Cake Decorating....the steps

My friend Karina asked me to take a cake decorating class with her and I must say it was a lot of fun!!  I learned so much. I'm one of those people who hates to spend money on cakes especially when I feel like I should be able to make them.  I'm also one of those people that know nothing about decorating cakes. My two favorite cakes that my mom used to make growing up did not have any frosting so I didn't frost much.  I bought an instruction booklet a few years ago and learned the very basics...I mean the very basics.  I never learned to do any flowers or how to smooth a cake so it was basically not a very good deal for me.

I took pictures as I frosted the cake for my final project...see for yourself:

1. I didn't take a picture of this step but the first thing you do after baking and cooling a cake is level it. I got a really cool new tool to do that...so much easier than trying to take a knife which I used to do.

2. The second step is to pipe some frosting on the bottom layer to create a dam for your filling.  As you can see my filling was simply a pudding cup...a trick I learned from class...love it!! =)

3. The third step was to put the top back on...I put it on "inversely" so that my new top would be completely flat (it was the original bottom of one of the cakes).

4. The fourth step was simply frosting the cake. I frosted the cake and smoothed it as well as I could with my spatula. As you can see it's not very smooth..that's what my cakes used to look like.

5. The next step was really smoothing the cake.  The Wilton method is using a piece of parchment paper.  I learned an even better method from my classmate.  She told me about the VIVA paper towel.  It worked great...see for yourself. Isn't it amazing?

Stay tuned for pictures of my final project and pictures of the second night of class.  I didn't take pictures of the other two nights b/c I just didn't think they were that cool. =)

pretty girl

Mak's first haircut

On August 2nd Mak got his first haircut.  I was very sad to see the curls go but as you can see in the photo below...he really needed it! =)

BEFORE

AFTER

From the Fair

This is for all my single ladies out there....woot woot!!

New Comebacks For Old Come-ons

Everybody's doing it!

     Really? Then you shouldn't have a problem finding somebody else.

You are so special.

    Too special to waste my virginity on you.

Don't worry, I'll use protection.

   You're gonna need protection if you don't get off me.

I love you.

   Great. But love doesn't equal sex.

You don't know what you're missing.

    Just the fear heartache, the diseases, the pregnancy....need I go on?

But I'm clean. I promise.

    And I"m gonna stay clean because of MY promise to myself!!!

You've done it before. Why quit?

    Because I can. Because I'm worth it. Because you're not.

Nothing bad's gonna happen, trust me.

    That's right, because nothing's gonna happen.

You're still a virgin? What are you waiting for?

    My wedding night. I don't need to practice with you to get it right.

THIS WAS OFF A LITTLE BOOKMARK FROM THE CRISIS PREGNANCY CENTER FAIR BOOTH.  I THOUGHT IT WAS PRETTY GOOD. =)  

A Fun Week

Last week we had a lot going on.

It started with Sunday morning. I wasn't teaching so I decided to curl Amaya's hair. I love doing this!!  She lets me play with her hair a little more now so I can actually do fun stuff. I don't know if you've noticed but I can braid it now so I do that when I can. Before she would cry the whole time I was braiding it so I didn't try it very much.

Next in the happenings was the fair. We went on wrist band night. So we had to ride at least one ride. Amaya really wanted to ride the Ferris Wheel but it had a long line so we stuck with the Carousel. I tried to do the video but it didn't work.

After the ride we went to the animal barns...Amaya loved the animals. Mak did too but only if we didn't get too close.  He was a bit afraid of the big animals (and even the smaller ones too). That surprised me a bit but you learn something new every day. =) (Notice how Chad is holding his hand... that's because he had to force him)

And one final pic of all of us that night just as we were getting ready to leave:

How do we keep our marriage strong?

by doing this......wooooohooooo!

Me on Marriage #3

This is the last post in my marriage series...I've really enjoyed doing this. I love when God gives me inspiration for my blog. =) Leave me a comment...let me know your thoughts on my posts...I'd love to hear from you.  Let me know how I can pray for you.

After all those things I explained in the last marriage post, Ephesians tells us to:

WALK IN UNITY

USE SPIRITUAL GIFTS

BE A NEW MAN/WOMAN

NOT GRIEVE THE HOLY SPIRIT

WALK IN LOVE

WALK IN LIGHT

WALK IN WISDOM

Paul actually talks about all these things (the above and the stuff from the previous post) BEFORE he talks about marriage in Ephesians.
I believe there is such significance in this.  If we hold fast to what God has asked of us, our building will have NO choice but to be strong and storm worthy! Just look at the last three...walk in love, walk in light and walk in wisdom.  How often do we forget these in order to be "right" in our marriage? Maybe if we forgot about being "right" in exchange for being "love," we would see different results. (Whew....God help me be reminded to walk in love through each discussion and/or argument)

AFTER Paul talks about marriage, he then gives us some great tools: the ARMOR OF GOD!!

This is how I put on the armor of God:

I put on the belt of truth.
I put up the breastplate of righteousness (to protect my heart)
I fit my feet with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace
I put up the shield of faith with which to withstand all the fiery darts of the enemy
I put on the helmet of salvation to protect my mind
I put up the sword of the spirit which is able to divide between soul and spirit.
for some added 'protection' I add these:
I put on the robe of righteousness for His name's sake
I put on the garments of praise for the spirit of heaviness
I thank you Lord that Your glory is my rear guard

The following is something I've confessed and prayed over our marriage and the marriages of my friends around me...God is at work! 

PSALM 133

Behold how good it is for brethren (Chad & Elaine) to dwell together in unity!

It is like the precious oil upon the head,

Running down the beard, the beard of Aaron,

Running down on the edge of his garments.

It is like the dew of Hermon, 

Descending upon the mountains of Zion;

For there the Lord commanded the blessing:

LIFE FOREVERMORE.


I encourage you this way: 
...if your marriage is great and strong ....continue giving glory to God and speaking the word over your marriage..and above all else be obedient to Him.

...if your marriage is struggling...continue giving glory to God and speaking the word over your marriage..and above all else be obedient to Him.

...if your marriage is broken...continue giving glory to God and speaking the word over your marriage..and above all else be obedient to Him. 

Love to all and thanks for reading!!