We used to have a couch...

Until tonight... *sigh*

What a difference a month makes!!

Day 1 -20ish lbs...

Day 11 - 30ish lbs...

Day 22...I'm afraid to check...

Pittsberg Penguins Cake (1 of 4)

I work with a lady who's hubby is a Penguins Fan...SHE, however, is a chocolate fan! :)  So - for this cake, I combined the two.  Picture if you will...a layer of Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake smeared with Chocolate Mousse Frosting, then topped with a layer of tripple chocolate fudge Brownie - sprinkled with melted chocolate chips and mini marshmellows - topped with whipped chocolate mousse fudge frosting - topped with texas sheet cake and so on and so on...the end result was a Triple Texas Brownie Smore cake and I'm told it was as evil as it sounds! :)

Lightening fast Barbie Cake...(2 of 4)

This was the fastest Barbie cake I have ever decorated!!  The Birthday Girl wanted a "Barbie Princess" cake.  Lots of pink but that's all I really had to go on.  I found the Ballerina Barbie on sale at Toys R Us and really liked the dress she had on!  It was embossed directly on her so it seemed a shame to cover it with frosting!  (note*  If you decide to use Ballerina Barbie in a Barbie cake - be warned...if you move her just right, her legs fly open in what I can only assume is some sort of freaky ballerina move that a real ballerina might be able to identify.  Since I was born the polar opposite of ballerina, all I know is that she kicked up one helluva fight when I tried to jam her into the cake!!*)  Moving on...I did the entire skirt in zig zag pink frosting and I left the upper body alone.  the cool part is that I was sooper pleased with how it turned out! :)  And so was the Birthday girl:) Oh - the Wilton Wonder Mold (Barbie skirt pan) is too short for a real Barbie, so I have to build her up with a 2nd cake.  For this one, though, I used a layer of rice krispie "treats" and it worked great!!  Sometimes the simplest things turn out pretty great! :)

Baby Booties Cake - (Cake 3 of 4)

Ok - this one was a little tricky.  I used tons of buttercream in the layers and overlooked 1 small detail...fondant and frosting do not like heat! And we had a super hot weekend!  Needless to say, I had a couple extra bulges that I wasn't crazy happy with, but I'm super happy with how the booties turned out! :)  Kiddo2 helped me roll the zillions of fondant balls (Thank gawd) and we got it delivered on time! :)  Oh - and I'm totally addicted to the Duff coloring gels!!  Never again will I resort to Wilton coloring if I can help it!

Black Kitty Cake (Cake 4 of 4)

She was a ton of fun!  Black coloring (because you have to use so much) can sometimes leave a funky taste in the frosting, so I loaded this one up with TONS of chocolate:)  I used fondant to mold her eyes and eye lids and face and made her tail, ears, feet etc. with rice krispie "treats".  Inside, she is a most sexcellent "7up pound cake" :)  Dee-Lish!!  :)  so - without further delay - here is a pic of cake #4! :) Enjoy Mel! :) (Please ignore the contents of my freezer! ;)

Cake Cake and more cake!

Cake update is as  follows...in the last couple days, I have managed to whip up a Pittsberg Penguins cake, a Barbie cake, a 2 tier baby shower cake and a black cat cake for Mel...Pfeuf!  I also had another order for 2 Barbie cakes, but they cancelled last minute - grr!  Oh well - the cakes are baked and frozen for next time. :)  anyway, I plan to post pics, but.............my..................camera.................is........................soo................slow.........
......that...............it..................may............take.............a............ while.  In my camera's defense...I have over 2000 pics on the silly thing, so I shouldn't be surprised! :)  so - all that to say that the next post will (hopefully) be filled with cake pics :)

blaaaaaaaaah!

Today was a beautiful day!  I was up early - took Daisy May and Kiddo2 for a walk, to feeds n' needs for chewies, to the dog park and then to the dog wash for the first time.  Then I had to come home to bake 2 cakes! .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................I burnt one. :s  I decided to take a half hour nap while it cooked and it was a half hour too much - ugh!  And now - I'm grogg and foggy and feel like my brain has been rolled in sand...I lack motivation, ambition and any form of energy that may get me through a 3rd cake in 1 day...Ugh - I think I may need a coffee...

Could you say no...

To this face??

