toot sweet **~

So I guess blogs aren't about how many comments your receive....right? I am just going to enjoy posting things and be happy with that, or try. Self esteem failing.....needing comments to feel good about me.....instant happiness in a few little words.....!!! Okay, so my joke about my two readers is no longer a joke, I am ok with that. (sob) On with the shooooow........

:: Here are some of my latest cakes ::

This was a fun one, although I cannot take full credit, my sweet knees cut out all the fondant for me whilest I was cooking for the shower. I had our amazing decorator at work make the cake and cupcakes, she matched the color perfectly! So although I designed the cake, I had others execute it! (thanks guys!!) This was made for my sister in law for her baby shower. Her last name is Hooton, so owls are the thing with the family! So I ran with it. I had my sister make some sweet invitations, she is so talented. She made exactly what I wanted! The shower was such a success, Heather had an amazing turnout and received some really nice things.

I haven't had many opportunities to make cakes for the Williams side of my family, except for sweet little Taylar - these are usually my favorites to make, she really keeps me on my decorating toes! So I was thrilled when I was asked to make a cake for my mother in law. It can be really hard to decide on an idea when you have a million going through your mind. One day I came up - well perhaps inspired since I was in church - a PEEP, she loves those darn things. Everyone seemed to like it, so I made a gigantic PEEP. Other than the tail needing to be longer, I was very happy with it! And it tasted amazing! Thanks to two new recipes that are DEFINITELY keepers.

Oh Elise! You put it perfectly when you said you love how each year your cake matched your current obsession! If you can get past the upside down Star Trek insignia, you can probably guess what is on the wall for this year. SCOTTY ie. SIMON PEGG. So what else but a wedding cake for Elise and Scotty. She wants her wedding to be in the colors of green, white and black. This cake gave me a chance to practice some henna cake art. It was fun! And I can't wait for another chance to better my skills. There are some gorgeous henna cakes out there, if you have a minute check it out.....wait don't....you will laugh for hours about how ridiculous my henna is.....just enjoy the simplicity of my cake! This one was fun and I was thrilled with her reaction, which was perfect of course!

{ adu }

P.S. Elise is not engaged, sorry for any confusion!

Intervention

I am feeling P.C.D.W. today. So to hopefully boost myself and my poor little blog, I am having a contest! Hurray! Hurray! So here is the deal-io, there are 9 questions below, answer them all correct and you will be entered into a drawing for some fun prizes! I am giving two weeks from today {September 30}.

:: GOOD LUCK ::

These are not trick questions. They are straight questions with straight answers.

1. Name the one sport in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score or the leader until the contest ends.

2. What famous North American landmark is constantly moving backward?

3. Of all vegetables, only two can live to produce on their own for several growing seasons. All other vegetables must be replanted every year. What are the only two perennial vegetables?

4. What fruit has its seeds on the outside?

5. In many liquor stores, you can buy pear brandy, with a real pear inside the bottle. The pear is whole and ripe, and the bottle is genuine; it hasn't been cut in any way. How did the pear get inside the bottle?

6. Only three words in standard English begin with the letters "dw," and they are all common words. Name two of them.

7. There are 14 punctuation marks in English grammar. Can you name at least half of them?

8. Name the only vegetable or fruit that is never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form except fresh.

9. Name 6 or more things that you can wear on your feet beginning with the letter "S"?

uh-huh

This year will be my first year sending a child to public school. I am so excited for Caitlyn to start this new journey and giggle a little at the thought of the dread that will come at the end of the next twelve summers for her! So I guess I don't have a lot of experience yet as the parent in this video, but I DEFINITELY know how those poor kids feel!

sweet dreams

{ good night }

i am tired

FRANKEN-CHAIR

Today is wonderful!

Why?

Because it's Friday?

Maybe.

Because I get to take my little niece and daughter to

Movies in the Park for some Kung Fu Panda Action?

