Mix Cupcakes Are Yummy!

March 20, 2010

We had great fun at our wine and cheese party tonight! After the cheeses we tried some chicken sausages, baby back ribs, roast beef slices and a marinated pork tenderloin with a wonderful spinach, orange, pecan and cheese salad. THEN we had a taste test of cupcakes:
From the Mix Cupcake Co:

Peanut Butter Chocolate Blast: Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Buttercream w/chopped Reese’s Peanut Butter cups on top.

Classic Red Velvet: Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and mini dark chocolate chips.

Coconut Paradise: Coconut Cake with Vanilla Buttercream and topped w/Coconut flakes.

Sweet Strawberry: Strawberry cake with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting.

…and then, to twist things a little….

Two flavors from Raley’s – special single cupcakes –

Red Velvet: Red Velvet Cake with a Rich Cream Cheese Center and Cream Cheese Frosting

Black Tie: White and Chocolate Marbled Cake filled and Topped with a Chocolate Whipped Icing.

******************************
…and the winners are…..

1) Sweet Strawberry from Mix Cupcake Company
2) Peanut Butter Chocolate Blast from Mix Cupcake Company
3) Red Velvet Cake from Mix Cupcake Company with the Frosting from the Raley’s Red Velvet Cupcake!

We were caked out so we have to wait till tomorrow to try the Mix Cupcake:
Triple Chocolate Temptation: Chocolate Cake with a Dark Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting.

Do checkout the Mix Cupcake Company website for more Twitter, Facebook and Cupcake Fairy information!

See my other blogs at https://mygrandmasue.wordpress.com 🙂

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Early High Desert Wildflowers In Bloom

March 19, 2010

We always like to take a walk around our land on the first morning we are back in Reno. Today was no exception. Looks like all the plants made it through the winter. Most are budding out. One daffodil is blooming. The rest are still pushing out leaves and a few buds. We might get snow on Wednesday, so I hope it is only a brief cold front. Here are pictures of some of the wildflowers already blooming in the “wild part” (or native area or non-landscaped area) of our land.

Yellow (I think) Buttercups or Cinquefoil. I think they are Buttercups because they do not have five green sepals under the yellow petals. However, I don’t think the leaves look like either plant. They are very short and close to the ground. They are always the first to bloom in the spring.

The violets are also profusely blooming in large patches and clumps.

The tiny Yarrow get taller in the weeks to come.

See my earlier blog Possible Plethora of Wildflowers from last Spring for a list of flower identification books. We concentrate on ones for the Great Basin and Tahoe area.

See my other blogs at https://mygrandmasue.wordpress.com 🙂

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Lovely Evening with Aunt Rose

March 17, 2010

Grandpa Ron and I had a wonderful time with Aunt Rose last night! It had been several years since we had last visited her. Shame on us! After dinner at the local Elephant Bar restaurant we continued our catching up with her over coffee back at her house. We had a great time! Hope to do it again soon!
🙂

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Committee of 300 Gathering Members for Grand Prix

March 16, 2010

Tomorrow (Wednesday) night the Committee of 300 will meet to get more organized for another year of volunteering at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Here’s the January 2010 Newsletter. Here’s a Long Beach Press-Telegram Committee 300 article.

Message from John Ridgely:
Hi Race Fans! As the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach is just around the corner (April 16th, 17th and 18th) we have our March General Meeting this Wednesday, March 17th at the Petroleum Club of Long Beach, 3636 Linden, Long Beach. This meeting is for our Members, guests, and our Credentialled Race Volunteers. Tammy Johnson, Ticketing manager from the GPALB will be there to tell us what to expect at the race. It is always interesting listening to Tammy outline what is expected of us during the race. Please bring your friends, family, neighbors and co-workers and let them find out about the opportunities available for volunteering to work race weekend. Networking starts at 5:15pm, and the meeting begins at 6:15pm. We have opportunity prizes, light food and birthday cake for all those attending to celebrate our March birthdays. Please join us!

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Accomplishment of the Winter Season

March 15, 2010

Grandpa Ron and I just mailed out our Winter Newsletter! OK, so it is only 3 months late! Better late than never!! –And today is 70 degrees on the beach in LA…….

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Great Sunday!

March 14, 2010

Grandpa Ron and I had a great Sunday! We started by going to the Wayfarer’s Chapel for the Sunday service. The celebrant, Jonathan Mitchell was brilliant as always. We really get a lot out of the services. The chapel is a very special, spiritual place for us. To top it off, the Wayfarer’s Chapel Gift Shop ordered more copies of my book Grandpa, Do It! I Do It, Too! as they had sold out of the ones they had! Woo! Hoo! After a wonderful patio lunch in the warm sun and light ocean breeze at the San Pedro Doubletree Hotel, we did a quick tour of the harbor and then did our weekend chores. It was a super day!

