Turtle Cakes

When my son asked for a turtle cake for his ninth birthday I cringed. (I am so not a cake decorator. I have always thought it would be fun to take some classes, but obviously that has never happened.) Why did he want that again? I made him this birthday cake for his 3rd birthday:

It was a disaster. It was the first time I had baked a cake in a bowl and I overbaked it. It was all dried out and then the frosting was out of control. It was a browned butter frosting which tasted great, but was way too thick in order to cover this turtle and make the design in it. Thankfully we served it with lots of ice-cream. What was amazing was that my 3 year old loved it! Score one for mom...little kids are easy to please. So easy to please and yet I cringed at his request as he now knows what is good and what is not. I was not expecting him to ask for a turtle again. Well I wanted to do something much easier than that first one. I knew I needed it to seem more creative so he would go for it. I was so glad I went with my daughter to a birthday party a few months ago where they served a pull apart cake or some just call them a cupcake cake. So I got on the internet and began searching for a turtle pull apart cake. I found this video and as a result came up with this for my son's birthday:

He was so pleased with how it turned out and quite frankly I was pleased as well. It was so easy and quick and tasted great. Success! (I took the picture before I added a chocolate triangle for the tail).

4 things to know about me and this blog

1) I am not a photographer and I really really need a new digital camera. Enough said...

2) As an attorney, having worked on one too many child pornography cases, my husband made me promise that I would never put pictures of our children on a public blog. The deal was made and so you might see some headless pictures. :)

3) Please remember that I am trying to be creative. I don't always succeed!

4) No promises whatsoever on how often I will publish a post. I am usually writing a couple of posts at a time, but it takes me forever to get it to the point where I am o.k. with others seeing it.

Family Yahtzee Game

Before Christmas this last year I was trying to think of gift ideas that would be inexpensive and yet meaningful. My younger sister led me to this idea which I immediately fell in love with and decided that I could actually make one of these for another sister and her family. It ended up being a really easy and inexpensive idea. I called up my sister and had her e-mail me family pictures. She immediately wanted to know what they were for and kept trying to get it out of me. The original idea used bigger blocks, but I just bought a package of six 1 inch blocks from Michael's. I was really concerned that the pictures were going to be too small, but the smaller blocks seemed a better size for a yahtzee game. I think they turned out really well. There are so many sizes of blocks to choose from and several of them fit perfectly into this box. This box I also found at Michael's for $1.50. This box is the old cigar style boxes or from my early elementary years it was the style of my pencil box (if any of you are old enough to know what I am talking about). The game pages that I printed out and cut fit perfectly into it. I love how it turned out and almost didn't want to mail it. My sister absolutely loved it. Please share any great ideas that you might have for this next year. It is never too early to start planning.

Gratitude

Several weeks ago, our Stake President (and his wife) stopped by on a Saturday evening. We assumed he was coming over to give something to my husband who is Bishop of our ward. We were both surprised when we realized they were there to specifically see me and give me this:He expressed his gratitude to me as the wife of the bishop. He mentioned the fact that many times the wives get left out and aren't acknowledged for all that they do behind the scenes. He and his wife were going out to dinner--date night. I was so touched that they would take away from their date to show gratitude to me. I wondered if other wives were being visited that evening or if each week that was a part of their date to visit someone else. It had been a rough week for me and those flowers were the perfect antidote for making it all better. Really it wasn't the flowers, but what they symbolized to me--Gratitude! I am always telling my children (and my husband) that a sincere "thank you" will get you far in life. Everyone loves to be appreciated. As I looked at these flowers day after day it was a reminder to me to show more appreciation to those that I am around. There are so many people that have influenced my life and deserve a thank you note or a phone call, etc. The time to do it is now...not when it is too late.

"Gratitude is mark of a noble soul and a refined character. We like to be around those who are grateful. They tend to brighten all around them. They make others feel better about themselves. They tend to be more humble, more joyful, more likable." --Joseph B. Wirthlin

Creativity

I love this video titled Create by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf. This talk was given in the fall of 2008 at the General Relief Society Meeting.

I had never thought of creation in my life as being so important before...sure we have to create, especially as a mother and wife, but why would it be so important? Here is just a small portion of the talk:

"Heavenly Father is able to accomplish these two great goals--the immortality and eternal life of man--because He is a God of creation and compassion. Creating and being compassionate are two objectives that contribute to our Heavenly Father's perfect happiness. Creating and being compassionate are two activities that we as His spirit children can and should emulate.
The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before.
Everyone can create. You don't need money, position, or influence in order to create something of substance or beauty.
Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty...
The more you trust and rely upon the Spirit, the greater your capacity to create. That is your opportunity in this life and your destiny in the life to come. Sisters, trust and rely on the Spirit. As you take the normal opportunities of your daily life and create something of beauty and helpfulness, you improve not only the world around you but also the world within you."

This reminds me that each day there is a bigger purpose in what I accomplish. I am here to become like my Heavenly Father and His Son.
I do not feel creative most of the time, but I am learning that I need to change my perspective. I must remember that every time I make a meal, fold my laundry and organize it in drawers or the closet, read a story to my child, do the dishes, and more--I am creating. There is creativity in everything I do if I can recognize it. The most important thing I create each day is the atmosphere in my home where the spirit can dwell or not dwell depending on the amount of effort I put into it. This needs to be my daily focus.
I have felt the need to create more in my life and to share the process with others.
I feel that in some way this blog will fill some of this need in me. This blog will be in a constant state of change as I am learning first off how to create a blog and then there will be the creation process of each post. I am learning that there is satisfaction in creating. It is fun to preview my blog with each addition or change that I have made. I like seeing the process of an idea grow into something actually tangible or seen. I also feel the need to do more and be more aware in my own home so that I can share with others.

There is joy to be found in creating. Try it!