just fun

Cake pops how-to workshop with Beki Cook

August 15, 2011

Cake pops (or cake balls) are all the rage right now. I would never have attempted to make something so fancy but my friend Darcie asked if I wanted to come to her house and learn to make them from a professional cake baker/decorator. I rarely pass up a chance for a home party so I said yes (and then later learned that the teacher is a coworker’s wife. Small world.) It turns out they are not that difficult to make if you know a few little tips. They are somewhat time consuming though. Here’s a step-by-step in photos...

Two truths and a lie – the reveal

February 28, 2011

On Friday, a participated in a blog hop where we each posted two true things about ourselves and one line. Mine were: 1. I know how to tap dance and twirl baton. 2. I am thinking of shutting down this blog. 3. I last drank coffee five days ago. Many of you thought No. 3 must be false because how could I have written a coherent post on such a lack of caffeine? Well, here’s the kicker. It may have been coherent but it was INHERENTLY WRONG! Because all three of my statements were true. HAHA. Blog hop fail!...

Two truths and a lie (blog hop)

February 24, 2011

I’m doing a fun little blog hop designed for readers to get to know a few random things about bloggers and bloggers to get to know each other better. So here are three quick “facts” about me. Guess in the comments which is false. I’ll reveal the answer on Monday. 1. I know how to tap dance and twirl baton. 2. I am thinking of shutting down this blog. 3. I last drank coffee five days ago.

What jacket not to wear: the answers

January 14, 2011

I wrote Wednesday about my mini consultation with Sasha Westin of Fabuliss. After learning how to dress for my body type and coloring, I showed her several jackets I have picked up from thrift shops and clearance racks but haven’t figured out what to wear them with. Here they are. She told me to ditch all but two of them. Can you guess which ones and why? The middle two are the keepers, although the top middle one could use a bit more shoulder structure. The two on the left are too small, so they don’t create enough vertical...

What jacket not to wear

January 12, 2011

I recently had a mini consultation with Sasha Westin of Fabuliss, and she truly is fabulous. I think dressing well helps my overall mood, but I struggle with knowing what to buy and what to wear. I learned some things from Sasha that will help when I’m shopping at thrift stores. First I got some basic tips from her about how to dress for my body type (which is a rectangle) and my coloring. She told me to look for structured shoulders and waistlines because my shoulders are small and sloped down and my waistline is not well defined...

20 questions — a call for ideas, advice and a little nonsense

November 3, 2010

I’m stealing this idea from Liz because I love her 20 Questions posts. Answer all or any that call out to you. How do you instill confidence and assertiveness in your children when you do not possess them yourself? Why do so many eateries serve their coffee scalding hot? I want to drink it when I order it, not 20 minutes later. Should I start wearing makeup again? Should I start wearing contacts again? Should I get my ears pierced? If I do, will Grace want hers pierced to? Should I keep pumping at work after Ellie turns 1?...

I love my thrift store shoes. And the $80 ones too.

August 6, 2010

I’m going to write about clothes/fashion for the first time ever. I’m not very fashion savvy, despite my love of What Not to Wear. I’ve even been known to ask Mark if an outfit looks OK. This is the man who once wore a red T-shirt, green and gold Packer Zubaz and cowboy boots in public. I’m not lying. I used to have only a few basic pairs of shoes — tennis shoes, sandals, boots, black heels. But in the past year or two, I’ve caught the shoe bug. And now I volunteer weekly at a thrift store so...

Five things about me

January 28, 2010

Today’s Talkin’ About Thursday topic is “five things about you.” I wanted to join in, even though I have another post in the works for later tonight, because I have quite a few new readers who don’t know a lot about me. It’s hard to pick five things out of the air though! So, here goes. 1. I’ve always been a night owl. As much as I love sleep, I just can never make myself go to bed early. Working the 4-12 shift suited me well, even though it made it hard to get up with the kids in...

The movie is free, but the popcorn …

June 17, 2009

Mark and I took the kiddos to their first real movie today. Shrek 3 was showing as part of the Regal Cinema’s Free Family Film Festival.Both kids love Shrek 2 and I though a free showingwould be a good time to test Connor’s ability to sit it through awhole movie. The theater (in Eagan) has arm rests that push up out of the way,which was nice for squirmy kids. The four of us used three seats, andthe kids sat together part of the time, rested their heads in our lapspart of the time, etc, without disturbing anyone else. Also,...

furlough fun

March 6, 2009

I was off work for a week, and the rest of the family was gone for three of those days. So, what did I do? Not blog obviously! The day the kids left I never even got out of my PJs. I read a whole book that day (Kiss) and finished another (Deader Than a Doornail) the night before. I got my first LendAround movie (No Country for Old Men). It works really slick. You just request what you want and theowner mails it to you. When you are done, you click a link and it tellsyou to either...

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