Tiara on a pillow. Another cake.

Happy Birthday to my sweet niece, Amy! She wanted this very special pillow cake with a tiara on top. I made the tiara out of white chocolate and added some edible pearls for decoration. The pillow is a 10" square chocolate cake carved into a pillow shape and covered in fondant. I made the tassles using Coleman's new Playdoh Fun Factory that he got for Christmas. LOL! The best part- everything is edible! Should be a hit!

We call him Happy Feet!

Cooper's a ham!

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Cooper did this over and over and over! As soon as we'd start clapping his eyes would light up. He'd get his left arm swinging and his legs would go crazy! Too cute! P.S. This little diddy also seems to go over extremely well at parties. He loves the attention!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Wow! What a year it's been! Can't believe I'm 29 already! Just one more year until 30! I've decided that I'm going to make 29 the new 21! It's going to be the best year yet! Just wait and see!

And yes, I made my own cake. Check it out!

Christmas party.

Last night, we went to our church Christmas party. It was actually really nice. The decorations were pretty, the lights were dim and it was a catered event. Usually our church parties are potluck so this was a nice change. It was adults only so they had onsite babysitters. Hallelujah! We sat at a table with 3 other couples (all friends of ours) and had a really nice meal that I didn't have to cook. :) We were asked to bring a dessert so, of course, I made a cake. Well, after dinner we played an, um, nicer version of the newlywed game and Will and I were asked to participate. We are always up for embarassing each other so we raced up to our spots in front. And boy did we try our hardest to embarass each other! All the other couples were so nice to each other. That's no fun! Anyway, after the party everybody kept telling us how funny we were. It was such a blast! Will really turns it on when people are watching. He's shameless!

Spaghetti and meatballs, anyone?

We had a potluck after aerobics today and since I'm the cake lady, of course I brought a cake...or is it? No really, it is a cake! This was so fun to make. I baked a 10" round chocolate cake and carved away the top edge so that I just had a big mound of cake. I covered it in piped icing noodles and added chocolate covered cake truffle "meatballs". The sauce is strawberry jam that I thinned out and poured over top. I think some people thought it was really spaghetti and meatballs at first glance. Too funny!

Oh, and I made a possible business connection, too. Our yoga instructor is also a wedding photographer and she says they are looking to work with a cake decorator. This could be a great opportunity for me. Although I haven't done wedding cakes before, I feel confident I could do it if given the opportunity. I think I will take the Wilton courses first and then try to work something out with her.

What a day!

I knew today would be busy because I had two cakes to do and also had to go grocery shopping but I had no idea how difficult it would be. My boys are pretty independent most of the time. They are good at entertaining themselves when I am busy. But today they were both sick and needy so it made getting anything done quite a chore. It pretty much took me the entire day to make two cakes! And now I'm just exhausted! That being said, I'm going to bed! Night, all. (And here's a pic of the cake I did today for my friend Jenny.)

Some downtime.

I know I've said this before but I just love it when the boys are all in bed and I can take a deep breath and relax by myself for a moment. It's always crazy at my house. It's stressful trying to make it all work but I manage to keep this house in order. I think I'm stressing a little about this cake business, too. I just really want to be successful and I'm putting a lot of pressure on myself. I just need to relax and take things as they come. Well, that said, ready to see a couple more cakes? Enjoy!
The picture is really bad but this "slice of cake" cake was for a friend's wife (my first paid order!) and he said that he wished he would've had business cards to give out because the cake was all anyone could talk about! That's a good sign, right?!

Orders are pouring in and a new cake.

I think I'm destined to do wedding cakes someday because although I love doing fun creative birthday cakes, I really love making the pretty cakes. This one is not a wedding cake but is simple and classy. One of my favorites thus far. My cake decorating business is really starting to take off. I've already got FIVE cake orders this month! Hopefully, I can keep up the momentum. I'm really glad that I've decided to go for it. Wish me luck!

Screeeech! %^%#^%Crash!$*&#@

So, I'm minding my own business, driving along on my way to my cake decorating class last night and this girl decides to ignore her stop sign and continue right into my path! Ugh! What was she thinking?! Anyway, to make a long story short, I crashed right into her and when the police came, they issued her a citation for "failure to yield." Her insurance company has already called and are getting everything squared away. We are picking up a rental this afternoon. I'm just so annoyed! You should be able to trust that people are going to stop at stop signs, right?! Well, at least I'm okay and neither of us were injured. I guess it could've been worse. Anyway, here's a pic of the truck damage. Not too bad. But they had to tow it because the bumper was sitting on top of the front wheel.

