Hanging out at Nana's

Hello. I think Nana's is a pretty cool place.

~Christine

Good morning world!

~Christine

Watching TV with Mom

~Christine

Tiramisu

Mom was in town. I asked what dessert she me to make. Without hesitation, she said tiramisu. So I had a second shot at this dessert. MUCH better this time around. You don't even know how much better it was the second time because I was too embarrassed of the first one to take a photo!

Mom approved.

Walked to the bank to deposit a check - 2.7 miles in 45 minutes.

Gonna make cake for a very special birthday this weekend.

It's hot outside.

they are resurfacing the road I was on (OK ... I was on the sidewalk adjacent to that road). Smelly, Sticky, Loud. YUCK!

Encouraging verse of the day

1 Cor 15:50-57
"Oh death where is your victory? O death where is your sting?"
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law;
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

These verses are very encouraging. We who are in Christ have nothing to fear in death. Christ has conquered death and we will be raised imperishable. We have confidence in our lives eternal in Christ!

Life Lessons from the game of LIFE

Kym and I just played "Life."

Things I learned:

• You get $1000 just for having babies, you don't need to spend anything.
• Divorce isn't an option
• Houses only cost $40,000
• You lose less than you earn in the Stock Market
• Taxes are half my salary
• You move straight ahead in life, may be presented with two different choices, but never any more than that.
• Everyone gets married.
• Everyone has a rich uncle.

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Audrey's first scratch on her face. :(

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Getting nails done with Gramma Janet.

Fun Photos

This week's fun Audrey photos.

this week's highlights...
1) We splurged and replaced her Vans
2) We introduced Audrey and Sheila. Audrey pretty much ignored her, but Sheila thought Audrey was pretty cool. kept trying to kiss her.

Happy 4th of July

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Originally uploaded by Christsstar

The baby is settling herself into enough of a routine that I have time to bake again.

I tried something different with this cake and it turned out bad. It was way dense and just didn't taste right.

And it was too warm in the kitchen for the buttercream frosting, so it was all melty and not cooperating either.

Of course, before I made this cake, I decided in all seriousness that I want to try to learn enough to bake to make money, with the ultimate goal of opening a bakery. However, I recognize that may be a long way off. In the meantime, I need to practice. I'm going to offer to make birthday cakes and fun goodies for people at work and on the block and any other friends/family who want it.

My next step in the process of cake making and general baking is to make a fondant (a real and good one) and improve piping. For the piping I need to make a royal frosting; it's supposed to me thicker frosting that is more sturdy and cooperative. For the fondant, I need to find food-grace glycerin. I'm not sure where to find it.

My next project is another stab at Tiramisu; a request from my mom.

After that, I'm going to try to make a cake shaped like Andrew's guitar.

I'm totally addicted to all the cake shows on TV. There are now three that I DVR regularly; Amazing Wedding Cakes on WE, Cake Boss on TLC, and Ace of Cakes on Food Network.

What I need is a cake show that will teach me how to do the decorating and such, not just show the drama of the shops.

I wish I could go to culinary school and/or be an intern at a bakery; but unfortunately, the bill still need to be paid.

Six Week Check-up

Today was Audrey's 6 week check-up.

The doctor was impressed with her ability to roll over. She almost did it for him, too. He said he could see that she was able to, and sees how strong she it. :D We have a cool baby. (If you haven't heard, Audrey's been rolling over from her belly to her back about once/day since she was 4 weeks old!)

She is 9 lb 10 oz and 21 3/4 in long. Her head cirucmference is 36 cm. She's still in the 25th &ile for head circumference; 70th %ile for length; and 50th %ile for weight. So she's gained more weight than she's grown. We have a long baby.

All three kids together!

This was the outfit we bought to bring her home from the hospital. Just barely fits now. Look at that beautiful smile!!!

I just LOVE her smile!

Her vans on a skateboard. And I lost the shoes. :( I took her on a walk and she kicked them off. I retraced my steps to try to find them and couldn't. :( :( :(