Fat Tuesday

On Monday, I received my Kindle version of the book I had pre-ordered, "Celebrity in Death."  It's the latest installment from Nora Robert's alter-ego, and I could not WAIT to start reading it.  I was so spoiled when Debbie Goldwasser introduced me to this series being able to read 32 books back to back, and now I'm stuck waiting for the next ones like everyone else.  I love the characters and the way that the book is written.  I'm sure it won't take me long to get through it since I'm such a quick reader, but I'm trying to get so much else done at the same time.  

Then, we had Fat Tuesday.  The girls had heard Ken and I talk about Mardi Gras and they had questions about what it is, why it is, etc. after being at Disneyland.  I figured it couldn't hurt to have a little lesson while enjoying cake, and this month's Family Fun magazine from Disney had a Three Kings Cake.  I omitted the baby Jesus from the cake, but everything else was fun.  

I had never made a cake from scratch before, so I enjoyed watching each step of the process.  I forgot to take pictures of each step, the dough rising, etc., but I did get the pictures of the baking process, and then the fiasco.  There was apparently something I missed, and the cake exploded out the back.  

While decorating the cake, I explained the baking process and why the cake looked funny, but the girls didn't seem to mind.  It also afforded me the opportunity to explain what Fat Tuesday is, Ash Wednesday and Lent to the girls and to explain the colors used for Mardi Gras and what it is.  They were enthralled with the stories and explanations, and because they got to eat cake at the end of the lesson, they totally remembered most everything.  It was a fun experience for me and despite my lack of patience for most everything, I was able to get through it pretty well.  

Now, here's what the cake was supposed to look like:

I will have to try this again and see where I went wrong with the directions.  Mine looked nothing like this masterpiece!


The rest of the evening was spent watching the next installment of Harry Potter - we're finished the 5th movie - and having Girls' Night since Ken had a Quail Forever meeting.