Wilton Method Instructor!

At the end of last year, I took the Wilton Method classes at Michael's, and found I was actually pretty good at it! My teacher and new friend, Hollie, had been asking me to become a teacher ever since I finished the classes. In May I finally accepted and am now teaching classes 1-2 times per week at the Ahwatukee Michael's store!

I am having a total blast teaching other people how to do something I am so passionate about myself. I have already gotten to meet so many great people, and have made some great new friends. Plus, it's a great gig. I get to make some extra money, plus get employee discounts at both Michael's and the Wilton online store, which has really come in handy with all the cakes I have been making for my business! And all for just a couple hours of work per week. Not a bad gig!

Fitness Quest 2011

No, I haven't totally abandoned our blog. It just seems my time to sit down and write has been very scarce these days. But it's for good reason! For the last few months I have had a nagging thought in my subconsious that 1) I'm not getting any younger; and 2) my weight had become a little more difficult to control. So right after Christmas I decided to get serious about taking care of myself. I had noticed some of the weight that I lost a couple years ago had crept back, and I really wanted to get rid of it and get back down to where I was before. But more than that, I wanted to feel healthy. I didn't want to be sluggish and tired anymore. So I started working out, and adjusted my eating habits, and after a few weeks I had lost about 10 pounds! I'm really proud of myself for keeping it up for nearly 4 months now and have definitely noticed a change in my energy and strength levels. And to top it all off, I just bought 2 pairs of shorts in a size 6!!! I go through highs and lows of my motivation to work out, but so far, even in the totaly unmotivated times, I've been able to get myself back into it. I don't really feel like I need to lose any more weight (although I wouldn't cry if I lost 5 more pounds or so...) so now I'm just trying to focus on being healthy. I hope that now that I have found my groove, I can keep it up and continue challenging myself with more intense workouts to get a stronger, healthier me!

REAL Cake Decorating

I've been dabbling in cake decorating for a little over a year, and I just love it. It gives me such an awesome outlet for my little creative streak, and when I'm done, I have a cake to eat! What could be better? I've just been kind of winging it, trying different techniques that I hear about online or on one of the many cake shows on TV, but I have never had any real instruction. So I finally decided to take the Wilton classes so that I can actually have some kind of idea of what I'm doing. And to make it even more fun, my dear friend Jen is taking the class with me.

Our first class was last week. It was mostly introduction, so not much decorating going on. We practiced making stars on some sugar cookies, so not horribly exciting (so I didn't take any pictures), but I still learned so much! This week we actually got to decorate a cake using a gel image transfer method. Here is my finished product. I'm happy with it!

Next week we'll be learning all sorts of techniques and decorating some cupcakes. I'm so excited to keep learning. Wilton offers 3 different classes, and I plan to take all of them, hopefully over the next couple of months. I can't wait!

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!

As I mentioned in my last post, Ben's birthday party was featured on gabbafriends.com. For being featured, I was entered into a drawing for a $50 gift card to the Gabba Store. They separate their features into categories (birthdays, holidays, Gabba Sightings, etc.) and select one winner from each category at random each month. I found out on Wednesday that I had been randomly selected out of the birthday category! I won! I was so excited. I never win these things! I can't wait to spend it. They have some super cute tshirts for the boys, and I also plan on getting a CD with all of our favorite Gabba songs (which I may live to regret!). Thank you, Gabba Friends!!!

Official Gabba Friend

I found out today that Ben's birthday party was featured on the Gabba Friends website today! I'm so excited! In addition to the notoriety, I also get entered into a giveaway for a $50 gift card to the Gabba Store. I never actually win any of these things, so I'm sure that won't happen, but it's still fun to be featured! Check it out!

Cake Wrecks Book Signing

I have been a long time reader of the blog Cake Wrecks. It is this hilarious site with photos of professional cakes gone "horribly and hilariously wrong." The pictures themselves could make the blog work, but the commentary that goes along with it is absolutely side-splittingly funny. So my sense of humor. The history of this blog is amazing. It started out as something the writer, Jen Yates, did for fun and only told a couple friends about it, but over the last 2 years it has taken the internet by storm. If you haven't checked it out, go there. Now.

Around Christmas time, a lot of her posts and some never-before seen photos were compiled into a book, and her and her husband John have been touring the country promoting their book. Last night they stopped at Changing Hands bookstore in Tempe, and my dear friend Jen and I decided to go check it out. What a great time! We met up for dinner at Wildflower Bread Company and then headed over to the show. We were super early and got amazing seats. Because we got there so early, it gave us plenty of time to talk and catch up. We just don't get to see each other often enough, and chatting on FB just isn't the same. I think we could have been there all night! So fun!

Before the show started, I went into the restroom and ran into Mrs. Cake Wreck herself and was able to chat with her for a few minutes. It was so nice to see what a truly, genuinly nice person she is. We bonded a bit over our mutual love for Disney.

The show was great. Started off with a slideshow of all of their favorite wrecks, all of which we had seen before, but it was fun to hear the backstory of some of the most popular posts (naked mohawk baby carrot jockies, anyone?).

At every book signing they do a Wreckplica contest, where you bring in a cupcake sized replica of your favorite wreck. I had totally planned on entering the contest, but then plain ran out of time over the weekend. Bummer! But I couldn't have competed with some of those entries anyhow!

When it was our turn for the signing, Jen Y (who has voted for my cupcakes in the contest!!!) wrote "Vote for Brenda!" in my book, showing her support. :)

Jen and John were so nice and personable. While Jen was signing books, John went around mingling with the crowd. Here he is eating a cupcake with a fork, which I just found funny. I wonder if he eats a snicker's bar with a knife and fork?

And of course I had to get my photo taken with them both!

The only disappointment of the evening was that I didn't get any photos of my friend Jen and I together. I always forget that kind of stuff! I guess that just means we'll have to get together again very soon, right?

Cupcake Contest - Vote for Me!

My sweet friend Nancy suggested to me that I enter Joshua's birthday cake into a cupcake contest. I so appreciate the vote of confidence from her! I'm not sure if my little cupcakes would be worthy of winning anything, other than the approval of a 5 year old, but I figured I had nothing to lose in giving it a try. So consider this a shameless plug to ask you to vote for me. Just click here to vote. You can vote daily through June 27th. The winner gets a $100 Visa Gift Card and 24 cupcake toppers. Please also ask all of your friends to vote. I would realy appreciate it!

30th Birthday Bash!

Last Wednesday was my 30th birthday. I've never been one of these people that frets over age (I know I'm just thirty, but I know people who have freaked over 25!) so I wasn't scared of it, or dreading it or anything like that. It just sounds a bit strange to not be a "20-something" anymore. Over the last few years my birthday has kind of fallen into the background, behind the plethora of November birthdays in our family. It seems as though we're going to this or that birthday party every single weekend in November, leaving virtually no time to really celebrate my birthday. As I've gotten older, I have begun to care about my birthday less and less, so it's never really bothered me too much. But because of the milestone I reached this year, we decided to do my birthday up in style!

First, was my extra-special gift from Andrew and my parents... a Kitchenaid Stand Mixer! This thing is incredible! It weighs probably 20 lbs and is so fun to use! I can't wait to break it out for the thanksgiving feast later this week! =)The boys also got me a Snuggie (the blanket with sleeves!). Joshua was so excited to give it to me, I'm still amazed that he was able to keep the lip zipped until I opened my presents!

The real celebration was this past weekend. Because we weren't able to go to Sea World when we were in San Diego last month, we planned to go back to San Diego for my birthday. All week leading up to the trip, Andrew and I were living in this constant state of mild paranoia over one of the boys getting sick and putting the kibosh on our trip. We were pumping them full of vitamins and orange juice, and thankfully everyone had a clean bill of health for our fun weekend! We headed out early on Friday morning, and had another enjoyable time in the car, rolling into San Diego about 1:00.

Ben didn't make it too far into his book!

Our first stop was Imperial Beach, south of San Diego, about 3 miles from Mexico, as we had heard it was a good place to find sand dollars and starfish. We walked along the beach for a bit... well, everyone but Ben, who had apparently gotten his fill of the beach on our last trip. He refused to walk and turned into the biggest cuddle bug and just wanted to "hide in Mommy's hair."

Josh had a blast finding more seashells, which were much bigger on this beach. The best find of the day went to Daddy... a giant sand dollar! When we stopped for lunch at a little local cafe, even a local was impressed with our find!

