Cupcakes & Confetti - All things good and happy!

If you're happy and you know it...

2008-03-12T23:10:00.000-07:00

Do you know how much fun it is to sing songs with an almost-3-year-old? Tons of fun!

My son Sage and I were playing around last night while Daddy did the dishes (thank you!) and he surprised me with how many songs he really knows! That little sponge! I have a very non-in tune voice, yet I really loved singing to him when he was a wee little infant. I liked to think it helped him fall asleep, and of course, I would have done anything to get him to sleep in those days. Well, one thing it did is ingrain in him words to certain songs...rock-a-bye baby, for example, as sad as that song truly is. I mean really! Who made that song up...probably a sleep-deprived mommy! He asked me to sing it last night and I pretended I didn't know the words...sure enough, he sang every word perfectly! I guess he remembered those songs from over 2 years ago! Amazing! I completely exhausted my kid-song repertoire last night...but I forgot all about that classic one "If you're happy and you know it..." and let me just say...when I'm hanging out with my little Sage man, I AM happy and I know it!

So...if you're happy and YOU know it, please clap your hands...like this - "clap clap!" Leave a comment - thank you!!

Happy Thing: Valentine's Day!

2008-02-13T23:45:00.002-08:00

Well - here it is again - Valentine's Day. I have a love-don't love ("hate" is such a strong word) relationship with this day. I usually feel that it's nothing special...until the day before...then I get all cupid-y and conversation heart-y and go nuts buying cheesy Valentine cards, balloons, flowers, candy...the whole shebang. Sound familiar? Amazing what a little marketing can do!

Anyhow - my big plan is to prepare a special meal for 3...me, my hubby, and our almost-3-year-old son. Here's what I'm cooking up:
P.S. We're vegetarian.

Cocktail:
Peach Bellini with Sugared Rim & Strawberry Garnish

Appetizer:
Caprese Salad

Main Course:
Homemade Pumpkin Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter & Spiced, Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

Roasted Asparagus

Rosemary Ciabatta with Herb Butter

Dessert (A.K.A. "my favorite dish"):
Molten Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream and Homemade Caramel Sauce

Mouth watering yet? Mine is!

Spread the love around - it's Valentine's Day!!

Good Thing: Rock the Vote

2008-02-05T09:53:00.000-08:00

Well, it's getting to be that time again...no, not hammer time - VOTING TIME!

Today's Super Tuesday and it reminds me that I haven't updated my address on my voter registration card...bad girl! So I got online and found out that I can update my card and/or register to vote ONLINE! Super cool! If you'd like to either register or update your registration, click the logo below so when voting day comes along you're not sitting at home, but out there ROCKIN' THE VOTE!

A Good Thing: Marin Dream House Raffle!

2008-01-18T09:08:00.000-08:00

For the Winners List: Click here!

UPDATE 2/3/08:
The raffle has ended - the drawing will be February 9th - Can't wait to see who wins!! I'll post a link to the winner's list after the 9th - hope your name is on it! (And mine too)...looks like Mount Madonna School just started another Dream House Raffle...check it out here!

Hmmm...would I take the 2 million dollar dream house high on a hill in Marin, or the 1.7 million dollars in cash? That's a tough one. I'll let you know after I win.

I've been having trouble falling asleep lately because of this question. One day, you send in $150 check to the Dream House Raffle office for Community Action Marin, the next day, you've won over a million bucks! Now that sounds good!

Sounds too good to be true...but for once, it isn't! Mount Madonna School had a Dream House raffle in 2007 that went very well and the list of winners is posted on the website. I even know a couple of people who won some cash! There are several Dream House raffles held all over the country. This really is good - and true!

What's more, the number of tickets sold is limited! This is good because no matter what, my chances of winning a great prize are guaranteed to be at least 1:100, and of winning the Grand Prize is at least 1:35,000. All in all, that's good odds right there!

The tickets are only on sale for another week - or until they sell out - which is soon, from what I hear. Details on buying tickets can be found here. The Grand Prize Drawing is on February 9th, 2008. Just think...on February 9th, you or I could become a millionaire...that sounds really good!

