Thursday, February 6, 2014

Valentine Treats ... and RAKs

Happy Thursday!!

Been AWOL a bit this week.  I pretty much lost track of what day it was!  Monday Craig came home at noon with a wicked cold ... the kids had Tuesday off (Faith Development Day for the Teachers) and Craig also ended up staying home from work sick (THAT'S a first!!) so by Wednesday I thought it was Monday ... or Saturday.  Then today was a half day ... and Craig came home at noon again ... I seriously had to look at the calendar this afternoon to try to figure out the date!  It's all good, though.  Although I hate when one of my clan is sick it DOES make me feel needed and I know what my "job" is for the day ... and that makes me happy :)

You know what ELSE makes me happy?  RAKs ... know what those are?  Random Acts of Kindness.  Yep.  I've been doing more and more of those over the last 6 months and ya know what?  They make my heart smile.  Truly.  Have you ever done something *nice* for someone for no particular reason? ... just to make them smile and hope that they have a nice day?  If you haven't you should.  It is the best feeling in the world.  This morning I got out of the shower and sitting on the counter was a steaming cup of coffee.  Craig had made it and brought it to me before he left for work.  He was already down the road by the time I found it ... and it made me smile.  What a great way to start the day.  I was in a good mood all morning ... even when I was walking my Doodle Dog in the -31 degree weather.  I was in a good mood when we passed the mail lady sorting mail into the superboxes a few blocks away from my house.  We often pass her and chat briefly.  This morning we chatted a little longer and she said she had something for me.  Craig's passport had come in and I needed to sign for it.  I mentioned I had to leave to get the kids so wouldn't be home so she fished it out of the truck, I signed for it and was on my way.  She was grateful she didn't have to make an extra stop.  I was grateful I didn't miss her and then have to drive to the post-office to retrieve it (although that WOULD give me a chance to say hi to my favorite Post Office Lady (hi Deb!)).  I was surprised and impressed that she knew my name and address.  Although we've seen each other a number of times how on earth she would remember my name and address is beyond me (moreover, the mail was for CRAIG, whom she has never met!  She must have known MY last name and address, saw HIS last name and address and put it all together!)  ANYWAY! ... we chatted about the flippin; weather (as us folk here in Alberta do 90% of the time!) and how we'd rather be in Cancun right now ... then we were on our way.  When I got home I was still smiling and knew that I just HAD to pass on my smile with an RAK ... so I ran down to my craft room and found the ONE little coffee cup I had left, popped a package of Coffee Crisp Hot Chocolate inside it, jotted down a note and took it to my mail box for her to find about 10 minutes later:
Can you read the note?  It says "Mail Lady whose name I don't know ... Stay Warm!"

I haven't check the mail box since to see if she took it ... but I'm pretty sure she would have.  After all she obviously knows who I am ... and hopefully she doesn't think I'm some kind of freak trying to poison her and would drink it.  Meh - even if she doesn't drink it I'm quite sure it made her smile ... and that's enough for me.  Moreover, it made ME smile thinking about it. 

That's how it works.  You do something nice for someone "just because" ... and maybe they'll pay it forward and do something nice for someone else ... and so on ... and so on ... and so on ... and before you know it the world is one big happy, smiley place ... an YOU feel best of all!

*Sniff* - it's just such a beautiful thought, isn't it?? 

Anyone want to hold hands and sing Coombaya with me?? 

*lol*  Ahhhh - I crack myself up ... perhaps the lack of sleep is making me punchy again ...

OH!!!!
Speaking of lack of sleep ... remember a while back I mentioned I shouldn't be left unsupervised in the wee hours of the morning with a TV, a phone and a credit card?  ... or was that in a Facebook post I made?  Well - yes ... a few months ago the infomercials got me and I bought the Cindy Crawford skin products "Meaningful Beauty" (WHICH, btw I absolutely LOVE!!!)  WELL!  2 nights ago I was awake at 2:30 am ... so I started channel surfing (as you do) and stumbled across the T25 workout videos.  Yep.  I bought 'em *lol*  I say again ... I should not be left unsupervised ...

