Alcatraz!

Well, my lack of Internet access has certainly sent my posts to a screeching halt. BUT, I just found out that my local library has free wi-fi and is open until 7 pm. Can you say 'awesome?' Hopefully I will be back on a regular basis for the foreseeable future.

Now that I'm back, the question is: Where to begin? I think I'll begin with accomplishments. Back in July, I managed to cross not one but two things off my 30 Before 30 list. For this post, I will only talk about my visit to Alcatraz. I also made it to my third concert of the year, but as I am going to a fourth this Friday, I will wait and post about it after I get back from that.

(Right off the boat)

 

So, Alcatraz. A group of friends and I went to San Francisco in July for a week of fun, and our last tourist activity was a tour of Alcatraz on Friday afternoon. We originally had wanted to see it earlier in the week, but it didn't work out. It turned out better that we had to wait. After a week of being together, some on the trip were a little tired of, well, being together. Alcatraz afforded the perfect opportunity to break away from the group (which is what I did when I got tired of frayed tempers). There was a lot about Alcatraz that I didn't know. Did you know that there are beautiful gardens on the island? That it used to be a fort? That Native Americans staged a sit-in on it in the 60's? Well, now you do!

(Sigh. Why do I do that with my hands in pictures?)

 

The weather was beautiful on the day we went--sunny and cool. We couldn't have had better weather if we ordered it. My initial impression upon disembarking from the ferry was surprise; I didn't expect the island to be so...rundown. It was neat, don't get me wrong, but I was a little disappointed if I'm being honest. We started the trek up to the prison, and I couldn't help but be a little dismayed thinking I had built the place up to impossibly high expectations.

(Remnants of one of the buildings)

 

 

But, then we got to the jail, and the experience became everything I hoped it would be. If you ever find yourself on Alcatraz, I highly recommend that you take the audio tour of the prison. I had my doubts but found it to be engaging and interesting.

 

(An inmate had fashioned a bar spreader that led to an almost successful escape attempt)

Eventually, I split off from everyone in my group and headed for the gardens. I think I was the only one of us to traverse every single sidewalk visitors were allowed on. What can I say? I had anticipated Alcatraz for months and months, and I was going to take in as much of it as I could. Instead of backtracking when the sidewalk ran out, there was a set of steep stairs that led to the recreation yard. I took them and then wound back through the prison eventually making my way back to the dock. I parked myself and my bag of souvenirs on a bench and enjoyed the cool breeze. It took quite a while for the group to find their way down.

(My favorite plant in the gardens)

The families had joined up with the couple at some point, so I was the only one missing from the group by the time they made it to the dock. One of the little girls spotted me and came running over. “Where have you been?” she demanded. “I haven’t seen you in so long.” Then another of the girls came over, climbed in my lap, and eventually went to sleep. I wish I could capture in words that feeling of being together with people and simultaneously apart. In that moment, I felt content with myself and the world. It was a very good day.

(View of San Francisco from Alcatraz)

And now my favorite picture of the Alcatraz tour, taken on the ferry ride home. The flag lined up perfectly, and I was there to take the shot. Seeing it makes me wish I were still on that ferry enjoying the cool breeze in my face.

 

That's all, folks! Thanks for reading.

Walk a Mile In Her Shoes

I have been without Internet access for some time. Now that I have a few minutes, I thought I would share some pictures from the "Walk a Mile in Her Shoes" event that I went to a few weeks ago. The organizers were retiring the pink pumps that my dad wore last year in the premiere walk, so several members of my family showed up for the ceremony. I am so glad I went to this event as it was a lot of fun and for a good cause. If you have one of these events in your area, I encourage you to go.

These are the pink pumps that Daddy wore last year.

My uncle (second from the right) did the walk this year.

My brother and my baby niece at the event.

Cambrie cheered on the walkers. She had a ball at this event.

Our town's new pavilion. As you can see, lots of people came out to show their support for the event.

I absolutely love this picture of my niece Kyleigh.

And Miss Cambrie cheesing it up.

This is a picture of my dad in the pink pumps from last year. What can I say? I miss him every day.

I hope that I soon get my Internet back up and will be able to post more frequently.

