Katie's New Business

Wow! I started my own business. It's called "Katie's Cakery" and I do custom cakes for special occasions. I think I should change my business cards to say "Katie's Cakery-anything but weddings." I want to do fun cakes for birthdays, holidays and other fun celebrations. I don't want to do wedding cakes for stressed out, grouchy brides and their mothers!

I started yesterday by setting up a display table at a Bazaar at my children's school and taking orders. My goal was to give out business cards, get possible future clients and get 1 order, but I ended up with 4 orders by the end of the day! I'm so excited! Everyone was very enthusiastic about my cakes and seemed to be interested in remembering me for their next party.

Here are some of the cakes I did for the Bazaar, and a link to the blog I created especially for Katie's Cakery.

http://www.customcakesatkatiescakery.blogspot.com/

This is a picture of my complete table display. Many people told me they didn't realize they were cakes until they read the sign. One lady thought they were pillows, and another thought I was selling toys. My table was popular with the children and several took business cards to give to their parents. Peoplewere even taking pictures!

"Cheeseburger and Fries"

This was a favorite for many, and it was also my first order! A boy

and his mother ordered it for his birthday in January.

"Zebra Purse"

This cake was especially fun to make. I made it will all

white fondant and "painted it" with food coloring.

"Lightening McQueen"

This cake is Ben's favorite, of course. At least I

already know what to do for his next birthday!

I hope you enjoyed seeing my cakes. I sure had fun making them! Wish me luck on my new adventure in self-employment!

The Latest in the Kennedy House

The Latest Cute Craft. It's a mini-muffin pan turned into a Christmas Countdown Calendar. So Cute!

Here you can see how each square has magnet strips on the back to hold it over the openings. The mini-muffin pan was $4.50 at Wal-mart (you just have to drill 2 holes in the top). Now I just have to find small enough candies to fit four in each space.




The Latest Cake. It was a baby shower for twins. Smartest idea yet-I bought the cake at Costco and bedazzled it with fondant.




The Latest Field Trip. Ben's turn this time-Preschool trip to Ridgefield Farms and our search for the perfect pumpkin. Luckily we found it!

Here's the finished product. Ben accidentlly broke off the stem-Oops!

The Latest Golf Outing. We went with the Liddells and it was Robyn's first time behind the wheel of a golf cart. We only had one mishap taking out a couple of elderly putters but they're fine (just kidding). Andy won (of course) but I was happy with my score (mostly because we applied the 8-swings-per-hole-max rule).

The Latest Girl's Trip. Time-Out for Women in Richmond, Virginia. Here are the ladies from my ward in Harpers Ferry that I went with. I've landed myself among some of the most happy, kind, fun, Christ-like women I've ever met. I'm lucky to have made so many new friends so quickly.

The Latest Mommy-Daughter Project. Knitting hats with a loom. The girl's love it and I love that they're learning a hobby. Emily's making me a hat, I've made her a hat and scarf and they've each made a hat for the Keck twins.

I had to add this picture of Jenna with her best-friend-in-the-whole-world Isabelle. Friends make life so much sweeter!

"Freedom's Run" 10K Race

Last Saturday Andy and I ran in the Freedom's Run 10K race in Shepherdstown, West Virginia (about 10 minutes from our house). The weather was perfect and the scenery was beautiful. It was all ran on the tow path of the C&O canal.

Here I am in the home stretch on the path heading back up to the road from the canal. It was a lot of fun. Anyone want to join us next year?

Who Wants to Be LARGE!?!

Does anyone else have a problem with clothing sizes? I can understand "small"- that would be an outfit a girl would be happy to buy, and MAYBE "medium" but I don't know who would feel good about themselves buying anything that is labeled "large." I want to have a word with the man that decided to put that on any woman's clothing label. And as if that's not bad enough, they add insult to injury by having "extra-large" and "extra-extra-large." They might as well put "pachyderm" on the back of your shirt. Honestly, we need to change all of the sizes. Who's with me? I think "small" is fine, we can leave that one, then maybe the next size up can still be medium, because if you're fitting into it you already feel just fine about yourself, but we have to do something about "LARGE." Let's put something on the label that will make you feel proud to buy that outfit. I say we change it to "voluptuous" and "ultra-voluptuous." Who wouldn't want to be "ultra-voluptuous?" With this one change we may be able to derail the entire diet industry. Who's with me?

Happy Birthday Robyn!

