R et R

No, I am not pregnant...

2009-10-09T20:32:00.010-04:00

Where to begin. So much has happened in the past SIXTY days. Well. Not really. Maybe that's why I haven't been blogging. I really have nothing that would be interesting enough to talk about, unless you are my mom and then you appreciate all the little non-essential details I put into every day stories. Well, I guess there is one thing (and no I'm not pregnant)...

Richard and I made a decision that now would be a good time for me to go back to school part time. That's right folks, after 5 grueling years outside of the educational system I am returning. By the way, "grueling" was not at all what I thought life after college was going to be...I thought I had it all planned out with my dream job path that turned out anything but dreamy. I will admit that as I look back on my jobs so far I can see all the reasons why I was there at that time and took away at least one valuable lesson.

Back to the original point--I'm going back for a certificate...what the heck is that? You are probably thinking, "didn't you already spend (insert obscene amount of money here) for your Bachelors...and now you are getting a certificate in what?" Baking and Pastry. I have a passion for baking. BUT, there is so much to learn, and I'm going to learn at The International Culinary Schools at the Art Institute of Indianapolis. I really cannot just teach myself. I need someone who has been there, done that...classically trained, and by "classically" I mean French.

So what am I going to do with this "Classically-trained" Baking and Pastry Certificate?

I'm going to bake my little heart out.

Honestly, I know where I want this path to go. I could give you an outline with dates and expectations of next ten years. But...if there is one thing I have learned over the past five years post education experience it's this: My perfect outline is rarely how the story turns out. Thankfully, my outline has been improved by someone that knows WAY better than I do.

If nothing else...maybe I will have more to blog about and become really popular at work when I bring in all my homework for people to eat!

Side Note: The picture up top--cupcakes I made for my mom's birthday.

The Cake!

2009-08-11T20:52:00.003-04:00

The cake turned out like I had envisioned it! I always want my buttercream to be smoother and look prettier, but I loved the colors! The most important part was that Tammy loved it! It's awesome to make people so happy with something as simple as cake!!!

Wide Fenced In Spaces

2009-08-03T20:41:00.006-04:00

Isn't it lovely? Our first large home improvement purchase! Western Red Cedar, stick built (they built this baby one fence post at a time), shadowbox fence.

Don't mind the grass in these pictures...we are working on it...well Tru Green is working on it :)

Please take special notice of the dog, she is the most excited about the fence. In fact, every time we are outside she tries to give me a hug...or knock me over.

I choose to believe she is expressing her gratitude.

Let Them Eat Cake...

2009-08-02T21:55:00.011-04:00

Wow...so I don't really keep up on this whole blogging thing very well, do I? And yeah, not the most original title for this little blog post :)

Anyway...I'm making an anniversary cake for a couple that have been married for...SIXTY-TWO YEARS!! They never had a traditional wedding cake. So, their daughter thought it would be very sweet for them to have a pretty wedding cake to help celebrate! (No pun intended with the "sweet" :))

The only thing requested was incorporating red in the decoration. Here's the thing people...anytime you use red, blue, green, purple or well any color buttercream decoration you take the risk of having this delicious cake and yummy frosting but the unfortunate side effect of (insert color here) teeth/lips. So I decided to make the decorations out of royal icing. This has two major benefits. The first being that they are easily removable (because they dry rock hard) so they won't have add a funky taste to the frosting and the second is that I can make all the flowers now and save myself from pulling an all-niter on Friday.

They are celebrating their anniversary next weekend, so I'm getting a head start with the planning and royal icing flowers. Here's what I have done so far...

I look online and in my cake book collection for inspiration. Then I stack up my cake pans to get and idea of proportion for the flowers. By the way this is going to be a red velvet cake with a white chocolate/cream cheese buttercream icing.

Here I have mixed powdered sugar, meringue powder, and a little bit of water to create the royal icing. I swear when this stuff hardens it is like cement. You can ask Richard if you want a second opinion. He refuses to wash these dishes.

My hand mixer is like a power tool by the way.
Sure I have a stand mixer, but for this job I need serious mixing power.

I know what you are thinking. Boy, that doesn't really look red. The lighting is playing with the true color and the icing will dry darker. The actual color will be a red burgundy color.

