August 25, 2010 at 5:20 pm (Cakes, Cooking)
So, I know I haven’t updated in a REALLY long time, but I do actually have something to share:
I did it. I have achieved a goal.
Starting in September, I am a Wilton Method Instructor. I’ll be teaching Basic Decorating Courses on Saturday mornings right here — in town.
Mid-month, I’ll teach a Tall Cakes project class. I had to build a display cake for the store I work out of. Shawn took a picture of it. I will post as soon as I can.
But for right now: SQUEEEEEE!!!!!
I am so excited!
February 21, 2010 at 5:33 pm (Life apace)
Two weeks later, and I finally get to sit down to post something new? Well, I suppose intermittent updates are better than none.
In life in general, I adore my cake decorating class. I take so much pleasure in it. Learning to decorate cakes is a fun, creative outlet. I look forward to it throughout the week. I’ve learned how to make various consistencies of buttercream frosting; how to bake a level cake and torte it; and how to make stars, shells, faces, flowers, and borders. Next week is graduation. I’ll decorate an 8″ round cake with Wilton roses, leaves, and stems.
I’ve already signed up for my next course. It will occur on Wednesday nights throughout March, and I will learn all about tiered cakes for weddings and other special occasions. I even get an introduction to fondant! I let my instructor know that I’m interested in becoming a Wilton instructor. She seemed pleased by that. She told me that the area has a shortage of instructors right now, especially left-handed ones. (I guess dexterity matters in cake decorating, and Wilton hasn’t many southpaws.) She told me to talk to her again after I’ve finished my third class. (But yesterday, she confided that she’s already spoken to her manager who said something to the effect of, “A left handed instructor? You’ve got to get that girl trained.”)
It will make a very nice second job. I can teach as frequently as I wish. My teacher was a professional baker, and she said that teaching decorating classes on the side helped pay bills and other incidentals for many years until she retired. Now, she teaches six days a week. I got the sense that she will appreciate a little help — I suppose she teaches three classes on Saturdays.
Regardless, I’m excited. It’s something to look forward to, and will be a welcome break from the 40-hours-a-week I still put in at the Seventh Level of Hell.
About that — I haven’t had to answer phones or customer emails for a little while. A new knowledge base is released. I’ve been ‘porting content to it for the last couple of months. In addition, I’m editing and posting content to the public knowledge base. Whereas I am delighted with my team’s free approach toward knowledge-sharing, I wish that more of them had a) paid attention in basic English; or b) taken a technical writing course. OK, I just wish that more folks had paid attention in basic English. Three offenders, especially, are in serious danger of having a copy of The Elements of Style shoved so far up their asses that they can turn the pages merely by blinking!
There, invective done.
I won’t go deep into details, but I am also seriously soul-searching right now. Some of the nastier habits of the Seventh Level are revealed. This project has unmasked many of the uglier aspects of advanced positions within the company. I seriously wonder whether I will apply for a role as a knowledge manager? The job requisition is due to post sometime within the next few months. I’m thinking hard, talking to the husband, and even appealing to the Divine for some guidance.
More on that as events unfold.
The thought of getting to instruct something creative to people who want the knowledge makes me happy. I think teaching people how to decorate cakes will help keep me sane until other doors open.
Yet — I’ve had dreams that indicate something is due to change, very soon. All of my senses are on high alert; waiting and watching for the moment.
I need to clean my house. The Husband is playing Dragon Age Origins at the moment. The Princess is playing with her Nintendo DS. So, the way is clear for me to get cracking (once I get the motivation).
Later, we’ll do our grocery shopping. Wow, the snow is still drifting down out there; deep and thick. We’re taking the FJ Cruiser.
In other news, the kitten seems fully-recovered from spaying. At the moment, she’s crawling over my chair, purring in my ear and batting my hair. She’s a little snot, and I adore her. It’s funny how much stress the Li’l Fuzzy can dissipate. (Her goals are complete. I am in her thrall. All hail the Feline Overlady!)
Oh, eww. I just found my motivation for cleaning. A dust bunny just bowed and introduced itself. I think it’s wearing a top hat and cravat. Yeah… I’m off.
February 7, 2010 at 4:25 pm (Cooking, Costuming, Dolls, Life apace, Sewing, The Princess)
Following are some brief thoughts on a quiet Sunday morning. My husband still sleeps, and The Princess is quietly engaged in her room. Daddy delighted her Friday evening when he stumbled across a child’s fashion design kit, complete with stencils and silhouettes. She’s been making paper dolls and paper doll clothes on her own for a while. We observed just how well done they really were; svelte dolls and fabulous, bell-skirted ball gowns; or clinging evening gowns with flowing skirts.
