Karen Sun Hee

Making the big MOVE...Early!!!

2009-11-29T00:01:00.000-06:00

Well I have decided to make the big move a little early!! Come visit me at my new site!! http://karensunhee.wordpress.com/

I will no longer be writing on this blog...please save my new blog on your favorites.

I'm Thankful

2009-11-28T23:34:00.000-06:00

For my family

Joe and Maddie

Friends

and many more friends not pictured :)

My Thanksgiving festivities ended today with a quick trip down to Missouri to visit Joe's family. The whole weekend was wonderful to spend time with family and friends!!

Amigurumi

2009-11-10T21:33:00.002-06:00

My first Amigurumi crochet project...very rough draft...this was a bit harder than I thought!!! Another cake job under my belt. I thought this was a fun and cute cake for a 13 year old Birthday!! I joined Aspen to start working out, so far so good. Oh and Blogger is really starting to annoy me with all this layout mishaps... why won't my pics go to the center!! Too tired tonight to try to fix it.

Pictures as promised

2009-10-24T00:52:00.000-05:00

What does pink sugar, giant sprinkles, mountains of powder sugar equal...GIANT PINK CUPCAKE!!

Giant Cupcake for the Cure

2009-10-22T19:25:00.000-05:00

Everyone should go to Ephemera on Saturday October 24!!! Why?? Check our their blog Good News #3. I am going to make a giant pink cupcake and whoever donates the mosts money will get it...so go check out their store and get a cupcake!!!

Giant cupcake will have a pink vanilla liner with strawberry cake inside! Pics to come!!

Hello Comfort Food

2009-10-13T18:54:00.001-05:00

This morning I started my day off right with a 3 shot Americano (3 espresso shots, hot water, splash of milk, 1 splenda and splash of sugar free vanilla syrup). It was great...and I didn't even need any coffee at work.

Last night I prepped my Real Simple Chicken Pot Pie and did everything except add my pie crust top. When I got home tonight from work, put on the crust and popped it in the oven. The result...delish!! And other than the crust I think it was pretty healthy. I used skim milk, veggies and boiled chicken breast. If you look at the recipe, I did change a few things. Instead of dry white wine I used chicken broth and changed the veggies a bit. I served it with flakey buscuits...ahhh so good. Perfect for tonights chilly weather.

Here are my "grown up" plate. I packed up my old chipped college plates and put my new beautiful plates on the shelf. These are the large dinner plate, I have raincheck for the smaller salad plates. I got 12 plates and 8 more green ramekins from World Market for $21!! Rediculous!!! That was with my 25% off coupon but still, $19.99 is the normal price, you can't beat that. The 12 salads plates are only $16.99. They are so simple, perfect for me.

Oh and FYI

2009-10-08T19:43:00.000-05:00

As you can see in my last post I have issues with spacing and format (all the time) in Blogger so I have a Wordpress site I am working on getting going for the new year. I know thats a few months away. But I can't fix the spacing in my last post...trust me I have tried about 5 times. And it DRIVES ME CRAZY, call it OCD, call it control issues, whatever it is...drives me nuts! So come January...Hello Wordpress!!!

Missing in Action

2009-10-08T19:35:00.004-05:00

Its been a busy busy month or 2...thats why I have been MIA for so long. Lets see what have I been up to?

work (of course)
KC trip! Go State - too bad we lost by 1 pt! Boulevard tour!!! Fun!!
sick for the first few weeks of Sept. (still fighting off my cough!!)
few dinners out with friends
more work
Owen soccer game
some birthdays
little shopping
OUCH flu shot at work this week...my arm still hurts :( I am such a wimp.

Last nights meal was pulled pork sandwiches, sweet potato fries and sweet corn!! Yum, it was great! I am proud of myself, after eating out most of Sept, I cooked Mon-Wed this week.

Tonights meal wasn't homemade but it was very inexpensive! $1 all you can eat Chili at HyVee...wow...and guess what, tonight was really chilly and Chili was the perfect meal and it tasted great!

I think I am going to be very grown up this weekend and get some new plates. I went to World Market this week for a gift and found these ramekins for me!! Only $2.99 for 4 of them...and in one of my favorite colors. Time to get rid of my chipped flowery plates that I got when I went to college...uhhhh 9 years ago! I think I am going to get some simple white plates.

Worst Blogger Ever?

