Happy New Year

I know, I'm five days late to say that, but better late than never. :)

I hope you all enjoyed your holidays and I wish everyone health, happiness and prosperity in the coming year. And I hope that you all achieve your goals as we move forward. (How's that for mushy? ;) )

Anyway, there really isn't anything going on. December was very busy for V and I with hosting our various holiday events we do every year. Chrisdtmas was quieter for us in that we only had 15 for dinner. Yes, I said only. We've had one year where we had 32! Some family and close friends we consider family. We raised our glasses and toasted those who were no longer with us, as well as those who were unable to travel to join us. All in all, a fun filled day was had by all.

On the IF front, we're still in a holding pattern trying to set aside funds. February isn't looking good. I cringe as I look at the calendar knowing that time is ticking away and I've got 8 months. I really don't want to be still waiting in July. Please don't let it take that long.... That biological clock we all hear ticking as we get older? It's like a frickin' gong now.

Anyway, that's it for now. I'm going to leave you with some photos of some my creations from December.

Gingerbread house!



Cupcakes I made for our work Christmas party. Chocolate and vanilla with vanilla buttercream, decorated "Christmas-y".



Birthday cake for special 3 year old. The cupcake was a pan that baked an oversized cake in the shape of a cupcake which I sat on an 8" square. It's a strawberry cake with vanilla buttercream.



This was for a Welcome Baby party for a friend. An 8" cake on top and cupcakes below. The cupcakes were strawberry or vanilla both with vanilla buttercream, decorated in purple to match the baby's room with a flower or butterfly on top. The cake was alternating layers of strawberry and vanilla, with a strawberry puree and vanilla buttercream. Oh, and I made the cupcake stand.

Still here....

So, another 6 weeks have gone by it seems and I've been negligent here, again.

There hasn't been much going on around here. I've been knitting a baby blanket for a friend's daughter. Baby came 3 weeks early and is healthy but because of this, it wasn't ready, so I decided to take my time and just give it to her when she comes in December. I'll post a picture when it's completely finished. I do have cupcakes and a cake to do for her "Welcome Baby" party being thrown when she's here, so I'll post those pics then as well.

I was reminded that Christmas is 44 days away...can you believe it! So, that means I need to get cracking on updating and sending out my Holiday Cookie Boxes flyer. I don't think it's changing much really, perhaps a different cookie than the biscotti I had.

I also have to start thinking about Christmas cards and actually get them out in early December. Last year I ended up mailing them when we were in Florida on vacation. This year I vow to do better. :)

It looks like we're aiming for February for the FET. V has a plan to deal with the various obligations we have. And he's confident we'll be able to go ahead then. This is okay with me and it gives me 2-3 months to try and get rid of a little of this excess weight.

Anyway, I think that's it for now. I'll leave you with some Halloween treats.

Happy Birthday to Me

I started blogging 6 1/2 years ago. I had figured that by the time I reached this point in time I'd have anywhere from a toddler to a 5 year old. Apparently I was wrong.

I used to believe the adage V would say "I may not be where I want to be, but I am where I am supposed to be". I don't believe I'm supposed to be here.

Anyway, today is just going to be a quiet day. Nothing special. We'll probably go out for dinner on the weekend or something. I did take the opportunity to make a cake though. :)

It's a banana cake with homemade caramel filling and a chocolate butter cream. It was totally awesome!








I haven't given up on the idea of some sort of raffle for either baked good or knit goods. I just am not sure how to get past the "pa.ypa.l police".

Should I or Shouldn't I?

So, I've been doing a lot of thinking about this last cycle we have planned. It probably is on my mind off and on during every day, probably because I just don't know when we're going to be able to do it. And I suspect with my birthday two weeks away, that's weighing on my mind as well, wondering when we can do it. I hate the waiting, and more I hate the delay because each month goes by could mean that our chances of success drop as the embryos are frozen, I'm getting older etc.

I've been trying to figure out how I can resolve this because really the delay is financial. With the unexpected expense of my FIL funeral, and some other unavoidable financial obstacles, it just doesn't seem feasible any time soon. I know DH is trying to make the numbers work, but I can't let my hopes up. So, I was thinking if having a raffle here, on my blog. I'm still not sure of the logistics and would have to emails some other bloggers who have done something like this, but I know it's do-able.

In my day job, I'm an IT professional. But in my off time, you all know I bake cakes, cookies and brownies. But what you may not remember is that I also knit. There are some pictures I think on this blog from a couple of years ago of items I knitted for some fellow bloggers new arrivals. So I'm thinking of holding a raffle for some blankets. I say some, because depending on the response, I'd probably knit up 5 baby blankets. I'd do sweaters, but they take way too long. ;) And I hate doing socks. I'd have to coerce my friend, Red, into doing them for me as she can whip them off super fast. I'd also consider putting in a couple of prizes of my "world famous" (in my world anyway - just ask The Smart One and MyReality) brownies. They may only be available for local winners as the cost for shipping them may be prohibitive but I'll have to look further into that. I'm thinking $5 would get you an entry into the raffle and multiples of $5 get you multiple entries.

So what do you think?