Lollipop Cake

Back of the cake

This is my latest cake. I made this cake for my co-worker Shirley's granddaughter's 2nd birthday. Shirley asked me to do this cake about a week ago and originally asked for a half a sheet cake. I have been wanting to try other types of cakes, so I found a picture of this cake and showed it to Shirley. She sent it to her daughter-in-law, and she loved the cake. She said it matched the invitations. When I saw the invitation, it matched the invitation to the T. The cake is WASC (white almond sour cream except I use vanilla extract instead of almond) with buttercream icing. I made the lollipops out of marshmallow fondant, and I used real lollipop sticks. To give the lollipop swirl look, I just didn't rub all the icing color in the fondant. The purple and green ones turned out the best. The number 2 on top is mmf as well. I added a little gumtex to it, so it would stand up. All in all, the cake turned out well. I could be critical, but I won't...smile. I can't wait to get some feedback. Any who, Happy Birthday Eva Kate!!!!! Have a great 2nd Birthday.

Powerhouse in the House

Last night was our teen ministry volunteer meeting at Larry's Pizza. I had only been to Larry's Pizza once before, and I must have been pretty conservative. I say that because I tried so many different types of pizza this time. I have to say that my favorite was the loaded baked potato pizza. It tastes just like a loaded baked potato except on pizza bread. IT WAS SOOOO YUMMY! I also had cheese alfredo, buffalo chicken, and chicken ranch something. They were all good too. Make me want to go back some time soon. Now, I tried one pizza that I will never try again. It was the hamburger pizza that is like a real hamburger but on pizza bread. I have one word for that one....GROSS!!!!! Everything else was delish.

Now, teen ministry is made up of middle school and high school aged kids. Middle school is known is No Limit. The high school kids didn't have a name, but now they are officially the Powerhouse. Shot out to the Powerhouse....What What!!!!! If you can't tell, I am a Powerhouse volunteer. I really like the people I will be working with. I am kind of excited. Oh, I almost forgot. I got to say the prayer to open up our meeting and bless the food. In teen ministry, you get put on the spot to pray at any given time. I hadn't had an opportunity at the other teen ministry functions, but I was called on to do so today. One of the directors just said, "Crunchy Chicken, will you lead us in prayer?" Now, I have to explain the whole crunchy chicken name that I now have. At the first initial meeting, we played an ice breaker game. We all had to give ourselves a food name that started with the same letter that our first name started with. Well, I came up with Crunchy Chicken Christian. I think I may forever be Crunchy Chicken with some of my church members....LOL

Oh yeah, one last thing. We are having a youth conference at church June 11th and 12th. Deitrick Haddon will be the featured gospel artist. If you can, be there or be square.

Me and Brandi

Me and Crazy Brandi

Baby Tate is on the Way....

Daddy Courtney and Mama Tan

Saturday was the shower for Tan, Courtney, and Baby Tate. Everything turned out really well. The decorations were really cute. The colors were green and orange. The food was oh so yummy. We had pork tenderloin sandwiches, bacon-wrapped smokies, ham ball, pasta salad, pinwheels, white cheese dip, chips and salsa, lemon squares, cupcakes, cake, and Frappe' punch. I hadn't eaten all day, so I tore it up....LOL We played a game where you had to associate the baby related phrase with a candy. For example, the phrase "a baby's laugh" went with the candy Snickers......epidural went with Lifesavers. It was a cute game. Being that Scott is a candy fanatic, he got like five right. We all had a good time. Baby Tate will be here in just a few weeks.

Scott and I at the shower

The Search is Over...

Scott and his new toy

We're ready to ride too, Uncle Scott!

Scott FINALLY got his four wheeler, and now as my dad says, "he can get some rest." Being the researcher that he is, he had already narrowed it down to what he wanted and handled negotiations before we got to the dealership. All that was left was the test drive. The test drive sealed the deal. Now, he is ready to hit the trails.

Baby Shower Cake

This is a cake that I made for a co-worker's baby shower. It turned out pretty good. My co-workers loved it, so that made me feel good. I made chocolate marshmallow fondant for the first time, and it actually turned out good. It tastes like a tootsie roll.

