The Passing of Time

Three years ago today (well, tonight, really), I entered a new phase of my life.  My dear (then) boyfriend at the time took me to have dinner at one of our favorite restaurants - Aodake Sushi & Hibachi.  I believed we were celebrating the fact that we were meeting some of my family the next day at a half-way point so Mom could hand over her truck to me (I had just purchased it from her).

We had a wonderful dinner, and he was being quite silly...after dinner, we went back to my apartment.  With my roommate out for the night, we were simply watching some television.  At one point, though, and I can't be sure of the details on how this happened, we were both standing in the entry hall.  He was being very shmoopy and loving and letting me know how much he loved me and how happy he was.  It went on for several minutes, maybe an hour, and I was blushing and smiling and crying.  He finally swung me around and asked, "Do you want to surprise your family tomorrow?"  I was very confused, since they KNEW we were meeting them.  He dropped to one knee, pulled out the ring that had been in his pocket throughout dinner, and asked me to be his wife.  I was shocked, amazed, and bursting with love and tears...after a few moments, I looked him in the eye and said, "YES!"

We did surprise my family the next day, and we all celebrated.

Three years ago, JR proposed.  So many things have happened since then, and I am looking forward to what happens next.

Cake!

So, I don't think it's a big shock that I LOVE cupcakes...and honestly, I am not picky.  I am very happy with the 6 yellow cupcakes with butter cream frosting I can get at the grocery store...especially on Friday when they are offered at the reduced price of $2.22. Now, I do prefer if I can get a mixed pack of 3 yellow and 3 chocolate, but I'll still settle for the 6 yellow.

As much as I love eating cupcakes, I love decorating cakes even more.  I am by no means a professional, but I have been decorating cakes since I was young, learning tricks and techniques from my grandma and my mom.  I decorated a sheet cake to look like a folded western shirt for Father's Day when I was 12.  I carved and decorated cake to look like a giant glazed donut in my 20s.  I made a birthday cake in the shape of a beer mug for my father-in-law a few years ago.  I've even made some, ahem, bachelorette party cakes...  I've made countless bunny-face cakes for Easter, and tons of heart-shaped cakes for Valentines' Day (none from shaped molds). 
About a year and a half ago, my dear friends Lee Ann and Jeremy were expecting a baby for the first time.  While shopping with Lee Ann at one of our favorites stores (JoAnn's), we saw a Wilton Cake Decorating Toolbox (with 101 tools) on sale.  And Lee Ann had a coupon.  And she really thought I should get it so I could start really getting into cake decorating.  Especially since she had a baby shower coming up...I was roped in, and I thank her for that every time I make a great cake.

The first cake I made for public consumption after this purchase was, indeed, the baby shower cake.  I had an idea in my head of a bear on blocks and all kinds of fanciness...then I got nervous and decided to go with something a little simpler for my first attempt at using fondant on a cake...

The base and paci are cake covered in fondant; the paci handle is molded chocolate.

The result was a pacifier cake, and I was very proud of it.  I could see every tiny imperfection, of course, but I was still happy.  Luckily, my mom had made many, many things out of Candy Melts white chocolate while I was growing up, so the handle was easy enough to do.  The round ball was a cake mold and maybe a little more advanced than I should have tried for my first attempt at fondant.  Everyone was happy with it, and it tasted good.  Score!

I have made a few other cakes in the last year, but nothing too exquisite... until yesterday.  I made the birthday cake for our now one-year old Goddaughter - Jeremy and Lee Ann's little girl.  Lee Ann told me "ladybug theme."  I've been looking at photos of cakes online for the last several months.  I found one that fit what I was thinking of doing, and here is what I ended up with.



Ladybug cake!  It's all cake and fondant!



A close up of the topper.

The "smash cake" just for Analee to enjoy (and make into mush and get all over herself.

A ladybug on top of a two-layer cake.  Everything was cake, including the ladybug body and head.  I started with all white fondant and colored it myself.  The green border and grass is butter cream frosting.  The smaller flower "smash cake" was covered in butter cream with a fondant ladybug accent.