We encourage her to read and create, so he said, “She’s been using up her sketch pad paper for her paper dolls. I think she should have this for her designs.” I agreed, and last night we followed-up with her own set of colored pencils. (She borrowed mine all day, yesterday. Not that I mind, because I don’t.) In short, she’s consumed with creativity, which gives me a few minutes to blog. She’ll come and get me when she decides she wants breakfast. I’ll rouse him in another 30 or 40 minutes.
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We had Zoe, the kitten, spayed on Friday. She’s come through very well, and now carries a microchip between her shoulder blades. The post-operative instructions specified “no jumping” for the first 7 – 10 days after surgery. Can anyone tell me how to comply with that? She’s six months old, and part Ocicat. She jumps on our bed. She jumps on our furniture. She jumps in the laundry basket. She’s playing “Sharks,” even now.
For those not familiar with the game, “Sharks” is played when a cat finds a ledge or convenient series of furniture to use in skirting the perimeter of the room without having to jump down to the floor. As luck would have it, I woke up with a spot of laryngitis this morning. (Sinus infection.) My typically stern, “GET DOWN!” has all the force of Droopy Dog behind it.
Maybe I’ll wake my husband a little sooner. 
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I attended my first Wilton cake decorating class yesterday. I could go into a long navel-gazing paragraph about how passingly interesting I find it that I will joyfully attend a creative class, but can’t get the motivation to gain one extra professional certification. (I HATE my job, for anyone listening — more about that later. Much later. As in: a different post.)
I learned so much already. I learned a trick for getting a cake to bake without mounding in the middle. You have to buy baking strips that keep the temperature even between the pan, and the center of the cake. The strip is first soaked in ice water, wrung out, and finally fastened around the cake pan. This keeps the metal from cooking the edges of the cake first. Instead, the cake supposedly bakes uniformly. I priced them at the craft store. They cost nine dollars. Perhaps I will pick them up next week.
I also learned why crumbs are always getting into my frosting: first, I’m too stingy with the frosting. I must pull frosting from the top of frosting to the edge of the cake. Otherwise, much like pulling too little paint across a wall, your efforts will lift away, taking cake crumbs with it. I plan to bake a cake and practice that today.
For next week, I need to bring a baked, frosted cake to class. I will have to make my own batches of colored frosting as well, because I’m going to learn how to decorate my cake with a rainbow. (Less childish things will be taught in subsequent classes, for any scoffers reading this — I’m a complete idiot, I’ve learned, and so I’m grateful to my Wilton’s sensei for her instruction.)
Upon reflection, I learned that I wasn’t exactly honest when filling our the forms for this four-week course. I am interested in learning more about becoming a Wilton’s instructor. Truly, this is one of the first things I’ve been really enthusiastic about for a while. I already talked to my Husband, who doesn’t think there’s any harm in getting more information. What if I could pad our income a little bit, while feeding my own soul with something creative?
Anyway: I am incredibly enthusiastic about learning to decorate cakes.
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What about sewing? Well, I have a pattern for doll clothes, and saw a ton of fabric for $1 a yard at Wal-Mart last night. Next week, I think The Princess and I shall head down and select beautiful fabrics for her dollies’ dresses.
Oh, and don’t mention anything to her — but I’m also on the lookout for fabric suitable for making a kirtle and bliard for her. She still loves to play dress-up, and I still love to sew medieval costumes. If the kirtle and bliard work out, I’ll follow up with a gates-of-hell, trimmed in fake fur, and complete with period veil.
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What’s brewing with my writing? Well, this blog is already getting my juices flowing. I’ve been dry for a very long time, but am ready to get going again.
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What am I reading? Well, I’m on a classics kick. I just finished Jane Austen’s Persuasion, blazed through Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, and am already about two hundred pages deep in Dumas’ Count of Monte Cristo.
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Thanks for reading. Have a relaxing Sunday.
February 5, 2010 at 7:01 pm (Life apace)
Here I am again. I blogged elsewhere for years, walked away, and could no longer deny the siren call. More will come in the days to follow. If you’re interested, check out my page of Vaping Resources, located on the sidebar.
Other than that, this blog will be about pretty much anything — totus res.
I’ll write about work, child-rearing, my marriage, cooking, gardening, sewing, writing and reading. I’ll even throw in the occasional rant. Yes, I am very fond of my soapbox!
Who am I? I’m Linda. I’m somewhere in my thirties. My interests are various. I’m happily married, and the devoted mother of one child. I work full-time. We have two cats and a Betta. The Betta’s name is Haku. The cats are Angel (the Old kitty — almost 15; or is that 16?), and Zoe (the kitten; six months old at the time of this writing).
My child is the Most Precious, Precocious, and Well-spoken little Self-Rescuing Princess, EVER. My husband is tough, smart, witty, wise, and loving. He’s the only man on earth who could ever put up with me, and I adore him.
That’s all for now — more to come!
Oh — and I’m slightly exhibitionistic, so comments are welcome.
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