New!!

Hi all,
I've started a new blog. Please check it out at ilovepate.blogspot.com

I hope you are all doing well.

NEW BLOG

Please visit me at

ilovepate.blogspot.com

Share your stories with me:)

NEW BLOG

Please come visit me at:

ilovepate.blogspot.com

Share your stories with me.

Cake, Cake and More Cake

I finished my Wilton Class I class last Saturday. The picture is of my FINAL cake for class one. It incorporated the "Wilton Rose" and sugar flowers (around the border). The second cake, "Clown Cake" used technique necessary for making figures stand up. The last picture is of my very first cake. You can obviously see how much I learned in the three classes.

This class was so fun and I encourage everyone to take it. I ended up taking mine at the local Hobby Lobby. I can't wait for class two. Class Two focuses on the use of royal icing (which makes very pretty flowers). I'll keep you posted! Until then, I'm taking orders:)

My dear Bella

I posted earlier this year that my dog Bella has cancer and Cushing's disease. The vet discovered a mast cell tumor on her knee and it was removed in January. It was supposed to heal quickly (2 weeks). However, it ended up taking over a month to heal and that was with frequent visits to a new vet in Houston and the wonders of an e-collar (and consultations/counseling from my awesome vet in Tulsa). Never fear, I took some time to "dazzle" her colalr up since she was so good about wearing it. I actually highly suggest doing it if you ever have to put your dog into a collar. The original collar was too long, where she wasn't able to reach her food or water. She was also constantly running into everything. The collar was also very sharp around the edges. So, I trimmed it down to her nose and hot glued fabric around the rim:) Bella is now tumor free, but there is a chance she will develop more. She is doing great and I love her dearly. Thanks for all the prayers.

Playing catch-up

I have to admit, I am the worst procrastinator in the world. I have so much to post, but instead of boring you with a post as long as a book, I will try to make several posts today.

Update on my 2009 resolutions:
I have paid off FOUR credit cards.
I am moving out of my parents home in FOUR weeks.
I finished my first Wilton cake class and have signed up for the second one.

I have accomplished a lot and I'm not embarrassed to say that I am proud of what I've done since January 1st.

So, what's new? Well, if you follow my facebook status, you probably know that I had some "work" done on my left big toe. It all started out with an ingrown toe nail. I've had surgery on the right big toe and it was quite painful. I was dreading having my left big toe "operated" on. The night before the big night, my toe started throbbing. It was as if someone had wrapped a rubber band around my big toe. It was so painful that I was in tears all day. Then, I arrived at the doctor's office at 3:30. I did not see the doctor until almost 5:00. Luckily, I had time to text all my anxiety to my friends, who calmly assured me that everything was going to be ok.

The doctor came in and she took one look at my toe and said, "you need to go downstairs for some blood work." What????? Why do I need bloodwork for an ingrown toenail surgery?

Well......

It turns out that I have a severe staph infection that almost went septic. Are you for real?
How did I get this infection? One word: PEDICURE.

You fill in the details. I have vowed to NEVER get another pedicure!!! If you choose to do so, MAKE sure everything is clean!!! Not just surface clean, but sanitized clean!!!!

Sorry that the pictures aren't very clear and they are gross. But, I wanted to warn you of the implications of having pretty toenails. The picture on the right is just of the ingrown toenail itself. No wonder my toe hurt so bad. The picture on the left is of the staph infection. I'll post a pic of my toe after all of the "surgeries" have been performed.

Needless to say, it hasn't been a very fun process. What should have been a very simple one-time procedure turned into weekly visits to remove more and more of my toenail.

My podiatrist told me various stories of how "spas" will use Windex instead of a sanitizer because it is cheaper. She also said that she had to amputate a young woman's toe because she contracted a staph infection that DID go septic.

Yuck!

1st Day Back

Today was the first day back at school. I didn't sleep well last night and was nervous about how today would unfold.

I started a new ritual for my students. I posted a speech class pledge in my room and they say it every time they come in. I found in on the great website, www.speakingofspeech.com. If you click on caseload management, you will find it. It essentially says that doing well is up to each student, not me. We talked about my role in helping them with their speech. We all agreed that I am here to teach and they come to speech to learn. It seemed to work well today. I'll keep you updated.

For my January activity, I cut out paper party hats and let my kids decorate them with markers, glitter, etc... I had them write 3 resolutions, one which had to do with their speech goals. They all did such a nice job. I'm going to keep them posted in the room until the end of the year, that way they can track their progress!

I hope everyone had a great day today, especially those speech paths who started back at school today:)