Fully Alive…Ready to Smile

If you know me at all, you know I LOVE my birthday.  I mean I <3 HEART <3 my birthday!!!!

It’s not that it’s about “ooh look at me, it’s all about me” as much as it’s about a really, really good reason to be with my peeps!  And who doesn’t like a good party?!  Last year was awesomely fun and I heard some calling for a repeat with the costume idea.  Let’s just call me a party planner/event coordinator that happens to have a birthday really close to a holiday where people dress up and like to party and so I can combine the two.

(And maybe there’s a little bit of hope that I’ll get a gift or two in the process, let’s be honest)

But this year I’m at a loss for a few reasons.  My birthday happens to fall on Thanksgiving weekend (if you’re in Canada) and it always happens to be a busy time for people.  I’d really, really like to do another costume party since my birthday is in October, but that takes a bit of planning.  Somehow time slipped away on me this year and it’s only 2 1/2 weeks till my birthday.

So do I wait a couple of weekends and have my party closer to the end of the month, which means closer to Halloween, as well?  Does it matter that it’s not my actual birthday (or even the week of)?  We could call it a Halloween/Erin’s birthday party.

And there’s the issue of space.  I had thought about just having it at home again, but we were pretty much maxed out last year and I can’t see it being smaller than it was, so perhaps renting a nicely equipped space in our town.  This costs about $150 and it has a kitchen and plenty of space for mingling.

Here comes the real underlying dilemma…it’s not a milestone birthday this year (that’s next year), so is it weird to have a big birthday event when it’s just my 29th?

(What will people think?!)

Who am I kidding?  I don’t care a whole lot what people think and next year will be huger than this year and planning for that event will commence shortly after this year’s bash is concluded.  And so it probably doesn’t matter, but I just want to know if it’s worth it and if it’s too geeky.  My guest list is fairly lengthy and I want people to be comfortable, but does it look a bit over the top to rent a place, even if it’s not a large establishment?

I need to hash this out before the weekend so I can send out invites before I leave and give people time to get their costumes together.

Give me your thoughts about this…

I’ve been making my daughters’ cakes since their first birthdays.  I’ve discovered over the years that I LOVE making cakes.  Sorry, I LOVE decorating them.

This year I decided to make the jump into fondant icing.  I’ve always wanted to create designer cakes and I realized that fondant is the way to go.  I was going to buy the Wilton premade fondant, but after reading a few different opinions about the ickiness of premade fondant I decided to try to make it myself.

Thank the Lord for YouTube!!!  Hehe.

It turned out wonderfully and I will now use fondant to ice my cakes.  It’s just so easy and beautiful!

But before I discovered fondant I made a cake for Ella’s 6th birthday that I have always wanted to make for one of my girls.  It was a big hit!

Then I did the fondant for Aidan’s “Littlest Pet Shop” cake.  I had so much fun making this one!

And my final cake…the woodland cake I made this past week for my friend Sarah’s 30th birthday was my favorite to date.

I spent many hours making the green ferns out of fondant.

I’m excited to try more fun cakes in the future.  I have about 30 designs saved on my computer to try one day

I have butterflies in my stomach!  I’m so excited!  In one week from tomorrow I’m flying down to visit my Val!!!

Almost 2 years ago (October ‘07) I made the historic journey (in my books) to Illinois to meet in person, someone I’d met through this humble blog.  It was one of the more exciting and memorable moments in my life.  She has been the kind of friend to me that one searches for and hopes to have in life.  I don’t know if everyone is so lucky or blessed as I have been to have found someone who is so similar in personality, so caring and compassionate in spirit, and such a bright sunshiney spot in life.

**happy sigh**

So anyway, my darling Val has been through a rather turbulent time in her life during the past year.  I’m not going to go into many details (and Val, forgive me if I’ve screwed any of the details up), but she was quite ill last year and then she found out early this year that she was pregnant.  Her pregnancy was very crazy with being quite sick and having many, many, many doctor’s visits because of her prior illness and her history of miscarriage and whatnot.

Little Mr. Finley (Finn) Robert made his triumphant appearance into the world on September 10th (a week earlier than the scheduled c-section).

(picture taken by Val and stolen by me from her Facebook)

Isn’t he just a doll?  Look at his adorable expression!  I just love him already and I haven’t even met the little guy.  ONE WEEK!!!!  YEEEEE!!!!

Okay.  So anyway, a few days after she came home with him she was having terrible headaches and she ended up going back to the hospital because they were so bad.  It was discovered that she had a subdural hematoma.  I don’t know much about this stuff, but it’s bleeding in the brain and it’s very, very bad!  Through a complete miracle (and because of all the HUGE amounts of prayer, I’m sure) she did not have to have surgery because the bleeding didn’t get any bigger and she is back at home on bedrest waiting to have another CT scan later this week.

