day on the Square - the Waxahachie Square

2008-02-09T21:04:00.014-06:00

A gorgeous day - a nice occasion and something fun to do. RH and I spent the afternoon wondering around the town square in historic downtown Waxahachie (http://www.waxahachie.com/c3web/index.htm) in celebration of and because it is his b'day 'weekend'. It was a wonderful afternoon with temps in the mid '70s... in February? - unusual at best. No jackets, no thermals, no gloves...just regular everyday weekend clothing, oh yeah! We walked the square, toured the old Rogers Hotel (http://www.rogershotel.com/), the Museum, more antique stores than he wanted to go into I'm sure, a furniture store and then made our way (our final destination and the initial reason for our trip to Waxahachie) to the Catfish Plantation (http://www.catfishplantation.com/). We tried to tour the the o so beautiful Waxahachie courthouse, but unfortunately it was closed today so did our best to do it 'justice' by getting some good outside pics.

Leonard's Dept Store Museum

2008-02-02T21:42:00.004-06:00

We enjoyed the food at the M&O Diner and the Leonard's Dept Store Museum so much last week that we returned today and brought Russell's mom with us. We'd told her about the great hamburgers we'd had here but the museum was a total surprise for her. Having lived in Ft. Worth for such a long period of time, the museum brought back a flood of special memories for her. She remembered coming here and doing her shopping, riding the subway and said she'd even bought Russell's babycrib here! How sweet was that?? Once again the food was great and she actually seemed to (and said) she enjoyed the outing.

RV show, M&O Diner and Leonard's Dept Store museum

2008-01-26T20:53:00.003-06:00

Russell & I went to the RV show today at the Ft Worth Convention Center. Wow! I can't begin to tell you how awesome some of those huge monsters were!!!!!!!!! There was every kind of RV (this picture is the inside of one of the RV's that we 'toured'), 5th wheel trailer, pop-up trailer, etc that you can possibly imagine with every possible amenity that you can imagine. We went thru so many and picked up so many brochures that it made our head's swim. After about 3 hours and 8,000+ steps (according to my pedometer), we felt like we were pretty 'full-up' on what RV's, etc had to offer and were ready to go (it didn't help that I'd totally worn the wrong kind of shoes to be climbing in and out of RV's!). Afterwards we made our way to the M&O Diner on Carroll St. in Ft. Worth (thanks to a recommendation from the Ft. Worth Weekly - http://www.fwweekly.com/content.asp?article=6601) where we had very tasty burgers and the opportunity to stroll thru the very interesting Leonard’s Department Store Museum (I think you can ck out the history of Leonard's Dept Store via this link and if not, it's certainly worth Googling). Even if the burgers hadn't been incredibly good, discovering this very unique museum would have made seeking out this little 50's style diner totally worth the trip. And according to the sign outside the diner/museum, it also plans on being the future home of one of the old subway cars from subway that the Leonards built in downtown Ft. Worth back in the day.

Another Treasured Cake creation

2008-01-26T20:08:00.004-06:00

Another Treasured Cake creation for your viewing pleasure and our customer's eating pleasure. This particular cake is a chocolate and red velvet flavored cake (top tier is red velvet and the bottom is chocolate) with marshmallow fondant textured and colored to appear as if it were black leather with pink asymetrical circles and pink satin ribbons (Ashley was able to find this tastier version of fondant via the many message boards that she frequents) . This customer (and our most recent) loved it and claimed that it was the perfect cake for her 16 year old daughter's b'day.

PS: We rcvd a really nice e-mail from her saying that her daughter loved the cake!

Birthday Present

2008-01-26T19:35:00.003-06:00

Check out the birthday present I got from Russell! How cool is this????? Not only did he sing Happy Birthday to me (this would be the first time in as long as I could remember that Dad wouldn't be singing it), but he surprised me with the one thing that I'd been drooling over for a while! Since Ashley and I began taking cake decorating lessons and started Treasured Cakes, I've been looking at these mixers, checking out every sales ad, comparing prices, models, etc. What a great birthday present and a great surprise! And it didn't stop there. We had a wonderful day as well. We went to Italliani's for dinner where I had my most favoritest meal - the lemon flavored tilapia over couscous, surrounded by fried spinach (yes! fried spinach and oh my! it is awesome!) and from there we went to the movie and saw Charlie Wilson's Wars which was also very good - definitely worth seeing. It was a good day.
PS: Ashley & Blake gave me a Pampered Chef stoneware Pie Plate which was pretty terrific given that I love making pies these days (Honeycrisp apples make really yummy apple pies!). I've managed to put it to good use multiple times already and am sure that it, like my new mixer, will become one of my favorite kitchen items.

