Disability Blog Carnival - Celebrations

Happy Blog Carnival Day! Come on in, get comfortable, have some cake and let’s talk celebrations. That’s the theme of this 40th disability blog carnival. I asked all of you to define what celebration means to you. How do you have fun? How do you mark the special moments in your life and your family's life? What things do you celebrate? Big things? Little moments? Who joins you in those celebrations, and who doesn't? Are there barriers that keep you from celebrating the way your would like? What celebratory news have you recently seen in the press? And you all responded with such exuberance! There are a lot of stories to get through, but I promise it will be well worth your time. And, if you make it through the whole list, I will have a special surprise for you at the end!

Many, many of you marked your celebrations with your children and their successes in life. Mommy Dearest shared in her blog a story about her son, Jaysen and his fun times at the YMCA – fun times that weren’t defined by his disability. Attilla the Mom also shared a story about her son’s camp – one that provided a positive experience for her son, but a less than positive experience for another young girl, and that less than positive experience came at the hands of the girl’s mother. Marla Baltes celebrated her daughter’s joy around animals and shared with us all how big things like looking a person in the eye when talking to them can be learned from interacting with animals. Jude at From A Mother’s Point of View shared the joy of finding the perfect friend for her child with a disability, and Sharon from The Voyage blog shared the celebrations surrounding her son’s birthday.

From celebrating our children, we moved to celebrating ourselves and our friends. Dave Hingsburger invited us all to “Partay With Harry and Kevin Day”, and then also shared a story about a restaurant that “gets it”. Also, Cheryl invited us to help her celebrate a special honor which she has received.

Wheelchair Dancer told us where to go to get our groove on. Over at If The World Had Wheels we learned that shopping for a wedding dress in a wheelchair, while exhausting, is a remarkably fun time, and Glenda shared with us how exciting it is to have a book published. And finally, James shared with us how to become successful public speakers.

Two of my favorite stories of celebration came from Howard at Blogs[with]TV, and Jodi at Rheimer Reason.

Frida at Frida Writes shared some interesting life rules and some good insurance news. Kwanzoo wrote about putting disabled gamers back into the game, and Stephen wrote one of the funniest book reviews I have ever read.

We have several stories celebrating spring and summer – one from Kay at the Gimp Parade, one from The Special Parent, and one from Left Thumb Blogger.

And finally, some of the most beautiful posts came from our photo bloggers. You really need to check out Body of Work, Friday Flowers, Friday Photo Blogging, and my all-time favorite, Slurping Life.

Congratulations! You have made it through all the celebrations! Are you exhausted? Well, find that last burst of energy deep inside you and celebrate with Snowball!

Now, here is my special surprise. I can’t serve you a piece of celebration cake right now, but I can share with you my Aunt Willie’s special fresh coconut cake. Thank you all for participating in this carnival, and I hope you enjoy your day!



This fresh coconut cake is made in two layers with a fresh coconut topping and coconut milk.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2/3 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 eggs, separated
• 2 cups sifted cake flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup grated coconut

PREPARATION:

In a mixing bowl, cream butter until fluffy. Add 1/2 cup sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, beating well. Add sifted dry ingredients alternately with the coconut milk. Stir in vanilla and coconut.
Beat the egg whites with remaining 1/2 cup sugar until soft peaks are formed; fold into the cake batter. Pour batter into two greased and floured 8-inch layer cake pans and bake at 375° for about 25 minutes. Remove fresh coconut cake to wire racks to cool.

Topping

• 1 cup heavy cream, whipped
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 coconut, shredded or grated

In a bowl, beat cream with the sugar until thick. Add vanilla Spread between layers and over top and sides of cake. Sprinkle cake with fresh coconut.