2009-10-06T22:56:00.000-05:00

ME!!! Wow... I have been MIA...but I will be back :) Just not right now...now I need to sleep...

1/2 My List Done, More to Come

2009-09-09T19:12:00.000-05:00

Clean
bake
~~grocery store~~
~~date night (Joe isn't aware of this but he is going to take me on a date)~~
~~dog park~~
maybe a little shopping :)
~~find my camera battery (probably find when cleaning)~~

Ok not everything off my list. But I did get a date night :) Joe and I didn't see a movie we wanted to go see but we went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse for some BBQ...It was pretty good, not as good as my fav Woody's Smoke Shack but tasty.

I didn't get to the Dog P-A-R-K either (I have to spell it out or Maddie will go crazy!! But I did finally get her out on a walk. I have been avoiding walks because of my allergies and cough. Makes me weezy...

I went to the allergist yesterday. They decided I didn't need to do allergy testing again so thats good. Family doc today...finally got some strong cough syrup...so I am getting better!!!

GO STATE!!!

Ugh boredom...

2009-09-04T21:17:00.003-05:00

Well...here I am on my first night of my looooong weekend, on the couch blogging, watching Criminal Minds (my new fav show) and eating my pepperoni calzone. I am bored out of my mind. Why I am sitting here, well instead of going to the I Cubs game with Joe and friends, I was fearful of an allergic breakout :( I kind of feel like Nancy Drew trying to diagnois myself with my allergies, a few nights ago I thought it was tomatos, which obviously I don't think its that anymore, since I devoured my tomatoey pepperoni Calzone :) I guess we will just call it medical testing, lets see what happens. But really, I think it might be my shower gel, which is weird since the breakouts started after I have used almost the whole bottle...hmm so many things...whats it going to be...Ok all this allergy talk is TMI. Here is my yummy calzone which in now in my tummy.

LOOK my couch partner fell asleep with her tongue out...too cute.

Sooo long weekend...these are my plans...CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN...that is actually what I should be doing right now, but my procrastination is getting the best of me :)

In addition to cleaning I think some baking is in order...I am thinking pumpkin cookies from Martha Stewart Cookies... they have been calling my name.

Weekend plans

Clean
bake
grocery store
date night (Joe isn't aware of this but he is going to take me on a date)
dog park
maybe a little shopping :)
find my camera battery (probably find when cleaning)

Ok enough blogging about my boring night...

The Terrible 2-7

2009-09-03T20:47:00.000-05:00

I am just complaining...negative nancy. It all started with a great dinner with my parents and brother. Now that sounds nice doesn't it, well it was :) A great time eating and talking with the fam. On my way home, I started getting really itchy....eeek...makes my skin crawl thinking about it. By the time I got home, I was full on allergy breakout!! From what???? WHO KNOWS...I don't thats for sure...its been 5 DAYS of this....FIVE days. No fun. I have been keeping track of what I eat and drink and products I use, etc, hanging out with Benadryl like its by new BFF. The allergist couldn't get me in until Friday Sept 11th...and that was because of a cancellation, otherwise it would have been October. But the best mom in the world got me in for quick visit on Tuesday, yay!! So until then, I will be the girl all drugged up on Benadryl sitting in her cube trying to keep her eyes open. But I will say my night time sleep has been wonderful, thanks Benadryl.

Other news besides this?

First ISU football game tonight...Joe is there representin'
September already!!!!! AHHH time is flying
Fall is in the air...I am thinking I might have to get out Paula Dean's pumpkin bar recipe...yum
I haven't been baking much, but that will change soon, I am sure once I am feeling better (did I mention I have had a cold for 2 weeks too, bahumbaug)

Ok next post I am sure will be much more happy and up beat!!

Grande Finale

2009-08-27T20:22:00.000-05:00

Well as August comes to an end...another fun birthday month wraps up....The grande finale this year was with my girlfriends for spa day at East Village Spa. There were plenty of massages and pedi's to keep us happy and relaxed. This was such a fun place for a get together. They were very accomadating and friendly. We ordered in lunch from Jason's Deli to be delivered. It was there before we got there! Talk about prompt great service. We ate, talked and laughed, got our spa services, then CAKE!!! YUM....Fresh Strawberry Cake from Let Them Eat Cake in Valley Junction. Yes it was as good as it sounds. No there is none left...sorry.