In time, I will heal I hope

2008-01-14T22:53:00.003-06:00

This was originally written to explain my absence between posts and thanks to 'blogspot', it has disappeared twice now....so this is the 3rd time I'm writing. Maybe that's part of the healing process? Anyway, my precious dad got sick enough to be hospitalized the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and passed into the hands of waiting angels on December 13th. There is much to the story and is still far too painful to discuss. During the time that he was in the hospital, I spent as much time with him as I possibly could given that I had just started a new job and that the hospital was a couple of hours away. I treasure the time that I was able to spend with him and miss him far more than there are words to explain. He was my strength, my friend, my advisor, my confidant and a terrific father...always!

Thanksgiving Cake

2007-11-22T21:32:00.003-06:00

Another Treasured Cakes creation...a cake for my friend, Lisa, to take with her to her new husband's family's Thankgiving dinner. It's not incredibly fancy, but I'm betting it was pretty darn tasty. Her only request was that it be a chocolate cake and the rest was up to us. It's an 11" x 15" sheet cake w/buttercream icing. I wanted to put 'Happy Thanksgiving' on it with fondant letters but Ashley thought that would be a little cheesy so I didn't. I did like the colors though and I do think it turned out well given the time constraints. I think I'll go ahead and purchase the letter molds for future cakes but for this one, I think I'm satisfied that it came out as well as it did. Check it out and see what you think.

Website News

2007-11-12T08:14:00.001-06:00

A big FYI to all. The Treasured Cake webite is up and running. Obviously it's a work in progress and will be as long as we're adding cakes to it. Check it out at www.treasuredcakes.com and send your friends there as well. And remember, if you're looking for a cake for a special someone, ask us and we'll try to accomdate you. We don't have the price list up yet, but stay tuned and it'll be up soon as well.

Another B'day Cake....

2007-11-11T22:12:00.006-06:00

....for a real live person (meaning it wasn't a practice cake for class). This particular cake was created especially for a terrific lady and my good friend Cathy, to celebrate her recent birthday. It was designed to represent a gift box with bow and name tag. As I hear it, it was a hit and quite delicious.

Graduation from Course #3

2007-10-29T21:46:00.003-05:00

Yee Haa! We are graduates again! You can check out the finished cake...but first I'd like for you to understand what it took to get there so you'll have a better appreciation of cake making and cake decorating. Prior to taking these classes, I thought that cakes, especially 'specialty' cakes were overly expensive. May I say, I'm sooooo sorry?! This weekend, Ashley and I baked 14 layers of cake in various flavors of course, made 76 roses in various stages of bloom, 80 leaves and used 3 different types of icing including buttercream icing, royal icing and fondant (3 of the cakes were for class and 1 was for granddaughter's b'day). We worked well into the morning on both Friday and Saturday nites, stayed up late last nite and she's still working tonite on tomorrow nite's make-up class (the basket weave cake). I have definitely gained a new and true respect for the art of cake decorating. The classes we've taken have taught us so much - Belinda was a terrific instructor and hopefully we'll be able to go forward with sharing what we've learned and our combined talents by making beautiful cakes for others via our newly formed 'Treasured Cakes' cake decorating business.
Check out somne of the other graduation cakes. Ashley's is the gorgeous one with the mauve colored roses. Everyone did a great job!

The 'Results' Show

2007-10-28T23:17:00.003-05:00

We did it! You can see the results here. My granddaughter, Alexis wanted a hot pink and lime green cake for her 13th b'day and although Ashley and I had never made a stacked 2-tiered cake before, with some instruction from our class instructor, Belinda, we managed to pull it off much to our and Alexis' delight.

It was totally unplanned but there were/are 13 'buttons' on top of the bottom layer and there are 13 letters in Happy Birthday. In looking for candles to top her cake, I also found these candles that spelled out Happy Birthday! How neat was that? It all just worked out so perfectly.

You can see how happy she was when she saw it. That's Dylan in the back - one of her 3 little brothers.

Ashley and I had a lot of fun putting the cake together - I worked on the bottom layer and she worked on the top.

I think Ashley's favorite part of putting 'stacked' cakes together is going to be being able to use a hammer - a requirement for getting the wooden dowel that holds the cakes together thru the cardboard that is under the top layer.

Feel free to ck out our Treasured Cakes blog for more pictures (http://www.treasuredcakes.blogspot.com/) as they should be up in a day or 2.

