We made it!

The trip up the mountain wasn't easy, for that matter the trip out the front door and to the car wasn't a walk in the park either. None the less, Jodie and the gingerbread house are now resting comfortably at the exquisite Grove Park Inn. With some last minute finishing touches, she has declared this years entry finished at last. Here are a few photos!


The view is rather nice...






But Jodie is the real star!

Now all we can do is wait. One more move over to the exhibit hall and it will be in the hands of the judges.

Countdown to Competition!

Right now Jodie is covered in royal icing and moving with determination. The Grove Park Inn Gingerbread Competition will be held this Monday so time is definitely running out. The good news is that Jodie has put together an amazing entry this year. Her attention to detail and skill with confectionary has never shone so bright. As I have been asked to be her surrogate blogger today, I put together a video of the process so far. Enjoy...

and try, try again.....

So. A recap of the past three weeks or so.


House failure.


Complete house failure.


Oh yes.... and nest failure.


That's ok..... an old trusty recipe to the rescue. Humidity proof.


A "branch" experiment. (Bad.... couldn't remove toothpicks!)


Branch success...sort of....


But this is just a few of the branches that I broke in the process before realizing...


I don't think this is the look I'm going for. Back to square one on the branches.


So this is my house...... minus a lot of detail still left to add on.


needing a red roof among other things... BUT


This is what is so scary to me...... the pedestal that the house is supposed to sit on.
This is what caused house failure last time. But I'm very optimistic. Hopefully.


Sweet birdies that need to be painted...


And a peek inside at the eggs that hopefully will not be crushed in anymore house failures.


Because you know....... I'm running out of time, and patience. It's coming together or bust. Think happy thoughts of strong, bust-proof gingerbread!!!! The competition is less than a week away. eEEeeyyy! :)

It'll be okay, won't it? But then, of course, there is the hour long drive up a winding mountain to get there. oy.

Ewwww....... that bites!

Oh. My. Goodness.
(My gingerbread house fell...... nay, crumbled apart.)



Well, If at first you don't succeed.......



Take a day to brood over it and then start all over again!




But this time,
use a recipe called......."Humidity Proof Gingerbread."

Dang straight.

I smell..... Gingerbread!

Yeah! It's that time of year again. My favorite time of year.

LOVE love Love Fall.

Last weekend I started my gingerbread entry for this years National Grove Park Inn Gingerbread Competition. This will be my fifth year entering this competition. However......ah, I've never won.....or even come close for that matter. But who cares...Ha HAaH!

So in the spirit of this occasion I've decided to revisit my gingerbread creations of old (made completely of edible ingredients):

2004 - The Barn

This was my first ever gingerbread attempt.





2005 - The North Pole Conservatory (and my fav.)





2006 - The Nativity.






2007 - The Spirit of Christmas.... peace, love, & joy.






2008 - well...... I won't tell what it is, but I'll give a sneak peak....










Are you ready?





















Ta Daaaa!

I know it doesn't look like much.... but hopefully it will morph into the beautiful image that I have in my mind's eye.
(and yes, my gingerbread house pieces are in a bathroom, but...... I have to keep the cats from doing what they do so very well...... DESTRUCTION!)

Wallowing......

Wow, Where have I been? I think I've been stuck.... wallowing. You know.... because this happened.



Yes that's right. Five positive pregnancy tests. But when I went to the Doctor a week later, I took another test that was negative. They took my blood and told me they would call back. A positive Hcg amount needs to be at a level 10, but when they called me, I was at a level 9. Sucks. So what had been..... was going away.

So therefore, I've been a bit ......eehhh.

So...... in the light of our sad news, my grief for Anna which is ever so near, resurfaces. I know many may not understand, but I felt the need to remember her, to memorialize her again, and so I had a little more added to her memorial tattoo on my back just behind my heart where she is safe. And this is the before and after.....(so sorry Mama!)

Before:


After:


So Much Better!

I wanted the "with Grace" because I want to be with Anna Grace, I want be surrounded by God's Grace, and I want to live my life with grace.

I also found this song, rather by accident. It was on the album of a song that was listed as a good bellydance song on iTunes. I downloaded the entire album and listened to it one rainy day. When I first heard the man speaking I didn't pay much attention to what he was saying, but then I caught some of the words. It's so beautiful. And it speaks to me.

Boomp3.com

And then, Marc and I went to the Outer Banks. We had a wonderful time! It's so beautiful there.






I have never seen such beach erosion! The wind was crazy!


We went with his family:

That's me at the end all bundled up because it was COLD!

And we made some new friends....


Crabs are so cute!!!!

Even the sky was smiling!

There is only one road that travels down the Outer Banks. And on this road just happened to be two signs, one on the way down and one on the way back up the coast.

How

amazing

that

they

would

read:





Yea......me too.