Zachary Update....

For those of you who have been following or praying for Zachary's medical issues, we have some awesome news!

Zachary had one of his arthritis clinics yesterday.  They happen about every 3 months and at the clinic he is seen by a physiotherapist, occupational therapist and the pediatric rheumatologist.  They use these clinics to see how a person's arthritis is progressing (or diminishing!) and keep us on track with our medications and exercises etc.

When they all saw him yesterday they were thrilled with the movement in his wrist and when asked to move both the left and right hands together none of us could see any difference whatsoever.  The rheumatologist has asked that he stay on his medication for just another two months to make sure he's totally settled, but thinks that if there is no change by the next clinic he may be off of his meds altogether.  As soon as we got back to the car we prayed and thanked God for his healing and that he is pain-free.  It's hard to remember back to the days when he was in pain every single day, stopping him participating in playing with his friends, sports and many other activities.  We are so blessed.

In other CRAZY news, Zachary starts High School next week !! AAAGGGGHHHHHH

Now granted his school (PCS) doesn't have a middle school so it's a year early but still.... crazy.  Above are photos from his 'Grade 7 Graduation'.  Proud moment :)

Why my kids know so many Bryan Adams songs....

So Friday will be my 4th time.  And every single one of them has been amazing. 

This will be my 4th time seeing Bryan Adams in concert.  The first time was in 1987 when he played the Bournemouth International Centre in Bournemouth, England.  After the release of 'Run to You' I was hooked. I would play his love songs when I wanted to cry, and his rock songs when I wanted to dance.

Fast forward to 1993 when I married the love of my life, and the only song I'd consider walking down the aisle to was 'Everything I Do'.  Jump ahead a few years and I now have 2 children with whom I would have dance parties in the living room rocking out to 'Baby When You're Gone'.  My 2 kids have grown up with 'Summer of 69', 'Rock Steady' and 'I Need Somebody'.  They have sat with me multiple times to watch 'Spirit', and called me every time they heard him play on the radio.

So needless to say, I'm a bit of a fan.  And not in a 'I was 13 the first time I heard him and had a huge crush' kind of fan.  Much of his music automatically takes me back to high school in England, missing Canada after I had moved back to England ("Into The Fire"), dance parties with my children, the joy of my wedding day and the fact that I just love clean, straight up rock!

I have one thing on my bucklet list - and that would be to sing a duet with the man himself.  Doesn't have to be televised, or anywhere public.  The studio will do :)  It may seem silly, but that's it.  One thing.  A duet.

So - when it comes time for him to pull that 'someone' up on stage to duet 'Baby When You're Gone' on Friday night, I will be the 41 year old crazy person jumping up and down in her Union Jack shirt hoping to be 'that girl'.  The odds are stacked, but hey - someone's gotta do it !!!!

Time Flies

There is seriously no time to blog anymore!  I don't know where the time has gone.  So, if anyone reads this anymore this is just a glimpse of what has been going on around here. 

Last November Zachary was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes.  It was a whirlwind of emotions, trials and worry but we trust God is in control.  As a result we went on a strict elimination diet from our naturopath which I personally hoped (and believed) would clear it up immensely.  The truth is the swelling in his wrist actually got worse so we ended up having a cortisone shot in his wrist.  Thank the Lord it made a HUGE difference.  We continue to pray for full healing and while we wait we have him on a medication that seems to be helping the remaining small amounts of pain.

In other news the Cake business is growing to a healthy level and I find I enjoy it more and more with each order.

In other other news - BRYAN !  Bryan Adams will be playing in Victoria on June 15th and Yes, of course I got tickets (Duh!).  This will be my 4th time seeing him in concert; he never disappoints.

The kids are nearing the end of 2 weeks Spring Break and although we couldn't go anywhere tropical, we did manage to sneak away to Tigh-na-mara in Parksville for a couple of days with some friends of ours, the Moores.

This one was taken by Eden, age 2 !!

New Year.....New Hopes

Well here we are ....... 2012 ....... who'd have thunk it!  I hope you all had blessed Christmas' spent with family and loved ones.  I hope you had small moments of wonderful luxury, and moments of unending thankfulness.

We had a great Christmas and surprised my sister's family on Boxing Day by catching the 7am ferry and driving straight to Kelowna to hang out with the fam.  Good times!

Then New Year's we spent at our friend's "wigs and stache's" party.  I had a hot fuschia wig, Darrell wore a paper moustache.  Yep, this is how we roll.

No New Year's resolutions at my end, but my eating habits have changed dramatically for another reason I'll go into on another post.  So I anticipate getting healthier via food changes and if there's weight loss involved as a by-product then I can handle it ;)

Concert!

