I-OWA, You an Apology..

Let's not beat around the bush any longer.

The Sponemore clan is moving to Des Moines, Iowa in June.


I was gonna write some really elaborate story of how and why, but I really don't have that much to say about it. Other than, I don't think I can ever live in Iowa so I'm gonna stay in Denver. Haha.

Questions, Comments, Iowa puns or jokes? Comment below!

Jasmine

Peachie, Peachie, Peachie.

I'm getting really horrible at this whole blog thing. I love Sweet Somethings very much along with all of my readers, who post after post, put up with my grammatical and spelling errors every other word. I would love to be one of those fantastic bloggers who is able to pump out a funny or informational blog day in and day out, but lets be realistic; my life is just not that exciting.

I have been home on spring break for 5 days now. The first two days here I slept a total of 25+ hours and laid around watching entire seasons of Toddlers and Tiaras  the rest of the time. I doubt you would enjoy recaps of how overly zealous mothers turn their three-year-old daughters into egocentric maniacs. Although, thats what I call grade-A entertainment!

Finally, things picked up today. I got myself out of bed at 7am, got ready for my big day with Jack. He was going on a field trip with his class to the Maidu Indian Museum, and they needed an extra chaperone.  Who is a cooler chaperone than a big sister home from college? No one!

I had never been to the Maidu Center before, but I know it is the hot spot for field trips considering Jack has been every year since Kindergarten.

Jack, Gabby, and some kid from Jack's class that chose to be in our photo..

Pretty much we were walked through the museum for the first hour by an older lady named Sally, who maybe wasn't the kid friendliest person, but knew everything there was to know about the Maidus. We couldn't take pictures during this part tho:(

Then she took us into an activity room and we made cool bracelets, played traditional Maidu games and even a little song and dance.

The song was kinda weird, talking about whales and rabbits and scat ( a.k.a poop). She just kept having us say "Peachie, Peachie, Peachie" which apparently meant poop. At that point half the kids decided they are never eating a peach again.

After lunch (which Jack made for us. He even put my name and little heart on my bag) we headed outside for an hour and a half tour. Too bad it was pouring rain and windy the whole time. It was still really cool to see all the artifacts left behind by the tribes. 

Where they would grind up seeds and nuts for food. 

Fishing grounds

We saw a white crane!

Towards the end we got to paint our face with some of the clay on the grounds. I was the only chaperone cool(brave) enough to paint up my face!

Even though it was rainy and too educational for an spring break outing, I wouldn't have traded it for the world. Jack whispered to me  three or four times that he loved me so much, and he was so happy I came with him. He just kept telling me how special he felt to have me there. 

I felt special being told that. 

Sometimes as a older sister, as in much older, its hard to find ways to stay connected with your siblings. With me living so far away, the only time I really have with them is while I am home, and even then its hard. Being able to go with him today is that special time that we had both been looking for and needing. I wish I had more times like today. They just don't happen enough. 

Being a big sissy and role model is a hard job, but my most favorite of all. 

Until Next Time,

Jasmine 

Guess Whoooo's Having a Baby?

Fooled yah! I am definitely not having a baby, don't worry Mom and Dad. That won't be coming for a very long time. 

But I do feel like everyone in my world right is pregnant. There is some serious baby boom happening right now. 

Jordan's Auntie Rose is about 8 month along and just had a huge baby shower for friends and family. They asked me to make an Owl cake for the shower because of their amazingly cute owl theme. 

It should have looked like this..

So freaking cute right?!

For mine I made all the cake, frosting, and fondant  by scratch. That was the beginning of my issues, because the fondant was so soft that every time I tried to cover the cake it ripped. So my ended up looking like this.

Not quite the same.. 

I wasn't very fond of my work but everyone else seemed to love it! So that's good!

The rest of the party was amazing! Decorations by Auntie Ana Lynn were owl-ragously cute and there Mama Nise made insane amounts of great food:) 

I didnt get a picture of the massive amounts of food, but lets just say I ate myself into a food coma. I had a totally had a food baby after the night. 

