Chocolate Contest

Recently my wonderful mother found a chocolate contest in Tyler, Texas which Andrew, Mom and I entered. Andrew made peanut butter chip cookies and Mom made chocolate cherry cookies for their divisions.  For my group I made a chocolate cake and chocolate truffles. While the desserts were being judged, a cooking demonstration was held. The demo taught how to make different types of truffles and how to cook with white chocolate. After the demonstration the judges announced the winners. Sadly Mom and Andrew didn't place, but I placed 2nd with my truffles.

Did you know that.........

Truffles originated in France?
Truffles got their name because they look like the truffle mushroom?
Truffles were first made on an accident?

 

 

 

Babirusa

The answer to the What is this animal 2 blogpost is a Babirusa. This animal is very rare, they live only in Indonesia and the Philippine Islands. Here the Babirusa like to stay near mud pits and bodies of water in the rainforest.They are omnivores meaning that they eat plants and meat. A typical  Babirusa diet consists of insects, fruit, roots, and other vegetation. The male Babirusa has tusks and can weigh up to two hundred and twenty pounds. Female Babirusa either have small tusks or none at all. The tusks are actually not tusks but teeth that have grown through their skull. A very interesting video that explains this process is listed below: http://science.howstuffworks.com/zoology/28358-fooled-by-nature-babirusa-pig-teeth-video.htm A very strange thing about the Babirusa's teeth is that they will eventualy grow through the skull. This doesn't happen to all male Babirusa, because their teeth break easily during fighting. 

I hope you enjoyed reading my post, and have learned more about God's amazing creatures. Genesis 1:25 says that And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

Cattle

For Christmas, I received a 4-D cow anatomy kit which I put together yesterday. I was really pleased with the finished product, but one of the pieces broke off and the instructions were very hard to read. What I did like about the model was that it explained the function of each piece and was highly detailed. The booklet had a few pages of information and then a mini test to take to see what you learned. 

For a quick farm update six of our cows calved. Four of the calves are bulls that will soon become steers (steers are male cattle that can't be fathers) and three are heifers. One of our oldest cows had twins this year, this is good because it made up for a calf that had died in later years. All of the calves are doing great and are eating solid food.

Did you know?

• 99% of all dairy farms in the United States are family owned and operated.
•    Cattle have the same amount of teeth a human has which is 32.
•    The average lifespan of a cow is 20 years.
•    Cows can detect smells from 5 miles away.
•    There are more than 800 breeds of cattle worldwide.

Caribbean Cruise Day 5

On our fifth day of the cruise we went to the country of Belize. Due to shallow water and coral reefs, we had to be tendered to the  country of Belize. While we were on the tender boat a man who worked their told us to tell Dion to give us a good deal on a renal van and to say that Big Bird sent us. Doubtful we met Dion and after bartering Dad and our deacon talked him down from $50 a person to $25 for adults and $15 for the kids. Due to our bartering we got Erol for a driver who wasn't completely there. On our way to the Mayan ruins at Alto Hi we passed a sign that said 16 miles to the Mayan ruins at Alto Hi. Erol informed us psychologically it was more like 60. He also said that President Nixon was the most loved President and that "Joe Osteen is his man because he makes the Bible all cozy". This is wrong because the Bible should make you uncomfortable at times such as when Jesus was nailed to the cross and died for all of us. When we finial got to the ruins, Erol decided to be our tour guide and climbed  on top of the burial grounds to get a leaf from an allspice tree for us to smell. While we continued our tour people came up to us and told us not to listen to Erol. After completing our tour, we were driven back to the tender boat where we met a man who used to be a missionary to Belize and was revisiting the churches he had started. Once we got back to the cruise boat we changed unto some formal clothes and prepared for diner.

Caribbean Cruise Day 4

On day four of our cruise we went to Roatan, Honduras. Here we walked around the shopping area and then Dad rented a car to explore the island. We drove around the island and found that beside the expat and tourist spots; Honduras was a beautiful but poor country. During our drive we were turning around in an expat's driveway when a man stepped out of the woods waving a gun and yelling Dad hit the gas and we hurried back to the boat. We ate on the boat and then left to go swimming in the Caribbean Sea. While Laura Ashley and Dad went swimming, Andrew and I went hunting for seashells. I was most excited about a conch shell that still had a crab in it. I was unable to get the crab to show his face, but I was able to get a few pictures. Before I knew it  we had boarded the boat and set sail to  Belize.

Caribbean Cruise Day 3

Departing the cruise ship.

 Our first stop was Cozumel; Mexico, here we rented a taxi to take us around the island. First, our driver took us to a family owned chocolate shop which still used an Mayan recipe. Second, we drove around the city and then to a  less populated area of the island. Then we ate at an Mexican restaurant, walked around the beach on the Caribbean Sea. While walking on the beach a man approached us asking if we wanted to hold Alberto his iguana. Me being the animal lover that I am gladly took his offer.When Dad went to get my picture we were told that pictures were five dollars. After our time on the beach we went back to the boat. While at a gas station near the boat the car wouldn't start so we 

Cozumel means Island of the Swallows.

walked back to the boat and enjoyed a good dinner of Fettuccini Alfredo and Crème Brûlée.

Caribbean Cruise Day 2

Church sermon

On day two at sea my family and I along with our friends attended a church service put on by one of the crew members from Alabama, U.S.A.  After singing a few songs he shared his mission statement which was "I'm just a nobody trying to tell everybody about Somebody." I hope that everyone who is reading this knows the Somebody which is Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. What I liked about the preacher was that he had a love for the Lord and wasn't afraid to share it. After the sermon we ate breakfast and played Canasta. When we were done, we met up with some of the other members in our group and ate lunch. Once lunch was over my family and I learned how to play a game called Joker.

After mastering Joker, we went to our rooms to get

ready for formal night. When we finished eating an excellent meal, we left to watch a show called "Baby do you want to Dance?" Before we knew it day two aboard the Caribbean Princess had went over board.

Learning Joker

The Atrium

Andrew, Laura Ashley and I on the deck.