AMF has a FREE bowling program for kids this summer. From May 30th-September 5th children who are registered for the program can bowl 2 FREE games EVERY DAY.
It's a great way to spend some time with the kids without spending money.
They also have a pass for $27.95 that is good for 2 games per day for up to 4 adults when you go with a child registered for the free bowling.
I promise to send something handmade to the first 5 people who leave a comment here. They must, in turn, post this and send something they make to the first 5 people who comment on their post. *The rules are that it must be handmade by you and it must be sent to your 5 people sometime in 2011*
This has been floating around facebook and I think it's a really cute and fun idea and I would love to participate but I wanted to expand on it a little bit since I make things for my facebook friends all the time.
This is open to all of my readers. Regardless of where you are located.
I won't be taking requests but so that you have an idea of things you may receive: I make jewelry, keychains, hand embroidered gifts, photography gifts, drawings, and stuffed animals.
In your comment be sure to include the following:
- A link to your post with the same offer.
- Your email address so that I have a way of contacting you.
- Your favorite color.
This is my grand finale cake. The Wilton Cake Decorating Basics class was a lot fun. I met some nice people, and learned some new techniques all at the same time. This cake isn't perfect. I have not perfected the leveling and icing of the cake itself. I'm still very happy with how it turned out considering that these were the first roses I ever made. Practice will definitely help and I am excited about what my next cake will look like.
I plan on taking the next two classes as well, so stay tuned for more Wilton Cake Decorating.
At this week's class we got to move on to a cake.
YAY!
I had an exceptionally long work day on Tuesday and was in no mood to bake my cake for Wednesday so Lord Hill, being the awesome hubby that he is, baked the cake for me. Double YAY!
In case you don't remember, you can check out THIS post to see what this cake was supposed to look like.
This is my before. Notice that there are not that many crumbs in the frosting. If I were smart, I would have done a second coat of frosting over this, but to be honest, I was way too tired and way too lazy. The secret to not getting crumbs all over your cake is quite simple... Don't let your spatula touch the actual cake. It should only touch the frosting/icing. This means use more frosting than you think you need. It will look great, and taste delicious so the extra calories will totally be worth it.
Before.
Now, I am aware that my cake did not come out quite as nice as the picture but I think with some practice I could definitely do it. Also, my icing was still cold from being in the car and was not quite as soft as it should have been so it looks a little lumpier and was a little harder to do than it should have been. All in in all I am still happy with my final product.
"LOTE" is not a typo. It's a "thing" with Lord Hill and I. I figured since he baked the cake I would make it special for him.
Stay tuned for next week's post where I show you my attempt at making cupcakes that look like this:
Okay so this post is about a week and a half late. I appologize for that, but there is a lot going on in the Hilliverse these days.
The first week of the course you don't actually decorate a cake. You decorate cookies. Which I, being the lazy gal I am, waited till the last minute to bake and then totally forgot about them. This is why it's good to take the classes with a friend. My good friend Linda brought enough cookies for us to share.
Let me give you a tip before I show you our cookies....
The Wilton 50 piece caddy does NOT have everything you will need for Cake Decorating Basics. I wound up spending quite a bit more on individual things that I needed because the lady at register was mistaken when she told me it would be fine. Personally, I'd rather have the caddy and all the extra pieces b/c I will use them all eventually, but it was a bit annoying to not know I'd have to spend more money in the end.
Teasers:
I've completed 2 of the 4 Wilton cake decorating classes. Pictures coming soon.
I can finally see my bedroom floor. Pictures coming soon.
Someone called me a genius at work, and I actually enjoy my job. Details coming soon.
Jazzy is now over 7lbs and adorable. I got her a whole wardrobe for less than $20. Pictures coming soon.
I got a new cell phone... Review coming soon.
I also promise to post pictures from Halloween.
CSNStores.com contacted me about doing a review for them. I'm very excited about this and that is coming soon. Definitely before Thanksgiving so please stay tuned.
Tell me at least one thing that has been going on in your life this past month.
Halloween is my favorite holiday. I look forward to it year round, and some even say I dress like it's Halloween every day.
I have always wanted to be a witch. Not the kind from The Craft, although that is an awesome movie that I know every word to, but the old school pointy hat, black cat, making potions by candle light kind of witch.
I accomplished the first part a few years ago when I got Petey. He's my little Halloween Cat. This is him just a few moments ago. Isn't he the cutest?