Now before you slap your hand to your forehead shaking your head hear me out!  I'm done with Jenny.  ... Guess I should tell Jenny that soon, eh?  (Note to self - call your consultant and tell her you're done).  Jenny was good - Jenny worked ... I lost 20 pounds ... but I'm done.  6 months of the same food and I'm done.  Need somethin' new.  Bring on Shaun T and the T25 workout videos.  Yes-sir-ee Bob - in a short 10 weeks (50 days) I'll be sportin' a bikini better than most teenagers ... (while looking 20 years younger with my soft, dewey, radiant skin!)  Woo Hoo!  And yes ... I'll take before pics ... and I'm making Craig take my bathroom scale to the office.  I will NOT weigh myself for at LEAST 25 days.  Why?  Because the number on the scale doesn't MATTER!!!  I don't CARE if I weight 152 - 154 pounds (yes, that's what I weigh at the moment).  I want to ROCK that pair of size 6 jeans!!!  THAT'S what was driving me crazy about the Jenny Craig.  The focus is on the number on the scale ... it has to be, really, so they can figure out when you've reached your goal and you can start maintenance and learn how to eat something other than expensive microwaveable food!  Problem is the number was driving me crazy!  I worked out 15 days in a row and ate what I was supposed to eat and the scale didn't reflect that.  I LOOKED better and FELT better but the scale didn't move ... so I'm done with that.  We'll try T25 and I'll report back accordingly ... and yes, I'll even show you the before and after pictures!

Right!  Enough rambling and tangents, yes?!  Let me show you a few pics of the Valentine Treats I've put together this year.  Did I post these ones yet?  No, I don't think I did.  I started the tags over a month ago but only just made the treats this week ... here they are:

I made these for my customers this month.  The really were fairly easy to make ... mind you I DID do it in stages ... over the last month ... so maybe they *weren't* that quick!  I bought the Pretzels at Michaels ... melted some Candy Melts - spread the chocolate over the pretzel then added candy sprinkles.  To let them dry I could have layed them on parchment paper but instead I used my cookie drying rack and stood the pretzels up in the grooves.  They are in little bags sold at Michaels as well, specifically FOR pretzels!  Who knew such things were necessary in life??!!  I made the tags with my heart framelits in Real REd and STrawberry slush.  The *thanks* is from the photopolymer set "Another Thank You" and I made the strip into a banner with my paper snips.  I added a little heart for decoration and tied it to the pretzel with bakers twine.  You can't really see it but the flags/banners are curved a little.  I used my bone folder to break down the fibres of the paper so they have a little wave to them.  Fun!  I love how they turned out ... and they are SOOOO yummy!!!!

I wasn't going to invest that much time and effort into the kids' friends treats.  Nope - I needed 60 of those so quick, easy and cheap was the name of the game.  Here is what I came up with ... took maybe 2 hours from start to finish:

Yay!  I cut 2" x 4" strips of white card stock and punched the tops with the new scalloped tag topper punch. and stapled two packs of pop rocks to the back.  I bought the pop rocks in bulk at the Dollarama - $2 for 50 ... so for $6 everyone gets some popping fun!  For the You Rock I had STARTED making tags in My Digital Studio.  I used the Word Bubble shape with You Rock inside it ... but then realized I'd have to cut them out by hand or some other fiddly process ... so I aborted, headed to Google and found a free download from Avery Labels (of all places!) for the one you see above.  All I had to do was hit "print" and then I punched the circles out with my 1 3/8" circle punch and tape them on!  Does it GET any better than that??!!  NO I say!  It doesn't! 

So now I'm ready for Valentines WAAAAY ahead of schedule ... well .. more or less ... I guess I should make a card for My Love ... and maybe the kids ... and I think Trixie, our Elf on the Shelf just may be paying us a visit ... so no ... I guess I'm not *quite* done.

I AM, however done with this post (don't cheer!  That's not nice!  And this post is supposed to be about being NICE ... hmm is that supposed to be *suppose to be* or *supposeD to be*? ... better ask Dad tomorrow when I randomly drop by for a coffee.  (see what I did there ... I tied the beggining of the post with the RAK to the end of the post with another RAK .. see?  Like it?  Clever?  Would my high school English teacher Mr. Hurley be impressed?  Do you follow the way my brain works?  ... does it scare you?)   Never mind ... don't answer that. 

Go!  Do an RAK ... say a little prayer for my mental health ... and smile :) 

Until next time ... have a stampy night!


Tam

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