My girlfriends are CrAzY and I love them...they got me a Tiffany's bracelet for my birthday...ah there is nothing more fun than undoing the white ribbon of a Tiffany's box :) Makes me happy (ok sorry my superficial side was just was totally exposed, but really c'mon its fun).

Fresh From the Farm...errr Farmers Market

2009-08-27T19:32:00.003-05:00

A recent trip to the Des Moines Farmer's Market produced some corn and purple potatoes! Purple potatoes, never heard of them...but they were good :)

That night I made some Bulgogi.

soy sauce
sugar
rice vinegar
saki
sesame oil
onion
garlic
fresh ginger

I marinaded the thinly sliced beef for about 4 hours, then threw it on the grill. I roasted the purple potatoes with some olive oil, salt and pepper. Then steamed up the corn. It was a great meal :) will have to repeat soon...maybe add some sticky rice next time.

More?

2009-08-20T21:11:00.000-05:00

Ok...after this one... I will only have...hmmm maybe 2 more Birthday Blogs :)

Yesterday a few of us from work and other people went to Centro for dinner in celebration of my birthday and Melissa's (coworker) birthday. Dinner was wonderful! I hadn't been there in years. They do a lot of wood oven cooking and Joe is not a fan of that style therefore we don't go very often. I had Stuffed Chicken Breast "Wood-grilled chicken breast stuffed with spinach, ricotta cheese and LaQuercia prosciutto Americano, finished with Alfredo and roasted grape tomatoes, served over fettuccine" and a glass of Summer Sangria. It was a very nice evening. I got to meet a few new people and hang out with good friends.

2 of my friends bought me my perfume that I was needing more of!!! YAY...its one of those things you really want and will probably buy...but hate going out and spending the money, it was perfect timing.

More Celebrations

2009-08-20T21:02:00.000-05:00

Birthday month continues...Monday I had the day off to relax. I ended up making homemade pot stickers and crab rangoons for all my work friends. I never want to make them for a normal food days because I smell like fried food afterwards. Since I had the day off, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity.

That night we went to Dave and Amy's for dinner. Amy made Korean BBQ ribs!!! We also had some steamed veggies, sticky rice, seaweed, crab rangoons and pot stickers....what a feast! I didn't take any pictures! Here are what the ribs looked like, I got the pic from this website.

Birthday DMI Style

2009-08-18T20:36:00.000-05:00

On Sunday night, my actual Birthday... Joe got me a card and some Milano cookies...my FAV!! For dinner he went and got some Chicken Pad Thai from Cool Basil...then guess what?! BIRTHDAY CAKE REMIX ICE CREAM for dessert...how yummy was it? I "gotta have it" size, thats how yummy. But you will be happy to know even I couldn't eat it all :)

Birthday Chicago Style

2009-08-18T19:37:00.001-05:00

So it was my Birthday! Joe and I hit the road with Holly and Jess and headed to Chicago on Friday to visit Stacie and Marcus. We got in pretty late so after some talking we all went to bed so we could get up early. Saturday, Joe and I had tickets to the Cubs game. Boy was it HOT!! We both got a little sun...and some free visors...how fun!

Holly, Jess and Stacie went out on a sail boat on Lake Michigan for the Boat and Air Show (jealous!). After the game we met up with them and went to Millenium Park. I had been wanting to go to see Cloud Gate...the bean!!! After that we headed over to Lou Malnati's Pizzeria for some delish Chicago Style deep dish 'za...YUM so good...sorry no pics because we gobbled it up!!

It was a super fun weekend!! I had a great time with some great friends...a perfect way to celebrate. Notice the Fisheye made an appearance this weekend,

Karen and Joe's Throw Down...watch out Bobby Flay

2009-08-05T21:15:00.000-05:00

I decided to test out my almond butter with a banana. It was pretty good. The almond butter is really really sticky. I have been enjoying it on my whole grain english muffins for breakfast at work.

So my friend got a new house so we had a mini housewarmning over at her place this past weekend. Another one of my good friends was also in town. I decided to pull out my new Martha Stewart Cupcakes book and whip up some tasty treats :) I made the Tres Leches cupcakes with cool whip and cinnamon on top. Look at the 3 milk mixture just sitting there. Its hard to believe that all that milk soaks into the cupcake. The cupcake had a very interesting texture. I am not sure if I was a fan or not, but my friends really seemed to like them!

