Purple Cupcake

I think....

2008-04-10T20:43:00.000-07:00

...I'm back. It's been a whirlwind! Definitely (struggling for) some order and structure going on in my life at this time. Thanks to ALL of you who have verbally supported me through this. I've always had all of you in the back of my mind pondering when I'll be back.

Requests for my business to start back has gotten me to into operation mode, too. I must, I will, I can...survive.

Where is Purple Cupcake?

2007-01-18T01:03:00.001-08:00

So where have I been these last few months? In hell! I have a lot on my mind, my heart and in my soul. I haven't been up to blogging or just....living.
I'm going through so much struggles in life right now and all I ask is for your hopes and prayers that I travel the right path and lead my children in a better direction.
Thank you for the many inquiries you have sent my way. I'm still here but just not up to responding. I've also not sent out a few items I was supposed to. I'm sorry! You've been so great to me and I've failed you. I'm really sorry! Please understand and when I get in the right state of mind, you are in my thoughts.
Until then........

Recovery at last!

2006-06-21T01:59:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Sorry about being away for so long. After my daughter's grad activities, my whole family and I got so sick with the flu. It was really bad, sore throats, fevers...you name it. The good side to it is that while laying down all day and watching TV for days on days, I've come to enjoy this new show on TLC called 'Take Home Chef''.
It's about a (handsome) chef who goes into grocery stores and selects a person who he will buy groceries for and cooks them a fabulous dinner. I wish he'd come here! I'd probably never let him leave!!!! hehehe

What a laugh!

2006-05-31T10:31:00.000-07:00

Due to my first experience with a blogger/comment basher, I've decided to remove personal photos of my family. It seems that freedom of speech isn't always considered freedom of speech on blogs. It's so sad that idiots easily misconstrue and become offended by simple typed words.
Anonymous posters really are haters in disguise. Regardless, I speak my mind so love it or leave it! Also, I've learned that not all blogs are worth my time, too! Now I wonder if my post will cause this disturbed person to lash back at me. Hahaha, BRING IT!

Up All Night

2006-05-31T08:45:00.000-07:00

I'm burning the midnight oil tonight! My 14 year old daughter is a graduating 8th grader at Saint Anthony Catholic School. I'm so proud of her accomplishments! Her Awards Banquet is tomorrow evening and I'm taking care of some business obligations for her school.

My how she has grown so fast...and I'm getting old!
It's approaching 2 am and I'm not even half way done. So, I will be away from my blog until after her commencement exercise on Saturday.

Have a wonderful and safe week everybody!

Purple Cupcake's Evil Days!

2006-05-30T05:38:00.000-07:00

I was inspired by Jairam to post an interesting meme. As she stated, "I'm mustering enough guts to put my "Wild Side" list (in my distant past) in print for all to see. Warning: you will not like what you'll find out here!"

So, I will do the same and I challenge you to do the same...

~I was a SPOILED brat as a child. Being the youngest of only 2 girls, you can imagine what I got away with. My sister hates me!
~I went to a private all-girl Catholic high school. I used to bring vodka in a thermos to school everyday and share it with my friends.
~I smoked in high school because my friends smoked, but I NEVER inhaled! I hung around with the 'wrong' crowd.
~I've tried all sorts of illegal drugs there is except heroine and ecstacy. (Edited to add: during a week long vacation off island, just so some of you don't think there's some sort of drug epidemic here as some might assume.)
~I crashed my brand spankin' new truck when I was 16 years old. The truck was only 1 week old and I was speeding. My father had it fixed in less than a week and I was back to driving it. NO punishment! (Refer to first item)
~I have tattoos. My eyebrows and one on my leg.
~My friends and I got caught skipping school. Therefore, having the graduation class trip cancelled. The whole class hated us.
~I was suspended for fighting at my all-girl Catholic high school and had to be transfered to the only other private all-girl Catholic high school there was...ugh!

