Here's to a Relaxing Memorial Day Weekend!

I have a bittersweet update: This morning I submitted my resignation and two week notice in my current position of 2 1/2 years. I will miss my co-workers and all of our science and technology advisees. But I will be starting in a similar position at the end of June at a college where I previously worked for 5 years. I am very much looking forward to this new change and being a part of the GMC family again.

This move also works well in allowing me to complete the considerable amount of hours to meet my practicum requirements this Fall. After my online summer course ends, I will have 1 online class, several extensive video projects, my portfolio and any other requirements with my practicum class to satisfy the M.Ed. objectives and graduate from Georgia Southern University in December 2011 (the weekend of my birthday to be exact). I just received my graduation clearance so it looks like everything is on track on this front too.

April is the Cruelest Month

I have not updated in a long while, because as usual life gets in the way of blogging. I stop by other people's blogs when doing a quick search for a coupon deal or a recipe or to find some other random piece of info for work or class. I am afraid that is the way it will be for the at least the rest of this year.

April was an unusually stressful and trying month -- 3 funerals, 2 sinus infections, 2 20-page papers, a project and finals -- quite a lot to take in during one 30-day time period.

My graduate program starts a week earlier than everyone else on campus (which can be annoying with work stuff that first week) but is definitely nice at the end because my finals week is the week before everyone else. I finished up all of my work last Monday night. A good thing because we're always deluged with students with unfinished business before heading out in different directions for their summer.

I received a nice note from one of my construction management advisees today. His management class had an end of the semester assignment pertaining to how to demonstrate appreciation in an organization when it is not monetarily feasible to do so. This obviously is a realistic exercise for future managers in this economy. Their assignment was to chose someone on campus who has positively impacted their university experience and express their appreciation. The professor attached the note to the assignment and sent them to each individual. What a lovely activity for a management class in the world of furlough days and pay cuts.

Sadly there is nothing domestically or creatively noteworthy to report, unless you count couponing success. I love finding a deal or finagling a free product. I am not ashamed to admit that I have 5 Colgate toothpastes under my bathroom sink that cost less then 50 cents a tube. I hope toothpaste is on everyone's Christmas list this year! Otherwise I've more or less been a total MIA nerd, battling sinus infections and trying to stay afloat with school and work stuff...and the occasional baseball game...

Hittin' the books again...

I am taking a quick moment to update this afternoon before I head out the door and start the weekend, if you can call it a weekend. I am downloading Photostory as I type, so that it will be ready to go tonight and tomorrow.

I spent last Friday night and all day Saturday on a 25-page paper -- as in I got up Saturday about 10:00 AM, ate something, took a shower and planted myself on the sofa from Noon to Midnight. But at 12:15 I made myself save my work, shut off my laptop and get some sleep. It can feel very isolating, because I cannot work well with the TV or any other distractions. I have to get in my quiet place and focus.

This weekend I have my second big assignment due in my other class. (I'm taking two Spring semester. I will only have two remaining and a practicum. It's a good feeling to see the light at the end of the tunnel.) This assignment is not a paper but a collaborative media project where I am having to integrate 30 photos with text and audio in a video-like format. My finished project will play like a video and take viewers on a virtual tour of the Sonny Carter Media Center (or library for those who are confused). I actually will pay a visit to my parents this weekend, so that my mom can assist me in making sure I correctly identify everything in the pictures (i.e. the nonfiction, fiction sections). She had to take the photos for me, because my working hours clash with the school day hours. She did a very good job playing photographer since she so rarely touches a camera.

Unfortunately no creative projects for decorating the house or for eating are on the books right now...just focusing on the text books at the moment and going to work everyday. It's quite the fun cycle...not!

I've also been learning how "to coupon," with the help of www.southernsavers.com. But that is a whole other post in itself.

I do have one adventure coming up though. My friend Sarah (the Hilton Head Island bride) and I signed up for the Disney Princess 5K at Disney World. We will be going to Orlando the last weekend of the month for it. She can run rings around me. She also signed up for the Half-Marathon, so she will be conquering two races in one weekend.

It's a Cake Fest

Following an extremely hectic week of baking and decorating cupcakes, Libby Lane Cakes held our first booth at The Festival of Trees at GSU, a good way to get our feet wet at a smaller venue. We were both running on fumes by Saturday morning but were troopers.

We want to start out slowly and keep everything manageable for now. I am still not 100% sure how I will be able to juggle all of this with working full-time and the two grad classes in January either. Never a dull moment that's for sure!

Last week, I literally walked through my front door every evening (except the one night I had to work late) and engaged in fest preparations, using every medium from sugar and the Kitchenaid to paintbrush and canvas.

My friend and first co-worker in my old office Marie is finishing up a business logo for us. Since we're just starting out at this and are having to rely on funds from our own limited pockets, I made the two signs for us to display so that we'd have some some signage at the table. I used a large piece of foamboard for the one that set outside our table and a smaller paint canvas for the one that set on our tabletop. I used paint, scraps of scrapbooking paper and a few little embellishments for the smaller one. For the larger one, I dug out the Mr. Sketch markers and found some cute cupcake stickers at the store. (Mr. Sketch is the best quality, longest-lasting markers for posters and other projects -- plus smell good so no marker stench headache.)

I also stole a cute idea from this blog: http://www.howdoesshe.com/cupcake-liner-pom-poms. I made this same cupcake pom pom using cupcake liners that have a cupcake pattern all over the sleeves.

And I totally forgot to take any good photos of our signage or of the table put together with my actual camera, and all I have to rely on are a few camera phone shots that are not the best quality.

This is our little table top sign.
It's dark, because it's a phone pic.

