SHOUT OUT to the lovely "SALT"!!!

For those of you following me on Blogger, you'll have to go to my WordPress Blog to understand what I'm talking about!!! But........ here's a picture just so you get the point!!

Look up guys!! Yes, up above!!! Did you see my AWESOME new Header?!? Don't you love it! Minnesota Meets California! Yipee!!!

I have to give all the amazing kudo's to a fellow Destination Wedding Bride ~ Lauren a.k.a. "Salt". I met Lauren in an On-Line Community on theKnot.com. There's a dedicated forum for brides who are planning a DW where we can all share advice, suggestions and insights in all aspects of planning our weddings. It's in this very forum that I've gotton to know Lauren and we've become great pals!

She has an AWESOME blog as well, and if you don't already follow her, I highly suggest you do!! I guarantee you, your days won't ever be the same if you don't read her updates. She is very blunt, yet humorous ~ very tactful individual and very FOR REAL! Click ----------> HERE <----------- for her link. Show her some love!!!!!

"Knowledge is Power"

Yesterday I did a very small wedding cake for a client. It was just three 6" cakes, very plain, simple and easy! Love those kind!!!

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20 years ago yesterday, I gave birth to an amazing, precious and cute little baby girl who captured my heart the minute I laid eyes on her cute little dimples! Today, she is a very well educated, beautiful young woman who has a great head on her shoulders. I am so very proud of her in so many levels! She attends college full-time and has two part-time jobs which she simultaneously juggles. (Sometimes at one of the two jobs, she puts in a 40 hour week).

HAPPY 20th BIRTHDAY ASHLEE

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Yay! I've just finished book #2 for the year 2010 ~ 98 more to go to reach my goal of 100. Yipee!! I finished Susan Wiggs' 2nd book in her "Lakeside Chronicles" series. I found out that there are 4 books instead of the three that I previously shared with you guys.

I am a person who absolutely loves to read! I spend every.single spare moment of my day reading. Some people say I read too much however, I don't believe so. I read an array of subjects, if you will, including fiction, drama, romance, biographies, and many, many more. When I was a little girl I was once told "Knowledge is Power" and I've always kept that quote in the back of my mind while growing up.

I remember also, in 7th grade, I had an Language Arts teacher who started each day with a "Word of the Day" which was written on the chalk board. We had to look up that word, write it's definition and then use it in a sentence three different ways. I learned so many new words that year; periodically, I find myself using words that I learned back then. One of the words that I remember like it was yesterday is "Discombobulated" ~ each and every time I used that word, it reminds me of the "Word of the Day" words back in Junior High.

In 8th grade, I no longer had that same teacher so I made it a point to continue with the routine on my own. Every evening while I was doing my homework, I would break out an Encyclopedia and randomly pick out a word. You know, open to a page, close my eyes, then point to a word. I would then look that word up in the Dictionary and write it in my "Word of the Day" Journal.



Funny, because when my mother diciplined me she would pick a page out of the dictionary and make me copy one entire column (there were two columns per page in our dictionary). Yes....punishment at it's best! I learned many words that way as well. I was really excited when there were words that I already knew from my "Word of the Day" knowledge thru school!

So, my lovely bloggesphere friends ~ today's Word of the Day (according to Merriam Webster) is:

"Cosmeticize".
Meaning: to make (something unpleasant or ugly) superficially attractive.
Example Sentence
The authors of the legislation have cosmeticized it with tax breaks and tax cuts.

You've now (potentially) have learned a new word!!!

Something else that I've been doing on a daily basis is keeping up with my "Verse of the Day". I update it daily on my blog which you can view here. There are days when I don't blog about something, but I most definitely take the time to update the Verse of the Day for sure. It's something that helps me define who I am and I try to apply what I learned to my everyday life. It's my Quiet Time for the day should my day become to0 hectic.

On to another subject!! The other day I posted tons of pictures of our overnight road trip to Los Angeles along with a narration of what we did. Well, the 30+ degree temperature change in the climates from one day to the next really took it's toll on Brian. He's been under the weather since super early Friday morning! Poor guy! Needless to say, he stuck it out at work on Friday afternoon and immediately bundled up and went to bed. He spent the entire evening in bed and then yesterday, again, he spent the entire day in bed!!! He's been taking some Cold & Flu over-the-counter meds since Friday so I hope he'll be feeling better today. I was keeping my fingers crossed that it would be a 24-hour bug, but I highly doubt it. His first California cold!!!