It's been a busy few days.

Halloween brought us a lot of fun this year. We are partied out! We went to 2 Halloween parties, then went trick-or-treating and finally had a Halloween/birthday party last night at my sister-in-law's house. I'm ready to put away all the Halloween things and start getting ready for Thanksgiving. Here are a few pictures of our Halloween fun!
Lightning McQueen and Tow Mater
This is Will blowing out his birthday vanilla-scented candle. :)
Will and Cooper. Boy, Cooper doesn't look like his son!
Cooper playing football.
Coleman found some trucks to play with!
Coleman painting a pumpkin at the church Halloween party.
Will's birthday cake. My pride and joy!
Coleman "fishing" for treats.
Coleman was so excited to get a moustache at the face painting booth!

Will's Halloween Birthday

Will's Halloween Birthday

Add to My Profile | More VideosWill's b-day is a party every year because it falls on Halloween. Here's some footage of everyone at his sister's house.

Coleman being chased by Buzz Lightyear.

Coleman being chased by Buzz Lightyear.

Add to My Profile | More VideosThis is the game where everybody ties a balloon around their ankle and then tries to pop everybody else's balloons. Coleman was not too thrilled to play it only because he hates the sound of balloons popping. Anyway, this other little boy was determined to pop Coleman's balloon.

Cooper can't get up!

Cooper can't get up!

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The thrills of fondant ghosts.

I know that this blog has turned into nothing more than a portfolio of baked goods but I just have so much fun sharing my creations! This little number won me the award for most fancy food at the Halloween party tonight. (Yes, our 2nd Halloween party!) A tiny fondant ghost set atop a mound of buttercream "grass." This was a last minute potluck idea. The kids went wild over it!

Halloween!

Tonight is the church Halloween party. Should be a lot of fun! I bought Lightning McQueen and Mater costumes from the Disney Store for Coleman and Cooper. Will and I are dressing up as mechanics to stick with the Cars theme. I bought some black costume make-up for us to smear on our faces like grease. I will post pics of the party later. I just wanted to post a pic of the Halloween cake that I made for the party now, before it gets eaten so here you go!The Haunted House was a frozen buttercream transfer and the ghosts were made of fondant. This was really fun to make and great to practice some new techniques!

Cakes...for Goodness Sakes!

Yep! That's the name of my new cake decorating business, Cakes...for Goodness Sakes! It totally suits me don't you think? I was actually browsing a cake decorating board and came across a post to help others think of names for their businesses and this one was on there. Nobody bit so now it's mine! When I first read it, it totally made me laugh so I read it out loud to Will and he loved it. I'm getting ready to have business cards made up as soon as I get a website up and running. My li'l bro, Chad, knows how to put up websites, so I'm going to ask for his help. Anyway, just thought I'd post the good news. Oh, and here's a pic of the cake I made for the neighbor today. Lemon poppyseed cake with raspberry jam filling and lemon whipped cream frosting. This one was a definite keeper. I didn't have much time to decorate it, so I just threw on a few dots and a border around the bottom.

Chocolate lattice cake. Uh, needs some work.

I was so excited to try this cake I had seen somewhere on the 'net, so I ran to Walmart tonight, bought everything that I needed, came home and got started right away. Well, to make a long story short- it didn't really turn out how I had hoped. I was going to give this to a neighbor but was too embarassed. A learning experience. I know what I did wrong and I will try it again. It was really yummy just not very pretty.

Cake class- week 2.

That was fun! Tonight we learned how to make roses, rosebuds and leaves. It's actually easier than I thought it would be. I was so excited to learn how to do it and I couldn't hold back my enthusiam! My teacher probably thinks I'm a nut. Maybe I am a little weird but I just get excited about cakes. It's great to have a passion for something, right? Anyway, let me know what you think! Do I have what it takes???? Who wants me to make a cake for them?!

My first cake decorating class cake!

