New cupcake designs

Here are two of my most recent cupcake designs:

I made these Hello Kitty cupcakes for my friend Christey's birthday.  It was my first attempt at using fondant and it was a little difficult.  You can see that some of the faces are a little wrinkled (she needs a little Botox) and that's because I underestimated how quickly the fondant dries out.  But I thought they turned out pretty cute - better than trying to draw the faces by hand with icing like I did last time.

And these were the ones I made for Easter.  Pretty simple to do, but they took a lot of time.  I cut out egg shapes from graham crackers, then iced them with frosting and dipped them in the colored sugar.  Then I piped out the lines with colored frosting and added some decorative hearts, flowers, and other shaped confetti candies.  I loved the colors!

Look back soon for some pictures of cake pops I made.  I've made three so far - they are exactly what they sound like.  Cake balls stuck onto a lollipop!

Recent Audubon Visit

The Audubon Center for Birds of Prey is located in Maitland and it's basically a center that rehabilitates wild birds and sets them free back into the wild.  If they sustain an injury that would prevent them from surviving in the wild, the birds are kept in captivity at the center.  I love to go there, so if you love birds like I do then you should definitely make the visit.  What makes it even better is their annual baby owl shower that takes place in May.  You simply bring in an item from their wish list and you can get in for free.  And they have baby owls!  They are a little awkward looking, but still so cute.  Here are some shots I got of the baby owls and some of the other beautiful birds at the center.

Baby Owl #1 - So cute!

Baby Owl #2 was like a statue

American Bald Eagle

Sweet face

This captive hawk's one injured eye would prevent him from being able to hunt successfully for food in the wild.

A Weekend for the History Books

Now I hope that some bored souls read my blog, but I actually just like to write things so that I can look back and see what I was thinking about or doing on any particular day.  So, with that being said, I think it's important to reflect on a pretty eventful weekend for the world.

Let's start with the most watched wedding ever.  The ROYAL WEDDING!  Yes, I was one of those people, eagerly anticipating this big day where Prince William would wed a normal girl (a commoner!) Kate Middleton.  I'd constantly click on any link on People.com that alluded to possible wedding dress options.  Though I will say that I did not throw a royal viewing party, or prepare tea and scones.  I was fine with just curling up on the couch and hitting play on my DVR.  I personally think she looked beautiful.  And the scene in Westminister Abbey was made complete with my love of.......FASCINATORS!  One of the main reasons for the title of this blog (after attending my English friend's wedding).  Sigh...just seeing all of the bright colors, feathers, and netting planted at different angles on people's heads was an amazing sight.  And the hats!  I loved it all.  But I do think you can go a bit overboard and all I have to say is WHY did they seat Princess Eugenie and Beatrice right behind the Queen with that crazy hat??  It was awful!  The guards should have knocked that sucker down upon her entry.

I wish them all the best.  They seem like they are very much in love.  It is sad that Princess Diana was not there to see her eldest son get married, but she was there in spirit.  Kate having her ring, them kissing on the balcony just like her and Charles did, and riding in the same carriage as she did on her wedding day were all special touches to the event.

I remember when they announced that Princess Diana was killed in a car accident.  I was in middle school and I remember them replaying the scene over and over on television.  It was a shock.  That shock and disbelief came again, along with intense feelings of fear, horror, and anger, when September 11, 2001 happened.  That horrible scene of the twin towers falling kept playing over and over again on TV and I couldn't tear my eyes away.  I was a freshman in college and had a math lab that day.  I woke up and got ready for school, never turning on the TV to catch the local morning news.  I got in my car and listened to the CD that was currently playing.  When I parked at school, I switched on the radio and caught the DJ's talking.  I knew something was wrong, but I didn't yet know what.  I had just tuned in and wasn't able to put together all the pieces of everything that had happened.  I got out of the car and headed for class.  Something wasn't right...I tried to grab a newspaper but there was no news to shed any light on what happened.  Everyone came in and prepared for class.  All I remember is a kid sitting in the back saying, "The twin towers are gone."  I felt like I hadn't heard correctly, but had an awful feeling he was right.  The teacher came in with no news and we had class like it was a regular day.  Trying to head back to my apartment was awful.  The radio confirmed what my classmate had said in class.  Cellphones weren't working at the time and it was just fear and chaos.  Once I got back to my apartment, I just turned on the television and watched it all day long.  It was unbelievable.  I had just been at the top of the World Trade Center a few months before during a trip to New York City.  I remember the guy who took us up in the elevator, the simulator ride we rode at the top, the food court where the Sbarro lady served us up a salad, the violinists preparing for a concert on the concourse outside...everything...it was all gone.  But I still remember, and I still wonder, are they alive?  Were they there on that horrible day?