Anyway, the point of this post was that, while I'm not a witch, Halloween lets me pretend I am. With this simple craft that I did today you can pretend along with me.
I took 2 antique spice racks (yes, I collect spice racks and bottles. It's a little bit of an obsession) and turned them into potion racks!
This isn't the finished product, but it gives you a good idea of what I did and I promise after trick or treating I will post a completed project photo.
The rack on the right and the one in the photo right above this, is the "dry rack" this is what it includes:
Top Row Left to Right:
Hamburger Spice and Crushed Red Pepper Flakes: Dragon Scales
Onion Powder: Mummy Dust
Kosher Salt - Children's Tears
Cloves - Bone of Bat
Chilli Powder - Dried Virgin's Blood
These are my measuring spoons (dash, pinch etc) however I replaced those with rubber cockroaches.
Bottom Row Left to Right:
Bay leaves - Frog Skin
Fennel - Maggots
Chocolate Sprinkles - Rat Poop
Mustard Seeds - Eye of Newt
Mix of bay leaves, Fennel, Chili Powder - Zombie Flesh
Ground Black Pepper - Hallowed Ground
The other rack is going to be wet ingredients as well as completed potions which will be accomplished by adding different beverages to the bottles and/or water with food coloring.
I haven't come up with all of them yet but some of the names will be:
Love Potion #1
Love Potion #13
Black of Night
Old Hag's Cackle
Scream of Fright
Zombie Drool
Dragon's Blood
Invisibility
Beauty
Melted First Snow
Liquid Courage
Add some cobwebs and voila! You have a great centerpiece for your Halloween Party. If I were having an actual party, I probably would have tried to use ice cream toppings in the jars and served a build your own sundae bar where the guests could make their own evil potions of yumminess. The liquid cabinet would probably be a lot of fun with alcohol that guests could drink as shots.
If you could have a magic potion, any magic potion, what would you want it to be/do?
I'm so excited! I finally went and actually signed up for the class. I splurged and bought the caddy instead of the Decorating Basics kit b/c I had a 50% off coupon and figured it was a good deal. The lady at the register said it had everything I'd need for the first course. WRONG. I still need to go and pick up a few tips and some parchment triangles but I think this was still a good way to go.
The way our classes are scheduled we'll be making a cake the day before Thanksgiving! How cool is that? I guess I know what I'm bringing to my family dinner this year.
Have you taken any of the Wilton cake decorating courses? I'd love to hear about it in the comments section!
I finally found someone to take the Wilton cake decorating class with! We'll hopefully be taking it in November. I can't wait! It'll be just in time for me to make something fabulous for Thanksgiving and the holidays. Maybe I'll even make myself a fabulous birthday cake.
Something you may not know about me is that I am very big into horoscopes and fortune telling. I'm very sensitive when it comes to the paranormal and I find comfort in the stars.
I have been very stressed about my job situation, obviously, but now, I'm feeling a bit better. I read every horoscope I could find for the month, did a quick card reading for myself, and had some very telling dreams. Everything basically pointed in the following direction and if I had looked at it sooner I wouldn't have been caught so off gaurd....
August Horoscope 2010 - Sagittarius For What it's Worth
Phase one of the great planetary transformation that started in the fall of 2008 is over, and now we're off on phase two. The onset of radical Uranus' opposition to strict Saturn came with the collapse of financial institutions that still has us reeling, as this aspect just ended last month. But now Jupiter and Pluto join the party to heat up rhetoric, cast thick fingers of blame or, hopefully, lead to real reform for individuals and organizations. On August 3, inflationary Jupiter's tense square to potent Pluto opens eyes wide to abuses and corruption. Yet, the individual work we face is to question our beliefs while recognizing that accommodating other points of view, even ones we hate, is a key to human survival.
Aggressive Mars joins with Jupiter and Pluto on August 4 to intensify emotions with feelings of urgency and an inclination to fight. But, as usual, the enemy is us; our fears and prejudices, anger and frustration are not meant to fuel fights against others, but to motivate individuals to clean up their own lives. If you're willing to make major changes in behavior, this is a great time to do it.
Courage and creativity are keys to pulling us out of the shadows, shining new lights of potential on our lives. The New Moon in expressive Leo on August 9 plants seeds of leadership in everyone. It is time to be heroic by acting with love and generosity when time, money or energy are in short supply. Tapping into the nobility in our hearts brings out the confident side of ourselves and increases our capacity to solve problems. August 16 brings a reality check as pragmatic Saturn opposes hopeful Jupiter. It's time to take a good hard look at goals to see if they're off track or impossible to reach. Making adjustments to overcome short-term problems is worth the effort, so patience is recommended.
Mental Mercury turns retrograde on August 20, beginning its three-week backwards period when extra attention to details and communication is vital. Mix-ups with messages and difficulties with equipment and travel can be avoided by double checking details and tying up loose ends.
Sober Saturn's stressful 90-degree square to Pluto on August 21 reinforces the seriousness of these times and the necessity to recognize where holding on to a person, practice, job or attitude costs more than it's worth. Learning to grow by letting go isn't an easy lesson, but can be a very rewarding one.
EDIT: WOW. I know sometimes people post their daily ramblings the night before on purpose, and I usually schedule some of my posts to go live at 12:01AM but I honestly thought today was Wednesday when I wrote this post. It's not. It's only 10:00PM EST now and I posted this about 20 minutes ago. OOOPS.
I will admit I did not work out today. In fact, I indulged in eating one of my favorite comfort foods...Cheez-It crackers . Mmmmm
However, I did get a good workout this weekend.
In case you couldn't tell from last week's Friday 5! I spent this past weekend in the Hamptons.
Most of my long time readers will surely have noticed that I love to go fishing and pretty much enjoy fish in general. This weekend consisted of a lovely all day fishing trip with my dad and Lord Hill.
My arms and shoulders and back are still sore from all the lifting and other tasks involved in fishing.
You know how I've been complaining about not getting any keepers and a few of you have looked at pictures from previous trips and said "Wow that's a big/nice sized fish!" and I've basically laughed it off?
This is why...
This is what a keeper sized fluke looks like in NY this side of the Hudson River.
Workout Wednesdays may become Work Search Wednesdays in the very near future. I hope you'll stick around.
In the meantime... how did you work out or burn some extra calories this week?
I have been thinking about a LOT lately. In fact I've been feeling slightly overwhelmed.
I took the plunge and contacted a company about doing a review for them, more info on that tomorrow though. I'd really like to get more involved with giveaways, not b/c I want free stuff for me (though admitedly that's always fun) but because I'd like to get my readers things I think they could use.
For example, I'm not doing a giveaway, but I am reviewing a book that I contacted a publisher about b/c I feel that it really fits the tone of my blog and anyone reading it might be really interested in the book. I want to get that info out there with more info than just a link and a "maybe this would be cool" type of approach.
If I try a cleaning or cooking product I'd like to be able to offer at least one of my readers the same chance...
I just don't really know how to get involved. I'm not sure I have enough followers, or fans, or "likes" or whatever it's called.
I don't know how to get people to follow my blog on the networked blog thing. I feel like it looks ridiculous with just me on there. I should take it down, but if I take it down then no one can add themselves to it.
I don't know how to pitch myself to a company. Or how to promote myself in general. I need a giveaway/review blogger to take me under their wing.
In the meantime I did manage to finally make the button I've been whining about for weeks. It's simple but after cropping my header so many times for blog hops I realized it was exactly what I was looking for. I even learned how to add the "grab" box under it to my side bar...so, go ahead, grab it!
Aside from my blogging thoughts, I am also working on a fabulous Zombie related website. My dear friend Sara and I are going to help the world prepare for, defend during, and rebuild after the zombie pandemic. It will be epic. I hope.
I also started the local chapter of the Zombie Research Society (also with Sara) and I'm trying to get that off the ground.
While being a forum admin for ZombieSafeHouse.net
I have a lot on my plate. I NEED projects otherwise I get bored rather easily. This time though, I wonder if maybe I have too many projects. Then I realize, no, it's not that, it's that very few people understand why I'm doing any of these projects in the first place. The lack of support is what's making my situation feel so overwhelming.
Perhaps you, my dear readers, can help with the first portion. Give me your tips, your guides, your words of wisdom. Take me under your wing. If you're a new blogger, maybe we can huddle together. Let's support eachother. Help eachother.
If you're in to zombies, let me know. I could use some help on that front as well.
What do you have on YOUR 'plate' right now? How do you cope when you start to feel overwhelmed?
There was more fishing this past weekend. No keepers but I did manage to catch one that wasn't too small... My arms are always sore for days after a good fishing trip.