After lunch we went back up to San Diego and walked around Seaport Village, and over to the USS Midway. We didn't take the tour of the Midway, as the boys are still a little young for that, but they did like seeing the big ship with airplanes and helicopters on it.

That evening we went to check into our hotel, which was the same hotel we stayed at last month. When Andrew went inside to check in, he learned that we were the "Guest of the Day" which means we got a free upgrade to a 2 bedroom/2 bath suite! There was even a sign being displayed in the lobby with my name on it (which Andrew snagged for me). It was so cool!

Joshua was super excited to have his very own bedroom instead of sleeping on the fold out couch like he normally does. It was a $200 per night room that we got for $129 per night. Happy birthday to me!

The following morning was Sea World Day! Unfortunately, because of the time change (CA is 1 hour behind us right now) and the fact that the boys aren't used to sharing a room, Ben decided to wake Joshua up at about 5:00 a.m. Thanks a lot! Because of the awakening he wasn't quite ready for, he was a little, shall we say, grumpy in the morning. But we finally got him to snap out of it and had a fantastic day at Sea World! We got there just as the park opened, and were probably about the 3rd family through the gate. We got to see dolphins up close, feed some sea lions, and watch the Shamu show, the Pets Rule show and the Clyde and Seymour show. We even got to see Elmo, Burt, Ernie, Zoe and Cookie Monster sing and dance for us, which I think Ben could have watched all day!

Riding the flying Elmo fish ride in the Sesame Street Bay of Play

We had informed Joshua ahead of time that the Sesame Street characters would be there and that he could meet them. As soon as he learned this, he informed me that he was going to bring Cookie Monster some cookies that we had made (with my mixer, of course!). The night before we left he had painstakingly, and completley on his own, selected two cookies for Cookie Monster and put them in a Ziploc sandwich bag. I was told to make sure we remembered to put them in a safe place, and he even made sure we had them before we left the house Friday morning! Anyway, when his chance finally came to give Cookie Monster his cookies, he mustered up all of his courage and gave Cookie Monster his baggie of cookies. Cookie Monster was SO happy to have cookies! He started blowing Joshua kisses and then grabbed him and gave him a huge hug.

Joshua is in there somewhere!

Joshua was so beside himself excited that he could make Cookie Monster so happy. What a sweet little spirit he has! I think this was my favorite part of our day!

We stayed at Sea World for pretty much the whole time the park was open. We did it without naps (except that Ben pooped out right before Clyde and Seymour started)...

and without a stroller, which proved to be the best thing to do (and I think that if we can Sea World without a stroller, it is definitely time for the strollers to go and give us back our closet space!).

In all the excitement, we were concerned that our trip would send Ben on a detour away from his potty training. How wrong we were! He actually did SO good while we were gone. We brought his potty chair with us, and were unashamed to lug it into the stalls in public restrooms, or even park him on the passenger seat of the car along our way.

At one point he actually asked us to take off his diaper so he could poop in the potty! Hooray! But because he no longer wants to USE his diaper, the trip home got a little interesting. When we stopped in Yuma (our first stop after leaving San Diego) I checked Ben's diaper and he was dry, which I saw as a huge victory! We took his potty chair into the bathroom and he went potty no problem. Then after having lunch and getting back on the road, he started crying that he needed to go potty. We were in the middle of absolutely no where, without even a random exit to pull off into. We tried to tell him to just use his diaper (how's that for sending mixed messages!) but he really didn't want to do that. We ended up stopping three times between Yuma and home to try to get him to use the potty (the last time being off of some random off ramp next to the train tracks. I didn't have my camera, so I'll have to paint you a mental picture... Ben sitting on his little potty chair in the gravel in the middle of nowhere, with a train zooming by about 100 feet away from us. Would have made a great photo for a punk album cover or something!). One of our stops was in Dateland, which gave Andrew a chance to try a "world famous" Date Shake.

Although the drive home was a little hectic and frustrating at times, we made it in one piece and were so happy to be home!

So my 30th birthday was pretty awesome! Thank you, Andrew, Josh and Ben for making it a special time for me, and thanks to everyone for your birthday wishes! Now, off to 31!