OKC Bombing Remembered

I don't know where you were on April 19, 1995, when the Oklahoma City Bombing happened. I was in class in my elementary school. I didn't know until later in the day what had happened, but I remember staying home from church that night (that's how I remember it was a Wednesday) and watching the footage on TV. It really affected me. I spent months after collecting every story I could find about it. I still have the book I made of all of the newspaper articles.

I had been in Oklahoma City the August before the bombing and walked right past the federal building without paying it any mind. My dad was on the school board at my school, and every August we went to Oklahoma City for the convention. That particular year, there was a Fun Walk/Run that went right past the Murrah Building. At the time, I had no way of knowing I would be back to that place many, many times in the coming years. Every year when we went to the convention, my dad made it a point to visit the bombing site. It was weird to be there the August after the bombing and realize that I had walked by that area and never paid it any attention. I have all of these memories of all of the different stages of the site and the construction of the memorial they built on the site. Since I usually only saw it once a year, the changes were always quite drastic and noticeable. I remember the rubble with the fence around it and all the messages and all the stages between then until it got to be as it is now.

I know many people who have never been to the memorial. I can't count the number of times I've gone. I don't go every time I am in Oklahoma City, but I go most times I am there overnight. I've gone in the morning, in the afternoon, at night, in the cold, in the blazing heat. I've never left it where I was anything other than glad that I went. One of the coolest memories I have of a trip to the bombing memorial was one of the last school board conventions I went to. I was already in college but I drove up from Dallas to meet my parents. It just so happened that it was the 100th anniversary of Harley Davidson motorcycles that year and we just so happened to be there when the big motorcycle tour they were doing was in town. They had an all-bike rally (or whatever it's called...I know there was a term) and there were thousands of motorcycles in Bricktown. One of the bikers that my dad talked to happened to mention that all the bikers were going to get on their bikes after the festivities were over and ride to the memorial. It was after dark before they started getting ready to ride. My dad, my mom, and I walked over to the memorial before the ride and watched as the plaza was surrounded by all the motorcycles. It was a sight to behold. And then all the bikers piled off of the bikes and we joined them in walking around the memorial. If you ever find yourself near Oklahoma City with a bit of time to spare, I recommend that you find your way to the memorial. Here are a few of the pictures I took the last time I visited the memorial when my brother and I were in town to clean out Daddy's office at the capitol last November.

Butterflies!!

For the last few days, butterflies have been fluttering around the flowering tree in my front yard. I have enjoyed them immensely, so I thought I would share.

Sandhill Peach Pound Cake

Recently I bought the magazine Southern Cakes that Taste of the South put out. After flipping through it, I wanted to make probably more than half of the cakes. I settled on a Sandhill Peach Pound Cake because my mom likes peaches, and I ended up being surprised by how much I liked it. The flavor of the cake was great. I highly recommend it.

Chloe's 4th Birthday

My niece Chloe is all about Hello Kitty right now, so doing a Hello Kitty theme for her birthday party was an obvious choice. She also LOVES Pizza Hut, so that is where we had the party. I volunteered to make the cake and let her choose what she wanted, which meant I ended up buying the Wilton pan for Hello Kitty and using that.

It's not perfect, but I thought it turned out well. I frosted it last night and the black frosting bled onto the pink frosting a bit. That's frustrating but a learning moment.

The cake Chloe picked out was actually a two-tiered cake that used the Hello Kitty pan. I was going to do that but then remembered that in January I ordered personalized cupcake toppers from Etsy. Since I had bought them, I was going to use them. I ended up making 12 regular cupcakes to put the toppers in and 5 square cupcakes to frost and spell out Chloe's name. Chloe wanted her cake to be strawberry, so I just used a mix for the Hello Kitty part. For the cupcakes, I wanted to do something a little more special. I ended up making the Strawberry Cupcake recipe from Better Homes and Gardens which starts with a white cake mix and gets jazzed up from there. (Note: my grocery store did not have strawberries in syrup so I thawed a 16oz bag of whole strawberries, cut them in half, threw in several spoonfuls of sugar, then let it make its own syrup.) The cupcakes were yummy. Several people asked for the recipe. It is one that I would highly recommend.



Yes, there was a lot of cake at the party. Most of it was eaten though. Even if none of it had been, it would have been worth it to see how excited Chloe was.

Happy birthday, Chlo-Bear!

