IRS and Cake Decorating

I never in a million years thought I'd ever hear from the IRS. But it happened. I do my own taxes every year so I have no one to blame but myself. Somehow I managed to not claim part of our income last year, so our refund was larger than it should have been and sure enough the IRS is wanting it back, plus interest. Now we are not rich people moneywise, we live pretty much paycheck to paycheck, so this is a big hurt for us. So I have gotten a second job. A few years back I was a cake decorator for Publix Supermarkets here in Florida. I loved that job, but wasn't able to stay with it. Now the opportunity to decorate cakes has come knocking at my door. What timing! My nephew L.D.'s wife, Jen, is a bakery manager for Winn Dixie, another local grocery store. She needed a cake decorator a.s.a.p. So here I am....going to work for Jen. I can only work weekends and some nights if she really needs me too, but that works out great for both of us. So this weekend I am going to try to get some practice in on my roses and other tips, as I haven't decorated in quite awhile. I am really looking forward to this because I enjoy it so much. Plus the extra $$ will come in handy right now. We will overcome this obstacle and we will enjoy doing it, lol. If my practice icings don't look too bad I may be brave and take some pics to share. This will mean my blog time will be cut down significantly(like I really blog alot anyways, lol). So wish me luck....not exactly sure when my first day will be, but I'll let you know.

Locks of Love Haircut

Hut, before his haircut.
Hut, after his haircut.


As you all know, my wonderful husband had his haircut today for the Locks of Love. He's been growing his hair for just a little over 6 months. It started out as a contest with his boss, who was also growing his hair for the Locks of Love. But T. Michael's hair wasn't growing very fast and his hair is really curly, so he kind of gave up. Hut kept on. I kept waiting for a Locks of Love event, as they are usually posted in the newspapers, but no such luck. Then low and behold....a State Farm employee walked in last Friday with a flyer about an event they were having today in downtown Winter Haven. The salon that did the cutting is called Haircut Naturally. It is on Central and 3rd, well really 3rd. It was the neatest place. Hut got his haircut in an elevator shaft....yep. I wish I had a better camera to take pictures....it was the coolest thing. Especially since the building has only one floor. And Haircut Naturally is usually closed on Mondays, but they donated their time to do this. The employees were told they could work the event if they wanted to and do you know they ALL showed up and donated their time. How awesome is that. Well without further ado, here's Hut's haircut...............

Hut's hair before we even get to the hair salon.

Hut sitting in the chair, waiting for his cut. I love this shot with the back of his hair in the mirror.

Not a great shot, but this is Chuck, cutting Hut's ponytail off. I wish I had gotten a better picture of Chuck.

Hut, holding his prized ponytail.

Hut's new look. I just love it!

We have a WINNER!!!!

Sorry it took me so long to get to this post. Today was the day Hut got his hair cut for Locks of Love. But that is a post for another day. I won't make you wait any longer....well, yeah, maybe I will.....

Here is Hut folding the papers with the names on them.

This is my biggest bowl....boy that's alot of names.Here is Hut drawing the name out of the bowl. So that means the winner is........................................................................have you waited long enough???

Melinda Oakes. Thanks, Melinda, for helping out my nephew Griffin. And thanks to everyone else who donated. It is a worthwhile cause and you are all the best, most thoughtful, wonderful (I could go on and on) people. Thank you all for helping Griffin with his Trike-a-thon. (Melinda, get with Missy with your mailing address so I can get this out to you)

Just a reminder...Griffin's Basket Giveaway!

This is just a reminder that you have until midnight PST to make a donation to Griffin's Trike-a-thon to be eligible for a chance win this yummy basket. We will draw the winner's name tomorrow and I will post it in the afternoon. Here's what you have to look forward to..........

