happy birthday tkglenn! those cakes are amazing, u r a true arteest

OMG i am a senior member..when did that happen? my monday is picking up..kitten is back in lap and BF taking time off project to help w/housework and chores.
thanks for the sunshine!

jan-thank you very much!

Morning, all!

Cottage, I hear you on the sleep thing. But I do think that if you slept that long your body must have needed it. Here's hoping you don't need as much cawfee to get going! I hate when my post disappears! Hey, how do you get a ham bone? Do you have to make a ham first or can you just buy the bone from a butcher? I have a recipe or two that calls for simmering beans with a smoked ham hock or a ham bone and I'm pretty clueless about obtaining one (as you can guess! )

Wow, Janda--thanks for making me feel better about our weather, but I wish you weren't snowbound! I'd be scared if my little kitty were out in the snow alone--I don't think that's being overprotective. Hope he (she?) comes home soon! Housework is much more fun when a kitty plays with your tools!

Oh, Cat, that's an awful way to wake up--especially when it's not your fault! Hope you get a chance to sit and unwind for a minute or two--hate the feeling of running around all day full of extra adrenalin.

Sounds like a crazy day, Sharry! Hope you had a restful sleep! How far ahead are you in time from the U.S.? Are you there with the military?

Ruthie, honey, in spite of your slower start-ups, I think we can all agree that, even with a bum knee, you do more in one day than most of us do in a week!!! Don't overdo, okay? I love how you describe things--like Lake Ruthie and Mount Laundry! Give Hersh some extra snuggles from me--I love having a little dog, but it does reduce the ability to give human-like hugs. BTW, I LOVE your new avatar! Gorgeous! Hey--I'm with you on the RTFM...we finally got a new toaster oven but DH won't let me use it until I read the manual. Guess what? I haven't used it yet!

I'm always thinking about the next weekend on Monday morning, Cyndi! So you're in good company. Your partner could be right--I have no idea whether they are harmful for the environment, but they do make those little pills you can throw in your pond that keep mosquitos from breeding there. We have a beautiful sunken garden that's under a huge, evergreen tree cover and never sees the light of day. You can imagine the mosquito love fiestas that take place there! I'm actually allergic to mosquito bites, so I spend very little time outside in the summer--even covered in bug spray I end up looking like I've got the chicken pox or something!

Schmoo, here's hoping that you have a much better Monday than you think. If nothing else, at the end of the day, we're one day closer to the weekend!

TKGlenn!!! I've taken all four Wilton courses and am a huge fan of Ace of Cakes, and I'm AMAZED at how talented you are!!! YGG!!! What beautiful creations!!! Your writing on the cumpleanos cake is phenomenal!!! Did you cut the letters out? Did you use fondant mostly for the cakes or is there some gum paste, too? I can't believe how smooth everything is!!! Do you make your own fondant or prepurchase it? I'm so glad you had such a great weekend and got more business from your efforts--though I'm not surprised! I hear you about DH's PTSD. Mine, even after years of therapy, still limits some of the things I do and places I go. It's hard stuff.

Me:
Yikes! I had a really nice weekend and am really happy about all the stuff we accomplished, but I am totally worn out! On Saturday, I slept in until nearly noon (thank you, DH!!! ). When I was up and around, we worked on our bedroom which was not only cluttered, but dusty, too. DH went through his whole closet (all 9 items of it... ) and sorted it, finding a couple of old favorites and new things he'd forgotten about. I cleaned up all the stuff on the floor and moved some of my more wintery things to the back of the closet. I'm not ready to move the spring things forward yet, though. Then I vacuumed and dusted, which made it look much nicer. We brought our pup in with us and opened the blinds for the first time in months, and it was really nice. We spent some time chatting with the neighbors, took the dog for a walk, and eventuallly did dinner and a little errand-running up by the mall. Then we watched a movie (Twelfth Night) before going to bed.

On Sunday, I had church and then came home to DH already cleaning out the gutters. I ate taco bake in a WW tortilla for lunch (it didn't seem too big, but I got SO full!) before heading outside to help DH with the chores. We staked the pup in the yard, which she seemed to enjoy, and raked all our lawns, which took about 3 hours with both of us working. It was a heck of a workout, and by the last hour, I was feeling really, really nauseous and sick. I don't know if I really did eat too much or what...but I ended up lying down on the grass with Angel for a while. Unfortunately, we had to bag everything, as our city only picks stuff up from the street in the fall, and that took forever. We have 15 bags!!! Anyways, partway through the bagging, I made a mad dash for the bathroom...and that pretty much sums up my night after going to bed, too. I thought I felt better that evening, so I went over to a neighbor's, with DH, for dinner. We did the grocery shopping together and put stuff away and by the time I went to bed, I was feeling overly full (again, I hardly ate anything!!!) and sick to my stomach. I woke up twice in the night (no details necessary) and am still feeling awfully queasy.

I don't know if it's flu or what, but I'm SO tired and feel totally yucky. I'm still planning on going to the gym after work for cardio--I don't think you quit it for flu (unless you have a fever), right? I'm dreading an influx of students because I just don't feel physically able to deal with them today! Hopefully it'll be a fairly mild day or they'll come in one at a time.

Hope you're all feeling better than I am and are getting some beautiful weather! It's pretty dreary out there today but yesterday was just glorious!!!

Great work, Nessa!!! You are a STUD(ette)!!!