We had a very fun birthday party at our house for my dear friend, Robyn Liddell. It was actually a surprise party, and boy was she surprised. During the planning phase, I was always worried that she was going to find out, or that she had already found out, and was constantly watching what I said around her to be sure I didn't slip up. Well, the look on her face and the tears in her eyes were proof that it was indeed a surprise. Since Robyn has a special love of Panda bears, I made her a cake with that in mind. It's a 2-tiered chocolate cake with chocolate icing and crushed oreos, decorated with bamboo on the sides. A second cake stands next to it, decorated with fondant to look like a panda, and it's eatting the chocolate cake. Robyn loved it and it was DELICIOUS! Happy Birthday!

1st Day of School...sort of

My sweet children had their 1st day of school on Wed. Aug. 26. Joseph started kindergarten, Jenna is now in 2nd grade and Emily in 4th. My little children are getting bigger and bigger!

Luckily, they love school and are all doing very well so far. The funny thing about these pictures, though, is that they were actually taken the 2nd day of school, because my camera's battery died before I could get a single picture off on the 1st day morning. Either way, their clothes are still very cute and otherwise they look the same so it doesn't really matter, right?

What's Your Favorite Children's Book?

I want to share something with all of you. When I was a child, I loved books. Well, I guess not a lot has changed there. When my parents would read to me, I would always choose the same story to hear. "Who Wants an Old Teddy Bear?"

It's a story about an ungrateful boy who receives a gift from his grandmother. He was hoping for a rocket ship, but instead got what? You guessed it-a teddy bear. He kicked the bear across the room and went to bed. That night he had a dream that he floated through the clouds and touched down in the middle of a town full of giant teddy bears. A very nice grandmotherly teddy bear picks him up, wraps him, stuffs him in a box, and mails him to her grandson teddy bear. When the boy teddy bear unwraps his gift, he's upset. He didn't want a silly boy doll, so he kicks him across the room. The boy "doll" starts to cry, the teddy bear boy picks him up, and they become the best of friends. The boy then wakes up from his dream, finds his teddy bear and loves him from then on.

For whatever reason, this story touched my heart. Maybe it was because I loved teddy bears. Or maybe it was because I secretly wished my toys were "real." Maybe it was the wonderful illustrations, or the idea that dreams can take you anywhere, even a town full of giant teddy bears. For whatever reason, I asked for this story over and over again, and when I finally learned how to read, this was the one I would go back to again and again.

As I grew older, as we all do, those special treasures that meant so much fall by the wayside and drift from our minds. Until one day in college. I was in a children's literature class, and we had an assignment to write about our favorite book as a child. This book immediately came to my mind-but I couldn't remember what it was called. I seemed to remember the name "Andy" but I didn't know if that was just because I married an Andy. I decided the book may be named "Andy's Bear" and wrote my paper on this book that captured my heart as a child.

I asked my mom about the book, but she didn't remember it. My brother and my dad didn't remember it either. I looked through my mom's book shelves, old toy boxes, and came up empty. I could remember the exact story and could picture the illustrations in my mind, but I couldn't find the book. That was 10 years ago. Every once in a while I would search some more. I always had my eyes out for it at my mom's house, at yard sales, antique shops and librarys. I've asked every librarian I've met if they knew the book I was looking for. If only I could remember the title, I could find it on the internet, but after searching and searching through all books on teddy bears, I never could get any leads, and by now I was sure it wasn't called "Andy's Bear" and wasn't even sure if the boys name was Andy at all.

Today, while visiting the library with Ben, I asked all of the librarians here in Harpers Ferry if they knew the book I was looking for. One librarian spent a lot of time with me looking through children's book catalogues and on the internet. Though our search turned up nothing, my desire to find this book was rekindled.

At home, I tried several different google searches, and long-story-not-quite-so-long, I finally found my beloved book. It's called "Who Wants An Old Teddy Bear?" and I can't wait to get it in the mail. I ordered two, one for me and one for my library so I can share this adorable story with others.

So, what's your favorite book from your childhood?

Verizon's Automated Phone System

In an attempt to be understanding of the companies of the world. I am going to attempt to write a pros and cons list reguarding automated phone systems. This blog is being written only minutes after spending some time tangled in Verizon Wireless's computer secretary, so it may sway to one side, but I'll try to remain unbiased.

Pro

You don't have to be on hold for 20 minutes waiting your turn with the next operator who can barely speak english.

Con

It doesn't help when you yell at the computer. All you'll get is "Would you please repeat that request?" said in a voice that sounds a lot like the Enterprise computer from Star Trek.

Pro

I can't think of another

Con

If you push a wrong button, you have to start all over again.

Pro

I can't think of another

Con

If what you want isn't on the list of things that the no-pulse robot secretary says, you're out of luck

Pro

I really can't think of another.

This is to all you companies that have gotten so big that you feel you no longer need to have real people answer your phones for you. Please-Have mercy on us. It's really hard to sweet talk a computer and I can use all the help I can get.

