Decorating Cakes!

So last week we had our first 'actual' Cake Decorating Class. It was the second of four, but the first class was just an orientation of what to bring, and how to bring it, etc. And funny thing, is that on Tuesday night I got a call from that Cheryl girl and she asked me if I would be driving to Santa Monica the next evening, and I told her it was funny cause I was indeed planning to. Then she told me that she was taking this class and she wasn't sure if her car would make it therefore needed a ride, and since I live just around the corner it only made sense. So I then told her that I was taking the very same class too! Who ever knew that she of all people would be in the exact same cake decorating class! It was all sponsored through Michael's. We carpooled over there, and Cheryl was starving so we decided to stop at Tommy Burgers, which was a slight error cause we left at 6:45pm and the class was at 7pm. We really only had time to go straight there, but we (she) decided we needed food first. After wolfing down our deliscious chili-grease burgers we raced over to SAnta Monica. We would have been alright, but it was after all, Santa Monica, and it was 9-9-9, and for some reason meant that they were having a big party on the Pier, which made parking $15, or off-limits. So that made me mad cause I hate paying for parking, but after 20 minutes of circling and not finding anything we (I) finally broke down and payed $6 at some distant lot. We were almost the last people there, arriving 15 minutes late, but one more crazy lady came after us.

Most of the class is younger girls... (I should tell Jeff and Josh about that class)... and then one or two crazy old women. Our teacher is Some funny Nigerian lady who's accent can throw you off if you don't pay attention.

The next class we had was last Wednesday. We brought all our stuff, cake included. This time there were 4 new yentas. One old crazy one who wasn't there before, and three yappy retarded girls from the Tuesday night class, and man were they LOUD. I seriously considered turning around and picking up their frosting and spilling it on the floor, then sticking my finger in each of their cakes. Luckily for them they shut up fairly quickly. The other group of yappy old ladies was at the other end of the room, and I didn't think throwing the other loud girls cakes at the far end loud women would have gone over to well; but i did consider defending myself against their retaliations, if it came to that.

If all you want to see is pictures, you must visit Cheryl's blog.

It was pretty fun. I still need plenty of practice, but I sure did get plenty of complements from our instructor as well. Things like "You sculpt icing amazingly well for such a novice." And "Wow, I've never seen anyone do such wonderful things with their cake icing before!" So just you wait to see what I can accomplish further down the road!

Jim's Blog entry on behalf of Joe & Tiffany

This is my brother and his wife. They are looking to adopt children. If you know pregnent people who want to get rid of their kid, let them know.

You can see by Joe's versatile hair that he will be a good parent. It helps keep him young and ambitious. Just from these pictures we can see that he likes Edward from Twilight, Tom Cruise from Last Samuri, that Tad Hamilton guy from Transformers, ... weird hippie hair from the 60's, and of course The Fonz (well, a Japanese version anyway.)

Man-Box 2.0

Its finally happened! I have a Man-Box! Was it 2 or more years ago that Josh Jeff and I originally started our first version Man-Boxes... ah, I can't remember anymore. And I'm still planning on putting the finishing touches on that Box that I started carving on, made from a rich mahogany. But something better came along many months after. I was casually browsing the internet, and for some reason I was looking through Pirate Chests. And all of a sudden, this one website showed me the coolest thing that I'd ever seen (well, almost the coolest, but it ranks pretty high!). Once I saw it, I knew that it had to be mine, and I knew that It would replace the original Man-Box.

Here is my Man-Box

Here is my Man-Box with the lid open.

Here is the top of my Man-Box

Here is the side of my Man-Box

Here is the back side of my Man-Box.

It measures 27"X15"X15". And I'm far from finished with it. I plan to make inserts for all my super cool belongings. As Cheryl has so often suggested, I will have a pull-out shelving system for all my sunglasses, and also real glasses now, as well as a small bottle of cleaning solution and a small rag for wiping down the lenses when the occasion warrants such a need. On the other side I will have a series of racks for hanging my large supply of beautiful watches! You will be able to pull each hanging Watch-carousel out and twirl it around and see the many sparkly watches that I have. I will then be able to select which watch I will accessorize with that day. The middle portion is reserved right now for an undetermined number of things which right now rest on top of my regular dresser.
I was thinking of having cool top-secret stuff like my gun and loads of bullets in there too, but then I realized that if there was a break in it would be to hard to get to, so I'm still going to leave it under my pillow for now.
In addition, the insides, although nice, won't be left unfinished. I have selected a wonderful asian style fabric from JoAnn's that I will be lining the box with. Not that I need it, but it will be more like a Treasure Chest, similar to my Man-Box 1.0 idea.
It is so cool.
I got it from Woodchests.com if you want to look further.