Big Plans for Big Cakes

2007-10-23T21:49:00.001-05:00

A big weekend coming up. Ashley and I agreed (promised actually) my #1 granddaughter, Alexis, that we'd make the b'day cake for her 13th b'day party. And for some crazy reason we even said we'd take on a cake that we've never attempted before (and won't have had a class for until AFTER the b'day party!), a 2-tiered 'stacked' cake (I think that means no pillars). In our elation to make cakes, we promised a cake w/hot pink icing and she wants lime green dots/stripes on it (we'd suggested black but she wants lime green). We've decided to nix the stripes already and will go with only dots. Originally it was our plan to do it w/fondant, but at this point we're thinking that buttercream icing will be more pleasing to all the children. Additionally we have to make the 40 roses for Monday's 2-tiered wedding cake class (Class #4/Course #3) so it will be a busy weekend for sure. Stay tuned for the 'results show' as they say on Dancing with the Stars.

Cake Deco Class - Course 3/Lesson 3

2007-10-22T22:04:00.000-05:00

Tonite's class became a lesson in patience. Seems that more of us than not had a problem with our icing either being too thin or too stiff and then in an attempt to make it right, it seems we went a little too far in the other direction creating a totally different issue. For this particular class, we were to bring several different colors (pink, yellow, green, blue & white) of icing of different consistencies for practicing making Easter Lilies, Petunias, Poinsettias and Morning Glories. None were particularly hard but it was pretty apparent that we need to get the consistency right and practice a little more than the time that we had during class. We were only able to spend about 15 minutes on each flower after doing the prep work (loading the bags w/the proper color and tip, preparing the lily nail with the foil candy wrappers - a lily nail is used to give the flower its shape) and getting the instrux and demonstrations. As much as I hate sharing this particular picture with you....here it is minus the flowers that didn't make it home undamaged.

My Plumbing Hat....

2007-10-18T20:29:00.000-05:00

....obviously didn't fit well, but fortunately for me, my good friends from McCoy Plumbing came through again. These people are the best and if you ever need a plumber, you absolutely MUST call them. They're very responsive and absolutely awesomely (is that a word?) good! Thank you, thank you, thank you James, Ronnie, Beth & Cathy! You've once again come through in ways that I wouldn't have expected and couldn't have imagined. I love you all. And really good treats are coming your way!!!!

Cake Decorating - Course #3/Lesson #2 - The Gift Box

2007-10-15T23:36:00.001-05:00

Okay, this was a big one. Lots of preparation, lots of work and a great big payoff. Check out the 'pre-lesson' picture with the prepared cake that I took to class and a few (and I say a 'few') of the items necessary for this class and our completed cake.

Part of the reason for Ashley and I beginning this cake decorating course, was so that we could learn to use fondant. We hadn't really even considered all the flowers, borders and the like that we'd be learning...we thought fondant....yippee! We'll learn to decorate cakes using fondant and that'll be fun. Little did we know how much fun we'd have, how much work would go into it, how rewarding each and every completed cake would be and yes, how much it would cost (!). But we have, it has been, it 'totally' is and yes, again it is, but it's been worth every penny...I mean $$. We've created beautiful cakes much to the delight of our co-workers, neighbors and Blake ;-)

Check out my completed project (another strawberry flavored cake) and the rose that we made tonite. I think we have 40 of these roses to make for out final cake project which btw is a 2-tier wedding type cake. I'm thinking I need to get started right away!!!

As some of you have already read and/or heard, we have been working out the details of starting our own cake decorating company, Treasured Cakes. We've already received a few orders - much to our delight. We're official now, but are in the process of working on getting our website up and getting business cards. We'll pass those on once we have them. Stay tuned for that. In the meantime, yes, yes, yes...working with fondant is every bit as awesome as we'd hoped it would be (although I'm not sure it'd be called tasty) and we are looking forward to our future classes and the opportunity to learn even more using this particular technique and many, many more!

Another First - I Put on My Plumber's Hat...

2007-10-15T22:07:00.000-05:00

...and it doesn't fit! I attempted the change-out of the sprayer on my kitchen sink yesterday. It was pretty much an all afternoon/evening job (resting in between) and as of this evening, it still leaks. I found out after my really good friends from McCoy Plumbing managed to find a compatible sprayer for my Moen faucet and borrowed tools from 2 different people AND got the old one off and the new one on, that I should have used teflon tape to avoid the leaking problem. Guess I'll leave the sheet cake pan under the sink for now to collect the small amount of dripping water and attempt it again as soon as I get a chance.
Here's a picture of what that sucker looks like and how tight a fit it is to get up under there. Kindof gross looking, huh?

