I so admire people who can bake complicated cakes with parts and bells and whistles and whatnot. That takes special talent.

It's funny, because it's more like a crafts project than baking.

I used to love art projects as a kid, but my drawing never progressed much beyond about the 4th or 5th grade, so "crafts" are about all the art I can succeed at.

Dioramas and cakes are my kind of thing! Funny that I never got to do any of my own dioramas growing up-- I read about them in books, but they never came up as projects when I was in school. I did an amazing one with Lauren for first grade, though-- a "jaguar box" with its habitat inside. Love that foamy clay that dries in the shape you make, and it's lightweight too. :D

May I just ask what temperatures you are talking about?(I've found I'd rather do some serious rowing than running simply because I'd need to lose a lot of weight before I can even start to think about planning routes)
Your cakes are amazing,all of them but I completely agree with HSH:It would beat watching another rerun of any TV series to watch little puffs of smoke emerging from his ears(*lols*)

My best running temperatures really are in the mid-30s (Fahrenheit), but I'm usually good through about the upper 60s (I just start scaling back my clothes).

Once we get to about 70^o, it's the beginning of the battle against overheating. Over time (except with the weather ping-ponging back-and-forth like this year), I can acclimate up to running in the low 90s (with wet clothes, lots of water, etc.) But from 65-onward I'm running in a tank shirt and shorts, and everything after that is a new level of coping mechanism: sweatband and carrying water, dumping water on myself, wearing the neck-band that releases moisture, and then (the ultimate) soaking my tank-shirt in cold water and spritzing myself down before I go.

My main exercise is actually bicycling, which starts being good at around 65-degrees. I can work my way up to the mid-90s there, but after that it's risky. You do get a self-created breeze, though, which really helps. That's where the problem comes in at colder temperatures, in fact-- wind chill.

You row on the water, don't you? That'll help with the heat, and you can always get yourself wet periodically if you get too warm. :)

As for the cake, I did find out that the Dad is the main cake-maker in that household. Which only makes him more awesome-- he's a former college football player, and has been our kids' basketball coach for the last 2 years! However, I think the actual cake stymied him. His son said, "Pinball cake" and "Rice Krispies," and I don't think the Dad ever envisioned that the Rice Krispie treats were being used as a structural entitity in a 3-D creation. :0

Wow! I too make cake art. I had to take a hiatus & I still miss it. Damn this recession! But the important thing right now is that your kitty icon made my brain explode. Delightful!

I love cake art too-- though I always lean toward "tasty" vs. "whizzy" when push comes to shove. I.e., "graham-crack crumb sand" is a No for me, because then you've got gritty frosting that tastes like graham crackers. Ew.

Isn't that icon cute? Part of what made it irresistible is that we've always had smiley cats, and our tabby cat kind of looks like this one. :)