I Wasn't Tagged...but I'll play anyway

5 Things on my list to do today:

1. Go to work.
2. Study for the Series 7 test I'm taking in two weeks.
3. Do my laundry!!!
4. Make and Freeze Chocolate Chip Cookie dough.
5. Visit Sib and family.

5 Snacks I enjoy:

1. Anything CHOCOLATE!!
2. Hummus and crackers.
3. Fruit Salad.
4. My Dad's Homemade Ice Cream.
5. Caramel Cinnamon Buns.

5 Things I would do if I was a sudden Billionaire:

1. Give to the Lord!!
2. Invest wisely and with good stewardship.
3. Buy a home.
4. Buy a farm and have a house there for disadvantaged children to live.
5. Start my own bakery!

5 Bad Habits:

1. I talk too much.
2. I'm often too loud when I talk.
3. I'm somewhat controlling (that's a Heatwole for you).
4. I haven't learned to say NO.
5. I get distracted way too easily.

5 Places I have lived:

1. Mt. Crawford, VA
2. Bergton, VA
3. Winnipeg, Manitoba, CA
4. Newport News, VA
5. Harrisonburg, VA
6. Kill Devil Hills, NC
7. Kearns, UT
8. Murray, UT
9. Bridgewater, VA

(that's way more than 5 but I thought I'd test my memory)

5 jobs I have had:

1. Camp Counselor
2. Waitress at Chili's
3. Office Manager
4. Campus Police Dispatcher
5. Paraplanner

(Okay, I've had way more than 5 jobs, but my memory is not that good)

5 things most people don't know about me:

1. I use to compete in amateur figure skating competitions, even though it was a short period in my life, I enjoyed it immensely.
2. I enjoy indoor rock climbing, but I'm not a big fan of climbing outdoors.
3. My favorite candy is chocolate covered caramels.
4. I love going to rodeos!!
5. Other than a crosage one would get at a dance, the first time I ever received flowers from someone was when I was 26 years old.

Thanks Christa for your blog!!

Confession Time

Okay, I can't believe I'm about to admit this to so many, but I think it's time for confession and accountability. I have what some might say is a sick obsession that I can't seem to break. Oh, and I want to stop, but I find I'm a little weak in this area.

It started several months back (we're talking early spring), when an old friend of mine let me know his current girlfriend was keeping a blog about their relationship. Now in the interest of full disclosure I will admit I had been involved with this "old friend" at one time. It would seem that though we're not meant to be together we're still good friends, in a strange sort of way.

Well, when he first told me about this blog I was curious and thought it would be fun to see what she had to say about their new relationship. My friend made it easy, he gave me the blog address, and I spent some time smiling over new love as I read her gushing entries.

That should have been enough.

I soon found myself adding the blog to my list of other blogs that I check regularly. It was like a soap opera addiction (not that I've ever experienced that), I just had to know what would come next in the saga of their relationship.

Okay, you don't have to tell me, I know full well this is not healthy. What I do have to say to my credit is that I was never jealous or emotional over their relationship. I was more like a detached spectator looking on from the outside.

Actually, at the risk of sounding ugly and mean, reading the blog was like watching a horror movie that you've seen before; you sit in your living room talking to the screen, warning whomever of the dangers you know are coming.

She would write about my old friend, and I would sit there and say, "Oh that's a good thing." or "Oh no, she's in for it now". I also started to get to know this girlfriend of his through her writing. The more I got to know her the more opinions I had about her, both good and bad (once she even made me so upset I didn't read the blog for weeks - she mischaracterized my friend). This I realize is very dangerous, because in all honesty I really don't know her (I mean who doesn't exgerrate from time to time on their blog - it's therapuetic writing - not always factual).

I've read about the good times and the bad times in their relationship. It does seem that through it all they've stayed together, and through it all I've stayed with her blog.

Last evening I was reading that their relationship is better than ever, and I'm really happy for them. I've decided that even though she'll probably continue to blog the details of their relationship I personally have to call it quits. It's time for me to move on and find some other obsession, maybe I'll begin detailing all about cakes. Oh wait, I'm already there :)

What Every Foodie Needs...

If you enjoy being in the kitchen you'll love this new link I'm about to give you.

http://www.foodblogsearch.com/

It allows you to search for blogs pertaining to food. So, if you're into baking, search for that subject. Want to know something about cooking wildgame, search for bloggers who are writing about that particular technique.

Have fun with the link. I know I am.

Last of the Cake Photos (for now)

Earlier when I was searching for cake photos I saved many a photo I came across on the internet. At the time I didn't post all the photos, but I thought now that I had a moment I would include them all.

I won't be going through each photo and telling you why I saved that particular one (sometimes I don't even know - other than I just liked it). I'll tell you my decisions were made mostly upon design, shape, color, technique.

Someday, I would be happy if I had enough skill and technique to imitate what I've seen here.

Good Neighbors

So, back in Bridgewater (where I have a home that's being rented out at the moment), I have the best neighbors. I've known most these people my entire life, and they certainly remember me as a kid.

