Im sure you have all seen the commercials for the online dating site that claims 1 in 4 relationships starts online.  But do you really know who is on the other end of the computer?  Even studly football star Manti Te’o got duped in his fake internet relationship.  Could THIS happen to you?

This just makes me laugh til I cry.  I dont know why the videos of dogs dressed up in human clothes with people hands tickle me so, but I love them.  This particular skit was made by the BBC last year and the particular Saint’s name is Rufus.  He belongs to my friend Kay Rudge in the UK.  Thanks for the laugh guys!  I hope Rufus got to keep the wig

Enjoy!

Since being elected as President of the Greater Cincinnati Saint Bernard Club in November, I have been quite busy with all things Saint Bernard.  Monthly meetings, preparation for our Specialty Show this May and attending some of the local “ish” dog shows and Saint Bernard Specialties.  Its amazing how much hard work goes into planning and executing a dog show.  Its also amazing to see the lovely, sound dogs who are competing.  I’ve met some amazing people both here and abroad.

Last weekend Rufus and I took a “road trip” to Indianapolis for the Indy Winter Classic.  Rufus isn’t a show dog, but he loves to go on car trips so I brought him along for the company.  He certainly made himself at home in the hotel.  See that tiny spot in the corner, that’s where he expected me to sleep.

The cluster of shows drew a huge entry.  Each show had a 5 point major (for many of you that’s gibberish - I’ll explain “dog shows for dummies” in my next post so please bear with me).  It was great to see old friends and meet new ones that I have only known on facebook or through yahoo lists until then.  And of course the dogs!  As always, I took a TON of photos.  Note to self – I need to get an external flash to keep up with my snapping shutter finger.  Even though I have an excellent camera (canon 60-D), it struggles to keep up with my snapping when I use the built in flash.

I donated some baked goodies to the Indy Saint Club for their hospitality table.  One of the breeders called me the “hostess with the mostest” lol.  In honor of Mardi Gras I made a King Cake, complete with little plastic baby.  Southern tradition is the person who gets the baby is the hostess of next years Mardi Gras Party.  Up North, we don’t really celebrate Mardi Gras “proper” so it falls to a watered down tradition of whoever gets the baby has to bring the cake the next year.  Surprisingly, no one fessed up to getting the baby! Hmmmm I wonder if they are expecting me to bring it again next year.  The King Cake is on the left.

Since the St Bernard cupcakes were such a hit in Cleveland, I made a 3 tier, 6 layer white cake with St Bernard topper.  My cupcakes were mentioned in the January 18th edition of Dog News Magazine (page 61).  I’m starting to really enjoy this cake crafting thing.  I think I’m making up for my childhood when my mom wouldn’t let me play with play dough. 

Its been awhile since I have posted anything about my crew so I thought I’d let you all know how things have been going.  Brutus, Rufus and Apollo celebrated their 9th birthdays in January. 9 is not a big milestone for a Labrador  but for a Saint Bernard its HUGE.  The average life span of a Saint Bernard is 8-10 years and I have been blessed to make it to the 9 year mark.  I’m hoping for a lot more time.  I ordered a big bone birthday cake from Three Dog Bakery Columbus and as always they made the most amazing cake for the boys.  When I called in and gave their names for the cake, the owner recognized them immediately.  She says… “OOOOH, I know them, the Saint Bernards” – totally made my day!

The boys enjoying their yummy cake! Rufus’s legs are so gross… he’s likes to groom himself, alot.  As he’s gotten older and a little arthritis has set in, keeping him clean and white is a challenge.  They both go to the groomer once a month for a bath and brush and I wash his legs in the tub once a week.  Of course he was due for a bath when I took his bday pictures.  Oh well, Saint Bernards are alot of work.  If you are considering getting one, please read – Is a St Bernard Right for you that I wrote a few months ago.

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I had so much fun making the cupcake toppers that I decided to try out making a large cake topper for my birthday cake.  I try not make a big deal out of my birthday these days. Once you are over 30 its just a reminder that your best years are behind you and those years weren’t that great to begin with… but I digress.

So this year I thought I’d make my own birthday cake instead of waiting for the store bought monstrosity one that my mother in law usually springs on me for Christmas.  I had so much fun making it.  I even remembered a few tips I learned back in high school home ec about frosting.  Always make sure your cake is completely cooled before you try and frost it and put it in the freezer for a bit to keep the crumbs from getting in the icing.  I baked mine the night before, wrapped it in saran wrap and put it in the freezer over night.  It still got some crumbs in the icing though.  The next tip is make sure you have PLENTY of icing.  After making the first pass at the cake put it in the fridge and let it chill sufficiently then make a second pass at the cake with icing.  You can then cover up any crumbs that might have gotten into the icing and smooth it out.  OR just go with rolled fondant.  I was too chicken to try the fondant, maybe next time.

I used the same recipe for butter cream frosting as the two varieties of cupcakes and I used the same candy clay recipe for my toppers as the cupcake toppers.  When tinting the icing always use the gel coloring so that it does not change the consistency of the icing.  I used a 10″ round cake and an 8″ round cake.  I could not have gone any smaller and fit the toppers on it.  The one is about 6″ tall and the other is about 5″ long.

I used white chocolate  butterscotch, peanut butter/chocolate chips as well as dark chocolate, red and yellow (for the lab) candy melts and black rolled fondant.  The toppers are completely edible and actually taste pretty good.

I used a pill bottle to lean the Labrador against while it was drying.  I made a black fondant Labrador too but it looked like something a kindergartner would make out of playdough so I opted not to put it on the cake…. The consistency of fondant is so different from candy clay I think I just need some practice.  But not to shabby for a first try.  After Christmas I am going to try to make some Saint ornaments with sculpting clay.  Stay tuned…