Family Vacation to the Beach

We went to the beach this past weekend! My dad lives near the Jersey Shore, so we stayed with him and my step-mother, and had a fun weekend.

Here are some pictures I took today while we were at Island Beach State Park.

While we were in New Jersey, we visited my grandmother. Here is a picture of the children with their Great-Grandmother, Nana O'Neill. We all had some really good NJ pizza and it was great to visit Nana.

Blackberry Pie

Yum! There is nothing better to eat than freshly picked fruit, and I've found this great recipe to making using our fresh picked blackberries. I hope you try it-you can throw it together in about 10 min. if you use the ready made pie crust.

Blackberry Pie
4 cups fresh blackberries
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 package of Pillsbury ready made pie crust
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 cup white sugar


1. Combine 3 1/2 cups berries with the sugar and flour. Spoon the mixture into an unbaked pie shell. Spread the remaining 1/2 cup berries on top of the sweetened berries, and cover with the top crust. Seal and crimp the edges. Brush the top crust with milk, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup sugar. Cover the edge of the crust with a pie ring or foil so the edge won't burn.

2. Bake at 425 degree F for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature of the oven to 375 degrees F, and bake for an additional 20 to 25 minutes.

Enjoy!

National Geographic In Our Pool

No, the natives aren't skinny dipping-though there was that one time last week that Ben swam too fast and his bathing suit couldn't keep up-but what I'm talking about this time, is the "wild life" that have come visiting.

We've had a mouse, 2 frogs, and some amazon sized beetles (OK, they were only about 1 inch long) swimming around our pool. The mouse story is my favorite. He was hiding in the vacuum hose and when I threw the hose in the pool and started shooting water through it, the mouse popped out the other end and started swimming around. Thank goodness some friends were there, because the older boys were thrilled. They scooped it up, but then dropped the poor thing. It then suddenly became and very comical scene, where the moms jump up on chairs while the boys chase the mouse around the pool deck.



All in all, a fun memory. I'm just grateful it wasn't a snake.

We Bought A Berry Patch!

We knew that the trees that ran along our backyard had berry bushes along them, but we didn't realize just how many berry bushes we now owned until they started to bloom last week. I'll try to explain it the best we can.

We have 8 acres of property. The front 3 acres or so is lawn and house, and the rest is trees. That leaves about 5 acres of woods, which we have now learned is surrounded on 2 complete sides by blackberry, red raspberry, and black raspberry bushes. We've been picking every 2 days and are in berry heaven. We had some friends over yesterday to pick with us, and here are some pictures. By the end of July I'll be a master at making berry syrup, berry jam, berry pie and everything else "berry." I should have my own Strawberry Shortcake name. Any suggestions? Frazzle-Berry? Dingle-Berry? Goof-Berry?

Here is Ben. He spent most of his time eatting instead of picking, but what fun would berry picking be if you didn't eat as many as you brought home?

This is our little friend Jessie. This picture explains where her berries kept going.

And I thought she kept eatting them!?

Ohio State University Football Cake

I think this may be my best cake yet. This cake was made yesterday for some dear friends of ours. The Candlands have a wedding on Saturday, so I made the cake for the rehearsal dinner. The bride and groom are HUGE Ohio State fans. This cake was so much fun to make, it really challenged my creativity. The cake topper is made of polymer clay molded around chopsticks (so I could easily stick them into the cake). After sculpting the clay, I baked it in the oven to harden, then painted them to look like they were all wearing football jerseys. Even the bride has a wedding dress "football jersey" on. The field goal posts were made by bending coat hangers, then dipping them in white chocolate. After they cooled, I carved away the excess white chocolate with a paring knife.

I also made "Buckeye" cake pops to go along with each slice, which are not pictured here. They're little round balls of cake, frozen, then stuck on a stick and rolled in melted chocolate and left to harden. I rolled them in dark chocolate first, then dipped the tops in light brown chocolate to make them look like buckeyes.

Here is a closer picture of the cake topper.

Kennedy Camping

Last weekend, we took the kids camping. I'd promised them the week before that if they went a week without watching TV, playing the computer or playing the Wii, we would take them camping with our friends, the Liddells. We had actually already planned on going camping with them, because it was the annual ward cubscout family campout, but I knew I would need something to motivate them to stick with the plan. Have a reward was really more for my own benefit, it sure cut down on the whining, and I also realized something...I LOVE NO TV!!! I've always used it to help me more than anything else, because I can get stuff done and know that the kids are busy and out of trouble. Now with the girls home for the summer, I didn't want them watching any TV during the day when we have such a beautiful yard to spend the summer in. It's been great, and we have just been swimming, playing, and READING!!! Yeah! I've been catching all of my children with books, all day long and I love it! TURN OFF YOUR TV'S AND ENJOY THE SUMMER!