At present:
~I am a faithful wife and a loving mother of 4 beautiful children. I am proud to say that I am a non-smoker (of any kind of smoke) and I haven't touched alcohol since high school! It never really caught on with me. I still have my tattoos and I haven't been responsible for any car accidents since...so? Am I evil now?

I got tagged!

2006-05-27T05:55:00.000-07:00

Jairam (a sweet girl I've come to know through blogging) is officially the first person to 'tag' me. I've read about people being tagged to do meme's and had always wished I could be tagged for something. So to Jairam, thank you!

Ten simple things that make me smile and say "Life is good!"

1. Hearing my kids call out 'Mommy' for any reason.
2. Feeling the warmth of my husband's body when I sleep at night.
3. Knowing my father is happy and in good health.
4. Doing a good deed for a total stranger and seeing them smile.
5. The sale of any of my homemade bath and beauty products or party favors.
6. The sound of my kids laughing and getting along with one another.
7. My husband telling me to go shopping without a spending limit.
8. Making dates with my friends to go to the beauty salon for hair coloring, pedicures and what-nots.
9. Being alone in my car, blasting my favorite CD and (embarassing myself by) singing outloud.
10. Meeting wonderful people, like you, through blogging.

I'm tagging Karen, Purple Girl, Coconut & Lime, Pink Lucy, Suzanne R., Stepped In Cupcake Batter, The Baker's Rack, Aimee Roo, Pradeep, and of course, Shionge. However, if anyone else wants to join in, do so and let me know so I could read what you posted.

The Da Vinci Code movie...

2006-05-23T21:45:00.000-07:00

The movie has been out since the 19th and I still haven't watched it. I had previously blogged about it after I had read the book, which I love! Can you believe that there are religious groups boycotting the movie? They stand outside the theaters holding up signs that say "Da Vinci Code-Blasphemy!"
I mean, that would really make me feel uncomfortable walking into the theater with them there. They'd probably look at me and make me feel like an atheist or something.
To me, it's the entertainment factor that draws me to watch it and I have no doubt in my faith whatsoever. Plus, I really enjoy watching movies that Tom Hanks plays in. Regardless of the 'truth', it won't have any effect on whether or not I believe in God or how I feel about Jesus or Mary Magdelene.
Even my 14 year old daughter wants to watch it and we both share the same thoughts about it. I don't think this movie would brain wash us!!!
So, has anyone watched it? I've read critic reviews stating that the movie didn't capture the true meaning the book intended and that it wasn't suspenseful as the book, too.

Candy Swappers Round #2

2006-05-04T07:42:00.000-07:00

It's ON, again! Round 2 of Candy Swappers has been officially announced by Mariko. The deadline to sign up is May 12 so hurry up and check it out if you love snail mail, sweeties and getting to know wonderful people. (i.e. Karen)
This month's theme is 'Spring Fever'. Basically, you would swap for candies that remind you of Spring, are packaged in Spring colors or only sold during Spring. My last swap went well and Mariko made a few slight changes to help prevent against reoccuring flakers or as she politely called them 'busy people.' It's not a secret swap anymore. So sign up and let the goodies roll!

Yummy dessert erasers...

2006-05-03T07:51:00.000-07:00

I've seen people blog about these erasers from time to time and I always think to myself "I want those, too!" Oddly, I've never ordered them yet...so many things to do so little time to do them. I've also been wanting to order cupcake earrings but haven't done so, either. You can get these at www.fredflare.com. Aren't they the cutest? I'm a sucker for anything in cute packaging especially if it has anything to do with sweets! I buy up candies just because they're limited editions and simply if it's just darn cute, or kawaii. It's a bad habit as you will soon learn that I have many bad habits.

Swap craze here I cometh!

