If you read this, I'm really okay, I promise.

So, I've been thinking about life again. I should be writing papers right now, or going to the church to set up for FHE, but here I am, thinking about life and about all of you lovely people that still read this blog, or that have just started (hello, new people!!!). I am a very unique individual. I don't use "unique" as code for weird, nerdy, strange, crazy, or insane; although some and/or all of them may apply on any given day. I say that I am unique because there really isn't another one like me. I am my own person. I have amazing talents and gifts that other people don't. I made 150 cupcakes between Friday and Saturday. They looked AMAZING. and I'm not just saying that for a pat on the back, they were beautiful. And I did them. All by myself. I made the cupcakes. I made the frosting. I made the Andes mint fudge. I didn't smash the Oreos because Ale asked to, but beyond that, they were mine. All mine. This may also sound a little self absorbed, but sometimes I don't want people to help me because I want all the credit. I don't like sharing. maybe because I usually have a vision of what I want and I feel that if other people get involved I'll lose my sight and then I have to tell people that other people helped me, and with this project, I wanted it all. I still ended up having to share the credit, but that's okay. Because I know that I did it all. They were mine. All mine. And I am so proud of myself for accomplishing my goal despite really unfortunate set backs.
    I am also unique (and this is really where I was going with this...just had to vent about the cupcakes) because I am 28 years old, and I am still very single. So many of my friends are married with 1 or 2 kids and their lives and stresses and worries are completely different than mine. I love my life. I absolutely love it. I was talking to my sister in law the other day and we were talking about how the grass is always greener on the other side, which is so true. I look at my friends that are married and think "do you realize how lucky you are? Do you see how amazing your life is? Do you know what I would give to have what you have? You're so lucky!!!!" Each day of our lives presents itself with challenges, and I understand that. And now that I've shared my secret envy of my friends, I will share with you another little secret. I'm also really okay with my life. Have I said that enough in this post? I'm totally okay with my life right now. I'm taking steps forward and putting plans into action (except for the writing my papers right now thing....I really need to work on that one). I have come to terms with, and accepted, that it is a possibility I might not get married in this life. Now, before you call me and tell me how I'm going to find someone and that I'm giving up to soon (because I've found that is a response I get quite regularly when people ask if I'm dating someone and I tell them I'm not looking). This does not mean that I don't want to get married, I do-believe me, I do!!! This also doesn't mean that I've given up on looking for Dean. This just means that if the opportunity never presents itself, I will be okay. I have plans for my life and they are AMAZING plans!!! I can't be best friends with Adam Levine and Matt Smith if I'm married with kids. That would be awkward. If I was single, I could do all the crazy things I dream about sometimes. I could publish some books, open a bakery, and then go travel through Europe. Get lost in Ireland. Randomly end up in Cardiff where they film Doctor Who. If I'm going to dream, I might  as well dream big, you know? So, that's what I'm doing. And then, when I do happen to meed Dean Carmichael (whether in this life, or the next) I will know that everything he and I have been through will have made us stronger and better for each other. I will fully understand why I was asked to travel this path alone for as long as I will be asked to. That day will be a glorious one, and I can't wait to meet him. And I know that patience is a virtue, and one that I feel I have learned a lot of. But I actually really love it. patience is still a hard thing for me, but knowing that the longer I wait *patiently*, the greater blessings I can receive.
     I do love my life. And I expect great things from myself. I know that I can do hard things. I know that I can accomplish great things, and I know that my Heavenly Father has tried to help me see all that He has in store for me for a while now. I finally figured out how to listen. And it's a beautiful future, no matter what happens. I hope we can all find that joy in the journey. I hope we can all find the peace that the gospel brings. If you don't have that peace, I hope you can find it. There is nothing that compares.

SPRING BREAK!!!!!

