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Happy Chinese / Lunar New Year! Chinese Food Recipes…

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Chinese New Year DumplingsHappy Chinese / Lunar New Year!

If you are celebrating and want to try some new Chinese recipes, I have just the website for you.

I came across Elaine’s “China Sichuan Food” last year. She has a variety of great authentic recipes.

As I follow her Blog when she has a new recipe I receive an email. Yesterday she sent an email with a nice story about how her family celebrates Chinese New Year and the types of foods they normally cook at this time.

If you are celebrating Lunar New Year or enjoy Chinese food, you’ll find her website a real delight. Elaine’s recipes look easy and delicious to make. You’ll see she walks you through the recipes with detailed photos, so it’s hard to get it wrong.

There are so many recipes I want to try (i.e. Kung Pao Cauliflower)… I’ve got to get started!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

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7CBC96C0-67F1-4CED-A951-0B3CF0A59BA6Today we celebrate Valentine’s Day. If you happen to be at the grocery store late afternoon you’ll see a lot of people rushing to buy their last minute flowers to bring home to their loved ones.

When I met my ex/mother/n/law years ago, I learned very quickly that she loved orchids. Back then I did not know much about orchids. Growing up in the Midwest our winters were long, so we did not see or think about flowers until Spring. Orchids were new to me, I soon fell in love with them too.

Living in California, with warmer temperatures, we had incredible tropical flowers. So for Valentine’s Day there was no need to just give red roses, we had a variety of flowers to choose from.

A favorite of mine is the bird of paradise. This flower with it’s bright colors does indeed look like a bird about to take flight. Amazing!

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For those of you who might be feeling lonely or forgotten on Valentine’s Day, I send you some flowers. Remember that Valentine’s Day is not only about receiving, but giving as well. If this is not your year to receive a Valentine, why not take the initiative to surprise someone and be the Valentine “giver” this year!

Wishing you ALL a very special and beautiful day!

This is called a “snow day!”

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CBF9C2A4-8D1B-43B0-B4B2-750EBADAB74BWhat do you do on a snowy day? You take the dreaded walk to your car hoping you don’t find THIS… see photo! It’s tough enough to scrape the snow off your car, but if you don’t have a shovel and your car is totally snowed in — WELL, you have to use your feet as a shovel and kick the snow away from your car. As you can see, there is no where for the snow to go!

Excellent exercise for two hours, frozen hands if you took the wrong type of gloves. What do I mean by wrong type of gloves. For a tough job like this, you don’t go outside with your cheap pink knitted gloves, instead you need the high powered black water resistant gloves.

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I made the mistake of grabbing my pink gloves. The ones I bought on a day where I forgot gloves, my hands were freezing and I didn’t want to pay too much. I learned my lesson, don’t try to do a high level outdoor job with girly pink knitted gloves. Your hands become frost bitten!

I know, you are wondering if I got my car out. The answer is “NO.” I did make a good effort though. We need a snow plow and a sunny day tomorrow to melt the snow.

Time for a reward.

I’m going to make a hot chocolate and HOPE that Spring comes soon!

Snail mail is still the BEST!

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My Year MugToday started out as an average snowy day. I got up, had my coffee and headed out. I went to the Post Office expecting bills and junk mail, but a surprise package awaited me.

Wow-wee, I even double checked to make sure it was my name on the package. Yep, it was me. I haven’t received a surprise package in years and I do mean YEARS! Clarification on “surprise” package. This is a package that comes unannounced. The sender does not tell you ahead of time to “expect” something.

I’m terrible! I get so excited if I send something to someone that it is hard for me to NOT give it away. I always want to be a secret sender, but it’s just not possible.

My ex/husband is German versus my Italian background. I was always amused by his restraint. When he received a package or letter, he would look at it and put it on the counter in a very precise type of manner and walk off. I would yell out, “Aren’t you going to open it??” No, it can wait until later. INCREDIBLE! When I received something I was ripping open the letter or package as I was reading WHO it was from!

