April showers bring May... Mushrooms.

It's May; and for the last four years of my life this has meant something new.  Mushroom hunting.  I had never heard of mushroom hunting before Will's introduction but whenever I mention it around this town everyone knows exactly what I'm talking about and responds with their own stories about their findings.  At first I thought it was very boring, partly because I have NEVER found the beloved Morel mushroom.  However, after being cooped up for the winter, trudging through the woods on a sunny day sounds wonderful.  Will and I have ventured out a few times and have found TWO measly mushrooms.  With this being said, I usually get distracted with other interesting findings and Will mushroom hunts like he fishes.  After five minutes of staring at the ground he dubs it as "the wrong spot" and we have to move on to spot #2.  We follow the mushroom hunting rules of determining proper weather, finding dead elms, blah blah blah (I think these are old husband's tales) but we have yet to bring home the bags full everyone else seems to find.  Ah, oh well. I keep myself entertained and the thrill of hunting (even if it's fungus) does start to get exciting.

Somewhere Will read that dandelions are edible and even have health benefits.  We are always up for free food so Will thought we should "fry 'em up".  They went in the garbage soon after we got home and didn't make it to the frying pan.  

A Girl's Tale

My family developed bizarre sleeping arrangements when my brother begged to be moved to the basement bedroom but was too scared to actually sleep down there.  In addition, with my brother's move to the basement, this freed up a bedroom for me so my sister and I didn't have to share a room.  However, with years of Jenny and I having the comfort of a sleeping sister arms link away, the move to the room next door was not so appetizing.  So, although it made no sense, my parents spent the next several years tucking my sister and I into her double bed and my brother into my bed.  Although I learned much about the drama of the life of a teenage girl through whispering face to face with my sister, one very small lesson has always stood out in my mind.  The lesson? The luxury of newly shaved legs and clean sheets.  My sister made it clear that this was a girl's treat.  Small and silly as it may seem, it is one of the joys of a girls life.  Your day may seem complex and crazy but it just seems so simple when shaved legs and clean sheets bring you a smile at the end of it all.

Happy Birthday Hubby Lovin'!

I promise I was NOT world's worst wife...I provided lots of options, but Will requested we order Casey's pizza on his birthday.  After the pizza we got a little crazy and went over to his parents. :)  I guess we are getting old but Casey's pizza and family made for a GREAT birthday.  Of course, the little girls provided the birthday entertainment.

The Cake

With Will's birthday coming up and no extravagant presents, I needed to make up for the lame gift of cologne he has already guessed.  What's left? The cake.  I am certainly not one for cooking and baking is not on my list of expertise either.  However, a girl's gotta start somewhere so I dove in.  Inspired by all the cake shows on TV, I thought I would go for the real deal... a chocolate cake shaped like Alkali Scientific's (Will's business) logo.  This required me to plan the cake shape and then make blue and green fondant as the overlay.  Go big or go home right?  Acknowledging I was a bit over my head, the cake part ended up being made from a box.  Let's not get to hasty.  The end result was certainly not perfect but considering it was my very first time with fondant and making a cake other than a circle...I think things turned out alright. 

Happy Birthday Hubby Lovin'! (Yes, he saw the cake early because this was the only day when I had a large chunk of time that this process requires.)