30 Before 30: #7 Take a Cake Decorating Class

I have been away for too long. In my absence, I completed the first course of the Wilton cake decorating method. My final cake for the course was this not-too-wonderful cake:

I started the temporary job I am working at the day of my last class so I was 45 minutes late. It meant that I was crunched for time. The design I had in my head did not make it onto the cake. I think it just reiterates what the teacher said in one class: you can fix almost any mistake if you give yourself enough time. The moral? A rush job does not a fantastic-looking cake make.

I have already shown the practice lion cake that I did. Here is the Hello Kitty cake that I did for the second class:

For some reason I only took a picture with my cell phone. Oh well. It's not perfect (the bow is messed up) but I thought it was pretty good.

For the third week of class, we made cupcakes and practiced various flowers. Here were my attempts:

In all honesty, I learned less than I thought I would in this course. One of my friends who has taken all four courses assures me that this is really just the basic course and you learn most of the really cool stuff in later courses. Of course, you can see from these pictures that I am still rockin' it like an amateur on all of these basic techniques, so I guess I shouldn't turn my nose up at what I learned. It just wasn't exactly what I was expecting. I am still excited about the second course, though. I begin next Monday learning beginning gum paste techniques. I will keep you posted. As for now, I am just excited that I get to check off something else from my list!





Go Lions! (My First Practice Cake)

Last Monday, I started a cake decorating class (which is on my 30 Before 30 list). We were given instructions to practice as much as we could making rosettes with the star tip. I was under the weather for most of the week and didn't feel like doing much of anything, so yesterday when I finally felt really well, I decided to make a practice cake and decorate it. I called my brother and asked him what image he thought I should use. He said a lion because the boys' team at my high school alma mater was playing for the state basketball championship (they lost but they were playing an Oklahoma City team...we are a tiny, rural place). I went for a very simple, very cartoon version of a lion since I had never decorated anything using a star tip. I thought it looked pretty decent considering it was my first time and all.

As for the cake decorating class, the first class was basically just getting organized, so I am waiting to see. I did learn one trick of the trade, though. To get a smooth icing surface, lay Viva paper towels (or parchment paper) on icing after icing has crusted (i.e., it's not sticky anymore) and smooth it down using your fingers or a flat surface. The teacher of my class used a fondant smoother and, since they were like 3 bucks at Wal-Mart, I followed suit. I am looking forward to getting good at this technique and having super-smooth icing surfaces.

That's all I got. Hope the time change wasn't too rough on you!

"All I Ever Wanted" by Airborne Toxic Event

I hate being sick. Let me just put that out there. Not that I really think people like being sick, mind you. But anyway, the point is that my brother sent me this link to "All I Ever Wanted" by Airborne Toxic Event a few days ago. I finally got around to watching it and, well, I am kind of in love with it. Even my feeling terrible couldn't lessen the awesomeness. Go check it out.

30 Before 30: #27 Complete My "Thanksgiving Project"



"Complete My 'Thanksgiving Project'" is one of those goals that I think needs a little explanation. I have wavered back and forth on this but have decided to transcribe the note that I include with all the letters so that you, dear reader, get the same explanation that a letter recipient does. Here goes:

          The day after my dad died unexpectedly last year, my brother and I were talking and he said that most people in our situation would probably be worried about what the last thing they said to him was and fretting that he didn't know what he meant to them. "I'm just not," Alan said. "As he was leaving to go to the hospital, I think I said bye. Some people that would bother, but Daddy knew what he meant to me and I knew what I meant to him."
          I realized that I agreed: Daddy did know what he meant to me and I knew how much he loved and cherished me. Later, when I got to thinking about it, I decided I couldn't say the same thing about all the people in my life who were important to me. I wanted to fix that because if Daddy's death reiterated anything to me, it's that sometimes there isn't another chance to tell someone what they mean to you.
          I considered what to do. Several years ago during one of the more tumultuous times in our family, I wrote Daddy a letter thanking him for being the kind of dad he was. He told me later how much it meant to him. I thought of that and determined I was going to write letters to the people closest to me as a project for Thanksgiving. Well, Thanksgiving came and went and no letters had been written. Back to the drawing board went I.
          It took a while. I was in a place in my life where I wasn't feeling particularly thankful, but then I really started thinking about all the many blessings in my life. As I thought about them, I knew I have a lot more to be grateful for than just the people closest to me. And so, "The Thanksgiving Project 2012" was born. I decided to spend a year being actively grateful--for the little things, the big ones, and everything in between. If you're receiving this letter, you've done something to impact my life and you're one of the things I'm grateful for.