So here we are...royal icing roses. That middle rose there is the only "perfect Wilton rose" out of the whole bunch. It follows the 3-5-7 petal rule. Not to sound too braggy or anything, but for someone who hasn't piped a rose in like a year...not to shabby :)

I piped a few sweet pea flowers for the cake as well.

What a way to spend a Sunday evening, huh? On Thursday I will make the cake and frosting, and then Friday it will all get put together. For now, I have a more daunting task...folding and hanging up laundry. Boooo...

To Grandma's House we go (really it's “To Mom's house we go”, but she calls Roxie her granddog, so it kinda works)!!

2009-07-02T21:58:00.003-04:00

It's been about five and a half years since my last road trip. To be honest, I'm a plane girl. An 11 hour drive doesn't really appeal to me. Blame it on my lack of patience. But I'm actually looking forward to this drive. We are driving from Indiana to North Carolina, through the mountains so probably one of the more beautiful sections in the United States.

We have purchased all the necessary road trip essentials.

Pop and water
Crunch N Munch (Although I may have already eaten ~~half~~ all of it...I know..no self control when it comes to the salty sweet).
Twizzlers
Lunchables (No stopping on the way except at rest stops for bathroom breaks).
Dog toys and snacks for Roxie (I have a doggie bag...kinda like a diaper bag, but with no diapers and all the stuff in it is for Rox).
Tom Tom—How would we ever survive without? A large paper map, no thank you!
Charged and empty camera to take tons of pictures!

Alright...we are six hours away from our departure...

Raleigh or bust!!

Where did that phrase come from? Thank you WikiAnswers!

“According to The Phrase Finder (www.phrases.org.uk), the term began in the 1930s when many dust bowl farmers left drought stricken Oklahoma for California with the phrase "California or bust" written on signs attached to their trucks. Due to the drought and the Great Depression, these farmers were literally financially bankrupt and using the last of their few dollars to make the trek west.”

Roxie....oh Roxie

2009-06-30T08:59:00.006-04:00

In September we adopted an eight year old bull mastiff. Her name is Roxie, which of course fits right in with the whole “R” name theme we have going on around here. And just in case you were wondering there are no plans to give our children all “R” names...that would just be sick.

Roxie fit in to our little family of two right away. She wasn't afraid to jump right into bed, we were a little scared of having an 85lb dog in our bed, but she felt right at home. She has brought endless joy to us for the past ten months. Watching her little mouth curl up before she barks to tell us she has to potty or playing tug of war with what used to be a stuffed animal squirrel, now it's just a remnant of fabric that she licks constantly and protects viciously.

She is the absolute sweetest, she doesn't jump on people when they walk through the door, just a little sniff and you must scratch her behind the ears. She would make a terrible guard dog. She would just sniff the intruder and roll on her back expecting a good belly rub.

There is one vice...yappy, fluffy, small dogs/animals. She really hates the yappy dogs, and really who doesn't? She has almost taken out our window jumping after the little neighbor dog. Oh sure I'm sure she just wants a friendly sniff, but I would rather not find out the alternative.

We are driving down to Raleigh on Friday and we couldn't be more excited. Roxie is coming with us. She is super excited I can tell. All of the new smells and the wind blowing past her ears as we take the 11 hour drive. While there she will meet her aunt and uncle dogs. Richard's parents have three dogs for her to play with!! Luckily no small yappy dogs! I often wonder if she gets lonely, maybe if this goes well we will adopt another dog. We have talked about it, but sometimes I think she would be mad at us...she loves being the center of attention.

Take a gander at these precious brown eyes, drool, and wrinkles...don't you just love it?!?!

Our first garden...if you can call it that

2009-06-04T19:59:00.008-04:00

Last weekend I went out and purchased some containers, dirt and some vegetable plants. I come from a long line of green thumbs...my grandparents always had gardens growing up. My Nanny Due does every year...it is possibly the coolest thing I have ever seen...perfect rows lined up. It's like out of a magazine.

Mine is not so much...just a few containers with some dirt and some green straggly things. These are supposed to produce a bountiful harvest? OK. Maybe my expectations are a little high :) Well over the past week I have watched as they have endured the wind and rain and even though they are leaning a bit to the side they are holding up and I even have some little flowers that I'm sure will turn into roma tomatoes, peppers and maybe a squash or two!!

