How are the ladies doing?

I'm fine, DS. How've you been???

Yes, how have you been, CS?? I'm good - just started school this week. And SB, I feel like we haven't talked recently!

We won a 16-inning game against the Phillies, which included an appearance by Roy Oswalt in left field! Ryan Howard was ejected for getting angry about two calls on what he thought were checked swings, so I guess whoever that forced into taking first base for him ended up forcing Oswalt to take the field, based on who they had left. When we were at bat, first pitch ended up as a fly out directly to Oswalt, which caused the Phillies fans to erupt in cheers (even got a smile out of Roy), then when he was at bat later, the whole crowd was chanting his name. I had trouble rooting for him to not get a hit.

I just read a summary of that game, Gina. It must have been wild.

I'm doing fine. As usual, work and school are keeping me really busy, so I haven't had much opportunity to enjoy the summer. In any case, the summer quarter is ending this week so I'll have a month before the craziness starts again in the fall quarter.

There were SO many close calls in that Phillies series, and though I think the umpires generally had them right, I know their fans were annoyed! And it turns out my new professor's a Phillies fan, but I went ahead and told him about my loyalty.

Wow, so you're doing school throughout all the "seasons," huh? Is that a regional thing, that they start the fall semester later (than here), or is that something specific to graduate school? Just curious. Please take your break time and actually relax, okay?

I was looking for a unique birthday gift online, for a friend, and I thought of SB when I came across a few Princess Bride t-shirts!
http://www.80stees.com/pages/t-shirts/80s-movie/Princess-Bride-t-shirts.asp

And if they've got those, they've gotta have Blues Brothers!
http://www.80stees.com/pages/t-shirts/80s-movie/Blues-Brothers-t-shirts.asp

Gina!!! These are the BEST shirts ever! LOVE them. Thanks so much for sharing! How's the semester going for you??

I seem to remember you telling me that you gave Mr. Babe Blues Brothers boxers, right? I have a pair of BB pajama pants, and I wear them around the dorm whenever possible!

The semester's been really good, and it's almost over! I did an internship which I've already finished up with, so I actually don't have much left except for a couple of finals. How are you and the Babes? Looking forward to the holidays?

I got him boxers that had the "It's 106 miles to Chicago..." quote. I also got him a Blues Brothers tie once.

Glad that you're enjoying school. Great that you got an internship! We're all fine. My daughter transferred to a new college this semester and seems happy. My other daughter is just starting to look at colleges. We're getting ready for Christmas with a vengeance.

My daughter and I took a cake decorating class this summer, so we're excited about doing the baking this year!

Good luck to your daughter in the college search! And the cake class sounds AWESOME!! I've actually turned that into a kind of hobby for myself. I make cakes for my friends on their birthdays, and I've taken an increased interest in the designs, which is super stressful but also a lot of fun. I've done the Mad Hatter, the Dark Knight, a pool table, a ping-pong table, the Ferrari logo for my cousin...crazy stuff like that.

Do you ever watch the shows like Ace of Cakes and Cake Boss? Buddy (on Cake Boss) has too much of an ego for me, and it always ends up turning to the "reality tv" style, but I love those cakes they do - just incredible!

I know! I'm dying to get my hands on some fondant! Buddy can be such a jerk, but I am addicted to his show. Did you know notice that his brother-in-law Remy is no longer on the show?? He was arrested for having sex with a 14 year old!

If you look at my Facebook page, you'll see cakes we made for my mom and daughter. When my daughter turned 16, we made her a four tier cakes. We decorated it with music notes that we had made out of chocolate. Then, all around the bottom of the cake, we had chocolate acoustic and electric guitars that we had made, along with some more music notes, all chocolate. Then I did a checkerboard cake for my MIL's birthday. Since it was November, I made it orange and white and decorated it with orange and yellow mums I made from buttercream.

Why did I bother sniffing around here? I don't like cake much at all...! and I haven't heard a fart here since August (DB)! lol

I love Ace of Cakes of course because they're local. The fist show I watched they did the cake for the inaugural voyage of the Carnival Pride ship, and I had just been on that cruise a couple weeks before. Sadly this will be the last year for Ace of Cakes.

Geoff, just for you I'll have beans tonight.

Beth E, have you caught the new show with Buddy Valastro? It is called The Next Great Baker. It is a reality based show in which several contestants are vying for a job to work at Carlo's Bakery with Buddy. It's on tonight @ 8 or 9.

There are a couple bake-off shows. Not sure if this is the one I saw or not. The one I saw they all had to make a celebration cake, and this one guy, who had immunity, made the worse cake anyone saw. But since he got immunity he was safe. I think one gay guy made a sweet 16 cake. Very gay...not that there's anything wrong with that. haha.

The one Cake Boss I watched they had to make a sweet 16 cake for the baker's daughter. It was Hollywood themed. All I can say is this guy's wife and daughter are the most arrogant obnoxious witches I've seen in a long time. I'd like to smack them both. I think they should both lay off the cake too.

Not a big fan of cake, but I do like brownies.

Can we get some sports talk up in here?

So professional cooking isn't a sport? haha.

Don't get me wrong... I love me some Top Chef, but I would have expected some Jeter pics thrown in there some time.

Speaking of Mr. Jeter, have you girls seen the latest doings of the future Mrs. Jeter? A bit over-the-top for my taste, but... ummmm... not bad.