Baby Shower Cake

I was asked to make the cake for the baby shower for a girl in my office. I took on the task, and oh man, was it a lot of work! It took me all week, but in the end I was happy with the results, and everyone else seemed to be too. I was even asked to start making the cakes for the monthly office birthdays! Not sure if I will do that or not, but it was nice to be asked! Here are some photos of the cake. Unfortunately, the cake got a couple finger pokes in it during assembly, but you get the idea. The booties are made out of gum paste and turned out really well.

Maybe there is something to this cake thing. I hope to take a couple decorating classes next year and I want to start trying out some cake recipes, so we'll see where it goes from there!

More Adventures in Cake Decorating

My best friend, Gabrielle, is just about to have her 4th child and so today we had a baby shower for her. In light of the occasion, I decided to dive a little deeper into my hobby of cake decorating and try some new techniques for her baby shower cake. I had originally planned to make some marshmallow fondant, but then I heard about something called Plastic Chocolateand thought it sounded even better! I found the design for the cake online and put it all together this morning. I need a bit more practice working with it, but it turned out pretty good for my first try.

The bottom tier was white cake and the top was chocolate, and both tiers had a cherry filling. Everyone seemed to enjoy it, so I would say my first attempt at decorating plastic chocolate was a success. I will definitely use this again!

My Wisdom is Gone

I FINALLY got my wisdom teeth out today. It wasn't anywhere near as bad as it sounds, thankfully. I only had them on top, and they had both come through about 6 years ago so really it was just pulling teeth. I didn't have to be knocked out so I was able to drive myself to and from my appointment, and actually be functional the rest of the day.

On my way to my appointment I was driving down Guadalupe Road, paying more attention to my music than to my speed, when I noticed a Tempe police officer lurking in the Marcos De Niza parking lot. I noticed my speed, albeit to late, and slowed down anyway, but of course, here he came behind me, lights flashing. When he came up to me he asked if I knew why he had pulled me over and I told him that I hadn't noticed that the speed limit had changed at the high school, and that I wasn't familiar with the area (I never go to Tempe). He took my information and I was sure I was going to get a ticket. Speeding through a school zone, even accidentally, is usually not something that is easily overlooked. He asked me where I was going, and when I told him the oral surgeon, I think he took pity on me. I got off with a warning! That's awesome. I've never gotten a warning. The few times I've been lucky enough to get pulled over I've ended up with a "driving award." So I was very thankful.

My doctor appointment took all of 10 minutes. I got some topical numbing gel, 4 shots of Novocaine (which was by far the worst part of the experience) and then the teeth were yanked out without my having any idea. I thought she was just fiddling with them getting ready to let me have it, but then they stuffed my mouth with gauze and sent me on my way. So now I'll have a few days of a soft food diet and hopefully I'll be good as new. Just hoping I don't join the ranks of the people with horror stories of dry sockets! I think I'll go have some ice cream.

Um... Thanks?

I got a nice...er... compliment, I guess, at church today. I was headed back into the sanctuary after helping serve communion when a member of our congregation stopped me. This is how our conversation went:

Him: Excuse me, can I ask you a question? How much weight have you lost?

Me: Er... *smile not really knowing what to say*

Him: You are looking really good. You know after you had your children you were a little heavy, I don't mean to be rude but let's face it.

Me: Well, that happens I suppose.

Him: How much weight have you lost?

Me: *wondering why the number should matter in the least to him* About 20 lbs I guess.

Him: Well, you are looking really good.

Me: Thanks... I guess *that last part to myself*

I think he realized that he had really put his foot in his mouth, and his wife was just kind of looking at me apologetically. I think the exchange sounded much better in his head than it actually came out. I just found it funny. At least it wasn't the other way around... "How much weight have you put on?" That I probably wouldn't have found so amusing!

Done!

At just 2 days shy of 7 months, I have finally settled my accident claim. Thank goodness that is behind us! I am pretty proud of myself though. I handled the whole thing by myself, and negotiated with them pretty agressively, and was able to settle for just $63 less than my goal. The check should be in the mail today. All in all, I was very fortunate to not have any real lasting affects from my injuries. And I have to admit, I kind of enjoyed playing the game with the insurance company. They treated me more like they would treat a lawyer than any Joe Schmoe handling their claim, which helped. Not that I gave them much of a choice. I made it pretty clear to them from the get go that I knew my stuff and that they didn't intimidate me. I am happy with my settlement and so thankful that it is all over!

