Weird Couple o' Nights

I know this post is a little off from what I normally post, I just need to get this out there, cause...

Wow, has it ever been strange. I know I said something in the last post about believing spirits are with you of lost loved ones...well it's getting WEIRD!!! Dreams...things moving on me...noises...songs played in a certain order...finding things that no one's ever seen before.

WHAT IS THIS!?!

Alright, so Wednesday (2 days after Nikki, our dog passed on) I got into my car after work and the song She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy by Kenny Chesney was playing, I got in the car just as it came on. Now this song was my best friend's and my song. We had a dance to it and everything. So every time this song comes on the radio I know he's looking out for me. You may think that's weird, but it's in a way soothing for me to know he's still looking out for me.

The very next song that came on was Emerson Drive's With You. I just love this song, there's so much meaning behind every word of this song, especially the lyrics...

I'd give anything, anything to kiss your face
And I'd trade all my forever for one more day with you
Living, Breathing, Laughing
Feeling you here by my side

...so yeah you can see why this song means a lot to me. Loosing a loved one and wishing nothing more that they were right there by your side even if it were just for a moment longer. This song always gets me going.

Then the very next song after that was Carrie Underwood's See You Again...Well HELLO! Seriously, wanna talk about someone bawling their eyes out..just play these songs and I'm done. "I'll see you again, This is not where it ends, I'll carry you with me, Til' I see you again" ... I can't even explain this one... I can but I'll cry!

We've all been hearing noises in the house like Nikki is still here. It's comforting, yet it's unnerving. We live in an old house that's built over the foundation of a church (clue #1 why I'm likely so weird!), in the country. So hearing noises in the house is a little weird.

Now things in my room are moving. Things that haven't been touched in weeks are falling. My closet doors have been shut for a few days, and something fell from the top shelf ?! Something else that was buried is now somehow on the floor. A few months ago a bottle of 'Ferrari' cologne showed up...it's what my best friend always wore...?!

The night that Nikki passed, when I was finally able to start falling asleep I felt her curl up beside me, back to back like we did when she was a young pup (I'm talking like 12+ years ago)...

So are all these things supposed to be little signs? Or what is going on here?!

Anyways, after all that. I am planning on getting tattoos for both of them. Mackenzie and I were supposed to get matching tattoos, so I am going to get it with his initials and dates with it and I'll be getting Nikki's paw print on the side of my hip (always by my side). I'm hoping the tattoo artist will be able to do this, as I wasn't able to get an actual print, just a picture and a mold.

So after all the noise in my room tonight of things falling, I think I will curl up in my bed and likely have a 4th sleepless night in a row...I hope it's not busy at work this week!

Gum Paste/Fondant Roses

Sorry for the lack of posts this week, we did end up having to put my dear baby girl down, so it's been an up and down kind of week. She will be missed, remembering all of the amazing times she's given me, funny times, and the times that she's been my shoulder to cry on. We were lucky enough to be able to bring her home, so she has been laid to rest in the backyard where she grew, and where she can roam and visit us as she pleases...which she has done a few times already (yes, I believe in things like this).

I had no choice but to get busy today as I have an incredibly busy week ahead of me. I needed to get my roses done today for the cake sampling on Thursday, so they would have time to dry. Also for me to get the colours down as well. I have 2 different greens and I also have 2 different reds, but it took both reds to make the colour I was looking for. I hope it's the colour she is looking for too!

Instead of just doing straight Gum Paste Flowers I did a mix of Gum Paste and Fondant. This way they won't be as brittle as straight gum paste and I'll be able to play with them a bit more.

Here is the process (Thank you to my little sister for all the help she gave me today, and being a great photographer getting everything she could!)

Get all your colours made, wrapping them in saran wrap to make sure they don't dry out.

Roll out white. Using cutters make a medium circle. Then cut in half.

Roll each half into this shape (pointed at one end, large at the other), making sure it's roughly the width of one petal. Stick the large end onto wire, or use DRY spaghetti like I have. 

Roll out one of the greens to start making leaves. (likely won't need all of them, but mine are for samples.)

Once you have all your leaves cut, remove the excess gum paste/fondant. Begin texturing the leaves, then form them in the shape you want. I have mine (4th picture), in a rounded sheet. 

Do the same with the other Green you have (or if not, just skip this!)

Now on to the flowers. Roll out your flower colour, in my case red. Cut out as many flowers as you can. Placing them on a Gum Paste board (I had 2 layers full).

Once ready to use, bring out each flower, one at a time. Cut the flower down where each petal meets, not too far, about a centimeter if you can without cutting all the way. Roll the edges with a ball tool, ruffling them. Grab your centers (which you made earlier with white on spaghetti), stick the spaghetti through the center of the flower form, and start layering as follows.

Use as many flower forms, or as little. The small one (rose buds) take 2-3 flower forms, where as the large roses can take anywhere from 5-8. My large ones have 7 flower forms on them. 

