Birthday Cake!

My niece is turning four today! We are heading to her little party half an hour or so. I made her a birthday cake! :D I always make her cakes. 

Last year she wanted a Hello Kitty cake and then this year when I asked her what she'd like and with a giggle she said, "Uhmmmm....a TIGER!" The first thought that went through my mind was, of all things...a TIGER?? I figured it would be very challenging but it was what she wanted and it was my job to make it happen. 

I stalked Pinterest for a few hours, looking at ideas. Fondant, fondant fondant! Yuck...I my other niece's birthday cake with fondant a few years ago. It was butterflies and the fondant was very UNappetizing and me being the way I am, I had spent hours forming each tiny detail. I was exhausted and NOT about to do it again. 

I finally gave up on Pinterest and brainstormed on my own. I thought, man...tiger stripes in the actual cake cake would be EPIC! I looked it up and it was possible. I was hyped and on a roll of inspiration then. I decided on the inside cake being striped and the outside....well? Here.

I drew out a few safari animals and a "4" on paper. Cut them out and found an epic sugar cookie recipe!

I traced around the paper to cut the dough then after they baked up I made a paint-like frosting and went to town "cookie painting". 

It's quite fun! :D Hahaha.

They turned out pretty good so I set them aside and I tried the tiger cake technique. Worked pretty good....I think. I'll find out for sure tonight when we cut cake slices. :p (So stay tuned for the birthday party pictures!!)

Now with making cakes in the past...they were good but....I have always had frosting issues. They all seemed hard to work with and I really didn't want to deal with that again so again...I checked Pinterest. Chocolate Whipped Buttercream Frosting. Hmm, it sounded good and after looking it over, I decided, yes. I do believe I will try this one.

BEST DECISION OF THE MONTH!!

This frosting is the best frosting in the whole world!!! I'm not even joking. Heavenly texture, phenomenal taste, and a DREAM to work with.

This has become my official chocolate frosting, why try anything else when you have perfection! :D

I'm VERY happy with how this turned out and check out those animal print candles! EPIC!! :D Hahaha, now for taking it and cutting it and tasting it. Wish us luck! ;)

The Archery Exploit

I puzzled and puzzled about what it could be. But I never would have guess it was an evening at an archery range! Boy, oh boy!!
I was hyped. My very first time shooting a bow and arrow. I failed completely at the compound and ended up using a recurve.

It was much easier for sure. I had a great teacher too! Bro Willie has been shooting ever since he was a tiny little tyke. :) He taught me how to aim and do all that bow and arrow stuff.

I got this deer pretty good. Hahaha ;)

After practicing on the deer, I started shooting at a target. One shot got super close to the bulls eye and I was determined to get it perfect. Fred chose that moment to pull out the video camera. Behold, my first arrow beside my dead center. Woot! Woot!

Paula was much stronger than me and could manage the compound just perfectly. Hahaha, I guess I need to work out more. :p

A BIG thanks to Fred for the epic surprise. I had a GREAT time! :D

Philip and Melissa

I woke up super early on July 4th, 2013. The house was silent and the light out my window was that soft sleepy light the sun gives as it's just peeking over the horizon. I remember laying my head back into those epic feather pillows, smiling up at the white ceiling and thinking about how stunning Melissa would look in her wedding dress. How handsome Phil would be. They were the most amazing couple ever and I had never been more excited about a wedding before. I just knew the day would be perfection.

I cleared away the dreamy, sleepy mood and jumped out of bed to checked on my dress hanging in the closet. Eeek! I had forgotten to iron it. I ironed it quickly then remembered Sis Joy had B&B guests! I finished getting ready then went out to see if I could help. She had everything under control of course. She's simply wonderful, that's what.

I waited for Charity to come over, for we had made plans that I'd go with her to the wedding then then out to the camp afterwards. While I waited I went over my things to make sure I had packed enough for everything. I was just finishing and she showed up and we headed out. Arriving at the church I began to get all giggly. I was SO excited. We had to take our seats quickly cause we were a bit late. Sitting and waiting for the ceremony to start took forever. I kept wishing time would hurry to when the beautiful Melissa would come down the aisle and when it finally happened I couldn't keep from crying. She was stunning and I loved her SO much. But Phil....his expression as he played the guitar. I got chills. It was the most amazing beautiful thing to see. They were so in love and so happy. I could have just jumped up and down with excitement. I want that same happiness to surround me on MY wedding day. <3

The wedding was perfectly amazing. Tiffany was the maid of honor and she did great! I knew she was about to cry a couple of times but she hid it well. Her big beautiful smile and sparkling eyes. She was almost as pretty as the bride. It was a magical day in all and I was dreamy about it for weeks afterwards.

