Irritated

I just have to vent for a moment. There is a gal I know who lives in TX. Her husband grew up w/ my husband and so they're an aquaintance of mine. She has lost about 140lbs during the last 3 years and looks great. Here is where I get frustrated. She started her diet when we went to Texas 3 years ago. She started doing Atkins and lost about 40 lbs, then gained some weight, then joined a gym, then tried Atkins again, then switched to some expensive weight loss supplements and drinks. Off and on, back and forth, after 3 years she accomplished a 140lb weight loss and looks amazing. My husband and I got an email last night from her husband. It was to several hundred people, not just us. In the email her husband is basically telling of his wife's weight loss and how she lost it ONLY using these crazy expensive supplements which she is now selling. He then asks everyone to consider buying them because they'll make you lose weight and .....get this......help them get out of debt. He also told everyone that she lost 140lbs in one year. I was really mad. I know for a fact it took her 3 years and that she lost her weight in several different ways, not just those products. Then to have to gall to beg people to buy the supplements so they can get out of debt........i dunno, just seems really tacky. I don't appeciate it when people lie and embellish the truth so they can make money. Grrrr!!!!!!

End of rant.

So far the cake is going great. I have 3 layers of white vanilla cake, filled w/ raspberry filling and covered in a thick layer of buttercream (per the customer). I'm just waiting for the icing to crust so I can smooth it out and then it's DECORATING TIME!!!!!!!! I tried a new white cake recipe. I've made a few over the years that have been awful. They tend to be super dense, dry, and tasteless. This recipe is light and fluffy and yet sturdy enough for carving. The flavor was lovely too. I'm saving the scraps to make cake pops for my kiddos. Well I need to keep working on the cake, hope you all have a lovely day!

twilight

So I've been kinda wishy washy on my design for the twilight (team jacob) cake. I think I've finally nailed down what I'm going to do. It has some things involved that I've never tried. Crossing fingers it turns out right. I tried a new cake recipe. It smells so freaking amazing. I was hoping I'd have a little bit of extra batter that I'd be able to make a teeny 4" cake to try for myself. No such luck. I only had enough for my thre 10" layers. One layer is slightly domed, so I guess I'll get to taste the scraps. I'll post pictures tomorrow or Saturday of the cake and let you know how it all turned out.

This girl wants some CAKE!

So I recomitted myself to the bodybugg. I charged it last night and put it on as soon as I got up this morning. I have a wedding to go to in July and a very judgemental mother in law coming at the beginning of July. I need to refocus and keep working on losing the weight. I've been feeling really down and depressed for much of the last month and it's really getting old.

I have had a handful of people comment to me....."bummer you didn't start this "cake thing" years ago.....wonder where it could've taken you". Ummm can you say RUDE? I've had the passion and desire to learn cake decorating since I was in grade school. For years my mother and grandmother would promise they'd sign me up for a Wilton class, but that never happened. So I used to try and just mimick what I've seen other bakers do. Then the shows started coming on tv ie Duff and Cake Boss. This sparked a whole new passion in me. I could actually SEE how they transformed sugar and flour into works of art. As the popularity of the cake shows on tv progressed, a new outcrop of tutorials started popping up on youtube and in blogs. I realized I could learn a ton of information just by taking the time to research. It was kind of like going to school for free. So I started expirimenting. A little over a year ago I made my 1st fondant cake for my daughter's 3rd birthday. I had so much trouble with that darn cake. I had to redo the fondant several times and even then it was cracked and torn. I had to make fondant circles to cover up my mistakes. I learned a lot from that 1st cake....and really from each cake I do, I feel like I'm learning from hand's on experience. This Saturday I have a Twilight "Team Jacob" themed cake. It'll be a fairly easy one, so I'm not stressed at all. Then I want to make my mother a small but really cute Mother's Day cake. Then I will be making a guitar cake (still a little unsure how I'm going to pull this one off) and a fun rainbow/peace cake for a little girl's bday. I keep getting lectured from my mom that I'm not charging enough. I do not have the money to keep making cakes just so I can learn. If I charge people for the ingredients and a few bucks extra for my time so I can learn the art of cake making, then I'm happy. At some point, when I feel I'm not such a novice I'll up my prices. In reality I'd love to work in a cake shop and just get paid to decorate all day. I don't want to open my own bakery. I thought I did and the more I think about it, I don't think that's for me. I don't want to be concerned with payrole and hiring etc etc. I just want to dig in and do what I love best, which is making and decorating. If I can find a job at a custom cake store......that would be a dream come true for me. *finger crossed* that it will happen for me someday. Until my kids are in school full time, I will be a dedicated stay at home mom. Once they're all in all day school, then I want to start venturing out into the workplace again and really start doing what I love and have a passion for doing.

