Sunday, July 31, 2011

So there was a girl and she turned Sweet 16

So the party was over a month ago and with my life being as it is I'm just sharing it with you now. Enjoy!
 The cake and the candles. My husband constructed the candle holder. My daughter cut out letter from foam board, spray painted them black and added silver glitter. I picked up some feather boas at the dollar store and put them behind the letters. We bought tall candles at Micheals. I think this project cost us less them $30. The biggest expense was the candles.  
This would be called the "nightmare cake". Seriously.  The cake was supposed to be 3 tiers but the bottom tier was crushed by the weight of the top two tiers. I did put dowels in the bottom and middle section of the cake but it didn't work out. The bottom of the cake became a trifle instead. Problem solved, nope. The zebra stripes were first made out of fondant, it fell of the cake, we then proceeded to paint the stripes, again another problem averted. And the last problem, the cake was crooked. The top of the cake was iced not once but twice since because I tried to make the cake less crooked. Will say though, the cake was all gone by the end of the night. Gotta love teenagers! 

 The candy table. Instead of favors we decided to do a candy table. Everyone, even the adults loved the candy table. I must thank my mother for this whole set up. She really did most of the work and decorating for the party.
 This is the birthday girl, Samantha, my beautiful daughter. We set up an area for photos. Beaded necklaces, feather boas and Popsicle sticks with mustaches and big red lips for fun photo opportunities. Hardly anyone stood in front of it. I think it was in the wrong spot. 
 The grandmothers! My mother's the blonde in the zebra stripes and my mother in law is in purple. Big thank you to my mother in law for all the cooking she did. Some of my friends finally got to try a rice ball and some really great baked ziti. 
 The candle ceremony was great. For those who do not know what a candle ceremony is, my daughter dedicated her candles to those that mean a lot to her. She  gave a small speech about each person. The person came up and lit the candle with her. My husband and I were her first candle. We love her so much and we were so happy to be able to do this party for her. 
After what seemed like the longest candle ceremony ever, my daughter finally blew out her candles. A great time was had by all and I was exhausted by the end of the night. 

Next party..my daughter and I will be having a big graduation party. We graduate at the same time in a couple of years, she's in high school, I'm in college. 

Thanks for stopping by! 
Jessica

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Friday, July 22, 2011

What do you do during a heatwave? I bake..

Banana Bread that is! 
When you have yourself some really ripe bananas...

you smash em all up..

add some sugar, beaten egg, vanilla, baking soda,...

and a cup and a half of flour..

mix it all up...


take a sip of sangria..

spoon mix into a buttered loaf pan, 
place in hot oven....
(on an extremely hot day)

take it out of the oven an hour later you got yourself a 
very delightful loaf of banana bread! 

That's it! Easy right! 
Yum! 


Banana Bread Recipe
(I found the recipe here.)
Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour
INGREDIENTS
3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar (can easily reduce to 3/4 cup)
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
METHOD
No need for a mixer for this recipe. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.
Yield: Makes one loaf.




Weekend Bloggy Reading







Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Just some flowers..

Would you believe that these flowers grow through my deck?



Sitting with my veggies, these marigolds make me smile :)

So last year I was lazy and didn't cut my hydrangea bushes back, well lets just say laziness pays. I have tons of blooms this year

 I love my red lilies. I wait all year for them to bloom.
Yellow lilies, yes I like lilies. Then again..
I love all flowers! 

I heart summer!! Hope you're having a great one.

Jessica

Friday, July 15, 2011

Not Giving up or better yet giving in..

So when I started nursing school this past December I was given some bad news I didn't want to hear. I was told that I would have to give up things that I loved and enjoyed.  I won't say that they said it to me in those exact words but that was the message.  So I struggled so hard to decide what to give up and what not to give up.  In reality, everything fell to the waste side and nursing school became a priority above all things, including my family.

This past June I gave my daughter a much belated and deserved Sweet 16 party (I'll put up pictures one day, they need to get edited).  It wasn't big. It was in our backyard.  I loved how the night went. The candle dedication service was great. I looked great.  In my heart, I was happy for a few hours.  I cried afterwards.
So, I know that I have to give up things I like to do, things I enjoy, but the hardest thing to do is give up your family.  Everyday it is a fight to even out my time with my family and my studies.  I know that in a year and a half I will be out of school.  I will be able to give them the time they deserve when I am home. Truly can't wait for that day!!

I also miss doing things that make me happy.  Does blogging and reading blogs or crafting make you happy? It does for me.  Unfortunately, I'm finding it difficult to be able to do any of those.  I will not be giving up or giving in.. I refuse. What is life worth if you cannot enjoy the people and the pleasures you love? We only live once and life is short.  It is a simple concept of balance.  I need to find my balance between school and the rest of my life.

So please don't think I'm gone, I'm not.  I check in here and there.  On weeks when I'm not bogged down with tons of studying I will post or read blogs.  Thanks for sticking with me. Thank you for all those who blog so I have something to read to get my mind off of school work.

Continue to have a great summer. BTW, go see Harry Potter, I saw it today on IMAX 3D and it was AWESOME!

Jessica
P.S. I listened to my professors lecture on my recorder hooked up the stereo in the car all the way to the movie theater to make up for the time spent watching the movie. My daughter and her boyfriend got to learn about asthma medications. LOL.