I can say that is exactly what I did today! I was like a little kid, I was so excited about my surprise package. I started to rip it open until I read “FRAGILE” on the top, then I slowed down for fear of “breaking” the surprise!

The photo shows you my surprise gift! How special is that! The mug’s message with the card looking out onto the Lake, well, it was PERFECT! I really feel like a Princess today!

2018 –>  THIS WILL BE MY YEAR! 

(SMILING – The Universe has spoken!)

Teacher gifts for Valentine’s Day

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Valentine’s Day is coming up and the stores are filled with hearts, chocolates and flowers. I spoke to a woman yesterday who had a great idea! She was buying 10 of these cute little heart mugs from Williams Sonoma. Her plan was to put flowers inside the mugs and give them to her child’s teachers on Valentine’s Day!

This was a clever idea! I once spoke to a teacher who said it was nice when parents thought of her, but she had a closet full of soaps, scented candles and note cards. Enough already.

How about “apples,” I said. Do you get a lot of those too? I said that for grins. I guess I was shocked to hear a teacher’s thoughts on the “type” of gifts she was receiving. Didn’t sound very good, but I bet I would get tired of the same gifts for every holiday from multiple parents too.

Still, it is important to think about our teachers. They work hard to educate our children. This woman had the right idea, let’s get creative with our gifts. I’m sure that this little heart mug with a flower will be remembered. Certainly not put in the closet… at least, not until the flower is dead!

Chicago: Goodbye Crate & Barrel… Welcome biggest Starbucks in the world

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Crate and Barrel 2Change is good, I know, but Crate & Barrel, the flag ship store, 3 stories high with all glass windows has been on Michigan Ave for 28 years. I still remember the excitement when the store first opened. All the “oohs and aahs.” Just a few years ago, we learned that Macy’s was buying Marshall Field & Co., now Crate & Barrel is gone. Please, allow me a few sniffles.

This picture will go down in the retail history books. I wanted to get the last photo of Crate & Barrel with their signage. Chuckling though, because somehow, the way I took this picture it looks like the second “leaning tower of Pisa!”

As most of you know, the papers say retail is dying, not 100%, but enough to have different store closings. This is sad, but we have to go with the times. When I look at this photo, I can absolutely see a Starbucks there. It’s a beautiful store with it’s open windows, elegant escalators and the location on Michigan Ave can’t be beat. This is prime real estate. The biggest Starbucks in the world. WOW – in Chicago!

I didn’t realize this, but Howard Schultz, executive chairman of Starbucks, said that 30 years ago Chicago was where they opened their “first” Starbucks outside of Seattle. This is sentimental, of course. So, 30 years later, Schultz is going “really big” with Starbucks Reserve Roastery, which will be a four story, 43,000 sq ft interactive coffee shop. They will roast, brew and package coffee there.

Is Amazon next? Chicago is still on Amazon’s top 20 list for a second headquarters. So, maybe, just maybe, we will have TWO heavy hitters from Seattle moving into Chicago!

Stay tuned, book your flights is all I can say! Tourists will be coming!

Sprinkles – A cupcake for January birthdays! Use the ATM…

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Sprinkles ATM cupcakeMy daughter and I were out celebrating her birthday recently., which was fun. A birthday celebration does not seem complete without a birthday cake. While we didn’t need a BIG cake, we wanted a slice of cake, something decadent… where to go? Aha, we decided on “Sprinkles.” She loves the coconut cupcakes and so do I, so off we went.

Sprinkles storeAs she was placing her order, I happened to see that they had an ATM cupcake vending machine outside. You can see photo, that’s how the machine looks in the early evening, all lit up. I remember hearing about the ATM cupcake machines a few years ago, and thought it was a fad that would die out, but it’s still going – 24 hour service. That means if we have a late night craving for a cupcake, a decadent one, we can fulfill our sweet tooth’s desire.

