Adventures in Cupcake Decorating...

My final cake decorating class at Micheal's was last night, and I am now-drumroll please-Wilton certified(class 1 anyways)! Because I made my dad an ocean themed cake for his birthday this past weekend(pictures to come), I decided to go simple for this last class and decorate some delicious cupcakes.


Seven things I learned from cake class:
1. Consistency counts! There are three types of consistency in cake decorating-thin, medium, and thick(or stiff). And believe me, it makes a difference.
2. One batch of icing is rarely enough. When it comes to preparing icing, better safe then sorry-make more than you need!
3. Let icing dry and crust before you try to wash it out, especially if your using decorating tips-much less mess this way.
4. The rotating cake stand is a must have, totally worth it, small investment. It makes icing much easier, and prevents the constant turning and awkward bending while icing.
5. A "crumb layer" is a neccesity-it's a thin layer of icing that goes on first to essentially "glue" the crumbs to the cake.
6. Patience perfects.
7. In China, babies are potty trained from birth-no messy diapers for them. I learned this from a very talented cake decorator beside me who, with her family, is an IMB missionary to China and is in the US for the next year while her husband is in school at Southeastern. Please pray for them as they enjoy their time stateside with family and prepare to go back to China in 09'.

More Faithful Than the Morning

Lyrics of inspiration and encouragement on my morning drive from Phil Whickham's song "True Love":

Come close listen to the story
About a love more faithful than the morning
The Father gave his only Son just to save us

Walls we couldn't move came crashing down
We were free and made alive
The day that true love died
The Father gave his only son just to save us

Jesus is alive

*Phil Whickham has made his live album "Sing Along" free and available online here.

Did you know?

Interesting tidbit of the day...
Did you know that "Supersede" is the most commonly misspelled English word? Spelling for me is a constant work in progress. From K Love's news page:

"Collins Dictionaries of Britain said its researchers have estimated that the most commonly misspelled word in the English language is "supersede." Collins said other commonly misspelled words -- including conscience, indict, foreign, mortgage and phlegm -- are challenging because they their spelling is different from their phonetic pronunciations.

The real spelling problems occur when people have (learned) the rules or have a bit of knowledge, but then make mistakes in how they apply this."

Interesting trait of learning and then subsequently misapplying(while trying to follow) the rules. It is truly a gift to master the art of language. (One that I'm clumsily unwrapping everyday!)

PS-Before running the wonderful spellcheck, I counted 5 dreaded words in red!

Adventures in Cake Decorating

I am not naturally good at this; it is hard, delicious work.

Piper Poses...

BubbleShare: Share photos - Play some Online Games.

Our Super Puppy...

Piper is a handful of a puppy! He has definitely kept us busy these past couple of days. He is adorable, playful, energetic and incredibly smart! We have high hopes that he will be potty trained sooner than later, as he seems to catch on to things very quickly. Already we have reached several milestones, and have been pleasantly surprised by his quick adjustment here. He is full of surprises, and learns new things everyday. I am pretty sure that if we took him to a "healthy puppy" checkup like babies have, he would be in the 100th percentile of everything. He has had no problem eating and is very strong and sturdy...he has even conquered the stairs(We were told this would not happen at his age)!

When he arrived here on Saturday evening, we took him on his first official walk. He had never been on a leash before, so it was a new experience for him and took some getting used to. He had trouble at first on the curbs, but now is very good at going up and down them. Only a few days later and he's a pro at walking on a leash! Plus, he even recognizes where we live, and will turn into our home on his own when returning from a walk! Piper is super puppy.

Still, he is a puppy. He is teething and chews on everything(including hands and feet)! He is so sweet and snugly, but on the flips side of that token-very attached and borderline clingy. He doesn't like being left alone, and is still not sleeping through the night :/ However, last night was better than the one before, and we hope to get a good nights sleep in the days to come. We look forward to the day(soon!) when he is fully potty trained and doesn't need to be confined to one area of the house. Needless to say, taking care of a puppy is exhausting! Thankfully, he is easy to forgive. :)

We're on our way Piper!

It's official. This Saturday we will drive to Maryland and pick up our new puppy, Piper. I am so excited and thankful for this new little guy!

Adventures in Sewing Part I

My first sewing project...not completely perfect, but a success nonetheless! (Just don't look too closely, lol :)

(I covered the floral patterned pillows, not the blue colored)

I love my new sewing machine, and can't wait to start on more projects. Once you get over the learning curve, it's not so complicated after all ;)