I also made Marble Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Frosting.. yum, I think these were my favorite. You can't go to girls night without chocolate!

As you know Joe and I LOVE Tasty Tacos!! So we have been trying to make homemade Tasty Tacos for while now. On The Food Network, Bobby Flay has that show where he challenges cooks that have mastered a certain signature dish. So one of the episodes we happened to catch was the Puffy Taco Throw Down. We went out and bought the Maseca that Bobby used and attempted to make the puffy tacos. They were not really what we were looking for but still good. It was like a very fresh corn tortilla, we decided we need to be using flour for sure. So for now that is 2 attempts (we have tried a different recipe before) with many more to come, until we figure it out :) And I think Bobby might have us beat on Puffy Tacos.... my tacos didn't really puff too much.

Cinnamon and Sugar, Whats Not to Like?

2009-07-28T20:24:00.000-05:00

First I would like to point out my record high # of post this month. Second I would like to point out my birthday month is only 3 days away....thats right I said birthday MONTH!

When I got home from work today, I made some fruit salsa and cinnamon and sugar chips for Joe's sister.

This is probably one of my favorite food day treats to make. Everyone loves it! I have adapted this from the Better Homes & Garden cookbook. Below is the fruit I usually use, above I omitted the orange and added blueberries.

Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon and Sugar Chips
1 pint of fresh strawberries
1 can of crushed pineapple (drain the juice)
4 fresh kiwis
1-2 oranges

Cut up all the fruit into small cubes and mix! Thats it!!

For the chips, you will need a package of small flour tortillas, melted butter, cinnamon and sugar.

Mix about 1 cup of sugar with 1 tablespoon of cinnamon.

Brush the melted butter on a tortilla and sprinkle with the sugar mix, then take kitchen scissors and cut the tortilla, like you would a pie, I cut into 8 pieces. Place on baking sheet, butter/sugar side up (I used parchment) and bake until light golden brown and crispy. About 350 degress for 7-10 minutes. Bake as many chips that you think you'll need. Enjoy!

After making this I ran to the store because I never went this weekend and was OUT of food. Since I have been out of food, I have been eating at work, and its hard to make healthy choices at work! I found some yummy looking white peaches and stocked up on some staple food items. I did try something new tonight, inspired by a new blog I've been reading. I picked up some almond butter. I love PB and I love almonds, so almond butter... probably gonna like it! I had to sneak a taste before dinner and to be honest the verdict is still out. I think tonight I am going to try it with a banana. I will let you know if it becomes a favorite!

Baking Frenzy

2009-07-27T21:00:00.000-05:00

Well, I got some new books that I am really excited about. I picked up 3 books that I have been really wanting at the 1/2 Price Book Store. What a GREAT deal, they were only about $35 for all 3. As far as I can tell, they were new. I got Martha Stewart Cookies, William Sonoma (a baking book), and Hello Cupcake. I went to go buy Martha Stewart Cupcakes there but they didn't have it, so unfortunately I bought it for full price at Barnes and Noble. Not that I wouldn't buy it for full price but 1/2 price is so fun.

This weekend Joe and I went to Dave and Amy's for Jared's going away (he is going to Japan for a year) and Joe's Grandma Velma's 95th Birthday!! Let me repeat that 95! Velma really likes Coconut Cream Pie, so I went out to Allrecipes.com and found one that I liked. I think it turned out pretty well and no one complained. I didn't make my own crust, I used the Pillsbury refrigerated crust that is already rolled out. I LOVED it! Totally using that every time from now on for any pie I make. I did make the inside cream part and it went pretty well, I always get nervous when I have to mix eggs on the stove top. I don't want to serve scrambled eggs ;)

I did have one tiny little mishap... who knew coconut burned so easily?? I was trying to toast the coconut for the top of my pie and this is the result :)

Velma really likes Oatmeal Cookies too, so for part of her gift I made some Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, another good recipe from Allrecipes.com. They were pretty good, but I think I remember my mom's recipe being a little more moist, I will just have to find it.

Healthy eating has been going ok... 2 weeks strong. This weekend I did eat pretty bad though. I had some corn shells in the fridge from a while back so I fried them up, grilled some chicken, diced some tomatoes for pico and had a mexican feast.

Is it July?