It's pretty amazing really...I can't wait to see them grow! My planters are also doing very well, thanks for asking! They are almost overgrown in their containers which was precisely my plan.

I may have a green thumb after all...or maybe just a green pinky.

Sea Creatures...and Roller Coasters

2009-06-02T19:41:00.009-04:00

A part of the whole time share deal was a pair of tickets to a theme park. We chose SeaWorld. I haven't been to SeaWorld since I was about 6 on a family vacation. There are two things I remember...petting the manta rays and the Shamu show.

We didn't actually see the Shamu show...we watched this other dolphin/whale/bird show...here's what I wondered....how do they get the animals to do that? It's so amazing! I mean is it all about the treats? They do all of the flips and jumps just for a little fish? I mean people were riding on their noses!! I don't know about you...but I would require a lot more than just a little snack for that feat.

Anyway..SeaWorld also has roller coasters and motion rides and such...one in particular was called "Into the Arctic" which made Richard and I both quite well barfy....see Richard's pic below...

So on to the Manta Rays...we spent $5 and got this little tub full of shrimp...I could barely pet them and I don't know why I thought that I could feed them...somehow they could smell the shrimp and would lift 1/4 of their little bodies out of the water and open their mouths...it was creepy. Richard actually managed to feed a couple and said that it was really cool...as soon as one would get close to me I would just drop the shrimp and pull out my hand really really fast...probably the equivalent of slapping the poor creature in the face...dang it.

Side note: The floppy hat was necessary to prevent a severe burn...do you know how pale I am?

We had lunch surrounded by sharks. It was pretty cool. People pay big money to swim (aka stand in a cage while it floats back and forth) with the sharks...The people that were in the cage had a few fans waving incessantly at them...even after the people in the cage waved back...they still waved...over and over again.

The next two days went to Universal Studios and Universal Studios Adventure Islands. It was fun...but the second day was WAY more enjoyable with the express pass...we spent about $20 to cut in front of everyone...except the other people that bought the pass...it cut about 3 hours out of our waiting in line time. I'm still amazed that people spend so much money from across the world to go to theme parks. It's escapism at it's best...that's for sure. Oh well...I'm sure we will go again someday...because over time we will forget how miserable we were by the end of day two debating if we should even go for day three....next time...express pass all the way!!

I leave you with the two best pics from the whole trip featuring a kid favorite...Mr Potato Head!

The beach, Kennedy Space Center, Sea World and Universal Studios. Oh My!

2009-06-01T10:17:00.003-04:00

Even though we were torn inside wondering if we had made the right decision concerning our 10K mistake..almost...we did have a good time on our little vacation.

Sunday after our purchase...we visited Kennedy Space Center. I had mixed emotions...it was a little lame, but had a certain feeling of greatness to it. We rode the shuttle lift off simulator. It just made our faces wiggle and jiggle. We passed the Memorial Wall which was quite touching and very peaceful. We walked inside a shuttle and watched a robot show. Overall we were quite unimpressed with the facilities, but impressed that the whole thing does not rely on tax dollars to keep it going. The park has private donors and of course park admission. I would recommend going once as it's important part of American history and future.

Below is our view for day two and day three...not bad really. We so enjoyed the sunshine, me a little too much, the first day. A slight burn resulted only by the straps of my bathing suit and this weird stripe down the front of my legs. As seen in the photo below...

Richard was smart and stayed under the umbrella that we rented for $25/day from Sandy...a surfer dude who I believe was living his dream...collecting money for his ten or so umbrella and chair sets, lounging under his three umbrellas and surfing.

The people watching on Monday was incredible. It was Memorial Day and the locals were out in full force. All mainly surfers and wake boarders who were extremely tan and fit. There were little surfer children who were quite impressive riding in waves that were larger than they and older surfer dudes who were a little washed up but still out there riding the waves.

Tuesday was noticeably slower and more peaceful. It was almost chilly under the umbrella and I wore my beach cover-up because my sunburn was pretty intense and I didn't want to take a chance of it getting any worse...but I wanted to be on the beach. It's so wonderful doing nothing...just watching the waves and napping. Well it's wonderful for the first two days...then we got bored :) Wednesday we drove into Orlando and visited Sea World, Universal Studios (Thursday), and Universal Adventure Islands (Friday). More on that tomorrow...this blog is getting too long...I'm too wordy!

