Where does the time go????

Wow, has it been that long since I checked in with my girls?? (and gents..)

I guess so....

I have been busy with many things since we last saw one another.

I went back to work ...after 7 months at home sharing my daily thoughts with you and one bum knee..

While at home I launched a lil cake business out of my kitchen

Spoonful of Sugar

Creating cakes in the most delightful way....

That's me... 

I have been a busy little bee...

And we packed up the truck and moved to Beverly....

ok next door. But moving is still moving. I hate to pack!! You never know how much stuff you have until you have to move it from one location to another.

And the proudest moment was watching my nephew graduate!!

I am so proud of the young man my nephew has turned into.

When "Pomp and Circumstance" began to play , the tears began to flow.

The same lil one that was terrified of standing on grass was now marching into his future. 

As he threw up his "rock on "sign- we all held our up rock on's back.

That's right Alex- "Rock on" to whatever your hearts desire!! We are here for you and could not be prouder!!

I too am following my  heart's desire..

thus the reason for my tardiness.

But I am still here..

Now that the dust has setteled you will see more of me.

I promise!! I miss my blogging divas....

hope you missed me too.

 

Happy Birthday my little one

Happy 16th Birthday to my baby girl...

(I am trying not to cry as I type this)

Happy Birthday Morgan.

Wow it only seems like yesterday that I placed you in your car seat and brought you home.

You were so tiny and very beautiful. From birth I knew that you had your own personality.

You oozed independence !! You didn't cry for anything but the basics ..diaper changes and bottles. 

Even then you were fearless. 

Morgan, you have grown into a lovely young woman who I know will achieve anything you set out to do.

Continue to place the Lord first and foremost in your life and you cannot fail. 

I miss the little girl who use to wear curly pigtails ...I will always keep that little one in my heart.

But I am excited to see where the young lady who stands before me today will go.

Happy 16th Birthday Morgan Nicole!!! 

Mommy loves you!!!! 

My baby's 16th Birthday cake

Wow this cake is bright!!! 

Morgan will be 16 tomorrow and really wanted a shoe cake ...

So I made the shoe ..by hand.

It says LIVE in rhinestones.

I also made the makeup, powder puff, nail polish, and ipod from fondant.

I did not make the cake though...sigh. 

My oven stopped working on me. What the duece?? 

So, I called up Korgers and ordered a double 8 inch round at the last minute.

 Thanks Jennifer for all of your help. I owe you one. 

The border is a gumball border made of fondant.. pretty easy really.

Morgan loved it and I hope you do too....

She likes it.. she really likes it!!

I fininshed the cake. 

My mom liked it...no she looooved it!! 

She loved it so much that she did not want to cut it. We had to convince her to do so.

Hope you like it too...

I am going to be working on my daughters cake this week. 

Morgan is turning 16....

When did this happen?? 

It's true what they say.. time waits for no man.

Happy 59th Anniversary to my parents!!! 

Flowers, Ribbons, and bows ... OH MY!!!

I thought I would share some of my work so far. 

(Sorry about the pics in advance. Not my best photography)

For the last 2 days I have been making fondant flowers, ribbons, and bows... OH MY ...

I know have a "crick" in my neck from pinstakingly cutting flowers and other elements for my parents wedding cake. 

This is a sample cascade that will go on the cake. 

Granted, if I had more time to plan.. these would be bad ass.

I decided to go with a  Mary Engelbreit  themed flower for a whimsy look.

I pray that my mom and dad love it.. I will take like.

They are not very over the top people ..so I decided their cake should represent them.

I also have roses and leaves, that I cut and shaped by hand ..like a nut. LOL

These are just a few, there are many more. Trust me ..many many more.

 

 One of my roses.. I was hoping the pic would show the pearl dust that I hand sprinkled on each and every flower. But no such luck. It is really a nice touch .. let me tell ya. Sparkly... I love it.

Ok I have to run.. got to make more flowers!!!

 

I am soooo sentimental...

Isn't she purty?? Yes, she is a pretty gurl. And I am going to make her a sister.

(This photo is from google) 

My parents are celebrating their 59th wedding anniversary this Sunday.