So, its officially spring break for me for the next WEEK!!!!! I am beyond excited! I am going to relax and bake and read and bake and write and bake and probably read some more....I realize that sounds like a regular week for me, except I get to read WHATEVER I WANT!!!! So, I am going to read the Hunger Games, because I am one of the only people left that hasn't. I've owned it since the first one came out, and actually own all of them, but just haven't had time to read them. It's crazy, but I'm working on it.
    I have been commissioned to make a birthday cake for a friend for tomorrow. This is one of the firsts I am making for someone else, not for someone I know well. I have always been willing to make cakes for others, and Digger has been telling me for forever that I need to start a business, I just don't have the time to put into a business right now, you know? I don't have time for anything, it seems like.
     Question for you all, if you had a super power, what would it be? Leave comments below and let me know what you think :). Me and my friends have been talking about super powers because we went and saw the movie Chronicle the other day...I can't really recommend it, it was kind of crazy. It reminded me a lot of the film style of Cloverfield if any of you saw that one.
     I am going up north next weekend to visit my friends up there. I haven't seen Fort in ages and we are going to dinner with my brother up there. I am hoping to see Digger too, but who knows if that will happen. I know I have mentioned this before, but I am so grateful that I am friends with Digger. Even if we don't talk for months, when we do talk its as if no time has passed. I love having a friend like that. He's amazing...even if he doesn't want to date me.
     George mentioned that he wanted to listen to The Fray (made my day!!!) and he downloaded their newest CD and after a few days he told me he just couldn't get into it...so I burned him a copy of my favorites of their songs and he was excited to listen to them. I laugh at his music preferences because he either likes really kind of girly music (he'll kill me if he ever reads this, but he listens to Taylor Swift, Kinna Grannis,  Paramore, stuff like that...kind of girly) or rap. I don't think you can get to more opposite ends of the spectrum. SO, hopefully he likes the Fray and then I can have a friend that likes them too. I'm not gonna lie, that would be stupendous.
     Well, I am out of random thoughts for you today. I'll probably update again soon, since its SPRING BREAK and all! ha ha ha!

Happy Birthday To ME!!!!!

First of all, I have amazing family and friends! It was my birthday a few days ago and the whole weekend was spent with tons of friends and tons of family all celebrating with me!!! It was fantastic! I got to make two cakes (and before you freak out, I LOVE baking and really really enjoyed making both of my cakes!) The first one was CHUCK related because I LOVE LOVE LOVE that show, and Zachary Levi (because he's AWESOME).
     In the show Chuck works at a store that is pretty much Best Buy, only its called Buy More and instead of the Best Buy Geek Squad, they have the Buy More Nerd Herd that Zachary Levi's character (Chuck) is the head of. This is the logo for the Nerd Herd. I thought it would be a fantastic idea, and it turned out really quite well! I love it! My friends were all impressed and it was so much fun to hang out with them! Tex and his wife came down and it was great to see them!

     The second cake came from a recent obsession (at least when I'm not doing school work). I started playing Lego Pirates of the Caribbean on the Wii. I HAD to get a mermaid and beat 2 entire games to do it. And once I got her....I didn't have time to play anymore. It was sad. BUT, I made a cake (and no, there isn't a mermaid on the cake....the only one was in the $70 set and I just couldn't justify that kind of money for a cake...) BUT, I did make a pretty awesome cake, if you ask me. Complete with Capt. Jack, Elizabeth, Barbossa, and some other random bad guys. I took pictures of it both lit and not lit so you can see all the details and awesomeness of it! YAY!!!
    So yeah, I had this amazing birthday and my friends took me to dinner on my actual birthday and it was just a fantastic day. AND, as if it couldn't get any better, THE FRAY put out a new CD that I was able to download from itunes the evening of my birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!! It is a fantastic CD, but I love love love the Fray, so that's not really a surprise. But yeah, super awesome day, super awesome week, and now I have to go back to reading my 800-1000 pages for this week! YAY! (PS: that's why I haven 't posted in a while...I've been reading crazy amounts for my classes this semester!)

DEMOLITION DERBY Cake

     I have this friend...and for some reason one of my nieces calls him Turbo. She's never heard anything about him, or met him, she helped me put the cars on top of his cake and she keeps calling him Turbo.  I think its pretty funny, so we're just going to call him that.

   Any way, it was Turbo's birthday last Thursday and jokingly told me about a month ago that his birthday was coming up if I wanted to make a cake...I think he's kind of cute, and he's a really great guy, so I told him I'd make him a cake. He was kind of surprised. So, we talked later about it and decided that I would make him an ice cream cake with a car theme to it. I just went to a demolition derby, so I took that and made it my theme.
    I love how the flames turned out on this cake. It is one of my favorites, and Turbo thought it was super awesome. He already knows I'm a good cook, and tells people on a fairly regular basis. It kind of makes me smile a little bit.
   I don't know if he was more excited about the cake, or the cars on top (which I left for him because he really wanted to play with them).
    I am so glad that my first ever ice cream cake turned out so well! It was a really delicious cake and I had so much fun making it!

