Ten years ago today we stood together hand in hand and barefoot in the sand, encircled by our family and dear family friends.  *Sigh* A LOT has happened since then.  Needless to say, we have been to Hell and back and we surprisingly survived.

One of our favorite memories of June 19, 1999 was getting to dig in to our chocolate rum wedding cake.  It had white buttercream icing, chocolate cake, and a chocolate rum buttercream filling, and a two little dragons dressed as bride and groom. It was so cute and sooo yummy!

Who would have ever thought that 10 years later I would be able to make our chocolate rum cake, only in reverse order...
and maybe a little better.  I made from scratch white chiffon cake cut into 4 layers and drenched with rum simple syrup, chocolate buttercream icing and filling...


Topped with rum chocolate rosettes and tempered chocolate R's.  Our little dragons would be cute here too.

A sign of sweeter things to come?  I think so!
Happy Anniversary, Babe!



PS. I love you!  Hey, my pizza skills are getting better, too!  See, it's round!...



...But I still prefer the pretty sweets

  

The cure for the major sweet tooth!  Petit fours glace - almond cake, raspberry jam, fondant glaze.



Petit fours- (LtoR) chessboard, bird nests, almond crescents, lavender & lemon madelines, chocolate meringue S's, petit four glace, ginger fortune cookies, almond macaroons, ladyfingers, toscaner, (I just went blank), and pinwheels. 

TOBY
February 22, 1995 - May 6, 2009

OUR ANIMALS

SHEPHERD US

THROUGH CERTAIN ERAS

OF OUR LIVES.

WHEN WE ARE READY

TO TURN THE CORNER

AND MAKE IT

ON OUR OWN…

 

THEY

LET US GO.

 

~AUTHOR UNKNOWN

I was walking on the beach one foggy morning where waves renew the sand with each passing wave.  In front of me were only the paw prints of a lone but happy dog which haphazardly ran somewhere ahead of me.  The occasional print was erased away with the stray emboldened wave.  I turned and looked behind and found my footprints neatly adjacent to the same paw prints.  We were walking playfully together - separated only by time.   I saw them and remembered them.  Much the same way is the life of a pet - as a paw print in the sand.  Perhaps not forever on this earth but as a memory eternal - forever on my soul walking playfully together - for life and thereafter. 





Paw Prints

I see a part of you
etched in the summer sand.

A fleeting moment of your life
forever frozen in time.

I see you running across the valley
I hear you howling in the hills.

For you are home at last
and your spirit is free.

The mountains rise around you
as you run along the river,

unknowingly leaving behind
a paw print for my soul.

 By Bridget Lyons

1
A consumer cooking class that looks normal enough...


2
Smells real good...


3
Mmm... Is that chicken?


4
Fried is always good...especially with ice cream... 
Did someone forget to take out the trash? What's that smell?



What the...???  It smells like a rotten onion! 



Durian fruit... It is like eating custard in a sewer!  Tastes pretty good, though.



What's extreme cuisine without MeAlWoRmS!!! 
Cajun style!  Spicy, crunchy... I wanted a shot of Petron to wash it down. 
I did it!  I ate two worms! 
Lutefisk is better...Pass the Linne Aquavit!


Also on the extreme cuisine menu was Emu (pic. 2), pig tails (pic. 1- finger point), chicken feet, rattlesnake, frog legs (pic. 3), cricket cookies, fried crickets, Rocky Mt. Oysters (pic. 4), kangaroo, alligator sausage, Durian ice cream (pic. 4), and more fun surprises. 
Bon Appetit!

For a few years now, I have wanted to run the Shamrock.  I have yet to do it.  However, this was not the way to see the race...

I got trapped inside the race route for a good 45 mins!!!  I was late for class, even though I had left my home an hour early.  Eventually, I gave in to the humor of the runners in costume, and took pictures as proof of the reason I was late for class, to avoid loosing points.
 
Next year, I will run with the Shamrocks! 

Today, I will be with my friend Jameson Ontherocks watching the Irish dancers at Kell's! 

Slainte!!!

The day didn't start out too well, or end on a great note.  However, pie made me real happy!

 
Top: Pumpkin, "Teton's" Pecan (pecan pie with chocolate [to die for!!!])
Bottom: Pecan, Strawberry-rhubarb, and Blackberry.

I consider this a good omen prior to the Ides of March...


This is the first pie I have ever made!  It is an apple pie.  An apple pie that made my knees weak and toes curl, beat my friend's Mom's apple pie, and got me another marriage proposal.  All-in-all, I think it went quite well.

I gotta work on my pizza skills!



It tasted MUCH better than it looks.

How many different cookies can you make in eight hours? 



I didn't have a clue, but we (I and  two teammates) did more then six in four hours, and were proud of ourselves.  We felt a great deal of pressure, it was our first project, and we worked remarkably well together.  The majority of the cookies recipes were very new to me.  The whole process was fun, fast paced, creative, educational, and made me not want to see another cookie for a long while.  Oh, and we also got the extra credit done, too.  Here's our finished project (minus the extra credit):



(Toll House, Peanut Butter, Oatmeal packed with cranberries chocolate and walnuts, Almond Biscotti, Hazelnut Biscotti, Almond Crescents, Shortbread triangles with cranberries and pecans, Brownies with white chocolate chips and dark chocolate glaze marbled with white, Coconut Macaroons, Piped cookies with raspberry jam)

YES! They were all super yummy!  If you want to try any of these, drop me an email and I'll send you the recipe.

Student:
(completely frustrated)
“When am I ever going to use algebra in MY life!?”

Mr. Lenaway, 10th Grade Pre-Algebra teacher:
“In the kitchen!  You need to know this if you want to become a Chef!”

Me:
(sitting in the back of the classroom, rolling my eyes, tapping my pencil on my assignment)
"Pfft!  Yeah, whatever!"


It’s funny because I kind of always knew that class, and that statement, would come back around to bite me in the ass.  Thanks for the lesson and the memory, Mr. Lenaway!

A classmate had asked me what field I was coming from.  Then, out of left field, she guessed I was a cosmetologist…With a perplexed look on my face I thought “Hmm, was that a compliment or a jab?  Is my make-up that thick?  I am trying to cover up some dark circles under eyes from only getting 2  hours of sleep, but really?  On the other hand, there have been some news reporters and anchors that I would have liked to help with their make-up skills.”  I couldn’t help it when I burst out laughing, and replied, “Close, News broadcasting!” 

Sleep deprivation is not a good thing.