Vacation

MyHotComments I'm on vacation for a week, sorry to be MIA but was preparing. Should have told you earlier! On my way to Napa for a few days and will return here Thursday. See you then!

Now how did I know that???

MyHotComments

I have an interesting story for you today. It's about my mom who passed away 7 years ago and also about the power of the subconscious. I've had some amazing experiences where I have had a moment of knowledge of an upcoming event where I was 100% positive it would occur and I was perfectly calm about it. The first time was when I knew, after 2 weeks of meeting my future husband, that without an ounce of doubt I would marry him...that he was the right one and would be the only one. I was 22 and had never had that feeling of confidence before. 32 years later, here we are still married, still working on it, and still laughing (more than EVER) and enjoying the life we chose to create.

I've had a few other moments of knowledge like this regarding huge life experiences but won't go into detail. And I'm like most anyone when it comes to intuition...half the time I ignore it, but I had a new kind of experience this past Monday, July 13th. Nothing special seemed to have happened that day, but as I went about my day at home I suddenly recalled the memory of how I found out my mom had cancer. How I had just left my house to go visit my sister, an hour away to the north, and was about to enter the onramp to the freeway, when my dad called on my cell phone to say Mom just had an operation and I should come down. Holy moly, I shot across the empty road and pulled into a parking lot so I could focus on this phone call!

Dad sounded so calm so I asked if it was serious and he said "no, but I talked with your sister and she'll come pick you up 'cuz you should come and see your mom". I asked, "okay Dad, she's not going to die or anything before we get there, is she?" He replied, "oh, no, no, nothing like that". Later he told me our family friend/priest had told him to keep it simple...since he had 7 of us kids to call!

Well, Sis and I knew something was up and that our life wasn't going to be the same after this visit...sure enough when we got to the hospital, the entire family was there, the mood was solemn and Mom told us she had pancreatic cancer. Her mood was actually good and rather jovia,l really. Of course our typical questions were "can't they operate"...well, yes, but it won't add much time....and, "how long do you have".....5 months. Her response to that was that she didn't have to visit the dentist ever again (6 month visits)...silly mom.

Well,I could go on, but I won't. Now, back to the present, here is what is interesting about Monday. The day after I recalled this memory I was telling my husband I was surprised at having it and that nothing seemed to have triggered it. As we talked I remembered that we found out about Mom's situation 7 years ago right after my parents 50th anniversary which was the end of June...so we must have been told about her cancer in July.

I pulled out my journal, looked through July 2002 and oh my gosh.....July 13th, the day I had the memory, was the exact anniversary date of when she told us her news. Now, I remember several definite dates about much of her situation...I can never forget the date she died, or the date I woke up scared and nervous and knowing she was going to die very soon (this happened the morning before her final day) and I can't ever forget the last time she spoke to me over the phone, saying she loved me.

But never, in the past 7 years, have I ever been aware of July 13th. The memory of the day, yes, but never the date. And here was my subconscious reliving the day ON the day itself. That's amazing to me the brain can rearrange its thinking to pull this very "file" on this very day to provide me with this particular memory.

Well, now you KNOW that July 13th is now burned into my brain like the other dates that are ingrained there. I wish it wasn't but there it is.

I would love to hear about your experiences of occurences like this...tell me YOUR story, won't you?

M.I.A.

Hey, I'm m.i.a. but will be back before the weekend with an interesting little story for you...
be sure to see the previous entry so you can attempt to win some of my cupcake jewelry!

Cupcake Giveaway and Cake

So, my big announcement today is another Cupcake Giveaway for U.S. contestants!
You need to enter at the sponsor's site...NO ENTRIES on this blog, please. The giveaway is being sponsored by the PurplePinkAndOrange site and the prize is ANY pair of Cupcake Earrings that you can keep for yourself or give to a special someone as a gift.

You have 3 possible methods of entry and
Giveaway ends on Saturday, July 18th at midnight CST.
I hope you enter!

And now for some post 4th of July stories. I love this holiday because rather than fighting crowds and driving to a fireworks show, I simply step outside and watch the illegal fireworks all around my neighborhood. I warm at the muffled sound of a faraway launch, the pop, crackle & sizzle of the burst and then the misty cloud of sulphur smoke that floats swiftly past my home...from a good quarter mile away. I just love it!