This is the basket I chose to give away for Griffin's Trike/Bike a thon for the St. Jude's Children's Hospital. O'Keefe's is a local gift store and they have the most amazing things in there. And there are always gift baskets there for any occasion. This basket has lots of sweet, yummy goodies. Here's a list:Chocolate Raspberry Creme Coffee

Salted Virginia Peanuts

A variety pack of stick candy

A small flower pot with some cute flowers

Graham crackers covered in white chocolate

White chocolate covered oreo cookie

Peanut Butter Chocolate Fudge

Gumdrop candies

Honey Roasted PeanutsPeanut Butter Chocolate covered pretzels

Tiger Spice Chai Tea.

Hopefully this yummy basket will entice you to make a donation to Griffin's cause. For each dollar that is donated, you get one chance......you make a $5 donation, you get 5 chances. Those of you that have already donated will be included in this also. To make a donation, just click the button at the top of my sidebar. Thank you for making this such a wonderful learning experience for Griffin. The drawing for this will be Monday, March 23. The last chance to enter will be midnight Sunday, March 22 PST.

Also, don't forget that Missy is posting some really great pieces for scrapbooking. By purchasing her pieces, you will be entered into a drawing for an awesome Bunny scrapbooking piece. I've already purchased 2 pieces just because they are so dang cute. Go check her out....send your friends....oh yeah, send your friends here too.

PS. Hut did a blog today, whoo hoo! Check him out by clicking the Simpleman link on my sidebar.

Locks of Love Hair-Cut-A-Thon

Before I get into this blog, I just wanted to give you some insight on this awesome cause. So I went to the website and copied and pasted this about Locks of Love. I will continue with my explaination at the bottom.

WHAT IS LOCKS OF LOVE?
Locks of Love is a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children in the United States and Canada under age 18 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis. We meet a unique need for children by using donated hair to create the highest quality hair prosthetics. Most of the children helped by Locks of Love have lost their hair due to a medical condition called alopecia areata, which has no known cause or cure. The prostheses we provide help to restore their self-esteem and their confidence, enabling them to face the world and their peers.
Mission Statement
Our mission is to return a sense of self, confidence and normalcy to children suffering from hair loss by utilizing donated ponytails to provide the highest quality hair prosthetics to financially disadvantaged children. The children receive hair prostheses free of charge or on a sliding scale, based on financial need.

Disclaimer:
Locks of Love is a non-religious, non-political, not-for-profit entity. Further, Locks of Love does not take positions or align itself with any special interests. Any event taking place as part of a religious, political or any other special interest group does not reflect the views or opinions of Locks of Love.
It is Locks of Love’s mission to promote the well-being of children through its program of providing hairpieces. All events and fundraisers held on behalf of Locks of Love should uphold and reflect the mission and desire to help disadvantaged children.

Okay.....on with my explaination. My husband has been growing his hair for quite awhile so he could donate to this cause. He's been putting it off and putting it off....who knows why. So today at work an employee walked in with a flyer for Locks of Love. They are having a Hair-Cut-A-Thon on Monday, March 23 here in Winter Haven. It starts at 3:00 pm. I am going to get him an appointment for after 3:30 since that's what time he gets off work. And I will be there with the camera, taking lots of before and after pics and probably pics of other donating too. For those of you who live in the Winter Haven area and are interested or know someone who might be, here's the info:

When: Monday, March 23, 2009
Where: Hair Cut Naturally (Downtown Winter Haven)
Time: 3:00 pm

They will be serving refreshments, a certificate of appreciation and a gift for anyone who participates.

Contact Information:
Call Ali Lewis @ 863-412-2797 for more information and appointment.

Update......I just spoke with Ali, who is in charge of this event. She said that Hair Cut Naturally ( 3rd St. and Central Ave)will stay open as late as they need to for haircuts. They are charging $15 per cut, but that includes styling and everything. Locks of Love is in dire need of hair for these wigs.

I am looking forward to this event. I am tired of Hut's hair being longer than mine, lol. I just wish mine was long enough to donate too.

