I have to brag (just a little)

I've been decorating cakes for about four years now. Nothing too difficult , but I have made them for money and have helped out at my friend's bakery when she gets too over booked with cakes. I think I have a creative mind for it. Anyway, I have to brag just a little on this cake. About a month ago, a lady I work with mentioned the big party that her family has every year to send her nephew off to training camp. He has played for the Steelers, the Vikings and is playing this year for the Tennessee Titans. I decided to make one of my cakes for his party and I just wanted to show you know how it turned out. I was very proud of it.

Sunday pics...

My camera has not been working very good and it makes it even harder when Abbey doesn't want to stay still, but here is a pic from a few weeks ago on a Sunday morning that I just got off the camera. Don't you just love the hat?

Sunday Pictures (Thanks for the idea, Mindy!)

Well, I haven't had much to say lately so I haven't blogged in a while. But I was talking with my aunt recently and she mentioned how she hates that she doesn't get to see Abbey on Sunday with all her cute outfits (apparently word has spread, via the little old ladies, that Abbey always has something cute on for church on Sunday). Well, I decided to take a page from my friend of a friend, Mindy's blog and start putting Sunday pictures of Abbey on here so family can see her in her Sunday best. I have taken pictures the past few weeks and these are what I have so far. Both dresses were gifts from Meme. The last one is just a picture of me and Abbey after we changed out of our Sunday clothes.

It won't be long...

Till it's football time in Tennessee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Around this time of year I start getting tired of the heat and I'm ready for the cool crisp air of fall, but most of all I'm ready for some football. I love football, it is truely a passion. I love to have tailgate food, friends over and I get so wrapped up in a game that it is almost silly. I think I love football more than my husband does, although he gets pretty wrapped up in it too. I have reserved season tickets to the local high school games, I print out all of the schedules for our favorite college and pro teams, I plan get togethers, vacations or any necessary trips around the football schedules and my house turns orange and two shades of blue for football (funny how all our favorite teams have these colors in common). I love it. This year we will have to work around the baby, but I don't think that will be a problem. She needs to learn from a young age what is important in life, FOOTBALL. We have already started teaching her to say "Go Vols!". For those of you who might be as crazy as I am, and have started to look at the fall line ups, here is a great link to remind you of last year and get you excited about the future.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVF4CSgWiTc

Let's hear it, REBS! Go Vols! How about those Titans! And charge on Broncos! Let's get ready for a great season!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

P.S. Look for local boy, Eric Taylor, on the LP Field this year for the Titan's defense. We are really proud of him.

Salsa!

Well, I canned my first batch last night and we chose Salsa. I cheated a little and got a seasoning mix to use, but we ended up with a good salsa. Clark really liked the flavor and it had just enough punch. Since most of my tomatoes are still green and they are larger tomatoes, not best for salsa or tomato paste, we bought 8 lbs. of Roma tomatoes from a farmer friend that Clark works with. It made 5 pints of salsa and all the lids were sealed good by this morning. So far, so good. Now tonight we will work on pickles. We also bought 15lbs. of pickling cucumbers and again I bought a cheat packet of dill pickle seasoning for the brine. I can't wait to work on it tonight. I enjoy seeing fresh food preserved. It brings back a lot of memories of how my family would pull together and put up food from our garden when I was young and it has become something that Clark and I enjoy doing together. I think my parents and grandmothers are impressed with us too.

I have tomatoes...

Well, I thought I would give you a garden update. Weeds have taken over and the garden is growing slow. I figured this would happen because I just love the thought of a garden more than I love the work, but Clark is off from work this week and promised that he would till down the rows for me. I have kept the weeds out from around the plants so they are growing, just not too fast. I was really dissapointed in myself when my neighbors came over a couple of nights ago with a bag full of squash, peppers, cucumber and a head of cabbage and said there was plenty more so go pick out of their garden whenever we want. We tilled our gardens the same weekend, but they are much more into it than I have been and the results are obvious. I went out yesterday to take a look and was very happy to see one of my tomatoes is turning red, I have four dime size patty pan squash growing and a zucchini that is about four inches long already. Maybe my garden is doing better than I thought. I'll see if I can get some pictures soon. After we clean the weeds out. :)

PS. The two tomato plants that survived from the seeds I planted in February have started to grow tomatoes and they are Roma style, long and slender, so I guess I have either Sweet Tangerine Mamas or Golden Mamas. Maybe it will be one of each.

MaMa...

Abbey said her first word and it was MaMa...although no one else has heard her say it and frankly no one believes me when I tell them that I heard it. But that was what she said last night, I promise. I have noticed in the past couple of days that she is working very hard at forming her mouth and not just making sounds. Well, last night she was in her Jumparoo and she started getting tired and wining, then she would cry out "Mama" and rub her eyes. I would think that it was just her making noise, but she did it three or four more times and it was very clear. Still no one believes me, but hopefully tonight she will do it again while Clark is around. I'm sorry that it will break his heart that her first word is mama instead of dada, but that's the way it goes. :)