Valentine's Day Creations

I had a wonderful Valentine's Day with some close friends. I wanted to share some fun pictures and projects I made for the holiday. Enjoy!

First, I made this Valentine's Day/ Springtime wreath out of cupcake liners of all things! It was pretty simple to make, and I think it looks like carnations!

These are Pie Pops! I used a cookie cutter to cut out hearts from pie crust, added some Nutella inside, and included a stick in the middle. This bouquet turned out splendid. I had an interesting time gluing the red hots candies to cover the foam, but it was a hit with the family to which I presented it.

While at my friends' house, we decorated cookies! I just love the blank canvas a sugar cookie provides. Here are some of the impressive cookies.

 "Sunshine in My Soul" decorated by myself.

 American Flag decorated by the little brother.

 My "Too Pretty to Eat" cookie.

"A Growing Flower" by me. 

"Chocolate Covered Strawberries" by the mom. 

This next Valentine is something I made because they were such a fun idea with suckers! As you will see in the following pictures, we enjoyed them!

I hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Paka.

P.S. Be on the lookout for this week's Tasty Tuesday post on Thursday.

Tasty Tuesday: Mac 'N' Cheese Soup

I am so excited for this week's post! A week ago, one of the blogs I follow, Tidy Mom, posted an announcement for a celebration next week (other than Valentine's Day). She is holding a

You can read more about it here. I decided to participate, so I found a new soup recipe to try! Drum roll please... Yes, I know the name of the recipe is in the title of this post. Just humor me.

Tasty Tuesday: Apple Pancakes with Cider Syrup

Do you ever get distracted and busy? I sure do- probably more distracted than busy though! That's what happened to my reposting of last week's Tasty Tuesday. Actually, Thursday and Friday flew by after participating in the grade-a-thon at my friends' house. (The mom is a math instructor at the local community college.) I must say, we had quite an entertaining evening that lasted well into the next day. There's nothing like finding a random 27 in the middle of a math problem to keep you thinking! Saturday evening was spent attending a local Amateur Radio Club Awards Banquet, where my dad was presented with the Herb S. Brier ARRL Instructor of the Year  Award. He was a co-recipient of the award; the other recipient was his team instructor in the Ham Radio classes they teach. Anyway, it was a rather neat event and ceremony.

Coming Soon to a Computer Near You

So, I somehow lost this week's Tasty Tuesday post. Luckily I still have the pictures, so you can expect the new post probably Thursday or Friday. It depends on my ability to fit it in tomorrow while preparing for a jewelry show.  See you soon!

-ALB

Birthday Report

Earlier this month, my friends and I celebrated my birthday by having a party of course! It was an adventure just getting to the party. Murphy's Law was in full force that night. In spite of all that worked against me, I made it to my party and helped set up with minutes to spare before the final guests arrived! (Everyone else was helping with the set up.) Whew!

Tasty Tuesday: Lemon Chicken

You'll have to excuse the tardiness of this post; I fell asleep before I could post it. One of my favorite dishes is the lemon chicken you get at a Chinese restaurant. When I started searching for a recipe, I wanted something I didn't have to fry but still had a lemony flavor. I think I found a decent recipe. It turned out to be a little sweeter than I was expecting, however still lemony goodness!

Tasty Tuesday: Deconstructed Shepherd's Pie

After a jam-packed weekend at a Jewelers' Conference in California (more on this to come), I have to admit to being l-a-z-y the last two days. So, when dinner time arrived tonight, I changed what I had planned to cook. That's life and flexibility for you!

This recipe is based on a favorite family recipe that I love, love, love! However, this is different enough to taste like a separate yummy dish.