Oh - one last thing - not only is this a good thing for the winners, it's a great thing for the non-profit organizations that put the raffles on...last year, Mount Madonna School gained $1 million! That's a big chunk of money for a non-profit...so the moral of the story is...EVERYONE WINS!!

Community Action Marin is a private non-profit social service agency that works to help meet the needs of the poor and disadvantaged people in Marin County. Community Action Marin has been serving the needs of people in Marin County for over 40 years. The dream house raffle will allow the organization to continue its important work in the community and ensure that CAM will be able to continue its important programs for years to come.

Cupcakes!

2008-01-07T11:04:00.000-08:00

Don't they just make you SMILE?? Cupcakes - those wonderful little spongy mini-cakes covered with buttery, fluffy pink frosting - or white, yellow, brown - any color is fine by me! Even better with pastel confetti candy sprinkled on top!

Are you aware of the HUGE world of cupcake blogs? I wasn't either until...I stumbled across a little slice of heaven called the cupcake blogosphere. Here are a few links to get you started in this wide world of yummy-ness:

cupcakes take the cake
52cupcakes
cupcake fetish
a cupcake life
cupcake planet

So now you know...there are a LOT of people who LOVE cupcakes - a LOT!

Although I like cupcakes a LOT, I'm not writing a blog about them...not entirely anyway. This blog is dedicated to ALL THINGS GOOD AND HAPPY - not only cupcakes, but also fuzzy slippers, flannel pajamas, coffee, chocolate, music, macaroni and cheese, art, good books, good movies, good deeds, good causes, and any other good and happy thing I can blog about.

I hope it makes you smile.
I hope it makes you feel good.
I hope it inspires you to keep the world a good and happy place!

Good Causes: edun LIVE Clothing by Bono (of U2) and Ali Hewson

2008-01-06T09:01:00.000-08:00

These organic t-shirts help create jobs in Africa.


Help create jobs in sub-Saharan Africa when you buy organic t-shirts and blank t-shirts from edun LIVE, the socially conscious brand created by Ali Hewson and Bono.

Why is this important? It is important because Africa accounted for six percent of world trade in 1980, but by 2002, Africa’s share of world trade had dropped to only two percent. If Africa could regain its share by one percentage point, the continent would earn an additional $70 billion in exports each year. The skills required in clothing manufacture are ones that many can learn, and the investments are relatively low. As a result, the clothing industry is a primary means by which these struggling African economies can climb onto the ladder of development. Your edun LIVE purchase provides these communities with jobs that otherwise might not exist. This leads to better education for their children, better health care, and an all around better standard of living. Sustainable trade like this is truly an effective way of alleviating poverty in Africa.

Why organic? By now, everyone who doesn't live under a rock knows the multitudinous benefits of organic food, but did you know that organic clothing is super-important too? Click on this link to find out why organic cotton is so important to edun LIVE and to me. I first learned about organic cotton when I worked for Patagonia a few years back. About 12 years ago, Patagonia did something brave and dangerous (if you care about profit, that is)...they switched all their cotton to organic! For the environmentally-conscious company, it was like seeing the wizard behind the curtain: once they saw how detrimental to the environment conventional growing practices of cotton crops are, they couldn't possibly continue on with producing conventional cotton products. So they threw back the curtain and went totally organic. This switch was costly and difficult - they couldn't even find enough organic cotton farmers to fill their production needs - they had to get farmers to switch back to organic growing! However, this switch not only helped the environment, it also provided an educational platform for people to learn about what was really going on in the conventional cotton crops, and a way for more farmers to grow cotton without poisoning their land, their family, and themselves. So there you have it...my first experience with organic cotton and now another - edun LIVE.

What else? edun LIVE is a sub-brand of EDUN Clothing. EDUN is a socially conscious clothing company launched in Spring 2005 by Ali Hewson and Bono. The company's mission is to create beautiful clothing while fostering sustainable employment in developing areas of the world, particularly Africa. I love the style of these clothes...this isn't your typical hippie-organic-muumuu-and-karate-pants stuff! This is STYLE!

Style that helps people, countries, the environment, and the global economy - what more can you ask for?