A Year in Pictures... Part 2

The second half of the year was busier than the first, so this turned out a little longer...

I ended up with a whole family of ducklings when their mom died. They're now happily living at our aunt's.


I got strep throat from my nephew and had to get a shot in the rear. He had no sympathy and laughed when his mom told him.


We took a trip to Great America. Four adults, three kids.

We laughed at the similarities between my niece and Angelica.

And Tad waited all day to see Spongebob.


We took one last beach trip with Tad before he had to go to school.

And took pictures of our feet in the sand.


My baby started Kindergarten. And looked so grown up.

He was really excited, me... not so much.

He loves school now and is doing really great.


I went on my first hunting trip. Which was totally unsuccessful because does are not legal here.

I also found out I can rock the Real Tree camoflauge.


I went to see Dave Matthews Band with my mom. And LOVED him.


I made some super cute invites for one of the most random bachelorette parties ever.

We had fun though, I think it was just right for sissy.


Then sissy got married at the beginning of October. And this amazing picture (as well as many more) was taken by my dear friend Steven.

The wedding was... well... when it finally happened it was nice. We make one good-looking wedding party.

I was not without my moments of frustration though.

But this little man was as adorable as ever.


We went to Las Vegas right after the wedding. I was in need of a vacation. I actually won some money!

Hubby got to meet one of his heroes.

And I got to drive A BRAND NEW CAMARO!!!


Mom and I slaved over Halloween costumes. They were totally worth it.


Thanksgiving came and went. I was rocking the glasses for a couple weeks because I'm such a slacker at making appointments.


There was leaf-jumping, because that is what you do in the fall.


There was my birthday trip to Tahoe, complete with snowmen, snow fights, and sleigh rides.


And my little manlet had his first Christmas program and awards ceremony. I don't want to brag too much, but he's pretty darn smart.


We celebrated Christmas in three different places (four if you count our early Christmas with hubby's dad, five if you count Christmas Eve).


And we took Tad on his first trip to Bass Pro. Hubby was excited. And Tad had fun.

They especially enjoyed the "Shoot'n Arcade." Where I scored higher than hubby. And yes, we bought Tad that hat. It's mighty cute. It has a buck on the front of it.

We'll be celebrating at my mom's tonight. Surrounded by people we love. I can deal with that.

And with that... goodbye 2009. I'm ready for the new things 2010 will bring me.

A Year of Cupcakes

I could have extended this to baking, but that would have been even MORE pictures. It was a serious year for my oven. I enjoy my cupcake adventures and was even fortunate enough to have some people pay me to make them for parties.

And believe me, more than once I wondered if I should have gone to culinary school instead of getting my credential. But oh well!

So let's take a peek at some of the beauties my oven popped out this year...

January
The month (and the year) started out tame. I went for a doctored up cake mix and whipped cream filling. And they were mighty tasty.


February
Surprisingly no Valentine's Day cupcakes. But I saw the tie-dyed idea and HAD to do it. Tad enjoyed helping with these.


March
Hubby's birthday came. And of course I made cupcakes for the occasion. Some super tasty cappuccino buttercream topping chocolate cupcakes...

... and a true labor of love: these lemon ones. I had to make lemon curd for the first time ever. They were totally worth it.


April
My sister had one of those... "girl" parties. And I felt a festive cupcake was needed. So I replicated the shot called a "Blow Job" in cupcake form. They were amazing. Seriously.


I also got to make my first paid cupcakes. Some fun polka dots for a friend of my cousin's. Also my first adventure into fondant. I MADE my own because I was too scared of the gross store-bought ones.


And here was my second paid job. The most adorable and girly little first birthday cupcakes for my friend Heather. Her granddaughter is super cute and I was really pleased with how these came out.


May
This month brought another first birthday. This time for my niece. Only one picture this time because I didn't get good ones.


I also got to do a baby shower! They were super tasty lemon cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. The decorations are just melted chocolate.


These are probably my favorite. I love the girly ones, but Curious George??? How do you beat that? These made me beyond happy. And I was so thrilled that I may or may not have sent a picture message to several friends proclaiming my awesomeness...


June
It was a quiet month. Just some cute ones for my brother-in-law's work (also my former place of employment). My former coworkers were pretty impressed.


July
Mom asked for festive Fourth of July cupcakes. I was more than happy to do so (especially since several of her coworkers were looking forward to them).

I couldn't resist doing the tie-dyed effect. It makes me happy.


Our dear Heather (yup, same Heather from before) was having a party (for those wall vinyls that are super cool) and wanted cupcakes. Go ahead and call me her dealer at this point. She's my best customer.


August
Little brother-in-law's birthday came. We threw the party so there were THREE kinds of cupcakes. I'm a little crazy.


Then Claudia's birthday came next. I was dying to try out red velvet. It totally worked. Not to mention my fun Twilight toppers that Claudia squealed over.


I got a mini cupcake pan. So I looked for any excuse to use it. National Punctuation Day was good enough for me.


Sissy's bridal shower was at my mom's. I made coffee frosting and tried out a lemon white chocolate cupcake. YUM.


SeptemberSissy's other bridal shower was more... adult themed. So the blow job cupcakes were necessary. This time in miniature.


October
Okay, you can't see it, but those candy toppers spell out "Happy Birthday Taytem." More birthday cupcakes, for my other niece.


November
Mad Hatter cupcakes for mom's work. I LOVED these colors.

See how cute they are all stacked on their display? They were pretty tasty too.


One more birthday party.

This time for a little boy. Hubby works with his mom.

It was Mickey Mouse Clubhouse!! I loved them! Apparently they made hubby's coworker giddy, and she's not a giddy person.


December

While I meant to get fancy this month, there's just too much going on. I already make cookies! So we finished the month (and year) with some good ol' filled cupcakes.

Vanilla with chocolate mousse filling and a chocolate buttercream. Tad enjoyed it. He licked the beaters of course.

And there's my year in cupcakes! There will be more to come next year, and hopefully I'll still be brave enough to try new flavors some more.