2009-07-19T18:40:00.000-05:00

Wow the weather the past few days have been AMAZING. Really, high 70's, no humidity and the sun has been shining! Am I still in Iowa? Is it really July? This has been a great and relaxing weekend. I am really proud of myself because I ate somewhat healthy all weekend. Sometimes weekends are my downfall because I just eat whatever and I consider them my cheat days... but I didn't this weekend. I did eat a few cookies that I made. Just a few of my meals this weekend.

Whole Grain English Muffin with egg, cheese and turkey sausage.

Fresh berries

Whole wheat linguine, with chicken, tomato, asparagus, spinach, mushroom and onion. I made a sauce with reduced sodium chicken broth.

Sidenote: I don't think Joe enjoyed The Proposal, and I probably won't get to select the next one we go to. But I liked it, it was pretty cute.

I'm a con artist

2009-07-17T19:32:00.000-05:00

Yesssss!!! I used Joe's boredom to my advantage :) I am such a con artist

Joe: I'm bored

Me: Oh you want to see The Proposal?

Joe: Sure I'll go

Me: YES!!!!

Joe: Wait, what is it again?

Five minutes later...

Joe: I had my fingers crossed when I said I would go.

Me: (silence because we are going to go and I am not going to give in)

Finally...going to see a girly movie in the theatre instead of having to wait until it comes out to Redbox.

When I got home from work today, I finished up decorating the cookies I made. Then I made some yummy pizzas on Flatout Multi Grain Tortillas. I heated up my tortillas to get them a little crispy, then I layered on the goodies.

Tomato Sauce
Cherry Tomatoes
Turkey Pepperoni
Mushrooms
Onion
Spinach
Cheese and Italian seasoning

Then I baked it until crispy and the cheese was starting to brown. Sprinkled with hot red pepper flakes. YUM. Check out their website for more great ideas.

Cookies!

2009-07-17T19:12:00.000-05:00

July 18th UPDATE: Change of plans, we are no longer handing out cookies. But you guys should still check out their store sometime. I love it. They are also having their 2nd Birthday party this Thursday, July 23 from 5-9. Hmmmm now what to do about all these cookies :)

I am helping out my friends at Ephemera hand out cookies at the Farmer's Market tomorrow. I also made a few cookies for them. I had to do a little quality control :) So if you are around Des Moines go to the Downtown Farmer's Market tomorrow and come see me!

Bon Appetit!

2009-07-14T18:18:00.000-05:00

Today is day 3 of healthy eating and I must say...I am liking it and I think I am doing pretty well! It has been the littlest changes like brown rice instead of white, more fruit, more veggies, etc. I even ate out today at work with my team and I ordered healthy food..whoo hoo!! I think if I can just get used eating right it will help me in the long run, I am not getting any younger and I do have 2 wrinkles. Here are just some pictures of some of my healthy dinners :)

Serenity Now...

2009-07-12T00:04:00.000-05:00

I often find myself at work reciting the classic Seinfeld line "Serenity now!" as well as the Serenity Prayer, "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change..." Now as I think about it, they kind of contradict each other. I of course being the controlling, detail oriented, I want it "my way" type of person just wants "Serenity now!" but the latter is probably something I should work towards.

The Serenity Prayer:
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can;and wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will; That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him Forever in the next. Amen.
--Reinhold Niebuhr

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths.
Proverbs 3, 5-6

Whats new with me

Job #3 is done....the Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes survived the trip from my place to their destination. Even with highway travel, incorrect Google map directions, the heat, gravel roads....a literal trip to the boonies: aka Booneville (sorry if I offended anyone that lives there, but when you are trying to transport cupcakes with buttercream frosting on a hot and humid day...Booneville is the boonies).

I treated myself to a new and fab cup from Starbucks today! LOVE IT! Doesn't it look like the real cups they give you??!! It's insulated and will be perfect for my homemade Grande Skinny Iced Caramel Macchiato.

Looking forward to next weekend and helping my friend's from Ephemera Stationary Studio out by passing out free cookies at the Des Moines Downtown Farmer's Market... so if anyone is around next weekend, come see me and get a cookie :)

I am weirdly excited to go grocery shopping tomorrow. I don't think I have cooked a meal in about 2-3 weeks. That = a lot of eating out. Sure I have been baking A LOT, but an actual meal....um yea its been a while. Example: Exhibit A below...super late dinner...and when I say super later dinner...lets just say I ate lunch at 5

Sleep, Is it Overrated?