Nothing can ever replace the thousands of lives that were lost that specific day, or throughout the years of the war.  But if the families affected could get even a small piece of closure, it would have been to finally capture Osama Bin Laden.  And on Sunday night, the United States of America received the news straight from President Barack Obama that Osama had been killed in Pakistan by Navy SEALS in a military operation.  Ten long years overdue, but it happened.  I don't want to harp on the subject, especially since the terror alert is probably higher at the moment, but he is gone.  Finally.

Savannah, Ya'll!

Approximately five hours from Orlando lies the beautiful and historic city of Savannah.  I finally went to this city this past weekend with a group of my friends.  I wasn't sure what exactly to expect, but I knew that it would be a charming southern city.  And Paula Dean is from there, too so what could be better than that?  We got there safe and sound, and our hotel was in a perfect location across from River Street, the nightlife street right on the river, hence the name - duh! winning!  Sorry I couldn't resist...So here's a quick rundown of our trip:

Day 1:  Was the best....day....ever.  And let me tell you why.  Mrs. Wilke's Boarding House.  Amazing!  We got up early and headed over to this gem to wait in line for lunch.  I need to read up on the history of this place, but basically you wait in line to share a table with other people.  And when I say wait, I mean like WAIT in line like you are in Disney World waiting for a ride.  We kept inching up and up in line, tummies grumbling, only to have to wait some more.  I was a bit skeptical at first, not really thinking that there could be anything so good that it was worth waiting so long.  But finally, we got IN.  And it's set up like someone's home, lots of pictures on the walls....and then they take you to your table.  And it's like a scene of the southern last supper.  There had to be about twenty different dishes on that table.  Fried chicken, collard greens, mac and cheese, potato salad, BISCUITS, sweet corn, squash, beef stew, CORNBREAD, stuffing, green beans, and on and on and on.  You just kept passing plates back and forth, stuffing your face.  It was heaven!  Definitely worth the wait.  And when we left, there happened to be some students doing a taping of people's reactions so we all got together with our tourist enthusiasm to talk about how great the food was.  I need to look that up actually - I wonder how it came out.  After Mrs. Wilke's, we headed over to our River Boat cruise.  It was so hot though that I think I nodded off for most of it.  But it was a nice, relaxing afternoon.  To end the day, we ended up at Moon River Brewery on Bay St.  More good food, mmmmmm.

FORREST!!

Day 2:  Trolley tour through the city!  Yay, I loved seeing all of the houses and squares.  Savannah has a city square every few blocks.  I love cities where you can just walk around.  It was so quaint and cute.  I also loved the style of all of the homes.  I get very excited when I see brick - I'm a dork.  But it's true, I love old houses.  We went on a tour of the Thomas-Owens house and OMG - I think we had the most eccentric tour guide.  Eccentric or high...or both.  I had to stifle my laughter just listening to him speak.  I just couldn't get over his tone of voice and his body language.  Almost as if he thought he was more knowledgeable than everyone else, which he probably was.  But he literally had his nose in the air the whole time and would sigh "Any questionsssssssssss....."  Ugh.  I must say though, that the best part of our trolley tour was seeing "Forrest Gump" run off of the trolley in front of us and run down the street.  Hilarious!  I got a picture of it....Run Forrest Run!!!

Foodwise, we ate at Paula Dean's restaurant, Lady and Sons, for lunch.  It was great.  I had an asparagus sandwich and it was delicious.  I'm on an asparagus kick lately - it's somehow become my favorite vegetable.  For dinner, we ended up at Pirate's House, an incredibly old place.  I finally had some catfish - what I had been craving the whole time!

Lady and Sons

We went out on River Street during the night and ended up at the same karaoke bar after hopping around a bit.  We met a group of cute military boys who were really nice and funny.  I ended up doing some impromptu swing dancing with one of the guys.  It was actually fun just having him spin me around and dip me to the ground, though I do give him major props for not dropping me since he was obviously hammered.

Day 3:  Sad day.  Why do weekends go by so fast?!?  We visited the Visitor's Center and saw the actual Forrest Gump bench in the museum.  I had to say I was sad I couldn't physically sit in it.  Besides Forrest Gump, a lot of other movies have been filmed in Savannah, including Forces of Nature and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.  I really need to watch that last one because the book was everywhere and a lot of it was filmed in Forsyth Park.  I honestly have no recollection of what we ate.....???  Oh, that's right,  Wendy's on the drive back to reality!

Shih Tzu Whisperer Wanted

Back in the day, I used to watch "The Dog Whisperer" and be ever so thankful that I had such a mellow, well-behaved dog.  Then Tommy, the Shih Tzu puppy from the wrong side of the tracks, entered our lives.  Don't get me wrong, I love him.  He's super cute and playful, but I've just been noticing some things.  I don't know if he will eventually grow out of these behaviors, but if he doesn't I will soon be putting in my request with Cesar Millan!