Castle Cake

Just before summer ended, a good friend of mine had a birthday and I told her I'd make her a cake, as I do for some of my really good friends. She LOVES pink, and castles and is a school teacher and I laugh with her a lot, so we decided to go with a pink castle cake for her birthday. I had just made one of these for my niece's birthday and had a few ideas of how I wanted to change it, so here is the finished product:

As you can see, there is grass and a moat and a bridge....this is not all frosting, because that would be a LOT of frosting, I used 2 cake mixes and filled the castle cake pan that I borrowed from my Sister-in-law (who is AWESOME! Thanks for letting me use it!) and then I took what was left and poured it into a 9x13 pan and baked that as well. When everything was cooled, I got to work frosting it. The windows are made of pink starburst candies as well as the flags. The candles had different colored flames, though I am not terribly impressed with them...I liked the star topped candles best, and they fit in best with the scene any way.

My friend LOVED her cake, and I had so much fun making it! I also made these cute little cupcakes for another friends birthday and had sooo much fun figuring out how best to make the design and the everything for it to work out so well!

And as I am posting this on the first weekend in September, I thought I'd add this to Beck's LOOK WHAT I MADE!!! Share the love link party!!!! Enjoy!!!

New Adventures!

Sorry I haven't written in forever! Emmalee read me what she had posted, and I think she summed up my life at the moment quite well. She's a great secretary, I think everyone should have an Emmalee.
    So, I told a friend of mine I'd make his birthday cake in September. I don't think I've talked about him before, so we're just going to call him Ty. Any way, I told Ty I'd make his cake and yesterday I was hanging out with him and a few other people at Coldstone and he said "Hey Sooz, I want that kind of cake" pointing at an ice cream cake. "Okay" I said and he was like "Really? Aren't those kind of hard to make?" and I gave him that look like 'are you doubting my domestic skills?' and then I responded with, "I love a challenge" SO, I am going to do a trial run this weekend I think...who wants ice cream cake???? Let me know if you live in the general vicinity of my house :)
    On an entirely random note, sort of entirely random because I had Emma make mention of it last post, but I saw the new Jane Eyre movie and I LOVE it. Even though its REALLY sad...until the end. It does end well, that made me happy. After watching the movie I read the book, and I liked them both really well!
However, I feel that the girl that plays Jane in the movie is an awkward kisser. I know this is random, and I refuse to admit how many times I have watched this movie since I first saw it...but its a lot, and at first I was trying to figure out why its awkward when they kiss...and its totally because she's AWKWARD. SUPER AWKWARD. Go watch the movie and you'll totally see what I mean!
BUT, in watching this movie, I thought the guy that plays Mr. Rochester (Michael Fassbender is his name), looked kind of familiar...like I'd seen him in something else recently. He kind of looks a little like Hugh Jackman at first, and then it hit me...He's MAGNETO in X-Men: First Class!!!!!!!! Another of my recent favorite movies! Only he's more attractive in that one because he has short hair and no facial hair.AND, because in Jane Eyre, Mr. Rochester is like 40 or something and they totally made him look older than he actually is (he's actually 34...in case you were wondering...).
  
     Um...I'm in school this semester. Yay for Soozee! I'm going back full time...lets pray I don't die, or fail. Both would be equally horrible. I am taking 2 English classes (Critical Intro. to Literature, as well as Post 1800 British Literature) a health class, and an Ethics and Values class that I am no very excited for, however, after this semester I only have math to get through and I'm completely DONE with generals!!! HOORAY!!! Be excited/happy for/with me!!!!
     Many of my brothers will die after I confess this next random thought of the week...I kind of like country music lately. There is a song by Blake Shelton (not even like pop country...we're talking COUNTRY country.....CRAZY!) called God Gave Me You....oh my gosh, I love that song. Its already made it on the top 25 in my itunes...in fact it is currently #3 after All We Are by Matt Nathanson (which will remain #1 for forever if I have any say in it!) and There There Katie by Jack's Mannequin. OH, PS: I am going to see Jack's Mannequin LIVE in October! I'm SUPER DUPER excited for that one! Me, Fort, and my brother are all going. Its going to be sooo much fun! But yeah, Soozee and country music, who knew?!?!?! Right!?!?!?!
    I'm just going to apologize now and let you all know that if I don't blog very much in the next little while it is only because I'll be a hermit in school. But, I love you all and will update, or have Emmalee update as often as possible, k!?!?!?!

