Find Your Happiness

Kate's Creation 9th Annual World's Largest Ice Cream Social Cold Stone Creamery is my favorite ice cream place and till the end of this month, they are helping make wishes come true for children with life-threatening medical conditions through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Tomorrow, September 30th from 5pm-8pm, they are giving away 3oz portion of "Kate's Creation"---caramel apple ice cream mixed with chocolate shavings, graham cracker pie crust, and apple pie filling. And while you're enjoying your FREE ice cream, don't forgot to buy (as a donation) a Make-A-Wish paper star for only a dollar!

The Simple Woman's Daybook For Today (September 28, 2010) Outside my window... Sunny 64 Degrees. Today is our last day of highs in the 70s :( I am thinking wondering... what I could do to make Nathaniel nap for more than 45 minutes (x2) during the day. I am thankful for... Nathaniel sleeping through the night. If you told me nine months ago that I'd be sleeping 7+ hours again, I wouldn't have believed you! From the kitchen... clean dishes that need to be unloaded from the dishwasher. I am wearing... my 2005 Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation volunteer shirt and black shorts I am going... to the library. Last time I went, I was still pregnant! Didn't help that we also moved to a different state so I'm not familiar with everything. I am reading... Second Chance by Jane Green. I bought this book two years ago at Half Price Bookstore and just now reading it. I am hoping/praying... my husband does well on his exam this Thursday. I am...

Promo Code: BDA9-2NXB-83S1-8N42KT Offer ends September 27 Shutterfly is offering ten free 5x7 folded greeting cards OR 5x7 flat stationery cards. They normally only offer three so I'm very happy to see TEN cards for free. I have taken advantage of this offer several times (once in June for Father's Day and in August, which I used as Thank You cards) and this time, I used them to order cards for Thanksgiving. You still have to pay shipping and handling ($5.99) and when the total (including taxes) came up to $6.18, I was a little hesitant to spend that much money for something that is supposedly "free." But then my husband pointed out that they are still more inexpensive than buying regular cards and these ones are even personalized! I am very pleased with the quality of their products and Shutterfly guarantee that if you are not, they will either replace your order or give you a full refund. This special ends today so hurry up! Here's what I crea...

Waiting outside and greeting my husband when he comes home from work has been added to our routine. I love seeing my little one smile as soon as he sees his Daddy's truck and I know my husband appreciates the welcoming party after a long day at work.

The Simple Woman's Daybook For Today (September 21 -ish , 2010) Outside my window... darkness. After all it's after midnight! I am thinking... about the birthday cake I just finished decorating for one of my husband's co-workers. I am thankful for... my marriage and the person I am sharing it with. From the kitchen... Birthday cake: yellow butter cake with chocolate icing I am wearing... my high school t-shirt (7+ years old!) and white shorts I am going... to bed. I am reading... Deception Point by Dan Brown (still). About a 1/4th of the book left! I am hoping praying... for one of my good college friends who is going through major life changes right now :( I am hearing... Silence: Hubby, baby, AND doggie are all asleep.   Around the house... baby toys One of my favorite things... the smell of my hands after baking. Inspired by the church song... "If my heart is right when He calls me, If my heart is right I will hear. If my he...

  I don't mind house chores. I don't looove doing it but almost all the time, I don't mind doing it. I don't mind dusting, sweeping, washing the dishes, or cleaning up after my husband, our nine-months old son and a four-years old dog. I don't even mind folding laundry. But what I don't like doing is cleaning the bathroom. I really dislike scrubbing the tub and especially hate cleaning the toilet. There's just something about putting my face near the place where we do our business that just bothers me. Ick. What's your least favorite house chore?

