Bella the cheater and cuppycakes

So it turns out that my sweet little angel, Bella, is a big fat Cootie cheater! She asked me to play with her earlier today and I'm always up for a good Cootie Bug game, so I agreed. Little did I realize that rules mean nothing to a 3 year old. So of course Bella won. I think it's hilarious though that every time we play, she picks the exact same pieces. She has to have the purple head and body and the pretty lips, eyes and bow. She's such a girl.

My biggest question is, Why does she even bother to roll the dice. She knows exactly what piece she's going to take next!

Here is Bella's finished Cootie Bug. I'm not allowed to take her apart yet. Right now, Ms. Cootie is a beautiful bug toy. Once Bella goes down for a nap though, Ms. Cootie gets put back in the box.


In other news, I made some really yummy cupcakes today. A friend gave me her great grandmom's recipe for true Southern Red Velvet Cake. I have a picnic I'm going to on Sunday and I wanted to make these to bring but I had to try it out first to make sure I liked them. I really do. So now I wanted to share the recipe with ya'll (see it's so southern it's contagious!)

This is perfect for Valentine's day since the cake is a deep red color. A lot of people use cream cheese icing for red velvet cake. I guess the traditional icing is something called Mary Kay icing. That's what I used on these cupcakes. It's very light like whipped cream but I'm not sure I care for the greasy feel it has at first bite. it's not bad though.

Red Velvet Cake

2 1/2 cups CAKE flour (do not use all purpose flour!! I recommend Softasilk brand)

1 1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3 Tablespoons cocoa powder

1 cup butter at room temperature (no substitutes... do not use margarine)

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 bottles liquid red food coloring - 1oz each (2 ozs total)

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk (go out and buy it. Don't try to make your own from milk)

Preheat oven to 325. Prepare pans with grease and flour or cupcake liners. Sift flour, salt, baking soda and cocoa powder together and set aside.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla. Add eggs and food coloring one at a time mixing well after each addition and scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl.

Next add the flour and buttermilk. Add it a third at a time alternating between the flour mixture and the buttermilk. Keep your mixer on low to medium low.

Pour batter into prepared pans and Bake 30-35 minutes for 9" round pans or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and cake springs back when lightly touched.

Mary Kay Icing

1/4 c flour

1 c milk

3/4 c crisco

1 c sugar

1/3 c butter softened

2 tsp vanilla

In a sauce pan combine flour and milk. Cook over medium heat, whisking continually until mixture is thickened. Cool COMPLETELY.

In a medium sized bowl cream butter shortening and sugar til light and fluffy about 2 minutes on medium speed. Then add vanilla- beat an additional minute. Add flour mixture. Beat on high for 5 minutes until smooth and creamy. Spread on cooled cake.

I hope you guys give at least the cake a try. It's yummers!!

I'm expensive?

So I get an email today from a lady looking for a cake for her son's birthday. Tomorrow. For 70 people.

I told her that normally I wouldn't do it on that short of notice, but who am I kidding, I need the money. So I quoted her my normal price of $2.50/ serving of buttercream iced cake or $3.50/ serving for fondant. The totals would be $175.00 -$245.00. She didn't get back to me.

Well shoot!!! I'm not Wal-Mart!!! You want a custom cake on 1 day notice, it's going to cost you dang it!!!!


Okay, I got that out of my system. I know I'm not the cake decorator for just anyone and I will find my clientele eventually. In the mean time it's frustrating to not get the orders.

Conversations with Ash

So I'm sitting at my computer working on my portfolio when I notice that Ash has been in my bathroom for a few minutes. The kids don't use my bathroom so this is a weird thing for him to be doing.

Me: "Ash, where are you?"
Ash: "In your bathroom."
Me: "Why?"
Ash: "I'm just looking."

So I get up and go in there. Sure enough, he is standing by my shower just looking.

Me: "What are you doing?"
Ash: "I'm just looking. I like looking at bathrooms."
Me: "That's weird Ash. Really weird."

He does the most random things.

"C" is for cookie. That's good enough for me.

Since Jenna begged and I have the greatest brother in the world who helps me with computer problems, here are some pictures of last weeks cookie bouquet. This was seriously the biggest cookie bouquet I've done. Usually they have like 5 cookies and at most, 10. This one had 25, which doesn't seem like a lot of cookies but when you realize they all have to fit standing up in a basket, it's a lot.