Lastly, I have been working on a baby blanket for Baby Maia for a while now. I love giving quilts as gifts just because I still sleep with my baby blanket (and proud of it!) and I want to give that opportunity to other babies too! 

I think it turned out sooo cute and comfy. I almost kept it for myself ;) 

Anyways, I cant one day to have a cute little baby shower just like this one day. One day.. :)

Until Next Time,

Jasmine 

Just One Day?

One day a year we celebrate love. Just one. We take the time to make reservations to the nicest restaurants, buy chocolate, cards and flowers, and put on our best for the ones we love. There are the men who forgot their Valentine and are out buying the last chocolate heart box on the shelf, while the ladies have a homemade and bedazzled card and have made cupcakes for their man. Singles dread "V-day" (which is similar to "D-day" in their minds), and make intimate plans with Ben and Jerry.

But they are doing it all wrong.

Love was not meant to be shown through bought items. Love was not meant to be limited by a day. Love is not meant to be only shared with that special someone. Love does not equal Valentine's Day.

For those who do not know, the story of Valentines Day came from a story of a bishop named Valintine. In 270A.D. the emperor of Rome felt that unmarried men made more adequate soldiers therefore banning young men from marrying. Bishop Valentine had pity on these poor men and secretly wed them to their sweethearts. He was later jailed and executed for showing love and compassion towards the young men.

St. Valentine gave up his life for love.

There is another story along the same lines that I heard growing up.

The story talks about a Father who sent His son out into the world. He sent him out with the mission to show unconditional love to whomever He met. And after He showed even the prostitutes, tax collectors and beggars unconditional love, He sacrificed his life so all the people of the world could have their sins taken away.

Sounds like Prince Charming.

But yah, that was kinda the knock off version of John 3:16

"For God so LOVED the world that He gave His only begotten Son that who so ever believes in Him shall not parish but have eternal life."


The thing is, love in all forms should not be kept to Valentine's Day. God sent his one and only Son to show us that. He taught us to love our neighbors like ourselves, love our family, our friends, our enemies, our earth, and our life. What are we in His eyes if we only choose to exercise the love in our hearts on one day of the year?


Love is more than just a way you feel about your significant other, family or friend. It can present itself in a million different ways. But one thing is always true, true love is described in 1 Corinthians 13.


"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."


Love never fails. Never. 


I want to love like everyday. Patiently, kindly, without jealously or self-seeking.

That is the hardest possible thing to do. But I want to. I want to love more than just on Valentines Day. Everyday of life should be a celebration of Love. Loving the least of these. Loving those who have never been shown the "Corinthians" love. Loving my family more throughly. Loving those who hate me for loving them. Love. Everyone. Everyday.

It will be a challenge. But God has put up with me thus far. He has loved me unconditionally, no matter how I betray him. I wouldn't be a good follower of Christ if I didn't try to love the same way.

Just some food for thought.

With all the love I have to give,

Jasmine

Bye, Bye, Miss American Pie

I did it! I did it! I survived double classes! 

After two very long weeks, I finished my Pies and Tarts lab. I was will a bunch of Freshman and one of my favorite chefs, Chef Lavallee. It was a lot of work, a lot less sleep and lots of tissues. Not because I was crying or anything haha. I caught a nasty cold on top of all of the homework and school, and had to suffer through. BUT, I made it and had a great time working with some Freshman!

I dont have a lot to say about all of it, mostly because I am watching the Grammy's and dont feel like elaborating, but I wanted to share some pictures!

Apple Streusel Pie

Apple Pie! 

Peach Pie! 

Strawberry Chiffon ( Not finished with Whipped cream on top) 

Chocolate Cream! 

Lemon Meringue 

Italian Pear, Almond and Cranberry Tart!

Normandy Apple Tart

Chocolate Hazelnut Tart 

Chessecake! 

Fruit Tartlet! 

So, yah, thats about all! 