Check out ideas and activities to do with kids on https://mygrandmasue.wordpress.com 🙂

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College Education and Employability – Succeeding in School

March 13, 2010

I found the Numbers page of the March 22 & 29, 2010, Business Week fascinating. I wanted to link to it but couldn’t find the page on-line. I know it is getting more and more expensive to get a college degree every year – BUT – it is definitely worth it in the long run. Most colleges and universities have programs to help. I believe it is very important to start early to instill in your young children a love of learning – and a lot of it is done by watching your example!

So, I will share the facts I thought very interesting:

Using data gathered since 2000 and ending in February 2010, the unemployment rates were binned by level of education. Here are the results.

Of the people who had Bachelor or higher degrees, 5.0% were unemployed.
Of the people who had Associate degrees or some college, 8.0% were unemployed.
Of the people who had high school diplomas but no college,10.5% were unemployed.
Of the people who had not earned a high school diploma, 15.6% were unemployed

Nobody got fantastically big raises for 2009; however, the median salary for advanced degree holders was triple the median salary of people with less than a high school diploma!

All right. Then what?
I found an interesting article called Educational Systems of Japan and the US on the University of Michigan website that discusses the different emphasis put on education in Japan and the US. I found the whole study food for thought.

Ok….
So, how do we help our kids? Ahhhh……

I have found a great website Helping Children Succeed in School by the University of Illinois Extension (University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign) for the adults. Mom & Dad, Grandma & Grandpa — do take some time to peruse this wealth of information and absorb the guidance.

Here’s a fun, educational page for the kids. Yes, the two adjectives fun and educational can be used at the same time! 🙂

Check out more ideas and activities to do with kids on https://mygrandmasue.wordpress.com by the author of the award-winning children’s book Grandpa, Do It! I Do It, Too! 🙂

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LA Angels Flight to Reopen

March 12, 2010

Known as the “shortest railway in the world,” the Los Angeles landmark Angels Flight is planned to reopen on April 15th with its runs up and down Bunker Hill. Current plans are that it will still only cost a quarter, but that might change in the future. It had closed following the death of an 83 year old man and injuries to seven others when the brakes failed on one of the cars in 2001. The California Public Utilities Commission has recertified the railway after Angels Flight Railway Company fixed the defects that caused the accident.

Joe Thompson, the Cable Car Guy, has this Angels Flight info on his website. Dace Taube’s Angel Flight page has a 1996 Quicktime movie and several old photographs from 1898-1960. Try this link from LAist of the funicular railway for a Rich Alossi video of test runs last January as noted by Zach Behrens. Check out Mike Ebert’s Virtual Ride from Saturday, Feb. 24, 1996, when it reopened a short distance away from its original site after an almost 27 year absence.

Check out more ideas and activities to do with kids on https://mygrandmasue.wordpress.com by the author of the award-winning children’s book Grandpa, Do It! I Do It, Too! 🙂

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Happy Hollow Park and Zoo

March 11, 2010

When our daughter was small she loved to go to Happy Hollow Park & Zoo in San Jose, CA. A couple years ago it closed. Just saw that there will be a great Re-Opening on March 20, 2010. Check out the photos in the San Jose Mercury News article By Mayra Flores De Marcotte! How great will that be for the young adults with small children of their own who remembered the fun they had in the park so long ago! As part of the Measure P Safe Neighborhood Parks and Recreation bond measure approved by voters in 2000, the park closed in 2008 to undergo a $72 million green renovation. Sneak-A-Peek of the ‘new’ park here! Here’s a list of the Yelp Old Memories – it will be fun to see how the new ones after March 20 will compare!

Check out other blogs for ideas and activities to do with kids on https://mygrandmasue.wordpress.com by the author of the award-winning children’s book Grandpa, Do It! I Do It, Too! 🙂

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Help Julie Packard’s Latest Action to Support the Sea Otters

March 10, 2010

Help Monterey Bay Aquarium‘s Executive Director Julie Packard in her latest action alert to save sea otters like Kit. The Aquarium’s Sea Otter Research and Conservation (SORAC) program has been trying to save the threatened southern sea otter since 1984.

See my other sea otter mentions on https://mygrandmasue.wordpress.com, a website about and for grandparents, parents and their special children in their lives by award-winning author Grandma Sue. 🙂

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