Yeah...me neether. :(

Un-Birthday fun :)

Because yesterday was my un-birthday, there were a few extras in my day that I did get to enjoy.  Starting with an un-birthday lunch with a friend.  Montanna's was the place to be :)  Halfway through my spinach dip, the way too perkey serving staff clapped with too much glee and chanted a western cult-chant to "Amy" who was celebrating a birthday.  Amy was behind me...I looked accross the table at my friend and advised..."I'm soo glad they weren't coming for me because this would officially become and un-birthday / un-friend lunch!"  She smiled and giggled awkwardly, forcing my spidey senses into overdrive.  I noticed everything from how often our waitress checked on my progress (not my soon to be un-friend) and the awkward looks and deliberate eye contact my friend was making with her...I purposely slowed down - then finished promptly but damnit!!  The plan was already in place and I too was the victim of far too perkey, western cult-chanting wait staff who carried an enormous Viking hat (which I refused to wear out of fear of headlice...(Before you call me weird , live through 1 infestation and tell me it's not in the forefront of your mind 24/7)  I tried to be a good sport...the oreo bits on my un-birthday ice cream helped...and announcing to my un-friend that I'm yonger and prettier while the perkey wait staff belted out their cult-chant was also theraputic.

After lunch, I went to Chapters and treated myself to the new Crochet Today magazine!    There is a great pattern in it for a petal pillow that I'm dying to try!!!  It's totally cute!!  I also treated myself to Amigurumi Two  by Ana Paula.  They didn't have it in stock, though, so I had to order it and wait goodness knows how long. :(

Next stop was Toys R Us to pick up a Barbie for the cake I had to decorate that night.  SCORE!  In and out in less then 5!!

Dinner was great - leftovers!  Yay no cooking!  DH gave me a super remote control hellicoptor that he likes very much, and each of the kids' gave me a Webkinz...which I actually was excited about :)  (note - DH also got me a great book for puppy and money for clothes which I wanted...but the remote control hellicoptor just sounds way more fun :)  We had ice cream cake and Daisy was well behaved for most of the night...AND...it didn't rain!!  (probably because it always rains on my birthday and since it was an un-birthday it didn't! ;) 

I wrapped up the night by decorating a Barbie cake which I will deliver today :) 

Overall - it's still good to be 35...And now I'm off to DD's school picnic. 

Happee Wednesday everyone!!  :)

The absolute refusal to acknowledge...

No - it's not my Birthday.  Honest - I swear!  Why is that you ask??  Well - I have officially decided that I'm not going to celebrate them anymore!  Nope!  I'm going to remain 35 forever!!!  Not that 35 was particularly awesome - but it sits snugly and perfectly in the middle of 30 & 40 and I am definately not ok with 40!  I think that everyone has that one particular age that haunts them and for me, that age is 40.  I'm not ready for 40!  I'm not even ready for 36! 

All the numbers seem far too high!  I don't feel much different then I did 20 years ago, but sadly I must admit that I do look very very different.  Why does age have to be so cruel??  I have tried to ignore my migrating chin - the newly forming 45 degree angle that connects my chin to my neck where a firm 90 degree angle used to be.  I've tried to embrace the abundance of grey hair that adorns my head and although I refuse to dye it...I'm trying to accept the knowledge that I will eventually look far too much like Mrs. Clause.  I've made every reasonable effort to squint in order that I might avoid eye contact on the severe gravitational pull that has left my inner thighs looking more like elephants ears then inner thighs or the jiggly bits under my armpits where armpits used to be.  And I refuse to look back (for that is where I would see that my pancake ass has fallen.  I'm going downhill fast and I blame it all on the relentlessness of birthdays.

I suppose if I continue to refuse acknowledgement of my Birthdays I'll eventually be told I look like Hell for my age...and when that day comes...I'll pick up right where I left off...at 35...But today is not that day...and so...when the clock strikes 12:00...I will not be 36, I will not be 1 year older, I will not be closer to 40 then 30 because this year is not the year I celebrate a birthday.  Not this year...and not tonight.  Tonight I will wish myself a very happy un-birthday and wake up perfectly happy being 35 still (and obviously I will continue to avoid standing naked in front of any reflective surfaces.)

Happy un-Birthday to me!  It's good to be 35. :)

Bit%# stole my cart!!!

Last night I made a quick run to the Superstore.  I hunted like a jackle for the only cart left in the entire damn store...then I went promptly to the self scan cuz I'm quicker then the slow poke cashier that I always seem to get and am too darned impatient to wait in line behind people who buy their groceries once a month (*ugh!  Insert stress here!*)  So - last night, I get to the self scan, and I have coupons (we gettem with DH's prescriptions but I keep forgetting to use them.) So - I step away for a sec to give the cashier my coupons and when I come back to my register, there's a women with her cart clean up in my gear!!  I was surprised to see her trying to bully into the self scan when I wasn't even finished ringing stuff in and she smiled and walked away.  You better run lady!!  But that's when I realized that BIT#@ STOLE MY CART!!!  It was MY freakin cart that she had!!  MINE!!!  UGH!!!  So there I was...coupons used and 5 very very heavy bags of groceries to lug back to my car.  It's a damn good thing I didn't see her on my way out or she would have had a jug of fresca up her A...well...you know what I'm sayin. >:(