2006-05-01T23:11:00.000-07:00

Remember my blog about Candy Swappers? Well, that was my first taste of the swapping life and I think there's no turning back from the swapping scene! I have that habit. I participated in May's Foodie Swap. This month's theme is '3 things you can't live without.' That's hard because I can't live without many food things, so I will have to limit it to just 3. Fine!
Joleen also suggested the Color-iffic swap, and I think I just may participate in that one. I missed the 'purple' themed swap. Shucks!
I just hope I don't go into swap overload where I end up committing to too many swaps at one time. I seriously don't want to flake out on anyone. I was thinking of becoming a 'swap angel', too! We'll see how that turns out.

Colored sushi wrappers...

2006-04-30T15:06:00.000-07:00

Every now and then, I like to check out www.strangenewproducts.com and trust me, some of the things I see are REALLY strange...Like the 'penis stretcher.' If you want to know more about it, check it out yourself because I really don't want to comment on it! hehehe
Well, I did find something that I'd love to get my hands on. Colored sushi wrappers. I love sushi especially homemade sushi my mom makes. I've tried my hand at making it and it's no easy task but I think something like this would give me the courage to try it again. I wonder if they come in purple. They're available at www.friedas.com.
I need to blog more about cupcakes soon!

A special lotion bar for a special someone!

2006-04-27T06:11:00.000-07:00

As some of you may know, I make bath and beauty products. I make them when I have the time to make them (kids sleeping, kids at school) or when I have the supplies to make them. I can only get the supplies online and sometimes it's really a pain to keep up with what I have left versus how much I have to make what I need.
I make lotion bars, which is basically solidified lotion. The warmth of your skin will gently melt the lotion bar and allow the oils to penetrate into your skin. It may feel a bit oily at first, but within a few minutes, the oils absorb into your skin and you'll feel soft and supple all day long. There is a good write up about lotion bars here and it's basically the same ingredients I use.
What I love about lotion bars is that you can carry it in your purse and not worry about it accidentally spilling in there. Usually when I make them, I give it as gifts or use them myself. Lately, I've had many requests to sell them at the local market and a horticulture garden wants citrus-scented lotion bars to sell at their site. Though it may seem enticing, I wonder if I'd ever be able to fulfill the supply and demand aspect of it. Remember, my life revolves around my family first! Also, a deep dark secret of mine, is that I'm a REALLY bad procrastinator. To the point that sometimes it ashames me.
Well, I made a bunch of lotion bars and I promised to give one as a trade to Joleen, who designed this site for me. She likes citrus scents so I made 'Tangerine Dreams' which has the "aroma of juicy, freshly squeezed tangerines with base notes of vanilla & fresh greenery." It's the same one that my kids used during their trip to the dentist a while ago. I got rave reviews about that one, which I blogged about a few weeks ago.

I use natural ingredients that are good for your skin. Shea butter "is a superb moisturizer, gentle enough for use on babies and sensitive skin and has exceptional healing properties." Sweet Almond Oil is used "to help to give it unequalled penetrating and restructuring properties." Candellila Wax is a "unique vegetable wax helps provide gloss and lubricity ("slip") to lip balms and lotion bars." I also use FD&C Fragrance and Colorants.

Here are all the ingredients melted, mixed together and ready to be pour into push-up lotion tubes. I love these tubes, they're too cute for words.

These are all ready to be labeled and shrink wrapped. The one already labeled belongs to Joleen. I will ship it out for her today. I hope she enjoys it!

Made by Joleen!

2006-04-25T05:43:00.000-07:00

I'm so delighted about my newly designed blog site! Joleen of Joleen's Artistic Endeavor's created this design for me! Isn't it gorgeous? I'm so happy right now and it's the most wonderful design I could've ever wanted. She incorporated the 'purple' and the 'cupcake' perfectly. Thank you, Joleen!
FYI, Joleen is a very talented and amazing woman. She's very creative and whenever I visit her site, it makes me feel so cheery inside. She's such a caring person and very professional indeed! I don't remember how I stumbled across her site but I am so glad I did. Once you read her blog, her photos will mesmerize you! It's such an enchanting site and I guarantee you'll agree when you take a peek.
Once again, THANK YOU Joleen!