NOTE: Please read in a British accent

Hello!
     This is Soozee's secretary Emmalee, yes I am in fact British, so its best if you read everything I write today in my native accent. Soozee has been far too busy lately to write and has requested I write you very quickly in her stead. She has been incredibly busy working both jobs as well as making a few cakes, attending a few weddings, and writing...she is always writing!
     In other random news, she also wanted to fill you in a little bit on the whole Digger situation, he did move about an hour away, and about 2 blocks from Soozee's best friend Fort. Ironic, I know! And she also said to mention that she has talked to Digger more now than when he lived here, so we are looking at this as good news.
     Soozee's best friend Tex got married over the weekend and Soozee said it was a beautiful occasion that she was very grateful she was able to attend. Tex has been like family to her for years and I have had the opportunity to meet both him and his wife on a few occasions and join with Soozee in wishing them the best in their new life together.
     Soozee also requested I inform you of a few movies she will be mentioning next time she posts. She has seen the new Capt. America: The First Avenger movie and absolutely loved it! So much in fact, it inspired a Chris Evans movie week, so I'm sure she'll have pictures to post as well. Also, she just watched this years version of Jane Eyre, which I was very interested in seeing as well. There were actually quite a few more well known actors in this version, including the guy that played Magneto in X-Men: First Class as Rodchester. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing my native countryside and also the story unfold. But, I will let Soozee talk more about that later.
    Over all, she is still alive and I hope this will suffice for those of you that have missed Soozee's random ramblings as she calls them. If you have any questions or concerns for her well being, feel free to comment or e-mail me at ninjasecretary@gmail.com and I will be sure and pass along a post-it note with your request.

Best Wishes,
Emmalee Fairfax

Its Fancy, Its Nancy, IT'S FANCY NANCY!!!!

For her birthday last year, a good friend of mine requested a Hello Kitty cake. It turned out fabulous and I was soooo freaking proud of that cake! Man, it was beautiful. So, this year when I asked her what she wanted, she had to think about it. How do you top THAT cake? I mean really. It was a work of art. And then, she said two words that first sent me scrambling, but I recovered and came up with something BRILLIANT! Those two words were: FANCY NANCY. I had heard of the books, though never read through any of them. Sad, I know, but I have since remedied that. My friend said that the first one was her favorite, so I took that as my main inspiration and then went from there. Here is the end result:

Beautiful, no? I think so! I am so proud of how this cake turned out! Its a 6" cake of funfetti goodness that I decorated entirely in pink. I googled Fancy Nancy pictures, printed them out, lamenated them and then put them on toothpicks so they would stand up on the cake. GENIUS! Thank you to my sister and sister in law for their help! I don't know what I would do without my good friends that are constantly inspiring me!



And, since it is the first Friday of July, I am linking this post in with Becky's link party!!! Heck yes, so much fun!!

Summertime

So, its been a while since I last posted. I've been busy. Last week, I was hating the world (which has been happening more and more lately) so I decided to go to a movie....by myself. I've done this before, and I only feel awkward until the movie starts. Any way, I went and saw X-Men: First Class because I am a TOTAL geek at heart...I have 6 brothers, therefore I watched a lot of super hero cartoons instead of girly ones...so yeah, a new X-Men movie, I was excited. So I went alone. It was AWESOME. Probably my favorite one so far.

In honor of its release, my BFF Fort requested for her birthday that I make an X-Men cake, so I took the movie poster and created the cake from that. Its not as awesome as I was hoping for, but I am still quite proud of it. I mean I had to carve the top part out and then frost it (which was a lot more difficult than I thought it would be).