Course #3/Lesson #1

2007-10-08T23:04:00.000-05:00

Yep, I believe this cake course is gonna be a toughie (is that a word?). Tonite we practiced a lot of different techniques using buttercream icing. The techniques we practiced are called 'Cornelli Lace' and 'Sotas' which both look a little like lace, 'Brush Embroidery' which looks delicate and very romantic, Stringwork which included both Single Drop and Multiple Drop Strings, Bead Borders, Ruffle Borders and Garland Borders. I have to say that I loved doing the 'lacey' things, the stringy thingys and the brushy things, but had some trouble with some of the ruffle borders....seems that I have some trouble with the turning of the 'ole broken wrist in just the right way, so I'll either need to practice that one lots more or let Ashley do those.

This brings me to...we (Ashley and I) have decided to attempt to do cakes 'semi-professionally'. We have named our cake making business....I won't divulge it right yet, but stay tuned and we'll not only divulge it, but will direct you to our website. In the meantime, check out the pictures I've attached from Course #3/Lesson #1.

And just so you'll be prepared (and hopefully anticipating) next week's lesson - we'll be preparing a cake that looks like a gift box using fondant. Stay tuned and thanks for allowing us to share.

Graduated Course #1 (A little late - but still a graduation!)

2007-10-02T22:30:00.001-05:00

Tonite was my make-up & final class of Cake Decorating Course #1. It was all about the roses as you can see. Here is my finished cake. I was really apprehensive about doing the roses after seeing how well Ashley had done, but I'm happy with them, they were fun to make and the class teacher commented that mine 'rivaled' Ashley's. WOOHOO!
Ashley and I have decided to go ahead with signing up for Course #3 which is 'Fondant and Tiered Cakes' (or wedding cakes). We talked about postponing it because of the upcoming holidays, but we're learning so much and having so much fun, we figured why put off the inevitable? We're definitely going for it. Point here is....stay tuned for those cakes (I think the teacher said there would be 2 to make in that class).
I took yesterday's cake (the basket weave cake) to the neighbor's house today and gave it to them. 'Mom' wondered if I'd thought about doing cakes professionally and my answer to that is, "yes!" There are lots of children in the neighborhood w/lots of birthdays. I realize I still need loads of practice, but I'm having so much fun that practice is definitely not a problem. Eating all these cakes is....but so far, the recipients that the cakes have been given to, seem pretty darn appreciative.

Graduated Course #2!

2007-10-01T22:16:00.001-05:00

Tonite was the culmination of all the work we've done to date in our cake decorating class - Course #2. In the previous 3 classes, we practiced and made all the pieces for tonite's cake. Here is what it is taking to get me to that grand finale.
Are you ready??? Here is my completed cake! This has definitely been my favorite so far...although I do have the make-up class, the final class, for Course #1 tomorrow nite (remember? I missed the final class while on vacation?). This one was tough and time consuming, but Oh! so much fun!

Another First - Apple Strudel

2007-09-29T15:01:00.000-05:00

I made an Apple Strudel today - with what was left of the Honeycrisp apples that we brought back from NC (yes! they are still good!) for the first time ever. I used a combination of the recipes that I found in the most recent WeightWatchers magazine and a recipe I found online adapting them both just a little to include some Pampered Chef seasonings (the cinnamon and caramel ones) of course. It's the first time I've ever made Apple Strudel and the first time I've ever used phyllo dough - which was an experience all on it's own. The strudel turned out both beautiful and tasty although Russell & I both decided it could use just a tad more sugar (next time). BTW - we've decided that we love the Honeycrisp apples so much, we ordered some online and are having them shipped to us (a case split 4 ways is very reasonable).

Cake Decorating - Course #2/Lesson #3

2007-09-24T22:04:00.001-05:00

Check out these flowers we made tonite - roses, daisies, primroses, dafodills and pansies!

Ashley missed because of having her wisdom teeth pulled on Saturday so she'll have a makeup class like me now - but it was fun anyway and I learned alot again. The last class of this particular course is next week. We have to come to class with our prepared cake and all the flowers and the birds that we've made to date and will be turning all of these combined elements into a (hopefully) beautiful cake. Be sure to stay tuned for the finale!