Jenna, thank you so much for getting this order for me. I had been depressed about my caking thing because I haven't gotten an actual order in months. I even sat up at night the other night and asked Mike if I even had any talent. After praying (more like whining) one night asking God to please send some business for me because I want to contribute to the family's finances, I got a call from Sarah. No joke, it was less than 45 seconds after I finished praying.

The order was for the next night and cookies are really laborious. I think they turned out really nice though and the nurses at the hospital where I delivered the bouquet, seemed to like it too.

This is a top view of the bouquet before it was wrapped so you can see a little bit of each cookie. I guess their wedding colors were red, white and black so I made the cookies those colors.

Here is a front view of the bouquet before it was wrapped. (Hey notice those bubbles on my counter? I accidentally set my island counter on fire a while ago! oops)

Here it is all wrapped and ready. Excuse the lighting. By the time I finished making it, the sun was going down for the day.

HEY!!! Just for fun, I found this picture of me. Mike bought this really ugly truck about a year ago and a few months back he took my picture while sitting in it. It's the only time I've gotten in

it. Seriously, this truck is ugly.

Why?

Why must people be ugly? I'm not talking about looks. I'm talking about doing mean and hateful things just for the purpose of being mean and hateful. What is the point? People are always talking about how things in the world need to change but how are they supposed to change when there are those who just couldn't care less about who they hurt.


I know this just sounds like a jumbled up mess, but I'm just fed up right now. Our Pastors live a block away from us. They are constantly being messed with. They've had to deal with identity theft, property destruction, their cars and house being egged and just really terrible things. Last night, someone broke Pastor Shawn's truck windows and stole... get ready... his Bible. Now come on. That's not theft in the normal sense of the word. Usually theft happens so the thief can get some money. This was theft just to be ugly.

Who knows I guess. Maybe that guy really needed a Bible. Well I for one sure hope he opens it and reads some of it. Sounds to me like he could use it.

27 shopping days left

In case anyone was wondering, I saw the following items at Michael's today and drooled.

(Abby, no giggling at the second picture)

I want them so bad!! I made Ash memorize the tool caddy so he could tell Mike that he should get it for me for my birthday. I love it and would name it Claude.

Life continues to happen

I'm perturbed right now. My USB port is messed up so I can't upload pictures and other stuff.

I got Ash this video game thing for Christmas that he just plugs into the computer and it takes him to a site where he can play video games. This is totally cool to Ash since he's really not allowed to play video games. I let him play for 30 minutes a day with this thing. Well the first day he used it, he had a blast!! The next day I went to turn it on for him and, Nada. I plugged my camera into the USB port and still nothing. I'm sad.

I'm rushing like a crazy person right now making a cookie bouquet (thanks Jenna!!!). It's the biggest one I've ever made, with 25 cookies. Hopefully they all fit in the basket. It should be pretty cute though. I have to deliver it to a hospital tomorrow at 10pm.

Right now the cookies are baked and iced. Tomorrow morning-ish I need to decorate them and arrange them in the basket. I. Can. Do. This.

I ordered The Nanny Diaries on Pay-per-view last night and was pretty disappointed. My Mama told me to read the book like 2 years ago and I loved it. The movie decided to do it's own thing.

I also went out with my friend on Friday night and saw National Treasure 2 which I LOVED!!! It was really funny and very entertaining although Nicholas Cage looks weird. It looks like he had a face lift and an ear enlargement. Plus he had no sideburns. Just looked weird, I tells ya.

Well that's enough rambling. I have to go clean up my kitchen. It always looks like something blew up in there when I bake. Someday, I can destroy my bakery's kitchen instead of my home's kitchen. That'll be nice.

Remember when I said I fear that I may have a small hoarding problem? I'm fighting it so hard right now. Target's toy section just went to 75% off!!! Now I know my kids don't need anymore toys and Ash's birthday is still months away but that's not cooling me down at all. I'm thinking about Christmas for next year even.


I know I can't go for sure today because I have no gas in my car and no money to get gas or toys but tomorrow I will. I'm actually getting really anxious right now thinking that by the time I can get down to the store, everything will be gone.


Let's not even talk about the Christmas clearance. I over did it for sure. I went the morning it went to 75% off and then the morning of 90% off. I bought 26 rolls of wrapping paper for goodness sakes!!

What is wrong with me?