Here's my first cake class cake! I made it tonight at my cake decorating class. It was really fun! The instructor taught us how to use the grass tip and also taught us a couple of different ways to do borders. Coleman let me use 3 of his toy trucks and he was so thrilled when I brought this home! I also found out what the local bakeries use to make whipped cream frosting. It's this stuff called Pastry Pride Non-Dairy Ready to Whip Topping. It is so divine. So light and not too sweet. A perfect alternative to buttercream. I think I will be using this on most of my cakes. Will really thinks that I should start taking pictures of all the cakes I do and make a portfolio and start selling cakes. I have done quite a few and I really do enjoy it but I think I will have to do many more cakes before I'd feel comfortable asking for money for them. Anyway, I told the instructor what I really want to learn to do sometime during the course is how to stack cakes. I think some of the best birthday cakes I've seen have been tall, stacked cakes using fondant to make it all super smooth and gum paste cut-outs to jazz it up. I'd love to eventually be making cakes like this guy!
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Amazing, right?! Maybe someday. Well, I'll post another cake next week!

Classic Car Show.

Yesterday, we went to a classic car show where there were over a hundred classic cars to see. I had an inkling that Coleman would love it and he did! He is so obsessed with cars and trucks and loved seeing all those unique cars in one place. I believe that we saw every car at least 3 times. They had a live cover band, which was interesting, and they were taking requests. I'm not sure who was making all the requests (maybe it was that one guy with the mullet, first mullet I've seen in UT, by the way) but I think most the covers we heard were 80s rock bands. Def Leppard, Guns 'n' Roses, Bon Jovi. It just didn't seem to go with an event where most the cars were from the 50s and 60s. I would've loved to have heard a Beach Boys cover or some doo-wop music.

Anyway, while we were walking around, this huge truck came into the park! It seriously was so jacked up that I could've walked under it. Kinda ridiculous, really, but neat to see nonetheless. And, needless to say, Coleman was twitterpated.

And this little blue number has my name written all over it! Couldn't you see me cruising in this?! Will says when we win the lottery... And considering we don't play the lottery, that means never. :)

Wow. The whole house is quiet. I feel like taking a deep breath and just relaxing. My days just feel so crazy sometimes. It's always so loud and there are so many things going all at once. When everybody goes to bed at night, I try to take some time for myself to just unwind. Unfortunately tonight I have to get to bed at a reasonable hour because I've got tennis at 8 am tomorrow morning. So much for sleeping in on the weekends. With tennis every Saturday morning and church every Sunday morning I'm going to have to resort to taking Sunday afternoon naps to get some extra rest. And if you are someone who knows me well, you know that I just don't take naps. I just have a hard time falling asleep if it's not dark outside. Maybe I just need blackout shades... I could definitely use more sleep. Anyway, just thought I should write something in my blog. I haven't written much lately. Oh, here's something new. Will and are are participating in a half day tennis tournament next Saturday. I'm doing the ladies tourney in the morning and then Will and I are participating in a Round Robin couples round in the afternoon. Should be fun. Oh, and Coleman has started his 2nd year of preschool. (I can't believe that he's headed to kindergarten next year!) Time flies, right? Oh, and Cooper is walking! He wobbles a lot but he's gettin' it. He'll be running any day now. Well, that's about it. Nitey-nite!

Congratulations Jenny and La!

Look at this cute baby!!! My friend Jenny gave birth to this 6 lb 1 oz bouncing baby boy on Sunday, August 27th. They named him Talon Paul and he's just cute as a button! After holding him at the hospital, I realized that I definitely do want another baby. It's just too fun seeing what they end up looking like and watching their little personalities develop. My cardiologist says it's ok so I'm in for a 3rd. Not yet though probably in a couple years. Anyway, congratulations to Jenny and La and thanks for restoring my baby fever! Love you guys!

Let them eat cake!

Cooper's first birthday party was great fun! We had a Baby Einstein theme (because he loves his Baby Einstein videos!) I made a Baby Einstein caterpillar cake and a small smash cake just for Coops. Once he figured out that he could eat it, he was all over it! The kids really loved the cake and fun was had by all. Thanks Jen for taking the pics for me!

Sugar, schmugar...

Ok, so I went to see the cardiologist yesterday morning and after reviewing all the test results he says I have slow circulation. This means I have low blood pressure and my body is not pushing the blood around fast enough. I think it's called hypotension. Anyway, this is why I've been really tired and also why my heart rate has been dropping into the high 30s at times. I'm not really sure why this happens but he did tell me how we are going to treat it. He says that I need to cut sugar out of my diet and add salt. Also, that I need to eat 5 small meals a day instead of 3 big meals. My first thought- "NO SUGAR!!!" I truly couldn't believe what I was hearing! How am I supposed to survive?! Anyone that knows me knows that I love supersweet buttercream frosting and all kinds of pastries and can't live without a chocolate fix here and there. But my sugar intake apparently causes my pulse to spike and then my blood pressure to drop even lower so it's a no go. My second thought- "Add salt?" How do you do that without loading up on pretzels and potato chips? I'm not a salt craving kind of person. I guess I'll have to learn to be because salt is notorious for raising blood pressure and that's exactly what I need it to do. And my final thought- "How exactly am I supposed to split up 3 meals into 5 small meals?" The doc says it's imperative that I do this so that I don't have all my blood rushing to my digestive system after a big meal. That means there is less blood that can make it to my brain and I'm more likely to pass out on the couch after I eat. If I cut down to 5 small meals, everything can stay steady.