Sweet Updates

2007-09-23T17:09:00.002-05:00

Two awesome things have happened this weekend; 1) I got a new iPhone, a leather case and an iTunes card (for uploading ringtones & such) from Russell and

2) I made the most b-u-tiful apple pie using some of the Honeycrisp apples that we brought back from N Carolina a few weeks ago. In making this truly tasty and pretty pie, I used the Cinnamon and Caramel spices and the pie crust shield (all Pampered Chef products) that helped to make it both tasty and beautiful.

Granted the iPhone is way groovier than the Apple Pie, but both were really terrific and fortunately I can and will enjoy the iPhone for wwwwwwaaaayyyyy longer than we'll enjoy the Apple Pie. Thank you RH for the surprise gifts - I do truly love you and appreciate all you do for me.

Cake Decorating - Course #2, Class #2

2007-09-17T23:28:00.001-05:00

Tonite was interesting and productive. No cake of course, but we started making the decorations for our final cake using Royal Icing (confectioners sugar, meringue powder & water). We made the birds for our cake w/the 'Color Flow' icing (later I had to re-do mine because I messed them up and I also added a birdhouse). We also made the Apple Blossoms, Violets and Violet Leaves for our final cakes. It's a small, but fun group with a great teacher, Belinda. I found out tonite that Ashley and I are 1 of 2 mother/daughter 'teams'. I can't wait to see everyone's final cake. Stay tuned for the 3rd class of Course #2.

Dad's b'day w/grandkids

2007-09-17T23:08:00.000-05:00

My dad's b'day is the 19th and in celebration of his 71st, Ashley and I picked up the grandkids and drove to E.Texas (on Saturday, 9/15) to spend the day w/he and Grams & celebrate. It was a fun, but stressful day - driving that far w/all 4 kids (Alexis, Dylan, Damion Jr & Dom) in one vehicle; but we had a good time and I think Papa & Grams really enjoyed seeing the grandkids. Lunch was good and the special b'day cake they'd made was wonderful! Happy Birthday Dad! and We LOVE YOU!

Long time, really good friends are moving back to NY

2007-09-17T22:54:00.000-05:00

On Friday nite (9/14) I mourned best friends of 17+ years moving back to NY. A lot of us got together and threw them a surprise party at their 'old' house - moving truck and all - to tell them how much we will miss them. Everyone had a good time, we re-lived some special moments and cried a lot. Hopefully pictures will follow (I forgot to bring my camera, but there was a lot of picture taking done so if all goes well, I will get some of the pictures that were taken and will be able to pass those along).

Best and Worst

2007-09-11T18:12:00.002-05:00

This is another first - hard to get 'firsts' these days! I'm gonna publicly share my first 'best and worst' list...or at least those items that are currently on my mind. I'm sure I'll add to each category at some point....that point being when I'm really happy with something and/or really 'peeved' at/about something.

Best
Real friends & family - my list is really long
Stonington, Maine
Burt's Bees Products
Palm T/X
Don Davis Ford
Honeycrisp Apples & Hendersonville, NC
Pampered Chef products
McCoy Plumbing in Ft.Worth
Cake Decorating Class & the instructor, Belinda
Survivor (it begins again on 9/20)
Dancing With the Stars (it begins on 9/24)
Texas Roadhouse in Arlington
The Original (mexican) in Ft. Worth

Worst
People who act like friends but really aren't - fortunately my list is pretty short
Forest Hill Police Dept
Ad-A-Staff in Arlington
ADT
Compass Bank

Cake Decorating Continues - Course 2/Lesson 1

2007-09-03T22:30:00.001-05:00

Yes, more cake decorating classes....I haven't given them up yet! Although I might if Ashley keeps outdoing me ;-) Man has that kid got some cake decorating talent!! Tonite was the 1st class in Course #2 (I still have to complete Course #1 since I missed the last class due to that darned 'ole vacation) of the Wilton Cake Decorating Classes. This course involves making only 1 cake but lots of different flowers, borders and something called 'flow icing'. We'll be using Royal Icing instead of Buttercream Icing (thank goodness because I'm eaten waayyy to much Buttercream Icing!) so, I think, what this means is that we'll be making icing that hardens and is transportable. Tonite we had to practice several different shell and flower techniques...none of which I mastered...but of course Ashley did each and every one! I've attached a pic of the Course 2 workbook showing the cake we are 'supposed' to be able to decorate by the end of this course as well as the 'mum' that I made in class which Ashley is kindly displaying for your amusement. Her's is much better as you will see when you check out her blog. BTW - I am very thankful to Ashley and her KitchenAid mixer for helping me out tonite by bringing enough icing for both of us.