I did taste a little of the leftover Gum Paste/Fondant mix and for some reason the flowers had a funny taste to them compared to the rolled mix. I'm wondering if it's maybe the Gum Paste Board I used, or whether it was maybe the colouring. I'll have to try it out tomorrow. Manda, if you see this you were warned! haha! I will get it fixed don't you worry! I am hoping this is around the right colour red that she is looking for!

I am working on some sketches of ideas I have for the cake, so hopefully one will work! We'll get it all sorted out! I'm super excited, and it's just the distraction I needed today!

Just remember, these flowers need to sit to dry for at least 2 days. Since I used Gum Paste/Fondant mixed together mine won't fully harden like just straight Gum Paste.

What a Change!

Sorry about the delay in posts, it's been a busy, rough week. We thought we were going to have to put our dog down on Friday (yesterday), so it's been a rough ride, but my baby girl is still here. Well not so much of a baby girl...a nearly 17 year old, mostly deaf, almost blind, and skin and bone baby girl. I knew this time would come eventually, but nothing is preparing me for it. She's been through everything with me, including the loss of all of my friends...all 34 of them. She's been my shoulder to cry on, my joyous times, and my rock. She knows when something is wrong, she knew when my mom was pregnant with my sister before my mom did. Nikki has been the best pet anyone could ever ask for and we were so blessed that she chose us. Anyways, she is still here with us for the short time she has left and we'll cherish all of those 17 years worth of memories with her.

Now, on to a happier note before I get crying again...It was a week yesterday since I did my It Works! Wrap. I decided it would be a good idea to re-measure myself after a week, just to see how much has changed. Well I did a few other measurements throughout the week too. I also decided to portion my foods better (I haven't been all that hungry anyways), and I've been doing Zumba as well for a 1/2 hour everyday. So here are the measurements from start (before the wrap) to "finish" (but not actually finish, just a week later!) :) W = Waist  T = Tummy (at the Belly Button)  H = Hips

           Start       45 minutes       5 hours      12 hours     

W       35.5              35                     35            34.75            

T         40               38.5               37.75             38                 

H        41                41                   41                40                   

       24 hours        72 hours       5 days         7 days

W      34.75               34                 34                34

T       38.5                37                  38              36.5

H       41                  41                 40               39.5

SOOOO... In total I've lost 1.5" off my Waist, 3.5" off my Tummy, and 1.5" off my Hips. Overall, I couldn't be happier! It's the best I've felt in a long time. I've also lost nearly 10 lbs. I do hate the fact that I've had to resort to using weight loss help in this way, but with health problems running through my family, both heart and cancer, I needed to make a drastic change. Not just for me, to help me feel more like me, but to also get in shape and get healthier, just get there to where I want to be. So it's been a big change, eat better and less, working out and all in all trying to change my attitude about everything.

Indeed a big change for me! I'll have more to come this week, this will be a busy week getting ready for the following week! I'm so excited! I have my Safe Food Handlers Course Certification on the 28th and 29th, the 30th I have the cake sampling for the wedding cake people, then on the 31st a few of the girls from work and I have decided that we need an evening out just to relax and shoot the sh*t so to say. That next week will be crazy busy! I will try and post this week as much as I can :)

Please feel free to ask questions if ya'll have any!

Cake Pops :)

I've made Cake Pops once before...actually they were more Brownie pops, and they were big, too sweet, and just too much to handle!

Over Christmas I bought a few Cake Pop molds and I figured "What the hay, I'll make some with the frozen cake leftovers I have in the freezer!"...so that's what I've done! They actually didn't turn out that badly either :) Yay me!

Here's how I did them, start to finish...

Start by making a simple cream cheese icing (or whatever icing you would like)
1 pkg Cream Cheese (softened)
1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
1/4 cup Butter (softened)
1 cup Icing Sugar

Next grab your frozen cake and crumble it to...well crumbs! This will get messy so make sure you have a cloth or do it near the sink so you can wash your hands after.

Grab 1 cup of the icing that you made (just rough it, I added a little bit more) and add it into the cake crumbs, mixing it so it's a big sticky mess!

Grease your cake pop mold. I used Pam, it was the easiest thing that I had around.

Fill both sides of the mold with the cake mixture. Don't add too much (that was my mistake), but also make sure you have enough in each side that when you push it together that they will stick and make one solid cake pop.

Push the 2 sides together, and clamp it shut. Put it in the freezer for a few hours (or in my case overnight), to let the cake push together. Working with it frozen is easier too.

Once you have it out of the freezer, pull the top off gently. You will notice that there will be some extra cake that pushed out when they formed. Gently push in the cake pop sticks and remove the cake pops from the mold. Take off the extra cake to make it round (or the proper shape of whatever mold you are using).

Melt Candy Wafers(Melts), or Chocolate Wafers in a small bowl 30 seconds at a time, stirring, until done. Dip the Cake Pops into the Chocolate, covering all of it. Place in Cake Pop rack (or in my case a cardboard box) to let dry (10 minutes).

Then grab a second colour Wafer/Chocolate and decorate as you please OR just leave as is and serve.

I had some fun with the decorating part!

Hope you enjoy your Cake Pop making :)

Please feel free to comment...suggestions, ideas, anything :)