Doom and Gloom

I thought I was suffering from allergies on friday and saturday.....once Sunday hit I realized that I was coming down with the flu.....AGAIN!!! Everyone loved my cake. It was fun to see them all oooh and ahhhh over it. =) I left my parent's house at 5pm and whenI got home I crawled into bed and slept until 8am the next morning. I got up and made my son's lunch for school and sent him out the door to catch the bus. Since my other son and daughter were still sleeping I deceided to go back to bed for a little while. My son woke me up at 1:00pm because my phone was ringing!!!!! My poor kids were up and alone and never got breakfast or lunch. I felt sooo guilty! They were in good spirits though. They'd been gorging on Easter candy and watching cartoons. I went to bed early last night even though I'd slept for most of the day. I woke up today still feeling awful, but considerably better than the day before. I kept forgetting to post a picture of my new Vibram shoes. I love them!! Just wish they weren't so ugly.

Happy Easter!

I've been feeling better the last couple of days. It's been so sunny and lovely outside I can't help but feel full of life and happiness. I worked on my cake last night and couldn't believe how quickly it all came together. I started whipping up my buttercream around 6:30pm and the cake was finished within 3 hours. I did have to let the handle of the basket dry overnight though. I'm really pleased with how it all turned out. Now if I can just transport it to my parent's house w/o any mishaps I'll be able to breathe a sigh of relief. Here are a few pictures of the cake. Hope you all have a wonderful and blessed Easter♥

distant

Well I'd love to report that I'm doing well.....but I'm not. I haven't even worn my bodybugg in over a week. I did put it on today though. I think since the fight last week w/ hubby I've just been kind of "out of it". I feel very distant from everything. I don't even want to blog, but Mia texted me and told me to blog, so I am! My husband is taking 3 days of vacation. He has to use them by next week or he loses them. So Wednesday, today and tomorrow he's off, plus the weekend. It's hard to stay in my usual weekly routine w/ him here. I haven't been able to spend near the time I was hoping to w/ my sugar flowers. I did make a bunch of calla lillies yesterday though. The 1st 4 I made were ok....then I started tweaking things and got great results. The stamen is brushed w/ sugar glue and the dipped in cornmeal....I swear it looks exactly like a real stamen....yay! Anyhoo so now I have 3 gorgeous lillies and 4 lame lillies. Tomorrow I need to get all my cake layers baked so they can rest before I put the thing together. I hope to ice and decorate the cake saturday evening so it'll be ready for Sunday's lunch/dinner.

If anyone out there has even a little bit of extra motivation please send it my way! I so need some!!

Off the deep end.....

Hubby and I got into a HUUUUGE fight this morning. UGH! I hate weekends that start off like that. I ended up going to starbucks and getting a mocha and a slice of their lemon loaf. Then after lunch I had lots and LOTS of smore's bars (golden grahams cereal w/ chocolate and marshmallows made into bars). I hate how I eat when upset. My stomach hurts really really bad. I'm not used to all that sugar not to metion the amount of food. blech

Tomorrow I need to get a really good treadmill workout in. I need to chanel my frustrations into working out and not eating. I have had so many nights of crappy sleep......tonight I'll be taking a couple tylenol PM's to help knock myself out.

