Carving the turkey.

This year for Thanksgiving, I had some extra time on my hands. Usually, I end up making pies, but this year, I only had to make one. Hmmmm.....What should I do with all that extra time? What to do....what to do..... I should think that would be obvious. Make a turkey cake, of course!

I started with 3 layers of cake:

and carved it into a turkey-ish shape. Do you have any idea how many different shapes of turkeys there are? I looked up about fifty pictures of turkeys on the internet so I would have a model to go by, and I found about fifty different shapes to carve. In the end, I decided to wing it. Get it? WING it? Ok, so a decent sense of humor is not required for carving a turkey, sue me.

I then used Rice Krispy treats to shape legs and wings, (I promise, I am out of wing jokes) and covered them in white chocolate so the fondant would stick to them.

I frosted the cake, and then covered it in fondant, and added a dent. I know it looks like a mistake, but it isn't. I promise. I did not accidentally stick a finger or thumb into the fondant. This little dent is on purpose.

I know we jumped a few steps here, but they were boring to most people, anyway. This is the finished cake. I colored the fondant with some food coloring, and stuck the legs and wings on. Notice the pop-up timer? There it is, proof that the dent was on purpose. I made some lettuce, fruits, and veggies to garnish the board. It looked pretty plain when it was just a turkey on a foil covered board. The stuffing is the cake I carved off. Hey, I had to do something with the leftovers. Waste not, want not, you know? If you think I was going to take the time to make fondant stuffing with little celery bits, you've got another thing coming. Do you have any idea how much time that would take? Ok, not very long. But still, the cake was just sitting there, begging to be used. So what if nobody would be able to eat it because it would dry out and be disgusting? I am more concerned with the effect. It almost looks like real stuffing. So there. 

Lettuce, lemons, and corn. Now, I know they are not to scale. I was working with limited amounts of fondant, here. I didn't want to have to make a whole new batch of fondant, just to make the garnish look more realistic and life sized. They turned out really cute, anyway. 

Here, we have an orange and an apple. I know that seems obvious, but for those that may be fruit challenged, I thought I better specify. My nephew asked me if they were made of cake. I said no, and he looked so confused. I then explained that they were made of marshmallows. You should have seen his eyes light up! He asked me in a soft, reverent voice, if he could eat it. I said yes. He looked like all his dreams had come true. I gave him one of each kind of fruit and veggie. Even one of the pumpkins, which I did not post a picture of. I figure that everyone should know what a pumpkin is.

Everyone was afraid to cut the cake. I finally had to cut it myself, or it would all go home with me. I seriously did not need that to happen. The legs and wings went first, just like a real turkey. There was a yellow cake, a white cake and pumpkin chocolate chip. The pumpkin layer was my favorite. Soooo good. I will definitely have to make that one again.

Colton was a good sport, and didn't eat his turkey leg until I got a good picture of him. He later complained that it was good, just too much white chocolate. Is there such a thing? I don't think so.

Celisa chose a wing. (Insert your own wing joke here, mine have flown the coop.) I don't think I have ever seen someone eat a wing joint first, have you? In that respect, I decided that this was better than a real turkey. No bones.

What do you do after you have had turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberries, and turkake? Why play cards, of course. I would have thought that was obvious, as well.

When I first brought the turkey into the house, a few people thought I was really carrying a turkey. There were many comments on the fact that we didn't need another turkey, and they were a bit upset, or maybe confused that I would just decide to bring a turkey without telling anyone. When they realized it was cake, there was a general sigh of relief from the family. It was worth all the work just for that moment. :)

My nephews and nieces posted pictures of it on facebook immediately. Within minutes, I was hearing comments from around the world. Ok, maybe only the nation, or maybe it was mostly around the state, but there were comments, nevertheless. I put this on my cake blog, but facebook and my neices and nephews beat me to it. What a technologically advanced world we live in. It never ceases to amaze me.

This was a fun adventure for the holiday, but does this mean I have to top it next year? Not possible. Might as well give up now. Leftover turkake, anyone?

Monster Mash

This year, we didn't have very many trick-or-treaters, but we made up for that by dressing up and having a blast anyway. We attempted to create a spook alley on the porch, but the wind and rain got the best of us. We left the plastic up because it made so much noise in the wind, it sounded creepy. 

Miriam had a great time dressing up, too. She loves to color her hair with hairspray. Loves it. Did I mention that she loves to have wild colored hair? The claws/gloves that glow in the dark were just an added bonus. She really got into her character. How is it that I never knew how much she loves to be scary? Just look into those eyes, she is thrilled to be dressed like the undead. Should I worry?

