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Thursday, June 4, 2009

So Sad


Today, David Carradine was found dead in his hotel room in Bangkok. After failing to appear on the set of new movie just beginning filming, a maid found him after an apparent suicide. He is survived by his widow, Annie Bierman, and mourned by many.


Strangely enough, this coincides with another death. Though perhaps not as widely affecting as David's death, it still has an affect. On his way up the stairs to our apartment last night, my boyfriend herd this very loud thud on the wall at the top. This morning, we discovered one of the swallows that nest in our alcove every year, dead on the floor, right against the wall.
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To counter the sadness and negativity such news can bring, I would like to share this article I found on CNN. Every day oridnary people who have re-evaluated their lives and determined that Superhero work is their calling in this life, this economy.

I'm seriously tickled by this.

Ok, the links are not even showing up. WTH? I'll deal later.

Monday, June 1, 2009

Kangaroo Cake and More

Yesterday was Princess Potato's First Birthday!!! We celebrated by going out to Spanaway Lake Park and barbecuing hot dogs and stuffed pork chops. The food was fabulous, the company wonderful, and the weather fantastic!

We started working on the cake the previous night. It needed to be cut into the shape we wanted, then cut in half and filled. I drew the design, then Jeremy being of the mathematical mind that he is, figured out scale before cutting. Yes, that's a tape measure in his hand.
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The morning of her birthday, we were up by 8 to begin frosting. Jeremy really wanted to use this whipped cream frosting that you buy as liquid and whip yourself. I usually do a buttercream, but I was willing to give it a go. Of course, this was a total arm sore as we don't have an electric mixer and had to whip by hand. It was rough, but it tasted fabulous and was less work on my hands for actual decorating. Jeremy's mother used to do wedding cakes for a living, so he knew how to do roses. He also layed the primary layer of frosting and the border. It was up to me for the kangaroo, duck, and writing. They're supposed to have a kinda puffy stuffed animal look to them.
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Jeremy's mother was pretty upset we didn't let her do the cake. Everybody else always lets her do the cakes. It's her thing, since she did do it professionally. Well, I'm new to this family, and I've done the cakes for my kids every year for the past 9 years. I wasn't budging on getting to do Potato's first cake when his mother has had how many firsts of her own kids, not mention numerous grandbabies? I'm told she didn't even look at the cakes, and the only bite she had was one Jeremy gave her from his plate. I'm pretty miffed over this. His mother did get to do a bunch of other preps for the party though, and I think that assuaged some of the hurt she was feeling about the cake. But not enough, I guess.

So many people showed up. Everybody that we invited that we knew would be able to. His sister Dottie heads down to Palm Springs every year around this time, so we knew she wouldn't be. My parents have other priorities, so I just don't expect too much from them unless it's something local to them, which means Spokane.
This is a shot of most the party taken in to seperate shots at dif moments.
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My friend Nola was kind enough to lend her husband, Scott, for playground duty. She says he owes her. lol What a sweet guy.
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I'm really surprised that the little Princess didn't rip off the little crown I'd made her. Usually hats don't last long.
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We got the kids some giant punch balloons, which they proceeded to use as their namesake. Even Potato got in on it... with herself.
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Miss Potato spent alot of time hanging out with my friend Nola, and our other friends Dianna and Debbie. That kid eats like a champ, tearing through a hot dog and wedge of watermelon in no time.
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Finally, it was time for the cake! She was such a little lady. She didn't touch until she was sure she was allowed to.
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And then she really got into it!
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After everybody had their fill of cake, and the ice cream cups that Jeremy's mother brought, it was time for presents. This little girl sure made out! Cute musical toys from Aunts and Uncles, clothes from cousins and friends. But I think her favorite thing was this cute, soft little doggy from Dianna that she kept hugging on and didn't want to let go. See Jeremy's hands in the "careful not to touch" position.
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Immediately after the party, we of course had to drive back to Ellensburg for MonkeyBug to be picked up by her father. Dianna was sweet enough to have Miss Potato spend the night at her house. That might have been the best gift to that little baby girl. Rather than spending almost 6 hours in her carseat, she got to go hang out, chase her puppy buddy GusGus, and get to bed at a decent hour in a crib. I'm betting she even got pudding. lol What a great way to end her birthday.