An Aquatic Adventure with the Mansfields

So last week I stayed a few days with Fred and Paula. A fun cute couple with a baby on the way.....MY baby.
I have dibs on the little fellow. So any locals reading this -

BACK OFF ;)

(....no, seriously....)

Anyways...moving on! So our first adventure was kayaking. I had never been and so it was an extremely exciting thing.

We started off with Paula and me in a kayak and then Fred in his own. I had a terrible time of figuring how to paddle. We seemed to be on the verge of flipping every other second...

We stopped and ate our lunch. It started raining but our sandwiches only tasted more adventurous sprinkled with the raindrops. :) I had just finished my sandwich and I looked down to see this little guy. Cutest Horseshoe Crab I'VE ever seen.

Paula held him too!!

We let the little guy go and as he swam off Fred videoed him so I figured I'd share. :)

Then I saw this baby jelly fish....yeah, wasn't gonna pick him up with my bare hands so I used my paddle. :p

We set off again switching spots. Fred joined Paula on her kayak and I went on my own. It was MUCH easier on the red kayak. Great fun! We tried to go onto a sandbar but just as we were almost there, a storm came up and we rushed to get back to the shore. THAT was interesting. Paddling into the waves, getting blown to the side, distant thunder and rain. Great cardio workout though. I was WIPED out when we finally got to shore. A minute after we were off the kayaks it dumped buckets. Paula and I ran for the bathrooms to get changed and by the time I got inside I was soaked through! Gotta love Florida downpours. :)

iPhones have some pretty cool apps. Fred had this tracking app going the whole time we kayaked so I could show y'all where we went. 

Just follow the yellow path. ;) Grey is land and the other colors I guess are for different depths of the water.

It was a very epic afternoon and I was exhausted. We all slept great that night for sure and I can't wait to go again! :)

Wheat Challenge

Hello my faithful readers! Am I doing better on posting? I'm trying my hardest. ;)

Ok so after my fun summer of naughty eating I'm back home and starting up healthy meals again. This afternoon I made a REEEALLY good one. 

My first time trying spaghetti squash and trying to cut the thing in half was quite the experience. I tried about four knives before finally finding one that SORT OF worked. Who knew a veggie could be so hard??
I managed to get it cut and in the oven. Then while I waited the 30 minutes for it to cook, I sautéed some onion, yellow squash, and broccoli. I only let them just become tender in olive oil and garlic salt and parsley. I wanted that "crunch" to still be there. Haha.

The squash came out of the oven and I had a great time mashing it...is that the word? It wasn't "mashed" just spaghetti-ized! :p I cooked up some ground beef and tossed everything together, adding fresh baby tomatoes cut in half. It looked really pretty actually. I sliced half an avocado for go on the side to finish the look.

I don't know about y'all but that looks SUPER to me. Haha, and it tasted even better than it looks. 

If I really take time to prepare veggies and meat in creative delicious ways, it's actually pretty easy to eat good. So I must keep motivated and not get back into the lazy "grab a sandwich" mode. Haha.

Not that sandwiches are "BAD" but they do include bread usually and grains these days are so hybrid they do nothing for you except gather in little rolls on your body. NOT cool. And not only that, they just make your body feel "ick". 

I'm making a pact to cut ALL WHEAT out of my diet. Maybe even for just a trial basis the rest of September. It will be a challenge seeing as I love yummy things like cinnamon rolls, pumpkin pie, cream-cheese danishes, Subway. Ah the list goes on.

I shall prevail the temptations though and I'll write about the differences I feel when this month is over. And I'll decide if it's worth continuing the loss. So here I go - WHEAT FREE!

Settling In

July 2, 2013 (cont.)

After I got off the plane it was quite the adventure finding my luggage. It seemed everyone was in a rush to get to the baggage claim area and there were times I wondered if I was gonna get trampled. I made it safely though and stood in a crowd of people watching various bags come spinning past.

I have never seen such a fast moving baggage belt before though. People were seriously putting their lives on the line just to grab their belongings. One old man came trotting around to the side I was on, pointing at a rather large suitcase. "That one! That one's mine!!" We all kind of looked at him a second then one brave woman jumped onto the moving belt and tackled the bag. She was victorious and actually jumped to safety just in time before being knocked over to a probable death. ;) A few onlookers clapped a bit. I sighed and continued waiting for my belongings to show up, praying that when it was my turn, I wouldn't have to take such risks.

I waited and waited until there were only two bags left circling around and around. They were quite ugly actually. One was white hard case, with a with Canadian leaf on the front. It looked like it'd had gone through a terrible abusive past - all smudged with dirt and dented. The other was black material bag that looked as if it had had a few run ins with a mad cat or two. I wasn't feeling very sympathetic at the moment and after I gave them both an evil glare I marched off to see where on earth my things had gone.