Hope you all have a WONDERFUL Sunday!!!

My Cakes 4 Fun business has been featured!!!

So very exciting ~ I just had to share it here! :)

Jael Custom Designs has what she calls a "Fabulous Feature Friday" every week where she features businesses that are owned by Women Entrepreneurs and I am honored and privileged to be the first of 2010 to be featured! Woo Hoo!!!!

Check it out here----------------------> Jael Custom Designs

Thanks so much for the support Jen!!

Fabulous Friday Find

I received this lovely personalized Silver Lingerie Bridal Dress Hanger as Christmas Gift from a wonderful friend whom I haven't met IRL yet, but will do in the near future!

I'm going to use it to hang my wedding dress on while we're on the Cruise in April. Here's the inspirational photo that I found:

This lovely hanger, along with a variety of other personalized hangers can be found at
LilaFrances Etsy Shop

Happy Friday my Bloggershpere Friends

The most Awesome Over-Night Road Trip Ever!!!

For an overnight trip, I had an amazing time! We drove over 700 miles on this little venture, and it was well worth it!! Of course, I wised we could have spent more than two days looking at all the amazing beaches, quaint shops and awesome sunsets/sunrises!

As we were coming into the San Luis Obispo area, the sun was getting ready to set. I was able to capture several beautiful photos of it while Brian was driving! I'll share a couple of them with you.





While in Pismo, we got to go to the downtown area and walk along the long pier that they have. It was very beautiful! It was between 7 and 8 p.m. and I was able to take a picture of one of the last surfers coming in for the night. I aksed if he minded if I took a picture of him and he obliged! (You know me, I have no shame!!) I was totally amazed that there were people still surfing at this time of the night! Not to mention, back home, it was in the 40's ~ and here it was in the low 70's. So flabbergasted!



Here's a picture of myself, Amanda and I that my cousin took of us on the pier. I absolutely loved the fact that here we were, all bundled up and the locals who were out and about were in shorts and short sleeved shirts! As mentioned above, there were even people just coming in from the ocean. Absolutely crazy!! The air was so fresh, the ocean so vast. It was truly an amazing experience!

There was this little cafe on the boardwalk there that is most famous for their award winning Clam Chowder. It's called the Splash Cafe. In fact, their Clam Chowder is sooooo amazingly good that the local Costco is several surrounding cities all the way up to Frenso, now carries their Clam Chowder in their frozen food department! WOW!! They even ship orders if you'd like!!! I have to share with you one of their shirts that they have for sale. Yes, Brian HAD TO have this shirt ~ so we bought it.

Interesting huh?!? Another interesting thing I found while browsing all the shops along the boardwalk was this delicasy:

This was just one of the many different flavors of Crickettes they had available!!!! You can find these and their famous Lollipops with worms in their at HotLix Candy Store.

Thursday morning as we were heading into Los Angeles, we caught the sun rising up over the ocean and that made for some awesome photos as well.



Can I just tell you guys that driving along the coast of California is such an awesome experience! I've lived in California for decades, and have gone to a beach here, a beach there, but to just drive down the Pacific Coast Highway and take in the vastness of the Pacific Ocean was truly breathtaking! Looking out over the ocean, it was never ending!



On our way back to the wonderful Central Valley of California, (he he he) we drove to Beverly Hills, down Wilshire Blvd.

And of course, I just had to drive down Rodeo Drive! :) Being there reminded me so much of the movie "Pretty Woman" ~ one of Brian and my favorites!



While our friends in the Central Valley was suffering through the cold wintery weather, I was very, very, surprised that the weather in down South was much warmer! Especially by the ocean, you would think it would be a little more on the chilly side. NOPE. Not on this day. It was 76 degrees! OMG!! 76! It was very comfortable weather!!!

Now, we're back at home where the weather is gloomy. As I write this post, it's 9 a.m. and 40 degrees. But wait...there's good news! It's going to warm up! The high for the day is going to be a big whopping 47 degrees. Now that's something to be grateful for huh?!? ::: total sarcasm intended :::

So, as I wind down from my whirlwind of a mini vacation, I have to get back in the reality of every day life. I have a wedding cake to prep for tomorrow. Not a very big order, (thank God) but a wedding cake nonetheless. Also, I have to resume my daily butt kicking from Ms. Jillian Michaels and her 30 Day Shred. So not looking forward to those at all!