I am very proud of this cake.  I only cringed a little when Lee Ann made the first cut...then, we all enjoyed eating the cake, especially Analee:

Analee elbow-deep in her cake!

Pumpkin Season is Upon Us!

It is September, so I declare the beginning of pumpkin season!

I love pumpkins.  I mean, I really, really love pumpkins.  I am like Bubba with shrimp when I start listing out the pumpkin-related foods I have tried:

pumpkin pie

pumpkin bread

pumpkin muffins

pumpkin pancakes

pumpkin waffles

pumpkin coffee

pumpkin soup

pumpkin cookies

pumpkin cobbler

pumpkin cheesecake

pumpkin ice cream

pumpkin seeds, roasted

pumpkin lasagna

pumpkin spice latte

pumpkin spice hot cocoa

I also love decorating with pumpkins and other fall decor...our wedding had an autumn theme.  For the ceremony, the bride's maids wore rich copper dresses, and their bouquets were deep autumn colors.  The groom's men had coordinating vests/ties.  My dress was ivory with champagne accents, and JR wore a champagne vest and tie.  The flower girls (Autumn Fairies) scattered silk fall leaves instead of flower petals.  The unity candle holder and taper holders had pumpkins in and around them. 

At the reception, we had mini pumpkins and gourds on the tables with silk fall leaves scattered all over.  The table numbers were cut-outs of fall leaves in rich autumn colors, and the bud vases that held the numbers were filled with tiny acrylic pumpkins.  The place card holders were mini pumpkins.  The only thing that was NOT pumpkin- or fall-related was the cake "topper."  We had Superman and Wonder Woman figures for that.  ;-)

This year I vow to try even more pumpkin-flavored treats...and I vow to remember why it is I love pumpkin so much - my husband and I share a love of pumpkin, a love of autumn, and a love of a lifetime.

"Free" Time

The company for which I work has some pretty cool benefits for being such a small organization...I get to keep my airline miles (which makes vacations easier); When I am working in the office, I come in at 7:30am and leave at 4:30pm (I can pick back up tomorrow); if I need to leave for something, I have a no-questions-asked personal time off policy (with 10 days of PTO to use in 15 minutes increments); we have lunch-and-learn once a month during which we learn something useful, get a free lunch, and get to leave one hour early; and, my favorite (at least today) - cookouts once a month during the summer! We each brought in a side dish or dessert, the managers bought the main course (today was chicken), and we have a social hour (or two) on a Friday during the summer. Then, we all clean up and the president of the company tells us when we can go home - today it's 2:30pm! Two hours early!

Ah. Free time!

Wait. Is it "free?"



What am I going to do with those two hours? Well, first I am going to drive home. While I am leaving earlier in the afternoon than usual, it is Friday, and there will be people on the road. So, there's about 40-45 minutes. When I arrive home I'll decide to relax, but I'll see the dishes in the drying rack from last night's dinner. I'll put those away, wipe down the counters, wipe down the stove, sweep the floor, realize the rest of the floors need to be swept, remember that the tub needs to be cleaned, etc., etc., etc. until about 4:30pm. Okay - that's still about 90 minutes before I would usually be home. I'll sit down to read. Then I'll remember that I need to go to the library to pick up some book about some vampire and some girl and some werewolf... I'll head out to the library, hunt down the book, think of a few more I remember I want to read, check them out, and get back home by 6:30pm. Just as I would have anyway.

So, that time may not be "free," and I may not have been able to really relax, but I will have accomplished some things that will allow me to sleep in tomorrow!

Woo hoo!

The Measurement of Success

With less than 24 hours to go before our first big party in our new house, I walked in the door at 6:30pm Friday night to see that I still had a lot of work to do before a party could be had. A. LOT.

I dug in, and by 1:30am, I was ready for bed. After a shower. The great room (with all the boxes still piled up) was completely unpacked, organized, and decorated. The bedrooms were clean. The basement was clean, and the kitchen was getting there...

I woke up Saturday morning at 7:30 and sprayed some weeds to get my blood pumping. After an awesome bad-for-me breakfast supplied by my sweet husband, we started up again...Made the bed, cleaned up the clothes, scrubbed down the kitchen, vacuumed the basement, sanitized the bathrooms, and swept and Swiffer-wet-jetted the floors.