2009-07-09T22:18:00.000-05:00

NO...I don't think so and I am finally getting some sleep...yay... after several months of 5-6 hours each night, this past week, I have finally gotten an average of 7-8...and its been wonderful :) I don't feel horrible by noon, I am alert...ahhhh now if I could only say I am relaxed.

Tonight was girls night dinner at the always delicious Panera. My friend from work has been on maternity leave and so it was great to catch up and see her.

This weekend is baking job #3, yes I am counting!! 60 cupcakes for a Birthday party. I am making the cupcakes in the ice cream cones. Its going to be interesting to figure out of to transport all of these. They tip over easily so it might be a challenge.

4th of July Festivities

2009-07-07T19:26:00.000-05:00

Happy 4th!! What a busy fun weekend I had.

Friday, Joe and I went to his brother's house to grill out and watch the parade. Owen and Molly both got a bag full of candy at the parade. This parade is always fun each year. It really has a small town feel for it...

Saturday, We went to my friend Tang's daughter Kylie's 2nd Birthday party. More food... Nicky and I got her a scooter for her Birthday. Kylie kept flipping her foot up...too cute :) After the party Joe and I decided to go watch some fireworks.

Sunday we had Owen and Dave's Birthday party. We went and played games, grilled out, had cake and ice cream. There was a lot of golf related gift given to both Dave and Owen.

See all pictures here.

Forgetfulness results in hidden treasures...

2009-07-03T23:32:00.000-05:00

Well...I completely forgot I had a fisheye camera. I haven't used it since last fall when I went to the orchard with my friends. In fact I have some film in there now and there are 10 pics taken, so its going to be a fun surprise when I get it developed :) Can't wait. I will definitely be bringing this along to all my 4th of July festivities. Here are a few of my past fisheye pics.

July 17th side note: I forgot to take my camera to all my activities :)

Busy 10 Days...

2009-06-27T23:02:00.000-05:00

Well its been a interesting busy 10 days since my last post...Here's a breakdown:

First paying cake job is under my belt :)
Had a great Father's Day dinner with mom and dad. We had Biaggi's to go and I made German Chocolate cupcakes. YUM!
Work, work, work... a lot these past few weeks. Tons of new clients/programs at work, so busy times for us. Should be dying down starting in July as I am going to decrease my paper audits so I can focus more on phone audits. Well I guess that means I won't be slowing down since I am getting rid of work but adding work to replace it...hmmmmm
My computer kept acting up...so took it in and turns out it qualifies for Best Buys 'no lemon' policy (part of my warranty) More to come on this, will be getting a new computer shortly.
Minor car accident with a 92 year old man. Not my fault.
I think its going to be a HOT summer!!!
Joe and I have been dating for 9 years this month!!
Joe and I had a 'super' date last night - basically we fit 2-3 dates into one....dinner, art festival, tropical snow and a movie... all in one night...and that was after I worked 10 hours...

Well just wanted to fit in another mini post...more to come later :)

July 3, 2009 update!

I got my new computer... I ended up with a Dell. I was very very pleased with Best Buy's service and my warranty!!! This computer cost about $300 less than my Gateway but about 5x better, amazing what 3 years of technology will do.
Joe's insurance agent said that the man that hit me is at fault for the accident. But has been M.I.A so they can't get things settled yet :( I guess his agent and Joe's agent need to talk to him before finalizing fault.

Paying Job (for real this time)

2009-06-17T18:54:00.001-05:00

Ok, I know I have blogged in the past that I have a paying baking job...well all of them have always fallen through or have been pro bono. Yesterday I finally got to use my Giant Cupcake pan that I have been dying to try. I took my final product to work and one of my co-workers wants one for her husband's Birthday this weekend. I have a good feeling about this job (I think it will actually happen and I think currency will exchange hands!).

Making the liner was easy, thanks to this great blog I ran across the other day, Oh Sugar! Her stuff is amazing and she had great instructions on how to make the candy liner.

Baking the cake however took FOREVER!! But it finally got done. Since it baked so long I was really worried the cake would be dry. I did have a slice today and it wasn't dry at all :)

I made a 3 layer cake and stuck with Devil's Food chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream with simple colored jimmies sprinkles on top. My co-worker liked it so much, she want the exact same thing for this weekend.

