How do I not care???

First post of the year and it's a rant. Not exactly how I wanted to start the year but oh well...

This is more or less about my sister.
Before I begin, I don't think I have really talked about my sister much. I still live at home with my dad and he is supposed to have the majority of custody over my little sister. However, dad usually only has her 1 day a week and 1 day every other weekend. 
Here is the situation... I spent a lot of money on her last year. I've bought toys, clothes (over $150 on christmas alone), coloring books, and other art things. Other than 1 shirt from christmas, every thing has ended up at her mothers.
This. Pisses. Me. Off!!!
So I ask.. how do I not care so much about this??
The thing about it is... I think I have a pretty good sense of clothes for kids. Am I a fasionista? HELL no!! But I know the difference between sending a kid to school looking nice compared to looking like a hobo. The clothes I buy for my sister (and my own kid for that matter) are always nice. I'm not saying I always buy new, there are wonderful clothes that can be found out a thrift store but at least they LOOK nice.
So all of the nice clothes I spend MY money on end up being in her closet at her mom's and we are sent her hobo clothes.
So it's either dress her nice and never see those clothes again, or dress her like a hobo to be sent back to her mom and keep the nice things for only when we know she stays here. It sucks being like that.
Again... How am I supposed to not care....
I ask dad about it and his take on the whole thing is "at least they are getting used". Well that's all fine but if that's the case, why does she look like a hobo when she comes home from her moms? Why does she get sent to us looking like her clothes are second hand rejects??
I hate that I get so worked up about this. I have tried to not care, but ever time I just get more and more pissed off. ugh... F***!!!!!

cake dump

There aren't as many photo's to show this time but still wanted to share.

This was so fun to make!! It was for a lil girl turning 1. The tracks continue on the back as well.

The bakery has been trying to do more with cupcakes. This one didn't go over so great with the boss but I still love them!!

Made this the other day as a start to the christmas season. The topper is a candle and the side thingy is a non-edible lay on.

This is a cupcake. Yes, a cupcake. This was purely an experiment to see if I could make a poinsettia. It went over so well that a customer ordered 2 dozen.

I am not overly proud of this cake. There are things about it that seriously get under my skin because of the imperfections.! However, the customer was overly ecstatic about it and that's really the most important thing.

This was the big project of the week. A winter wedding cake. I'm very pleased with how this turned out. The flowers and holly are made of gum paste.

As always, I am learning new things all the time and trying to grow in my medium.
Til anon!

shrimp dinner

I meant to post this the other day, but couldnt find my memory card adapter.  Let me start by saying, I do not enjoy seafood. Something about the texture and flavors just don't do much for me.
Having said that... I very  much enjoy cooking seafood. Well, cooking in general...
My husband loves seafood. As a surprise, I cooked one of his favorite shrimp dishes.
*I have a very crappy camera so I apologize*

 "Garlic Herb shrimp"

Basically it's leeks, garlic, and other assorted herbs and spices. Add the shrimp and white cooking wine.

veggie and noodles in alfredo sauce.

broccoli and cheese couscous. Of all the things that my 2 year old would become obsessed with, it's couscous! she had everything on her plate and 3 helpings of couscous!! I adore children's language so for her its not "couscous"  it "kookoos"

dessert was fruit salad. yes... that is an ice cream scooper.

Needless to say, it was a fantastic dinner!!
One of the best compliments I have ever received was my husband telling me he was afraid to go out to eat because he was afraid that nowhere would have good enough food. Must mean I am doing something right!!

til anon

3 countdowns!!

Yup. 3. They are all very fast approaching as well.
The quickest of the countdowns is Christmas. Just 10 days to go. I can honestly say that I am ready. Is everything fully finished? No, but everything is planned out. A couple things I have to wait until day of (or before) because it entails baking. Freshness is kind of a big deal with these things. I honestly can not wait to see my family open their presents.

The second countdown is 3 weeks. 3 weeks and my daughter will be 3 years old. Originally I was planning on a really big party. We wanted to invite all the family from all over the place to come and celebrate. Things change though. I don't know if it was just something about this month or what but we changed our minds on that. It could also be due to the fact my husband is leaving soon, but we wanted it to be a bit more of a private event. We are going to have cake and presents and all that on her birthday but we are planning on an alternate day in a few months (when its very nice weather) and bring everyone we can together for a pool party. Or something along those lines.

The final countdown is one I'm excited for but also dread at the same time. My husbands ship-out date. 8 and half weeks. I know that it is a good thing for so many different reasons but I'm selfish enough to hold on to the negativeness of him being away. I say that but I also know that I am strong enough to not let it show. I can't promise that there won't be days where I am down and lonely, but I won't be a burden of unhappiness. I have to strong for multiple reasons, but especially for my family. On a happier note, with him going in it will mean so many wonderful opportunities for the future.

I still plan on making my dreams a reality and become a chef (as well as pastry chef). I'm working on this more by cooking new foods. I will hopefully post again tonight with pictures of last nights adventure.

til anon

10 weeks but just an update.