We are located smack dab in the middle of what I call the "siren" corridor...the 2 fire stations are at either end of a very long road that passes by our home...at least we are set way back on a court and not on the main road. Usually I hear the sirens going to AND from their locations, but this time I counted SEVEN separate vehicles heading in ONE direction...about 30 seconds apart. As soon as one passed, here came another.

Sheesh! As my mother used to say "sounds like the whole TOWN is burning down". I can identify a firetruck from an ambulance...police sirens and ambulances sound almost the same, but ambulances have a sharper tone. Anyway, couldn't see flames or smoke in the sky, so who knows WHAT was going on!


Okay, second story is about my traditional 4th of July flag cake. I'm sure many of you make one as well, but for those of you who don't, it is soooo simple & yummy, I thought I'd share my "recipe". I buy any white cake mix that advertises it's moisture "value" whether it's pudding or whatever. I bake it in a 13 x 9 inch pan and let it cool until it is still warm on the bottom. Then I pierce the top with a fork and spread smashed fresh berries all over it. I prefer strawberries & blueberries...some people use raspberries as well but to me it then tastes like a wedding cake.


While the cake bakes, I select 50, yes 50 similarly sized blueberries to represent all 50 stars of our spectacular American flag and I slice strawberries by hand. I love my strawberry slicer but it produces a slightly thinner slice that is a little too floppy and I want a firm slice so I don't mess up the whipped cream "icing". I just slice until I think I have enough and then being my anal self, I organize them by size so I can make rows of similarly sized strawberries...looks a little "gollywumpus" to mix sizes....yeah, yeah, I know.

For some reason I just couldn't get good light for this final "ta-da" photo, but here she is... I always present the cake to my family so they can see it before we each dig into whenever we are ready to munch on it. I put the cake in the fridge so it's deliciously chilled which makes a big difference in texture and flavor. It helps to firm up the cake portion. I just love this cake.

Since there are only 3 of us in my household, I always hope my son will attend a party so he can take most of it with him...and sure enough he came through once again, saying "thanks Mom!!!" on his way out the door. Of course, this happiness followed a bbq here at home with the BEST ever tri-tip I've cooked so far!

I used to marinade the darned things for hours and still didn't get flavor running all the way through as I'd hoped. But I have now created a marinade so perfect that only ONE hour on each side is enough!

And here it is...no measurements, just dumped it in a pan as I saw fit:

Soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, worchestshire sauce, liquid smoke (mesquite flavor) and sesame seed oil

As Rachael Ray would say....Yum-OH!

Hope I entertained you today...now go enter my giveaway!!!!

Summer Berry Specials!

Special #1: Peppermint Cherry Polymer Clay Bracelet

Features: Siam Swarovski Crystals & .925 Sterling Silver

(Clay beads measure 10mm in diameter

Matching bracelet available upon request)

For price, see this on my ETSY site


CONTEST ANNOUNCEMENT ON SUNDAY, JULY 5, DON'T MISS IT!!!

Special #2: Vintage Strawberry Creme Polymer Clay Bracelet

Features: Polymer Clay strawberry beads against pink background with Vintage Rose &

Erinite Swarovski Crystals & .925 Sterling Silver

(Clay beads have 10mm diameter. Bracelet Fits wrists up to 6 3/4 (16.8cm)

Matching earrings available upon request)

For pricing, view this piece on my ETSY site

I only have one set of each of these, but I can order more beads.
You would receive orders approximately 2 weeks after paying in full.

At the Seashore

Yowee, this bracelet is packed with the colors of summer. Lampwork beads in pink, white, cream & blues create a summery back drop for the spectacular polymer clay cane beads, which are NOT painted. The artist creates a design that runs all the way through a roll of clay so that each slice becomes like a mini painting on both sides...absolutely amazing. Every bead in this bracelet rests on a genuine Swarovski colored crystal to give you plenty of sparkle in the sunshine and the bracelet is very lightweight and not "jangly" sounding.


I just listed this in my ETSY shoppe in time for summer. I still have a summer special coming up here on this blog on Friday as well so be sure to pop right back for it (or perhaps 2 or 3!). Until then, enjoy the show with a few closeups.