1. (Idea and recipe found here.) I was excited to share with my family this physics demonstration. The three primary colors make a jello rainbow… sort of.

Where’s purple? I stacked one piece on top of another trying to mix the blue and red but nothing.

I think it may work if made with 4 layers instead of 3. I’ll make it with an extra blue on top of the red so they’re seeped together next time if there is one which, let’s face it, there won’t be. We don’t even like jello. I made Andrea take the pan of it to school. Moving on.

2. (Idea and directions found here.) I love this sunflower cake! Even though nobody in our family likes twinkies (really, what’s wrong with our family) so Andrea had another big snack day at school after I made this.

It’s as fun taking pictures of cute desserts as it is making them. When I placed the vase of roses next to the cake I asked “Am I trying too hard?” Rodney looked at me and said “You made a sunflower cake out of twinkies today and you’re just now asking if you’re trying too hard?”

Speaking of sunflowers, we’re moving back to the sunflower state. Andrea graduates high school in exactly a year and then we’re moving to Kansas. And not just the Kansas side of Kansas City anymore, we’re thinking about some whole other yet to be determined town. Filegirl exclusive right here. So exciting.

3. (Recipe found here.) The first two desserts were easy; these were not. I just made these tonight and they don’t look anything like Bakerella’s but they’re still pretty cute. For scale, these three cupcake bites are on a teacup saucer.

And the rest:

I haven’t even tried one because I got so sick of working with the melted chocolate - what a pain in the ass. I don’t care if I ever see these things again in my life. (”Andrea! Snack day tomorrow!”)

Rodney’s in the background begging please go back to making regular old brownies again…

4. One last sweet thing. This, of course, I did not make. It’s my niece’s wedding cake from this weekend.

I like the monogram cake topper. They didn’t have those back when I got married all of 9 long years ago and I think it’s a fairly recent trend. My wedding cake topper was a bride and groom. If you had one, what was yours?

I spent some time repotting my plants. Only having one watering can for the houseplants, I decided to buy a second to keep handy for the ones upstairs. I looked at Target online and was shocked to see how expensive they can be. This one holds under a liter and is $62.99:

WHY?

Apparently “An essential for happy indoor plants, this watering can has all the right features for the serious green thumb.” All the right features like a handle and spout? All two in one watering can? I’m impressed.

This one is $84.99:

While it is significantly larger than the blue one, holding 5 liters, I find it hard to take a reviewer’s opinions serious:

I was skeptical to spend this much money on a watering can but you really do get what you pay for in this instance and it will last a lifetime.

The pink is a nice touch too… I keep mine outside near the plants and it looks so pretty.

Five stars… without reservation!! A lovely addition to any garden and your plants deserve the best!

You know what lasts a lifetime? Plastic. And about your plants deserving anything, guess what. They’re plants. They don’t know any better. Set them outside when it rains and they’ll lap that up, too.

She strikes me as a lonely rich lady who’ll will her estate to her african violets. Yet she’s got me self-consciously thinking my plants are whining to each other that I don’t care about them. Everyone else’s plant mommies give them the best.

This, at $169.99, is the most expensive can on the page:

A reviewer giving it 5 stars called it “The Cadillac of Watering Cans.”

I thought about that for a moment and experienced a great slap of clarity: The upstairs plants will continue to be watered from my bathroom toothbrush cup. And they’ll like it.

Rodney and I have been going on hikes almost every Saturday and, since I love any place I’ve never been before, each week we go somewhere new. We get lost every single time.

Rodney on reconnaissance while I took a break and sat in the mud after having fallen in it:

Yeah, we completely lost the trail.

I may start blogging about hiking adventures, we’ll see. So far nothing that interesting has happened, though I do try to make sure. Once home I zoom way in on my pictures hoping to see something like this:

Or even this:

No such luck. But the rest of the day is always a good one with the sweet fragrance of trees in my hair and mud on my ass. Man I love spring.

Picture I found taken in Los Angeles, California:

Photo I snapped today in Gardner, Kansas:

Around 6:30 this morning, after a night of thunder and lightening and tornado warnings and trips to the basement, I was outside talking to all the neighbors also out. None of us had power but some had been in contact with relatives who were able to watch the news.

I learned other areas of the city had houses leveled and some Arby’s was gone and all that remained was one booth. Then our porch lights came back on. So this is me, slamming in the front door hyped up on adrenaline and thankfulness and sadness for others, shrieking up the stairs to Rodney getting ready for work and Andrea, school:

“I don’t care how late you’re running, we’re making time for family prayer this morning because some people lost THEIR HOUSES and we aren’t even WITHOUT POWER ANYMORE!!”

Rodney and Andrea (muffled): “o-kayyy.”

With perfect timing the power went back out.

Andrea from upstairs: “HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!”

I just love God’s sense of humor. Even though it stayed out then til now (around noon) that was pretty dang funny. (I still made them pray).

The worst we got was pieces of siding from all sides of our house ripping off.

This is our neighbor’s fence (ours in the foreground standing cheap and proud):

It was comical this morning with everyone saying “Bob, I have your patio chair in my yard.” “Yes and I have your basketball goal.” “We have her mailbox.” “Has anyone seen my grill?” And today is Trash Day. Not pretty from those who put theirs out the night before.

Here is my beloved, favorite back yard swing with the top part across the street:

Of course we are never prepared for tornado warnings even though we’ve been through so many and I’ve been through actual tornadoes. My mom used to keep a stash of board games, radio, blankets and candles in the basement for just such an occasion. But I stumbled down the stairs blindly while Rodney found two flashlights with dying batteries and Andrea carried a mini Press ‘n Light in front of her and scolded me “oh we’re prepared” in between freaking out like a teenage girl does best.

Hee hee. That thing really does give off zero light. Her boyfriend called when we were in the basement around 2:30am (and she had her cell phone on her - wtf) as we were discussing what to do about the dogs, where were any working flashlights, and that deafening train noise. They would get disconnected and call each other back, wailing, “I loovvvvee yooouuuuuuu! If I die or you die, I loovvvvee yooouuuuu!”

If we DID die my last words would’ve been “Andrea, CALM DOWN!” and Rodney’s: “I’M not going out to get the dogs.”

P.S. Oh they’re fine.

The wedding season is definitely upon me. Saturday I’m to be at both a bridal shower and a wedding and the next two I’ll spend observing nuptials as well. I was at Bed Bath & Beyond today to get one blushing bride her gift. After I gave the clerk the name in return for a printed registry, she said it would take awhile because it was 27 pages. No way! And this couple is registered at two other stores as well! They’re in their 30’s and had long already set up housekeeping together! Their greed uses up trees and exclamation points!

The invitation from a different bride-to-be came to my mailbox like this:

It was in a baggie from the post office that said WE CARE. Knowing how many details I had to decide on when picking out my own wedding invitations, and how much even the simplest cost, it makes me giggle when I imagine her seeing this picture. Or maybe there’s a more sinister hidden message here that I’m just not getting.

Charlize Theron… as Aileen Wuornos… as me: