Muffins!

 After moving out on my own I discovered a lover for baking.  I'm not sure why.  Growing up I never had a desire to bake, cook or do anything in the kitchen except sneak crackers when nobody was looking.  I found that food always tasted better when prepared by the loving hands of my mother.
  But when you move out, you don't come home to the smell of fresh made brownies, or leftovers in the fridge without having to prepare it in the first place. You don't have the opportunity to bat your eyelashes and say,
              "...but you’re my favorite mommy, and you make it so good!" I tried urging my mother.
But nope! You just have yourself, or Starbucks pastries when the occasion calls for it.  So I took on muffins. I started with a simple Banana muffin first. Turned out ok. Then I tried again.  I got better.  Then my confidence started growing and began tip-toeing out of my comfort zone.  I did Pumpkin Pancakes with an Apple Cider Syrup! I even did Pot Roast!  But my most recent experiment was so that I could take something to "Iron Chef Secret Ingredient: Almonds" Day.  I scoured Allrecipes.com and found one that sounded delightful!!  Pumpkin Cream Cheese filled Muffins with a Butter Pecan and Almond Crumble topping. Yeah! That's right! I choose that!! 
   Now, pretty much everything I've been baking with has involved Pumpkin. Some may think it's because I like Pumpkin, but not. In fact, I'm really not the biggest fan of it.  But to me, Pumpkin means Holidays! It means the seasons changing, the weather cooling off and the wind kicking up...blowing reddish yellow leaves around.  It means holiday movies full of family values; The Walton marathons; Miracle on

34th Street

on Thanksgiving night and Family Channel classics like The Christmas list. It means tradition; my family coming together.  And as my family knows...these things are very important to me.  I must be in the spirit.
   Not only does my baking help prepare me for the holidays, it relaxes me. And I enjoy it!! Who knows...maybe one day I'll be a famous Muffin Maker!!

Lalaloopsy!

  When I was younger, (and when I say younger I of course mean a couple of years ago) I had some difficulty finding the right words to say.  I knew what I waned to say, but somehow that ONE WORD that made the whole sentence have a point was always the one that got trapped in my brain and refused to come out!  So, to compensate this issue I created a new word!

                Wooie
 Seems simple right? Maybe a little silly.  But it caught on and spread like wildfire through my family. Everything was Wooie. Though as the years passes, so did wooie. Its uses became less and less frequent and only uttered when my parents really get stuck with their words.  I had grown out of Wooie.

  Retail can be draining, especially around the holidays and for me that can get extreme.  so we have to find joy in the little things as they spring our way.  Recently I was helping this adorable young mother find the right doll for her daughters Christmas gift.  She was looking for a certain Lalaloopsy doll.      Right?! that's what I said!   She assured me it was "the next big thing!!". But she didn't realize there were about 10 different versions of this doll and had stupidly bought the one with the elephant when the kitty was the most 'popular' one.  She handed the doll over to me and as I looked at it, I fell in love!!  It was adorable!
  Now, for anybody who has seen the movie Coraline, that's what this doll look like. Big button eyes, sewn together and on the very last stitch, LaLaLoopsy came to life!!!
  I wanted one.  I told people I wanted one reassuring them after that I was joking of course.  But it was true, I wanted one.
  So the next day work was just as crazy and stressful as normal, not to mention the fact that I had back to back interview all morning as well. During one of my trips through the hallways with an applicant, my fabulous boyfriend, Michael, as me a strange question, " Purple or Orange?"    Purple of course.  In the next passing, "Elephant or Owl?"  Elephants...they're kinda purple.  I thought nothing of these questions as the day went on until Michael excitedly pulled me aside and presented me with my very own Lalaloopsy doll called Peanut Big Top; the prankster with purple hair and an elephant. I was thrilled!!!
  It made my day. Not only did I get my doll, but I also discovered a new word to bring happiness and joy to millions, just like Wooie did!!!!
              LaLaLoopsy.
 Whenever you are sad, lonely and think work just can't get any worse....just say it. Say it and you will smile and giggle to yourself, or maybe even out loud so that people look at you strange. But just try it and see.

                                                         LaLaLoopsy :)


















Nessa, Now Your The Only One...

      This is my very first time posting!
I was always very skeptical of blogging. I never really looking into it; all I had heard were stories of celebrity-crazed individuals who seemed to have no life. But my attention was drawn to it on one of my trips to my mother's house.  We were having our usual discussions about Target, Book keeping and coconut oils when she mentioned something about,
                        "oooooh did you see Rachel's blog today???!!! Its soooo cute!".
   At this point in my life I had recently moved out of my parents home to begin my INDEPENDENCE!! However, as a result of my independentt living came a limited cash flow...huh, who would have thought it was move expensive not to live with your parents?! So this meant no Internet for me, not even on my phone because I was still stuck in the dark age with my 'brick phone'....also known as the Cricket provider.  But luckily, my Father had recently become the proud owner of an IPhone!!! an IPhone!!  (I should share my outrage that my Father was more technologically advanced than I, but best saved for another blog.)
   So, I grabbed my Dad's phone and pulled up Rachel's blog to experience all I had been hearing about. I am proud to say that Rachel's blog changed my entire perception of blogging. She made it magical through her vivid descriptions of sites, smells, memories and pictures to make you feel as though you were there!! Though this site she is able to keep her friends and family closer than ever and put everything into a whole new perspective!  I was pleased to be given the chance to be a close part of her and her families life even though I don't get to see them all the time. 
   Over the following month blogging seems to be popping up everywhere!!! I was informed by my Mother that Kelly was now a newly converted Blogger and that SHE was even considering starting one and mumbled something about 'wabi sabi'. I thought my family had gone crazy. I loved following their blogs, but I just couldn't understand how they did it. How did they find the time, the ideas, the creative writing styles. But in swooped the overactive converter, Rachel, to assure me that the hardest part of blogging was creating your title and URL, and that everything else just kinda happens.  You start seeing the humor in things and how you can put a clever little spin on life.
   The idea was planted in my mind. I started thinking to myself,
                        "this could be great for me!!!".
The more time that passed the greater the idea grew. It enveloped me. It grabbed ahold of me and got me thinking, 'i can do this'!!!

   So here I am! And Rachel, you were right. The hardest part was thinking up a blog title!