Marshmallow Fondant

I'm going totally out of order because I had mentioned I would blog about my adventures in making marshmallow fondant (MMF) . . . I don't want to disappoint, as I know you have all been on pins and needles waiting to hear about it.

I was watching too many episodes of Cake Boss and suddenly got the urge to try it.  So I used an online tutorial (which I'll have to search for whenever I want to make it again- my bookmarks on my poor laptop are unable to be reached, but that's another story)   And here it is, being created:

Of course I used my heart-shaped cake pan.  First I frosted the cake with a coconut buttercream frosting.



Then I rolled out the plain white MMF and draped it over the cake.  It's kind of like playing with play dough. :)



Then I colored some MMF blue and did my very best bow. . .  this took several tries and is a lot harder than I envisioned it being. This was the best I could do.  It was so late by the time I got to this step, I was just ready to be done.  Next time hopefully I'll give myself more time to work on it.



I took the cake into work with me which was random because it wasn't anyone's birthday. It was just an experimental cake but I had to do something with it. . . so my dear co-workers benefitted from my random urge to try making MMF.  I believe the verdict was it tasted pretty good (I don't recommend eating regular fondant).  Now I know I can do it!

Here piggy piggy!

Saturday morning after my run in Granada Park, I met up with Jen, LeeAnn, and Christine at Bacon in Scottsdale.  Sadly the breakfast club is getting broken up, thanks to Bryan soon stealing Jen away from us forever!*  So we had to get in at least one more Saturday morning breakfast.

*In the form of marriage- they aren't actually going away but we all know we will never see each other anymore: this is a sad fact of life.

I agonized over whether to get the $4 hot chocolate.  No, I wasn't cold at all (that is apparently the natural question that follows), it just sounded really good. But $4 good?  It reminded me of this scene in Pulp Fiction which you probably shouldn't watch because it has vulgar language (is there a scene in Pulp Fiction that doesn't?).  But there, I warned you properly.  Yes, I got the hot chocolate.  Yes, it was pretty freaking good, though maybe not $4 good. ;)



No one bothered to tell me it was 'show your BYU spirit' day so I was the only one not wearing BYU gear!  Though I did watch most of the game later that day so that should make up for it.  Where the Dbacks shame and disappoint (see following post), the Cougars are doing amazing so far!!  Truly amazing.  I'm so proud.



There was a guy in a pig suit walking around outside the restaurant holding a sign and LeeAnn was determined to get a picture with him.  It was kind of hilarious how determined she was!  Here she is flagging the guy down, all the way at the end of the street.



He wasn't a very fast pig.  But that's okay...



Finally we got our photo with the pig. :)



It was a fun morning with some fun girls, and some really yummy food!

The Dbacks: another lousy performance

Oh, Diamondbacks.  Why must you suck so much at baseball?  Isn't it kind of important that you don't suck at that one thing- baseball?  Oh well.

Despite that minor detail, we did have fun at the game a couple nights ago.  I went with my friends Jenna and her husband Dillon, and Mike.  I must say we looked rather color-coordinated, don't you think?

We were all wondering why both teams were wearing red hats. Not unusual for the Dbacks but confusing for the Brewers.  Did they change their colors?  How can we tell the teams apart if they all wear the same colors?  These questions we tossed around for a while until someone (probably my brilliant self) realized that the red hats had something to do with 9/11.  So congrats to us for figuring it out!

After the game we went up onto the upper level for the fireworks.  Fireworks make me happy!!  This time they played patriotic music probably, again, because it was 9/11.  Here is a taste of the show for your viewing pleasure: (I tried to upload video but the internet hates me tonight and I just can't seem to figure it out)

Where oh where do I begin?

The trouble with getting really behind on blogging is deciding whether to go back to where I left off or starting with the most recent and then going backwards....  That way at least I'm caught up on the present even if I don't get all the posts done tonight.  Yes I think I will do the latter.

