You are looking at the newest member on the Board of Directors for the Southwood Community League! Wow! A few of us formed a sub-committee with the Programs/Social committee director, assisting and combining our resources. I will also be one of the "Directors at Large" for Daly Grove; a voice within the school, ooohhhh :oP I am not sure what the DatL entitles yet; I've been told not a lot; which is good. I really want to focus on encouraging growth within the league especially in regards to programming and social aspects. Our city councillor was there too; which was interesting to hear what the city has planned for Millwoods going into an election pretty quick. We know more about plans on ongoing road projects etc. Now to get on the board at the playschool tonight :oP I see great plans for the future of our community, and I get to be part of it. I would like to be involved in the building director position too, but only if D is; he's too busy with his new job to be involved in this capacity at this time, maybe next year, but he still plans to come to the meeting next month. I'm kind of glad that I will only be doing Parent Council/Advisory for the meeting in May (our last for the school year), but I will certainly be there for the next school year too.

You know I've always wondered where some of my fellow bloggers were getting these un-bland backgrounds for their blogs. I'm sure that by now you've guessed that I figured it out; thanks to Carrie's blog :o)
D was away last week until late Saturday night on a business trip in Banff with the AAA. He got many leads and impressed the long time rep from Van with his repore and his already compiled acquaintances in the industry.
I myself have been busy preparing myself for more cake work. Playing office, and now going through some latest training sessions online with Wilton.
I've also been trying to track down a community oriented dance program for Madison, but at this time it sounds like nothing would be available until September again. There is always another Parent and Tot swim lesson this summer for us hopefully and for Stirling, once finished t-ball at the end of June, will start swim lessons on his own again.
The end of last week I had another cake project on the go, for the VAA's 25th Anniversary. I was very touched that my mom trusted me to take on such a project. It's a good thing I can trace and colour :oP. Buttercream transfers are getting more simple each time I do one. I think it turned out really well, and if you haven't already seen the final result you can follow the link to my other blog River City Treats to have a peek (see left side for link). The feedback from the other people at the event was very positive, and I could see some other work come out of it which will be great.
I also got a call from my Baking Bingo winner to prepare another honourable cake. I will be making a 'Welcome Home' cake for her husband whom will be returning from Afghanistan this Saturday. I get butterflies just writing about it. Honestly I can say this is the first person I have met that has had someone over there. I'm happy that he is coming home to his family in one piece, even though I really don't know them.
This week is seeming busier than last. So many meetings and committees to get involved with this week. Our community leagues AGM is tomorrow night, and I have been asked to help with the social committee. Preschool registration for Madison is Thursday night, and they will be electing the board for that as well, which I would really like to be involved with.
Thursday also is Culture Day for Stirling at school. He is supposed to talk about his family heritage, traditions, etc. Well, hmmm, he's a fourth generation Canadian. Hmmm, hockey, maple syrup, curling (yich), I find it difficult to decipher exactly what is truly Canadian anymore. What hasn't ben commercialized or monopolized by some big corporate American or Asian company? Look at those American's who forced my ancestors (original Pennsylvania Dutch (Duetsche))to leave and immigrate to Canada so long ago (on my dad's side). Hershey could have made us rich if we hadn't been forced away, at gun point, from the farmland they owned, I'm sure. My great grandparent's on my mom's side immigrated from England in the late 1800s and mostly settled in Saskatchewan and BC. I've been collaborating with other family members trying to compile a really detailed family tree. I don't know if the link will work, but it's worth a try. I never knew this or at least don't remember this - my grandmother on my dad's side was one of ten children (between 1931-1948), that's a child every two years. Wow! Maybe that's why I secretly want my soccer team, but at the same time I know mentally I would be beyond overwhelmed; drugged to keep me sane. One little leaguer and my dancer are more than enough. :oP
Stirling will be playing at a friend's after school Thursday for a bit before the registration and Friday is his first t-ball practice, lucky us, they are calling for wind and rain :o( Where is our nice weather from last week? The wind just makes me want to stay inside.
Pam brought the kids over to play and lunch before heading to a matinee yesterday. What a disaster in Stirling's room, lol! Madison got be dressed up most of the morning, but she insists she had fun. Stirling doesn't have his PD until Friday, so I'm sure it will be an extra long day for him, as I am planning a trip back to the doctor's to have my iron rechecked; I've been having arrhythmia again (i'm sure I spelled that wrong) that isn't going away all the time. I'm also not really sure if the change in my BCP has helped either. I guess I'll let the so-called expert share his useless opinion again - maybe someday they will figure it out and quit running so many tests that seem to get us no where. I plan to prep my cake for Saturday's deadline when I get back, nap for Maddie (hopefully) from 1-3 (perfect time to knead some fondant) and t-ball at 6, busy busy busy.
Well I have to run so I can get my last Wilton session done and my self assessment emailed to my supervisor before I take Stirling to school at 12:30.

