Homeschooling is no joke... but it is fun!

I mention in my profile that we homeschool. Well some days are pretty rough but there are the fun times that we have that make up for the stress filled days. Here are some school time pics to give you a look see into our lives. This particular week was cowboy week and the boys enjoyed it thoroughly.

2012 The Year of Promise

Happy New Year! I've been so busy that I forgot to wish all of you a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! I pray this year brings peace, joy, and contentment into each and every one of your lives. May all who read this be blessed.

The sunrise a week ago had a piece of rainbow on each side. I could only get one side. It was so cool! I wonder if it went all the way over the sun and met and I just never saw it. Wow! THAT would have made an awesome picture!

God Speaking

I just thought that I would share this beautiful picture that I captured yesterday. It was just as or more breath taking in real life than in this picture.
Ever since Drew, my 6 almost 7 year old was small he has always called this God speaking. I'll never forget the first time he said it while we were going down the road. My mind was full of responsibilities and a couple of situations that were out of my control. All of a sudden he started saying over and over, " Mommy! God's speaking! Look!" Chill bumps swept over me and I looked out and tried to figure out what he meant. All around us in the fields there were rays coming through the clouds as far as you could see. Beams of light reaching down all around us... We were surrounded by it. That when I felt God's presence sweep through the car and He gave me peace.

Fresh Croutons

I made fresh croutons this week and I have enjoyed them since. Just thought I'd share how:) I had a 1/3 of a loaf of bread that was going stale so I thought I'd make some. There were about 5 or 6 slices of bread.
I preheat my oven to 400 degrees. I toasted the bread in my pop up toaster and then when they were back to room temp I cut them into pieces. I placed them in a mixing bowl and sprinkled parsley flakes and garlic all over them. Then I poured about 1/2 a cup of olive oil on them and stirred it up. I placed them on a cookie sheet and put it in the oven. I let them stay in about...7 to 8 minutes. Then set them out on the counter to cool. When cool I placed in a ziplock bag. You'll never buy croutons again!

Tutorial on how to make Peppermint Bark

For the past several years instead of buying gifts, I make an assortment of homemade goodies to give. Peppermint Bark is VERY good and, if store bought, very expensive. It's so good for gifting because it's very inexpensive to make and a little goes along way. So here we go...

Ingredients:

Regular sized candy canes( I have tried all kinds and these break up the best)
Vanilla Almond Bark or candy coating

Okay, first you have to prep your counter or table with wax paper, freezer paper or baking paper.

Then you unwrap all of your candy canes and place them in a ziplock bag. Place a length of freezer paper(because it's thick) around the bag. Take a heavy spoon and beat the bag to break up all of the candy canes. Remember that you don't want powder... you want pieces. So every once in a while peak under the paper to see where you need to hit.

It should look about like this when your done. Then pour it into a bowl and gently shake the bowl so all of the bigger pieces will rise to the top and all of the powder will go to the bottom.

Now you place the almond bark in your pot. Nonstick is perfect for this. You can melt the bark in the microwave but you have to be careful not to scorch it. I prefer the stove. Melt it on a low temp. On my cook top I think I used 3. If you happen to scorch it a bit, don't panic. Add 1 tsp of vegetable oil to the bark.

When it's nice and smooth it's done. Now you add the crushed candy.

Stir it in. I have never precisely measured but I think I probably put almost all of one box of candy canes to one package of almond bark. Leave enough to sprinkle on the top of the peppermint bark when we have it spread out.

Now you pour it all out on your prepared surface.

Spread it out really thin. Not so thin that there are holes, but just thick enough to not see through. If you are unsure and get it a little thicker, it's okay. It's better to get it a little too thick rather than too thin.

As soon as you get it spread out sprinkle the rest of the peppermint on top. Let it harden for at least an hour. Maybe longer. It's according to how thick you spread it.

When it has hardened lift the whole thing up off of the counter. With my wax paper it kind of sticks to the counter. Then pull the wax paper from the bark. Break the bark into big pieces for storage. You can always break up into smaller pieces later.
I store peppermint bark in large ziplock bags.

So I hope you take the time to try this treat! It is so easy but goes so far! Just a bite satisfies and makes your mouth feel fresh but gives you that touch of sweet to meet a craving. Enjoy!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a GOOD NIGHT!

Daddy pics

I mentioned in my last post that Lakota's Daddy is a cowboy. WWWWEEEELLLLL...... I don't think he has any cows, I do know that he enjoys horseback riding, and he really gets his kicks from showing beagles:) but he wears the clothes and hat so that's what counts. Right?
I hate to admit it but I saw a pic similar to this on a professional photographers site and I just used what I had to make it happen. Her's is sooooooo much more PRO which what I am NOT!!!

Swamped! And busy but off for Labor Day:)

Haven't done cakes in a while but had two to do back to back for my wonderful church family:) The first one was my pastor's wife, Sis.Nichols.

And the Second was for Baby Lakota Aiden Nichols. They are doing his room in red, white, and blue... and his daddy is a cowboy:)

The second cake was a combo I've never tried... chocolate fudge cake with cream cheese icing. I LOVE!!! The left overs will make delish cake balls for the family reunion this weekend! Yummy!

Have a wonderful SAFE Labor Day weekend!

Ode to the last Cake Pop

This is a Cake Pop... It is the LAST one of a batch that I have mostly eaten all by my self. For the last three days they have been a constant source of temptation. And I have finally taken care of every last one;) This one is made from italian cream cake. I'll only make these again when I have somewhere else to take them! I do have some ideas of other flavors but I'll have to diet a while first... Next time I make them I'll be mindful of measurements and put them in the recipes.

Hope you had a Happy 4th!

My family celebrated the 4th with my little sister in from Germany along with her army hubby, Nick, and new nephew, Sammy:)

Ignore the broken washing machine in the background of the first pic... I'll have to figure out how to remove it:) I love that 2nd pic! Sweet... Love you Bug!

To those that tried the beans... Let me know how they turned out.
Here's my red white and blue!

They were so YUMMY!

A New Start

I've made lots of changes to the site... All of the cakes should still be here but they are put in categories now. I've added a recipes page and (drum roll please) the baked bean recipe is there. I'll add more recipes when I have the time.
I'm still learning how to set up things up on the site so be patient. I'll get it all sorted out sooner or later... probably later:)

So browse around and maybe you'll find something you like.

Homeschooling

To some who have called this is old news... but for the sake of everyone else, I'm not baking for whosoever will. We made the decision to homeschool this year and it's just too much to do caking, homeschooling, housecleaning, mommying, and all else combined. so for the time being there is no cakey being doney. I was kinda getting burned out so this will hopefully give me that fresh breath of air that I so desperately needed. I will of course be adding to the web site occasionally, I do have a wedding cake coming up at the end of November, and I will still be doing the church's cakes. And of course for my family. So love you all and you'll be the first ones to know when I'm back in the caking business!!!

Summer break

I am taking a break for the summer. I'm only doing a few cakes this summer, the ones I already had booked. Tucker just graduated kindergarten and Drew will start school this coming school year so I decided to spend as much time with them as I could. Sorry to all that have called and I've said no. Hope you have a great summer!!!

Check Back In!

Hey everybody! Just letting you know that I'm in the process of adding more photos. Periodically I'll add to the site. So if you're interested you can check back in.
Have a great weekend!

Well...here ya go!

I've had so many people ask if I had my cakes online that I finally broke down and did it. So for what it's worth... here ya go! Bunches of love to my biggest supporters Chasity and Alicia!!! And yes, they have taught me "all I know":)
Thanks for looking!
Casey