Spring Celebration Concert

Last night Gabrielle performed with her Award Band at Hickman High School for a concert with the Hickman Wind Ensemble. Award Band played four pieces: Free Spirit Overture, The Falling Rain, Superheroes R Us (which was a medley of the Theme from Superman, The James Bond Theme, Batman Theme and Soul Bosa Nova) and finished their portion of the program with Rockin' Robin. They have one more rehearsal and one more performance next month (an outdoor concert). Great Job Gabrielle!

Here are the videos:

Just Practicing

I need more practice before doing my first wedding cake in June, so last night I decided to have a go. I really need more piping practice so that my dots don't look like mini chocolate chips. I definitely did not have the right consistency of frosting for piping. I will try some more. I also was experimenting with borders. This is the little bead border with the fondant red with white frosting in between. The flower on top is supposed to look like a ribbon rose. You can make a whole lot of these and use them for a border, too. Anyway, here it is. Not great, but I also did it pretty quickly with no design in mind ahead of time (A BIG NO-NO for someone with a degree in Graphic Design!)

Coupons

I am trying this method of organizing my coupons. I have used those little files before, only to have coupons go unseen and unused before they expired. This was a cheap little solution. I got a 4 x 6 photo album for $1 at wal-mart. It holds almost 50 4 x 6 photos, but it can hold even more COUPONS! I thought of this after my sister said she saw someone in the grocery store going through her coupons in a notebook with baseball card holder pages. I wanted something smaller that I could have in my purse at all times because how many times have I gotten somewhere and needed the coupons I left clipped on the fridge, or wherever. Now I always have the coupons ready. I organize them by date with the one expiring the soonest in the front. I have been using this system for a while now and have used the coupons every single time I have gone to the store. I am loving it!

Remembering Oklahoma City

Where were you 15 years ago? I was in our first home in Tulsa, pregnant with Madison, folding some laundry, when I heard the news that terrorists bombed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing over 160 men, women, and children, and injuring hundreds more. Even before the dust settled, heroes had emerged. First responders, medical professionals, clergy, relief organizations, local leaders, and everyday citizens stepped forward to help victims and their families.

Earlier this month, the President signed a proclamation designating April 19, 2010, as National Day of Service and Remembrance for Victims and Survivors of Terrorism.

He stated, "There is no greater evil than willful violence against innocents. On this National Day of Service and Remembrance for Victims and Survivors of Terrorism, we pause to remember victims of terrorism at home and abroad, we honor the heroes who have supported them, and we redouble our efforts to build the kind of world that is worthy of their legacy."

A beautiful memorial now stands where the horrific event occurred. There is great insight on their website www.oklahomacitynationalmemorial.org

Also, tonight on MSNBC, you can hear Timothy McVeigh's chilling confession in his own words for the first time in "The McVeigh Tapes: Confessions of an American Terrorist."

Drawing from 45 hours of never-before-released interview audiotapes recorded during McVeigh's prison stay, the film reveals the bomber's descriptions of the planning and execution of the horrific attack and offers insight into how a decorated American soldier became a dangerous, anti-government terrorist.

I will be watching and remembering Oklahoma City.

Congratulations Ryan!

Just wanted to say Congratulations to Ryan, my 16 year old nephew in Arizona. He was awarded his Eagle Scout award yesterday. My sister made this awesome video of his "trail to eagle" and I was just amazed at all the hard work and dedication this guy has put in to achieve such an accomplishment. It it wasn't just the big final project, either. It was each little step along the way from making that little pinewood derby car, to service projects, to camping, climbing, hiking, swimming, and survival skills, and much much more. How lucky he is to have two supportive parents and many more leaders, I'm sure, helping him along the way as well. Ryan, you are a wonderful young man and great example to our family. How was the chocolate fountain?

sarahtuckett.blogspot.com/2010/04/trail-to-eagle.html

Spring Weekend

It was nice that everyone was around and in town this weekend. We had great weather to spend some time together as a family. Friday after school I took the girls to the library to feed their need to read. I actually cooked a nice dinner on Friday night complete with homemade bread (I don't LOVE to cook on Fridays since I clean all day that day, but will do it when needed!) and then we caught up on Merlin (new season started now on SyFy!) We got a few errands done on Saturday and worked planting flowers and plants in the front yard and on the back deck. Gabrielle loves the dirt and worms. Jared also worked on fixing the bare spots on the lawn. Very important, you know. Luckily, we had enough leftovers that I did not have to cook on Saturday night! And we got to get Sparky's ice cream and roam around downtown for a while. Sunday was another totally relaxing day, due to church being cancelled due to a small electrical fire/outage. We read and watched the well deserved Phil Mickelson win the Masters. Jared grilled outside for dinner Sunday, which was awesome. This morning I discovered that robins have made a nest in the tree in our front yard. Spring has definitely sprung!

Lock and Load

I spent last week doing a lot of cleaning. As a result, my cleaning supplies were pretty much depleted (and my trigger finger very sore!) When replacing some of my supplies I found this new product made by the scrubbing bubble people--It is called "Extend-a-Clean" because it is supposed to keep surfaces cleaner for up to 4 days. This was great news to me, since that is one of my biggest pet peaves about cleaning -- how I just get something clean and someone comes in and just totally messes it up again. I usually go around wiping and re-wiping everything with clorox wipes. It is a sad pitiful existence! But no more with the extend-a-clean. But wait, there's more: There is an automatic trigger that you unlock and just hold while it sprays the foam in an even layer wherever you need it! It sounds like a semi-automatic weapon and it is SO COOL! Ok, I know that most of you couldn't care less about this kind of stuff but these things are the joy of my life. And aren't those scrubbing bubbles cute?