The Grand Finale

So my cake decorating course is over and it wasn't what I imagined it would be but I guess that's ok. I did pick up a few tips and am pretty excited about making cakes in general. Just not the way we were taught. I'm pretty happy with how my final cake turned out. I didn't want to do it exactly like how she was showing us so I didn't get to practice some of the stuff she taught but that's ok because my sweetpeas looked like lumps.

Hannah's first (yikes!) birthday is in a few days, and since before she was born I had planned on making a baby block cake for her first party.http://www.marthastewart.com/article/baby-block-cake?lnc=e9ad3358f23ee010VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&rsc=collage_kids_more-kids-parties_p8 But now that i've worked with icing I don't want to fumble around with crumbs. And there will probably be lots because i'm making carrot cake. Also I now realize that buttercream icing is really sweet and probably wouldn't go with carrot cake very well. What's the point of having cake if it doesn't taste good? So I have come up with a new idea....but i'm not gonna tell until I make it and post a picture. That will keep everyone on the edge of their seats i'm sure!

Deflated balloon

Our cake decorating class got cancelled last week so last night was our second class. I was excited to learn some great new techniques but was fairly disappointed. I did pick up a few good tips about how to hold the bag without killing your hand and how to really smooth out your icing. But as far as actually doing any decorating it was a big thumbs down from me. We learned how to work with gel paste and how to make stars but instead of everyone making up 5 different colors of gel for the balloons (which does make sense) we had to each make up a color and share them. So for some reason I was the last to get any of the colors so I had to really work to get anything out of the bags and then smear it around to make it fill the balloon. By the time I was done this everyone else was finishing up doing their star borders. So there I was trying to get my border done when everyone else was cleaning up and packing out. I don't like feeling rushed. I mean, I guess I didn't have to have it finished by the time I left but... oh well. Anyway, When I got home I used up the rest of the icing in my bag and practiced a squiggly border and filled the top with stars. Well, not filled because I ran out of icing. Oh yeah, btw and fyi for those people like me who have never worked with shorteneing, Tenderflake and Crisco are not the same thing. Carolyn was telling me the story of how she almost used animal fat shortening to make her icing which made me realize that I just did! As if icing isn't bad enough for you already! EEEWWW!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I just started a cake decorating course this last Wednesday. I was a little disappointed because we didn't get to do any hands on stuff yet and I had to buy a bunch of extra stuff on top of what the starter kit would have had. Long story short, I'm only gonna take course 1 and learn the rest on my own. Well, I came home from the class itching to do some decorating. I have never really done any before but I figured...how hard can it be? I whipped up some icing and started practicing. Oh man did my hand hurt! So at least I know now before next class that I need to buy one of those hand workout machines! We have to bring an iced cake to decorate for next class and I have never really done that either. So I wanted to practice but I didn't want to do just a boring cake but as I said my hand wasn't up to doing major decorating. So....here is my thanksgiving cake!

Fun times, sad times

First of all, the fun stuff! On saturday we went to Davison Orchards in Vernon. We saw an ad for it in the paper and it looked like so much fun we went the next day. It's a huge orchard and market with tons to see and do. It was lunch time when we got there so we ordered soup sandwiches and pie from the little cafe. Everything was made from stuff grown right at the farm. Even our fresh apple juice! I had some unbelievable tomato soup. Mmmmm..... I want some more. We then poked around the market and were tempted to buy all sorts of home made goodies like candy apples and pies. We did get some raspberry syrup. We then went and picked our own apples. It's so great to know where your food comes from. We also picked up a fresh cantaloupe and watermelon. Tasty! At the very end we went and saw the animals they have. Hannah really likes animals.

It was a great trip, and we are planning on going again before the end of the month.

Now for the sad news. Ok, so it wont be sad for anyone other than Cory and I. As some of you may know, Hannah has slept in a baby hammock called an Amby since birth. She has loved it and whether it was from the hammock or her personality she has slept through the night since 4 weeks old. Well, the spring for it is good until 40 lbs but the weight isn't the issue, she's too long for it now! So as of yesterday she has started sleeping in a crib. She has taken to it fine other than getting her leg caught inbetween the rungs a few times! I was expecting her to put up a fuss over the new sleeping arrangement but our ever adapting girl is just fine. So today i'm washing the Amby and packing it away. Our girl is growing up.

Here are pictures of the first time in the Amby and the last.....

Whoa.

Hello! It's hard to believe how long it's been since I wrote on here. It's not that i've been overly busy or have nothing to write about, I just didn't seem to have the inkling to do it. Well, let me give a list of what's been happeneing in our lives.

1. We moved out of our house at the end of May. The week before we moved was busy with me packing. It was hard to leave a place that we like not knowing where we would end up especially since the weather was so great that we ate outside every night on the quiet deck enjoying our yard. It was also sad when I came back to clean the empty house and realized that everything I touched we had done something to it to improve it or make it our own.

2. Mom and Dad have graciously opened their home to us for as long as we need. We have now been here for just over two weeks and it is going really well. I don't think that there are many people who could say that living with their parents is very good.

3. We went and saw a house, liked it, put in an offer and it was accepted. The deal is now closed and we get possession at the end of this month! WOW! Way sooner than we expected. The only thing is that there are tenants in the top and bottom of the house and we have to give them two months notice to leave so we may not actually get in to the house until August 1. Hopefully they will leave sooner. The house is nothing spectacular but it has lots of potential for us to make it our own AND it has a big backyard which I love!

4. We got Cory a new bicycle and Hannah a Croozer trailer and I got Cory's old bike. That was one of the main reasons we wanted to move to the flat so that I could be more active. Cory always has been but i'm a bump on a log. And so far it's worked! We have ridden to church (which is about 5km away) a few times and went on a few walks too. It's amazing how far you can go when there isn't an extreme uphill trek on the way home. I even rode by myself on my own initiative!

5. This last weekend we went and picked up our scooter. We have talked about getting one for a while and now we were able to get it. It's great on fuel and provindes us with a cheap second vehicle. I rode it for the first time yesterday and it was fun. I have to get my bike licence before I can ride it legally though because it's a 150cc scooter. I wanted something with more power because I hate seeing those people on the little scooters holding up traffic. This one really goes!

6. Hannah is getting so smart. We are so blessed to have such an easy happy girl. Everyday she is saying a new consanant sound and figuring out how things work. Well, everything except for moving around. She still just sits and plays in relatively the same spot. Which really is ok with me!

So that is the catch up of my life. Hopefully it won't be so long til I write again. Oh yeah, our camera is getting fixed so the pictures are mostly what I found online.