Loving Baseball!

Rejoice!!!  It's World Series time and the Texas Rangers are one game away from winning it all!!!  There is NOTHING better than baseball!!!  Okay, so maybe I'm exaggerating just a bit.  One thing is for sure...I LOVE BASEBALL!!!

I do come by it naturally.  Growing up in Milwaukee, I spent many hours of my youth at Milwaukee County Stadium watching the Brew Crew.  Those were the days when we still had double-headers and Opening Day was an official holiday---or maybe just a good excuse for skipping school;)  I was a teenager when I discovered that I did love a man in uniform...a baseball uniform, that is;)  What sweet memories!

Fast forward to the mid-'80s, when I met the man of my dreams who (of course) loved baseball too.  Never mind that he was a Rangers fan...he promised to love the Brewers too, so what's a girl to do?  Our courtship included many happy times at the ball park.  Many evenings spent watching the Texas Rangers at Arlington Stadium and eventually a couple of  'Baseball Road Trips'.  We traveled to see the Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, Midland Angels, San Antonio Missions, Tulsa Drillers, Oklahoma City 89ers, and the El Paso Diablos.  We almost made it to see the St. Louis Cardinals, but that's another story for another day.  Perhaps the best memory was our 22-hour straight drive to Milwaukee to watch Nolan Ryan pitch his 300th win.   We even had cameos on WFAA-TV (ch. 8) out of D/FW and an ESPN MLB promo!!!

Wrigley Field - It's magic!

Terry making his sign for Nolan's 300th win in Milwaukee

Representing Texas at Milwaukee County Stadium - July 31, 1990

Today, my baseball journey is better than ever because we have discovered that our son is completely and totally OBSESSED with baseball.  Oddly enough, we were not the parents that had our son equipped with a glove and a bat before he could walk.  We didn't even get him started in tee ball or machine-pitch.  In fact, we waited until he was 10 years old to get him into organized Senior Midget Fall Ball.  We gave him the opportunity to try almost every sport first and then he chose baseball.  PRAISE THE LORD!!!  Lucky for me because it's the only sport that I understand;)  It's the sport that my husband will never get tired of.  Even my dear daughter finds sitting on the sidelines somewhat tolerable (she's 13, after all).

I have to admit that I had feared organized ball because of the stories that I had heard about out-of-control parents, tyrannical coaches and all the nasty political machinations that seem to go with the territory.  It is my opinion that each of these issues do play out in Central Texas at every game...just sayin'.  However, we were blessed to find Alliance Baseball.  Their mission is to bring integrity back to baseball.  What an amazing experience we have had.  This is an organization which will make a lasting impact on the game and I am proud that my son is a part of it.  BTW, Alliance 10U earned bronze medals after a 10-2 season.  This group came a long way in a short time. 

Still love a man in a baseball uniform---my little man, #9 (front, left)

So, for now, we're ALL ABOUT BASEBALL!  GO RANGERS!  GO ALLIANCE!

God Bless America and God Bless Baseball!!! 

Cake Nerd!!!

My daughter and I went to a great cake show in Arlington, TX, last weekend.  It was hosted by www.sweetsensationscakeclub.com.  This show was actually a Day of Sharing, meaning that a few very special cake gurus generously shared demonstrations of their masterful techniques.  Three amazingly talented decorators were there:  Megan Rountree, Nikki Jackson and the Bronwen Weber.

My cake hero is Bronwen Weber.  She has competed over 20 times on Food Network's Challenge.  She has won more than any other contestant ever!!!  She is an amazing talent, but what was even more fun to learn was that she has a keen sense of humor AND the ability to make it look so easy while she's decorating.  Her message was "Don't be afraid of the cake" and believe it or not, I needed to hear that.  Cake is scary sometimes!  Also, I learned that I am a 'Cake Nerd'...didn't know that there was such a thing, but I'll claim it;)  She made a Skull Cake for Halloween.  I took dozens of pictures and there really was no way to capture the skill with which she carved and sculpted the cake---WOW!!!  Bronwen's Best Hint: Use chopsticks for detail work.

Megan, a recent finalist in TLC's Last Cake Standing, demonstrated a Turkey Cake.  It was beautiful!!!  Look at the pictures.  She is darling and very talented.  Best Hint from Megan:  CK Confectioners Glaze to give fondant details a shiny appearance.

Nikki, recently competed on Food Network's Best Cake Artist in America.  She hinted that the editing of that show was to blame for her not-so-stellar portrayal.  Still not convinced about that;) I will say that she and her helper husband were very charming.  She showcased a Shopping Bag Cake for Christmas.  Best Hint from Nikki:  Try substituting 7-Up for the water when you make a chocolate cake from a mix.  Can't wait to try it!

Back to reality.  My daughter has a birthday this week.  I hope I'm up to the challenge!

Birthday Boy!

My boy had a birthday in September.

This year, he wanted birthday cookies instead of a cake.

Since it was practice day, of course he wanted baseball cookies!

Here is the often-requested recipe for my Rolled Sugar Cookies. There's really nothing special here. I got the recipes out of the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, 1981.

Happy Baking! Hope you love these!



Journey to Japan

We just finished our 2 week-study of Japan.  One of the books that we read together was Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr.  It is the true story of a young girl who lived in Japan from 1943 to 1955.  It is the story of her battle against leukemia that resulted from the bombing of Hiroshima which ended WWII.  Her courage made her a heroine to the children of Japan and even throughout the world.  We learned to make origami cranes like the ones in the book.  It was a little tricky, but we figured it out!!! 

Of course, we had to celebrate our study with a meal so, we took a trip to Nami to sample some Japanese cuisine.  The kids decided it was pretty cool and it may be our new favorite place for lunch!

Welcome to our World!

This has been an exciting year of new beginnings for our family.  We have embarked on a learning journey through the amazing world of homeschooling.   Sarah, 12, and David, 10, are flourishing as we take this path.  We are using Sonlight Eastern Hemisphere curriculum as our foundation.  We have studied Oceania, Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica, Japan and Korea so far.  We are LOVING our journey.  We welcome you to follow us as we take on the world!

Find our Sonlight curriculum at http://www.sonlight.com/core-f.html