October 1st

Ok, it has been a few weeks but in my defense things have been insanely busy. But now they are slowing down and we can sit down and chat about a few things.

This past week was my final Wilton Cake class. The assignment was to build and decorate a 2 tiered wedding cake. Well since it isn't really the wedding season and football is in full gear I decided to show my badger pride with a cake. Nathan played a significant role in its construction. I decided to start building this cake fairly late on a Sunday night not realizing that you can't buy a 6 x 6 pan in every grocery store. So using an 8 x 8 disposable tin pan, Nathan reformed it into a decent 6 x 6 pan. So on to the theme....WI Badgers. You can't have a badger cake without the "W" logo. Nathan took some cheap metal cookie cutters, unbent them, and rebent them into a W using the official specs of the logo as his guide. He did an amazing job not once but twice. While he was doing this, I had my own experience with marshmallow fondant. And I learned a few things.

- Don't leave marshmallows unattended while nuking in the microwave.

- When disposing of exploded marshmallow goo, don't use your bare hands. It is hot and very sticky.

- Lesson number three, remove lid to trashcan prior to disposing of marshmallow goo stuck to your hand, other wise your hand will be stuck in the trashcan.

- Rubber gloves are useful when making red or black fondant.

Here is the final product: (the rest of the photos can be seen at our website).

I also posted a few pictures of our new house to the photo website. The closing is Oct 12th, so we should be able to take our time and paint some of the rooms and do odds and ends while we slowly move in.

Next weekend is the North American Reptile Breeders Conference & Trade Show

. This show is being held in Chicago and most of the major reptile retailers from around the country are expected to be there. I am going to meet Grand and Sheryl there on Sunday and I will see about getting Harry a wife :-D

Well it is getting a bit late so I am calling it a night.