My mom and dad never had a wedding or anything of the sort..so I am going to make them a wedding cake.

It will model this one but with a few changes.

I am hoping that they will like it. I am going to start on it today.

Making tons of flowers by hand so that will be time consuming!!

I am a sentimnetal person and I would like my parents to have a wedding cake.

They never posed for a wedding picture but I found a beautiful pic of them together and had it framed and all of the family wrote a message on the mat for them a few years ago. They LOVED IT!!! It hangs in their living room for all to see. I think my mom wanted to cry but she is not the crying type. 

I love to see my mama smile....

maybe Sunday I can make that happen.

My other hobby ...

Cake decorating!!! 

This was my take on a sushi Birthday cake for my nephew Alex.

He turned 18 a few weeks ago...

I am soooo proud of him. Alex is the oldest son of my twin Angelique..

he LOVES all things Japanese.

Mainly sushi...

So I airbrushed the cake to look like a wooden serving board and hand molded all of the susi and 

and it's extras. Yes, I made the fortune cookie... all out of fondant and rice crispie treats and candy.

The bowl is also made of fondant.. it was suppose to be a soy sauce bowl. I was SUPPOSE to put

chocolate sauce in it.. Don't ask why I didn't.

This is only a small portion of the sushi that Alex had at his party..
Sooooo delicious!!!!

I think Alex had a good time....

Happy 18th Alex!!!!!

Let's Celebrate!!!!

Big thanks for everyone who inquired about me during my "vacation."

I wouldn't call it quite a vacation... but the rest was much needed. 

This is Superbowl Sunday!!!

I am personally cheering for the Saints!!

Mr. H is rallying behind the colts.

(This should be interesting)

The world will be celebrating today one way or another..

We had a celebration in our family too.

A few weeks ago this very chic young lady turned 87!!!

That is my Aunt Ruth.. the STRONGEST woman I have EVER met!!!

Seriously. No Joke. She is a phenomenal woman who has overcome mountains that I pray I never have to climb.

I come from a very small family...approx. 15 members.

We are pretty close nit. So we all got together and threw my aunt a surprise get together.

The entire family was there. 

(sorry about the blur)

That's me eating cake...the birthday girl in the background!!

She gave me a gift years ago that no one could ever take from me

the gift of art. She saw something in me when I was like 10. 

I use to try to sketch little things here and there and she enrolled me in oil painting.

This is my 2nd painting. It came so naturally to me. My art teacher would give me a picture and let me do my thing. As you can see from the signature, I still could not write in paint but I could paint. Go figure.

I gave this to here when I was 11. It was a birthday present for her.

A portrait of Jesus. My first and last portrait.

and Lo and Behold...

Aunt Ruth can paint too!!! 

I told you she was amazing!! 

Happy Birthday Aunt Ruth may you see many more because we have so much more to learn.

Photos by my baby Taylor

A change has come...

One year ago today...

Barack H. Obama was inaugurated into the office of

The President of The United States of America!!

This was one of the proudest moments of my life.

I come from a long generation of people who believe in education and hard work.

Those same people were never really afforded the same opportunities as many others because they are

African-American.

That is reality.

Growing up, we were told that you can be anything that you want to be... to a degree.

Doctor and teacher those things you can achieve...but no one ever mentioned President.

Up until last year it was just a glimmer in my community's eye.

January 20th, 2009 it became a reality.

My entire family requested off from works for weeks in advance.

We had planned a celebration!!!

Everyone, including my 79 year old mother, had on their Obama shirts.

The grill was lit.

Champagne and sparkling cider was chilled..

Quiche was served for breakfast as we planted ourselves in front of the t.v.

We hung on every word, every moment. This is a day that I will tell my grandchildren about. My girls will tell their grandchildren about it as well.

 

My mother said that she never thought that she would live to see this day.

But here it was!!! 

I know that many of you do not care for President Obama.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I will not knock you for it.(David lol)

But for me, I am proud. Dr. Martin Luther King said that he had a dream..

I believe that the Lord gave him a vision of what was to come and

I am sooo very blessed to have been a part of it; even if it was from Conroe, Tx.

