Making a List, Checking it Twice!... Oh Bugger

So I am a self confessed list making junkie!

I make lists for allsorts.  I dont feel like I am able to plan anything without lists.  Without a comprehensive list with sub lists and supporting information I feel like Im incompetent and destined to fail!

This wedding planning lark is exactly the same, I had a timetable of events to help me plan what needs doing (due to me doing and making nearly everything myself)  and put it up in the kitchen on "The Great Wall of Plan".  I have to say this has been invaluable!  I then sat down and made a shopping list for all the bits I have so far forgotten and it wasn't pretty!  How did I forget so much stuff?  Everything from heel grips to make-up remover is on there with grapes in between!  *sigh* 

Now comes the task of figuring out when exactly am I going to fit all this into my exhausting week?  I have a plan though!  Its called Pull Yourself Together Dawn and Deal With It!  

So how am I going to fit in a shopping excursion?  Simple!  Make a list of stuff to do!  

Do you see where this is going?

Me too.

I think I have a problem.

Wedding Stress & Stupid People.

So its 30 days to go from today and I am stressed.  Not because of invites, dresses, flowers or any of the other things one needs to be organised and faffed over, but because of stupid/selfish/obnoxious/no common sense/annoying* people.  I understand that my wedding is not everyone's  priority and life shouldn't come to a screaming halt because I am getting married, but basic common courtesy would be most appreciated from my loved ones and professional contacts!

My heightened emotional state really does not help matters when there seems to be a new occurrence of something bad happening on a daily basis and peoples general lack of compassion and understanding making matters worse.  

I now detest the phrase "Bridezilla"  because I have come to realise its unfair.  In some cases it is well deserved due to the fact that some bride to be's are just psychopaths, but most of the ladies I have been speaking to are put under so much pressure and endure unrealistic amounts of stress and anxiety (me included) that they have no choice but to crack at some point.  Does this breakdown deserve them the title of bridezilla?  So if someones car continuously breaks down and leaves them stranded and in tears, causing them to have a little rant on occasion, does this make them a carzilla?  No.

So if my heightened stress caused by people behaving with some of the above mentioned traits is cause for me to be tagged a Bridezilla then so be it.  I shall wear that title as a badge of honour, however those who are guilty of causing stress oughta be ashamed of themselves and hide under the stairs because a scorned "Bridezilla"  is not a person you want to cross.  

Heres where I get all wordy...

I like this quote and thought I would amend to make it fit-for-purpose.

"Hell hath no fury like a woman Bridezilla scorned"

I then went one step further...

Nails may get broken and noses may hurt.  

Feelings may become bruised and ego's burst.  

Smugness will be wiped and jesting slapped.

Haters will hate and stupidity snapped.

If you rile the bride

You scorn the groom

A chief bridesmaid will come down on you

And force you from the room

The bride is fragile and her sanity she will mourn

You are in the wrong and your pride will be torn

She needs understanding, patience and love

To help her create memories she can be proud of

On a lighter note, this lady Cheryl Texiera has made a series of wedding related monologues which cracked me up.  The stuff she comes out with is all too true.  If you are planning a wedding I sincerely recommend you take time out to watch her work.  It will be good for your sanity.  Trust me.

*delete as appropriate

Unsettled

So its 67 days to the wedding from today.  Over the last few weeks I have become a crafting machine, powering my way through the projects like a woman possessed   There was no stopping me and I was taking no prisoners.  Why?  Because I had it in my little brain there was too much to do and not enough time.  I also had the grim realisation that I had a million other non-wedding related things that needed my attention too.  The list of stuff to do for both home and wedding is frankly overwhelming I think I will probably do one of two things.  1- Go nuts and sit in a corner gently rocking or 2- come up with an in depth plan of action involving timelines and lists.  

Neither of which is particularly appealing at present so I have come up with a 3rd option.  Do nothing.  Absolutely nothing.  Nada.  Diddly squat.  Nowt.  Im going to sit on my bum and lead a normal life for the next 2 weeks, purely because I want to.  I may decide to have a bash at making some of the stuff Ive been pinning on Pinterest purely for entertainment purposes.  I might decide to watch a box set.  I may even go wild and start playing Assasins Creed which has been sat gathering dust for a few years.  Either way Im not doing anything weddingy. 