Sprinkles has strategic locations throughout the U.S. (San Francisco Bay Area, Beverly Hills, New York, Las Vegas, Chicago, Nashville, Dallas to name a few). The cupcakes are very big, a bit expensive, but remember you are treating yourself.

In January they are serving “Breakfast Cupcakes,” now that will give you a sugar high. If you live near a Sprinkles, I would suggest joining their reward program, you’ll get a FREE cupcake on your birthday!

So – HAPPY BIRTHDAY to January birthdays!

Treat yourself! Start the year off right with a Sprinkles cupcake!

The Australian Brush Maker (home made paint brushes)

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While I am not an artist, I’ve always been inspired by painting and various forms of producing artwork. The other day, I came across a story about an Australian artist named, “Lorna Crane,” who creates home made paint brushes.

On her beach walks she finds materials that she uses to make her paint brushes. I grew up on the beach… well, I mean near the beach, so I know the feeling of walking and finding rocks, feathers, dried grass, driftwood, wires, and more that wash up on the shore.

Crane’s paint brushes are works of art BEFORE they are even used. This was a brilliant idea. If you watch the video, you’ll see how beautiful and unique each brush is. Based on the brush she chooses, when she paints she uses a different painting technique. Painting is really freeing.

It’s the start of a new year. She’s inspired me! I’m going to make a goal for myself of producing one piece of art in 2018.

Hello fellow artists, how are you challenging yourself this year?

The importance of a “Promise Card…”

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It’s the New Year and time to make a promise… to ourselves or to someone, YES?!

I happened to see a quick documentary the other day about a guy named, “Alex Sheen.” After the passing of his father in 2012, he started a foundation to help humanity called, “because I said I would.” This is in memory of his father, who he said was an average man, but a man who “always” kept his promises to his son. THAT is what made Sheen’s father special to him,  keeping promises.

The idea of Sheen’s Foundation called, “because I said I would (all lower case),” is to encourage people to fill out a “Promise Card.” The Promise Card is the size of a small index card and on it people write something they want to do for themselves or someone else. They give the filled out card to someone to hold on to for them. Once they fulfill the promise on the card, they ask the friend for their Promise Card back and they keep it as a reminder that “they fulfilled a promise.”

This concept seems simple, but it’s really BIG. Imagine if everyone around the world made one promise to help humanity in some way.

As we start 2018, I leave you with Alex Sheen’s TEDxUtica about what these promise cards have meant to him!

After you watch this video, you will be thinking, “My promise is to …. ?

Then pass Alex Sheen’s message on to others, it’s a good one!

2018 – HAPPY NEW YEAR! A new year to accomplish things.

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ADB6FBCB-691D-4463-8C27-D5CD5DA4241AI’m excited about moving into 2018! How about you?

How do you sum up 2017:  life changing, goals realized, figuring it out, really tough, adventurous, quiet, magical…?

As I ponder what 2017 meant for me, I am thinking about 2018.

There are 4 quarters in a year. In business, we look at the year, then we break it down into quarters and monthly/weekly/daily goals, so that by the end of the year we are on target for reaching our goals.

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Personal lives are the same. We accomplish more if we write down a plan and try to stick to it. Some years I am good at this, some years I have thoughts in my mind of what I want to accomplish, but the thoughts seem to stay there, because…. THAT’S JUST IT, the word “because” holds me back.

So, this year, 2018 is about tackling the word, “because.” It’s time to think like an Olympian enough with the “because.”

Two years ago, my College friend (Dave, Life In A Word) suggested we challenge ourselves and create a Blog. We both enjoy writing. The catch was that we had to commit to Blogging once a week for one year!  We shook hands, no turning back.

Now, two years later, Dave and I can confidentially say, “we are Bloggers.” We didn’t let the word “because” stop us. We committed!

2018 starts tomorrow! I am thinking and planning.

For today, I want to head to the gym, but the word “because (it’s too cold outside)” is already coming to my mind. You see how that word “because” causes problems.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!