A Father's Day Masterpiece

It may be a little late for such a post, since father's day was Sunday. But it was a spectacular day for cake making!

My father is a fan of golf. He plays it and sometimes I catch him watching it! So naturally, on the day honoring him, I paid tribute to his sport. I made a golf course cake complete with cake balls that were suppose to be golf balls.

**Disclaimer - the cake balls don't actually look like golf balls because the candy coating dried quicker than I thought it would. So it kind of looks like a golf green with ping pong balls. Hey there's an idea for another cake...beer pong!!**

It was super easy to make. I mixed a cake mix from Betty Crocker...super moist...then baked it in 2 9" pans, like I would for a layer cake.

I then crumbled one of the cakes up and added vanilla frosting. I mixed that and made cake balls from one of the round pans. I put the balls in the fridge for about 30 to 40 minutes to harden.

While that was hardening, I pulled the other cake out of its pan and put it on a large serving tray (you can use whatever you want, I used this to "set
the scene"). I mixed green food gel with vanilla frosting for the grass and frosted the cake. I then used cupcake frosting (same thing as regular frosting, only its in a can and mine came with tips to change the frosting design). I chose the one that made leaves and I frosted around the edge of the cake.

Next I cut a hole in one area of the cake using a round lid I found. I dug out some of the cake with a spoon and fork. (I didn't cut all the way to the bottom. I wanted it to look like a tee hole). You may have to fix some frosting.

After this, the cake balls were mostly hard. I melted the candy coating as directed by the package and dipped the cake balls in. As I've said before, I meant to make dimples in the balls to look like golf balls, but the candy dried quicker than I thought it would. At this point I would have put the cake balls in the fridge to harden, but since they were hard before I finished dipping, I added them to the cake display.

I also made a flag out of wood skewers and paper taped around the top...shhhh, that's super secret!!

The end product was a hit and delicious! A semi-successful baking endeavor!

The Love of My Life

I think the inaugural post on my new blog will be about Duke...the love of my life!

I adopted him in mid-January when he was a mere two months old. Little did I know what I was getting myself into!

That first picture is my sweet baby the first day he came home. We didn't do a lot that day, he was shy and not quite use to me, or I him.

But that quickly passed. We began to get to know one another and love each other. For the past five months it's been joy and headaches, love and frustration. And I would not do any of it over again!

I have never known such worry or such carrying. I think he's sick at every unusual behavior...and I'll admit, I did take him to the vet because his nose was dry. I thought it meant he had a fever...he didn't. Just silly new mom worries! And I make sure he looks tough in front of other dogs. He sees one he doesn't like, he gets to bark without reprimand...at least for a little while. He wants a belly run, it's his! That little guy is so cute when he needs his belly rubbed!

The other picture is a current picture of Duke. He got a new toy today from Grandma and Grandpa. He's doing his best to annihilate it at the moment, and succeeding! He is a sweet dog, unless your stuffed or contain squeaker...then your in trouble!

What I've learned over these last few months is that we have to vacuum and bathe during the day, otherwise we're going to wake the neighbors. He doesn't like the sound of a vacuum, and not just mine, any vacuum. My mom vacuumed this morning and Duke was not having it. And a bath may be the meanest thing I do to him. He runs around the house for a good 15 minutes barking at me and trying to dry himself by dragging his head
across the carpet. Whatever helps!

Whatever he does, good or bad, I still love that little guy. He is apart of me now. I knew my life was going to change when I adopted him, but I had no idea it would be this good!

Yes ol' Duke is the love of my life.

The Creation of New

Hello world.  I have created a new blog that I hope I can keep up with.  I have titled it "A Little Bit of Random" because anyone who knows me, knows that I am a completely random person.

The content of this blog will include everything from crafting and cooking to fitness and shopping.  I also have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, so there may be a few random postings about science and history, or anything I deem interesting.

I should apologize ahead of time for the randomocity that will spew from my brain.  You are truly a sport for continuing to read and support my blog!  Thanks!