Needless to say, knowing all that she has been going through has made my heart ache.  I have felt so helpless here in another country wishing to be near her and helping in some tangible way.  Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been praying which I know is the GREATEST thing I can be doing for her.  But it doesn’t make me wish any less to be with her and her family.

I talked to her on Thursday and I expressed my desire to be of some help.  At first she gave mild protest because I’ve been out there to visit twice and she’s never been here to see me (she was planning on coming here this summer, but her health and pregnancy prevented her from coming).  I don’t care if she never comes here, she is my friend and I will help when and how I can…besides I love to travel  The circumstances are such that we are not tallying up who has been where how many times (although if we are going to keep track then she has a lot of travelling to do in the next few years, lol), I go because I care.

I have a wonderful support system in my own life that enables me to go and be of service to them.  I am truly blessed by the people in my own life who are willing to help me out so that I can go on such short notice.

So I booked my flights and I’m off in a week.  Even though I’ve only known her for 2 1/2 years and have only been to visit twice, it feels like I’ll be with an extension of my own family.  They are as close to my heart as if they were my own blood relatives.  And that sweet Finn has a special place in this auntie’s heart already.

Did you know that there are just some days that you shouldn’t even walk into a kitchen?  Like today.

I am quite a good cook/baker.  Except today.  Today I am a failure in the kitchen.  Today I should have been fired.

 The challenge: make two trifles – one Skor and one strawberry for our neighbourhood barbeque.

I can do this.  I’ve made a hundred trifles in my time.  I mean how can you possibly screw up a TRIFLE??

Well, for starters you can buy the wrong cake mix.  One of my trifles required a chocolate cake mix and one needed vanilla.  So what do I do?  I buy two vanilla.  For moi, baker extraordinaire…no problem.  Just make a chocolate cake from scratch, cause I’m awesome like that.  Or something.  And I get the even more brilliant idea to use the old family favorite, Chocolate Mocha Cake.

This particular recipe requires coffee.  Strong black coffee (but perhaps not so strong that it’s walking out of the house with a fur coat on).  I opened my cupboard to take out the coffee maker, which by the way, we NEVER use because we are not coffee drinkers.  Buuuutttt apparently we HAD used it once upon a time…a very, very, VERY long time ago.

And not cleaned the filter or filter tray (you know those handy, dandy filters that you don’t have to throw away??  Umhmm).

And there was still coffee grinds in it.

And it had about an inch of fluffy white mold.

And I think I puked in my mouth a little bit.

I set out to disinfect my coffee maker.  I’m a little upset at this point.  What was supposed to be an easy recipe is turning into an hour of obstacles and yes, I admit a few cuss words.

I get everything prepared and put my coffee on, breathe a sigh, wish I was a coffee drinker and start again.  I can do this.  I just need to change my attitude and carry on.  No big deal!

Oh, but it gets worse.  Or better depending on how you look at it.

I start mixing ingredients in the bowl.  Well, I TRY to mix the ingredients in my bowl, but for some odd reason the batter just wants to crawl up my beaters and I shake my head in wonder…this has never happened before.  I’ve made this recipe many times and it’s never done this.

I check my recipe…what could be wrong with it…SUGAR!  I FORGOT SUGAR!!!  Huh?!  Who forgets SUGAR in a DESSERT???

**heavy sighing**

Okay, incorporate sugar into globule of chocolate batter that has the consistency of glue and playdough.  Not. Happening.

The next thing I know there is batter flying past my head, onto my wall, onto the floor, hitting my soap dispenser, sticking to my arms.  Ugh.

 So then I did what any self respecting woman would do.  I looked at the opportunity presented to me and began eating chocolate…I may have even licked my arm.  :D

And just for the record, I managed to salvage the cake.  So not an epic fail.  Just an epic pain in the ass!

Tonight I snicker in the general direction of my family.  They are clinically insane.  They are planning to forage out into the wilderness (our deck) and commune with nature (mosquitoes) in an attempt to “camp.”

I’m finding this particularly amusing because it doesn’t involve me.  I don’t go for such hairbrained ideas.  Nope.  I rented a movie.  I plan to enjoy a quiet kid/mosquito/husband free evening on my own with my bowl of popcorn.  Then…here comes the best part…I’m going to sleep in my new bed…ALONE!!  I get to sleep sideways if I so choose.  I can have as many pillows as I desire.  I don’t have to worry about any untoward advances in the middle of the night!!

**Hallelujah chorus**

The only thing that could possibly interrupt the perfection of my upcoming night is if the mosquitoes chase my family back in the house.

Shhh…don’t tell anyone, but there is a lock on the inside of the deck door and no way off the deck!!!

Mwahahahahahahaha!!!