Vacation - Day 7 (Friday)

2007-09-02T20:54:00.001-05:00

It's nearing the end of our vacation and we've saved the best for last (although we didn't know it at the time). We (again) lazed around the cabin, took a walk around the area and then took a short ride into historic Hendersonville (http://www.historichendersonville.org/), just a few miles up the road from Saluda. We didn't realize it at the time, but we were about to be amongst the many visitors of the 61st annual North Carolina Apple Festival. Our real reason for venturing into Hendersonville was to visit Mast General Store (http://www.mastgeneralstore.com/), an 'ole fashion and very historic general store which began it's existence in 1883. What a treat that and the Apple Festival turned out to be!!!! We spent almost the entire day there wandering into and out of various stores and booths, eating naughty foods and just generally being 'child-like' - a completely fun-filled day. It rained off and on but that didn't dampen the fun at all because we were given plastic ponchos by the locals - a ploy to keep us there I'm sure! And if the day wasn't special enough all by itself....we found a 'Barney' look alike (seems that, unbeknownst to me....Andy Griffith and Mayberry are N. Carolina treasures) that we were able to talk into taking a picture with. The day couldn't have turned out any better!

Vacation - Day 6

2007-09-02T20:23:00.002-05:00

Today we've decided to venture into Asheville and take the Asheville Trolley Tour (http://www.ashevilletrolleytours.com/) - a 90 minute narrated tour aboard a trolley that travels through historic Asheville. Because it was raining throughout much of the tour, we were able to take only a few pictures. The trolley wasn't exactly a 'real' trolley like we'd hoped but more of a shuttle type bus used for touring the city. We did learn alot about Asheville, including additional history about the Biltmore, famous people who'd lived in and visited the city, movies that had been filmed there, historic buildings, etc) but were more than a little disappointed overall because of the weather and the lack of being able to actually visit some of the places we were told about. After the tour we walked over to the McDonalds across the street from the Biltmore Estates - a totally different McDonalds to be sure because of it's unusually elegant interior (it and the Hardee's across the street had been rebuilt in order to make it more closely fit the ambiance of the Biltmore Estates). We didn't eat there but did stop to take pictures as we figured 'never again would we have the opportunity to be in a nicer McDonalds' than this one. After lunch, we visited Biltmore Village, the 'village' that George Vanderbilt purchased (formerly the town known as 'Best') near the time he was building his Estate and now known for it's eclectic collection of antique and gift shops.

Vacation - Day 5 (Wednesday)

2007-09-02T19:35:00.001-05:00

Day 5 brings us to the Biltmore Estate (http://www.biltmore.com/) - the largest home ever built in the US! An unbelievable 175,000 sq ft (and yes I said 175,000!) home on 8,000 acres (originally 125,000 acres) and still privately owned by the descendants of the original owner, George Washington Vanderbilt. When we arrived at the Estate, we were greeted by a gentleman who talked to us about the home and took our picture in front of it. Before leaving area and walking down toward the home, I asked him if he worked there, his name and if we could take his picture. He said his wife 'worked' there, his name was Cecil and why would we want to take his picture? We convinced him we did want to take his picture and later found out, via the audio tour we took and subsequent research we did, that Cecil is the name of the descendants that are the current owners of the estate. Wow! Once we'd put 2 + 2 together and did a little research via the internet, we realized that we were probably talking to John Francis Amherst Cecil, the great-grandson of George. The tour of the house was totally beyond amazing, totally beyond anything I could've ever imagined in my most vivid dreams. It took us 3+ hours to get thru the 250 room house. Among other things, it has original art from masters such as Renoir, magnificent 16th-century tapestries, Napoleon's chess set, a library with 10,000 volumes, a Banquet Hall with a 70-foot ceiling, 65 fireplaces, an indoor pool, bowling alley, and priceless antiques. The house opened to friends on Christmas Eve 1895 and this French Renaissance chateáu remains America's largest privately owned home. After taking the tour of the house itself, we wandered out to what were once the horse stables and ate at the Stable Cafe (even as horse stables this must have been a fabulous place to be as a horse!). Lunch was, as you might guess, a little pricey and not as wonderful as one would expect, but filling nevertheless. After lunch, we wandered into a couple of the several gift shops and purchased a sufficient $$ amount of soveneirs before leaving and driving over to 'America's Most Visited Winery' (our ticket provided us with a 'free' wine tasting). We tasted several and purchased one - the Century - a Biltmore Estate white table wine - the best of the ones we tried we thought and later made a delicious chicken dinner w/some of it (Rachael Ray says you should only cook with wine that you would drink ;-).

