I'm Back!

So, let's try this again!  I've been gone from blogging for many months, although I'm always reading someones blog.  I've been addicted to Pinterest, and I'm on Facebook a lot. I just kind of stopped wanting to blog.  But, I'm going to try again!  I've been trying lots of great recipes on Pinterest, I'm trying to get myself to be crafty and make cards and I have a few beading projects coming up.  Hopefully I'll get with it and post these great things!  In the meantime, how about some photos of what's been going on the last 10 months?

Me and my baby, Allison

These are my "boys"!  Three of the greatest Food Marketing Students ever!  I'm so proud of them as they graduated the program here at WMU!  Now on to "big boy" jobs!

My daddy...  love him!

My beautiful first born, Kaitlin

Marketing Department Awards, Jessica, Me, Kim and Dr. Luqmani.

Sweetest baby ever!  Miss Mia!

My co-work Cheri and I with President Dunn.  We were both awarded the WMU Make A Difference Award this Spring.

Boys with be boys...  Greg's toy

Lazy, chubby Zoe.  Oh how I love her!

Being a little crafty once in a while!  Thanks for the inspiration, my friend Julie!!

Still selling Thirty One!  Look at the new stuff!!

Thanks for checking back with me...  I hope I can find some fun things to post to keep you interested!

Beer Margarita

Yes, it's hot. Yes, it's humid. Yes, it's July. I'm truly blessed to have air conditioning in my home, my car and my office. But, hot, humid summer deserves a delicious cocktail, don't you think!! This one hits the spot. It's so refreshing. I filled a tall glass with ice and then poured this yummy treat in, topped it with a lime and enjoyed my evening. Indoors, because it's hot outside!!!

Beer Margarita
1 bottle of beer (Corona is my choice)
1/2 can of frozen limeade
6 oz. vodka
6 oz. water

Mix together, pour over ice and enjoy! This makes four servings - plenty to share!

I didn't even think to take a picture. I was enjoying too much!

And yes, I did find this on Pinterest... I told you I'm addicted!

Pinterest

So, I'm addicted. Yep, it's official. Pinterest has me hooked. In the evening my husband will see me on the computer and now say, "are you pinning?" Yep, I'm pinning. Are you pinning? If so, let's follow each other!

Happy Fourth of July!

We will be celebrating the 4th tomorrow with friends for a cookout at their house, fireworks and then a fire and smores at our house after. I am in charge of dessert and jello shots!

I found strawberry daquari, margarita and pina colda jello... perfect for shots! Then I hollowed out lemons and limes and put the jello in the rind. I cut them into sections and they are stinkin' cute!!


I'll tell you that I'm addicted to Pinterest... that is where I saw the jello idea. Also, all over the blogs are cake balls and cake pops. So, here is my attempt!

First bake a cake. I chose Red Velvet (for the the July 4th holiday) and cream cheese frosting. I used a box mix and canned frosting. You could very easily use from scratch and any flavor that you love.



Let the cake cool almost completely. Then crumble it all up in a big bowl.


Add the frosting. I didn't use the whole can. There doesn't seem to be a science to this! Just add a little more than 1/2 the can and stir... continue until you get a good consistency to roll balls.


Roll the balls. I used my small cookie scoop and then rolled. Place them on wax paper and put them in the freezer for while. They need to be firm when you dip them.


When you are ready to make the pops, melt almond bark in the microwave. I dipped the stick in the melted bark first and then into the ball. This is like glue! That ball isn't going anywhere. Dip the balls into the bark and put sprinkles on the top.



Now, here is where a piece of styrofoam would come in handy. I didn't have styrofoam, so I stood in my kitchen trying to figure out how I was going to let these dry. My solution was to stick the pop into a few slices of bread! Silly, yes. But, guess what... it worked!!!
Who knew I was so resourceful!!



I made several as pops and several as balls. Of course I had to taste test. A good baker would never serve something that wasn't yummy and tasted, right?



I put the pops in a clear glass with red marbles to hold the sticks. I wanted to use red, white and blue M&M's, but never got to the store to buy them. Here's my finished product. What do you think?



I love the way they turned out! These would be great for all holidays. Any flavor cake and frosting that you like and you can use white or chocolate almond bark. Adorable for a baby shower, wedding shower or birthday. A new favorite of mine!!

Enjoy your holiday and be safe!!

Florida and Family

My sweet niece Kelly got married one week ago today on the beach in Florida.
It was a beautiful perfect wedding!


My brother Rick, kissing his daughter for luck!


The beautiful bride and her groom saying their vows.



My beauties just before leaving for the wedding.

It was certainly a special time for our family.
I am blessed to have such an amazing and fun family!
What a great trip!

For some reason Blogger won't let me upload more photos...
So, more photos to follow soon!

Welcome to the World

Welcome Baby Mia...

My niece gave birth to this beautiful baby girl on June 4th. I cannot wait to meet her!

Today's DIY Project

I've had this window for several years...

At first I was going to put four scrapbook pages in each window and hang it over our bed. Then I thought I'd do wall words in each pane and again hang over our bed. I never did anything.

Then, I became addicted to the website Pinterest. Yes, addicted. That could be an entire post in itself. Anyway, I saw something perfect for me on Pinterest and perfect for my window. Today, the window became a jewelry holder.

First, hubby removed the glass for me. Then we roughed it up a little bit and cut
some yard cloth to size and stapled it to the back.

I hung it in the perfect spot between the two front windows in my bed room.

I used small open "S" hooks to hang my beaded jewelry.

Taa-Daa!!!

A close up.... yes, I made about 95% of this jewelery.
I filled the entire thing and I have a lot more beaded jewelery...
But, I'm thrilled with the results and it was a fun project for a rainy day!

So, if you'd like to follow me on Pinterest, and you've already joined, you can find me here:
http://pinterest.com/lyoutzy/
If you haven't joined, it's by invitation, so let me know and I'll send you an invite!

Enjoy!