It's Cake Day One!

Day one.

Today I am going to bake the cakes and make the various kinds of icings-

thin consistency for the filling, crumb and final layers, and medium for all my decorations.

(I'll post the recipe soon- hang tight!)

(I apologize for the terrible lighting in our kitchen- just bear with me please!  :)  )

You can't see all the cake mixes or the bags of powdered sugar in the photos but there are 6 mixes and 4 bags of sugar (and I'm having Momma pick up some more- eek!)...

You can probably see that the eggs have "reserved" written on them... hee hee!

Yes- I know, I know- nothing that I am using is natural, organic, or any other type of "healthier" choice.  I wish that it could be "better for you" but (a)I don't want anything to get messed up with weird consistencies or flavors that come from inexperience in working with that kind of thing, and (b) how many times in your life do you eat wedding cake?  A teensy bit of GMO ain't gonna kill you, right?  :)  (I can hear the gasps...)

Oh well... I'm off to don my adorable black, white, and pink apron (yay!) and sneakers (my feet kill me on the tile when I work in the kitchen all day!) and start my long day in the kitchen.  But first things first- I'm making these for breakfast before any cakes get made :)

I'll let ya know how things go ;)

Photos of the Practice Cake

Ok, I said I might so here I will... :)

I'm not very impressed- I feel as though the icing is too yellow (on account of using butter instead of 100% shortening) or it looks too slimy or something....  I can't quiet figure out what I don't like about it but after these photos were taken we started experimenting with the flowers we got for the cake and I liked it much better... sorry, no photos!

(Sorry the photos are so yellow- the lighting in our kitchen isn't the best for photography ;) )

That's with the second tier on...

Putting the border around the third tier...

And there you have it!

I still can't put my finger on what I don't like about it so much... hmmmm

You may notice flecks and crumbs in the icing- if this concerns you (as it did my mom) worry not!  It is only because I wasn't as careful about no crumbs in the icing as usual- I basically just wanted to try out the consistencies of the different icings, how well it stacked, etc. and wasn't worried about crumbs like I will be on Friday. (yikes!)

Alright- done with cake until tomorrow- a small 24 hour break from cake... :)

Today's mission:  Experimentation with my uncle's Canon EOS 5D that he wants me to use for the wedding photos.

Tough work, huh?

Actually seriously, this thing is HUGE! (the one in the picture looks tiny in comparison)  And a bit intimidating ;)

Because of the extra battery pack and bigger lens on it weighs like 3 times what my Xsi weighs!  Pray for wrist strength for me- that I might make it through Saturday without my hand falling off... :)

Maybe I'll post some photos from my little experiment tomorrow...

 

 

My Latest Venture...

I am venturing outside my comfort zone.

I'm making my uncle's wedding cake.

I've been taking a basic Wilton decorating course at Hobby Lobby for the last four weeks but it was mostly about things that I had learned from a couple years of trial and error.  I'm not feeling extremely confident but I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength!

So I researched about making tiered cakes because I had tried before (with no research whatsoever) and the results were a near disaster.  (!)  So here's what I found and so far it has proven to be very helpful!

Yesterday I started my practice cake...

I made 12", 9", and 6" cakes and set the big one on a cookie sheet and the two smaller ones on cardboard circles.  I frosted them, testing out two different types of icing- one containing all butter and the other half butter and half shortening.  Because it is an outside wedding I'm thinking that it may not matter if the icing doesn't taste as good as long as it still remains on the cake... I'm not sure 90 degree weather would be the best for a wedding cake with all butter icing- I'm not ready for disaster!

Anyway, this was probably a boring post but maybe I will post photos of the practice cake later today...  I haven't stacked it yet ;)

Meet the Newest Member of the Family!

Say "hello" to the newest member of the family!

 

Momma and Daddy found him on the sidewalk while on their morning walk yesterday...  We suspect that he had just recently hatched- Hannah said she still sees his egg tooth!

(Hannah's hand- btw) :)

Isn't he cute?  He's so tiny!

He is a Three Striped Mud Turtle...  still researching on how to thoroughly take care of him... :)

This tiny little turtle reminds me of the verse that I have been recently pondering...

"Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not fear ; you are more valuable than many sparrows."

Matthew 11:29-31

God knew about this little turtle crawling around on the sidewalk.  He knew exactly when my parents would come strolling by and see it.  He made sure that the little thing wouldn't get stepped on.  He had a wonderful plan- even for a little turtle's life.  He knew that Momma and Daddy would bring it home and make their nine children very happy.  He knew that He would be glorified as we pondered the wonders of His design...

Just a tiny 3/4 inch turtle.

How much more valuable are you?

Just food for thought...

Anyway, this little guy needs a name!  Any suggestions?

Modesty- More Than What You Think...