Could be.

Or perhaps because I paid off a whole credit card today

and more than half of another one!

YES! YES! YES!

That is the reason why!

It feels so good to have that card gone and to be so close to paying off the other one I can hardly stand it. We are getting so much closer to our own house, I love it!

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

While visiting one of my favorite blogs I was invited to visit this fun site! I have such a side ache from laughing so hard at not only the photographs but the titles too. "Franken-Chair" - funny picture, but the title makes me laugh even harder! So I have decided to share a few of my favorites. Take a gander on the site if you have a few - is ever really that little? - minutes!

"hanes his way"

"fire alarm"

m-m-m-m-m tasty!

My one complaint about my cell phone is that it doesn't cradle in my neck very well, this is a perfect solution I think!

My friend has a White Trash BBQ every year, they are so much fun! But I am wondering why this little ingenius idea never occurred to anyone? Strange.





I am trying to decide if this is white trash or the start of one ingenius recycling program?

Any comments?

I wonder if the pioneers used this same idea to keep their food cold?

how did I miss that?

I have been so busy lately I have failed to update my blog.....and my recent read "A Girl Named Zippy". Where to begin! We have been living back with Mom and Dad for over a month. It's nice to be home, but I do miss "my" space. I feel like I am an invader! I have been busy trying to catch up the house work that my poor little Mom just does not have the energy to do. Her cancer has increased and she is headed back to chemo and radiation this next week. Poor thing, please keep her and my Dad in your prayers. They need them. Caitlyn has been keeping busy with swimming lessons, she is such a fish! I cannot watch her swim, she does not hold still for one second, the doctor told me during her ultrasound that I needed to get my running shoes on and boy was he right. She just cracks me up when she is in her lessons and people stare at me because they have not idea what I am giggling at. I can just see what is going on through those coaches minds with her! I am currently working at Dan's Bakery. It is a night job, so basically I just make a few batches of french bread in the massive ovens and package all the yummy new creations the bakers have made that morning, but it's a job that works with our family schedule and my sweet sister Heather watches Caitlyn, even in her expecting state! (THANKS HEATHER!!!) Caitlyn will be in kindergarten next year, crazy how time flies. She is already asking me when she will be old enough for college.... please wait a little bit honey, please! You are growing up way too fast! On the side I am working on Heather's baby shower, which I am totally excited for! I am getting nephew! So exciting! It's hard not to pick up every little man's item of clothing and tiny sneaker I see! Curtis is working really hard on his little men (WarHammer) and has discovered the amazing things he can create from DI finds...watch out! We are enjoying our summer and are hopefully (cross your fingers) going to get a little family vacation in September/October to Washington to visit my cousins! We will see how things go. We might be having a mini-vacation to Cherry Hill when Caitlyn graduates from swimming. I hope! Also, I just got word from my college roommate that she and her family will be in town this next week, I am so excited to meet her family and to see her!

{ on to the review }

I loved this book! There are those who are writers and then there are those who are storytellers. Haven Kimmel is definitely a storyteller. To say this book is just a story of a girl growing up in the backwoods of Indiana would be an insult. Haven's stories are delicious and completely satisfying! You know how most books about childhood are told from the safety of adulthood? The stories can be funny, sure, but there is a definite distance between where the storyteller is and where the storyteller was. Haven takes you back in time to what was, you feel like her little, giddy childhood tag along. Her storytelling is from her 9 year old eyes. Each chapter is a vivid memory from her years in Indiana, each with a unique spirit and sentimentality for the people and places in her life. This is the perfect "Mom Book", each chapter is full of a rich story and is just the right length for a quick sit down in between kids and daily activities. I feel like I am way behind in finding and reading this book, most of you, from the comments I have received, have already read this! BUT! BUT! BUT! If there is some small chance you have not picked this treat up, go get it, devourer it, eat the dang thing up, it is wonderful!

finally.

{ a job }