Nathaniel had his Well Baby Visit yesterday. He is exactly right where he needs to be developmentally however, we are going back next month for a weight check. Nathaniel has gained very little weight (less than a pound since his last Well Baby Visit last July) and is actually slimming down too fast and too early for his age. We know he is healthy but we all would like him to gain just a few pounds. He also has been such a picky eater lately and the fact that he has been sleeping through the night probably hasn't help with the weight issue either. Anyway, he got the influenza vaccine and a toe prick for hemoglobin and lead tests (all results normal) and he didn't cry at all :) Here are the stats! (Compare to his last visit here ) Weight: 18lbs, 11oz (20th percentile) Height: 28 1/2 inches (50th percentile) Head Circumference: 45 1/2 cm (50th percentile)

Nathaniel is nine months old today! Nathaniel now has seven teeth total--four at the top, three at the bottom. He still does a "face plant" every time he tries to crawl and we're hoping that he figures out how to do it soon. He also has been preferring table food over baby food and wants a taste of every thing that is food. We all had a great time in Indiana last month and we hope to come back again in December for his first birthday and the holidays.  I signed up for a basic cake decorating class (four 2hr once a week class) and Hubby is more than halfway done with his Arabic class and is ranked in Top 3 of his class.

The Simple Woman's Daybook For Today (September 14, 2010) Outside my window... It is still chilly (55F) but the sun is finally out so hopefully it will start warming up soon. I am thinking... about my husband. His phone (which he uses as his alarm clock) has been turning off randomly so for the first time ever, he woke up late and was extremely late to work this morning. Yikes! I am thankful for... another blessed day as a stay-at-home mommy. From the kitchen... clean laundry that needs folding (our washer and dryer are located in the kitchen area too). I am wearing... a green shirt with white shorts. I am going... to the Commissary some time today to pick up some things for my cake class this Thursday. I am reading... Deception Point by Dan Brown. I have started to read this book several times since a year ago and am determined to finish it this time! I am hoping... Hubby didn't get in trouble this morning! I am hearing... Nathaniel munching/ta...

I have been getting a lot of requests for the recipe of the ice cream cake I made for the 25th birthday. I personally didn't follow any recipe and just executed this from what I wanted/looking for. And since I didn't have a recipe to guide me, I used pre-packaged ingredients because I didn't want to have to worry about taste and consistency of the overall cake as well. So here it goes: Ingredients: 1 box super moist cake mix (and all the other ingredients this cake mix calls for) 1 1.5L ice cream flavor of your choice 1 16 oz Cream cheese icing Toppings of your choice You will also need: Cheesecake spring form pan (I used a 9 1/2 inch since my cake were baked in 9 inch pans) Plastic wrap Directions: Bake the cake according to the directions provided on the box. Let it cool for at least an hour (preferably more). Once cooled, trim the top if necessary to make the cake leveled. Take the ice cream container out of the freezer and let it stand in room tempera...

For my twenty-fifth birthday last month, my family gave me a Flip Video . I have just been capturing (crappy quality) videos using the video mode in my point-and-shoot. I didn't want a regular video camera because no matter how small they come nowadays, they are still rather bulky and cannot be carried with you everyday. So needless to say, I am a very proud new owner of the Flip Video UltraHD, which has 8GB of internal memory and can store up to 2 hours of videos. I originally wanted the latest model (SlideHD) but the only differences are it has twice the memory capacity, slides open, and has a touch-screen. In the end, those are not important enough for me to pay the price difference and the UltraHD model also has better reviews. It is very easy to use in every single step: from capturing, uploading, to sharing the videos. And like I've already mentioned, it is so tiny (about the size of a Blackberry phone!) so I take it with me every time I go out (along wit...

We were so happy that my husband's leave was timed perfectly that we were able to go to the Indiana State Fair this year. As always, we had a great time with family and friends, feeding and petting the animals, and eating the I-don't-even-want-to-think-how-much-calories-is-in-this foods. This year, one of the foods to try is the Glazed Doughnut Burger and my husband was spontaneous enough to try this weird concoction.  I still have yet to master the multi-tasking like my husband! :)  Two glazed Krispy Kreme Doughnuts acting as a bun. You can add whatever condiments you like but Dean only chose to add bacon and cheese for his "burger." According to my husband, it actually tasted pretty good. The saltiness of the bacon balanced out the sweetness of the doughnuts. By the way, this doughnut burger cost $8. I was going to try the other must-try food of the fair this year, which was deep-fried butter. The news article that I read compared it to the taste...