Coconut Cake

Last Saturday we took a trip to the Ocala National Forest to visit relatives. What usually takes two hours, took four. We were unaware that there was a HUGE fire and they had some roads closed. The two ways we knew to go were both closed. So in order to visit, we had to drive 75 miles out of our way. But we just thought of it as a new adventure. We saw parts of Florida that we had never seen. Most were really small towns or just lots of orange groves and farmland. I was thrilled because I am so tired of seeing so many strip malls and housing developements being built and sitting empty while all of our natural resources are being taken away. Whew, sorry about that.....overdevelopement upsets me. It was nice to see Florida the way it used to be. I wished I had my camera with me (of all days to forget it). I was hoping to see a bear....I've yet to see one on any of my trips. Others have seen them so I know they are there. I did however see a Llama in the woods. Yes, a Llama. Not what I was expecting to see.

Now I know you are all wondering why I'm talking about the Ocala National Forest when the title of the blog is Coconut Cake. Well here's that story. Where the relatives lives is a very small town called Salt Springs. It consists of 1 gas station, 1 grocery store(not even a big chain one), 1 ice cream stand, 1 restaurant, 1 pawn shop, 1 campground, and 1 mobile home community. Not even a traffic light....boy do I love it up there. Anyways, there is a small strip mall where the 1 restaurant is located along with the post office. Every Saturday they have a small flea market there. So of course we went. There may have been 20 vendors if that many. Some had homemade furniture, others had homemade jams, jellies, pickles. One lady had tons of books. The rest pretty much had "junque". There was one table that had the most beautiful handpainted glassware. This woman painted plates, glasses, wine glasses and carafes, cake plates. Oh did I say cake plates???? Yes. My husband fell in love with one and for only $20 I made him a happy man by buying him one. So of course on the way home we stopped at the store so he could pick up stuff to make a Coconut Cake. And yes, HE made the cake. And boy is it good. So I just wanted to share a couple of pictures, one of the cake plate and one of the cake. ENJOY!
Isn't this cake plate gorgeous???? She had some with other types of flowers and some with awesome palm trees (which I would have picked but oh well). This one has pinkish, purplish flowers all the way around it.
And the piece de resistance.............Coconut Cake du jour. Can you believe only two of us have been eating that and it was only bake Tuesday night???? Wish I could send you all a piece. My hubby is the best!

Girffin's Giveaway Basket

This is the basket I chose to give away for Griffin's Trike/Bike a thon for the St. Jude's Children's Hospital. O'Keefe's is a local gift store and they have the most amazing things in there. And there are always gift baskets there for any occasion. This basket has lots of sweet, yummy goodies. Here's a list:
Chocolate Raspberry Creme Coffee
Salted Virginia Peanuts
A variety pack of stick candy
A small flower pot with some cute flowers
Graham crackers covered in whit chocolate
White chocolate covered oreo cookie
Peanut Butter Chocolate Fudge
Gumdrop candies
Honey Roasted Peanuts
Peanut Butter Chocolate covered pretzels
Tiger Spice Chai Tea.

Hopefully this yummy basket will entice you to make a donation to Griffin's cause. For each dollar that is donated, you get one chance......you make a $5 donation, you get 5 chances. Those of you that have already donated will be included in this also. To make a donation, just click the button at the top of my sidebar. Thank you for making this such a wonderful learning experience for Griffin. The drawing for this will be Monday, March 23. The last chance to enter will be midnight Sunday, March 22 PST.

Also, don't forget that Missy is posting some really great pieces for scrapbooking. By purchasing her pieces, you will be entered into a drawing for an awesome Bunny scrapbooking piece. I've already purchased 2 pieces just because they are so dang cute. Go check her out....send your friends....oh yeah, send your friends here too.

Wednesday

I just wanted to let everyone know that I will be going to pick up the gift basket this afternoon. That way I can take a picture and let everyone know what wonderful goodies they might win. Thank you to everyone who has donated to my nephew's great cause. He is really going to learn about how caring and giving people can be, even in these hard times. So check me out later this evening to see the basket.