I'll be making an Italian Cream cake for Easter. I plan on decorating it w/a basket weave design to look like an actual Easter basket. It'll be filled w/ all kinds of sugar flowers. The following week I'll be making a Twilight themed cake. I'm excited!! A couple weeks after the Twilight cake I'll be doing a lime green fondant cake decorated w/ peace signs. Inside will be a rainbow. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple cake layers. FUN! I also have an electric guitar cake to make for the same weekend. I was thinking about trying something fun and girly for Mother's Day. We'll see. I might be sick of cake. (yeah right!) lol

feeling frustrated

I don't know what's the matter w/ me. I feel really frustrated and angry. It seems everyone and everything is just irritating me. It takes all my effort not to open my mouth and just tell everyone exactly what I think about them. yikes! I feel like I'm being pulled in a million directions. I'm a mom and have tons of responibilities w/ the kids. My husband comes home from work and expects the bills to be paid, our checkbook balanced at all times, all chores completed and dinner on the table. I start my day at 5:30am and I hit the ground running. I make the kids breakfast, get them ready for school, grocery shop, cook clean, help the kids w/ their homework, pay all the bills, get the kids bathed and ready for bed, etc etc etc. He basically just goes to work and comes home and relaxes. I don't stop working until the kids are in bed which is about 8:30pm. I'm tired. I feel like I have no identity left. I also feel like I get zero appreciation for what I do. I am human and am far from perfect. Last night my husband went into a rage because there were wet clothes in the washing machine. Ummmm did he not notice that the clothes were washing when he got home from work? They'd been in the washer about 90 minutes. He assumed they'd been in there for days. SERIOUSLY?! I have SOO many things I have to stay on top of. Even if they had been in there for a couple days, can I get a little bit of slack, PLEASE?! I have a million things I'm trying to stay on top of.....I wish he'd understand that. He thinks me making cakes is a waste of my time and it's just a pain in his side because it takes me away from my household duties. When do I ever do anything for myself? Making cakes let me be creative, lets me escape from the dullness of day to day life. I dunno......i'm just really frustrated and feeling completely unappreciated. I showed my husband my most recent cake (he was out of town when I made it) and all he did was barely look at the picture and say, "that's nice.....but isn't this part over here a little crooked?"." Sigh....
I need a vacation. Away from kids and away from the husband.

Red Hat Cake!

So I worked off and on yesterday on the cake. I had a few "oopsie" moments, but overall I was able to fix my mistakes and or hide them really well. ;)

Here are a few pictures. One is of the finished cake and the other two are after I added a saying the customer requested for her mom. Of course I look at the cake and see all my imperfections. Overall I'm pleased with how it turned out. I'm excited to be learning new techniques......can't wait to learn topsy turvy cakes.

I didn't eat so well today. I had a slice of cold chicken jalapeno pizza for breakfast, a turkey wrap for lunch, a starbucks mocha for a snack and a bowl of beef ramen soup for dinner. Tomorrow I promise to be much better. I was just so tired after babysitting and cake making I got lazy. (hides face)

I'm off to bed, but wanted to share some pics of my finished cake. G'night!

Time to make some cake

It's been a really busy few days. I got on the scale yesterday and all it said was "lo" I'm assuming that means it needs a new battery. My clothes feel loser and when I saw my mom on Saturday she said my waist and hips looked smaller. So I'll take that as things are moving in the right direction. I have a 10am phone meeting w/ a bodybugg specialist who will walk me through the website and explain things to me in detail. =)

Yesterday I made red, purple, and white marshmallow fondant. I also whipped up a couple batches of a thick coconut filling. Today I make 2 12" vanilla cake layers and a 8" and 6" (1/2 sphere) banana cake. I also need to make some pretty little gum paste flowers today. Tomorrow I'll be putting it all together and decorating it. I can't wait to see how it all comes together.

