When Life Hands you Lemons....

Dear "Diary",

What if you don't want to make lemonade?  Or you don't like lemonde!  LOL! 
I've decided that sometimes you should be greatful for lemons!  Because, eventhough they are sour, they can be made very sweet with sugar!

So, lately, life has been crazy busy and I just want to pull my blankets up over my head and pretend that the world stopped around me!  But, being a mother of two, that is not going to happen.  So, I have decided to just take a step back, and look at the things that will "sweeten my lemonade".

I am TIRED!  I work two jobs, sometimes three.  On top of that, there is cooking, cleaning and taking care of the kids and hubby. My cake business, the Girl Scout thing, oh yeah, and the couponing thing!  So, the "Sugar"?

First and foremost, my family!  My husband and kids.  While we are sort of in a rough patch, my husband is my world.  We have been together for 9 1/2 years and married for 8.  He is a good man, just a little immature at times!  The sugar?  He loves me and his kids, he works full time to help provide for his family.  He is faithful to me and best of all, he loves GOD! 

Then my kiddos!  OMGosh!  How do I even begin to explain them? 

Alyssa, my princess!  She is full of life, love and ENERGY!  She wants to be so many amazing things.  A singer, a movie star and anything else performance based.  LOL!  She loves to be the center of attention.  She is also a loving big sister and a helpful hand for mommy.  She loves to learn to do new things and she wants to be mommy all the time! 

And Kaeden, my little linebacker!  He has always been a big boy!  And alothough it hurts my back to hold him, I love that he loves me so much and wants to be with me all the time!  He is smart, loves to make people laugh and (to my dismay, JK!) actually pretty good at swining a golf club.  He has an obsession with golf clubs and balls.  He he can throw it, kick it or bounce it, he wants it!  He is a constant laugh for all around him.  He knows what he wants and will not settle for ANYTHING else.  His stubborness has made me become very creative.  He is not a picky eater and eats everything!

My jobs...  I have a job!  Two of them!  There are lots of people out there that do not have jobs!  Even though, there are days I want to scream and run away sometimes, I have work.  And my jobs are actually pretty good jobs.  Working in property management full time is one.  And the other I teach cake decorating at Micheal's in Escondido.  I teach the Wilton Method of Cake Decorating.  And because of that job, I get great discounts on great Wilton Products!  Which I have to take a second to say, OMGosh!  They have some amazing products that just came out!  Some of which I can not live without!

Just a few of them!!!  So Excited!



My business...  Hidden City Cakes!  I do have to work late hours because of all the other stuff that I do, I only have time to work on cakes in the middle of the night.  The Sugar?  I get to do something I enjoy and make $.  I get to work with an amazing and creative person that I am glad to call a friend as well as a business partner.  I have a dream that I am working to fulfill!



Couponing!!!  Where do I start?  Although it is time consuming, I am able to provide for my family and prepare for the worst without breaking my bank.  I am also able to donate to my church and other projects without having to put out extra money we don't have.  And, because of the couponing, I have made some great friends and I teach classes now, so that helps me get some extra income!  Some websites that save me a ton of time...

Site for Rite Aid Freebies and deals:

Rite Aid

Site for Walgreens Freebies and deals:

Wags

Site for CVS Freebies and deals:

CVS

A fun site to earn "points" to spend on gift cards and other prizes just by doing stuff you already do:

Swagbucks

Site to match coupons to sales without taking hours:

Grocery Smarts

Ahhh!  There, I feel much better!

The Girl Scout Thing... the sugar there is my daughter has a great and moral outlet for social interation that is also teaching her valuable things.  Things like, helping others, responsibility and confidence.  And the group of girls I lead, are pretty amazing girls!  While I struggle sometimes with all the time it takes me to get everything together, I enjoy the smiles on my (and the other) girls faces during out troop meeting!

So, I guess the moral of the story is...

Don't loose site of all the "SUGAR" you have in your life.  Especially when life hands you lemons!

XOXO!