Really the only two relatively new neighbors we have in the area are the guys renting my parent's old farm. The farm was bought this past year by Dynamic Aviation (an airport located on the same road as the farm), and they've rented it out to these Old Order Mennonite guys.

Now of course, I went ahead an introduced myself to them shortly after they moved in, and we've gotten along really well since then. I do believe they fit into our neighborhood just fine, they're making out to be great neighbors.

Like just this evening, I took Cecilia and Kimberlyn out to the farm to see all the animals. William Shank (one of the new neighbors) took time to let us see the cows being milked, feed the calves, feed the horses, sit on a tractor, and even sit in the buggy (that's his method of transportation). For Cecilia and Kimberlyn this was quite the experience.

As we were leaving Cecilia even asked me if we could go back to the farm some time. Like I said I think she really liked it there.

Two things really amazed me during our visit. First off, Cecilia has lived in Harrisonburg for the last five years and when I asked her if she's ever been to Bridgewater (just a 15 minute drive south - with traffic) she said NO. I think being out in the countryside is really foreign to her.

The second thing that amazed me during our visit was when we arrived to the farm and Cecilia saw the tractor by the milking parlor. She asked me, "what is that used for?"

I guess I take certain knowledge for granted, something like knowing the purpose(s) of a tractor. I'm thankful that even though her question initially took me off guard I don't believe it showed in my expression, and I was able to answer her sincerely.

Well, William told us that we were always welcome there, and I'm already looking forward to the next time we take an evening trip out to the farm. Maybe next time I'll remember to bring my camera with me :)

There's a Toddler Underfoot...

...at Sandal House. We've got an almost two year old living at the house, and that means toddler proofing EVERYTHING!!

I took these next photos when Kimberlyn was just finishing up a pasta dinner, and she was a mess. A laughing mess :)


Here's Kimberlyn's mom, Cecilia, taking her out of her highchair. It's time to get one little girl cleaned up.

I'm on a cake rant...

Okay, so here of late all I seem to be blogging about is cakes. I promise to change that trend here soon, but not at this particular moment.

My last blog mentioned that I was on a quest to find some birthday cake ideas. What I ended up finding was more wedding cake ideas. I've since gone back on my search for birthday cake ideas and have come away with the following two examples.

First off I have to say, I've been making a LOT of chocolate cakes here lately. It's okay, I don't mind chocolate cakes I was just anxious to do something a little different. So, when I asked the birthday girl what she wanted, I have to admit I was a little disappointed to hear chocolate cake. That's when I said to myself, if I have to make another chocolate cake I'm going to make the most stellar chocolate cake I can...something a little more demanding than the simple cakes I've been making here lately.

This first photo is the cake I would like to attempt. The only problem with this cake is that it's incredibly time consuming. That's all sugar paste you see covering that cake. It would take me atleast a good two to three days to accomplish that cake. Since I'm way too busy to give up significant portions of two to three days this weekend I need to go with a simpler cake design.

That brings me to this next photo. Instead of using all sugar paste to complete there is a combination of frosting and chocolate clay/plastic (it's edible - tastes like tooties rolls) covering this creation. I've been working with with chocolate plastic here of late, but not the techiniques that this cake will require. I'm looking forward to the challenge.

I've also decided to make my cake the size of the one pictured here, which for the size of the party I'm hosting will probably be a bit of an overkill. The birthday girl is one of the teens who has moved into the new Sandal House, and I want I would like her party to be somewhat special. Atleast the cake will be memoriable.

Of course there should be plenty of leftovers. Anyone want some cake???

More Wedding Cakes

Okay, I was supposed to be online looking for birthday cake ideas, but I found myself doing searches for wedding cakes AGAIN. Here's just my three new favorites (adding them to the two I previously blogged about).

This first photo is a rather clever (time consuming, not to mention expensive) idea. Each wedding guest would get their own minuature wedding cup-cake. Talk about special!! I love the idea, but I can't imagine ever being able to do something like this.

Okay, so I'm a big chocolate lover, and I don't doubt that I'll manage to get something chocolate into any wedding cake I might ever have (I have to put that last remark because I don't want you all think I'm planning a wedding here - it's more just an interest in cake design).

I love this cake next cake with it's beautiful chocolate piping, and talk about the roses, GORGEOUS!This next cake is simple, and in it's simplicity it becomes rather beautiful. I think it would make the perfect outdoor country wedding cake. What do you think?

As always I'm curious as to what you think of these cakes. Don't be afraid to leave comments.

Sandal House

Look...it's SANDAL HOUSE!! This is the new teen mother home in Harrisonburg, VA. And yours truly is the new house mother.

I thought you all might like to see some pictures of the house before all the teens and their infants move and it starts to look a little more cluttered.

This photo is of the lovely porch, with two white rocker chairs.

The Upstairs Bathroom
Each of the girl's rooms has their rocker glider chair...oh yeah...and a T.V.

The girl's rooms each have their own twin bed and crib

This is the upstairs sitting area.

The downstairs foyer

My Room

The Living Room

The Dining Room

The Kitchen