Also, this is my sneak-a-licious way of burying this particular post so that only my most dedicated readers will see it.  (evil laugh)

So you know how I said I have a crush on this guy?  Well, I have a much bigger crush on this guy: (it helps that I actually know him)(never mind that this is a heinous picture of me)




His name is Mike.  He's nice.  The end. :)

I think....

that being a birth mom is kind of like being a fairy godmother.

That's all.

Two daily thoughts I loved.

“We need strong Christians who can persevere against hardship, who can sustain hope through tragedy, who can lift others by their example and their compassion, and who can consistently overcome temptations. We need strong Christians who can make important things happen by their faith and who can defend the truth of Jesus Christ against moral relativism and militant atheism.”


D. Todd Christofferson, “The Power of Covenants,” Ensign, May 2009, 19–20
 
_____________________________________________________
 
“With all the differences in our lives, we have at least one challenge in common. We all must deal with adversity. . . . It is in the nature of our being human that comfort gives way to distress, periods of good health come to an end, and misfortunes arrive. . . . The arrival of suffering or the loss of material security can bring fear and sometimes even anger. . . . “The very opportunity for us to face adversity and affliction is part of the evidence of [Heavenly Father and the Savior’s] infinite love. God gave us the gift of living in mortality so that we could be prepared to receive the greatest of all the gifts of God, which is eternal life.”


Henry B. Eyring, “Adversity,” Ensign, May 2009, 23

TRUST.

This may seem kind of out of place here on my blog.  I usually talk about light-hearted things like, well, fruit and my hair.  So far I haven't had too much overly-serious stuff.  But I was so struck by this post on the R house that I had to put my feelings down in writing.  Had to.  As in, I am totally neglecting things I need to be doing right now in order to write this post.


It comes in the form of two letters, letters to two separate but related groups of people out there.  Real people, but ones I don't actually know. (Let me emphasize that because in no way do I want anyone to think that the second letter is based on my personal experience, quite the opposite is true. I am one very lucky girl)  For simplicity's sake alone I'm leaving the men out of the equation.

_____________________________________________________

Dear prospective birthmothers,

Please be careful with the dear women who you contact and befriend as potential adoptive mothers to your children.  Most have known so much loss and heartbreak already through infertility. They have had to surrender nearly all control over the creation of their family.  By the time you meet them their hearts have been broken apart and stitched back together, sometimes over and over.

Your interest in them will fill them with hope and cautious excitement. Please be completely honest with them. If you're not sure about adoption, and are just looking at the possibilities, great- if you aren't sure about them and just want to know them, wonderful- if you are flying blindly through an unfamiliar and confusing crisis, I completely understand.  But if they know where you are on that spectrum, it can prevent unnecessary hurt.  Please try to minimize that hurt.

I realize this will require you to know yourself to some degree.  You may not know yourself yet. (again I understand)  But I only ask you proceed with the utmost caution- of course even to the very last minute you're free to change your mind, to choose someone else, to question your decision . . . but please, do not trifle with these sacred things.


You hold delicate and fragile, deep and real feelings in your unsteady hands; be ever so careful with them.


Sincerely,
Me.

____________________________________________________


Dear adoptive parents,

Please be careful with your child's dear birthmother. She has shown you the ultimate trust- out of all the people in the world, she chose YOU to raise her child. The child that she loves so much, she allowed her own heart to be broken into pieces in order to give him the world. And you are the key to that world. It is a heavy responsibility you may not have wanted in the first place, but it was your path and you now carry this responsibility on your unsteady shoulders.

Remember that you first trusted her and she did not let you down. Please don't break that trust she now holds in you.

Your actions now will show your regard for her; in her healing process you can help or you can hinder. You have the power to hold her grief over her head like a rain cloud, if you choose to go back on your word and cut off contact with her.  You've known grief, you've known pain.  Don't let fear or insecurity or anything like it cause your child's dear birthmother to feel more pain than she has to.

She will never forget her child, please never forget her.


Sincerely,
Me.