So, that is the gist of the origins of what I'm calling "The Thanksgiving Project 2012." I realized earlier this week that since it was a project it perhaps needed somewhat more defined parameters. I decided to say that I will write no less than 100 letters as a part of this project. 100 letters!? 100 letters. Then I decided that since it was (at that time) almost March, I should probably start writing. So, I did. Which brings me to: I wrote the first letter for my "Thanksgiving Project" on Wednesday! As it is not a deeply personal one, I will include it below (pictures and text).

Dear Mr. Paisley,
     It was July 4. I listened to "One of Those Lives" on the way to my uncle's BBQ to remind myself that everything was going to be fine. My dad had gone earlier to the ER for tests because the doctors' offices were closed for the holidays. We were prepping shish kabobs when we got the call from my sister that everything wasn't okay. Daddy had had a pulmonary embolism while they were preparing to admit him to ICU. He was gone in an instant.
     I think you're right in This Is Country Music's liner notes when you say, "Country singers are present at weddings, funerals, graduations, and the most impactful moments in our fans' lives." I was still humming "One of Those Lives" when I got the worst news I've ever received, and a few days later, you were present for another momentous occasion: Daddy's funeral.
     Daddy loved music but he didn't buy a lot of CDs. He had all The Beatles' albums, a few others, and Time Well Wasted. He bought that specifically because he liked "When I Get Where I'm Going" so much. It was that song I heard as the doors swung open and I led my family into a room full of almost 900 people, all standing and staring at me. It was the largest funeral I've ever been to. My dad deserved it. More than a great man, he was a good man. Facing that crowd was one of the most difficult and humbling experiences I can ever imagine having. The walk to the front of the auditorium didn't seem long, but I knew as I made it that I was braver and stronger than I had thought and I had it in me to do anything. And your music was the soundtrack to it.
     So, I give thanks for your music and the joy it's brought to my life. I give thanks that it's been there to share in my life's moments--both big and small, happy and sad.
     Many Thanks,
     Bethany



There you have it. Letter number one. I don't know if you can tell, but the cards I had printed are TINY and I tend to get quite effusive when I write. In a way it's good because it makes me focus on what I really want to say. Well, that and write really small.

So, one down, ninety-nine to go. I will keep you updated.

30 Before 30: #28 and February Girls Meeting

This past weekend was crazy busy. On Friday and Saturday, I was out of town for Lay Speaker training. I am now a Local Church Lay Speaker so half of #28 on my 30 Before 30 list is complete. To become certified I will have to take another training course in a year. You can see my spiffy new certificate and the training manual for the course I didn't take (we were short on books in mine) in the picture below.

After the training ended, I hit the road and drove for a little more than two hours straight to my friend Crystal's birthday party. I was tired and still fighting the effects of sudden caffeine deprivation, but I still had a great time. I got home closer to ten than to nine and didn't stay up very long before crashing. I had to be up early on Sunday to print the church bulletins and have them ready for service. That afternoon, we had our monthly gathering of the girls. Ros was our host. Sadly, this was the first meeting that all six of us were not able to attend. Fun was still had by all. The theme? Pasta!

So this is the end of this rather short, rather boring post. Enjoy this picture of the sunset I could see as I drove home from Ros's.



Crystal's Cake

A couple years ago, I started making my friend Crystal's birthday cake. It's a tradition I love (and hopefully she does, too). This year, I found the cake I was going to make in November. In its original form, it was a cake made to look like a Christmas present (and it was chocolate-mint flavored, which is yucky in my book). Last year I modified the cake I made to fit Crystal's tastes. I had planned to do that this year as well...and then I ran across this cake and had a moment of indecision. So I sent Crystal to my Pinterest cake board and she said she loved the look of the tuxedo cake but the snickerdoodle cake she saw sounded good. So, I had my solution: to make the snickerdoodle cake look like a present.

As you can see, the cake is quite large. This is how I did it: I made two batches of the snickerdoodle recipe using two 9x9 pans per batch (four layers total). I added a box of vanilla pudding to the cake recipe because the test cake I made was dry even though I baked it for less time than called for. I also doubled the frosting recipe. I know the icing doesn't look professional, but I keep forgetting to get an offset spatula. I think that would help. This was my first-ever time working with fondant, and I think it looks pretty good when you consider that. I made the bow without any kind of pattern or tutorial and, while it is simple, I was very pleased with the result.