And I have to tell you what a charm my new little girl Molly is. I told you all that she is only 4 weeks old. Well she has to be the easiest puppy in the world to potty train. She will not potty in the house. She will wait until I take her outside. I was kind of dreading the whole potty training part of the puppy, but I just got really lucky. I have to say she did have only 2 accidents since we've had her. She really tries to wait until she goes out. And now that she is comfortable at the house her personality is coming out. She is so comical. I wish I could video tape some of her antics. And our cat really likes the puppy. I guess because the puppy plays with her and they are about the same size. I will have to try to get more pictures of her to share. And I can't wait to see how she gets along with Griffin when those two finally meet. Well I'm at work, so I guess I better get busy "working". You all have a great day!

Gift Basket for Griffin

As you all know, my nephew Griffin is in a Trike/Bike a thon to raise money for the St. Jude's Children's Hospital. Even though he is in Virginia and we are in Florida, I wanted to help him raise some funds. So I am going to give away a gift basket from my favorite store O'Keefe's. Those of you who live in the area or who have won a basket I've given away, know what great gift baskets they have. The basket will have at least a $30 value. In order to have a chance to win the basket, you must make a donation to Griffin's event. For each dollar you donate between now and Sunday, March 22 at midnight, you will get one "ticket" towards the basket. For example....if you donate $5 you get 5 chances. Easy enough I hope. The basket is going to be a total suprise (since I haven't bought it yet, lol). When you make a donation starting today, Missy will let me know how many chances each person gets. I will draw a name on Monday morning. Just click the link at the top of my side bar to make a donation. Missy is also having a blog "Craft Sale". She has some really cute things, so check that out while you are there. Thank you all for all your help.

PS.....we have changed the rules some.....learning as we go......everyone who has made a straight out donation will be included in the drawing. Thanks so much to everyone for being so thoughtful and helpful.

Post 200

This is the State Farm building I was at for 2 days in Coral Springs.

Boy what a week. Busy, busy, busy. You all know I went to South Florida to train a new receptionist. I went to Coral Springs and my son Wade got to go with me. I wouldn't suggest it as a vacation destination. BORING!!! Poor Wade had to keep himself occupied while I was at work. I'm glad I was only there a day and 1/2. He did find a 2-story flea market that had a car museum among other things. So that kept him kind of busy. Of course he brought me lunch and ate with me the first day. I got to leave at 2 the second day so we just at on the way home. We did find a rather interesting restaurant to eat at, though. It was called the Big Bear Brewing Company. What a fun place.

Here is a not so good picture of Wade outside the restaurant.
This was Wade's hamburger. He didn't put anything on it. He said it was great just the way it came. I got chicken tenders that came with BBQ sauce and HoneyMustard.

This was mine...enough chicken to feed an army.

A couple of lushes. Wade and I ordered the Beer Sampler. We got 8 different kinds of beers to try. I sipped all 8 of mine but only like 2 so that's all I drank. Poor Wade (yeah, right) had to drink all of his and 6 of mine. It's a good think they were small, lol.This was one of the cars at that museum Wade went to. You could sit in this one and have your picture taken.

And for those original Miami Vice fans.....here is the car Don Johnson drove in the show. Not a great pic I know, but Wade tried his best. I didn't have a chance to go there.

Friday was the 13th. It was also the 17th anniversary of the first date with my husband. Our first date was also on a Friday the 13th in March of 1992. The rest is history.

And now I have to introduce the newest member of the family. Actually first I need to explain that we had to get rid of Tinkerbelle. She was just too much for this small house and yard. She had our yard all dug up and she kept escaping. But the icing on the cake was when we got home from work one day and she had Hut's chair in the living room all tore up. She was a great dog....she just needed someone to give her more attention than we could and someone who had lots of room to run. Plus kids. She loved kids. Well we took her back to animal control and they actually had had some other people interested in her when we adopted her and they were going to get in touch with them. So I'm sure she has a great new home.

