And the USPS wonders why it is going out of business

I have a box of clothes I need to send to a new home. A good friend of mine recently got into an awesome crazy fitness routine and needed space in her closet for new clothes. Another friend of mine has been teaching Zumba and needs new clothes for going on teaching interviews and for work. Perfect match and a snap to mail, right? Or so I thought.
I got the clothes from Friend 1 and there are a lot. Like an entire paper box full of awesome clothes. I figured to save us (myself and Friend 2) some money, I would do the USPS it fits it ships box(s). Of course going to the actual Post Office is a pain and I avoid it at all costs. Not the most convenient locations, no parking and the employees are not friendly or helpful at all (I have better luck with the people at the County and those people HATE everyone). I will purchase stamps at Costco or my local private mail center, if I want pretty stamps.  I pay EXTRA for stamps just so I don't have to deal with actual USPS workers. EXTRA! But it fits it ships is cheaper than FedEx or UPS, so I was going to go with it.

While on-line looking to see the sizes of these said boxes and prices, I noticed they will send you an it fits it ships kit for FREE. How cool is that?! At work we use FedEx all the time and they will send you supplies for free, so I was excited and surprised to see the USPS did as well and thought about time. Also, why don't they mention that in their annoying commercials?
 So I filled out the form and sent it off. At the very end, after I sent the form, it said, "Thank you for your order. It will be filled in 7-10 business days." WT? Seriously, 7-10 business days? Max I wait for FedEx is 3 days. THREE DAYS! Come on USPS, you can't get a kit sent out faster?
And guess what! It is have been over 10 days and still no kit. I might just end up shoving all the clothes in a FedEx tube and send it that way. Paying EXTRA again, just so I don't have to deal with the USPS workers.

And the USPS wonders why it is bleeding money.

Side story: I mailed out a bunch of invites the other day and when I showed up at the post box, the mailman was there emptying it. I smiled, said hello and placed my letters in the bin. All I got back was a glare. Really?

Pinterest Attempts - Round 1

I finally joined Pinterest. It is a wonderful site, especially for those of us who are visual. Why I held off for so long, I don't know. It is coming in very handy!

I thought I would share how well some of the ideas have gone for me. Although, if something is pinned to my food board, aptly named; Food I will Never Make, it honestly will never get made.  This food pin however made it to my sister's birthday board. Go check them out, I'll wait.

Lovely aren't they? So colorful and perfect for her  personality and a perfect treat for her birthday trip to Palm Springs.

 yeah, here is how well it worked out for me. FAIL.

"jello" cookies

(I apologize for the awful photo. I forgot take pictures while making them and then I was too lazy to set them out. I blame the extreme heat.)






Not pretty and not colorful at all. In fact those purple/grey ones look awful. Those were grape. The red ones were cherry and strawberry. I am assured they tasted good(they aren't gluten free, so I couldn't actually taste them) and people requested the recipe, so maybe it wasn't a total fail. Next time I will have to try adding food coloring to see if they come out better.

Kind of Glad

I am kind of glad I have a gluten issue. Sure it is a HUGE pain to eat out or eating at people's homes, but I feel so much better now it is almost worth it.

Plus, these are the meals I have been coming home to:

and this

Quinoa balls with homemade avocado sauce with chili aioli, stuffed mushrooms with kale and chicken. Does it get any better?

If I hadn't been diagnosed with gluten issues, I would be missing out on so much wonderful food!

Baby Blanket 2

Here is the second baby blanket I made.  This is for my soon to be little nephew. I actually made it months ago, but his mom follows the blog, so I had to wait until I gave it to her before I could post.
While I am not thrilled he will grow up a Dodger fan, I am SO excited to have him arriving in our family!

His parents are big Dodger fans and I have know for years I would be making a Dodger blanket for their future babies. Lucky for me he arrived so fast! The backing on the blanket is a Dodger blue with little puppies.

One side note: When getting a block pattern cut at the store, be sure to ask if they can cut along the block line, instead of right at a yard. It makes life so much easier. And if you get someone like the gal I had who could care less about what she was doing, be persistent. If that doesn't work, as for another cutter.

Makeover doomed to go badly

McDonald's has decided to makeover some of its stores for a cleaner and more modern look.

Take a look:

 courtesy of google images

Ooh, pretty! So crisp and clean. So welcoming. I can't wait to sit in McDonald's eating a messy Big Mac on that couch!
This looks pretty in pictures and it will look like a mess in person in less than 2 weeks.  You can not put white or cream upholstery in public areas. It is hard enough to keep clean with minimal adult use, let alone in a place where children frequent. The white tables and chairs will be stained in less than 6 months. The designers who came up with this obviously missed some schooling or a backbone to tell the executives they can't have white in their stores.
Good luck to McDonald's. I hope their revamping doesn't end up the way Jack in the Boxes did. (hint: it failed)

Late Easter Picture

I was invited to a wonderful brunch the day before Easter with some girlfriends. My job was to bring the colored eggs. The process did not go well. If you wanted to eat them because they weren't finished cooking. Or even touch them because the dye didn't set up correctly. No egg fights this year.

 

They looked okay and fared a bit better than my friends Peep centerpiece which melted about 5 minutes after she finished it.

 We both blame the seasonally warm weather.

Extraordinary Desserts

One of my favorite places for years to get dessert is Extraordinary Desserts. Just look at all the delicious cakes and treats! My favorite favorite is the au chocolate. The dessert menu is different every day, so I recommend popping in often. We popped in the other day for an afternoon treat/dinner. 

Can you guess what I had in this pot?

Birthday Tea! It smells and tastes just like fresh baked cookies. 

Perfect for the days when the store does not have any gluten free items.

Lucky for me, I also got to pair it with this:

 YUM!