Our family has been defining our standards of modesty over the years and it has been a tough road.  It's hard giving some stuff up.  It's hard when you buy a shirt at the store that you love, bring it home, try it on for your dad and him to look at you and say (not wanting to burst your bubble but having to tell you the truth anyway), "I don't think so...."  Seeing the puzzled look on your face he gently continues on to explain how this is too tight here and could draw attention to there and so on and so forth.

I found this morning something that I thought you all might enjoy to give you some perspective and inspiration- throw some light on what is going on inside the mind of guys- so that when we go to buy something from the store we won't have to save the receipt. ;)

(Click the image)

Also as we are on the topic of modesty  (I could go through a whole study- but I won't- for your sake :) )  I feel as though we should look a little bit at the heart.

Modesty is more than the way we dress.

It's a whole attitude.

You can wear completely modest dress but have a rebellious and flirty attitude and attract the same kind of attention as though you were not wearing modest clothing.  Your posture, the way you walk, the way you laugh, talk, and interact with young men- it all screams who you are.  Loud and boisterous?  Soft and feminine?  You choose.

The clothes are only the first impression of you.  They don't define who it is that you are- they only provide a little first impression insight into your personality and character.   Once someone gets to know you they see the "real" you.  Whether you are lying about your "modesty" by your clothes or not they will soon find out.

"Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments, but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness."

1 Timothy 2:9-10

(Emphasis Added)

So do you have integrity in the way you dress and act?

Do the two go hand in hand- are they integrated- or are they two totally separate elements?

I don't know about you but I feel that I need to work on that a little more myself...

 

"Your adornment must not be merely external -braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses ;  but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God."

1 Peter 3:3-4

(Emphasis Added)

I hope you enjoyed this...

I hope to be posting more on the topic of fashion soon- hopefully more practical tips! ;)

P.S.  Guys (or girls, tell your dad and brothers), they are still accepting signatures for the Modesty Survey Petition, so this is an opportunity for you to still share your voice on the topic of modesty!

Do Everything You Do...

I heard this song a week or so ago for the first time on the radio and loved it...

It echoes what I say all day to my little brothers and sisters, "Clean your room/take out the trash/clean the sliding glass doors/vacuum/mop/clean the kitchen/dust/whatever to the glory of God!"   Every once and I while I need a little reminder too (big surprise I know! :P )- that's why it's been awesome to have this song playing in the back of my head ;)

Enjoy!

Introducing Courageous- and a little hint of perspective...

I am so excited about Sherwood Pictures' newest movie, Courageous, coming out in September!

Their past two films, Facing the Giants and Fireproof, were awesome- leaving me on the edge of my seat waiting for the next movie to come out by them...

Thinking about Courageous got me thinking about their other films and on some wild hair I decided to Google them.  (Just for fun I guess... I don't really know why! :) )  What I discovered when I looked at them in Wikipedia astounded me.

Did you know that the budget for Facing the Giants was $100,000?

The movie's gross income was $10,225,767.

What about Fireproof?

Budget: $500,000

Gross Income?

Here' what Wiki says:

Fireproof's advance sales accounted for 40% of all Fandango sales the week before the film opened. It was released on September 26, 2008 in 839 theaters and grossed $6,836,036 in its opening weekend, placing at #4. During its run, Fireproof had a domestic gross of $33,456,317, more than triple the lifetime earnings of its predecessor, Facing the Giants, and moving it into the top 6 grossing Christian films of all time. It was the highest grossing independent film of 2008.

On its first weekend of DVD release, it ranked third in retail sales and fifth in rentals with a rental index of 51.02. After the upcoming weeks, it sold $28,507,308 in DVD sales.

WOW!

It was astounding to me when I read that!  But it was more amazing when I looked up another Christian film to get some perspective.

"Letters to God is based on the true story of Tyler Doughtie, who was played in the film by Tanner Maguire. Parts of the story are real, and others were fictionalized, such as the character of a drunken mailman named Brady McDaniels (Jeffrey Johnson), who receives Tyler's 'letters to God.' The film was released to theaters on April 9, 2010, with mixed reviews. Despite opening at #10 at the box office, it fell just $150,000 short of its $3 million budget with a final gross of $2.85 million."

I would say that Letters to God was a pretty good film.  What was different about it than the Sherwood films?  What made them get such a better reception?

The difference that I saw was that Letters to God was a good movie- Christian and wholesome- but Fireproof was a great movie- on fire (ha- literally!) for Jesus with no compromises (no excuses for disrespect toward parents- in Letters to God, this is accepted as "normal").

Maybe people just want the "real deal"... it's possible.

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."

Proverbs 6:5-6

"Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve before kings; he will not serve before obscure men."

Proverbs 22:29

Thank you, Sherwood Pictures, for making movies that aren't "watered down"- that my family and I can watch that are not only "clean" but also edifying and encouraging in our faith!

God surely seems to have His hand on Sherwood Pictures...

Don't miss Courageous coming out on September 30!