Saturday night, Dec. 17th.
Prince concert.
2 1/2 hours solid stellar funk awesomeness.
Nuff said!

Cake Pops!

The kids and I had a great fun baking party last night together.  Both of them had Classroom Christmas parties today and needed to take something in to share.  Zachary decided he wanted to make a chocolate cake - completely from scratch he made the cake, made the icing and decorated the whole thing.  Then Brooklyn and I were wanting for a while to try some Cake Pops from the Bakerella Cake Pops book.  They were Santa hats and although not as smooth and perfect as the originals, we thought they turned out pretty good!

Hospitals - Done!

I am done with hospitals.  For the year.  Seriously.

In fact, I don't think I have ever before been so looking forward to a New Year's Eve, simply because it will signal the start of a new year in which I hope to never see the inside of a hospital.  In May I was back and forth to the hospital in Saanichton to visit my sick Grandad who passed away that month.  At the beginning of the Fall I was in and out visiting my Grandma with her broken hip.  We have now charted 4 ER visits with Zachary still without complete diagnosis.  They think arthritis but we're praying against that.  And then at 1:15pm this morning the ambulance arrived to take my husband to the hospital for back pain so intense he could not get up off of the floor.

So, I think I've filled my quota.  Really.  And if anyone argues with me about this I think I will refer you to the ER admission clerk or the lady at Tim Horton's who just yell out "Hi Rachel!" now when I walk through the front door.

Still, there is always a positive side to my life and in mine it's the fact that the Christmas season is here!  For all who know me they know that I l-o-o-o-o-v-e Christmas!  All of our decorations are up minus the tree because we always get a real one.  I've got a cookie exchange next Monday and the school Christmas concert later that week.  AND for the first time in ages I am well on my way through the Christmas shopping!  9 presents done as well as some stocking stuffers.  aaaaghhhhh..... big sigh of relief........

AND TO BOOT - I got the best smoking deal of the Black Friday weekend; a Cake Cricut machine on sale from $450 for FIFTY BUCKS !!!!!!!  That's right you heard me ..... $50 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Prepare for some sweet cake experimentation to come........

http://www.cricut.com/cake/Home.aspx

Life thus far.......

So it seems that blog posts have been few and far between lately.  That's for a couple of reasons really.  Time has not been my friend the last few months..... My Grandma broke her left hip and as I'm the only family member on the island there have been lots of days spent in the hospital or driving Grandma from here to there, talking with her nurses etc.  Coupled with this, Zachary has had a few stints in the ER with weird inflammation. The bottom line right now is we have an appointment with the Rheumatoid Specialist to see if he has arthritis.  Hard to believe about a 12 year old, but we'll see how it goes.  Prayers are valued and not refused!

Other than that I've spent a bit of time ramping up the cake business.  I decided it was time to invest a bit more time into it; not the kind of time that involves opening a bakery but definitely being more proactive with advertising, marketing etc.  I've done a couple of trade shows and bridal fairs and the feedback has been great!  (Click "Like" on the Rachel~Cakes facebook page and be entered to win a dozen cupcakes!)

And as for Christmas prep, the decorations are already a-plenty.  I've been decorating a bit here and there for the last week and a half, and it should all be wrapped up by next week.  Doing it all at once is just too exhausting!

My 4 Year Old Nephew has rhythm!

Check out my nephew Jack!

This guy has serious rhythm !!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2-GJ5Xrbx4&feature=email

Gene Simmons - a lesson in history

I never would have thought that an episode of Gene Simmons - Family Jewels would have brought me to tears.  But I have to say, if you have never seen the episode where he and Shannon Tweed visit Amsterdam, I would highly recommend that you watch it.

In it you learn that Gene was born in Israel, to Jewish parents.  I don't want to spoil it if you get the chance to see this episode, but I WILL tell you that his visit to the Anne Frank house was so emotional that it made me cry.

It's true.  Some of our parents and grandparents represent history that should not be forgotten.  Watch it if you can.

Hungry.

I am finally getting around to watching Julie and Julia (Meryl Streep as Julia Childs - amazing!), and all I can say is, I'm suddenly hungry and I MISS French cooking.  And I don't mean French Fries, or the odd French item you may have had in a restaurant.  I mean the down-to-earth, eating at a French person's kitchen French cooking.  I miss the meals that took 3 hours to eat, with their courses separated by fresh sorbets and complimented by fine wines.  And as I can't afford to fly back there anytime soon, perhaps I'll just have to settle for cooking up a Beef Bourginoine and cracking open a nice Merlot..........