I have been doing major water changes for the Freds all week long so my arms are really feeling the burn today. I've been using a 4gallon bucket and having to fill it several times back and forth. Hopefully it'll start to tone my arms as well.
Once again I spent Wednesday fishing. This time it was just my dad, Lord Hill, and I. It was a much more relaxing trip this time around. The weather was amazingly perfect. The fish were biting, not as good as last week but there was some action. No keepers...
My workout consisted of lugging equipment to and from the boat and fighting with giant horse shoe crabs and some fish.
Dad's big catch of the day. Not as big as last week but still a nice fish, and in NJ it would have been a keeper.
Lord Hill caught a few baby fish, this was one of many.
He also caught a nice sized fish. About 18 inches - again a keeper in NJ but not in NY.
My fabulously large prehistoric creature which is actually one of very few living fossils...the Horseshoe Crab.
(The horseshoe crab is also on several endangered species lists and it is unlawful for most people to possess them. They are used for medical research and help save human lives but are always released after testing.)
Lord Hill catching yet another fish. No fair.
The men trying to fix our engine troubles. We were stuck for a little while there. Thankfully they got it started. I had no interest in adding "Paddled boat back to shore" to my workout post today.
That's it for now... more photos of the two fishing trips will be getting there own post.
Last Weds my dad, my 11 year old niece, Lord Hill and I rented a little boat and went fishing for Summer Flounder aka Fluke.
This was the biggest fish we my dad caught. It was 19 inches. 2 inches shy of the "keeper size" It was a shame b/c it was a gorgeous fish. If we were in NJ it would have been a keeper.
We're heading out on the boat again tomorrow. This time it'll just be dad, Lord Hill, and myself. I can't wait!
Today's post will have to be a short one as I am still feeling the effects of today's activities.
Today's workout was super fun. Lord Hill, my daddy, my niece, and myself all went fishing! We rented a small boat on the South Shore and had a fabulous day. We had to carry all of the equipment from the car down to the boat. My dad even looked surprised when he realized how much heavy stuff I had thrown in my bag to carry down.
Add to that all of the fighting with the fish and trying to stay balanced on the boat and all of the holding on for dear life while my 11 year old niece drove, plus carrying everything BACK to the car I'd say it was a pretty good workout!
In every life there comes a time to discover one's own strengths and weaknesses. For Carla, this journey will take her from the working world of Manhattan to the islands of the Caribbean, and back to her childhood at the Montauk seashore. Fate will play its hand in her life, and in the life of Norwegian sea captain Erik Andreassen. In the span of a year, the choices they make will shape their lives forever.
Find it new on Amazon for $4.98 or less. Used copies start at $0.40
Find it on Barnes and Noble for $13.50
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I recently joined a book club full of newly wed local woman who I have come to call my dear friends. The first book I read as part of the club was Neither Sand Nor Sea by Kathleen Kubik. Kathleen happens to be related to one of the girls in our book club and we had the pleasure of having her at our meeting. Kathleen was fabulous and everything I had hoped she would be right down to the fabulous frames of her glasses which I wanted to steal.
I LOVE to read. It's a passion of mine that is ranked right up there with zombies.
With that said, I'm also pretty picky about what I read. I was a little apprehensive about reading a book with a beach on the cover because as much as I love the beach it seemed a little... girly for me. But I figured, hey, what the heck, I'm trying to be more lady like, I"ll give it a chance.
I am so glad I did.
This book is about a year in the life of a young woman around the same age as myself named Carla Montgomery. Carla faces many struggles over the course of the year with work and with men and with personal issues from her past. The book is strong, well written and touching. I laughed, I smiled, I sighed knowingly, I pleaded her to "STOP!" at certain points but most importantly this book made me cry.
It's not a sad book, it's just written in such a way that you feel what Carla feels. The author did a fabulous job at capturing the voice and spirit of this young woman on her journey. The tears are important because I am not one of "those" girls. I don't cry while watching the Hallmark Chanel, I might even laugh at girls who do.
This book touched me in a way that has quickly landed it on my list of favorite reads. It was a cleansing cry, a cry for my mother, for me, for all women who know the pain of heartache whether it be from the loss of a loved one or a broken heart.
Please, read this book. Take it to the beach, read it by the pool, tuck it in the cabinet in your bathroom for all I care... just read it.