Scott and I watched Alvin and the Chipmunks the Squeakquel tonight. It's good, but not as good as the first one in my opinion. I like the Chipettes. When I was a little girl, I always said I was Britney. Scott said that he was Alvin. How funny! Any who, whatever happened to good cartoons like the Chipmunks, the Smurfs, and the Gummi Bears? I guess they are just a thing of the past. Oh well.....

Peace and Hairgrease!

Great Read......

This is the last book that I have read. It was really good. A real page-turner. The way it ended opens it up for a sequel. I believe there is a sequel, and I can't wait to read it. I haven't read too many Carl Weber books, but I think I am going to really enjoy reading his books. I just got another one from the library called The Preacher's Wife by Carl Weber. I just read the first two chapters, and I am already drawn in. The thing I love about reading is that you get to go to a whole new world without even leaving the house. I also don't think about anything else except what is going on in the book. Reading is just so relaxing to me. It has to be my favorite hobby.

Well, I am about to read a little bit now. Tootles until next time.

My mood right now....Relaxed

Iron Chef Scott-y Flay

My wonderful husband, Scott
Scott, The Grillmaster

Today was another sunny day. Scott and I took a couple of strolls around our neighborhood. The sun was shining, the kids were out playing, so the only thing left to make the day complete....throwing some food on the grill. Scott got the coals hot, and we went to cooking. We had steaks, grilled garlic potatoes with onions, grilled carrots, and of course smoke sausage links. I also made some hot butter rolls. Everything turned out delish.

We watched the Masters, and were both routing for Tiger. He came in 4th place, which I personally think is good considering that he had been off for 5 months. Better luck next time, Tiger!

Well, it's time for me to wind down for the evening. Peace and Hairgrease!

My feeling right now.........full as a tick from earlier

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

We started off our day with breakfast. But I didn't get just any breakfast. I got breakfast in bed from my wonderful husband. He is just the sweetest man on Earth. What a way to start off a Saturday. After we ate breakfast, we started doing one of my least favorite things that we have been doing here lately.....Staining the Fence. It wasn't that bad today after we actually got out there. We stained the front part that can be seen from the street. It has turned out pretty well. We are both pretty pleased with the way it is turning out. After that, Scott mowed the yard. I shocked Scott a little by blowing off the grass that was on the driveway. Sometimes you have to surprise your husband.....LOL It was so pretty outside today that I just loved being out and enjoying the lovely sunshine.

Any who, we went to Carino's for lunch. I had a free dessert coupon for filling out a survey from the last time we went. We got the Italian chocolate cake that was sooooooooooo yummy! It was so good. It's one of our faves!

We came home and watched some of the Masters. Of course, I am going for T-Dub aka Tiger Woods. I think he has a good chance of winning, but there are a few golfers that are giving him a run for his money. Tomorrow is the 4th and final round. All I have to say is Go Tiger!

Well, I am about to watch the last 3 episodes of the 5th season of Sex and the City. Sex and the City 2 the movie comes out next month on the 27th. I am soooooooo ready!

How do I feel right now? Like just chilling for the rest of the evening.

Happy Birthday Emoni/Happy Easter

Emoni striking a pose

Emoni and me

My niece, Emoni, turned the Big 8 Saturday. Scott and I called her on her birthday. She said some of the cutest things. Scott asked her if she was having a good birthday, and she said, "The day isn't over yet." Then, I asked if I could have some of her birthday money and she said, I want to be RICH. I think she was implying that she couldn’t be rich if she gave me some of her money. Pretty smart girl….LOL It just amazes me how fast kids grow up. She is really turning into the little Diva. I told her to strike a pose when I took her picture, and she went right into the “hand on her hip” pose. Too funny! Any who, Happy 8th Birthday, Emoni!

My Easter weekend went well. Scott and I went home to Texarkana. We went to the movies Saturday with my mom, brother, and aunt to see Why Did I Get Married Too? It was a really good movie, and I highly recommend it. The other highlight to my weekend was Easter dinner. My mom cooked spaghetti, greens, purple hull peas, ribs, candied yams, and hot water cornbread. MMMMMMMM it was good. Made me want to slap my mama.....but not really.....mama don't play....LOL

Any who, the real reason for Easter is to celebrate what Jesus did for us all. I want to say thank you, Jesus, for dying on the cross for our sins.