Rachel is back on Facebook! well.... kinda.....

I should say, Rachel~Cakes is on facebook!  I am still not planning on re-entering the world of 'friends' and 'messages' BUT my business is !  So feel free to 'like' my page!  You know.... if you actually like my page .... It seems I had to create a profile (which I was trying to avoid) in order to create a page.  But I plan to really only work off of the page and keep it strictly business.

In other news - Brooklyn tried a chocolate brownie recipe we have never tried before and I'm not lying when I say this.  BEST BROWNIE TO COME OUT OF MY KITCHEN.  EVERRRRR  !!!  It densified (is that a word?) once it cooled and was like a bite of fudge-ie heaven.  Delish.

Other than that the only news here is the horribly windy, rainy day we see before us here in Victoria.  Summer was definitely not long enough.  Oh well.  Alive, happy and healthy so really have nothing to complain about.  Happy Fall Y'all :)

Two Little Girls, some avocado and some polish!

 

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Full Circle

In addition to marking the last day of this year's Nanoose Bay Teen Camp, Saturday July 23rd marked an even more momentous day here in Victoria. It was the day my flower girl, Rebecca Woods, got married! And I had the privilege of making her wedding cake (see cakes blog to the right...)

What a full-circle moment this was. Very beautiful the wedding was held at Hatley Castle and the reception at the Naval Base Wardroom. Delicious food, beautiful surroundings and beautiful bride. Congratulations Rebecca & John!!!

September 18th, 1993 and July 23rd, 2011

New Music!

Adele's Album - 21

I can't get enough of this album. No SERIOUSLY can't get enough. It's on my computer at work, in my car, on my stereo at home, on our Mac at home, and now on my daughter's ITouch. I'm surprised that in the short month I've had it that I haven't killed the original CD. If someone ever told me I could sing that well I would consider my life completed.

check it out if you haven't already

Their Royal Highnesses!

Yes - I do love the Royal Family.
No - not everyone from England agrees with me.
Yes - I do realize that their meaning in modern-day culture has greatly dwindled.
But No - I don't think that means we should get rid of them.!

Here is the thing - whether you are a monarchist or not, if you are English the Royal Family has been part of your life and lives of your ancestors for as long as you have been alive. This means that they have been mentioned in media, sited at the Village Green and discussed at the Local Pub since you were born and long before.

So for me, if there is a Royal Wedding to watch, I shall be watching.
Which brings me to the most FABULOUS breakfast I attended this past Friday morning with my sweet friend Jill. She could be considered more of a Royalist than myself as she has actually met Prince Charles and Camilla in person. And in fact it was she that told me of this glorious event which we decided we just must attend.

The Empress Hotel was hosting a Rise 'n Shine British Breakfast Buffet with the Royals and we were not going to be left out on the streets hungry! This is why we joined 400 other crazy people to be at the Empress Hotel in the tearoom and enjoy a buffet breakfast while watching the wedding unfold on various big screen TV's.

The breakfast included every british fave menu item - baked beans, mushrooms, eggs made to order, bangers and bacon and .... a fave of mine.... kippers! It was amazing and of course the teapot just kept-a-flowing. Add to that the excitement of being interviewed by Global TV and you have a morning to remember. We ate from 2:30am until 5:30am (as one does....) and I even made it home in time to take the kids to school. It was a sweet wedding, watched with a sweet friend, and a delicious breakfast.

So I say raise your glass to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Princess Catherine. In this day and age when gloomy news abounds, it is nice to have something positive to look upon. Even if it is across the ocean. Long Live the Queen !!

Recognize anyone in the video below?http://www.globaltvbc.com/video/index.html

The REAL reason the Canucks had to beat the Blackhawks!

Back when it was a no-brainer that the Canucks would make it through the first round (!!!) Zachary had a birthday. April 14th. And because it was a WHEN kind of question, and not an IF question, his birthday card contained this special 'ticket':

Well, after they lost 3 straight games to Chicago, Zachary's face fell and he suddenly looked at me in a panic as he said "What were you going to give me if they DON'T make it through?" HAHA!
Poor guy - we had NO BACKUP PLAN! Because we didn't think we'd need it.... fortunately thanks to Mr. Burrows I believe we are back on track.

Happy Birthday Son !

Today is my baby boy's 12th Birthday ! Happy Birthday Zachary !

Twelve years has flown by in the space of a nano-second. I know that every parent says that and I know that it drives every non-parent crazy. But it seriously is the truth. They grow up and you just can't believe where the time has gone (like the fact that as I'm writing this particular paragraph it is now 4 days AFTER his birthday a
nd I still haven't finished this post!)