The Super Mario Birthday Cake

Long time no blog, but now that I'm working again and little Charlie is a bonafide crawler, I haven't had much spare time.  Now that my excuses are done, on to more important things, like Adam's Birthday Cake.

Last week was Adam's birthday and I threw him a little surprise party.  He had a great time, but it was the hardest thing I have ever done.  The anxiety of throwing a surprise party proved to be too much for me and minutes before we were supposed to leave, I was in the bathroom throwing up from pure anxiousness.   Crazy!  Well, once we got to the party I was able to relax and Adam was so surprised!  It was wonderful.  What else was wonderful was the awesome cake my mom and I made for Adam.  He's a huge Nintendo fan, so what better cake than a Nintendo cake.  Here is a little walk through of the  process:

 

 hills

 

my mom making the bob-ombs

 bob-ombs!

 mushrooms tops, turtle shells and flower bits

 goomba bros. & bob-ombs

 All the pieces waiting to dry and be assembled

 mushrooms!

 so happy!

 Cake assembly.  My mom made the 4 layer cake and frosted it in a wonderful sky blue.

Front of finished cake

Back of cake

yay!

close up of the cake

Not only did Adam love the cake, but it tasted awesome too!  Success!!

Proof I am Hilarious!

Baby Charlie laughing at me...what, you ask, was I doing to make her nearly split her sides?  Why attempting to catch cheese balls in my mouth, of course.  Adam was throwing them and apparently it was the funniest thing she has seen thus far.  Oh Charlie, just wait...we only get better :)

PS...she has an awesome poop at the end, see if you can spot when...funsies!

Pauly D Who?

So, if you know me then you know I am a huge fan of the Jersey Shore...I can't help it, I love it.  I look forward to seeing who's smushing who (or whom?), who's fighting who, who's GTLing and who's bringing home grenades.  I guess my husband decided if you can't beat em' join em' so he gave himself one heck of a blowout that even Pauly D would be proud of!

The original Pauly D blowout!

Not too shabby for a non-Italian!

say what?

pure hotness! :)

It Creeps, It Crawls, It Sees You When Your Sleeping, It's the INTERNET!!!!

So, my mom told me today that she was actually, genuinely afraid of the internet when it first started to become popular.  I'll pause while you reread that opening statement.  You read me right, she was AFRAID of the internet.  She though she would have a sort of hallucinogenic experience when she "logged on."  Not just an experience but an all out "trip" in  some sort of virtual reality that would engulf her mind and physical being.  She expected images to pop out of the screen and she would be on this journey through an altered state of mind.  Hmmm....as I laughed out loud uncontrollably, I couldn't help but wonder if there were others out there that were equally afraid of the internet.  I mean it's so cliche to be afraid of the dark, or flying, or sharks, or clowns, or whatever else seems to be the popular go-to childhood anxiety, but a fear of the internet...now this is interesting.  I probe deeper and find that not only was she afraid of entering some sort of lucid world but she was actually able to push pass this fear and actually get "online".  I suppose it goes without saying she was rather disappointed in the outcome....

Cobb on the Corn?

I like sinking my teeth into a big juicy corn on the cobb as much as the next guy, but when it comes to cobb on the corn?  That I just can't bring myself to dive my teeth into, let alone put my lips on it.
 
How many of you would wrap your mouth around this?  I would really like to know who out there would feel comfortable eating this?  Would you feel shame?  Would you be embarrassed to eat it in front of your family?  Do you eat one part before the other or do you eat them at the same time, back and forth?  I know, I know, you could just wrap your fingers around the protrusion and rip it off, but even that feels wrong.   I just don't think I could eat any thing that looks like this, but by the looks of it, I bet he's the envy of the corn field!

Thanks mom for sharing your sweet cobb with me and the world. 

Raw Fish Roll Ups

So, Adam and I love sushi (who doesn't?...my parents that's who doesn't...they won't even try it...they won't even look at it or sniff it...or lick it... or ...okay...I'm totally getting sidetracked).  Anywho, we decided to try our hand at rollin up a bit of the ol sush.  Along with our pal Big Mike, we set off to make the World's Greatest sushi roll.  Not really the world's greatest, I was just hoping for the World's Not Worst. 

Since we live in a tiny town and fish is not at our finger tips, at least any fish you would want to attempt to eat raw, we opted for a California roll type with carrots, cucumber, avocado, shrimp and crab...mmm:

Getting all the goodies together

And were off:  Michael, is putting down his rice and laying out his veg

Rockin' & Rollin'...literally

Adam a rollin' and a whistlin'

 

mmm...we made a lot more, but ate them before I could get a picure....they were delish!

Homemade Anniversary

Hooray!  Today is Adam and I's third wedding anniversary!  I can't believe it has already been 3 years!  It has gone by so fast!  Everyday I fall more and more in love with him and just when I think I can't possibly love him any more...there I go, falling again!  It is a wonderful life we have and I am so glad I was the one he chose to spend the rest of his life with...happy little sigh...below is us on our sweet wedding day:

I am assuming you just stood up and are applauding us, so  I will give you a moment while you take in all the glory that is us

Anywho, this year we decided to make gifts for each other instead of buying presents.  I have no idea what he has made me, but by the sound of the chop saw outside, it's gonna be dynamite!  As for me, I decided to make him a t-shirt with an image of my favorite thing on it...him, obviously!  I hope he loves it!

Here's a little walk through the creation of my present:

First I started with this awesome picture of Adam :)

Then I turned it into a line drawing to make it easier to make a stencil

I traced the outline onto a piece of vellum

Then cut the lines out to make my stencil

Then I silk screened it onto a t-shirt, you can see the imprint of the design on the screen...funsies!

This is the vellum stencil after I printed it, with missing pieces of course

This finished product!  Adam on a shirt, I challenge anyone to find a better gift!  :)

I am so excited to give it to him and see his reaction, hopefully he loves it!  I'll take a picture of him wearing it and post that later!  

Cheers to us!

Charlie's Blessing

Last Sunday little baby Charlie had her blessing and my oh my did she look beautiful.  Her Grandma Theresa bought her the most amazing gown complete with bonnet, shoes, socks and bloomers...she was definitely dressed to the nines!  Her Great Uncle Frank presented her to the church members and her Grandpa John performed the blessing, it was very moving.  Baby Charlie was wide awake and didn't make a peep, she just took it all in...she was a perfect angel.

Getting ready...she's got her bloomers on!

The back of her beautiful dress

awww...such a little doll...perfect

fast asleep...waiting to be blessed

looking like she belongs in the 1800's, so precious

Our little family

Sweet Ethan and Gage with their little cousin

Baby Charlie with Grandpa John

Miss Precious Perfect

My Current Top 10 Things I Love

So, since it has been a long, long time since I made a list of things I loved...since like this post...I decided it was about time I give you what I am currently lovin'....Prepare to have your jaw drop!

Number 10:  The way cheese curds squeak on your teeth when you eat them. 

Number 9:  My uncontrollable desire to see what that kid on the right's shorts look like from the front.

Number 8:  Dog mug shots

Number 7:  Saying "Farewell" with cupcakes

Number 6:  Not thinking my collection of ceramic pigs is weird.

Number 5:  That this fat mouse has simply given up.

Number 4:  Playing catch so well, it draws a crowd.

Number 3:  All things Dwight Schrute.

Number 2: Baby Charlie + Bumbo + Transforming Cheeseburger = Triple Threat

And Number 1:  Having the hottest husband on the block!