With one hour till the party, JR was finishing up the shopping and I was jumping into the shower...the first guests arrived promptly at 2:00pm while JR was showering.

People came and went all night - lots of great food, great drinks, great conversation, and many compliments on the house. We feel very lucky to have such great friends and family who could come share the fun of a new house with us.

The success of our housewarming party was measured in the smiles on faces, the hugs and laughter, the conversation always moving, and the completely relaxed feeling I have today as I clean up from all the fun...

For TGJ: I DID do it! Thanks for the motivation, as always!

Woot! When can we have another party???

Deadlines

I work with deadlines every day in my job...in my personal life, I tend to let things slide a bit. My husband knows this, and he sets deadlines for me to get things done. He sets these deadlines by planning things which require a specific action by me - usually to do with cleaning, packing, etc.

We have been in the house since the end of February. I still do not have everything unpacked. Two rooms in the house are still utter disasters with unpacked boxes and clutter...it is driving me nuts.

I thought that a scheduled visit from my brother and niece would get it done. Nope.
Then I was sure that a visit from my sister, brother-in-law, and 2 nieces would motivate me to finish. Negative.
Surely a visit from my PARENTS was just what I needed to get it all done. Not even close.

My husband decided on a date for a housewarming party...he is certain we can get the last two rooms done and do a good cleaning on the rest of the house before then. Uh-huh, sure. I hope so, since the party is THIS Saturday!

Keep in mind, he made the decision about a week and a half ago...right before my parents came to visit. So, last weekend was out for getting all the unpacking done because we had a full weekend of plans with the folks.

Monday night, I had a work dinner. We did some more cleaning last night (and got quite a bit done, really), but it is not finished. I am leaving this afternoon for Milwaukee for a meeting...I will not be home until Friday NIGHT. I have until about 1:00pm on Saturday to get the house ready...get some caffeine ready! I will definitely need it!

It's the little things...

Last night I went to a Cubs game with my husband and about 15 other people on a bus from the YMCA...it was a good time, even though the Cubbies broke my husband's heart for the umpteenth time. On the drive back, he sat in the seat behind me. While I was taking a little snooze in my seat, leaned over resting my head on my arm, my husband rubbed the kinks out of my shoulders. For almost the entire ride. I felt so very loved to fall asleep on a bouncy bus while my dearest put away his own tired feelings for me. When we finally made it home and were in bed for the night I returned the favor by gently rubbing his back until he feel asleep. I felt just as loved doing that for him as I did when we was doing it for me.

The little things are the things that keep me going. The private joke. The funny face. The silly note. The touch of a hand on my shoulder. The kiss on the forehead. The cupcakes on a Saturday morning after a bad week. His knowing I am going to start crying as soon as we cross the Tennessee/Kentucky border on our way from from visiting my family, and knowing I won't stop crying until we hit Paducah. Coming up with a new way to tell me goodbye everyone morning (today was "Have a Terrific Tuesday! I love you!). Laughing so hard we cry. Dancing in the aisles of the grocery store. Singing at the top of our lungs in the shower, and the car, and the kitchen, and everywhere. Quoting movies as an entire conversation.

So many little things that we do for each other and together...I love them all.

The little things make my marriage wonderful and fresh everyday. Take time for those little things.

Thirty-five years...

Wow. I remember when my dad turned 30. He had a wife, four kids, a house, two cars, and a career in a tire factory... He felt old, and my mom threw him a surprise party to which all the guests brought gag gifts like denture cream and "old people" vitamins and such...I thought it was so funny 'cause "Daddy was old!" Yep.

When I turned 30 five years ago, the memory of dad's birthday was bittersweet. I realized my dad was NOT old when he turned 30. He's not old now! I realized that I was still in an apartment, not married, no kids...but I had a college degree and a office-job career. My dad celebrated his 30th birthday with friends and family at our house; I celebrated my 30th birthday on Bourbon Street in NOLA with my boyfriend (now husband).

I've come a long way in 35 years...and I still have a long way to go.

Here's to all the 35-year-old girls who just aren't ready to be grown-ups yet...