Happy New Year!

Thank you to all my wonderful friends and my fabulous family for a year of excitement. I am thankful for all the events that have occurred and look forward to another intriguing new year.

Our world has many challenges which we all must face every single day. I ask that, in the new year, your hearts be filled with love, peace, harmony, and success. Here's to life.

Happy New Year!

Time for a sing-a-long

OK...everyone please clear your throats and help me sing along. Why, you ask? Weeellll....IT'S DEBI'S BIRTHDAY!!!!! WooooooHoooooooo! Alright...on the count of three.....

ONE!
TWO!

THREE!

Happy birthday to you. Happy birthdaaay toooo you. Haaaaaaaaaaaaapy biirrrrrrrrrrthday dear (hhhmmmm...should I use the nickname???) Debi/Rocki/Sis/(nicknaaaaaaaaaaaaame). Haaaaaaaapy Birrrrrrthday toooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu! (oxygen please!)

Love you Sis!

A Beautiful Christmas

What a lovely holiday it has been so far. Though I spent the two weeks leading up to Christmas baking up a storm, I would not change it for the world. I have been absent from the blogs in order to spend time with my family but I am back now and just aching so share some memories and gifts I received.

First, I must share this GROOVY picture of my family and I. My sister thought of a fabulous idea and we all just went with it. This year, our family spent Christmas in the 60's. Nooo, not 60 degrees, 1960's! We had an absolute blast. So, from our family to yours- Groovy Christmas, Baby!

A very dear friend, Angie of Angie Kelly Designs, sent me a FABULOUS surprise. Here she worked me up that I would be receiving a gift, taunting me and teasing me (OK, so I did the same to a few people ;-D ), and wouldn't you know I DID receive a package from her. As I gently opened the box (tore it apart!!) there was the cutest, most darling, special little guy I have ever seen!! Written across his tummy is my favorite word that I use OOOOOHHH so often, "DUDE!" Yes. I say dude! I say it a lot!! I love the word. I love saying it. I'm sure some of you may be a little surprised but, hey, I can't tell you everything on the first date ;-) HAHAHA!! This little "dude" has found his new home right next to me so every morning I roll over to turn off my alarm, there he is reminding me, "Dude. You don't have a 9-5 job. Turn off the alarm and go back to sleep!" :-D I love this DUDE!

Another wonderful friend sent me a very special ornament. An ornament she painted herself. My dear friend of The Mum and The Rose made this gorgeous ornament. I was stunned by the art work and just the thought that she had thought of me. The colors she chose blew me away! My tree is decorated with tons of blue, silver and snowflakes and here was this darling angel in green and blue painted on a snowflake. I was shocked! It was as if she just knew. I put her on the tree towards the top, right in the front, for all of my friends and family to see. She is beautiful, much like the wonderful artist who made her :-)

And then came another great surprise...my very special friend Sharon of Mana Moon Studios sent me a gift that brought tears to my eyes. I opened the package and there it was...an apron! But not your ordinary apron. This apron is handmade by Sharon and it was made just for me. On the apron is my shop name along with the fancy design she had created for my avatar and business cards! It seemed like forever had passed when the tears finally slowed down enough for me to see two feet in front of me! Paul and Cody were home when I opened this gift and both were silent because, they too, had their breath taken away. I felt compelled to wear it right away so I put it on and pranced around the house like I was some hot-to-trot pastry chef :-D I love my apron and I AM a hot-to-trot pastry chef when I have it on ;-D

Sharon also surprised me today with a wonderful award...the Christmas Spirit Award! The giving just keeps on going even though Christmas has passed. I like this award :-D So, with this award, I am to share five reasons why I like Christmas and then pass it on to others.

So here I go:

1. Friends and Family- though I try to spend as much time with my friends and family as possible, Christmas time allows us to spend that much more time together. Even if it is just an extra hour for a day, it is time well spent.

2. Giving back- Whether it is to my friends, family, or a stranger, I love to give! I am a firm believer that what goes around comes around AND to treat others as you wish to be treated. I try to live my life this way every day and, given the wonderful people in my life, it is working :-D

3. Decorations- I love how others join in the spirit with decorations and lights. Every year we spend an evening driving around looking at the wonderful Christmas decorations as well as the Menorahs in the windows of those celebrating Hanukkah. It is very festive and peaceful.

4. Cards- I love receiving cards as much as I love to give them (OK, and made them :-D)! They are always so beautiful and there is always on special letter inside.

5. Music- Oooh how I love holiday music! My favorite, 'O Holy Night' sung by Luciano Pavarotti. I can listen to this song over and over again and never get bored of it. It is so beautiful, so graceful, and so meaningful.

Now the best part, I get to forward this on to others. I know some of you don't like to hand out awards, and I am totally OK with it, you still deserve an award ;-) And the winners are:

Rocki's Supplies

Angie Kelly Designs

Hey Harriett

The Mum and The Rose

Heart of A Cowgirl

Pup Love

AAAHHHHHH! And the crowd goes wild ;-)

Enjoy the rest of this year and, those who received the award, you all deserved it! I will end this mile long post now ;-)

Hugs,

Laura

Many wishes of love and happiness to my friends and family! May you have a beautiful holiday and a new year filled with joy!

