Got a Job

I start my new job this Saturday! I'm going to be a Wilton cake decorating instructor at Joann's. This week is a cookie bouquet class. I'm nervous but I'm also excited. The bay is pretty good, and I'm considered an independent contractor, so its kinda like being self-employed. The great thing is that I can set my own schedule:)

Here's what my first project will look like:



I get to make money doing something I love!

A quilt for Ben

I've been in Fresno since Friday helping my mom finish the quilt we've been working on for Ben. Because he's going to be 2 1/2 when he comes home, we made it twin size so he can use it longer.

Kristi had picked out the fabric 3 years ago when she and Doug started the process, and it's hard to believe that she's finally getting her child! The colorful blocks have different kinds of fishes on them. She painted the nursery this weekend in a light "island blue" and is planning on going with a whimsical underwater theme.

Here's a pix of the quilt we are so proud of!



I love working on the quilts but always forget how much work they are. I'm exhausted!

Trying to find the perfect cake

I haven't made one of my "fancy cakes" in a year. Last March was the last wedding cake I did before moving up to Napa. I loved working on my cakes but unfortunately my little kitchen in our little apartment can not handle the amount of buttercream and fondant I could throw at it.

Since I'm co-hosting my sister's adoption shower in a few weeks, I am in search of the perfect cake. Mainly because I don't care for store bought cakes. It been fun but a frustrating search to find a cake design I really like for her shower. I know I want it to be two tiers and possibly basketweave, but after looking on wilton.com and cakecentral.com, I am still coming up with nothing. Looks like I'm going to have to be creative and design it myself.

And since I was feeling nostalgic about my cake decorating, I thought I post my cake slideshow, since I haven't had it up. It does kinda make me want to rethink adopting this year and go to the Culinary Institute of America this year instead. Just kidding:)

Productive and Creative

Alex took his first final yesterday, and has the rest of them later this week. In order to do what I can to help him I've been helping by quizzing him using his flashcards. Which I think must be more amusing for him than me, seeing as pronouncing the names of the words on his flashcards feels like learning a whole new language. Myelocyte... Hematopoiesis... Polychromatic... I have no clue what these are (Alex just informed me that they have to do with blood cell formation - like I even understand what that is.) But it's been helping him so I'll keep quizzing!

Otherwise I've been scrapbooking like crazy. I haven't seen the top of my kitchen table in over a month. I put my sewing machine away and out comes the scrapbooking papers and photos and stickers, oh my. Its a frustrating process. I do one page, hate it when its finished, and walk away leaving everything on the table. Than I come back, end up making 4 pages that are perfect and I don't want to stop. Which is probably good since I haven't scrapbooked any of the gazillion photos I've taken since 2005. I have a little catching up to do.

This week I got everything set up for me to enroll at Life Pacific College in the Fall. I'll be doing their online Degree Completion program in Ministry & Leadership. I have a few classes I have to take before next fall, so I'm working on getting those taken care of. I'm really excited about FINALLY finishing my BA and being able to do what I've felt God called me to many years ago - full time ministry. I'm waiting on God and taking things one step at a time for now.

Better get back to my scrapbook....

Quilting Bee

For the last few months I've been sewing like crazy. It's worked out well, since my sewing kick corresponded with my mom's urge to get rid of fabric she bought but hadn't used (seriously, don't let my mom or me in a fabric store. We always end up buying fabric for stuff we never end up making). Back in September when I went to visit, we went through everything and found quite a few nice fabrics, as well as panels for baby quilts, so I took them home and went to work. In two weeks time I had made 5 baby quilts, all fairly simple. One of the quilts I had started a few years ago and decided it was time to finish.

So here's a few of the quilts I finished a few weeks ago:

This one was my fave, the one I had started a few years ago and finally finished. It has a cute baby-blue flannel backing with fire-trucks, ambulances, & police cars:


One of my best friends, Lynae, is expecting a baby boy, Caleb, in March. The walls of the nursery are a bright yellow, and she wanted that incorporated in the quilt as well as a race car theme. I found a great flannel with race cars to use as the backing, and the other fabric's matched perfectly. Here's the quilt I just finished today!


And now that I'm feeling nostalgic, I think I'll post a pix of the quilt I did for Andrea, Lynae's daughter:

Well that was fun! I have a few "expectant mothers" in mind for the quilts I made, and I'm planning on donating the rest to a local foster care agency. It gives me joy to know that babies will be cuddled up in these quilts soon!