Life as an art form: dessert

Showing posts with label dessert. Show all posts

Friday, February 7, 2014

Get on the bus, Gus!

Due to my snowboarding trip, I missed out on the chance to buy my monthly bus pass for February. I was so bummed when I realized it! So I was put in touch with the admin of our fleet department, and she had the bus driver bring a pass for me. Wow. This is what I left on her desk…. Hope it gave her a laugh and adequately expressed my sincere appreciation.

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Pure protein

These things are seriously addictive. And apparently, a healthy snack, although they taste way too good for that to possibly be true. But that's what my sources tell me! I got the recipe from my friend Michele, who has done extremely well in a weight loss competition through her dedication to following a challenging routine of diet and exercise.
Try these for yourself. And do yourself a favor and start with a double batch. They take less than 10 minutes to make, and are very filling due to all the protein. I've been popping a couple of these with some fresh fruit and yogurt for a highly-satisfying breakfast.
The chocolate protein powder that I bought is specially formulated to support and rebuild muscles, which I need after my 5-mile run yesterday. (I hadn't run in 20 days. Ugh.)

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Happy 4th!!!

(Note: NOT taken with new camera!)

Happy Independence Day to all. I celebrated by—finally—investing in a semi-pro DSLR camera (Canon EOS Rebel T4i... and I can't wait 'til it's charged & ready to try it out!!!) So hopefully my blog photography will be getting an upgrade soon. 'Til then, please enjoy these iPhone shots of some delectable treats I whipped up this afternoon.
Sure, tacos brimming with homemade salsa may not be the traditional food of July 4th, but why not, I say?

And I found a recipe this week for no-bake red-white-and-blue fruit tarts, so I quadrupled the recipe and am going to surprise my team tomorrow. (Okay, and maybe eat one myself tonight, too.)

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Random Hallmark Moments: the big 15!

To celebrate my 15th anniversary working for Hallmark, which was on 6/11, my awesome, awesome team surprised me with all of my favorite things: Japanese culture, stars of rap music, and salt & vinegar potato chips. (Do they KNOW me, or what?!)

The lineup: Angie, Anne, Carrie, Stephen, Amy, Wendy, Alison, Bess & Dawn
(not pictured: Olivia, who was too busy sneaking around the office with a bonsai tree)

Dan & Lora ordered special no-cinnamon/no-vanilla cupcakes for me. Officially THE BEST cupcake I have ever eaten. (And I've eaten 3 so far, so I should know.)

Not to be outdone, Bess made homemade sushi dessert rolls.
All I can say is 「すごい！！！」

Colleen & Angela gave me a card by my good friend (& incredible artist), Kelly

Lined up from shortest to tallest. Note to self: hire someone shorter than self.

LOOK AT ALL THIS AWESOME STUFF!!! Cards, art, snacks and a bonsai tree!!!

Everybody on my team drew their self-portrait on canvas. "The Rarey Bunch". LOL!

And on the back? Flo Rida... and my boss!

And what would a party be without photos of me...
with my friends Beyonce, Jay-z, and Kanye?

I was seriously blown away by everything they had planned and am so lucky to be working with such a talented, fun, and thoughtful team. As I've always said, Hallmark is an amazing company, but the reason you stay is for the people. And when you get to work with people you actually love hanging out with, you can hardly call it work.
In keeping with the Japanese angle, I sent my thanks in a cartoon:

For those of you who may be rusty on your Japanese, here's the translation:

Jen: I LOVE all the wonderful gifts—thank you SO much! My team is the world's best. THANK YOU.

Aki & Taylor: Yes, we say thank you, too.

Kismet: And I will love to eat the little tree. (Just kidding on that, btw)

Saturday, May 5, 2012

And Then There Were Turtles

As if Jen & Greg's place wasn't cool enough, the previous homeowner had left then a large cement enclosure, overgrown with plants—the perfect habitat for their collection of box turtles! My dogs had only seen a turtle once, this year on Easter, while hiking at Shawnee Mission Park with Madeline & Bruce. They were *fascinated*.

Aki, who is only one-quarter of my body weight, suddenly became so strong I could barely contain her! She is a mighty hunter for sure!

Bruce: Which one do you want, Aki?
Aki: Sorry, Bruce. They're ALL MINE.

The three amigos, looking like excited lil' kids:

She almost bit it's head off. Thank goodness for lightning-fast turtle reflexes!!!

It was time to go, so the happy Shibas piled in the car...

And in merely a few minutes... ZONKED!!!

Somehow they managed to be wide-awake by the time they got home. Jen sent us home with TREATS—GOOD ONES!!!

So entranced he cannot hold up his fat head to make eye contact:

So yeah, all in all, about as good as a doggy day gets. And for me, having all this fun after surviving a Warrior Dash? Priceless!

Party at City Bitty Farm

Jen, who sits across from me at work, loves to trade naughty dog stories with me. She has 3 mixed breeds, Crockett and the girls: Banzai and Ninja. With names like that, you should know they spell trouble. (Can you say, dog climbed up on the car & onto the roof of the garage? Or got lost at Shawnee Mission Park for over 5 hours?) We vowed that our dogs should never meet, lest they trade ideas to take their badness to new heights!
Alas, Ninja and Banzai were celebrating their second birthday this weekend, and she invited us all over, and I couldn't pass it up. I'm glad I didn't... the dogs were *miraculously* well-behaved together, and it was a gorgeous afternoon to spend lounging outside under big shady trees, with our feet dangling in the dogs' kiddie pool. Greg showed us his green house full of cute lil' plants and they sent me home with an aloe plant (for my Warrior Dash sunburn) and a ton of micro-green mixes. Not to mention goody bags for the pups! We're totally spoiled now!!!