I'm not you know!

No, I'm not....

Yea!  Did you see that?  I didnt do anything weddingy!  ultimate self control!  All I have to do is keep doing nothing until February.

Do I think anyone will even notice?  

No.

*sigh*

At lease my sanity might come back from where its been hiding!

Reminiscing

Reminiscing is something I tend to do quite often, especially recently.  Not that i have a particularly large amount of time on my hands but more because of the bad times that have burdened my life for the last few years.  I have some big events coming up soon such as MrMc's 30th birthday which needs a cake worthy of his big day, my Nanna's 80th birthday, then there's my wedding day coming up so its all systems go at the minute!

All this planning ahead also got me thinking in reverse, mostly about cakes may I add! So i thought I would delve into the archives and post some of my favourite cakes from the past to inspire me for cakes of the future!

so here goes!  My top 5 favourite cakes

#1 The Pizza

Pizza Cake

I loved this cake!  I remember delivering it to my colleague and being met with weird looks walking through Castleford Hospital!  One lady stopped me and asked me why I was wandering round with a box of pizza.  When i explained to her its a cake she went all giddy and asked me to do her grandaughter a birthday cake!  Needless to say my head swelled as my ego inflated to mammoth proportions!

#2 The I-phone

The i-Cake

When I wanted to make an i-phone cake there was pretty much no inspiration for how to execute it other than whats available in hardware images, but now there are thousands of the b*ggers!  I like to think I was a pioneer for the i-Cake!  Yeah dream on!  Still liked it though!

#3 The lipstick

M.A.C. Lipstick Cake

This lipstick was on a mirrored board so it looked like the writing was on the mirror...  I really liked this cake.  Did I mention the lipstick itself was glittery?  A girl can never have too much glitter on her birthday!

#4 The Diver

Diving Themed Cake

So I was asked to make a cake based on a scuba diver... So I made the lil guy and then my imagination started going... Shark infested waters, creatures of the deep blue, fishing for old boots!, brightly coloured fishies, seaweed, coral reefs, the floating remains of your wooden boat!  So I rolled with that.

#5 The Pint

Pint of Lager Cake

So I started out making a pint of lager cake... I found some acetate sheet stuff (them sheet  things you use for overhead projectors) and with a white gel pen drew out the sign found on pint glasses.  I made a cylindrical cake and wrapped it in the pint glass and painted a wood effect on the board.  That's when I went to the party and had a drink.  I was meant to just add squirty cream to it before the big presentation... buuut I had one or two glasses of wine and ended up a bit giddy as you can see...  keep wanting to re-create this so that I can finish it with a 'proper' head but can't seem to find the perfect excuse...

So off I go planning and designing the cakes of the future! Here's hoping I can make up something I can be proud of for years to come!

Happy New Year... Let the Fun Begin!

So 2012...  Personally I feel like I had a pretty dire year.  What can I say that's particularly good about it?  Off the top of my head... nothing.  So to put it into perspective in order to promote a more healthy outlook on life I made a list.  I'm good at lists.  I like lists.  Lists help me obtain some form of order.  Until i loose them or put them somewhere "safe"

So here it is...

What was so great for me in 2012?

Bad

• Had to re-home Tattiana Caterina & Matilda Poo Cat (My 2 kitties)
• Moved in with cat hating future mother in law
• Future mother in law turfed me and daughter out because I wouldn't let her bully me on wedding related issues
• Had a wedding dress dilemma because it didn't fit right & was too short
• Money!
• Had to suspend cake making due to mother in law not wanting me to make cakes in her home
• Had to give up my home and sell/skip most of my furniture to move in with mother in law
• Sold my fabulous little Sport KA to buy a grown up sensible car
• Put weight on
• Was made redundant - twice
• Tried going to craft Fayre's to sell my truffles and made a loss & generally wasted my time

Good

• Realised I have wonderful friends who helped me out when I found a new home
• My two new baby kitties George & Bertie
• My new grown up sensible car - I love it after all!
• Found my independence again after I moved out of mother in laws and started a new life
• Work - My new day job is fabulous and I have some awesome colleagues
• Found a new wedding dress more beautiful than the original
• Tried my hand at craft Fayre's
• Completed Fallout 3 & Fallout New Vegas (I am a bit of a geek)
• My new home & awesome landlords!
• Had a hen party!