Fluffy, I'm in the same situation as you with the soreness from outside activity. I'm no expert, but if you're feeling sore like me, I bet you burned a LOT of calories yesterday!!!

Janda, to senior membership! I believe it happens automatically once you reach 100 posts. Congrats!

Morning chicks! I survived my busy weekend which went smoothly

Welcome Sharry glad you joined us

TK Happy Birthday!I love those cakes - I am a total shoe fanatic I own 128 pairs. You have alot of talent.

Laurie I hope you get to feeling better. I am wondering if there is still something going around as my dh has been feeling the same symptoms as you this weekend which kept him in bed most of the time.

Good morning to everyone else and I hope you all have a great and productive day.

Beachgal-I didn't take any classes. My mom taught me the basics and everything else I learned on my own. I go to a cake club once a month and they have alot of helpful tips. Thank you soooo much. They are both covered in homemade fondant that I make and the shoes and flowers are gumpaste. The lettering for feliz cumpleanos are stencils that are lightly pressed into fondant and I just traced it with buttercream. Yeah, I love Ace of Cakes also. I try to get ideas from them and tips on how to do things just from watching. So interesting though. I have a wedding cake this weekend along with a baby boys 6 month birthday cake. I will be quite busy this week. I plan on making them both simple so that I'm not too stressed and over swamped.
Gonna-thanks. 128 pairs?! OMG, I barely have 3. It's funny because I had a really hard time deciding on the style of shoes I should make and I ended up doing that one. Well, I got to the place where the party was at and my DH's sister said that the mom (the one who the cakes were for) had a pair of shoes just like them. lol.

Laurie, I sure hope you start feeling better real soon! Nausea and vomiting are no fun at all, you poor thing. As for the ham bone, I'm not sure if stores will sell just that, but I got mine from a bone-in ham from Wegman's that we had for dinner yesterday. I won't buy ham hocks, blech!!! I'm not a real fan of meat, anyway, and those ham hocks just put me over the top!

tk, I meant to tell you, those cakes are pretty amazing! I wish you lived closer to me, I'd be one of your best customers! You are truly a professional!

to everyone! I hope the day brings you some sunshine, whether the sun is shining or not.

Good Morning! I was feeling pretty defeated on Saturday because I totally botched the diet....but with the help of some of you, I got back up and on it. I've had three clean meals in a row, soon to be a 4th as we have leftover veggie "lasagna" from last night. Tonight, I'm planning on making the Chicken Mole out of the SBD cookbook. Add a little brown rice for hubs and some vegetables on the side.

It's errand day for me. Time to go to the drycleaners, library, video store, and produce market.

I also have to wait around for a glassman to come and replace a pane in one of our windows that was broken over the weekend. Thankfully we don't have to pay for it! A teenage boy broke it with a golf ball, and his parents volunteered right away to pay for it! Yay!

Question: What would you do about a neighbor that walks her LOUDLY barking dogs at 6 in the morning everyday. We've asked her to change her route or possibly walk them later in the day, and she did....for a day..and then it was right back to her old ways. She wakes my son up every morning. My husband and I have both been nice in asking her to stop...this morning my husband went out and was rather peeved. He asked her why she insisted on doing this. She told him to take it up with the police because she couldn't control where her dogs went to the bathroom! I can't understand WHY she would rather us call the police than her just taking her dogs on a walk down the portion of the street that doesn't have any houses.
I know we aren't the first to complain to her either. My neighbor yells at her to shut up almost every morning.

Zeffryn I can feel your pain on the barking dog thing - we went through the same thing and our neighbor ended up calling the police because no matter how many times we asked them to stop with the barking dog it never happened so the police came out and luckily they now walk the dog after 8am Good luck on your situation

cottage-thanks. I do need more business though. I don't know enough people around me and the people I do know already have their cake lady so it's alittle hard. This past weekend brought me more business though. I'm excited.

tk--I was going to ask you if the shoes were edible or if I could wear them away from the party. They look adorable! I love the cakes! And happy birthday.

My mom was here this weekend and it was such a Godsend. She cleaned my house, bought me a real vacuum cleaner, and cooked an insane number of meals for my freezer. I don't think I'll have to go to the grocery for months. Well, except for breakfast stuff and drinks and fruit, etc.

We did have a little too much fun, shopping for maternity clothes and going to a musical yesterday afternoon at Belmont College--a friend of mine played a lead role and it was so fun! But this morning I felt like someone had beat me. Weekends are usually my nap days!! This weekend we are going to a wedding in West Virginia, so no naps again, except in the car. *YAWN!*

Good Morning all! TK, your cakes are amazing. I love to bake, but haven't even attempted it because I love to sample when I bake... I have been playing with making piped on flowers, but I'm not very good yet. It takes a lot of practice!

I'm dragging this morning. Didn't want to wake up, don't want to be working, and am not very productive right now. I blame it on the exhaustion. I got enough sleep, but I'm just not used to waking up so early every day yet.

Ah well, I make it through today, and the rest of the week will hopefully not seem as daunting.

Jessie it sounds like your weekend with your mom was great - you gotta love moms they are definetly a gift from God.

jessie-the shoes are edible but I don't know if they would taste any good. Not very sweet. They are probably hard enough to wear for a short distance but if you are probably a size 3, then let the shoe fit!!!! Hahaha. Thanks everyone!!!