My mood right now......Blessed

SUPERSTAR

Ok, so.....I was just walking into the post office yesterday on my lunch break. There was a reporter and camera man standing there by the door. The reporter, Stephanie, asked if I mind being interviewed about the U.S. Census. I was like, "sure." So she asked me to spell my name for the camera, then she followed with about 4 questions. She asked if I had already mailed my census form in. Luckily, we had mailed it in, so I could honestly say, "Yes." She asked if it was hard to fill out. Now, I was thinking to myself.....hard to feel out? Uh, no. But I said that there were just a few easy questions that didn't ask anything too personal. That's the question that was actually on the news. All in all, the interview was short and sweet. I was thinking that I sure wasn't expecting that to happen. As soon as I got back to work, I told EVERYBODY to watch the channel 7 news. I mean, it's not every day that I am on TV. For those of you that may have missed it, here it is. Check me out!

http://www.katv.com/news/stories/0410/721743_video.html

On another note, Scott and I have been staining our fence for the past 2 days. Scott was off yesterday, so he got a lot done. After I got off work, we went at it pretty strong. When I say my thighs are sore....oh my goodness! We have gotten the bulk of the job done, but we are far from finished. All I have to say is that I will be glad when we are.

My mood right now.....Sore

Social Butterfly or Busy Bee?

This is my first official post on my blog. Yaaaaaaay! I finally did it. I wanted to do this for a little while, and finally got the time to sit down and make it happen. So here we go.....

I had a very eventful weekend. Starting Friday, we all went to Red Lobster in Pine Bluff to celebrate my mother-in-law's birthday. It turned out really good. We ate good, laughed, and had a good ol' time.

Scott and I stayed in Warren Friday night, and woke up early Saturday morning to look at a four-wheeler that a guy was selling. He didn't get it, but I think he is pretty close to getting one soon. We got back in Little Rock pretty early. I was so tired. When we got home, the first thing that I wanted to do was get on the couch and take a nap. And guess what, that is exactly what I did. I got up and cleaned the house, and then I was off to my next event. My friend, Latricia, hosted a jewelry party. It turned out really well. I ended up getting a cute necklace that I will be able to wear. I like getting new accessories. Here's a picture of Latricia and me at the jewelry party.

Latrecia and me

Next....after the jewelry party, we had game night. Every month or so, we meet over the selected couple's house, eat good food, and play games. I always look forward to game night because I LOVE TO PLAY GAMES! This time it was guys vs. girls. We played Pictionary. And guess who won..... THE GIRLS!!!!!!!!!!!! We are the champions of the world...LOL We were so crunk. We started out winning (of course), and then the guys started to gain on us just a little bit. We were neck and neck at the end. I was the last person to draw and bring it home for the girls. I had to draw a "wolfman" and a "bicycle." I was really proud of myself that I was the one that drew well enough for my team to guess the last two words. Any who, I am glad that we won. Girls Rule!!!!!

Tan, Brandi, me, and Telischa

THEN.....my girl, Brandi, and I, attended teen church Sunday morning. We joined the teen ministry at church earlier this month. Before we can fully participate, we have to observe two services. We observed the 8:00 service of teen church today. I was so tired from being up late from game night, but I was refreshed once I got on up. I think that I am going to really enjoy teen church. It feels good to get involved in the church and to be a part of a ministry where I can influence our youth in a positive way. After we observe another service, we will be put in rotation to participate in teen ministry once a month. I am kind of nervous about it because they put you on the spot to do different things during the services, but excited as well because you get to meet different people and help young people grow closer to God. I am just glad to do anything to make God smile.

Scott and I chilled out Sunday afternoon. We did get up and went walking in the neighborhood. It is starting to warm up, so we will be outside a lot more now. We plan on walking and running in our neighborhood pretty often. We just like being outside. Well, I guess I have rambled on long enough. Good night all, and don't let the bed bugs of bite.

My mood right now.....Tired.