Have a wonderful Friday and enjoy your weekend!!

Road Trip!!

I am so very excited to be leaving this afternoon on a much needed mini-vacation! Eventhough it's just an overnight trip, it's going to be packed full of fun and excitement! The whole reason for this trip is for me to get my Birth Certificate in Los Angeles.

A daughter of a very close family friend of ours happens to be on Winter break from U.C. Merced also had plans to spend a week in Los Angeles visiting college roommates and friends. She's coming along for the ride down and I'm very excited!!! Brian is in for a treat ~ confined with two women in a vehicle for 4 hours ~ before we visit the beautiful Cities of Pismo Beach:

And San Luis Obispo:

Early Thursday morning, Brian is once again stuck with Amanda and I for another 4 hours as we head into the City of Los Angeles! Woo Hoo!

I'm hoping to take a ton of pictures (if I remember) so I can share with you all our adventures! As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I'm exicted because I'll be able to spend time with a family member! As a matter of fact, I was recently introduced to my cousin a couple of months ago. We are close in age, but didn't grow up close together. I'm excited that we've had the opportunity to meet and since we live only about 4 hours away from each other we can definitely make plans to do things together more!!

Have a WONDERFUL Wednesday my bloggesphere friends and I'll be back here Friday!

Blowing it...Big Time!

So, it's only what..... 5 days into the New Year?!?  Oh, what was it that many people, not just myself have resolved to do in the year 2010?  Cook healthier?!?  Eat healthier?!?  Save some $$ by not going out so much?!? Something along those lines correct?  Well, let me tell ya, it didn't take me very long to blow it!  Guess what I had for dinner tonight?!?

Yes, the infamous In & Out Burger! I know, I know....the worse of the worse.  But I figured if I'm gonna jump, I'd better jump high! 

On a better note ~ I finished my first book for 2010!  1 down, 99 to go.  The book I finished is called 'Summer at Willow Lake', by Susan Wiggs.  Apparently there are 3 books in this series, and unfortunately, I picked up the third book by mistake.  I figured what the heck...I can read it then go back and read the 2nd book.  :)

  

I really enjoy reading, so I don't think it will be a problem for me to reach my goal of 100 for the year.  However, we do have a boat load of events coming up ~ especially with our Destination Wedding, and two (yes, two) Receptions....one of them being out of State.  I will always be able to find down time to read though so I'm confident I'll reach my goal for sure!

I also completed a Wedding Related task today! Woo Hoo! I actually called and made two appointments with local bakeries for next week to do some cake tasting! And I can't wait! I'm on the opposite side of the counter people! Yipee! :)

Tomorrow we're taking a quick road-trip to L.A. ~ Making a pitt stop in Pismo Beach and stay the night with one of my cousins. Another one of my goals for 2010. Spending time with family! :) I'll be sure to take lots of pictures so I can share them with you!!!

Have a wonderful day!!!

Wedding Woes at 14 Weeks Out

Nothing like receiving daily updates reminding you that you have so many days before the big day. Take this morning for instance. I log on to my Email and there's an update from a Wedding Website that tells me that I have "107 days before the Wedding". I log on to that website itself and right there on the home page is a huge flashing banner that's staring me in the face telling me I have 107 days to get all my un-checked projects done. (Which, by the way, according to this website amounts to 372 items to do and 150 items over due ~ lucky me)

Um....okay....do ya need to rub it in my face that I'm sooooo behind?!?

I've had several people ask me what I'm going to do, personally, for our OOT Bags. (Out of Town Bags) Well, we're not doing OOT bags so to speak since everyone cruising with us are essentially Out of Towners. :) We're doing Welcome Bags. Here's a photo of the bags we've got (as of right now....but I may change my mind.....)

Sorry that the lighting in the photo is off, but I'm not a very good picture taker! :) In the bags, we're going to have an assortment of things. Here's a list of what we're putting in them (the stuff crossed off is the items we've already purchased):

Trial Sizes of:

• 
  
  Hand Sanitizer


• 
  
  Kleenex


• 
  
  Advil and/or Tylenol


• 
  
  Shout Wipes


• 
  
  Tums


• 
  
  Sunscreen


• 
  
  First Aid Kits


• 
  
  Extension Cord


• 
  
  Night light


• 
  
  Room Deoderizor


• 
  
  Sewing Kit


• 
  
  Playing Cards


• 
  
  Travel Mugs


• 
  
  Gum


• 
  
  Crystal Light Packetts


• 
  
  Snacks ~ Raisins, Crackers, Beef Jerky, Pretzels, Gum, etc.


