Cake Update

With the help of my wonderful oldest child we actually produced this:

 

 I'm not ready for Food Network Challenge or anything, but it's definitely our best production yet.  It's passable!

A couple things I learned:

1.  When freezing a cake, do not put it on top of your recently frozen tubs of chicken broth.  It will leave a ROUND imprint in the bottom of your cake, causing you to have to cut off the wrong end.

2.  A butter knife is really NOT the proper tool for spreading icing.  Invest in an icing spatula.  

3.  If you choose to eat the chocolate frosting while you are icing it you will run into a few problems.  First, you may run out of icing for the cake, second you will get it all over your fingers and in turn get it on your cute little flowers.

4.  The words "extra cake" yelled in a house will bring six kids running into the kitchen faster than you have ever seen in your life.  You may want to try that if you ever have a fire in your home.

The WORST cake decorator ever

I consider myself to be pretty crafty and artsy, but there are two things I think I may just need to give up on. The first is sewing. I just have no patience for it. It's kinda like trying to learn to ride a bike when your sixty, with a lot of hard work and patience you could probably do it, but why would you want to?

The second is cake decorating. I go through 4 kids birthdays a year in my house, and you think after several failed attempts that I would just give up, but no, a few months pass, and I forget just how positively awful my last cake looked. I think that I've learned from my past mistakes and that I can actually make a cake look somewhat presentable.

I can't.

I'm awful.

Don't believe me? Take a look at the following:

 My first attempt.  Just pitiful.

 This one actually was not THAT bad.  Still, not great.

 Just sad....

I think Lucy could have done a better job at it.  Just sayin...

 Give me a little slack on this one, it was a flippin cookie cake.

 This years was so bad I didn't even get a photo of it.  This is the best shot I have of it. 

So, you would think after YEARS of miserably failed attempts, that I would give up.

Nope.  I went ahead and baked the cake.  One layer is all ready falling apart on me.  Somehow I'm going to have to take the frosting to "glue" it back together.  My plan this year is to freeze it so it ices easier.  My oldest daughter is supposed to be decorating it herself, but with her control freak of a mom, I can see myself quickly taking over the project.

I went to hobby lobby, picked out a sheet of stuff that you are able to "cut out".  I have little flower cookie cutters.  My goal is to have pink flowers on brown icing.  We will see how it turns out...

I almost attempted fondant.  It's laughable actually to think I could even pull that off...

Wish me luck.  I need it.

Running

So anyone who has access to my Twitter or Facebook knows that I've been working out.  A LOT.  With all the working out I've been doing, I haven't really had the time or motivation to sit down and actually write a blog post.  My cousin Treasure kept pestering reminding me that I haven't wrote a post in months, but every time I tried to write one, nothing interesting came to mind.

Finally, I got inspired to write a post about my newest endeavor.  Running.

I have always HATED running.  Like LOATHED it.  You see, as long as I've been alive I've had all this great upper body strength but absolutely NO endurance.

Who was the kid that took more than fifteen minutes to complete the mile in grade school?

Me.

Who was the kid who was ALWAYS picked LAST in P.E. class?

Me again.

Who BARELY squeaked by with a C in athletics?

You got it.  Me.

So, when I first started working out officially the first time I got on a treadmill or elliptical machine, I really thought I'd die.  My face is red, head pulsing, heart throbbing out of my chest.  Yup, that's it's I'm having a heart attack for sure.

Slowly I was able to gain a little bit more endurance, but running?  Seriously, never even considered it.  Slowly though I began to see these women running, ponytail bobbing back and forth, feet pounding the ground in perfect rhythm, and I became envious.  I wanted that feeling I wanted that freedom that they had, to just take off and RUN.

So, five weeks ago I started the Couch to 5K program.  Basically what it does is gradually work you into running.  Weeks one and two went really well, between weeks two and three I developed swelling in my peronial tendons.  I determined this was from running in my Vibrams, which yes, are made for running, but you are supposed to ease into running in them.  So I sidelined the VFF's and went back to regular athletic shoes.  I figured it would be best to get used to running in general at first, then eventually switch slowly to the Vibrams at a later time.

So, now I'm in week five, and in the C25K program week five gets pretty insane.  Today my routine was warmup walk 5 min, 8 min run 5 min walk 8 minute run then a 5 minute cool down.

So you ask, is Julie the perfect running goddess, ponytail flapping in the breeze, shoes striking the ground at a perfect rhythm?  Is she ready for her Nike commercial now?

Not.  At.  All.

Let me give you a more realistic picture of what Julie running looks like.  A hot freaking mess.  Face so red it looks like it is going to pop.  Sweat POURING off me.  It's in my eyes, burning my contact lenses.  I lick my lips and I taste the sweat in my mouth.  Heaving, heavy breathing.  (I'm certain that it annoys the CRAP out of the people next to me in the gym.)  Feet not in a gentle rhythm, but more of a loud elephant like pounding.

Oh, and guess what?  I still HATE running.  So WHY?  Why do I keep putting myself through this torture?  Because when I start something I finish it, even if it kills me in the process, and this just might.

My next run in my C25K program is a 20 minute straight run.  If you all don't hear back from me, it's possible I killed over in the gym.  Wish me luck.  I'm gonna need it.