The New Me!

I go through the same cycle with my hair every couple years. It will be entirely too long, start to drive me crazy, and then I'll chop it all off. The last time I had my hair cut was May of 2007, so suffice it to say, it could have used a trim. But who should I go to for the job? I had the stereotypical male hairdresser (if you know what I mean) for a couple years, but he constantly salon hopped, and I couldn't keep up with him. Then by happenstance, I found the blog of a girl that I went to high school with, and found out that she is a hair stylist. So last week I decided to go pay her a visit. It was so great! We got to catch up on the last 10 years and I got a great new look! Here's a before picture... not the greatest picture, but at least you can see all the hair.

And here is the new and improved look. What do you think?

(Believe it or not, Joshua took this picture of me.) I am so happy with it. Everyone keeps telling me that this is a great look for me... so I must look pretty bad with the long hair! =) Maybe I'll try a little harder to keep it short and cute. We'll see. The grand total that was cut off was 10 inches. She saved it for me and I plan on sending it to Locks of Love. So it's a win-win-win!

Jury Doody

I have spent the last 2 days down at the Maricopa County Superior Court, fulfilling my civic duty. What an experience! I got the dreaded jury summons a few weeks ago. I called the number on Friday night, hoping that my group would be excused, but of course, I was in the very first group, so I got the pleasure of attending. So, armed with a book, a magazine, a bible and plenty of water, I headed down to the courthouse on Monday morning. Usually the cases they are hearing are 3 day civil trials, like the ones I work on, so I wasn't thinking it would be that big of a deal. It might actually be a good learning experience for me given my chosen career. Then we hear the announcement. "Ladies and gentlemen, we will be calling a panel today to select a jury for a 5 week trial." What?!? I don't think so! But the only excuse they would accept to begin with was if you medically were unable to attend trial for that long a period of time. I'm thinking, why can't I still be nursing and still in pain from my car accident! But, I guess I better be careful what I wish for. Anyway, I of course was called into the 5 week trial group.

First we get to hear the allegations in this case. I won't get into details here, but let me just say that I would definitely suffer from vivid nightmares with the things that I would hear and see as a result of participating in this trial. Sitting through the voir dire process is excruciating. I was sitting in this dreary courtroom for 3 hours listening to 55 people's dirty laundry. When asked, I advised the court that I was the only employee at my office, and that I handle everything and could not be gone from work for that stretch of time. Apparently that wasn't good enough to get me excused at that point. At 4:30, the judge adjourned, instructing each of us to come back the following morning to continue jury selection. Are you kidding me? So I call my boss, and thought his head was going to explode when I told him that they were selecting for a 5 week trial. He stressed to me that I had to get out of it, that he couldn't survive without me. So I came back the next day and while answering another question requested a personal meeting with the judge and counsel. Of course they didn't do the private meetings until AFTER lunch, but when I was called into the courtroom, I just flat out requested to be excused from the case, telling them that the stress and worry about what is going on at the office would absolutely distract me from the case at hand. With that, I was dismissed. What a relief. I got out of there at about 2:30 and went back to work. My boss literally fell down on his knees when I walked in the room. It seems as though the thought of being without me for that period of time reminded him of how much he needs me. He was telling me all afternoon that I can't go anywhere (as in quit) and that he is so happy I'm here and really appreciates the work I do for him.

So all in all, I guess I know my job is secure, and I am off the hook for jury duty (at least superior court) for at least the next 2 years. I definitely thing that this process is more doody than duty!

Ack!

I hate being sick. I don't do it well. Usually I just chalk it up to allergies and press on. But when you're running a 102 fever and it feels like you've swallowed a whole package of razor blades, it's hard to keep on keepin' on. All last week I was kind of feeling like I was trying to come down with something. Then Friday night, I couldn't sleep because I was hot, then I was freezing, hot, freezing. I figured I probably had a fever, and sure enough it was in the 101's. That is so unlike me to get a fever, so I knew I was getting something bad. Saturday the sore throat started and this morning it was so bad I ended up going to urgent care. My rapid strep test came back negative, but the FNP didn't believe it after taking a look at my throat so he went ahead and prescribed Penicillin to try to kick it out of me. Hopefully the meds will do their job quickly so I can begin to function like a human being again. This being sick thing is for the birds!