2006-04-24T07:24:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since my last post due to a huge order of party favors that had me up until 3 am last Thursday! This order was placed weeks in advance but my daughter, Danielle, got sick and I had to put off working on the order until just about 2 days before they were due! Something, I'll never do again!
Both my daughters came to my rescue and I treated them to the movies afterwards.

These are Hershey's Kiss favors. Basically, it's a personalized sticker adhered to the round, flat bottom of the kiss. I place 5 in a bag with ribbons and tags attached.

These are the personalized candy bars. There were 2 orders last week. One had a Care Bear theme and the other was a Spring themed Christening.

These are heart shaped soap favors. They are made from glycerin soap. I have hundreds of scents so my customers could order just about any scent they like. Also, I have all sorts of colorants so my soaps are made to their individual preferences.

These are the soap favors when they had just been poured into the mold and are hardening up. It takes nearly 20 minutes before I could start unmolding them.

Here are the soap favors packaged up and ready to go. I usually coordinate matching ribbons with the soap favors. My customer was so happy with her orders. Her kind comments made my day!

Tinkerbell ain't got nothin' on me!

2006-04-12T20:07:00.000-07:00

Can you tell which dog is real?
Maybe it's a dead give away but the puppy on the left is my long-haired chihuahua, Gizmo. I bought the porcelain chihuahua yesterday and everyone who comes into my house freaks out at it because it looks real. It takes them a while to figure out it's not moving and therefore...fake! It's hilarious to watch my guests!

So here's Gizmo hamming it up for the digicam!

Quick snack

2006-04-10T04:12:00.000-07:00

Whenever I want a quick and easy snack, I fry up some frozen lumpia and it hits the spot! I love finger food and with lumpia, you can add whatever you want into it and it always tastes great. What fried food isn't, huh?
Well today, I made this recipe and it knocked the socks off my family! I used sweet ginger chili sauce for dipping and it was out of this world. I've never made the pancit part but I'm sure it's yummy as well. You might think there's a lot of steps, but once you get the hang of it, you'll be pleased with the results. It's worth the all the work.

How to make frosted popcorn favors

2006-04-06T23:34:00.000-07:00

As promised, this is how I make frosted popcorn favors. I had an order for 100 blueberry, chocolate and caramel favors today. So I thought it would be cool to snap these photos even though it was hard as hell! Opening up the Whirley Pop is like asking for death itself. The melted frosting burns like lava!
Anywho, yes, I use a Whirley Popcorn maker! I know, I know, I should use a movie theatre-type maker but I don't know, I just don't want to buy one. They're huge and require a permanent place in the house because they are extremely heavy.
My husband insists I buy one. I've made enough money from just popcorn favors to pay for the big popcorn machine 10 times over. They cost well over $1,000. Maybe I will, maybe I won't. I just don't know WHERE I would put the darn thing.

This is the first stage: I measure out just 3 ingredients and dump it into the Whirley Pop...

The second stage is the most critical of all. If the pot is too hot, you can burn the popcorn. Trial and error has made me perfect this stage with my eyes closed! Also had an extremely painful experience when I opened the lid to take a quick peek. Liquid sugar burns like a mofo!

This is the third stage where I transfer the cooked popcorn into large plastic bowls and let the popcorn cool on it's own without stirring it. Trial and error again has proved that this method prevents less breakage. DUH!!!!

This is the last stage where I bag them up, tag them and they're ready to be paid for!!!

This is the caramel flavored popcorn. A lot of grown-ups love this flavor. I get tons of orders for gallon-sized bags of this. I believe because it's a classic flavor.

And lastly, Chocolate flavored popcorn. I love this one but I have been told that it tastes burned but it's just the dark cocoa flavoring. True chocoholics appreciate this flavor! (like me)

Popcorn flavors

2006-04-06T05:34:00.000-07:00

There are A LOT more boxes of wonderful sweet flavorings behind these and MORE in another cupboard...I have orders tomorrow and was looking up to get a few boxes and decided to show you how I make flavored popcorn...I'll post them tomorrow!

