I Like Cake

Housework that needs to be done:

• Do the Dishes
• Launder the Clothes (is it just me or do dirty clothes breed? I'm sure there are more clothes to launder than we actually own!!!!)
• Fold Laundry
• Tidy the Play Room
• Clean the Floors
• Tidy my Desk

But instead of doing that.....

I am giving in to the urge to bake.

Last night I went to a fantastic demo on making Sugar Flowers hosted by the Eastern branch of the Victorian Cake Decorating Society. The presenter was the very talented Handi Mulyana. Apart from him making it look so easy (yeah - we'll see once I get my hands on the right cutters and the correct gauge wire), it was a fun night where I got to meet a few more local cake decorators.

While I was there I acquired (through a very interesting trade system) a new book on making Macarons. I do have a book already but it takes quite a technical approach and I have discovered that telling me what can go wrong is a bit like putting a moth in front of a bright light and telling it not to go there! So I am hoping this book will work a bit better for me.

On top of that, I have already ("already" I say at almost 9:30pm) baked a Devil's Food Cake ready to dabble with my birthday present. For this year's birthday (which I'm sure was just a figment of my imagination) my dear, sweet, perfect husband signed me up to Cake Decorating Central's "Kit of the Month". This means I get a fab pack of goodies once a month and the instructions for a decorating project. I received the first one in April and still haven't done it, so I'm hoping I might have some success with it this weekend. Anyone need a cake???


On a side note, the housework is really behind at the moment because on Thursday I decided to escape the house and spend time with my munchkins. We spent most of the day at the zoo with some friends and it was great. See! They enjoyed themselves....

Sorry desk....you come last again!

Busy Busy Busy

Housework that needs to be done:

• Do the Dishes
• Launder the Clothes
• Fold Laundry
• Tidy the Play Room
• Tidy my Desk

But instead of doing that.....

I thought I would fill you in on what I have been doing for the last couple of months. There were sick kids, but they weren't fun so I won't elaborate further on that!

March involved a family wedding and a new baby nephew 2 days later, not to mention a month-long visit from my SIL who lives in the UK. It was a fantastic family time during which there was a bit going on. Woo woo.
So the list of completed projects includes:
* A 3 tier wedding cake
* A dress for me to wear to the wedding
* A baby welcome cake

April hit with a bit of a bang and we were busy every weekend with parties or other such things. It was also my birthday month, but the less we mention about that, the better. My April completed projects included:
* A covered treasure box for a christening gift
* My birthday cake
* A beanbag cover for my niece
* Homemade Easter Buns, which were yummo!

May was a really fun month which involved a number of wonderful family moments. The month started with a visit from one of my cousins from NZ. Yay! I really wish we lived closer to this particular cousin and his family. We also had a combined family birthday dinner with another arm of my family. On a sad note, a very good friend of my husband's family passed away, but his funeral was a joyous occasion. The end of the month was my son's first birthday, so for the week preceding the party my kids were totally neglected. Completed projects for May were:
* A nightdress for the girl-child
* Souvenir book of the boy-child's Naming Day completed and sent to be printed.
* One batch of bottled apples
* Copious amounts of birthday cooking and baking (3 batches of biscuits (cookies for any Americans reading this), 3 dozen savoury muffins, 5 litres of soup, jelly cups, individual trifles, sandwiches and all the other stuff that required packets to be opened etc)
* The Birthday Cake - an owl that stood 14" tall and was rainbow coloured on the inside.
* "Thank you" cards created and printed

So now it's June and I'm hoping things will settle down a little bit so I can get some stuff done. I have so many things that I want to do, I'm not really certain if I will get much of it done. Yesterday I bought a bag load of bits and bobs to start making hair clips for my girlie girl. I am going to have to make her an awful lot to make it financially worthwhile - I think I got just a little bit carried away at the craft store. Ooops! I also have a couple of bags of apples that need processing and I am considering turning some of them into a cake rather than bottling them. Hmmm.... decisions. Then there are the gazillion (yes that is a real word) sewing projects that I would love to get started on. , not to mention the half-knitted cardigan that has been hiding in a closet for the past couple of years and would be really handy this winter. We are also decorating the spare bedroom.

I really don't think my desk is ever going to get tidied!!!

Oh - and I'll try to get some pictures up at some point, too!