Miriam and her best friend Bekkah, who lives across the street, had a wonderful evening of scaring the children of the neighborhood. They sat on Bekkah's porch to hand out candy most of the night. The only time they went inside was when the rain started to attack. These two are so fun together.

Doug dressed up like a mummy. If you have never known this about Doug, he is incredibly intrigued with Egypt. Really. I'm not kidding. There was a time when he wanted to decorate our bedroom (of all places) in ancient Egyptian. He wanted a sarcophagus and everything. This came about because we were in R.C. Willey, and they had a sarcophagus made into some book shelves. He thought it would be cool. I thought it would be creepy. If every day was Halloween, then that would be different, but it isn't. Thank Heaven. Now he has to be content to satisfy his curiosity one night a year. Poor guy.

All in all, we had a wonderful night of bonding as a family. Your children should know their heritage. It's important to tell them where they come from, and what makes them who they are. They should be proud to belong to the family they have been given. I think our work is done, here.

I do have one minor concern: As I am usually the one behind the camera, there aren't very many pictures of me in existence. The one time I have to be in the pictures, and I look like this? I suppose it is better than the alternative. It could be a picture of me in the morning.

Fruit and Brownies are filling.

Several weeks ago, I was released from my two callings, Relief Society teacher and Webelos Leader, and now I teach the 8 and 9 year olds in Primary. A couple of weeks ago, we had a lesson on Jacob and Esau. I asked each child what they most treasured, wrote it on a piece of paper and handed it to them. Their answers were interesting. The girls listed scriptures, family, the gospel, and their pets. The boys listed computers, Xbox, and Halo. At this point, I had a good chuckle.

Then I asked them to imagine they were starving. I told them I had food in the boxes. Who would trade what was on their paper for food? The computer and Xbox were quickly handed over. None of the girls would trade. I then commented that if you were starving, Halo wouldn't save you. If you died, you would lose your game. Then I mentioned that there were homemade brownies in the boxes. Halo was immediately traded for sustenance. Still, none of the girls would trade for the brownies. They were very rational about the fact that even if they died from starvation, they could keep their families, the scriptures would still be important to them, and they still needed the gospel. One of the boys mentioned that you could eat the pets to survive; that didn't go over very well with the girls.

I was so proud of them for knowing what their priorities should be, and that there are worse things than losing your life. Esau traded his birthright for food. This made me think about my own life. Are there things I am trading for my own birthright? Have I maybe given up something of eternal value for something I want at a particular moment? After the lesson was over, I took them outside to eat their brownies, and they were so cute sitting on the lawn underneath a tree covered in white blossoms. I wish I had taken my camera to church. It really made me stop and think that I need to check myself regularly to make sure that the things I fill my life with, have eternal value, not just a temporary worldly want. I want to be able to eat my brownies underneath the tree of life.

Happy Bug-a-versary!

Today marks 10 years that Miriam came to live with us. We met her for the first time on March 11th, 2000. It was so fun to be with her! We met her in a park with her case worker, Lori, and her foster mom, Karen. It was a long drive to Atascadero, California, but it was worth the drive!

This is one of my favorite pictures of Doug and Miriam. We were at Morro Bay, and they were walking on the beach together. I just couldn't resist taking about a thousand pictures of them together. It was so cute to see them hand in hand looking for sand dollars and really cool shells. Miriam had a really good eye for things once you showed her what you were looking for. She found a bunch of shells that I still have in a frame with this picture. I keep that picture in my kitchen so I can see it every day.

We built sandcastles all afternoon. Miriam has always loved to build things. It was a beautiful day, and when it was time to leave, we had to practically drag her away from the sand.

I just loved the outfit she was wearing. Karen put her in her NEW corduroy Winnie the Pooh overalls. I would just like to say that sand never, EVER comes out of corduroy. EVER. I must have washed that in the hotel room 50 times. Still, when we returned them to her foster mom, they were stiff and still leaving sand everywhere. Lesson learned, don't let that happen to you. I still feel a bit guilty.

We took her to a children's museum in San Louis Obispo the next day to meet with her case worker. She had tons of fun standing inside of a giant bubble, flying a plane with her new dad, and sliding down a dinosaur's back. We had a hard time getting her out of this train, too. She just loved having her picture taken, unless it was with me. She didn't like me very much. She just didn't want a new mom.