Bunnies, candies and sprinkles, oh my!

2006-04-04T15:29:00.000-07:00

I love seasonal items, especially Easter-themed stuff. They are the cutest around and I love the pretty pastel colors they come in. I found these mini ceramic bunny dishes for less than $4. I bought all 3 of them! I figure I'll make creme brulee in it for Easter.

If you've watched "The Chronicles of Narnia", remember when Edmund gobbled up those turkish delights? Made you want some, didn't it? Well, I stumbled across these at the store. They're deliciously sweet, soft and powdery which reminded me of that part in the movie. I assume that they're quite similar. These candies are called 'Loukoumi'. It's an authentic ancient Byzantine candy recipe that is famous in the Eastern Mediterranean. The candies come flavored in lemon, orange, cinnamon, begamot and rose. The gummy aroma from the candies are from the island of Chios.

Meet a few of my cupcake's best friends. I'm going to buy Easter colored sprinkles today in preparation for our family Easter parties coming up soon! Pics to come as well.

It arrived, it arrived! Yummy!!!!!

2006-04-04T02:50:00.000-07:00

A while ago, I posted about a candyswap that I participated in. Well, my package of sweet goodness arrived today all the way from New Mexico! Karen was my secret swap partner and she sent me candy from Hawaii because although she lives in New Mexico, she was born and raised in Hawaii.
My favorite pieces were the "Candy Champagne Glasses" that are Cherry and Apple flavored. I love 'em because they don't sell these on Guam. How cool! I opened the Apple glass and my kids and I drank Gatorade from it for many hours until DanBoy took a huge bite out of it :o) Danielle said "Wow, Mommy, it's like we're in the Willy Wonka movie in his factory!" I was thinking the same thing...As I type this, our stomachs are enjoying all the sugary goodness.
I can't wait for the next swap!
As for the chocolate-dipped ika (dried squid), it was quite interesting...I mean, I LOVE ika and I LOVE chocolate but the combination was something I can't really explain in words. It's probably a combination that would be an aquired taste for most people. I enjoyed it none the less.

Chai High!

2006-03-27T04:23:00.000-08:00

For the past few months, I've been addicted to Chai lattes. It all started when my nephew, John, insisted I try a sip of Chai at a local coffee shop. There's been no turning back since.
I've tried all varieties of Chai. From Raspberry Chai to Green Tea Chai...all delish! These are just a few of my faves. I'll post the rest of 'em later. Email me if you want to know where I order them from...

Glass cupcakes!

2006-03-11T21:57:00.000-08:00

For something that is less than 3" high, these were expensive in my opinion ($10 EACH). I guess that's what you get when you shop at high-end boutiques. They are quite heavy because the stand, the frosting and the precious cherries are made of exquisite solid glass.
I love 'em so much! Most of the time, I buy memoirs in groups of 4 so that each of my children take with them a little bit of 'me' when they grow up and start a family of their own. Denise and Danielle usually 'shotgun' what they want as soon as I show them what I bought. These delicate ornaments are one of MANY memoirs I am preserving for them.

Popcorn favors..yummy and pretty!

2006-03-11T04:51:00.000-08:00

I was really happy with this bag topper image. My customer was having a "My Little Pony" 4th birthday party and wanted everything pink. She was really happy when she saw these favors (all 90 of them)! The flavored popcorn on the left is Blueberry, the middle is Pink Cherry and the right is Grape (my favorite).
She was really impressed with the favors I did for her a few months ago, so she ordered again! I love repeat customers.

I LOVE CANDY!

2006-03-05T21:12:00.000-08:00

I've joined candyswappers and I must say that I'm really excited about receiving sweet deliciousness in the mail. More so, from another person of my caliber. I'm so excited about the amount of people who have participated and Mariko is going to try to have a monthly swap.
Oh, I could feel the cavities upon me! I'll keep you informed of this adventure.