Cow on Cake Boss, The Duggars Take Manhattan... & More

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Cake Boss  "Prize Cow, Pop-Tarts, & a Predicament" (S04E23):  The guys need to make a birthday cake for a cow that's turning 10 years old. [see... with the expense of such cakes, I don't understand why you order them for anything but the biggest events...] Buddy wants to make the cake life-size, so they build a structure, carve a head from cereal treats, and even use plastic tubing for the udders so it'll be able to be milked. [as much as I like the functionality of the cakes these days, it's getting kinda boring.] A family that just moved to Hoboken wants a cake. It'll look like the new house, and will include poptarts, since they're one of the kids' favorite foods. [That cow cake was gigantic!] The cereal treats all over the cake are too heavy, and Buddy says that they need to use more buttercream for it to work. Buddy wants to include a toaster that will shoot up poptarts, so he takes apart a toaster to play around with the spring action. Joey takes Grace aside and tells her that he can't choose a career between baker and fireman. Grace isn't thrilled with Buddy lately, either. [to me, it sounds like Joey really loves the firehouse and just does the baking because it's there. and as much as I love him on this show, I think he'll choose the firehouse.] The neighborhood cake gets decorated with candies to finish it off. [I think they went too far... it's gaudy!] Maurizio will be going inside the cow to squeeze the bottles to make the cow milk. [won't that make it overly heavy?? Also, I thought the real Eden licking the cake Eden was cute.] The guys tip over the cow with Maurizio inside. [but that destroyed the edibility! boo!] Lackawanna is days away from the opening, but it still needs to be painted. [I suppose this means that we're going to go on hiatus and come back in the new location!]
[Also, you can help choose the contestants for Cake Boss: The Next Great Baker by clicking here.]

19 Kids and Counting  "Duggar Respond & Rescue" (S07E10): Grandma Duggar is turning 70, Jason turned 11, and Jackson is turning 7. We see a rare interview moment with Grandma Duggar. Joplin, MO is only about an hour from the Duggar home. [I didn't realize it was so close. And when did Josh join the volunteer fire department??] The four oldest kids rushed off to try to help. Another rare moment - Jim the camera guy interviewed. In Joplin, a guy asks "how do you start over when you're 91 years old?" [...That is a really good question.] Birthday lunch for the kids was at Fun City, and the kids had tokens to play arcade games. Jackson spent his tickets on a gift for Johannah. [love the caring nature those kids have toward one another!] JimBob wants to get bikes for the birthday people. Grandma gets a recumbent three-wheeler. Grandma sometimes wears slacks, but she pinned her skirt to resemble pants while trying the bike. [was that a plug for Hershey's? because it was one of those uber-obvious shots/phrases...] 

19 Kids and Counting  "Manhattan Duggars" (S07E11): The Duggars are on tour with their latest book again so they're in NY. [I don't get why they show these things so out of order!] They're doing a concert in a park as a service project with some other families. Josie was able to come on this portion of the trip. An ice cream truck drives by and JimBob orders 21 vanilla and 14 chocolate cones for all the families there. Looks like some of the older kids got sundaes, too. [that was VERY not frugal... but apparently they're not really used to seeing ice cream trucks.. There were 40 kids between the four families! Johannah and Jackson are so darn cute! every.time.] The family sings in the park [guess they forgot to pack their violins?] before the JimBob and Michelle give their testimony. [can we hear from someone else every once in a while? How about Jill and Anna or something?] They then take the subway from Queens to Manhattan. $360 for 40 people to travel. JimBob gives a frightening speech about getting lost if you don't get on and off the train quick enough. [it's not THAT big a deal, guys. Especially since you've used public transit elsewhere before!] They ride from 39th Ave to Prince St., which is only about 10 stops on the N train. Josie signs for "more" and "please" when she's hungry. [Everyone freaking out about leaving someone behind and the orphaned person(s) being left "for hours" was ridiculous. Get off at the next station. Find the train going the opposite direction, get on for 1 stop. Enough of the older kids have phones, too. Give everyone an emergency $5 to add to their metrocard if needed, problem solved.] The family volunteers at a soup kitchen. They also did a segment on The Today Show. It was Meredith's second-to-last-day on the show. While autographing books, Anna is told that, because of her wedding special, a fan has also decided to save her first kiss for marriage. People want Jim the cameraman to sign their books, too! [I love when the crew gets a following! Now THAT'S a rarity!] 

19 Kids and Counting  "Duggars, Dates, and Dan" (S07E12): Good Morning America's Dan joins the family for a day. [is it just me or is the family wearing a lot of purple and green lately?] Dan does some chores around the house. Joseph teaches him to use the mower, but Dan struggles with it. Joseph has to go to the dentist that day, so the timing might be around when the kids had their wisdom teeth out. Then, Dan helps JoyAnna make tater tot casserole (which is now practically a weekly meal for the family!). [I'd like to see what happens when the family tries a new recipe. Do they find one and multiply it? Do they just try things? What about the family's reactions?] Josie isn't feeling well so Michelle takes her to the doctor. Josie has a fever and is on the brink of another ear infection. She's had six in four months, so the doctor suggests tube inserts (none of the other kids have tubes), and Michelle agrees. Sarah Mally, the author of Before You Meet Prince Charming is at the house. [yeah, there's a lot going on in this episode!] The four oldest girls get interviewed about their future courtship plans. "you want someone who loves the Lord more than he loves you." [that's pretty powerful.] The girls say humility is really important, a love for children, gentle, provider (in the sense that they're not lazy). When asked if any courtships are in the works, the other three girls all turn to Jana, which to me either meant that Jana is so personal that she doesn't even share that much with her sisters, or there is something there but Jana isn't ready to reveal it. Though, in this case, I think that would verge on lying, so I doubt it... which makes the first possibility strange... ] Michelle reveals that there has been interest in the four oldest daughters. JimBob filters the boys. The episode ends with Michelle saying she's hoping for another baby.