At the table -- again, a phone pic.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Owl Cupcakes

Snowflake Cupcakes

Football Cupcakes

A Little Team Spirit + Christmas Spirit this Year

There is an upcoming holiday event in the 'Boro, The 3rd Annual Festival of Trees. November 15-20, 2010.

(I am still processing that it's already mid-November and that Thanksgiving is days away.)

I will be at The Festival of Trees Saturday, November 20th with some cake samples, but my Aunt Linda and I also decorated wreaths that we donated for the Christmas tree and wreath raffle. Raffle tickets are only $1 each. Each tree and wreath has its own raffle box so that you can choose which ones you wish to spread your chances.

My Aunt made three wreaths, and I made one. I called my theme "Braves Country" since it is Braves on a more rustic, grapevine wreath. This could be pulled off for any sports team. I bought 3 star-shaped ceramic ornaments for 49¢ at Hobby Lobby. I printed off 3 pictures that I liked and cut them to fit on the front side of the ornament. I used some Mod Pod that I had in my crafting box, coated it very heavily with a sponge over the pictures on the ornaments and let it air dry over night. I wrapped a shiny blue ribbon around the wreath. I decorated it with red and silver foliage (found at Hobby Lobby) with just a touch of greenery (as not to detract from the team colors). I hot-glued blue glass Christmas balls along with red and silver stars from a garland I cut up. The glass baseball ornaments I found were much too overpriced, so I took a plain white glass ball, and while looking at a baseball, drew the stitching on with a red sharpie. I made the huge red bow and added it as the final touch.

So if you are in the area, stop by and buy a $1 raffle ticket for my wreath. All of the proceeds go to a couple of local charities that provide Christmas for families in need.

Ceramic star ornaments - after I used the
Mod Pod to adhere the pictures to it.

The CE ladies snapped my pic when I delivered it.

My wreath (above) and one of my Aunt's
wreath (below) on display, ready for next week.

When autumn comes, it doesn't ask.

To have such a sweet tooth and to love sharing the cake wealth, my "slices of life" posts are pretty lean in comparison. Life just gets so busy.

"When autumn comes, it doesn't ask. It just walks in where it left you last," as John Mayer sings. (I know a few eyes just rolled on that one.) And Fall more or less did just that in Georgia this past weekend. The brisk air rolled into town and has settled into the Boro for a bit. I actually wore a light sweater today and was not roasting by 12:00. It is quite welcome (by me) after the 100+ degree temps all summer long.

Every November I think: I don't want this year to be as hectic as the previous holiday, yet it always ends up being an overload of activity and overall rush-rush-rush. No doubt that this year will be the same, but at least it means I will get a few days off from work while seeing "old" friends and family. And I am looking forward to trying out a pretty awesome 3-D Santa cake pan that Elizabeth gave me.

There are some good things coming up on the cake horizon that I will hopefully be able to update on soon...still working on specifics and logistics.

And I couldn't not provide this update since Libby and I successfully completed our first wedding cake: a 3 layer poundcake with buttercream icing, dyed a serene ocean-y shade of periwinkle. White chocolate sand dollars and shells flanked the cake. Real shells my mom and I collected around Amelia Island, Florida this summer were set around the bottom of the cake. The cake was served at a beachside wedding on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, October 30, 2010.

Congratulations to John and Sarah Barber!

Is it Fall yet???

A nice, productive weekend at home in the 'Boro. . .

Saturday evening Jennifer called me to come hang for a while and eat fresh seafood; one of the perks of being so close to the Georgia coast. Her boyfriend Rob and a few of his friends had been out on the sea all day fishing. They brought back fresh fish and crabs that they cleaned and cooked. So we sat down to Jennifer's kitchen table right at midnight and chowed on some whiting, hushpuppies and crab legs. It was quite wonderful! I was thrilled she called me with the invite.

Earlier Saturday I finished a cake and made my first wreath. I have had the same over-the-door wreath hook hanging BARE on my front door since last Christmas when I took down the holiday one at the end of December. I often think I need something festive hanging there when the seasons change or new holidays approach...then I look at the price tags on store bought wreaths and catalogs and push that thought aside. I was feeling Fall-ish (even though the temperatures outside are mid 90s). I recommend looking online for "how-to" tips as a guide.

I was quite pleased with the final product. It's such an easy and inexpensive project that can yields a pricier look. You can spend as little or as much as you want. Hobby Lobby here had all of their floral supplies 50% off this past week. All in all I spent $14 on the entire project!

I bought a basic 16" grapevine wreath (retails for $4 but was $2 with the 1/2 off -- so cheap!). I also took the time to rummage their clearance corner in the floral section. Most of these were too summer-y for autumn decorating, but I did find 2 flowers that I liked: one a deep red and one a deep orange for $1.70. In the fall floral section I splurged on a large red flower that caught my eye (1/2 of $7), along with a cluster of autumn leaves and 2 sections of stems filled with bronze ball clusters.

I did not use a glue gun, instead some thin gold wire that I already had on hand. This way when I get tired of the look, I can easily clip the wire, remove the current foliage and start from scratch by recycling the wreath base. The stems of the foliage all tucked into the many grapevine wreath branches securely, so I used minimal wiring. I determined how I wanted to arrange the 3 flowers and worked the other accents around these. As a final touch, I picked up a bolt of zebra print ribbon with gold-fringed edging (also 50% off) and wrapped it around the wreath. Finally I made a bow to hang the wreath from the door hook.

I carried over the leftover ribbon to a white ceramic dessert stand that my cousin Wendy gave me for my birthday last year and weaved it around the rim to display some cookie sandwiches I had made with some icing left from the cake.