I mean, I've been trying the "SHH" poke, but......nothing.  My puppy just kind of looks at me in amusement and then goes right back to what I was trying to get him to stop doing.  My main issue is that he's a bit possessive and aggressive - two not so bueno traits he should have.  Jerry is super relaxed and chill.  It takes a lot for him to get upset, so Tommy just jumps on him at every opportunity.  They are both fed the same food, given the same treats, and play with the same toys, but Tommy always steals Jerry's stuff.  I mean, he literally took a treat from Jerry's mouth and swallowed it - and he's half Jerry's size!  And lately his playfulness has turned towards a more mean direction.  He's all over Jerry, but the second Jerry sticks up for himself, Tommy immediately gets angry and indignant.

SIGH - I can already tell he's more of the alpha dog.  This little five-month old puppy.  Cesar, I know you're mostly in California, but is there a Florida episode coming soon??  Pretty please??  Are you accepting applications for new dog students at the Dog Psychology Center?  That would be a sight...this tiny monster among all of those pit bulls.  He certainly acts like a pit bull in a super tiny body.

New Beginnings

It's definitely time for a new blog post!  Speaking of new, I have a new job and career.  While I very much enjoyed what I did before, it was time to seek out new opportunities.  My last day was weird...on one hand, I was so excited to start on my new path, but then on the other hand I was sad to leave my coworkers/friends behind.  It was going to be so difficult.  I mean, come on, I was moving an unbearable two miles away, at the same institution no less!!  How would we ever survive without seeing each other every day??  The goodbyes only got harder when I was surprised with - wait for it......................the Hello Kitty party of my dreams! Hahahaha - it was super cute and very sweet.

But now I am in a new place and really enjoying my fresh start.  Everyone is really cool, friendly, and passionate about what they do.  Who would have ever thought I would get up and kinda SING in front of everybody during a staff meeting?  That usually would have embarassed me really easily but I felt just fine about it today during our funny ice-breaker where we had to hum or sing one of our favorite songs.  I tried humming "Iris" by the Goo Goo Dolls, but eventually had to bust out in "And I don't want the world to see me....Cuz I don't think that they'd understand.....When everything's made to be broken.....I just want you to know who I am."  I've always loved that song, though I guess those lyrics probably had some thinking what's wrong with me.  LOL.  I learned that a lot of people have some awesome singing and dancing talents (me not so much). 

I'm already in office-decorating mode though it is taking me some time.  But it's getting there...I'm a stealth decorator, sneaking in my decorative pieces a little bit at a time.  All in all, I'm just super excited and wanted to share the good news.  To new beginnings in 2011!  Cheers!

Civility

Last Friday, I had the opportunity to attend a one-day conference at UCF sponsored by the Florida Diversity Council.  It actually was an event I had not ever intended on attending but the invitation was extended so I went. 

And I'm so glad I did.  The keynote speaker was Donna Brazile.  Her credentials and experience are long and varied, but she basically has great knowledge in the area of politics and the inner workings of Washington, D.C.  She is a political correspondent and regularly appears on news channels like CNN. 

It was a very somber moment when we all shared in a moment of silence in honor of Congresswoman Gabby Giffords who was shot in the head at an event in Arizona.  Ms. Brazile knew her personally and stated what so many in the media have already said about her.  She was kind, smart, and wanted to make a difference, and most importantly - she is strong enough to pull through this.  Each day looks better and better for her and I hope that everything ends up well and that she is okay.  It's going to be a tough and long road for her, but it is possible.

Her speech was funny, but also quite touching.  I know that I have watched political news hours and shows with people from each party battling back and forth.  I, of course, have my own political views just like anyone else and am prone to disagree and argue with my TV.  However, at the end of the day, we are all human.  We are U.S. citizens that have the freedom to make our own choices and express them.  It seems so often that Republicans and Democrats hate each other so much, which is scary since we all need them to work together to help our nation.  I wonder if after appearing on such shows together if they just turn their backs and toss out a few personal insults off the air.  But Donna said that is not the case.

In her many years, she has fostered great friendships and relationships with people who have shared completely opposite political opinions.  These are people she has invited to her home, that know her family, that truly care about her.  These are the kinds of things that the people need to know about and actually witness.  Not the nasty mud-slinging we see day to day.  There is goodness there.  There is civility there.  Please take this from behind the scenes and let us see it.  I still do not know if there was any political motivation for the shootings that took place in Arizona, but I do think that the political rhetoric that is out there can be potentially dangerous.  We should be careful of the 'us vs. them' mentality that turns ordinary people into enemies just because they have a different opinion than you.  Be passionate, but respectful.

She ended with letting us know that there was a potential move to get all of the members of Congress to sit wherever they wanted - not this whole 'Democrats on one side of the room, and Republicans on the other.'  I think that would be a pretty powerful show of unity.  Unity - I think Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would be proud.