So, even though this is all going to bring about a major lifestyle change, I'm dedicating myself to it. If it means that I'll have more energy to do all the things I need to do everyday and that I won't have to rely on meds to do it for me then I'm all for it. I'll be meeting with a nutritionist next week. I'm hoping to see a real difference in my energy level over the next couple weeks. Wish me luck!

Will and Chuck (his dad) taking some time out to pose for a picture on the golf course.

The pier at James Island. Catching dinner! 

Coleman and Cooper enjoying the aquarium. 

Don't let his look of confidence fool you, Will was pretty freaked out by this little sea creature.

At the children's museum in Charlotte. 

The S. Carolina part of our trip.

Ok, so after we left WV we headed down to South Carolina. (This, by the way, turned out to be the most challenging part of the trip and the deciding factor for not driving all the way to Disney. A baby and a 4 yr old who has to pee every hour just do not travel well.) Anyway, once we got there it was a lot of fun! The day after we arrived, Will and I went golfing with his dad. I was thrilled because (even though I love it) I haven't golfed since Will and I were dating. It was really fun just to be outside and doing something sans the boys who were being watched by Grandma Verburg.

A couple days later we packed up and went to Savannah, GA for the day to go the Paula Deen's restaurant, The Lady and Sons. We ended up waiting a few hours to eat (this place was packed!) The food was great but there wasn't nearly enough to choose from. When you think buffet, you think there is going to be lots of food but really there was only about 15-20 items. However, what was there was simply delicious! I won't be going back to The Lady and Sons but it was a neat experience. And, because we had to wait to eat, we did get to see the famous River St. in Savannah. All in all, a fun day. That night we traveled north to Charleston, SC to settle in for a night of rest before a big day of crabbing the next day.

One of Will's fondest memories from childhood was going out crabbing with his Mom when he was a young boy. I think that he really wanted to re-create that experience for Coleman. So, we went to James Island State Park and let Coleman help pull up some traps and see all the crabs as they were caught. I think Diane (Will's mom) and Paul caught about 30 crabs that day. While Coleman did enjoy crabbing when he was pulling up traps, the waiting part of crabbing proved to need more patience then Coleman possesses. So, we skipped out early on Will's parents and went to Folly Beach for the rest of the afternoon. We met them back at home in Sumter that night just in time to eat all those crabs that Diane cooked up. It was really yummy!

Another couple days passed and we packed up again to stay in Diane's vacation property at Myrtle Beach. While there we went to the beach (of course!) and went to the new Ripley's Aquarium. It was really a great aquarium. Just big enough that you feel like you get your money's worth and just small enough that you don't have to spend the whole day there to see everything. Great fun!

We headed back to Sumter after two days in Myrtle beach. I should mention here that everytime we went back to Sumter Will would golf at least 9 holes (but usually 18 holes) a day. So, while in Sumter I spent a lot of time babysitting but I can't really complain because I did get to play with him twice. But it was much more fun getting out and doing things around South Carolina. In fact ,we like SC so much that we are planning on moving there someday soon. As soon as we can figure out a way.

Wrapping up our trip to SC, we headed back to Charlotte to stay the night in a hotel there and catch a plane home the next day. We went to the children's museum in Charlotte which proved to be really exciting for Coleman. It was too bad that they closed at 6 o'clock as we didn't get there until about 4 but we really had fun while we were there.

So, that's our trip. I think that I haven't blogged in such a while because I knew these vacation blogs would be long. Hopefully, I can get back to writing on here everyday or every other day now that these long posts are out of the way...

Cooper is turning 1!!!

Hey Everybody! Cooper is turning one and you are invited to celebrate with us! The party starts at 7 pm on Thurs., August 24th at our house. Be there or be square! Oh, and be hungry because we're having pizza! See you there!

Will and Coleman on our first ride of the day at Carowinds! 

Almost at the finish line!