My Baby Dragon

This is my Baby Dragon Abraxas.

I'm not exactly sure about the name Abraxas, but its cool, and its one of the first Dragon names I found that I liked. I'm considering a few other names too, but it has to be one of the coolest names ever, cause he's one of the coolest dragons ever!

And yes, he is a dude. Don't let the thorny eyebrow/lashes throw you off. His whole species is quite deceptive. His eye lashes could bat your arm right off. And if he were to squint at you, you'd see two rows of sharp, war hardened, thorny spines point toward you, and if he were to actually strike at you in that mode... you'd be done for. And the rescue team would have trouble finding enough pieces to identify you, so be careful around him.



If you were to look close, you'd notice his powerful lashing tongue. It sparkles in the light, and its tough as nails, literally. It has to be to tolerate the intense flaming fiery breath. He could also wrap his tongue around you and squeeze you to death, even if you're wearing a shiny suit of metal armor.

Notice his beautiful copper tones on the underside. They shimmer like a bronze torchlight. Oh his fiercely hardened other scales, you can see the green scales sparkle in the light as well. But this sparkle is like the dew on morning grass as the sun rises. But don't let their beauty

Here is what he looks like from behind. And don't be mistaken, just cause you can't see his eyes, doesn't mean he can't 'see' you. His devilishly forked tongue can sense disturbances in the atmosphere, similar to a snake, as well as his concealed ear holes that provide for razor sharp hearing.

Here is a belly shot, in case you want to see what he looks like inside. This of course is after the clay is baked, and most of the foil structure is removed. I'll never get it all out.

Here is my living room work space, where my Baby Dragon was born.

Oh, don't let me forget to include parts 2 and parts 3 of Abraxas. Here is his curling mid-section as it magically leaps from the table surface and then back down again. He feels vulnerable if he is completely exposed above any surface, thats why you see him mostly hidden.

Its difficult to capture his tail on film, but I've done it! It usually sways like a fish-tail, keeping his muscular torso stable, but this time I caught him leaping in and out of the table. And as he usually does, he was swaying and twirling his tale like a whip, or like a streamer. You can see that the scales at the tale are different than that of the regular torso. They are much leaner and a bit longer, but still just as tough, and spiny, and painful if he decides to smack you with his tail. The tip is capped with a dense, bony, pointy, club; emphasized by a few veins of bone yellow at edge.

Here he is dancing in and out of the table. He is so playful.

Jim the Super Hero/ Super Villain

Have you ever what kind of Hero or Villain you'd be if you were caught up on the Comic book world? Well, me too. I did a little research, and this is what I found out:

My results:
You are Superman

Superman 90% Green Lantern 75% Iron Man 70% Robin 67% Supergirl 62% The Flash 60% Catwoman 50% Spider-Man 45% Batman 45% Wonder Woman 42% Hulk 20%

You are mild-mannered, good, strong and you love to help others.

Click here to take the "Which Superhero are you?" quiz...


I also realized that on the weekend I feel different than I do during the week, so I then punched in those numbers, and this is what came up:

My results:
You are Dr. Doom

Dr. Doom 91% Apocalypse 87% Magneto 82% Lex Luthor 81% Juggernaut 73% Venom 70% Kingpin 67% Mystique 65% The Joker 61% Poison Ivy 60% Riddler 60% Mr. Freeze 58% Dark Phoenix 55% Catwoman 47% Green Goblin 37% Two-Face 37%

Blessed with smarts and power but burdened by vanity.

Click here to take the "Which Super Villain am I?" quiz...

Italian Landscapes

Let me take you on a fine walk through my new Italian Landscape. As you might notice, Spring has just sprung in this late afternoon Tuscan setting. Some of the local farmers have just planted a new crop of grapes all around the villa-style houses getting ready for the new harvest. It rained yesterday morning so the air is crisp and fresh, and full of life, a nice contrast to the warm air and sun beating down on you as you walk thru the grassy fields. You might even be able to make out some of the early red poppy flowers just coming into bloom in the distant hills. In case you can't hear them, the residents are having a party in the back yard and all the neighbors are attending. Oh I can hear Uncle Luigi playing his old accordion again. No wonder everyone feels like retiring here. Ahhh, the life!

500

Wow, who ever thought blogging would be so fun?! I've been signed up for about 18 months now, and I've just hit my 500th Blog entry! As a matter of fact, you're reading it right now! Congratulations. Thanks for all the support over the many previous months.
I assure you all that I have plenty more exciting stories/entries in store for you.
As a matter of fact, here's some of what I have in store:
Movie Reviews,
Essay's on Life series,
and possible more Vacation series'
just to name a few.