Missing Pink DS

After several months of looking we stopped.  I remember kiddo having her DS in Birch Point in May of last year and have the pics to prove it.  By June it was gone.  I think I remember her having it at the zoo...but after that - it's all a blurr.  We hunted high and low for the darn thing and by October, we stopped looking.  I killed me to let her do it, but Mom got kiddo a new on for her birthday in November.  I reeeeeely hated the idea,  but a DS does have it's advantages.  Kiddo has taken much better care of the new silver one then the old pink one...but I always say that the fastest way to find something is to replace it....well...As of 2 days ago, I figured it was a lost cause and had visions of some stranger picking it up out of a parking lot where it must have fallen out of the car...Yesterday, however...Guess what Mom found?!  Yup - you guessed it!  After being gone for more then a year, my Mother found the missing pink DS (in all places) under the cushion of a rocking chair in her living room!!!  I couldnt' believe it!!!  So - the bad news is that we replaced it.  Good news, though, is 2 fold - 1st...we found it!!  2nd...I now have my very own pink DS!!  LOL

What a week!!!

So much to tell and so little time! 

Daisy-May:  She's doing really well!  There are moments when I shake my head and miss the days of already trained, calm and quiet moose-sized adult fur kid running around...but then I realize that we've had her for less then 3 weeks and she's only 3 months old and she listens surprisingly well and is a very good girl.  She still goes bat-crap crazy now and then...and has a selective hearing disorder...but overall, she has improved by leaps and bounds in just over 2 weeks! When she first came home, she had no interest in anything around her...she was just there.  Super distant but very cute!  Now - she's totally involved in the family and I can't remember what it was like before her. 

Ghetto Gangstah Groundhogs;  They're back!!  Last summer, they terrorized Lucy and I both!  They would lunge out at her screeching causign her to freak out like a rabid Caribou - galloping and galumping out of their path (and consequently peeing the entire way!)  I responded much the same way.  Well...they've moved back in, and the babies are super curios about Daisy!  They dart out at her screaching, and she just sits down, tilts her head and looks at them as if to say..."Dood!?"  She doesnt' chase them or bark or get all excited!  And they in turn are totally freaked out!!  MWAH-HAH-HAAAA!  I can feel my reclaimed yard already!!! 

Cakes:  Not sure how I did it, but I'm back smack dab in the middle of cake-a-palooza! lol  I have a hockey puck cake due on Fathers Day, A Kitty cake and a 2 tier baby shower cake and a Barbie cake...alllllll due next week! eek!  I'll post pics as always :)

Punks:  I'm really looking forward to the last day of school! I think I've managed to work things out so that I can be home a fair amount this summer.  Not quite the same as having the summer off...but it will still be good. :)

Luck:  I think my luck may be improving.  We played Bingo at work today and I won!!  AND winnings are only pennies away from the cost of obedience classes (which I've been kindof panicking about, wondering how I was going to cover it!) 

Life:  DH is still less then 100%, the house is still a mess, the lawn still needs to be mode and the "to do" list seems to be never ending...Overall, life is crazy - but it's my crazy and that's good! :)

And now...I'm off to have a great weekend! :)

I think I broke my puppy...

I was trying to be a good Mom this morning.  Youngest kiddo wanted to go biking baaaaaad.  DH rarely lets them bike in the driveway because ours is so big and cars will often use it as a place for u-turns so it makes him super nerveous.  Anyhoo - I barrowed Dad's truck, tossed her bike in the back and DD and puppy in the back seat and off we went.  I pulled in to Garden Creek school, parked the truck and we started walking.  DD rode her bike, while Daisy and I trotted merrily behind on the sidewalk.  We walked up the road about 1 km.  Not too bad, but I figured we should probably turn around so that Daisy didn't over do it.  (She's only 14 weeks old, and we have to really watch her joints and bones until she's about 2.  Too much activity etc. can really do long term dammage.)  Well...we crossed the road so that we could walk / bike back on the (trans Canada) Trail.  It's shaded, and would be cooler for her and easier on her little paws.  We stopped along the way because it was obvious she was getting warm.  I gave her some water and let her sit for a few, but by the time we made it back to teh school on the trail side I realized that there was nowhere for me to get back to the road!  Ugh!  It was all private property with fences and very visible signs that say "NO TRESPASSING!"  Oh no!!  Baaaaaack we go to where we can cross the road and then allll the way back up on the side walk side to get back to the truck.  I'm sad to report that we put in about 5km's this morning.  Poor Daisy. :(  I did my best to go slow, and let her take her time, but that's too far for 1 little puppy.  We got back at 10:30 this morning (we were gone an hour and a half in total) and she's been asleep since we got back.  DD had a blast biking...but I think I broke my puppy. :(

Fosters Home for Dogs - Just say NO!!!

