I was hit!

I have known Cupcake Cowgrrl for a few years now, we have met on occasion but mostly we have connected through blogging. Through our love of being crafty, baking and photography.  I have to say that Cupcake Cowgrrl surpasses me on all levels, but if we had met when I had no kids and lots of free time, I would like to think that we would have been fast friends.  Hanging out at a pub, enjoying a beer and talking about our next crafty project.

I have watched Cupcake Cowgrrl bake for a few years now, admired all the cupcakes she has displayed on her blog and even tried a few icing recipes. But, I had never tasted one of her cupcakes, just admired from afar and hoped that one day I would get the chance to taste one.

Then on Monday Cupcake Cowgrrl was tweeting about having the fixings for some lavender infused blackberry cupcakes.   Or something to that effect.  I told her she was free to drop some off for me, totally joking of course.  Well she decided that I should be hit with her Random Act of Cupcakes and delivered a sweet box of deliciousness right to my door.

The Random Act of Cupcakes started at the beginning of the summer, I think and she has been spreading her love of cupcakes and baking around for others to enjoy. I was so thankful to be a recipient.  Believe me when I say, they are so much tastier than they look.  These are just photos, but honestly they are like little bites of Heaven and I am so thankful that I was hit

Thank you Cupcake Cowgrrl!

The people is what made New York Fabulous.  Thank you.

More photos from NYC can be found here.

 If you spend anytime in Ottawa back in the late early ’90s you would remember this guy.  He watched over all the partying at the Yucatan Liquor Stand.  And I can say I was there.  For a good period of time my girlfriend and I were quite the regulars there. We danced, we met friends there, we just simply had fun.  And the fact that it was all decked out in surfboards and all things beachy meant that I loved it even more.

Then one day, one Canada Day, the Liquor Stand may have let in a few too many people.  So they had to close for a week or so and it would seem they never did recover from that.  A few new places opened and everyone seemed to go to those places so Yucatan’s just closed up shop.  With much less fanfare than we would have liked.  One day it was open the next it was not.

It has been several bars or restaurants since then, but nothing seems to have lasted as long nor been as popular as Yucatan’s.  I miss it.  I don’t miss the creepy guys trying to pick me up, but I miss the fun times that were had, I miss that you could dance on the surfboard tables and speakers and you didn’t get kicked out.  I miss that you could show up in your surf shorts and a tank top or a dress and heels and you were always welcome at Yucatan’s.

Of course, I guess this post really should be about the fact that I miss being 22 sometimes and since I will be hitting 40 in a couple of months I was feeling kind of nostalgic on Saturday when I walked around the Market for the Scott Kelby PhotoWalk (more here).  All the places I used to know and love are long gone and replaced by places so foreign to me it is like they never existed. And Yucatan’s was by far my favorite of all the places that have come and gone. Thanks for the fun.

Mamalang and I have known each other for a couple of years now.  We were first introduced when we did an Organizational Swap and we were paired together.  What kept us in contact is my love for the State of Delaware.  Mamalang lives in my favorite State and last summer we tried to meet up at the Beach, but missed each other in the crowds at Funland.  This year we were determined to make sure we would get that chance.

Mamalang sent me a text to let us know they were at Funland and we were thankfully on our way out for a walk which was to include a stop at the rides.  We easily met up and got to chatting right away.  We sent the men on the rides with the kids and got a chance to get to know each other without sending an email back and forth.  Our boys are the same age so they were instant friends daring each other to go on the more thrilling rides.

While we were letting Mamalang and her family head out for dinner, they mentioned that we should join them on their beach later that week.  I looked at Hubby being careful not to impose more visiting with others on our vacation and he jumped right in and said we would join them the next day.  He wanted to change up our beach routine a little bit.  The next day we headed out on our new adventure.

I have driven by this stretch of beach countless times in my lifetime, but have never stopped.  This is one of those beaches where you are allowed to drive up (with a permit of course) on the sand and park your vehicle.  Since we didn’t have any fishing poles and didn’t want to get a permit for just one day, we parked in the parking lot and walked over to where Mamalang and her family had parked their Jeep and were starting to set up.  These guys are professional beach goers.  They had the poles, the tent, the chairs, the sand buckets everything you need for a perfect day on the beach.  We joined in the fun and helped set up.

I just had to get a shot of the Jeep, I almost drapped my Canadian flag towel across the hood,but somehow it just didn’t seem right.

 The waves rolling in were the waves of my childhood.  You could ride these waves all day and not get tired.  In recent years they have had to replenish our regular beach so we have experienced some choppier waves in the last few years.  These ones just begged for you to come in and hang out.  The sand on your feet were filled with treasures and our Hubby’s were both bringing up handfuls of goodies to search through.  The boys played in the water and dug for sand crabs and the the bigger girls chatted and swam.  Apple got a bucket of her very own where she played for hours sitting in it, dunking her hair and just filling it with water.

I don’t think I could describe what a great day we had so instead I will leave you with a mosaic of our fabulous time.  If it weren’t for the fact that the kids were getting very tired and the heat was starting to melt us all I think we would have stayed all night.  The kids were asleep before we were on the highway back to our cottage and with only a brief nap were in bed by 9pm.  A day well spent by the seashore.  I don’t dare tell you the name of this fabulous beach for fear it will be packed next year.  I just don’t want to share it with anyone, well anyone except Mamalang and her family that it.  Thank you for taking us, we had the most wonderful time.

