The Cath Kidston Contest

Thank you again to everyone who takes the time to read the blog posts and I just adore your comments; I truly do!!  You make this 'ol English teacher very happy!!


First, I made a little Valentine slip with all of the entries.....each one of you can see your name!!

9 entries total

Then I folded them and put in my little spotty hearted teapot

see, there they are!!

Then, I asked the love of my life to choose one.....and he did!!

                                                 

Drumroll please...................................

and the Winner of my very first contest ever is:

               WINNER VIDEO
                     Congratulations!!!!! Your Valentine's Day surprise is on its way!!!!  Thank you to everyone who played....I will do it again really really soon!!

Would like to stay under covers this morning!

This week is so busy, busy!!  As some of you know, I've returned to work @ the school because one of my friends there went out last week for surgery, a double masectomy.  She is also having reconstructive surgery, so it may be awhile.  The school called and asked me to give Carol a call....she had wanted me to sit in for her a bit if possible. 

I couldn't say no----they really wanted me to start last Thursday but I had the baking event at the salon, so I began on Monday; I almost forgot what it was like to get up @ 5 am to be at work @ 7 or so.  I say 'or so' because I'm in the office and not in the classroom, so I don't have students waiting on me.  It's a 'different side' of the teaching world, working in the front office, but being back with all of my colleagues has truly warmed my heart this week.  They made an announcement that I had come back to help and so many have worked their way to the office to hug, laugh, catch up or just say 'hello.'  It's a wonderful group of people and I remember clearly why it was so difficult to tell them good-bye.

To top it off, Mother Nature made my morning commute rather interesting.  Temperatures dipped well below zero....this morning it was -8 on the car going in (that's fahrenheit ).  I took my camera with me so I could take all of you on my journey to work....so you could see a bit of Colorado in the winter, on a snowy, cold, and rather dark morning.....
   Well, off to bed I go; morning comes quickly! 

The somewhat frozen lake and a lonely bird in the frigid air

Off I go!!

This road was super slippery!!  Notice how many cars are out there with me!

just random part of my journey; these folks have a 'hefty' mailbox, though!

slippery!!

that is a lake in the distance---so foggy/cold

part of a little farm

I pass a lot of little farms along the way

a log cabin with organic small farm

love this entryway....always wonder 'what's up there?'

little boy waits for the bus....

a tree farm

if you could see it, this is a gorgeous horse ranch

I LOVE this barn....LOVE IT

one of my favorite houses that I pass along the way; too bad the picture is so blurry!

a cemetery on the left....almost there

Time for work!    my turn.....

So, to everyone out there....do regular breast exams, eat healthy foods, discuss with your doctor on whether or not hormone replacement is a good idea for you....and after he/she gives you his/her opinion, do some of your own research.....
Also, take deep breaths, don't hold in anger, angst, or bitterness.  Don't fill your life with stress.  Fill your life with joy!! Be thankful, count your blessings....and go tell someone how special they are.  To all of my very special readers.....thank you for following me!  Thank you for taking moments out of your day to read my words; I hope you know how grateful I am.           And, remember the contest!!!!  Friday night I pick a winner!!                                                                                               

Cupcakes and Promises

A local Salon asked me whether or not I'd consider 'trading' some services....I bake for a 2-day open house they were hosting and I get 4 services for free!  YES!!  That would be fun....I like to bake and I could do a bit of advertising as well for a 'tea service' business I've been thinking about.  More about that later if anything comes of it...I'm trying to consider other options if this bed and breakfast idea does not work out.

The table was a bit smaller than I had anticipated.....

the open-house was held on two days, Friday and Saturday....goodies were placed close to the front window to hopefully 'encourage' a few new customers to consider coming in to take a look around

I also placed out my flyers for private tea parties

the teeny-tiny cupcakes were a huge hit---I made over a hundred of those and they were all gone
I made them in three flavors: vanilla with vanilla buttercream frosting, milk choclate with kahlua buttercream, and lemon with cream cheese/lemon frosting.  I also made red velvet larger cupcakes, dark chocolate cupcakes, and some carrot cupcakes which I'll be making again this week for a vet hospital fund raiser

a quick peek at the front area of the salon; behind this wall is where the haircutstake place

Day # 2 added the lemon tarts, German raspberry bread and apricot bread; also blueberry muffins (a.k.a. popovers for Rachel), brownies, more cupcakes, and some chocolates as well

the lemon tarts were all gone when I came to take down and clean up;
each had a fresh blueberry on top

I did a 'twist' on the poppyseed bread with the other fruits

these blueberry muffins also went quickly

All in all, it went very well...............but I was exhausted!! I learned that if I ever did this for a living, I would need to work every other day, I think!! At least not at this level.  I could have done fewer varieties, but it was a great test for me to see what people like....
Anyway....I had fun....Hope you enjoy!!