I never wanted to forget this life changing event..

so I have a tattoo to remind me ( in case I get Alzheimer's. Hey it runs in my family)

It says"Change" with the date 1/20/09 written in the stars.

That day, has forever changed what we tell our children.

We went from," Of course you can be a doctor!" to " You can be President !" 

I love the way that sounds.

I also come from a family deeply rooted on God. 

I have faith in my Lord and faith in our President and

I continue to pray for the leaders of this country daily.

My family will have a mini celebration today - and for many years to come.

I never want to forget that day...

the day when,

"The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness." -Barack H. Obama 44th President

When the weather outside is frightful....

Stay inside!!!

If it can be avoided. Sadly, I have to brave this weather and run a few errands.

Trust me, if it were not for my surgery I would never open my front door.

It's cold here today. A whole whoping 17 degrees!!!!

I hear your sniggles. That would be my friends from the north calling me a "Wussy".

But I am a southern gal. Granted, I love winter. The summer's here are just toooooooo hot and full of mosquitoes.

But this is a tad extreme.

(No this is not a pic of Conroe- I googled it.)

But this is how I feel. Every single heater in my house is on.

I am wearing my thermals, and my skull hat-indoors.

 I don't like this kind of cold. But I will tell you what I do like..

hanging out with my family. We will rent movies, play a few games, eat some serious comfort food,

and just chill.....literally.

Get it? Chill? LOL

(That was a joke.. you are suppose to laugh)

So wherever you are enjoy the moment , wrap up, and stay warm. But most importantly enjoy being with your loved ones.

Kingston... Not Jamaica !!!!

This is Kingston...

My grandpuppy.

Taylor begged me for a puppy.

I do mean begged. She promised to do all kinds of chores if I would allow her to have one.

I was a tad bit hesitant. But I gave in.

I planned my surprise.

Our neighbor's dog had puppies the night of Hurricane Ike.

I asked for one. She was delighted to give Taylor a new friend.

( I do believe it was an unplanned pregnancy..lol)

So the day of the adoption while she was at school I made my way next door with my puppy carrier in hand.

This was a huge litter. I thought ," Which one ? They are so many ."

Kingston answered for me. He walked right up to me and sat in front of me. Once I looked into those beautiful eyes, I knew that he was for my baby.

I brought him home, gave him a bath and waited for Taylor.

Sheer joy and screams were all I heard when she came through the door.

"This is your dog. You are responsible for him."

"Yes Mam!!!"

She has never failed.

Last night was no exception.

(Due to his serious shedding , Kingston Ike Thomas, now lives outside.

Taylor cried when we made this transition.

Kingston loved it.)

It is freezing here. Taylor made sure that her "son" was inside and warm.

He is still housebroken and remembered all of his manners that she taught him.

He has grown to be a true member of our family. He does not like strangers who might even go near his mamma. But he is the most loving dog you will ever meet. These two have a very special bond.

It amazes me the way she loves and cares for him.

When she is away visiting her dad she ALWAYS calls to check on him.

I love her for that.

And I have to admit, I love my grandpuppy Kingston.

I cannot imagine our lives without him.

My little princess

Introducing.....

My little Princess Aaliyah!!

Ms. Aaliyah is 4 years old and amazingly beautiful.

Poor Mr. H - the only boy in a house full of divas.

Well, he's not really alone if you count our dog Kingston.

(He's camera shy ..poor little fella)

And so is Aaliyah..

this is the only pic she would let me take.

They called it puppy love

Please welcome the newest member of our family

PRINZ

(Pronounced prince)

My little sister Ashley adopted this bundle of joy.

She brought him home Saturday.

Just in time for Christmas....

Welcome little one!!!

Welcome back, welcome back, welcome baaaccck!!!

And I am not speaking of Mr. Kotter either...

( I use to looove this show- once again showing my age.)

No I am talking of the kind of welcome that

the lollipop gangs breaks out in song for.

Angelique is HOME!!!

We are glad to have you back..

we missed you !!

Do us a favor...

don't leave us again.

I will let her tell you the good news ..

so swing by Six in One Hand   and hear it from the horses mouth.

Welcome back, welcome back..WELCOME BAAACCCKKK!!!