Its Blooming Cookies!!!

2009-06-15T19:54:00.000-05:00

I tried my first attempt at a cookie bouquet this weekend. I used the same cookie recipe I always use (thanks Darlene) but experimented with royal frosting and flooding. I think I still prefer my old icing recipe but I enjoyed using the new flooding technique...looks like I will have to make some more cookies to experiment with :)

Celebrations

2009-06-12T17:51:00.000-05:00

Well...finally had a minute to relax tonight and get my (last) weekend documented. Last weekend was busy, I had Friday and Monday off but filled it with plenty of events and running around. Saturday with Joe's Birthday and we went over to Dave and Amy's and grilled out with the family. Joe is not much of a cake person, so I made a apple crumb pie and got some vanilla ice cream, YUM. Then we were off to Owen's last BamBam Ball game.

Sunday was my family reunion/Grandma's 92nd and John's 98th Birthday!!! I made the Birthday cake and am proud to say, it was my best one yet :) It was not lopsided and it was actually round! I did lemon with lemon buttercream and raspberry preserves. I also picked up some of my favorite cupcakes from Carefree Patisserie.

See pics all pics here.

Monday I spent studying for my INS 22 exam, which I am happy to say I PASSED, whew... So for a short week, it was a long week with plenty of making up work and meetings.

Happy Birthday Miss Molly!

2009-06-01T21:30:00.000-05:00

Joe and I went to Molly's 2nd Birthday party on Saturday. It was a great morning/afternoon spent with family. Click here to view all the pics from that day.

Sweet Endings..

2009-05-28T20:35:00.000-05:00

I had my last class from Wilton Course #1 on Tuesday night :( We learned how to do the "Wilton" rose. This time I did chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream in the middle, with vanilla buttercream on the outside. I know it might seem like A LOT of frosting in the middle...but it actually was the perfect amount. I was very proud because I finally got a tall looking cake. It was still a little lopsided...but tasted great anyways!!

I think I will enroll in the next class, everyone at work is disappointed because although its a 4 week class I only make one cake for my final.

I am really EXCITED to use my new Giant Cupcake pan. I am going to make a practice cake this weekend with it and then make one for real for my G'ma Birthday.

Long weekend...nice

2009-05-24T20:32:00.000-05:00

Yay...I love long weekends!!!

Marsh gives their employees half days before holidays so I left work around 12ish on Friday and went to Aimee's to help her make some cookies for her niece's graduation. My cookie job had gotten cancelled so we thought we would work on her cookies on Friday instead of Saturday. It took us almost 5 hours but the cookies turned out really cute!

Saturday I made cupcakes for Chommany's Birthday dinner that night. I have been really wanting to try to make Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes. I thought a Birthday celebration would be the perfect occasion. I also made chocolate buttercream for some of them.

I only have one more cake class left from my Wilton Course #1. My second cake was a white cake, that I filled with my grandma's homemade strawberry rubarb preserves. We also learned how to make these clowns. Me being a huge fan of clowns (not) didn't put any on my cake but I did practice them.

My First Cake

2009-05-12T22:47:00.001-05:00

Here is my first cake from Wilton Course #1! It's lemon with lemon buttercream filled with raspberry preserves. Can't wait to have a piece!

May??...Already!!!

2009-05-09T22:39:00.000-05:00

I finally got to planting my flowers this weekend. I keep several pots on my deck during the summer. I didn't do my upside-down tomato plant grower this year or herbs. Those didn't go so well last year so I thought I would forget about it. Maybe again sometime...Oh and don't ask me what any of these flowers are...because I don't know.

Considering that I had no plans this weekend I was pretty busy! The weather has been great...so I have been running around playing outside (golf, tennis and dog park). I made it to the Des Moines Farmers Market today, got some beautiful Lilacs, my favorite breakfast burrito and an eggroll.

I started my golf lessons at Willow Creek on Monday, May 4th. They were great fun and I really learned a lot. Unfortunately, I must have forgotten all of it because today I didn't golf so well. Good thing I have more lessons to come!

I also started my Wilton cake decorating class on Tuesday, May 4th. We didn't get to start decorating yet, but we will be this coming Tuesday. I have to make a cake, frost it and bring it to class to play with. It will be my first time using buttercream and smoothing out the frosting like a professional cake! I can't wait to see how it goes. Everyone at work was excited to hear I was taking the class because that means they get a cake every Wednesday!! Oh and PS: After reading the buttercream recipe, I have decided that buttercream = bad for you, but tastes soooo good.