The cake says: Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters-First Class, in case you were wondering. If I were to do this cake again (which I just might) I have a few ideas on how to improve its awesomeness. In the meantime, I am already coming up with how to make the next birthday cake I make as awesome. Here's a little sneak peek of the theme for that one:

    Like I said, I really liked X-Men, and after I watched it I was on a James McAvoy kick...because he's Professor Charles Xavier in the movie. You have no idea who James McAvoy is? That is sad. He's one of my favorite actors. I have seen him play a plethora of different roles, and I think he does a pretty good job. I own a few movies with him in them (Penelope, Becoming Jane, Gnomeo and Juliet...he's the voice of Gnomeo) and then I was hanging out with my friend at her apartment and her room mate is in LOVE with James McAvoy, so I saw one of his movies I had not seen before...it was called Atonement. It was REALLY sad, but I actually really liked it. I won't go into the storyline of it, but it is a story that reminds you that life isn't always fair, and people don't always get their happy endings. It was sad, but good.
      Despite the sad movie, it was a fun day. I made some new friends and have been enjoying my summertime off. I wrote like 15 pages of my book the other day, which was awesome. It might actually start coming along again, now that I have some time to write! HOORAY!!!!

Share the Love

So...ever since the middle of May I knew that I wanted to link up with my ultra crafty friend Becky's blog. Every first Friday she has a link up party and I keep forgetting...but in the past month I have made two items I am SUPER proud of and wanted to share them both with you. So, without further ado, here we go!





     First of all, about 8 years ago I embarked on what I thought would be a quick little adventure in quilting. I should have realized when a pattern calls for 200 2 inch x 2 inch squares, the only little thing about it is the size! However, give me 8 years and losing the quilt top about 3 times and voila! here it is!
    This was originally going to be given to one of my siblings when it was done (and I honestly don't remember which one...it was going to be a surprise) but once I started it I knew that there was no way I was going to give it away! Then, as I was about half way done with the top I realized that with all the work that was going in to this quilt, no child would ever touch it either! Ha ha...I guess we'll see when I finish quilting it. The top is completely done and now I just need to add the batting and the back and then tie it or quilt it (haven't decided which yet) and then bind it and I'm done! It will be finished before I actually have a kid, which I wasn't sure would happen! HOORAY!!!


     Ok, on to the second project....I just blogged about this one, so forgive me for repeating, but I am really quite proud of it. Its Digger's birthday cake. I mean that cake was AMAZING. It was a three layer white cake with a strawberry/pastry cream/whipped cream filling, alternating between layers, and then topped with chocolate covered strawberries and a chocolate Happy Birthday Digger!! sign. MASTERPIECE. I am so very proud of that cake!
     The cake itself was probably about 10 inches around. I baked two 9inch cakes and then made them into 3 layers. The frosting is a whipped cream frosting instead of a butter cream type. And surrounding the entire cake is those chocolate pirouette cookies, alternating between milk chocolate and white chocolate. Is your mouth watering yet? I was told by a good friend of mine (who doesn't generally like cake) that when she saw a picture of this cake she wanted some. Apparently I can make non desert lovers want desert....I think that's a little bit awesome. After seeing this cake, many of my friends from church kept telling me how I should open a bakery and how I would be a fantastic baker...which is a dream that I have one day in the future. We'll see what happens. It was funny, even Digger commented about his cake, he said something to the effect of, "Soozee, do you realize how much you could sell that cake for? Oh my gosh, its amazing!" yes Digger, yes it is. And, just an FYI, if I was ever commissioned to make this cake for someone I would charge about $75.

AMAZING Cake

So...it was Digger's birthday yesterday, and I made him a birthday cake today. It was AMAZING. Its a time consuming cake, but also really amazing looking when its done. For the directions, I am going to direct you to my good friend Emily's page because she did step by step directions WITH pictures. It is from the first time I made this cake because she and I made it together. She has a link to the original blog that we got it from.
     The reaction was awesome. I sent Digger a picture of the cake and asked what he thought. The response was "ridiculous" which is Digger talk for "amazing" or "awesome". Then, when he actually saw the cake, he was amazed. I did a 9 inch cake and did 3 layers. The pirouette cookies worked out perfectly and I found the most guy-ish ribbon I could find (which still wasn't very manly) to hold it together until it was ready to be cut.
      There was no room on the actual cake to write "Happy Birthday Digger" on it, so I poured the leftover milk chocolate from the strawberries onto parchment paper and then wrote on it in white chocolate and then placed it standing up on the cake to add dimension and awesomeness to it. Then, I placed candles between the strawberries...it was really cool lit up. I forgot to take pictures of that one though. Oh well...


     We took it to a gathering of friends and shared it, and the comments were all good about the cake. The strawberries weren't as awesome as I'm sure they'll be in about a month or so. I am tempted to try this with raspberries because I love love raspberries. And then on the top part I can line up the raspberries and then drizzle the chocolate over the top...wouldn't that be divine?