Our 10K mistake...almost

2009-05-31T13:13:00.003-04:00

It was too good to be true...a FL vacation 7 nights, tickets to a theme park, a future cruise....all for just $350! If you know me I am a sucker for a "good deal." The only catch is that we have to listen to a 90 minute timeshare presentation. No problem, we can say "no."

So here we go...Sunday morning we have our tour. We walk on property and think.."who would EVER buy something in Cocoa Beach??" Let me preface this with we were underwhelmed(to say the least) about our short experience so far at the Best Western "Resort" we were placed in...

Anyway...we walk in the front doors...it's pretty nice and our defenses went down, a little. BUT we are still staying strong...then we meet Gary. He asks us all about ourselves...where we went on our honeymoon...where we stayed blah blah blah...As a salesperson myself I know he is arming himself with loads of ammo. He can tell that we are eldest children, approval seeking and smart. He has decided which sales tactic to use...one that I most recently became aware of..."Going Negative." He says things like "You probably already decided that you don't want to buy a timeshare...well that's completely illogical," and "If you have already decided then it's no sweat off my back...you probably don't even want to hear what I have to say." He goes on and on...how it "just makes sense"...going over the "numbers." He shows us the guidebook, all of the wonderful places we can go...teaches us about the "trading power" of the resort...all the while saying things like "you probably aren't even interested" and the whole time my wonderful husband and I are thinking (not to mention showing unknowingly across our foreheads) "sure we are, tell us more tell us more!

We go through the rooms and resort...which is of course beautiful and full of people who are obviously happy with their purchase. So why wouldn't we be? We don't want to spend our vacations in Best Westerns...our materialistic sides are showing their ugly heads...we are picturing crystal blue waters and resorts that only the rich and famous can afford...and of course us because we bought a timeshare in Cocoa Beach, FL....makes complete sense right?

So we are in...we signed..they popped the champagne and brought out these tote bags, mugs, our very own vacation guidebook (think of a toy catalog around Christmas time), and these sub sandwiches for lunch (our tour began at 9:00 am...at this point we have been there, being sold for about 3 HOURS)....

It's about 1:00 and we leave proud timeshare owners...

We spend the next 5 days convincing ourselves that it was a good deal...we will use the "last call" vacations and spend 1/5 of what a normal person spends on visiting these tropical vacation spots. We will travel Europe in style. We are investing in our vacation future.

We spend the latter part of our vacation lounging on the beach and visiting various theme parks (more on that later)...all the time having short conversations convincing ourselves that we made a good decision...

Then we fly home (standby on an earlier flight by the way...and we got a free upgrade to the emergency aisle seats with more leg room...a sign for sure that we are on our way to luxury vacations :))

Then we talk to our parents...who jokingly ask if we bought a timeshare...

"Yes" we say, still somewhat shaky yet convincing...our parents loving guide us by asking key questions so that we may make our own decisions...Of course being the somewhat stubborn child I am I was still somewhat ok with the decision. Even after my parent's gentle nudging in the other direction...I was napping....Richard rushes into the bedroom and says "I need you to wake up" I begrudgingly wake from my deep nap because I can sense the urgency in his voice...

"We need to cancel the timeshare...I talked to my parents and read reviews online and it's going to be a huge mistake" He frantically states....

Luckily Indiana protects its residents with a 10 day cancellation policy. We closely review all the fine print and plan our attack of cancellation. I type up the letter and look up the closest open Fed Ex/Kinkos. There is one on 86th street that is open 24/7...we fax the letter and send it priority overnight...it has to be postmarked by June 2nd.

We fax the letter and spend the $25 dollars to get it sent overnight...probably the best/smartest $25 we have ever spent.

As we leave Fed-Ex/Kinkos there is a huge sense of relief...almost...then we get the e-mail stating that they received our cancellation and we need to return the tote, guidebook, mugs...etc....and that they would give us our down payment money back within 20 days...*SIGH* of relief...for real...

So next time someone stops you at the Indianapolis Home Show and offers you a vacation for 7 nights, a cruise and theme park tickets...remember what you learned in your 5th grade DARE program...just say no!