Also, yesterday I had an interview of sorts with the Pastry Chef at the Inverness Hotel for my internship and she offered my the internship! HOORAY! 

I would love to promise that I will be back to regular blogging, but it probably wont pick up until spring break in a few weeks. Stay tuned for spring break updates, I have some BIG news to tell all of you! 

Until Next Time,

Jasmine 

Mint Chocolate Cupcakes!

Yesterday I was housesitting for my boss and really wanted some chocolate cake. They have a beautiful kitchen with anything a baker could ever want so I decided to whip up some cupcakes. I found a recipe online at Food.com. Food.com has awesome recipes where you can change the quantity to how much you want to make and it does the math for you! It was a regular chocolate cake/icing recipe but I gave the icing a spin with some peppermint extract. 


Chocolate cake can be kinda tricky sometimes. A lot of times it is very dry, mostly because people over bake, because they cant see the color change. A trick to remember when making cake or cupcakes is the spring back method. Instead of using a ton of toothpicks and chancing over baking, lightly press down on the cake with your finger and watch to see if the cake sinks slightly or bounces back up. If it bounces back up its done! Fool proof! 


This particular recipe is amazingly moist, hence the name "super moist chocolate cake." Even here in Denver were cakes are eternally dry. The frosting was a little stiff for the first few cupcakes, but I thinned it out with milk and it worked like a charm.

Super Moist Chocolate Cake

Cake

• 1 ½ cups flour
• 1 cup sugar
• ¹⁄₃ cup cocoa
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup water
• 2 eggs (beaten)
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons vinegar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 
  

Chocolate Cocoa Frosting

• 3 cups powdered sugar
• ¹⁄₃ cup butter , softened (or margarine)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla (I used Peppermint Extract) 
• ¹⁄₃ cup baking cocoa
• 3 -4 tablespoons milk 
• 
  
• 1. Mix dry items ingredients in a bowl using a fork.
• 1. 2. Combine wet ingredients in a separate bowl/container.
     3.  Combine dry and wet ingredients in a bowl mixing together with a fork.
     4.  Transfer mixture to greased cake pan or cupcake tins.
     5.  Bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 30 minutes. (Bake for approximately 15 minutes if making cupcakes).
     6. Set aside to cool before frosting.
     7. To begin the Chocolate Cocoa Frosting beat powdered sugar and butter until blended. (If using an electric mixer, use low speed).
     8. Stir in vanilla and cocoa.
     9. Gradually beat in just enough milk to make frosting smooth and spreadable. If frosting 
     becomes too thin, add more powdered sugar. Source

Mint Chocolate Icing:) 

The most perfectly domed cupcakes ever!

Finished off with crushed Andies mints and milk chocolate shavings!

Enjoy!

Jasmine 

Snow Queen

God must have flipped over the snow globe with Denver inside, because in the past two nights we have had more snow than we have all winter. Over two days we accumulated 22.5"  of snow, almost 2 FEET! Denver broke 100 year old record for the highest snowfall in one day!

Majority of the flights at DIA were canceled, all schools were out on a snow-day, and most businesses chose to not even open.

So what a perfect day to call into work, and lounge around the house alllllll day! I didn't leave my room for over 24 hours, with exceptions for one time to get  lunch from the dinning hall( and to take some of these pictures) . It's not really like I could go anywhere anyways; my car was covered in 2 feet of snow!

See for yourself!

Christmas? 

Pep is covered head to toe. 

Poor snow scrapper..

Random arrows.. 

Attacking the snow witha cute snow outfit!

Some how I managed to make it out and about today. It was so nice, the sun was shinning and people were everywhere after a little cabin fever.

Unfortunately, when I was headed to the house I am housesitting at, I go stuck in a snow drift while parking. People around here are so friendly and I had 3 people ( and a dog) helping me get out!

I feel like such a snow queen around here. Not like the wicked one from Narnia, but like an Ice Princess, but without the Ice.. and the princess. LOL. I need to go to sleep, before I keep rambling in circles.

Good night to all,

Jasmine