Vacation - Day 4

2007-09-02T17:24:00.001-05:00

It's Tuesday, Day 4, and we've decided to visit Chimney Rock(http://www.chimneyrockpark.com/). We got a late start because we really didn't anticipate our outing being the 'full day' adventure it turned out to be. Most of this is because once again, we decided to take a 'little' hike! Chimney Rock is a rock formation that looks like a chimney (duh!) and from the top of it, you are able to see among other things - Lake Lure. It was truly breathtaking. After climbing to the top.....okay, not really....we took an elevator to the top!, we decided to hike to Hickory Nut Falls - a 3/4 mile hike up a moderately steep trail. We figured if kids and older people could hike the trail, surely we could. Once we got there, totally out of breath and drenched with sweat, we discovered that what we thought would be something like the Looking Glass Falls we'd seen the previous day, a waterfall that looked instead like someone was sitting at the top of the falls with a waterhose! Boy, were we disappointed. Fortunately, the trip wasn't a total bust. Chimney Rock was nice, but more importantly, we'd found Pumpkin Butter and apples. We stopped in Bat Cave (yes, it is the name of the town) at the Bat Cave Apple House and purchased the most delicious Pumpkin Butter and at Granddad's Apple House (http://www.grandadsapples.com/) where we purchased a peck of yummy Honey Crisp apples. We made baked apples nightly thereafter with the apples we'd purchased topped with Pumpkin Butter. Our plan is to turn the rest of them into apple pies and strudels when we get home.

Vacation - Day 3 (Monday)

2007-09-02T17:02:00.002-05:00

On Day 3 of our '07 Vacation, we went to the Great Smokey Mtn Natl Park (http://www.gsmnp.com/) via the Pisgah Natl Forest and Looking Glass Falls on the Blue Ridge Parkway. All were beautiful and despite the on and off rain during the day, we managed to see a lot and take a lot of pictures. While in the park, we climbed to Clingman's Dome (a .5 mile walk up a very steep hill - elevation 6,000+ ft) on the Appalachian Trail. Boy, were we winded by the time we got to the top!!! We also visited a Mountain Farm Museum which was quite interesting. The 'Farm Museum' is a working farm museum as it actually included real animals (chickens, roosters, pigs, etc) and real crops (corn & sorghum for syrup). On the way home, we stopped in Cherokee at what must surely be one of the only Big Boy restaurants (http://www.bigboy.com//) still in existence and right across the street from it found the 'perfect' motel for me - the Pink Motel.

Russell spotted a bear beside our cabin when we pulled in the driveway this evening. I went in search of him so I could take a picture but never spotted him.

Vacation - Day 2

2007-09-02T15:55:00.001-05:00

It's Sunday, Day 2 of Vacation (not really - as I'm backtracking a little since there wasn't much time to make entries each day). We lazed around alot today - mostly because my idea of vacation is to be lazy and catch up on some well needed and much anticipated rest! We finally made it to the grocery store so that we'd have plenty of food for the week. Headed out to historic Hendersonville to find a Wal-Mart and ended up at Ingles (compares to our Kroger) instead. Did our shopping and made our way back to Saluda (thank goodness for the GPS we brought with us!) via the infamous Howard Gap Rd. Since it is/was Sunday, Saluda (http://www.saluda.com/) was totally shut down by 6pm so we were able to take lots of good shots of historic Saluda without all the cars parked outside the stores.

Vacation - Day 1 (Saturday)

2007-08-26T21:09:00.002-05:00

Today was the first day of vacation. We flew into Charlotte via AA with a pilot who not only made up for the delay we'd experienced at the airport at DFW but also made one of the smoothest landings I've ever experienced! We picked up our luggage, our car and made our way to Saluda (just outside of Asheville). We're staying at Saluda Mountain Lake Retreat (http://www.ashevillecabinrental.com/) in a cabin called the Bear Chalet - a very rustic cabin w/a terrific view, plenty of room and a hot tub. We spent our first day relaxing and finding a grocery store and have already taken lots of pictures.

V-Day is Near

2007-08-23T17:42:00.000-05:00

It's nearly time for Russell and I to leave for our annual fall vacation. This year we're going to North Carolina. We'll be staying near Asheville so that we can visit the Biltmore Estates. While there, we'll also visit Grandfather Mountain, the BlueRidge Parkway, the Smokey Mountains and more. I'll update you on all the places we plan to visit and/or visited later.

Still in the 'packing' mode and trying to get some B&L work done as well between working the full-time job at Coleman, although I'm getting so excited about leaving and getting some much needed rest that I'm finding it harder and harder to concentrate on anything.

