Julie's Diaper Cake

I missed Julie's surprise baby shower. Several weeks ago, it was planned on either a Friday or Saturday for the following Tuesday, and then moved to Wednesday, because Julie was signing papers for a house that Tuesday. Of course, I had band on Wednesday, so I had to miss the actual shower. Fortunately, that gave me more time to complete the diaper cake, and since her last day of work is Sunday - with a planned C-section on Tuesday morning - the clock was ticking.
I've been having a hard time getting the stuff I wanted for the cake (Wal-Mart is redecorating and reducing the size of their crafts section, so I had to go to Bel Air for the pillars and flowers). Yesterday, it rained a whole heck of a lot, and Huber was closed for the day, so I ran to Bel Air to pick up the stuff to make the cake. I assembled it today, and I think it turned out well.

I had hoped for blue flowers, since she's having a boy, but there weren't many to choose from, so I went with the fall blooms, which worked out well since she went to the University of Maryland, and her favorite football team is the Washington Redskins, both with the same colors.

Hollywood Casino

Tonight, after work, Nicole and I went over to the new Hollywood Casino in Perryville.

It only has slot machines right now, but there are plans to add table games in the future. The main reason why I went was to get a player card, and hopefully I might be able to make it back over there on Thursday, for their Grand Opening.

Grand Opening? Why are you open now?
It’s a Soft Opening, kind of like an out of town premier, only in town.

Anyway – I think I’m going to enjoy the casino being there. There are so many times when I’d love to go out after work, but I just feel too old for the bar up the street (it’s so noisy and crowded) and to head up to Delaware Park is just too far to go when I have to work the next morning. And I’m sure that Mom and Dad will enjoy trying it out the next time they visit.

Ravens vs. Browns

What a game! Well, really, the game was okay, but we were fabulous. Did I mention in any of my of my previous posts that we were going to perform with Buckcherry at halftime? A national recording group. Yeah, we’re way cool.
The day started earlier than normal, so that we could rehearse with the band in the stadium. They appeared to be really excited to be there, too. They had a big stage on wheels that we did our drill around.

As for the game, it went well enough. The Ravens won, 17-24.
A video of our performance can be found on Facebook, here.

Huge Wedding Reception

At the restaurant today, we hosted the biggest wedding reception in our history. A tent was placed out on the lawn, covering the outer deck.

They strung huge paper lanterns, and the tables were set up out on the lawn, along with a dancefloor.

Amanda’s Florist did the flower arrangements, and they were, of course, beautiful.

They decorated the tent that was the entryway to the main tent,

And the cake, which was from Desserts by Rita.

The party favors were chocolates from Bomboy’s.

Bomboy’s also did a chocolate fountain.

We set up the gift table on the deck, in the sun. They had a tower of fabric covered round boxes to hold cards.

It was a long day, setting up and tearing down the party, but it was a beautiful day, and all of the guests seemed to be very happy.

Vintage ABC Swap

Well, I've finally finished my pages for the Vintage ABC Swap! Luckily, a one week extension was granted, so I was very lucky. Below is a sample of my page. I had the letter "C."
The bases of my pages started out with Cartons (Cracker, beer, and Cake). I covered the front with vintage Cookbook pages (which were chock full of "C" words), then added a "C" that I cut out with my Cuttlebug. I created a stencil for the Cake stand, and painted it with gold paint. I then constructed a Cake with lace and trim. On the bottom, I punched holes and attached eyelets with my Crop-o-dile, then attached Charms (a Copper Coffeepot, a Cocktail, and a Chocolate bar). The back of the page started with Composition book paper. I added a graphic with a quote about Creativity (my virtue) and a Calla lily (my flower). I wrote out most of my "C" words out in Cursive, then added trim that Marian sent me that had the word "Cool" on it, and a way to hold my Moo Card on the page.

I think they turned out all right, and I hope that I didn't underachieve too much, compared to the other ladies in the swap.

Another Wedding Reception

Tonight, Lisa and I waited on a wedding party. The mothers came in early to decorate the banquet room, and everything was adorable! There was a crabbing theme, with a crab trap on the gift table,

netting with plastic crabs and seashells as centerpieces on each table,

crab hammers and Old Bay seasoning as party favors, pictures of the happy couple crabbing and boating on display,

and the most adorable wedding cake from Yia Yia’s Bakery.

Last Day of Therapy

Today was my last day of physical therapy. It’s been a long road, but not as tough as I imagined it would be. My ankle still isn’t healed completely, but it’s strengthened and has the same mobility as the good ankle. As a “graduation” gift, I got a t-shirt with the physical therapist’s logo on it.