I couldn't sleep well last night. I just kept dreaming of the cake and how I would make it and decorate it. Ugh! I wish I could switch my brain off sometimes. oh well

Maybe when the cakes are baked and are "resting" i'll get my next "couch to 5K" workout in. So many things to do today. I'm almost glad hubby will be out of town for the next couple of days. It lets me work on my projects w/o feeling like I'm ignoring him. I also can get away w/ easy kid pleasing dinners. PB&J w/ apple and carrot slices.....can't get much easier than that. =)

Hurray for Friday!

I swear this week was just crawling by. I woke up at 5:30am to bright blue sunny skies. I got up and just enjoyed the quiet. I'm babysitting today (booo) but the gal paid me for the last 3 weeks so I have some $$ burning a hole in my pocket. ;) Tomorrow hubby and I are going into Spokane w/o the kids. He is taking me to a cake supply store, I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. =) We're also going to R.E.I. to possibly get some of those weird finger toe shoes. I took of my bodybugg last night when I got in the shower and forgot to put it back on. I didn't remember until lunch time today. Oooops. I think tomorrow is my 1st official weigh in. yay!

I hope today is a wonderful day for each of you.♥

snow

It was weird to wake up and see snow everywhere. We saw snow in Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, and now April. 6 months of snow. yuck!!

Almost everyday I've been able to hit 1000 calorie deficit. I burn anywhere from 2750 to 3100 calories a day and eat between 1600-2000 calories a day. I'm excited for my 1st weigh in. I think Saturday is the day I do my 1st weekly weigh in.

I want to get in two 30 min treadmill workouts today and start drinking more water. When I'm on hcg I can easily drink 1 gallon a day. The last couple of weeks I'm barely getting in two liters. I need to be drinking a minimum of 3 liters. I know upping my water always help my body release excess weight.

My other goals for today are making some royal icing flowers and butterflies. I figure if I can start making some items for some upcoming cakes, it'll be that much less stress. Royal icing decorations last for a loooooong time if stored properly. There's no reason why I can't start getting ahead while I have time.

Stay strong everyone! This is a battle worth winning!

knees

I ended up not working out yesterday. It was like as soon at 6pm hit a huge wave of exhaustion hit me. It's probably from being sick and TOM. I crawled into bed a few minutes after 8:00pm and slept until 6:15. I woke up feeling almost as tired as when i went to bed. =( no likey!

I just finished the 2nd part of my 1st week of "couch to 5K". My knees towards the end of the workout were on fire. I'm hoping it's just because my body isn't used to running rather than me being too heavy to run. Even though I have a hard time finishing my workouts, I'm amazed at my endurance (compared to where I was just a year ago). The idea of being able to run a 5K nonstop within 3 months is exciting to me! I've alwasy associated myself with laziness and zero self control. I'm starting to see that I'm not that person anymore. I have drive, I am reaching my goals (even if it is slowly), I'm doing things I thought I'd never do. I'm committed to becoming a woman who is althetic and full of energy. My kids deserve a mom like that, my husband deserves a wife like that, but most of all, I DESERVE TO BE THAT PERSON! Today is my 9th wedding anniversary. I met my husband 12 years ago. I will never forget the 1st time I saw him walk through the doors of Home Depot. =) He still gets me all twitterpaited. lol

Have a lovely day, ladies!

grrr

I so wish there was a decent cake supply store in cda. Michaels has the basics, but I'm tired of having to order my stuff online. Booo!!!!! I had 3 more cake orders come in yesterday. Although two aren't until July and October. At this point I have 8 custom cakes to make. Yay! My 1st one is due April 14th and it'll be for a 50th birthday. The theme is "red hat society". For Easter this year instead of buying my kids Easter baskets full of junk food I told them I'd make them an Easter basket cake that the entire family and extended family can enjoy after dinner. They all were totally fine w/ that. They'll still hunt for eggs though. Instead they'll just be filled w/ pennies, nickles, dimes and quarters. =)

I worked out twice yesterday. I'm amazed how much I'm able to run. Since I was out shopping for most of the morning and afternoon I think I'll probably just get in a good long workout this evening.