Cake Decorating Lesson #3

2007-08-20T22:34:00.001-05:00

Tonite was Lesson #3! I started my 'homework' yesterday and had my cake iced and ready to go by bedtime last nite.

We had a blast in class and learned a lot (all of these pics prove it). We practiced several different tip applications - a big star, a swirled flower and shells, worked on another step to making roses and then moved on to completing our cake. Ashley, Beth and I all made Funfetti (flavored) cakes - Pillsbury of course. Beth & Abbi chose to make cupcakes rather than the 8" cake and their finished product was terrific.

What do you think about our finished 'homework assignments' (Ashley's 'homework' can be found by clicking on her blog to the right)?

Next week is the last class of Course #1 (Lesson #4) and it's all about roses which means we get to actually complete a rose and then learn how to get them from the 'flower nail' to the cake.

I'll miss this class but will make it up in September. Ashley will be in attendance though and will display her finished cake on her blog. I'm looking forward to seeing it and taking the last class the last week of September.

Course #2 begins on Labor Day and OF COURSE, Ashley and I will be back to do that one....and guess what? You all will get to see the results of those classes/lessons as well! WooHoo!

Performed a 'Traditional' Activity

2007-08-18T16:52:00.000-05:00

Spent last nite and today taking care of something that has become somewhat of a tradition between me and the grandchildren - buying and taking them their school supplies. Ashley and I went last nite to Staples, Target & Wal-Mart before we found everything on all 4 of their lists (and next year there will be 5!). Got one now in 10th, 7th, 3rd grades and Kindergarten. Was costly but fun and very rewarding when we took all the supplies to them today. Each child now has everything they need, in their own separate packages, to start school on the 27th.

Homework Accomplished

2007-08-13T23:00:00.001-05:00

I finished baking and got my cake (homework) iced yesterday - YEEHAA! It's pepto-bismol pink on the outside and strawberry cake w/strawberry glaze as the filling on the inside. I used the baking strips to make sure it'd cook evenly and be level on top, the cake leveler to cut it perfectly in half (2 layers) and then the groovy icing tip #789 (the best thing for icing cakes since sliced bread!) to put that lovely pink icing on. All these items are part of the 100+ pc decorating tool kit that we purchased.

In addition, we had to prepare 8 different batches of icing of varying colors and consistencies (some to decorate with and some to practice with), bring 1 1/2" squares of wax paper (for practicing roses), damp clothes for clean-up, toothpicks, etc. Lots of stuff considering I thought this was pretty much a 'no-brain' class.

This adventure started out as a $25 class w/a $20 'materials' kit and has turned into a much larger 'investment', but a fun one nevertheless.

Our instructor is Belinda and we're taking the class with friends, Beth and her daughter, Abbi, and having a great time! My finished cake is going to be taken to work tomorrow (thus the CMP on the top) for consumption since we surely don't want to be leaving anything as yummy as a strawberry cake within reach of the likes of me! That small glitch on the right side comes from a 'blow out' in my decorating bag when I was putting the CMP on it after finishing up the class and returning home.

A first for me....

2007-08-11T15:26:00.001-05:00

....in a lot of ways. And I'll start my list of 'firsts' with why I've decided to create this blog.

Having become more and more the computer geek, I've decided that blogs are a good thing - thanks to a daughter's (Ashley's Treats) and a niece's (Blakery) blogs that I've gotten involved in reading on a relatively regular basis. It's a fun and interesting way to share the events in one's life - good and/or bad - with friends and family. However, it does open one up to scrutiny so I must be careful about what I share. My dad thinks we're silly but secretly I think he's pleased that we've grown up to be relatively decent and interesting human beings.

Another first, and the initial reason for beginning this blog, is I'm taking cake decorating classes (w/Ashley of course). She's not only my daughter, but my best friend and most always my partner in crime ;-)

We started 'Course 1' last Monday and it was mostly instructive. We learned how to make icing and how to properly ice a cake. Today I make my first cake. I don't know what I was thinking when I said, "Sure I'd love to take cake decorating classes with you!" With an already busy schedule (2 jobs, a dog and a boyfriend), I wasn't even thinking about 'homework'!!!

Well....homework is to make a 2 layer 8-in. cake, ice it w/buttercream icing so that it is ready to decorate for this coming up Monday's class (Lesson #2). Additionally, we have to bring containers of thin, medium and thick consistency icing to practice with and 1/2 cup each of 5 different color frostings to decorate our cake with. Guess I'd better get started. Pictures to follow.