Hugs,
Laura

Dear Santa,

I would like a bigger kitchen...

HeeHeeHeeHee!

Now that I am done with my wish list for Santa, I thought I would take a moment to share some pictures of our decorations outside the house. Some of the pics are not of the best quality but at least you get the idea ;-) Enjoy!

There are blue lights running through the riverbed..hard to see in the pic!

Up close with Santa and Rudolph! Santa's hand waves and Rudolph's nose lights up.

My favorite elf!

Busy workers...

The elves rest on the other side of the drive along with some lit-up pine trees. Maye I can get some good pictures tonight and share the elves and the trees tomorrow along with the Christmas tree inside.

Have a wonderful day!

Hugs,
Laura

Porn in the kitchen!!

HEE HEE HEE HEE! Is it me or is this guy checking out this hotties backside?? HAH! I was looking for a cute clip art to post and these two popped up in this EXACT order. AAAhhhh yes, and my mind instantly plopped right into the gutter. HAHAHAHA! I crack myself up!

Soooo, the REAL reason for this post (no, it has nothing to do with porn in the kitchen!! PPfff...dirty minds!!), I'm just checking in with my dear friends to say "HELLO" and that I finished my large order of cookies and am continuing to receive more orders. I am absolutely thrilled and I feel like a lottery winner every time I log in to find I have had another sale. I'm sure you all can relate ;-)

I would also like to update you on our mission with our son Cody. We finally had our appointment at the Melmed Center in Scottsdale to determine if Cody has Asperger's Syndrome. According to the doctor, the two main behaviors that would classify AS are very mild in Cody, therefore he is confident that he does not have it. However, he did tell us that Cody is mildy autistic. I guess we could be upset but why? We have a diagnosis and we do not have to keep wondering anymore.

Well, time to get back into the kitchen and make more goodies to send out! Have a wonderful day :-D

Hugs,
Laura

HAPPY FRIDAY!

HAHAHAHAHA!!!! Oh, yes. Can you imagine what when through this birds mind once he realized he was being watched? Oh...I know I have MY version of what he was thinking! AAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Have a great weekend my dear friends!
Hugs,
Laura

Highs and lows...

When I found this picture I knew that it was going to end up on one of my postings....and here it is! I love it!!! Though I am hoping my back side doesn't end up like this from all the taste testing...I mean, baking! Yep. BAKING! heeheehee. What kind of baker would I be if I didn't sample first??

I am proud to announce that I gained the business of the customer with multi orders in the midwest. Yeah! I started the first part yesterday and it went well. Besides the cookies, I am also making gift cards to go with the gift. This has turned out to be a fabulous adventure and I am really enjoying it :-)

I can go on about my baking experience but there is something deeper I would much rather share. Last night, I logged onto the blogs for a quick peak before heading off to bed...that is when I read my dear friend Angie's blog. Her husband's step mother passed away from a long battle with cancer yesterday morning. In reading her blog, she has had cancer three times!

It angers me that we can spend millions, even billions of dollars in research to create crap that eat away at the earth's protective ozone layer, or how about creating HFCS? Really? Scientist create a synthetic sugar to add to almost EVERYTHING we eat because it is sweeter and manufacturors don't have to use so much thus saving a dollar. Here's an idea.....SAVE A LIFE INSTEAD! The percentage of cancer patients is off the charts and I am convinced that the air we breathe, the tainted waters we drink, and the packaged foods we eat are the cause of the majority of cancers.

Dan and Angie- from my family to you and yours, we send our deepest condolences and hearts filled with love for you. Here is an angel of peace to watch over her and love her.

Have You Seen Me?

Hello? Has anyone seen me?? Anyone at all?? AAAHHH, here I am!

Gosh, I thought I was lost in a pile a flour for a moment. Whew!

I am happy to report that my shop opened on schedule this past Sunday and I had received 5 sales within the first two days. YESSSSS!!!!! I am also currently working with a potential customer to send a some of my baked goods as gifts to her clients throughout the Midwest. As I told a couple of people already, if she doesn't go with my quote I am OK with it....at least I know my shop was attractive enough to bring her in to think of me :-)

I will be busy today with baking more items to post on Etsy. Today's focus will me on breads and thumbprint cookies. With this said, I need to send out a VERY special THANK YOU to my husband, Mr. Paul Crosby. TWO years ago we replaced every appliance in our kitchen (even the darn blender) and my eye spotted a very beautiful item....a stove with a double oven. I explained to Paul that we needed this oven (yes, I actually said need) and he agreed! So, THANK YOU HONEY for buying the oven that is now being consumed with ooey, gooey, yummy goodness ;-) I love you!!