• 
  
  Some sort of Survival / Hangover remedy Kit :)

Also inserted in the bags will be a Welcome Brochure, Photo Share Card, Wedding Day Timeline and maybe a "Who's Who" type of brochure...not sure about that yet.

My Photo Share Card and Wedding Day Timeline Card was created for me by an awesome DW Bride and I absolutely love the way it turned out! Amazing! Let me share them with you!!! Please note, the colors in the photo below are really off! The greenish/blueish color is actually more of a Caribbean / Tiffany Blue, and the other is more of a Fushia color.

Of course, these pictures do not do the real thing justice at all! I love, love, love the way these turned out and am excited to be using these come April, May and June! :)

I will be making tags for the Welcome bags, and I think I'm just going to use our Monogram for the tags. Nothing fancy or anything, but just something cute and simple.

So today, after my butt kicking session with Jillian Michaels, I will be devoting the remainder of my day to doing nothing but Wedding Related tasks. Heck, I even think I need to make a run to Starbucks ~ because you know a little Caramel Frappicinno ALWAYS helps you think better. :)

Enjoy your Monday everyone!!!

Ahh....Football Sunday 2010 ~ Do or Die Games

Yes I represent the Pittsburgh Steelers! :)

How does a gal raised in Hawaii who ventured out to California become a Steeler fan?!? Um...good question. All I know is that while I was growing up, my mother was a DIE HARD football fan. Her team was the San Francisco 49er's. We spent many a Sundays watching 49er football and eating some wonderful food. Many times it was just her and I. I think know this is where I get my knack for whooping and hollering with the best of them!

For those of you who don't know me, I am the ultimate football fan! I get totally into it ~ it never siezes to amaze even some of my closest friends! You know...when we're at our local Sunday hangout and there's 'newbies' around, they tend to look at me in the weirdest way when I'm yelling out "GET 'EM, GET 'EM" or "WOO HOO". And believe me when I say that I'm yelling out. I have no shame! I love Football and I love my Steelers.

I have to admit ~ I did cheer on the 49er's in my Junior High / High School days. Come on.... I lived in the Bay Area. It was either the Oakland Raiders or the San Francisco 49er's. Although I lived in a City right next door to Oakland, the 49er's were a better team back then. But then, for some unknown reason I became of fan of the Pittsburgh Steeler's. I've never looked back. 23 years later I am still a devoted Steeler fan!! And darn proud of it!!!

Today is the last regular season game for all teams. Today is the "big" day ~ do or die ~ so to speak for not only the Steeler's but many other teams who are hoping to gain a spot in the post season play offs. It may be slim pickin's for the reigning Super Bowl Champs, but pulling off a win today with the help of a couple of other teams losing, we could untimately pull it out!

With that being said....I'm off to go bake some goodies for my Football Buddies! Today I think I'll do some cupcakes and ice them in Black and Yellow! :) I'll definitely post a follow-up with pictures of said cupcakes along with the results of todays games...... *keep your fingers crossed for my team*

New Beginnings and T Minus 110

Happy 2010!! I hope everyone brought in the New Year safe!!

As for Brian and I, we had 7 friends over for an evening of food and fun! We decided to keep it low key and it was so much fun. We watched the movie "Public Enemies" ~ with Johnny Depp. I was actually surprised that there were a couple of us who really didn't know the history of John Dillinger and "Baby Face" Nelson or "Pretty Boy" Floyd and their notorious but famous history back in the Great Depression. Very interesting!!! Even the kiddos were into it!



Mmmmm Oreo Truffles. Yes, I cheated on this a little bit. I was distracted by a movie we were watching while simultaneously making these. So finally, I gave up and decided to just leave them un-coated! Oh well, they were still DELICIOUS!!! Not to mention gone by the end of the night!!!