I don't understand. Future Mrs. Jeter? But that's not me in the video?

Beth, that's the right show. I LOVED the Sweet 16 cake that the contestant made. However, I haven't watched another episode because Buddy tried to change the rules and have the guy give up his immunity because his cake was so bad! Um, Buddy, you moron, it's a CONTEST. Why should he give up his immunity??

I have to admire Buddy because he's milking this Cake Boss thing for all it's worth. This fame can't last forever, and he's making hay while the sun's shining. Good for him, and not bad for a guy with a 10th grade education!

Oh, and DS, just for you:

It's no wonder why he's smiling...

Good Lord!!

She would put a smile on most fellas faces

Look at all these cooties in here! They say they don't care for cake, and yet that seems to be what brought them.

SB, I looked at the photos, and wow, what a wonderful job you did!! Absolutely gorgeous, and must have taken much time and skill. I too would love to work with fondant - it seems to make the designs so "clean."

I'm with Beth - we're gonna just call cake baking/decorating a sport, even though we already have the freedom to discuss just about anything in this thread, it seems.

Any of you watch American Pickers? Two guys travel all over, meeting "junk" collectors and bargaining with them on items they can take back to their shop. I'm totally turned off by the Pawn Stars show also on the History channel (beyond the clever nickname...haha), but Frank and Mike on AP have such great personalities, and it's really interesting to see the characters and items they come across.

Warning - more cooties here! American Pickers guys Frank & Mike live & work 1 hour west of me in Iowa. They are sincerely good guys with not one ounce of ego. When they are in their shop they always welcome drop ins and are never too busy to talk to anyone. Great mid western values and personalities! BTW - I love Cake Boss, Ace of Cakes and the new competition show with Cake Boss! Cooties, out!

OK, my most recent post had a picture of Shirtless Jeter, so I was a bit confused when I read this, until I got to the part about fondant! Glad you liked the cakes. I can't tell you how many roses we made and discarded to get the good ones on the cake! I loved the checkerboard cake I made, too, but I don't have a picture of it. I think my husband might, so I have to get one.

My daughter gave me Buddy's book for Christmas! I can't wait to make some of the recipes in it. There's also some neat autobiographical information.

You know what show I hate? DC Cupcakes. I want to smack those two sisters. And although not baking related, I FLOVE TLC's What Not To Wear. Whenever I'm out and about in sweats and sneakers, my daughter will say, "Mom! Stacy and Clinton are filming your secret footage right now!"

I have a slight problem with this, ...but not with the rest of your post.

(I'm just not a fan of sweets in general, but it is amazing what they do! But gimme anything Gorden Ramsay any day! )

Mark, your cooties are welcome! Especially with your insider info about Mike and Frank. That's really so great to hear that, and I can absolutely see how they would be really down-to-earth and fun to be around. I just looked up a bit about them online and read that the two have been friends since 8th grade! I love how passionate Mike is about everything he finds, and it always cracks me up when he gives play-by-play while talking to the camera because he gets so into it.

SB, I'm sure a man such as Jeter did take a lot of time and skill, and he certainly is gorgeous. Should've clarified the subject a bit. haha I'd love to try making flowers, but I'm sure I'd require a lot of practice. We have all the icing decoration "bits" that create the different designs (a woman's version of a drill bit, huh?!), so I suppose I could try someday. What a nice idea to get the book - are the recipes all types of food, or cakes/pastries?

I used to get stuck watching the "What Not to Wear" marathons, not really wanting to, and now I usually can't change the channel if I happen to see it on! It's just interesting to see what changes the person goes through emotionally, as they realize how they've held themselves back. I like those especially, when they are able to overcome something about themselves and gain new confidence, rather than just a new wardrobe.

And for an actual Ladies' Thread contribution (though having nothing to do w/sports), I'd like to include this dear fellow...

My parents gave me a DVD set of Hitchcock films, and we watched "The Lady Vanishes" the other day, and after that and a couple of short features, I'm hooked and can't wait to see more. I loved this character played by Michael Redgrave - his great wit and chemistry, and such a cute feisty one!

Gina, What part of Texas do you live at? My SIL and her Son is moving to Austin.

My daughter got this set of 52 decorating tips for Christmas:

We haven't used it yet, though. There are a lot of tips that we didn't learn in class. We have to take Part II to learn more.

What Not To Wear is a favorite. I absolutely LOVE Clinton. I think he's hilarious. I bought my daughter shoes and clothes for her birthday and put Stacy/Clinton notes in the boxes. For her shoes I wrote "Pointy Toe? Kitten Heel? SHUT UP!" and I bought her a leather jacket and wrote, "Nothing is more flattering than a tailored jacket!".

Wow!! Now that is much more impressive than any toolbox I've ever seen! I say you just start experimenting with them and see what you come up with!

My favorite line is "Shut the front door!" I'd always hear my friend/roommate say it, and it cracked me up. We've since watched the show together, and I realized the true source of the line.

Mig, I go to school in Houston, and I used to live a bit north of town, but have since moved with my parents further north. Hope they enjoy it in Austin! Our GBB'er "Ice" lives in the area.

We just might. Right now, after all the Christmas cookies, we've OD'd on baking. If I never see another sack of flour again, it might be too soon.

Oh, and to stay on topic - damn! Pitchers and catchers report in less than two months!!