A good friend of mine recently took her fur babies to Fosters Home for dogs.  I had never heard of them, but after hearing her story - Fosters will never hear from me or anyone I know.  Fosters does not stand behind their quality of care - what they stand behind is the fact that a waiver is signed so no matter what happens to your fur-kid, it's not their problem - it's yours!!!  What you will get is a great first imperssion and if that's all you're expecting then you'll get your money's worth.  Chances are, though, if you belong to a fur-kid...you're expecting way more then just a great first impression.

If you need a place to bunk your fur-babies while on vacation, I'd be happy to recommend a couple that actually DO care about the family members they take in.  Fosters Home for Dogs is NOT on my list and I will continue to spread the word.     

Daisy-May's first road trip.

I had to work in Campbellton on Monday morning, so DH and I rented a car to drive up on Sunday.  We left around 10am, packed poochie in the back seat with all her "stuff" in the trunk (note - puppies have more junk then a toddler!!) and off we went.  I was pretty sure she'd be ok, but was still a little nerveous.  She handled the drive like a dream!!  We stopped about every hour so she could do her thing, but she hopped out and back in the car without any trouble, didn't mess or mind in between stops.  Was pleasant and polite to everyone she met and generally enjoyed every bit that she was awake for. :)  We got to the hotel and she was very well behaved.  She didn't make a single mess and layed around happily playing with her chew toys.  She trotted on her leash merrily by my side as though she had been doing it for years and had her listening ears turned on for almost the entire stay!  She went for a long walk with us at night, and got to meet a nice RCMP officer who pulled over to admire her.  Monday morning, I went to the office while DH entertained her in the hotel room.  For a brief period she lost her mind, went bat-crap crazy and nipped at a stranger.  She pulled and tugged and refused to listen and hauled DH around the parking lot and back into the hotel.  As he walked into the lobby, I walked in through the end doors, giving her a perfect line of sigt to me.  She bolted to me without a blink, leaving DH in her dust...then pranced merrily by my side back to the room on a loose leash and was a perfect lady.  (he he - atta gurl!) 

The drive home was equally uneventful.  She slept the entire way and ate her weight in kibble when we got home.  Overall - a successful road trip I think.  I would also like to report that drool wipes nicely off of rental car upholstery and puppy poop makes DH gag. :)

Duff Chocolate fondant

Ok - the Twins Mom cake recipient was far too gracious in accepting my cakes.  She even sent me pictures which was sweet (since I didn't have time to take any as I was freaking out over the crappy-greasy- falling apart Duff chocolate fondant) 

I made 2 smaller "smash cakes" for each of the girls too, so that the family didn't have to share slobber as well as Birthday wishes.  I'm very pleased that you can't see the cracks and creases in the chocolate quite as easily in this pic...but anyway - here it is.  If you have an opportunity to use the chocolate stuff...tread cautiously - and if it works out for you, I'd be happy to hear that my experience was a fluke.  (Oh and try not to notice how sweaty the cake is too.  Ugh...I would have been super pleased with it if the chocolate part would have worked out. :(

I hate it when...

I hate it when  a cake doesn't turn out how I planned.  Seriously - it drives me crazy!  It's like a huge failure and it urks me like mad! 

Today I was supposed to deliver a basic fondant covered 9" round and 2 small cakes for twin girls who are celebrating their first birthday...For the main cake, she wanted brown fondant with pink and orange polka dots and a pink ribbon - done - too easy!  WEll - not so easy - I decided to pick up a tub of Duff chocolate fondant...What a mistake!!  It ripped and tore and didn't old together right and just made a huge mess!  But I was so short on time, all I could do was go overboard on polka dots to cover up the mess!  Ugh...And to make matters worse, it was greasy and sticky - so when I dusted it with icing sugar, it got stuck in the cracks and made a helluva mess.  The Mom said she loved it but holy moley - I sure didn't.  I mean - it wasn't "cake wreck" worthy...but it sure didn't meet my standards.  Maybe I need to lower them?  :S

So much to tell...

So much to tell and not a single bit of it is very exciting.  I worked from Miramichi all week taking minutes at a Managers meeting.  I learned a ton  -which was great! But sleeping away from home takes it's toll.  The bed was hard and not very comfy and the boardroom chairs are not designed to hold ones bottom for that many days in a row.

I came home in time to catch a cold/flu type thing.  I ache all over and my throat is on fire and I can't swallow - ugh!  good thing my cakes were baked before I left! 

Puppy is nuts!  She has mastered teh stairs finally and is getting along better with everyone...but she's crazy!  She's running laps and nocking stuff over and getting into everything and pulling and tugging and all the great things taht puppies do...and tomorrow - I'm off to Campbellton - with DH and puppy in tow...Getting back to a dull roar will be good.