AuthorVictoria

Birthday Cup Cakes

A friend of mine had a birthday last week and I decided to break out some of my baking and decorating skills. In the past I have taken the Wilton classes for cake decorating but have not used the tools in a really long time! I decided to try and make some cute cup cakes for my friend Talia and I think they came out pretty cool! I used super simple funfetti box cake mix and just bought the matching icing. I colored the icing with the Wilton gel and a toothpick. Note to self the pink I bought is really pink! My friend and I were joking that I made cupcakes for Barbie with how bright the pink was. I had a mold for some mini cakes and they ended up being really small so I cut the top off the cupcakes to make them level and used the star tip and an icing bag to pipe on a little design.

I had some left over batter and had already used what I needed for my mini cakes and cup cakes. I decided to try and make a small cake with a flower cookie cutter that I had in a cabinet. I put down some aluminum foil just in case the batter was going to leak out of the bottom and make a huge mess but it stayed in there very well to my surprise. I peeled off the foil and I had a cute little flower to decorate. Note to self if you are going to try this I would use some kind of nonstick spray on the cookie cutter to make it easier to get the mini cake out.

 

 

Snow Day

Since I have been in Washington state everyone has told me that the winters here are really mild and its very rare that we get snow. Well we have had an accumulation of snow so many times I lost count. The last snow that we had ended up being a snow day for the local kids and people sledding down some of the big hill in the neighborhood! I don’t think I’m in Kansas anymore … Oops I mean Florida!

This was some super heavy and wet snow! There were trees down all over the place from the weight. But I also have to say it was really pretty since all the tree tops were covered with a white blanket!

“Fair winds and following seas!”

Another day another deployment. Saying Goodbye is never fun but it’s a way of life being a Navy wife. It’s not Goodbye just another See you later! May they have “Fair winds and following seas!”

Sailors use this term synonymously with the points of sail below a beam reach, since the wind direction is generally the same as the sea direction. Therefore, the phrase “Fair winds and following seas,” implies that a vessel will have good winds, and not have to pound into the waves. The phrase is now used as a popular toast or salutation between mariners. It is also used during ceremonies, such as the beginning of a voyage, a ship’s commissioning, a retirement, funeral et cetera.

Following seas, combined with high winds (especially from the stern, or from behind the boat), can be dangerous and cause a boat to yaw (turn sideways) and swamp or plow under the wave ahead, if the winds and sea are too strong or violent. The original term may have been “Fair winds and a fallowing sea” where fallow means inactive. However, in the mariners’ traditional toast or blessing a “following sea”, combined with a “fair wind”, to a sailor, implies that the winds are comfortable, the sailboat is “running”, i.e. sailing with the wind on its stern, and the seas are comfortably rolling in the same direction as the boat is heading, so that the boat seems to be skimming easily on the surface of the water.

Info from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Following_sea