This was as close as she would let me get to her most of the weekend. Lucky for me, because that meant that Doug had to do all the diaper changing and clean up after eating.

We came back the next weekend to see her again, and she was able to stay overnight with us in our hotel room. We took a little couch that we bought for her that would unfold into a bed so we could actually get some sleep. We blew giant bubbles that weekend, and spent some time swimming with her.

That weekend, we went to Pismo Beach to meet with Lori. Miriam wanted to stay on the swings forever. It was impossible to get her off of the swings for many years after that.

This is a picture of Miriam that Karen took of her 10 years ago today. They were at the airport waiting for their flight to Utah. What an adventure for Miriam, not to mention Karen. Miriam never liked to sit still for more than 20 seconds at a time. What do you do with a little girl that likes to pose for pictures when you have hours to sit around? You take plenty of photos of the little poser.

This is the evening of March 31st, 2000. She was so excited to see her little couch again. She wore it to shreds. She was so excited to see us again, almost as much as we were excited to see her. I think she changed her mind a week later, when she realized that she was staying. Poor Miriam. It's rough to have us as parents.

These are just a few of Miriam's stuffed animals. We gave her the white rabbit the first day we met her. Pooh, Tigger, and Eeyore were waiting for her on her bed when she arrived. The little Pooh Bear was a gift from Sam and Stacie. That was a well used little bear. The little brown bear was one of her toys that she had when she was living with her birth mom, and it never had a name. Miriam never named anything, she thought it was silly. One of her most favorite toys was the "Happy Face". She had that for a couple of years until it popped. It was a toy she had with her birth mom, too. She just loved her happy face. We still have all these animals stored away for her own kids, someday. They might just find a spot or two of Vaseline on the rabbit or Tigger that we somehow missed cleaning off.

 

This is Uncle Ron with Miriam on her second day with us, April fool's day. She instantly fell in love with Uncle Ron. He supplied her first wheeler ride. Thus started the need for more and more rides, and more visits to "Untow Won's" house. She still loves him deeply, as well as wheeler rides. Totally addicted.

This is my sister, Darcy, that helped us find Miriam. I am so thankful for her and the friend she was to a single mom that happened to be blind, and couldn't take care of her daughter any more. Her example of friendship is a huge lesson to me. Miriam cares for her so much. They were the best of buds. Now that Darcy is gone, we miss her more and more every year. We have such a special place in our hearts for her. I owe her more than I could ever repay. She is a wonderful big sister and I miss her.

Miriam was playing with our camera today, and I had no idea until I picked up the camera to download some pictures from it. I am happy that she took a picture of herself today. Ten years later. My, how things have changed. She is so happy, and doing great in school. She is starting to enjoy laughter, and I love to hear her laughing at herself. What a blessing she is in our lives. We love you, Bug!

My sister. Well done!

I was notified by my neice today, that her mother has recieved an award. Why is it that I had to hear it from her on facebook, where she posted a link about my very own sister (who lives through the block from me, by the way)? Am I that out of touch? Perhaps I am too self-involved? Maybe I just need to call her more. The possibility exists that I could walk to her house, or as a last resort, even drive, but that is just so far fetched. I mean, am I really meant to have to see someone face to face to find out what is going on in their lives? Pretend I didn't say that.

Anyway, I am really proud of her. Things have not been so easy in their world the last little while, and I am ecstatic that she would be recognized for the wonderful person she is. Way to go, Vauna. Well done! Hugs and kisses all around. ♥

I just thought this was a brilliant idea for Valentine's Day! I think I will have to get my family involved, and take them to my neighbors. When did the tradition of taking a Valentine to each of your neighbors disappear? I remember having so much fun with my family on Valentine's Day. Mom and Dad would go on a date, and all of us kids would take around Valentine's. Then there was my favorite, tying a piece of string to a valentine and pulling it off the porch when they bent down to pick it up. Ahhh, childhood was bliss.

I have decided that it is time to resurrect the past, and share my love and appreciation for my neighbors. After all, my daughter hasn't lived until she has ripped a love note out of someones fingertips.

Love Story meets Viva La Vida...

I saw this video by Jon Schmidt today when a friend posted it on facebook. LOVE it! I wish I could play the piano, and every time I hear a piece I love, it makes me think I should start right now! Maybe I just will, after all, I'm not getting any younger, and I might as well start now. No more "someday's" for me!

Anyway, I thought I would post a link HERE for you to hear it, and there is also a link on the video so you can download the song for free. Woohooo! Gotta love freebies!