Bling Bling

I finally got my new wedding ring. I am so excited. My original wedding set just wasn't working for me anymore. About 8 months ago the stone broke off the engagement ring, the engagement and wedding bands had been soldered and come apart twice, and the wedding band was about 3 sizes too big. We figured it might be a good time to upgrade. I found a great little jewelry store in Mesa who bought my old set, and was able to set my original stone in my new ring. I decided on a 1 carat total weight 3 stone ring. I absolutely love it. And to top it off, I got a super smokin' deal on it. It was hard to get a good picture of it, so click on the picture to see an enlarged version. Yay for new bling!

What a Cool Way to End the Day

Today ended up being a pretty cool day. At the end of the work day, my boss told me that he is taking tomorrow off, so I could have the day off too. Then he said he was also taking next Friday off too, so I could have that day off as well. Sweet! It's great working for a sole practitioner who can do those things on a whim and not have to worry about any office politics. I have been totally burned out over the last couple of weeks and have really needed a Mommy day, so praise God for providing me with two! So with my day off tomorrow, I am going to go shopping around for a new wedding ring, and try to find someone who will buy my old one. So after I got home, I started looking through my jewelry box to find my engagement ring (which broke about 8 months ago, so I haven't been able to wear it - hence the shopping for a new ring). I opened up one of the drawers and lo and behold I find a $100 bill that I had NO idea was in there. I don't even remember for sure where it came from. I believe it was from when I sold my 35 mm camera on Craigslist last year, but who knows. All I know is that was a very pleasant surprise to stumble upon today. I heart happy surprises!

The End of an Era

Today was quite the ceremonious day for me. It was my last day of pumping at work... and probably of pumping ever. YAY!!!! I am so excited to be done with pumping. It has been well worth the inconvenience. I can proudly say that Ben has never, and will never, have a drop of formula. With the milk I pumped today, he has enough to make it through the week. Then starting Monday, we'll have his daycare teachers give him a little whole milk in his cup. I figure starting on a little cow's milk a week early won't hurt him. I've given him a little once or twice, and he seems to dig it, and hasn't had any adverse reaction, so we should be in the clear. I plan to continue nursing for a little while longer, but probably not too much. I'm ready to have my body back.

Although it is a little bittersweet for me to think that nursing is coming to an end. In a way I feel that has defined me over the last year. Nursing has been my thing... my soapbox, if you will. I'm certainly not shy to talk about it. I feel such a sense of accomplishment (only 17% exclusively nurse - as in no formula - for the first year). I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to pump at work without a problem, because I know not everyone has that opportunity. My employers have been exceptionally supportive of it. But it is a relief to know that I can now carry my cute SMALL purse to work, instead of the ginormous backpack. Plus, I get my lunch hour back!

So long my friend Ameda Purely Yours. We've had some good times, but I'm glad to be done with you!

What a Pain in the Neck!

Literally. For the past week I have been going through physical therapy for the injuries caused by my car accident a few weeks ago. My pain is mostly in my neck and between my shoulder blades. So far, I haven't really seen any improvement, but I know I am just getting started and shouldn't expect too much at this point. I am just not used to this. I am not a doctor person, and avoid going to the doctor at all costs. Now to be going 3 times per week is like torture for me. As most mommies, especially those who also work outside the home, I do not have an over-abundance of time to be spending 3 hours per week at the doctor. Plus, its really hard to recover from a neck injury when I've got two little ones at home that want Mommy to play with them and pick them up. But I suppose life goes on, despite car accidents and neck pain.

But in all this, I've got to really hand it to my husband. He has really stepped it up (not that he was slacking to begin with). He ends up making dinner most nights since I'm not home from therapy until after 6:00, all while keeping the kiddos entertained. It makes it so much easier on me to know that he is here, with a servant's heart, willing and able to pick up my slack. You're awesome, my love!

I'm hoping to start seeing more improvement in my pain level over the next week or two. I'm really hoping to be done with therapy after my 4 week prescription is up. We'll see what happens. Thank you to all of you who have been praying for my recovery. Hopefully I'll have good news to report soon!