So looking at this I think 2012 was overall a bad year with some good bits thrown in towards the end.  What am I going to do now? 

I am going to move on and keep my head up!  Things could have been worse!  After all, I was made homeless momentarily, but managed to turn my life around and realise that I have some wonderful friends and family and the support of my man MrMc (when he isn't doing something "in a minute" or "later" ;-) )  If it hadn't been for my family and friends I honestly don't know how I would have managed.  They were there for me through thick and thin and offered more support and encouragement than I could have hoped for!

So here's to all the people who matter in my life who have been there for me.  Whether it be kind words of encouragement, a shoulder to cry on, an ear to sound off into or their home for a roof over my head.  I can't thank you all enough and I love each and every single one of you.

Thank you x 

New Family Additions

I have always for as long as I remember been a cat person.  For some reason I find it hard to bond with dogs.  By all means I will fuss friends canine friends and will not for one minute think of harming a pooch.  But cats are where my loyalties lie.  I remember having cats in the home since being very young and some of my earliest memories include the grey moggy we had when I was little.  

I always feel a house is not a home unless a cat lives there.

I was bought my first Garfield comic when I was about 7 years old.  I remember we were going on holiday and my Dad took me to the newsagent to buy a comic to keep me entertained on the plane and I picked up the only one with a cat on the front.  From that moment on I was a Garfield fan through and through and even now I have an app on my phone where I get a daily Garfield strip!  I am also a fan of I can has cheezburger and the kitty related stuff they come up with.  The cheezburger lingo has now become a second language in my household especially when addressing kitties.

I have led a cat free life since January this year and I have felt a small kitty shaped hole in my life ever since so when MrMc suggested getting a kitten I went on planning mode.  A week later I found myself the proud owner/parent/carer/slave to my two beautiful boys George & Bertie.  They were 8 weeks old and I fell in love the moment I saw them.  Two tabby boys who were abandoned by their mum who were then had reared by a lovely girl from Barnsley called Vicky.  Unfortunately Vicky couldn't keep them and had to find a new home for them, which is where I come in!  

Bertie

The last two weeks have been interesting, the boys spend half of the time playing and stalking each other and the rest of the time snuggling up with us all on the sofa.  They are especially fond of my fluffy throw and love to paw it and snuggle down.  I am enjoying every minute of their development and love watching them play and love the snuggle time they give us, the only thing I am not enjoying is the amount of poo they seem to produce!  I am sure they produce half their bodyweight in poo every day!

 

George

Looking forward to lazy winter nights snuggled up on the sofa with the family and the kitties.  Simple pleasures x

I survived my hen party!

As the title suggests, I survived.

After a full english breakfast, I headed over to The Wifes parents pub, where I was instructed to get dressed into my printed top and pink tutu.  (very attractive...)  They then blindfolded me and told me to sit still...  

I was filled with dread...  

What were they going to do to me?!

Whatever it was I needed to sit still and grin and bear it.  Let them have their fun and hopefully the rest will run smoothly...

Then someone grabbed my arm and handcuffs were applied.

Oh god no.  What were they doing?

My blindfold was ripped off and I was sat staring into the face of my new friend.  

A friend of one of the girls had been handcuffed to me... who happened to be a dwarf.  He thought it was rather funny and started drinking making it so that every time he took a sip I whacked him in the face...

He then dragged me outside and started waving at passing cars and buses whilst having a smoke.  I was at his mercy.... I kept thinking, please don't need the loo!

After about an hour, the mini bus turned up to take us into Blackpool.  We all piled on and were in high spirits all the way there and with a few cheeky shots of raspberry sambuka we were on our way to being merry!

Once we arrived at the hotel we were greeted by a hillybilly esque fella who was a little creepy to say the least... Buh!  The next morning one of the girls sharing my room informed me she checked the wall for spyholes before she went to bed just in case... Thats how bad it was.

Anyways, the rest of the day went well, nobody got too drunk and everyone just had good clean silly fun!  Such a breath of fresh air!

Heres some more pics to keep you entertained!