Whats new with me?

I just noticed that my new hobby golf really leaves me with some horrible ugly tan lines...booo
My friend Sherry and I got our first PAYING baking job. We are making 10 dozen cookies for a graduation at the end of May. I did a wedding a few years back, but it was my wedding gift to the bride, so not sure if that counts for not.
I am going to try to keep my deck plants alive past August this year...I will just need to remember to water them.

Gangs of New York

2009-04-28T23:22:00.001-05:00

So I just saw a commercial for the movie Gangs of New York, I guess it's going to be on tv soon. It reminds me when it first came out in the theaters. I went to go see it with Joe, Jon and some other friends at the NOVA (the discount theater). Tickets were only $5 or so, and came with a pop and popcorn. Nice and cheap with my college budget! We get all settled to watch our movie, and all of a sudden the film starts melting and burning up!! It was crazy to watch on the big screen. This happens about 4 times, so we finally give up. Everyone is in line to get their money back so we wait too. Joe and I get our money with no problem. Then Jon gets there and they look at him and say, "You ate your popcorn you don't get a full refund." Poor Jon!! Everyone else ate their popcorn and got a full refund! I still have never seen the movie either, I guess nows my chance.

Golfing

2009-04-24T23:27:00.000-05:00

Well today was my first outing onto a real golf course. And it was interesting! I won't even add up my score. The first 3 holes started out a little rocky, with glares and mean mugging toward my "coach" Joe. But after a quick talk, I think he realized that I had no idea what I was doing! So with my first 9 holes down, I am ready and eager to keep practicing.

What's new with me?

I start my cake decorating class on May 5, and I can't wait!! I am eager to have a fun hobby to focus on for a while. I convinced my friend Sherry to join me, so I am excited to learn and get to spend some time with her.
Maddie just had her 5th Birthday on April 21.
My allergies are starting to act up...my eyes are itching...but its totally worth it to be spending time outside.

Happy Easter!!

2009-04-12T17:22:00.000-05:00

Spring!!

2009-03-15T13:15:00.000-05:00

Ah Spring... so happy the weather is starting to be consistantly nice! Patio season is about to begin...can't wait.

Updates on me:

not sick anymore but my cough won't go away...
work has been busy busy busy, busy=job security, so I won't complain
my working out has been sucking lately... :( I really need to get back into it
saw Confessions of a Shopaholic...story of my life, well not that bad but similar

Twitter

2009-02-22T11:26:00.000-06:00

Sooo I am a sucker for new things (at least new to me). Therefore, I now have a Twitter account. Still trying to figure it out, but thats half the fun right?!

Updates:

I am sick :(
My apartment is 65 degrees!! But slowly getting warmer, we had a few nice days and I turned off the heat, and forgot to turn it back on.
I just had cold pizza for breakfast...to lazy to get anything else
I am feeling stupid because I can't figure out Twitter on my phone

Super Bowl Sunday

2009-02-01T12:27:00.000-06:00

Yay..its here...Ok to be honest, I am not sure who is playing...all I know is that Kurt Warner is from Iowa (or something like that) and he plays on one of the teams...last I knew he was on The Rams (but Joe informed me he was traded).

But still a good reason to get together with friends...my Buffalo Chicken Dip and Bean Dip are ready to go!

Did you know that the Monday after Super Bowl Sunday is one of the most common days for people to call in sick (per Jackie). I will not be doing that since I had this conversation with my boss on Friday after work...and second...my Mom and Dad brought me up with such strong morals. Thanks Mom and Dad. :)

Blogging

2009-01-31T22:09:00.000-06:00

Well......I have never blogged before. I have had my blog account for a couple years now and have never done anything with it. I haven't really taken the time to learn how to use it, until now. I have been inspired by my friend Kari M. I love reading her updates and how everything is going and pics of Alexa! :)

What's new with me??

I have been working out! running and pilates - end goal...being healthier
I started a gratitude journal
I cleaned part of my apartment!!! (a huge accomplishment)
I went ice skating for the first time and didn't fall once, so in the spring I will have to get out my rollerblades and give them another try
Girl Scout Ice Cream is back!! YUM

Please save my blog in your favorites and I will try to update when I can...