Happy (early) Earth Day Everyone! 

Go pick up some trash on the side of the road. Figure out one more thing in your daily or weekly routine you can clean out and recycle rather than simply throw away. Plant a tree. Walk instead of drive. Take a bus or buy a  more eco-friendly vehicle. Dust off your bike and go for a ride. Teach a child about ways they can help the Earth they have inherited. Go Green!

*Image courtesy of Recipe by Photo. 

Some fun birthday artwork from my colleague and friend Jennifer.

Have a wonderful day indeed!

November means Thanksgiving for a lot of people, but for others it is MOvember. This is the time of year to be thankful for many things, specifically prostate cancer awareness.

In honor of this month-long holiday when men across America grow awkward, dirty-looking mustaches to raise money for cancer research and treatment, I bring you mustache cupcakes!

If you want to support a man I know who is growing a mustache in honor of his good friend’s dad’s battle with cancer, you can give Chris Smith a hand by clicking HERE and donating to team Give It a Ride! They are currently ranked #122 out of 13,510 teams in the United States. Give them a pat on the back for growing their upper lip facial hair as fast as they can!

*Photo courtesy of Cupcakes Take The Cake.

We’ve all seen wedding cakes made of tiers of cupcakes. Now the pastry world has taken the next step with a cake pop cake. I think it lacks the fullness of a traditional cake, which cupcake cakes do achieve, but I like the ability to give guests options and play with color using fun frosting and embellishments. I would put money on a bet that the next thing trend we’ll start to see is pie-pop wedding cakes. Get ready!

*Image courtesy of the Lovely Little Things blog.

                           HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY BLOG!!!

Today marks the first birthday of the This Is Me blog. While I have missed a few days along the way due to travel today also marks my 365th blog entry so somewhere along the way I filled in the blanks and not only kept this website filled with information but did so “daily”.

I’m proud of this accomplishment. One year is a long time in many respects and a lot can happen in 365 days. A lot has certainly happened to me in my previous twelve months and having this shared journal of those experiences, thoughts and images along the way is a wonderful, comprehensive way to look back on a single chapter of my existence.

Like many things in life, the reality of having a blog I committed to posting something on daily was a bigger undertaking than expected. Some weeks I was chomping at the bit to share information and others left me completely out of inspiration, but I pushed through and found wonderful little things to share highlighting small, bright spots in the big life I am trying to lead - just as I’ve always said on this blog in the upper right corner. And I had no idea how long it took to write a quality post worth reading! I’ve learned the true art is in the editing.

Naturally it brings me great joy and satisfaction when people comment, reblog posts or follow my entire blog. But I initially started this as a way to fill time in my sometimes dull days with something bright, positive and optimistic for myself. Now it is also a great way to share part of my life with anyone who wants to see it. This isn’t a deep, dark, personal blog - I’m only showing the happy, shiny stuff (along with fun zombie stuff) - but it is one side of my existence. We too often focus on the negative and don’t highlight the positive. I want this blog to be a big bright highlighter of the positive and spread joy to others. Much of life is terrific and I’m proud to have 365 entries which celebrate that. Thank YOU for coming along with me!

Here’s to the next year and beyond!!!

*Photo courtesy of Delightful Desserts.

                                   MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

*Photo of Santa Cupcake courtesy of The Cupcake Blog.