Last week while Stirling was on spring break we tried to do as much as possible, with all my cake planning and all. We all went to RAM on Thursday morning, unfortunately we all be came hungry after looking at the animal dioramas on the main floor we decided to eat in the RAM restaurant - what a mistake that was. $8.99 for a sandwich!!! But what do you do - we were planning on hitting a Mr.Sub after our trip, anyhow....It was a lot of fun; Stirling really enjoyed his trip, especially after feeling let down from his short trip to the Discover Room at the RAM to learn about dinosaurs with school; he didn't get to see the rest of the museum. Madison and I hung out in the DR's boot room shall we say. She had no interest in going into the rock and bug section which I love, humph. They both loved the Munsch exhibit; they've grown up on Robert Munsch, I think we have all of his books come to think of it:oP It was a good way to spend the day; we stopped by the Ukrainian Bookstore on our way home to pick up the dyes and tools that we needed to work on our eggs for Easter. We picked up a couple extra tools so Stirling could experience this too - his first time. Dave and I have been doing it for so many years. Here are our creations that we did on Saturday.

David is very good at it!

I can never seem to fill in the piece evenly.
Stirling did very well for his first time, but couldn't quite understand the idea of starting with the lightest dyes first. Still really great; very artsy if you ask me.

There are yellow, red, purple and green squiggles on that egg :oP
Madison wasn't quite ready for this style, we thought it best for her to use good old non-toxic crayolas, which in the end was a good choice - she new the egg was cooked and kept putting it in her mouth, yick!

Here is a shot of the collection of eggs, only a couple of them weren't actually done by us - I had no luck finding pussy willow branches for our Easter tree this year:o( I did find a weeping pussy willow tree that Safeway was selling for $20, but I wasn't sure how hardy it would be here in Alberta; the florist assured me it was like a rose - burlap for three years in the colder months.

When I finally decided it was my last option, I went back to find all the blossoms had bloomed into big fuzzy things with yellow hairs sprouting everywhere...not so pretty. So in the end I opted for a nice flower arrangement, and plan to seek out my own pussy willow plant to grow in my yard, so I won't have to worry about the season not being right or whatever it was this year. The lilies just opened yesterday - the colour is beautiful.

My mom brought an Easter Lily as a gift on Sunday; it is beautiful and the fragrance that is around my house these days is wonderful. Thanks mom!

I promised pics of my final decision on the barrette holder and also crafted a couple more pieces to add to it - I have almost filled it, oops :oP I just bought more ribbon!

Cake...cake...what cake??!!! Argh! LOL! I don't know whether to be stressed out or just insanely ha ha about the situation I placed myself in. Two weeks ago I volunteered to go all 'Ace of Cakes' on an up and coming project for my niece's 25th birthday. My sister-in-law was originally ordering cupcakes for over $80 and I volunteered to make something; bigger and better you might say. Luckily I've managed to get some pretty good deals on the supplies I needed with such short notice. Wilton takes forever, and I could never guarantee my supplies arriving in a timely manner. Thank goodness for Michael's coupons - which saved me on fondant, piping gel, and a ginormous cake pan. Two Friday's ago I sketched up the coolest looking 'Hippo' cake and faxed it to my sis in law at work - I would say she loved it and got the contract. I wish I had done a little more research on how much this cake would cost as I have never made a cake for 50 people before (Pirate cake was about $60, this one regular price would run $120 approx.). 210 oz. of fondant later, 3 dozen eggs, and 5 lbs. of butter if that gives you any idea of the complexity of this cake - that I made nine times! 2 - 12x18 (body), 2 - 8" (head), 4 - 6"(head&feet)cakes, hopefully will be enough, especially when I was considering the cake to 8" high when completed; 4" high will be more than plenty; I'm not feeding 100 people, I'm also basing the slices on 2"x2" instead of the standard wedding serving of 1"x1" (poor wedding guest :oP)
I've been baking cakes since Tuesday evening, as I was short on milk and my car (having Dave start his new job on Monday)decided that it wasn't going to run anymore :o( Seems having only used it twice over the last two and a half months was a bad thing - killed the battery (we hope):o( Ever night this week I've had to run out for more ingredients. My initial list was just to make four recipes of my cake not nine - it takes three recipes to fill the 12x18 pan alone (four if it were my chocolate version)! Now I know! :oP
The last cake came out of the oven after 9:30 last night. Dave is going to cut my plywood...I mean cake board tonight (3'x2')and I hope to assemble and get the fondant ready today. Assembling hopefully tonight and tomorrow. Problems with fondant in a residential setting is there is a lack of space! I have cakes stuffed in my little apartment size freezer and the stuff that usually goes in there is crammed into my fridge's freezer space, working thus far I might add, as long as I don't go for the extra two layers of the 12x18 cake.
I plan to do a strawberry and whipped cream filling as per the request; at the same time I have flashes of my masterpiece sliding off/shifting on the board as we transport it downtown. How many stakes should I use to avoid this...I really don't know. I don't think the piping gel water is going to hold anything in place. I feel like emailing AofC and seeing if they have any recommendations - is it better to have no filling on the larger portions...I just don't know :oP
Well I should run I have a ton of fondant to colour (I bought it as the discount made it cheaper than making it this time)and a gum paste flower to make to set on the Hippo's ear as well as whipping up a few batches of buttercream icing to keep this sucked together. I plan to use some pink petal dust to colour the pinkish areas on my gray hippo, I hope this is a good solution as I don't trust piecing together two different pieces and having them stay together either. Cake boss and Ace of Cakes have shown many of the do's and don'ts of the trade. I hope they will come in handy as here I go a wastling, I mean building :oP
Here is my vision:


Sorry for the poor quality - pencil sketch :o( If I don't over think things and not stress too much everything will be just fine...yeah...keep telling myself that.