Lady Bugs & Fondant

I did it. I made lady bug fondant cupcakes. It took me a while and the fondant was annoying at first because I wasn't used to it. I did a little bit of research on the best tasting fondant and everything I found online said that Duff Goldman's line of butter cream fondant tastes the best. The last thing I wanted was to have disgusting, foul smelling fondant on my cupcakes. I tried a little and it tastes like candy corn! It must have been delicious because Lilly ate the entire lady bug off of her cupcake. This post will be mostly photos of my fondant lady bug cupcakes. So here they are... (I went a little Instagram crazy...)

These are just the fondant toppers before I placed them on the cupcakes

After Assembling the cupcakes

Cupcakes on display st the party

My cupcakes with the professional cake by wedding cake baker/designer Edith Hall in the background

Me posing with my delicious little masterpieces!

So I discovered I do like to work with fondant. This is good because yesterday I was asked to make a two tier pink and black zebra birthday cake for someone in my office. They need it tomorrow. I am freaking out a little bit, but I am also really excited! I hope it turns out OK. I'll post some photos after I finish which will probably be very late tonight...

July 4th

Here are some photos from July 4th weekend. I am too lazy to post anymore than this right now, but I know what a treat it is for you all to view the family moments I capture on my iPhone, and I would never dream of depriving you of this joy. What did you do for the fourth?

Number 24: Tie Dye Some Stuff

Tie dye was on my list because it just looked like something neat I could do. Yup tie dye is neat. Actually, no, tie dye is very messy. It is three days later and my hands are still purple. Despite all the messiness, tie dye was really fun. Andy tie dyed with me which made it even more fun. We had to wait for the baby to go down for her nap because permanent dye and a toddler probably wouldn’t be the best idea and I didn’t want to try it and find out.

We began mid-morning on Saturday. The weather had cooled down from the previous week’s unbearable heat. It was quiet and calm outside and it made tie dying soooo relaxing!

So in case you are keeping track: Tie Dying= Relaxing. Yoga=I want to kill someone.

We mixed up about 8 colors. I had bought a couple of things to tie dye and we also ransacked our dresser drawers and closet looking for anything white we could add a little (I mean a lot) of color to. We don’t own a lot of white. We prefer black or dark colors. They are slimming. Tie dye is not slimming, but oh so fun!

Andy did an amazing job of tying up the shirts so it would create these really cool patterns. I just wrapped the heck out of my shirts hoping for the best…

The only thing that was a little frustrating for two people with ADHD who need instant gratification, is that you have to keep the shirts wrapped up for 6-8 hours before you can see the results. So Andy and I both went to try and fit in a nap before the baby woke up to pass some time. Then luckily, since my parents were visiting, we went out to lunch and did some shopping. By the time we got home we could see how our shirts turned out!

I learned a valuable lesson: Wear gloves when looking at the shirts you tie dyed 6 to 8 hours earlier. Or you hands will be purple FOR DAYS. Also, you can’t just open up the shirts and leave them to dry. You next have to rinse out all the extra die and wash them 1-3 times separately in the washing machine. OY, I didn’t realize this was such a complicated process. Good thing it was fun!

I would tie dye again. I definitely would. I would have lots of extra gloves on hand though. Hahaha… gloves on-hand…. Ok, sorry.

Above: Clothing prepared for Tie Dying

Below: Tie Dye Materials

Above: And now we play the waiting game...

Below: Shirt #1 Unwrapped...

Above: Shirt #2

Below: Shirt #3 (I am very proud of this one!)

Above: Andy's amazing Como Derby Dames shirt! He did an awesome job!

Below: The tub after we rinsed the shirts. This is why you might not want to try this at home... It is all cleaned up now though, incase you were wondering.

Below: My purple dyed hands...

Above & Below: The little one sporting her new tie dyed top!

Goal Number 1: Take A Yoga Class At The Gym= FAIL

Yesterday afternoon I accomplished another one of my goals. It was a total failure.

Andy took me to a yoga class at the gym. I was super excited to go. I thought it would be fun because I usually like the classes at the gym. My mom, Andy and I arrived at Wilson’s Fitness about 20 minutes before the class. The classroom looks amazing for yoga. It has floor to ceiling windows that make up one whole wall and look out over a beautiful wooded area.  We got our mats and arranged them at one side of the room. I did a few stretches first with my mom.

At first yoga seemed nice. The exact turning point was when she had us do downward dog pose. You are on all fours but your legs are extended with your butt up in the air.  My wrists began to hurt a lot. The instructor (or teacher…yoga master?) said that your hands and feet should equally be supporting your weight. Well that wasn’t happening. I kept trying to redistribute my weight more evenly but exactly how to go about doing that is still something I’d like to know. Really, I’d like to know.  It got harder and harder and the combination of my very short limbs and torso with my enormous size triple D chest (yes, yes, I know. Leave me alone) did not help. I couldn’t stretch my arms out and touch the ground without my boobs getting in the way. I didn’t even care all that much that I couldn't do the poses but, I was beginning to get stressed and angry and why that was, I am not even sure.

I have ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and I’ve always been told that yoga is great for those with ADHD which is sort of why I wanted to try it in the first place. It is supposed to help you learn how to train your brain to concentrate longer and harder (something that can prove nearly impossible for people with ADHD). Getting angry and frustrated did not help me concentrate. Wait no, it did. I concentrated on the clock and watched the minutes tick by very slowly. I usually have a rule for myself when I take classes at the gym, which is that I cannot look at the clock. This time I couldn’t help it.

The instructor kept saying “If you’d like to take a journey, try it this way…” and “Listen to your body”. I was listening to my body and it was saying “GAHHHH! SARA, WHAT THE EFF?!?! WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME? GET UP! LEAVE! GO!” So I was trying NOT to listen to my body. By this point only 15 minutes had gone by and my new goal had become making it through this stupid class.

I kept going. Sometimes doing my own variation of the poses the instructor showed us. I could feel myself getting angrier and angrier and feeling more and more stressed. I envisioned myself screaming a slew of horrible things at the teacher and punching her in her stupid face. I guess that was my journey. A lot of imaginary screaming and punching and little bit of imaginary kicking. I think at some point I even imaginary hit her over the head with an imaginary crow bar.

I am not usually by any means an angry person. I am rarely angry and when I am, “Angry Sara” doesn’t look all too different from “Happy Sara”, except in yoga apparently.

I did make it to the end of the class. But not before promising myself I would never ever put myself through that again. And then Andy said to me that he really enjoyed himself and that he would love to come back to yoga. This is the first class at the gym we have ever taken together that he enjoyed so I said “Well, I’ll come back and do it with you”. What? Really Sara?  You’re going to put yourself through that unbearable torture AGAIN!?

Yes. Yes I will. Maybe I will get good at it. Maybe I will merely learn to tolerate it. But I guess I at least have to give it more than just one try. 

If you have any advice on yoga, I'd LOVE to hear it! Comment here or on Facebook. Please! I need all the help I can get!

Above: Stretching Before Class

Below: Kvetching After Class