a little of this and a little of that

Lots of comings and goings around here lately.
Last week Mom came into town to surprise (niece) Maddie for the talent show. Talent show got rescheduled (pooey!) and I managed to let Mom leave without taking one single photo. Usually I'm the first one with the camera, but not this time darn-it-all!

I decided I would still update with some photos, just because they are so fun.
Last weekend Char & I had a sleepover and we managed to make the biggest mess on the planet while making pigs-in-a-blanket for dinner that night. Char had a blast with her dough and flour and we even managed to get some of it on the pan to bake within about an hour.

Char baby...you have a little something on your nose.

Every week we get to watch a little baseball. The games are usually pretty exciting. It takes a lot of energy to cheer on your team when they are losing and then have enough energy for the end when they finally make it back on top. That's kind of their way of doing things, but this game was strange...we were ahead the entire game and basically smothered the other team. Matter of fact, I am not sure the other team scored even one run. So sad, and those games aren't as much fun either.

Riah & I managed to entertain ourselves eating sweet & sour Starburst candy and taking pictures of ourselves.

And I had to share this picture taken in front of (sister) Jo's house. The bushes (whatever kind they are) are in FULL bloom with the most amazing flowers. I know they bloom like this every year, but I forget and then get surprised when I see it like this. It's almost overwhelming!

Aren't the flower gorgeous!
The bees really love them, but amazingly enough, none were around when I took these photos.

Last week was crazy busy and to add more crazy to the mix I had two cake orders.

The first one was for my besty April's brother and new sis-in-law to be. They had a little engagement party for them while the whole family was in town and I made this (yummy) marble cake (on the inside) with chocolate filling (amazing...yumm!) I also gave my hand a try at fondant for the snow boards on top. Do you think they look like snow boards? I didn't know how to make the bindings so I just used a little royal icing to give the impression that they should be there. The boards are just chillin on a little mound of snow...you know, like snow boards do.

The second cake was for another besty Sara for her bridal shower.
Sweet Sara saved me from dying of boredom and bad grades in my first algebra class at KSU. We were instant friends and let me tell you...this girl is spectacular.

(She also happens to be the girl responsible for introducing me to Maybelline XXL Pro Mascara. Let me tell you, this stuff is magic! It has what is easily described as a primer and literally doubles the thickness and length of my lashes. NO. JOKE. Any of the XXL Pro stuff pretty much works like that so just try it out. No, Maybelline is not paying me to say this...but they should. Or at least they could send me some product.)

Back to Sara's cake...we started out with the idea of cupcakes and then turned to the "gift" cake. I don't do fondant, not only does it taste like crap but it is also expensive. I was worried that using butter-cream I would not be able to get it as smooth, but I think it turned out fine. I did use fondant for the bow and through more stress than one person should ever have to encounter, this is what resulted:

Everyone kept telling me how cute the bow was, but I'm convinced it does not look right. I really didn't know what I was doing and can (almost) understand why some venues/cake peeps charge as much as $150 ADDITIONAL for a fondant bow. It was just frustrating and time consuming. I will do it again, and as a matter of fact I can't wait. However, I will get a little more instruction and plan a little more in advance. And next time, I probably will go ahead and use fondant to cover the entire cake. No, it won't be fun, cheap or taste great, but hopefully it will look a little more like a gift.

On a side note, the inside of this cake was strawberries & creme and with a strawberry filling. It tasted incredible if I do say so myself. I was at the party, so I cut it too...it had three layers so it looked really pretty on the inside. No, I did not take a picture so you'll just have to believe me. In the end I think it did need a little butter-cream to balance out all the strawberry, but it was tasty just the same!

So, that just about does it. I did a little of this and a little of that. Spent time with the most amazing Mother ever with no pictures to show, cheered on a baseball team, had some cake and pigs-in-a-blanket...just not all at the same time.

Today I have completely revamped my resume so wish me luck.
Hopefully I will find myself among the EMPLOYED soon.