So yes... 10 weeks to go but it is going to fly by!!
Thanksgiving came and went in a blink of an eye. It was wonderful but it just went by too fast. My mom came to visit which was very nice. I hate that I didn't get any pictures but to be honest, I had no time to think about pictures... My mother and I cooked for 2 straight days. My lil girl helped make all the cookies. Here is a run down of all the food:
Apps
cheese platter
fruit and veggie platter
deviled eggs
Main
25 pound turkey
BBQ pork loin
10 pounds of mashed potatoes (homemade)
5 pound sweet potato cassarole
corn salad
hot damn (basically a shrimp salad my mom invented)
green bean cassarole
7 lawyer bean dip (yes this a main not an app)
butter rolls
Dessert
Apple pie
chess pie (basically a sweet custard pie) (from scratch)
Pumpkin pie (from scratch)
Cherry crumble pie
3 dozen choco chip cookies (made with splenda) (made from scratch)
2 dozen cran-raisin oatmeal cookies (made from scratch)
3 dozen peanut butter cookies (from scratch)
2 dozen choco peanut butter surprise cupcakes (make from scratch with homemade icing)
Baked apple cheesecake (from scratch)
strawberry brownie trifle
cream puffs (from scratch)

I'm sure i forgot something but the point is... there was a crap ton of food!!!
I really hate that I didnt get any pictures... oh well....
One of the great things about this Thanksgiving was my daughter's aunt having her beautiful baby! So glad she  made it into the world happy as can be.
Christmas is just around the corner and followed closely by My daughter's birthday. All that needs to be done for that is decorations and games. Crap... I still need to send invites!! O__O  *sigh* too much to do...

My husband leaves for basic in 10 weeks. I'm kinda freakin out due to the fact that time is flying by but as someone told me, I need to stay calm and enjoy this time we have.

I guess that is all for now... I really need to update with some photos...

13 weeks...

I'm not going to get overly emotional (yet) about the fact time is counting down. At this moment, I'm not even worried about it. It's not here yet so I don't want to think about it too much.
I have been trying to think of things to help keep me busy while my husband is at basic and truthfully, I haven't come up with too many interesting things. I am planning on being in the kitchen A LOT more than I probably ever have been. I hope to get my little girl to bake something all by herself (mommy only taking over the actual oven part).
One thing I am sure of is that I am overly determined to not be depressed. Well, at least I will not let it show. I don't want to be a burden on everyone I know by being mopey and hating life and etc. Plus, I don't want it to be hard on my daughter either.
I worry about how she is going to handle him being away. The nights he has to stay at work until after she is bed are already kind of tough. She always wants to know where he is and why he can't read her a story. He always does goofy voices way better than I do. So I do worry...

My husband truly is my best friend. It was great the other night, we talked for almost 3 hours about everything, and nothing at the same time. Talked about our day, what has been going on at work, talked about our hopes for once we are on a base. Talked about just how soon to try for a baby. In the past, have thrown around name ideas and wondered if we still liked the names. Still in love with the son's name but still can't decide on if we have a daughter.
Completely random but I love the name "Dante". Adam isnt totally crazy about it so he thinks it is more of a middle name type thing .  So we shall see.

I guess my mumbles are enough for now...
Just remember one thing.... "stressed" spelled backwards is "desserts"

The countdown begins.

Yesterday was a very exciting day. Adam got a phone call that he has been waiting a very, very long time to get. He got the phone call from the air force recruiter. Feb. 14 is the day he starts basic training.

14 weeks until everything changes.... forever.

Don't get me wrong, we are ecstatic about the changes, but they will be hard none the less.
For starters, I do not deal with separation very easily... that alone is going to be the biggest challenge for me. Having a daughter will definitely help me though because I can return to the "single mother" state of mind for awhile and devote every breathe to only her.

Truth is, I never seen myself as a military spouse. I never really wanted to be... I never wanted anything to do with the military. I have nothing against them and obviously I support them, but it just wasn't something I seen in my future. Things have changed since I met my husband. The more he talked about his dreams of military careers and the life he wanted to build, the more I wanted to be a part of it as well. Now here we are... 14 very short weeks until our dreams can become reality.

Adam is going into Integrated Avionics. He told me that basically -very basically- if its electronic on a plane, he will know how to fix it. Its a great start but I know what he really wants is to be an officer. So this is just a stepping stone for a brighter future.

I was asked "now that you know when you are going in, whats the plan for another child?"
It's no secret that I have been itching to have another child and truthfully, we really do want another one right now, but the responsible side of us knows that it is better to wait. So the plan is to wait until we are located on a base and settled in. This is for multiple reasons but the biggest one is Adam really doesnt want to take any chances of something going wrong if we are trying to move while I'm pregnant. I love him so much...

So in a nutshell... Things are falling into place and things are going to change. I'm scared out of my mind but excited to see what is beyond that horizon.