It is time for me to put my apron on and get busy. Have a beautiful day my friends and thank you all again for you wonderful support :-)

Hugs,

Laura

Move over Sarah Lee...There's a new kid in town!

Tomorrow is my GRAND OPENING for my new Etsy shop, Laura Lee's Tasty Treats. I am totally excited yet totally nervous at the same time. Two shops, a family to take care of (including all my four legged kids and one "fishy" kid), and a house to keep in order. But I have met several wonderful people who have multiple shops and still succeed with their businesses and their family. I guess it just wouldn't be right if I didn't get that nervous tickle, right?



I have some incredibly wonderful friends who had agreed to be my taste testers. They went above and beyond just tasting, they even shared with others! It was important to me that I shipped these to different locations to research the USPS mail time and, quite frankly, their "handling" practices. It was also important for me to know the consistency of the product once it arrived. So, to these fine friends, I thank you from the bottom of my heart and would like to present you with an award- the LAURA LEE'S TASTE BUD AWARD . And the winners are (envelop please...)

1. Mana Moon (also includes Sharon's son Josh her fabulous hubby D)
2. Angie Kelly Designs (also includes her fabdabulous hubby Dan)
3. Heart of A Cowgirl (she should be getting them today)
4. Hey Harriet (this wonderful young lady is a trooper! She is test tasting all the way from Australia!)

Thank you all so very much. Your feedback, good or bad, is a blessing :-)

I have another thank you for Mana Moon Graphics. I gave Sharon some colors and a "thought" of what I wanted for my banner & avatar, what she came back with just blew me off my feet! There was no adjusting (OK, maybe the name was changed since the original was too long for Etsy). The colors are perfect, everything is perfect. Thank you so much Sharon for a beautiful banner :-) I am going to be the hottest bakery on Etsy :-D

And last but not least, a big thank you to all of my friends and family for the support and your belief in me...that is really all I need to be successful ;-)

Well, that is it my friends. Don't forget to stop by my shop tomorrow and check it out. PLEASE keep in mind that since I am just now opening, I will not have all my items listed. I still have more baking to do so I can get more pictures! Anyone hungry?? HAHAHAHA!

Hugs galore,

Laura

lauraleestastytreats.etsy.com & anyoccasionboutique.etsy.com

I have to say that I truly do have some wonderful friends. Though I may have never physically met you, my life has been lifted even higher by our loving friendship.

Once upon a time I was one who wondered, “How can you become friends with someone you never really met in person?” I take the meaning of ‘friends’ seriously and thought it was not possible to have online friendships. I was VERY wrong. I feel the human touch from the kind words and love that is poured from my wonderful friends and I am thankful that my sister, Rocki, introduced me to this wonderful website. I have met some really great people that I know will forever hold a piece of my heart. So thank you for accepting me for who I am and creating a life long friendship.

Here is a great example of what I am talking about- I was awarded two blog awards yesterday. TWO! I am tickled pink and honored to accept them. Sharon of Mana Moon honored me with the beautiful Butterfly Award and Angie of Angie Kelly Designs awarded me with the Marie Antoinette award. Thank you Sharon and Angie for the fabulous gift and I will proudly share the awards ;-)

Now, I do not have a huge list of friends so I won’t be able to give these awards to ten people but I can give them to people who truly deserve them.

For the Butterfly Award, I bestow onto you:
Heart of a Cowgirl
Angie Kelly Designs
Pup Love
Scribbles of an Ancient Soul

Here are the rules:
1. Post a copy on your blog

2. Mention who gave you the award

3. Pass the award on to 10 others

4. Leave a message on their blog letting them know the honor has been bestowed upon them.

For the Marie Antoinette Award, I bestow onto you:
Hey Harriet
Phoenix Commentaries
Rocki’s Rock ‘N Beads/Supplies
The Mum and The Rose

Here are the rules:
1. Add the logo/badge to your blog

2. Link to the person from whom you received the award

3. Nominate 7 or more blogs

4. Leave a message on their blog letting them know the honor has been bestowed upon them.

Thank you again for these fabulous awards. To my wonderful friends of whom I have bestowed them upon, do not feel you must forward these on but just know I sent them to you because I care about you.

Have a fabulous day :-D
Hugs,
Laura

Post Thanksgiving Belly

UUUuuugggggghhhhhhhhh. Though I have worked inside and out on my house over the long Thanksgiving weekend, I think I STILL feel like this cat! So many yummy foods everywhere I looked...YUMMMM!

Paul and I have almost completed decorating the outside of our house with our Christmas decorations. I still have a couple of plants I want to put lights on but, other than that, we are done with the outside. Now comes the tree; OH how I love decorating the Christmas tree! For the past couple of years my theme has been snowmen and snowflakes so my tree is primarily blue, silver and white. I have used only clear lights but I think I am going to try something new with my tree and add blue lights as well. I am only going to add a few strands since I have several blue ornaments. Anywhooo, this is my plan for later today and tomorrow.

That's it for now. Hope everyone enjoyed Thanksgiving with your friends and family :-D

Hugs,
Laura