There was even some male bonding going on after midnight! The kiddos had been running around blowing on their party favor horns and ringing some bells, shouting and whooping and hollering "Happy New Year" all around our building! This brought out our next door neighbor....opps. It was all good. He was just wanting to wish us a Happy New Year and join in on the excitement!!! In this photo, our good friend Adam is on the left, Brian is in the middle and our neighbor on the right.



Then it was Wii Bowling time! And can I just tell you how much fun it was? It was so much fun ~ and to think, I didn't even have one drop of alcohol at all! :)

So, who came out the winner when all was said and done?!? Yes, little 'ole me!!!! Woo Hoo!!!

I really enjoyed spending the evening at home with close friends! It was bittersweet in some aspects because I wished I was spending the time with family as well. Due to the distance factor, I know it's better and safe that my kiddo's didn't travel the hour and a half one way to join us in the celebration; nor was is feasible for us to spend New Years Eve in Minnesota with Brian's family, but being around close friends made up for it! It's rewarding to have such close friends to be able to share our milestones and memories with!

Today I re-start a past relationship with Jillian Michaels. Yes, I'm going to be seeing her every.single.day 6 days out of the week! I started her "30 day shred" program several months back, but just gave up. Not this time! I'm dedicated to devote 6 days to her starting today! (Honestly though, I have to admit that I can't seem to find the CD, but I'm determined to locate it today!!)

Today, I also start cooking healthy meals for us. The biggest thing for me to learn how to do is to not cook so much! I'm used to cooking dishes that is for maybe 4 people and it's just Brian and I at home. Needless to say we have tons of left-overs ~ which Brian generally takes for lunch the next couple of days then the rest gets thrown out. I want to learn how to cook meals for two. That way we don't waste anything!

Another goal of mine for 2010 (lifestyle change wise) is that I want to be more Eco-Friendly! I want to really focus on contributing to making the world a better environment for us! I have a very good friend who has an amazing Blog titled Eco-Friendly and Frugal which she shares very informational and educational tips! She has wonderful product reviews and often times awesome Give-Aways.

I've found some very frugal ways to save on everyday household cleaning supplies from another great blog titled The Good Wife ~ clicking her link takes you to her post where she shares all of her recipes for making your own frugal cleaning supplies.

I'm definitely going to use the wealth of information these two ladies share and live 2010 Eco-Friendly and Frugal!

T Minus 110

Yes ~ the big day is 110 short days away. Amazingly enough I am still behind!!!! As you all know, I've been in what I call a 'wedding rut' the last 2 to 3 months. I put everything wedding related on the back burner for some reason; I just wasn't into dealing with it. I'm slowly but surely coming out of said 'rut' and I am going to get off my behind and get things moving along!

Yesterday while out on our date day, I found some awesome Lindor Chocolate Truffles that I am going to put in the Welcome Bags for our cruising guests. It was a great start to gettting back on the track in the wedding planning process. Baby steps......

Oh.....another great wedding related task that's being accomplished (albeit not by me ~ but getting accomplished nonetheless) is CAKE TASTING!!! Remember, one of our AHR's (At Home Receptions) is in Minnesota....and yes, we live in California. So............. my awesome friend Jaye (who happens to be the author of Eco-Friendly and Frugal) is currently visiting family in Rochester, Minnesota for the holidays. Where exactly do Brian's family and friends live in Minnesota?!? Whoa.......Rochester. Where exactly is our Minnesota reception going to be? Yes, Rochester! And so the lovely Jaye has so graciously set up some cake tasting appointments!! She, along with Brian's sister-in-law got to taste several different cakes from The Gingerbread House in Rochester! I am so excited!! AND, they have another appointment today from another bakery! Woo Hoo! So far, the French Vanilla cake with Fresh Strawberries seem to be the hit! (My favorite of course!)

I know, I know, everyone asks me: "Are you making your own wedding cake since you do that for a living?" And my answer to that would be that I would LOVE to, and I am most certainly doing it for our local reception here in California, however for our Minnesota one, most definitely not! There is no way possible I could create exactly what I would like to have with only going to Minnesota 3 days prior to the event! It's stressful enough having to plan the reception across the thousands of miles to begin with!!!!!

So yeah....I suppose things are getting done. Maybe at a slow pace, but they're getting done.

Please take the time to look at my Verse of the Day today. Maybe make it a daily thing every day. I know that sometimes just reading something uplifting can have a huge impact on your day. :)

Have a great Friday and Happy New Year everyone!!