Aug 2, 2012 |
Winnie, of Winnie’s Inky Fingers, is soon to be the happy winner of the Aroma Houseware’s 6-Cup Rice Cooker!
Her winning comment stated, “I love to serve pulled pork with yellow rice (I add sazon seasoning to white rice when it is cooking!) I am excited for you, good luck with your giveaway!”
And her response upon winning read, “Wow Molly Jo! It is 5 am and I saw this and I am skipping around my house! I never win anything. I am beyond excited. Thank you so much for holding the giveaway and thank you to Aroma for supplying such a cool prize! I have been hating the heat and the idea that I can cook without heating up the house is a major excitement to me. Hope you have a great day, I know I will starting this way!”
Winnie, I can’t wait to read what great meals you’ll make with your new rice cooker! Congratulations!
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
Aug 2, 2012 |
Green Bookcase
Dot’s Artwork
Guarding the Hearth
Cactus
TV Wall
Bath Time
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
Aug 1, 2012 |
Well, it took about three weeks of high humidity to combine with southerly winds, but we finally got our thunderstorm this afternoon!
It didn’t last long (huge disappointment) but brought a lot of noise as the wind ushered in about two minutes of hail before turning back to “just” rain.
My flower bed has been thriving in the humidity. And as soon as the rain stopped, the birds came out to play.
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
Aug 1, 2012 |
Not only is it Wednesday again, it’s a new month! There is so much going on, I’ve actually had to write out my To Do List instead of keeping it in my head. I actually like keeping busy like this. I love having a To Do List that gets crossed off. It makes me feel productive.
Dot’s getting her driver’s license. She and her best friend are starting colleges. I’ve been playing with the idea of re-enrolling for one or two classes myself and finally finishing up my degree.
I got a burr up my saddle this morning and woke up before the sunrise (literally!) and after a few minutes of peaceful reading, I began deep cleaning the house section by section, room by room. I started a new trick: since Dot was still asleep when I was working, for every chore I needed her to complete I wrote a Stickee Note and stuck it to the door of the room. When she finished a particular task, the note went in the garbage. Of course, we only conquered one entire room together. Then she cleaned her bedroom as I went off to “work”.
“Work” today consisted of meeting with a friend and helping her start a Facebook page for her new business. You’ll read more on that in the next few days, and of course I’ll have links for you to follow. She, in turn, took me to lunch at a local taco place which gave me material for another trekaroo review.
Tonight I organized my Unemployment Folder. It’s where I keep every slip of paper they send me, copies of claim forms, and my notebook that tracks every single job application and resume I’ve turned in since July 11, 2011. Every. Single. One. At first I was overwhelmed and saddened by the amount of paperwork involved. Week after week after week of claim forms and rejection slips. A constant moment of what life is compared to what it was. And suddenly in the middle of reorganizing everything, I was overwhelmed with joy. And peace. Because I’ve made it over a year on unemployment and in that time, I’ve written and published my Cookbook, reinstated at Institute of Children’s Literature, entered contests, and developed more than a passing passion for writing. I’ve been honing my skills, and that’s never a waste of time.
So while tonight began with trepidation, it ends in celebration. And the funny thing is, this post has fashioned itself after the future. For Hope. And while that wasn’t intentional, it works. Jenn at …so this is love… invited me to participate in
“As we celebrate the Olympics, Melanie Crutchfield had the fabulous idea to pass the torch of “Hope” around the blogging community. The idea being that she has asked some fabulous folks to write about Hope, and then we ask some more fabulous folks to write about Hope and before you know it, Hope is spreading around the blogging community! Melanie is going to compile all of the posts she can at the end of the Olympics and host her own version of the closing ceremonies.“
And I thought I’d write something profoundly thoughtful and thought-provoking. But sometimes, it’s just being able to say, in the moment, that this is okay. That maybe, this is As Good As It Gets. And I have to be okay with that.
And I am. Because even if this is as good as it gets… as long as it doesn’t get any worse, I’m more than okay.
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
“What’s the Word?” Wednesdays is a link-up that allows other bloggers and readers to share whatever they want to talk about.
Think of it as a virtual coffee date with some great friends.
What’s going on in your world? Tell us all about it!
A few things to remember:
- Each week’s link-up is valid from Wednesday through the following Tuesday. So if you link a post today, you can still come back and link another post tomorrow! In fact, you can link up as many posts as you want.
- If you add a link, please put the badge on your post as well.
- Each week has a new link-up. Please make sure you grab the correct Badge Code.
- Be sure to check out what others are posting, and even leave a few comments.
- You can now show your “likes” by voting for your favorite links.
So, c’mon. Join the conversation. After all, a great coffee date is one where everyone gets to chat, dontcha think?
Jul 31, 2012 |
Well, we did it. We finished our Wilton Cake Decorating Course. As has been the standard for the last four weeks, Dot’s cake, well, took the cake. She always has the other students and the instructor oohing and ahhing over her gifted artistry.
In the four-week course, we learned
How to properly bake a cake and how to level a cake
How to fill cupcakes and how to fill a layer cake
How to make out own icing in stiff, medium, and thin consistencies and when to use each one. We learned how to color icing
How to ice a cake and how to later smooth it
And we learned how to decorate. Did you see me smile when you read that? Try again:
We learned how to decorate!
We learned tips and icing bags and angled spatulas and piping gel and color and consistencies and flowers and leaves and pom poms and writing and roses and more.
And these are our Final Projects.
Dot had a plan, but when we got to class she scrapped it and went freestyle. Have I mentioned how gifted she is? I couldn’t toss out a plan and come up with something this gorgeous on the spur of the moment!
I thought up a Summer Garden. I’m disappointed that I didn’t color enough icing for the cake; it’s a bit thin in places. But I forgave myself: I’m a beginner. And it turned out well for a beginner.
Dot’s cake was German Chocolate with a coconut-pecan filling
Mine was a lemon cake with a raspberry preserve filling
And we’re not sorry we cut into them.
Not.
One.
Bite.
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
Her winning comment stated, “I love to serve pulled pork with yellow rice (I add sazon seasoning to white rice when it is cooking!) I am excited for you, good luck with your giveaway!”