There were about ten other people marching with the same determined step as myself. I followed them to another belt. We all stood around and more people showed up. Little by little that belt also became empty. I was about ready to have a cow at this point but I hid it well. The others around me.....eh, not so much. We all marched back over to the first belt and waited. More bags came. I stared each one down as they passed. Pink, black, red, white, tan, patterned. NONE OF THEM HAD MY DISTINCT OWL RIBBONS!!!

I was about ready to give up and go demand a free trip to the Bahama's from the airline for losing my bags but then I saw one of them. The once fast moving belt seemed to slow down to a crawl in my mind. I waited and waited and when my long lost luggage finally passed in front of me, I snatched it up and set it down on the ground with a sigh of relief. One down, one to go.

Ten minutes later, I was reunited with BOTH my suitcases and suddenly I had need of the washroom. Oh great. Tiny airport stalls and two gigantic suitcases. What was I to do? Thankfully there was an empty handicap one available and I managed to fit everything inside. After my long morning I kind of wanted to hide in there a while and I almost did after seeing myself in the mirror. I had one word.

Whoa.

Whoa as in....What-Happened-To-You-Whoa. Yeah, it was kinda scary. At least I knew I wouldn't have to worry about anyone wanting to talk to me. I only hoped Sis Joy Hayes wouldn't be terrified at my appearance. OH! Yes, I realized she was due any second and I must get out of the airport and be waiting for her.

Out the big sliding doors I went and immediately was greeted by the beautiful Washington air. I found a place to stand and wait and then just closed my eyes do drink in a deep breath of the air. Cool and refreshing. I opened my eyes and Sis Joy came pulling up. After a quick greeting, to we loaded up and headed north. I was very talkative I'm afraid but she didn't seem to mind. We had a wonderful visit and stopped for some lunch a little bit up the road at Olive Garden. It was great to just sit and relax over a good meal.

We stopped at a shopping outlet and looked around a bit. So many cute things at amazing prices but I wouldn't allow myself anything. Haha, I'd done enough shopping a few days before for this trip and I didn't need any more clothes! After we were done there, we headed home and on the way I almost fell asleep. I probably would have if not for my eyes being glued to the beautiful distant mountains.

We pulled into the drive and Jingo, my buddy, came running out to meet us. In the garage I opened my door and he attacked me. Trying to jump into my lap and kiss me. In his scramble he managed to knock my phone out of my lap and onto the floor. It scattered into three pieces. Front. Back. Battery.
Silly dog! I got out of the car and knelt to the ground so he wouldn't have to jump anymore. He practically sat in my lap and it was quite the job trying to stand up again. :p

Now the Hayes have one of the most beautiful houses I've ever been too. Sis Joy actually runs a Bed and Breakfast there and if any of my viewers are wanting a beautiful place to stay then I HIGHLY recommend Blackberry Trails. Check the website out, eh? Sis Joy is an amazing hostess and will make you feel more than welcome anytime. :)

This is the everyday view from all the front windows of the house. <3

So after I got my stuff in my room, I took a shower then crashed for a few hours before church. It was a wonderful sleep. The bed was big and fluffy and I was surrounded by feather pillows and a feather comforter. Ah, it was SO comfy that I didn't hear my phone trying to wake me up and when I finally did come to, it was almost time for church!! AHHH! I made it in time......ok, it was like three minutes after Sis Joy was ready but still. For the little bit of time I had, I did pretty good. Hair done, clothes pressed, bible, purse, passport. Yes, very good.

I was super shy and nervous about seeing everyone. At the border line-up I was thinking how all my friends didn't even know me anymore and I'd have to try to and talk to them and they wouldn't want to talk to me.
I got to church and we went right into the sanctuary. I walked in and went to my usual seat, with the Frey family. (Well, actually only with Sis Kim and Caleb since Nicole was gone) Shyness left me for a moment. Caleb gave me a nod of greeting then when I smiled at him he rolled his eyes. I felt like I'd never left. Sis Kim smiled at me and I could have done a happy dance right then and there. Then I looked over to my left and saw The Beautiful Tiffany Grunert. I'll never forget her smile that moment. She looked like she was going to burst with excitement and I wished I could run over that very second and give her a big hug! I sighed and opened my bible to try to settle my thoughts.

Bro John Andes preached a wonderful message about Love. It was great but I'll admit, I had a hard time concentrating the entire time. Hahaha! When we were dismissed, I felt the shyness coming over me again - I was suddenly terrified at the thought of facing all my buddies.

HA! I never should have thought twice about reuniting with my friends. We all squealed and hugged and then talked and talked then hugged and squealed some more. :) Well, my GIRL friends did that. The guys just came said "hello", shook hands and smiled cordially. It was great to catch up with everyone.

Sis Joy and I got home late and I went straight to bed and slept amazingly, dreaming of fun times and the Hayes' chickens.

Trapper's Singing Debut

Behold my adorable canine and his epic talent. ;)