Here are our pictures from camping-We had a great time and made many wonderful memories.

Joseph and his watermelon

Emily, Isabelle Liddell, Jenna

Jenna's 1st Grade Field Day

On June 2, Jenna's class at CW Shipley had Field Day. I went to help and watch the fun, and I'm so glad I did. Jenna had a great time, as you can see in the pictures. Her best friend, Isabelle, was always by her side-those two are inseparable.

Joseph's Preschool Graduation

I can hardly believe it-Joseph's going to kindergarten next year! He had a wonderful time in preschool and loved his teachers.

His preschool class put on a very nice presentation. Then we were all able to enjoy a luncheon for all of the families.

I had a lot of fun making the cake, and I think it turned out pretty well-it sure tasted good:-)

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is the official start to summer, and

I LOVE SUMMER!

We were blessed with warm weather and sunny skies, so the pool was full of friends. We're especially glad that the Liddells came over, because Mark manned the grill and we ate like kings. No one can grill a chicken thigh like Mark Liddell!

This is a picture of Charlie Liddell, Ben's favorite little friend. As you can tell, he's not very comfortable in water, so we took extra measures to be sure he didn't sink.

What To Do Today?

I'm having the Young Women over tonight at 7pm to do their campfire cooking certification class for girl's camp. Jennifer VanVliet is doing Chicken Enchiladas and I'm doing peach cobbler in a dutch oven. The fire pit in our yard looks great, but I definitely need to mow the lawn today or we may loose one of the Beehives in the tall grass.

I also need to clean the main floor of my house because it's shamefully messy and I would be terribly embarrassed if any of the girls or leaders saw it in this almost condemed condition.

It would be really nice if I could powerwash the deck furniture for the pool area so I can have it set up today.

I also have to hem the edge of the flag that the girls need to decorate for camp.

While getting each of these things done, I also need to get to Pam Harmon's by noon for a birthday lunch for a sister that we visit-teach named Jennifer Mayfield.

In addition to all of these things, I just found that my freezer in the garage has almost completely defrosted because I bumped the plug yesturday while I was getting ready to trim the hedges, so it's been turned off for almost 24 hours. I'll need to work a freezer clean up into my schedule.

*Note to self: When using bleach to clean ANYTHING, even if it's a tiny bit and it's not going to take very long, and even if it's in the kitchen sink, wear an apron so you don't get speckles of bleach on the front of your favorite daytime dress.

*2nd Note to self: Find something blue that stains really well to color in the white bleach spots on your favorite dress. Do they make permanent markers in "denim" ?

Jenna's Trip or The First Swim of the Season

The pool is open and is in swimming condition, though the water is still a bit cloudy and the bottom still needs to be vacuumed (as soon as I can see it). Yesterday evening, though, Jenna took the first dip in the pool. Andy was working on the concrete walkway that will run under the gate, and Jenna, Emily and Ben were playing around next to the pool. The water is still in the 60's, and the air hasn't been very warm, so we weren't planning on having the kids swim for another week or two, but while Jenna and Emily were messing around near the deep end, Jenna tripped and fell in, and she was not happy about it one bit. Jeans and sneakers are not the preferred bathing gear. Luckily, she has taken swimming lessons and was able to doggy paddle to the side and climb out. Also lucky, was the fact that Andy was wearing a mask while working on the walkway, so Jenna couldn't see him laughing. She was quite a sight, dripping wet from head to toe.

I guess it didn't bother her too much, though, because the next morning she was right back in the pool, along with the rest of the kids. Summer has now officially begun in the Kennedy home, and next Saturday it's going to be in the 80's-YEAH!!!

The Kennedy's Go To the Circus

Andy recently told me that he'd never been to the circus. I couldn't believe my ears. What well rounded childhood doesn't include at least one trip to the circus? Luckily, The Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus came to town, so I took the kids and Andy to their first time at the circus. Andy got us fantastic seats, second row on the floor. We were even sitting in folding chairs (I always think the people in the folding chairs have the best seats.) We were so close that I didn't even have to zoom in while I was taking pictures.

And what's a circus without giant, stinky elephants doing tricks! Yeah!

Cakes, Cakes and More Cakes!

I've been pretty busy with making some fun cakes lately. Here are a few for you to see.

This is a cake I made for St. Patrick's Day. It has 2 pots of gold (one on the side and one on the top) and a rainbow around the side. I brought this to a Relief Society activity to share.

Here is a springtime cake I made for the same Relief Society activity. I made this one with buttercream icing, and made the ladybug out of fondant.

This one was especially fun. I made it for a friend's son on his birthday. His favorite show is Stargate SG-1, so I made a replica of the stargate.