I'm on Bakerella's blog!!!

http://www.bakerella.com/

I love finding a post from Bakerella in my email, and she almost always has one on Monday mornings.  I opened up my email this morning and she has a post about her book tour in southern California AND I AM IN THE 3RD PICTURE!!!!  Front and center!  And my hair isn't flat!  I'm also in a few more pictures in the slideshow.  So that was a fun surprise on this rainy, dreary morning.

I love a rainy, dreary morning than most people.  But today it matches the mood of our family as Ben leaves for his deployment in Afghanistan.  There have been lots of little miracles involved with this deployment, but the best news of all is that he will only be gone 8 months.  Due to security, I'll let Jamie give you the details.  (Her blog is private, but if you want to be on it just email her and she will add you.)  It was interesting this time around (Ben went to Iraq for a year in 2004) they are being very cautious about security and what can be posted on social networks online or even spoken of on cell phones.  As a mom, I am grateful for their caution.  I talked to Jamie first thing this morning, and so far so good.  We are looking forward to our visit to Louisiana for Christmas. 

Bakerella Book Tour Signing

Last year I discovered Bakerella.com when I was looking online for a recipe for cake balls.  She has an amazing blog that I have subscribed to ever since ~ and I always look forward to finding her latest post in my inbox.  Bakerella took the basic cake ball recipe (where you combine cake and frosting, roll it into a ball and dip it in chocolate) and has created tons of darling shapes and designs and put them on a sucker stick and called them CAKE POPS.It is amazing how creative she is. Her blog has step by step tutorials and the directions make it all look so easy. Bakerella had so many good ideas she wrote a book:

It was fun to learn about the publishing process in her  posts.  I was so excited to hear that she was having a book tour stop in Costa Mesa that I immediately put it on my calendar and promised myself  I would go no matter what.  I usually have grand plans-- but  then I talk myself out of going, especially when I don't have anyone to go with.   This time I followed through!  Since Disneyland and my Aunt Sharon's is the only place I ever go in Orange County I was proud of myself for figuring out how to get to
Williams-Sonoma in South Coast Plaza. 

I left home at 8:30, filled up the gas tank, got a Jamba Juice for the road and made it there in an hour.  So nice not to hit traffic!  I was unsure of what to expect so I was really pleased that I got one of those sweet  front parking places at the mall and  I was #24 for the book signing.  I got a front row spot and it was so much fun to be there that the 2 hours of waiting flew by. Not to mention Williams-Sonoma is a place I could get into lots of trouble.

Melissa's friend, Heather, from Lake Elsinore was there (she recognized me and texted Melissa to be sure it was me).  We had our picture taken together to show Melissa.  Most of the people there were from Orange County but there were also several people from Corona.  They handed out 128 numbers so I was really glad to be in the front of that line.There were over 200 people there and it was a happy, lively group.  Bakerella answered questions for about 15 minutes before the book signing and she had some really good, simple suggestions.

These girls from Mission Viejo were in line with me for the signing, and they had these adorable shirts made! I never found out their names, but the blonde told me I looked familiar and I had thought the same thing when I first saw her, but when we talked about it our paths had never crossed.

Bakerella was featured on the cover of the Betty Crocker Fall Baking magazine last month, and she signed that for me too.  It was such a treat to meet my blog friend Bakerella AKA Angie Dudley.  I'm so glad I took the time and made the effort to be there - it was well worth it!

A Blog for Us Grandma's

http://www.travelinoma.blogspot.com/

I was blog/link surfing today and found this wonderful blog, TRAVELIN OMA - FINDING BEAUTY IN LIFE! Lot's of cute posts about being a grandmother and the joys of aging. It was just what I needed!