My Crazy Life

So I've decided to try this blogging thing again. Why? Well, I've heard if you write things down, you get it off your chest. So I decided to use this forum as a sort of "therapy" if you will. I also thought that there may be other moms out there that will either relate or at the very least, get a laugh out of my chaos! Let's start with... A week in the life of Sabrina: Monday - 8:30 - 5:30 Work, 6:30 - 8:30 Work Tuesday - 8:30 - 5:30 Work Wednesday - 8:30 - 5:30 Work, 6:30 - 8:30 Work Thursday - 8:30 - 5:30 Work, 1st and 3rd Thursday - Troop Meetings, Last Thursday - Couponing Group Friday - 8:30 - 5:30 Work Saturday - Catch up day, spend time with family Sunday - Church, 1:30 - 6:30 Work On top of all this I am a mother of two (7 and 17 months), married for 9 years. I am an extreme couponer, I teach couponing classes, I am a Girl Scout Troop Leader and I own a Cake Decorating Company. Hidden City Cakes I am often asked, "How do you do it all?" My response, "My family is happy and that is all that matters to me!" And I mean that from the depths of my soul. The reality is this, I would love to relax. Just take a day to do NOTHING! But unfortunately, that is not an option right now. And that's ok. What's the old saying, "You can rest when your dead!" LOL! My grandpa used to say that to me! I do have a few tools that I use to keep myself in line. First, is my calendar app on my phone. Second is the Mom's Plan It Planner by SunRiver Publications. This planner is great because it is week by week but has 16 months of planning space. It also has a To Do List each week and a spot for a Grocery List and Weekly Menu. It also has a spot in the back for important names and phone numbers. This planner helps me to be sure I don't forget anything. From classes, to school events for the kids to doctors appts, it all fits great in this planner. A calendar, as most of you moms I'm sure has come to love, is a key to time management and scheduling. I have found a few blogs out there also that I have found to be diamonds in my life. I will definitely be mentioning them in future blogs. So going forward, if you are reading this, it will probably read like a diary. I just want to get things out of my mind and into the open. You know how sometimes when you watch a movie a couple times, you see something different each time? Well, I'm hoping that this blog will do that for me! :) A couple things to know about me for future blogs: What am I reading? The Four Seasons of Marriage and The Mockingjay What is the last movie I saw? The Hunger Games (and before that, I can't even remember it's been so long) I think that's it for now. Signing off! Good Night World!

My Cake Adventures!

My husband and I realized about a year ago that there really is not much on tv these days, that is appropriate for our 6 year old daughter.  Can't let her watch the teen bopper shows because she tries to act like them.  Most prime time TV shows have to much foul language, evil, bloodiness, sexual inuendo, etc.  Even cartoons these days, unless it is morning time Nickelodeon or Disney, have too much adult humor.  We ended up putting a lot of movies on for her. 

Then, while I was pregnant with my son, I was really sick and unable to each much of anyting besides pasta, fruit, veggies and sweets.  So, since I couldn't eat them, I started watching food shows on tv.  Along with the food shows, there were lots of cake shows.  IE: Cake Boss, Cupcake Wars, Fabulous Cakes, etc. 

While watching these, we very quickly realized that our daughter was facinated by these cake shows.  She would pretend to make her own cakes out of boxes and using blankets as fondant.  She also pretended to have her own cupcake wars.  (Complete with judging and all)  We then started recording every cake show we could find.  We would have so much fun sitting down as a family to watch these cake shows.

One day, my husband said, "We should learn how to do this stuff!  It looks really fun!". 

My reply, "It would be fun, but where would we find a class like that?"

Not even a week later, I went to Michaels on a whim to kill some time.  As I walked in I noticed a flyer for cake decorating classes.  I immediately signed up!  I went to Michael's and bought the Wilton Ultimate Took Caddy with Tools!  This kit is supposed to have EVERYTHING you need to complete all three courses at Michaels.  I am in my last week of the first class and am having a blast.  I really could see myself, possibly, opening my own cake store some day.  Since I started, I have not wanted to stop baking and decorating.

I want to experiment with flavor combinations and practice my decorating skills.

So far, flavors I've tried have been:

Peppermint cupcakes with vanilla buttercream
Cinnamon Apple cupcakes with vanilla buttercream
Triple Chocolate Fudge cake with chocolate buttercream
Red Velvet cupcakes with cream chees frosting
Strawberry Lemonade cupcakes

This weekend, I am making Carmel Smore cupcakes and Mango cupcakes with Avocado buttercream.  I  know it sounds weird, but I saw the avocado buttercream on cupcake wars and now I want to try it!

This is my new obsession now.  :)  I buy all the books and magazines I can find with cakes and cupcakes in them.  My newest favorite, Cake Decorating for Dummies!
 

K, well enough of my crazy randomness for tonight!  If you have any suggestions for flavor combinations, please post them to me!  I would love to hear them!

Thanks All!  Have SWEET CUPCAKE dreams!

By the way, any links to items I list in my blogs, if you click on them or possibly buy them, I could possibly make a very small comission on. 

Hi! My Name Is Sabrina, And I'm a MAC-aholic!

I know, I know.  A "MAC-aholic"?  Let me tell you, when I walk into the MAC Pro Store or walk by or near the MAC counter at Nordstrom, something takes over my senses!  It's like I'm watching myself go crazy from outside my body. 

LOL!

Ok, maybe it's not that bad.  However, when I get near MAC makeup, I'm like a kid in a candy store.  I want it ALL and I can NEVER have enough.

For Christmas and my birthday, my mother-in-law gave me cash so I could go buy myself something fun.  OF COURSE, it's gonna be MAC! 

My friend Stephanie and I went to the MAC Pro Store in the Fashion Valley Mall.  We got our makeup done and shopped for some makeup while we were there.  Sounds like a blast, right?  Problem? I want it ALL!  So what to get and what to leave behind?!?!?  I always end up buying at least one or two more items than I told myself I would before I got there. 

Thank The Lord above, I have an amazingly understanding husband.  He actually thinks it's funny.  Crazy man!  One thing I can say, I never go there unless I have some money to spend.  So I guess I can't be a MAC-aholic if I'm in control that way, right?!

Oh well!  I had so much fun, got lots of great MAC products and I'm a happy happy lady!