Success? Well, I enjoyed making it and people seemed to enjoy eating it. It literally could have fed a small army.

Now I guess the only question is what I will do next year.

30 Before 30: #6 Cook Something With Yeast

I crossed the first thing off of my 30 Before 30 list, and unsurprisingly, it was an easy one. My story begins this past weekend when I went with some friends to one of the Mardi Gras parades that they have in Shreveport, LA. I took my two oldest nieces because my friends have daughters the same age. All and all there were 6 children to 4 adults. (Good thing they didn't realize they had us outnumbered.) It was quite a day of driving and waiting in the cold and sprinkling rain, but by the time the parade got to us, the rain had quit and we were ready for beads.

I was surprised by how much fun I had. The parade lasted about an hour but didn't feel that long at all. The floats were paced far enough apart that we had a little breathing room between each one. The girls all had an absolute blast! (As evidenced by Ms. Caroline, below.)

Anyway, the point in all this was that even though Mardi Gras is not particularly high on my radar as a holiday, I was in the mood to celebrate it. One of my other friends turned 40 last week, so I suggested having a Mardi Gras-themed celebration complete with a king cake (which I offered to make). On Monday, the party was postponed but I had already gotten all the stuff to make the cake, was in the mood to make it, and it had the added bonus of helping me cross something off my list. So, make it I did.

Now, by far, #6 was the item on my list that has gotten me the most ridiculed. "You've NEVER cooked with yeast?" No, I haven't. In fact, if I am reading a recipe that sounds awesome and realize that it calls for yeast, I move on. It's just one of those things that seems easy to mess up and kind of scary to try with no one there to offer guidance. Especially when the recipe has such "clear" directions like "Between 3-1/4 and 3-3/4 cups of flour." Sigh.

I soldiered on and started my king cake. I got the yeast dissolved and the flour and other dry ingredients added. Then came my first moment of panic. At this point, I had used 2 of the aforementioned cups of flour. The instructions told me to "Add additional flour until a soft dough forms. Dough will be sticky." Here was my pickle: With just the 2 cups of flour, the dough seemed soft and was sticky. How much more was I supposed to add? Gulp! So, I ended up adding to the minimum amount of flour that the recipe called for and then added a spoonful for good measure.

Is this right?! Panic!!!

The next instructions were to knead the dough for 6-8 minutes until "elastic." I set the timer on my oven for 7 minutes and called it a day when it went off, hoping against hope that it was elastic enough.

Elastic? Let's hope!



I let the dough rise, punched it down, rolled it out, added cinnamon-sugar, formed it into a crown shape, let it rise again, then baked it. All the while, I had a keen sense of nervousness. I don't like doing things without having a clear understanding of how to do them. But, the timer for the oven went off, I pulled the cake out, and lo and behold, it looked like a king cake and smelled like one, too.

Prettier than I expected!

At this point, I came to a realization. I did not have purple decorating sugar. When buying my supplies, I had forgotten to check my sugars. I made due with black sugar and just explained to everyone that I had forgotten. For the baby Jesus, I searched the toy section at my local Wal-Mart for something small enough to use and ended up buying a My Little Pony playset that had a tiny koala bear in it. My friend Michael ended up getting the piece with the "baby" in it. Hail, Michael! May you have good luck for the coming year!

The glaze ran everywhere.

I did it!

Now I don't know about you, but for the last several years I have given up drinking anything but water for Lent. I am hardcore about it, too, and don't count the weekends as free days (like you apparently can). I will not have anything but water between now and Easter. Let me tell you, it is difficult but rewarding. Any time I think about how much I want a coke or tea or really anything else (like when I had my blazing headache earlier), I really do think about how insignificant my sacrifice is when compared to giving your life for something you believe in. At the same time, I don't belittle my sacrifice either. It is difficult and it is an accomplishment when I make it to the end and can say I did it. So, on Tuesday as I contemplated the weeks ahead, I tried to decide what I wanted my last non-water drink for awhile to be. I opened my refrigerator and realized that I still had the rest of the Asti that my aunt bought to celebrate the end of the election last week. What remained amounted to a large glass, so I poured it, sat down with my slice of king cake, and celebrated. I crossed something off my list!

Cheers!