Watch Out Vanna!

Hello again....just getting ready to sit down for dinner but first, I wanted to let you know how awesome the weekend Home Show turned out. Once again I am amazed at how wonderful people are and how much we all can work together. I had 20-30 people in each "class" and before I knew it, we were all sharing great ways to save on our grocery budget and sharing "Mom" memories. Here's a couple of photos with me pretending to be Vanna White.

Tomorrow, one of my best friends at work, Jim, and his wife Nancy are having a baby girl. They already have enough boys! I send them love and light, hopes and dreams for their new addition.

By the way...I have a Facebook page now so...if you'd like to join in, I'd love to have you. Look for a blog update by the end of the week with a whole bunch of "Quick Tips" I've been collecting especially for you!

Hugs,

Angel

Hope to see you at the Home Show

This weekend is the big Home Show at South Towne Expo Center....you know, the one where everyone looks around and finds lots of "honey-do"s! I'll be there Friday, Saturday and Sunday with some tips on how to be a better grocery shopper, how to save time on meal prep and how to banish "food stress" forever!

Would love to see you there - we'll have fun and laugh at ourselves I promise. My times are:
Friday - 2p/6p
Saturday - 11a/4p
Sunday - 2p/4p

I have a pretty extensive handout for everyone that attends that includes all kinds of info and even a couple of recipes.

Hope to meet you over the weekend!
Angel

Happy New Year!

Before I put away my Christmas Tree and ornaments, I wanted to share this very special gift. Suzi is a Good Things Utah viewer and took the time to custom-make a little ornament for each of us GTU girls.

I absolutely love this...the apron, the whisk, the STICK OF BUTTER! Thank you so much Suzi and it's going into my special ornament box so that I can enjoy it year after year. If any of you are looking for a special gift I bet Suzi could fix you up. Her email address is: haleyshairblossoms@gmail.com

Here's to a wonderful 2009...and no matter what life throws at you, always remember you come equipped with all the tools you need to make the right choices at the right time. My New Year's Resolution is simply to be accepting of every moment, every day, in every way. Believe me, the older you get the more you'll realize how important living in allowance is....you just can't control everything no matter how hard you try, right?

Enjoy your New Year's Day!

Angel

Ahhhhh...That Feels Good!

Happy after-Christmas everybody....and now a confession:
I've been collecting cookbooks for years now...and I've had up to 3,000 at one time. Yes, it's a sickness but I took the first step to recovery over our long holiday weekend. I spent hours deciding which ones to keep and which ones to donate. Believe it or not I now only have about 500. My cookbook library looks so empty and the ones that are left look lonely!
We're all singing "Simplify!" so I took it to heart. All those cookbooks were just making me feel guilty for not paying attention to them....or I had promised myself that I would go through them and clip out the recipes that I just had to keep (but it didn't get done).
As I left this morning, I looked back at the many, many grocery sacks full of cookbooks for one last goodbye. So long to all the casseroles and grill-out recipes, the appetizer and salad dressing recipes, the desserts, the dips, the salads and soups. I have to stop now because I'm feeling a little "Seussical".
I actually do feel a bit lighter...a little less responsible...a lot more grateful for the cookbooks that remain.

Until next time,
Angel

Buddy's First Snow!

Let's Play!

Buddy got his first taste of Utah snow.....most of the photos I took were just a blur, but these 3 came out pretty good. I think the first one is at the end of play time...you can see the bewildered look on his face, like, "okay Mom, I'm done now & my paws are cold!"

Angel

Associated Food Stores Christmas Party

I'm so lucky to work with AFS. What a nice group of people who show their appreciation and loyalty to their employees! As you know, that's hard to find these days so I am truly blessed to be part of this organization. Last weekend we had our annual Christmas party. Held in the morning at a local movie complex, it's designed so that employees can bring their children to play games and sit on Santa's lap...plus watch a movie of their choice. It was truly a party filled with laughter and holiday cheer...and I've brought along proof! Check out these photos of my friends and AFS Family.

Love,

Angel

Updated Website

Sorry I haven't checked in since just before Thanksgiving! Time flys by this time of year doesn't it? We have one pathetic little string of Christmas lights in our front window and the rest of our decorations have been in a holding pattern on the back patio since last weekend! Oh well, I expect I'll get my little tree out, my kitty ornaments, my Santa Collection and more put up over the next few days.

In the meantime, my website is getting a facelift and it looks terrific thanks to some very talented people that I work with. Please visit it and let me know what you think at www.cookingwithangel.com. New logo, extras, links, etc....and I've been busy writing little descriptions of each recipe. Wow! I didn't know there were so many on the site! Anyway, it should be completed entirely by the first of the year and I hope you enjoy the new look.

Earlier this week I did another Macey's Little Theatre Cooking Class in Sandy. We made the Angel Food Pound Cake and the Sugared Fairy Pecans. The best part was the end since we decided to cut the cake into cubes, top it with ice cream and chocolate sauce and top it with the pecans. Delicious! You'll find both of those recipes in my Stick of Butter Cookbook, available through Barnes and Noble and Seagull Books as well as on www.amazon.com.

I hope you're taking care of yourself, staying out of stress and in the holiday spirit. Life can be so distracting but if you'll just remember to give yourself some quiet moments throughout the day, the payback will be huge. If we can't hear our own inner voice we certainly can't hear any Divine guidance, right? Our only job here is to live joyously....write that down and keep it close. In the middle of chaos, just remembering to live joyously will bring you peace and calm, giving you a new perspective on any situation.

Have a wonderful weekend and I'll check back soon. By the way, I love your comments...they always make my day!
Angel