I have still been kinda mopey though, since I lost Miss Piggy. Tinkerbelle was just too big. I needed a smaller dog. Well we went yard saling on Sunday and some people were giving away puppies. I really didn't want a puppy, what with potty training and all. But there was one and she just had to come home with us. She is a Chow/Curr mix. She won't be large dog, but she won't be a small lap dog either. She is beautiful and smart. Already she won't potty in the house. She does potty as soon as I take her outside. So she is going to be easily trained. She is only 4 weeks old. And here she is........

MOLLY MARCH. Molly because it suited her and March because that's when we got her.And another pic of the baby.

I just wanted to mention that my nephew, Griffin, is in a Trike/Bike a thon at his school to benefit St. Jude's Children's Hospital. The link to my Sis in Law, Missy's link is on my side bar. If you haven't already checked it out....head over that way. Please make a donation if you are able. She is also selling some cute things to help raise funds. Check it out....go on now....time's awastin'

Friday!

Hey I haven't tried to get out of blogging again. I've been trying to catch up at home and work since being in Coral Springs this week. Plus with my son being at the house, he hogs the computer. I am doing this quick blog from work before the boss gets in, lol. I will try to get a more up to date blog done when I get home. Tomorrow I'm off to Ocala to visit my cousin and her family and the ex in laws. We always enjoy going up there to visit. Hopefully I'll get to see a bear this time. They all live in the middle of the national forest and it seems like everyone has seen a bear but me. Keep your fingers crossed that I see one. And hopefully I'll be able to get a picture too. Everyone have a wonderful Friday and if I don't get to post later.....have a great weekend.

Trying week

Hey ya'll. I'm gonna try to give blogging another shot. I'm feeling somewhat better. But it's been a heck of a week. First of all, at my doctor's appointment this week I found out I'm severely anemic, which is the cause of my depression and my issues with my diabetes. I have a ton of tests I have to have done over the next couple of weeks to see if they can determine what is causing it. Then back to the doctors on April 16. Just knowing what little I do makes me feel a little better. Right now it's Iron supplements that I am taking and trying to eat foods rich with iron. Hopefully that's all I'll need. Then my poor husband lost his Uncle Lowring this week. He passed away from a heart attack Thursday night. He also lost a high school friend the same day, same way. And then another old friend of his passed away Friday, heart attack. So he has been having a rough time of it. To end it all, my job is sending me to Coral Springs in south Florida for a few days. Sounds like a mini vacation but I really just want to stay home right now. Well that's it for the fussing and complaining....now for some exciting news about my friend Kevin....you know the Hot Guy in Hong Kong who sings in an acapella group? Any ways, they finally have a CD out and I am going to try to put the link on my side bar. These guys are really awesome. I was thrilled to hear from Kevin and to find out they finally have a CD available. You know I have already ordered mine. Kevin is on myspace and facebook. Wish I could link you to him. Those of you who visit my facebook or myspace can link to him. And I want to thank all of you again for being so supportive and giving me my space while I'm dealing with issues. I am so lucky to have found such dear, sweet friends as you. And yes, doing this blog has made me feel even better. Thanks again.

To all my wonderful friends......Thanks

These are for you....my friends.....I don't have words to describe how wonderful it is to have such caring friends spread all over the globe. I always think about you guys when I find little sayings like these. Feel free to take them with you.....you are all truly special "angels".

March 1

I told you that I would be back blogging on March 1. Here it is March 1 and I am doing this one blog. I have decided to take some more time away from the world.....mainly the computer. I won't be blogging, doing facebook, myspace and very little email. I will, however, stop by and read your blogs from time to time and even leave comments. I really feel like I need more time for myself. I will tell you that it has to do with my diabetes and depression. Those of you familiar with diabetes knows it goes hand in hand with depression. I am under the care of my wonderful doctor as I fight this battle. I am working on keeping my stress levels down and trying to stay off medications. I think that may be a losing battle. If you would please keep me in your prayers. When I am feeling more like myself, I will be back. Thank you all for being such wonderful friends. It means alot to me. Thank you for all your support and understanding.