Treadmill, bodybugg, five finger shoes......

So we kind of jimmy rigged the metal bar my husband broke and can use the treadmill as long as I'm careful to only hold onto the side bars if need be. His apoxy glue didn't work, so I need to order a new cross bar. It's $50 for this little metal bar. Booo!!!!!! I did my 1st workout last night and realized I have so very little endurance. I think I'm going to start my " couch to 5K" training today.

I'm loving my bodybugg. It's been fun to see where I'm burning the most calories. It really keeps me motivated to move more. I'm also enjoying how it helps me with my food choices. Yesterday I burned a little more than 3000 calories through a 24 hr period. I ate about 2000 calories. I don't feel deprived what so ever. I realize that as I lose weight, my body won't burn as many calories as I currently do. I'm eating good healthy foods. Eggs and organic whole grain toast for breakfast, coffee w/ cream and erythritol to sip on.....cheese, lean meats, quinoa, brown rice etc etc. It's awesome!

I've seen these shoes off and on for the last 2 years or so.

They supposedly are really good for your feet. They strengthen the arches, muscles and tendons in the foot. They mimic barefeet. Anyway, hubby and I are considering getting a pair to use while on the treadmill. I don't think I could wear them in public because they're so gosh darn ugly. lol

Well I'm off.....time to get a morning workout in. =)

hubby broke the treadmill !!!

So hubby and I put the treadmill together this morning. I was so excited I could hardly keep myself from jumping up and down and squealing. We got 1/2 of it put together and hauled it up two flights of stairs into our computer/play room. As hubby was putting on one of the final pieces it all went downhill. There was a black metal bar that had these stickers placed in a very specific area with very specific instructions. DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN SCREWS. DO NOT USE POWER TOOLS. So I point this out to my husband to make sure he understood. He grabs his hand held screw driver and starts to tighten and tighten and tighten the screws. I tell him that they sure look tight enough and that he'd better stop. He looked at me and said, it's almost impossible to overtighten screws with just your hand. Literally he finished his sentence when there was a really loud SNAP and the bar broke in half. Now if our roles had been reversed he would've yelled and screamed at me for being so stupid. I on the other hand didn't say a word. Not one single sound came from my lips. Instead he started yelling at me how the treadmill was a piece of crap, how it wasn't his fault, and on and on and on. So he's trying to fix this metal bar w/ some sort of apoxy glue of his. If that doesn't work, we'll have to order the part. I'm SOOOOO bummed!!!!!

I've had fun using my bodybugg today. I've been entering in all my food so I can keep on top of my calories and I've been watching the amount of calories I've been burning. It really does motivate me to move around more than normal just because I know it's keeping track. lol

I made a huge batch of cinnamon rolls this evening. Our neighbor's son came over and took a chain saw to the rest of the cherry tree in our backyard. As a thankyou I'll be sending over a plate of cinnamon rolls. I entered in the cinnamon rolls in the bodybugg info and have enough calories left over for today that I'll be able to enjoy a small one after i put the kids to bed. Yay!

A new beginning?

The bodybugg arrived today. I got it all set up and it's currently charging. I'm really looking forward to using this device and it's website. Hubby will hopefully get the treadmill up and running today so by this weekend I'll be able to dive in and start my new weight loss regimine. I'm still really sick and a bit "out of it". I find myself spacing out a lot. lol I'm trying to get the house all cleaned up and all the laundry washed, folded and put away so that this weekend hubby doesn't have to stress about things that need to get done. He can just relax (and get my machine put together). =)