Last Friday night.  Yes, last Friday night, I know I don’t get to blog very often anymore, so it would seem.  I am actually looking forward to the end of the school year and our vacation just so I can get back into my blog full force. Either that or I will have to go back to work to have time to blog as being a Working at Home Mom leaves little time for my hearts desires.

So, last Friday night, a bunch of us got together for an evening of Card Making with A Crafty Mom. There were six of us in total, A Crafty Mom, Myself, Coffee and Commutes, Capital Mom , Gliding Lara, and Two Hands Full and I think I made enough desserts for fifteen of us, but it was all good, I just made sure to eat, I mean bring home the leftovers.

Shannon had a wonderful set up for us, we had five card stations set up with all the necessary tools to put the cards together.  Shannon did most of the labour intensive work we just got to paste and stamp, which is really the fun part of crafting anyway.

In between card making we got to chat and catch up.  It isn’t too often that I get a night out with friends so using the Card Making as an excuse to get together was great.  All of us have children and all of us need that little alone time to not worry about what is happening at home.  Although a couple of the brave Mom’s with smaller children made it solo and got some instant messages on their phones about how the kids were doing with Mom out of the house. For all the fun we had, we will have to find another occasion to get together and make cards for, I am thinking Christmastime, but in November or earlier. And next time we will need to have a few more hands in the mix, with more stories to tell.

As a side note, my blog will be having a birthday next week!!!  We are turning FIVE!  Stay tuned for a few giveaways in celebration!

When the weather cooperates, I hate and I mean HATE to stay in the house.  Although I prefer lounging surfside with a good book and some sand between my toes, I make do with what I have.  Every year I spend countless hours outside with my laptop.  When the kids nap, I take this opportunity to catch up on things and get a bit of work done.

This is one of the three spots that I use.

Today I am sitting here because I have a large quantity of photos to go through from the weekend and since I am just sorting and tagging (as opposed to doing any editing) I prefer to sit under the canopy in the lounging chair with my coffee and water and the sounds of the birds chirping in the trees.  The canopy gives me just the perfect amount of diffused light on my flat screen so I don’t get any reflections and can sit here and enjoy the great outdoors.  If I were doing any editing, I would suck it up and take it inside but for now I can enjoy this gorgeous day.

And as you can see I have extra seating if need be.  Grab your laptop and head outside!  That was the first reason I ever got one.

To see what I have been up to be sure to stop by my photography blog.

ETA: This post was inspired by @ErinBlaskie and her Tweet this morning.

Someone you can count on anytime anywhere.

Someone you can laugh with and someone you can cry with.

Someone who knows when you just need a cuddle or a hug.  And someone who knows when to leave you alone.

Someone who will make your favorite dinner on your birthday.

Someone who will back you up when times get rough.

Someone who is not afraid to tell you as it is.

I have been a Mom now for fifteen years. And I can’t thank my Mom enough for giving me the guidance I needed to be a Mom to a child that I didn’t give birth to.  A may not be my birth child, but it didn’t make it any less different for me, I still love him with all my heart.  The hardest thing about being a Mom in this way was that I had to send him back home to his birth mother after only a few days together.  And fifteen years later, it doesn’t get any easier.

Being a Mom to my own two children is the most amazing thing in the world.  And I don’t have to send them anywhere at the end of the day, except their own beds.  Perhaps this is why I have such a hard time with the idea of leaving the kids and going away, I never want to leave my kids.

I started writing this post for LouLou’s Mother’s Day Giveaway, but I simple ran out of time to finish.  But, I had to finish.  I had to show you why it is all so worth it. Every tear, all the sweat, all the cuddles, all the laundry.  Everything, is just so worth it to get to spend time with these two.

I love being a Mom.

Apple Dip

1 pkg Cream Cheese

1/4c Brown Sugar

1/2c Powdered Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla

Crushed Scor Pieces

Mix together first four ingredients with a hand blender. Stir in Skor pieces.

I made this last night for Book Club and it was such a hit that I thought I would share it with you all.  Enjoy!

You are all so patient with me.  I really try hard not to blog on weekends, unless we are snowed in or I am completely caught up in all of my domestic affairs.  Which is really never so I rarely do it.  But, as promised here is part two of last week’s EM Ottawa event with Donna Davis.  In part two, I wanted to share the rest of the trade show tables.  These women did a fabulous job putting them all together, so I have to post them for all to see.  We (EM Ottawa) will be having a larger trade show, open to the public in the Fall, so I will certainly let you all know when that is happening so you can come out and meet everyone and see their products in person.

*If I got your link wrong or am missing your information, please let me know so I can update the blog.  Thanks.

Ottawa Public Library Business Services

Mango Silk

Jockey

Epicure Selections

Beauty Control

 Nu Skin

This Tuesday we had our April Event for Entrepreneurial Moms Ottawa. Donna Davis was our speaker.  She shared her story with us on how her business became what it is today.  Donna owns Movement to Health, and shared with us how she started and grew her business and truly believes you need to write it all down for it to all work out, that and answer your phone.  You just never know who may be calling, ready with something wonderful for you or your business.

Oh yes, and Donna gave us a little taste of her Yoga and Movement to Health.

Thank you Donna, for sharing with us!

In additions we also had a tradeshow featuring some products from a few of our Members.  Here is a sneak peek.

Bath Matters

Evolv

More to come in Part Two…