Semi Homemade Baked Goods

Baking has never been my strengthen. I always felt why make things from scratch when you can buy it in a box and just add water eggs and oil to it. However, over time I realized that once you add your special touches everything starts to taste a little better. I now really enjoy baking with my Semi Homemade tips.

Below are some quick Semi Homemade tips to help add your personal touch to any box bake goods you make:

Lemon Pound Cake:

• Follow Directions on Lemon cake box-minus 1 egg, and mix everything together
• Add lemon juice from two freshly squeezed lemons
• Mix and sit in fridge for couple hours
• Bake according to box
• Once out of oven poke holes with a toothpick and pour lemon glaze (1 freshly squeezed lemon and 1/2 of powder sugar mixed together) over cake
• Cool and serve

Chocolate Cake:

• Follow directions on devil foods cake box, mix well
• Add 1 tablespoon of dark chocolate Hersey cocoa
• Add 2 tablespoons of dark chocolate chips
• Mix well and bake
• Frost with chocolate icing

Vanilla Cupcakes:

• Follow directions on Vanilla cake box
• Add 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Bake and ice with frosting

See who said baking had to be hard! From just adding your own special touch you helped enhance the flavors in your baked goods. Also please note when you mix your ingredients always put in the fridge for at least 5 mins. It helps bring the flavors out.

Happy Baking!

Success Quote

“Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.” Dalai Lama XIV

Love & Achievement Quote

“Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.” Dalai Lama XIV

Meaning of Being Successful Quote

"Success is not something that is given to you, success is something you earn!"

Many times I come across people that get things from people and think that is what makes them successful in life. You can not be handed success, wealth is not the same as success. To be handed money or given money does not mean you are successful, you may become wealthy but you will not be successful.

You need to work hard to build and earn the respect of being successful in life. Under-achievers do not achieve because they have bad luck, under-achievers are lazy and feel that they will succeed by getting from others what they do not want to try to work on getting themselves.You need to work hard, push yourself and then you will become successful. In order to gain the respect from others you need to respect yourself. No one in life needs or has to give you anything, you need to earn what is given to you in order to call yourself successful! Do not confuse wealth with success, any of us can be wealthy not all of us are successful!

90 Day Challenge

I decided to start a 90 day challenge with my husband to loose the extra weight I am still carrying and gain more muscle. I was diagnosed 8 months ago with being insulin resistant and since then lost over 20lbs with diet and exercise. I am back to my pre-pregnancy weight-yes I held on to it for 2 years but want to get back to my wedding weight which is 15lbs lighter than what I am now. I feel GREAT and would love to look like this forever but am now determined to push myself to look even better.

The program I am doing is P 90 X. What it is a 90 day work out routine that focuses on muscle confusion. Which we all know that we need to confuse our muscles when we work out, so stop doing the same routine and mix it up at the gym. Do weights one day, yoga the next, kick boxing next, etc... Never do the same things.  The best thing about this program is that I can do it at home and with my crazy schedule it is PERFECT for me. I still need to go to the gym to run because we all know running helps keep me sane. I also am going to keep my own diet going which is eating every two hours, high protein, with carbs that are high grain-no white flour and limited sugar.


I took some before pics and will follow up weekly with my results. I am actually really excited at the thought of finally having abs.

Spring is here and summer is near so for once I will be excited for bikini season!

Wish me luck!

*Please note I am not a doctor so please consult with your doctor before starting any exercise routine*

Find Who You Are Quote

"The summit of happiness is reached when a person is ready to be what he is." Erasmus

Follow Your Gut Quote

"We are always looking and asking for "signs" but what good are they if we never act on them when we see and receive them!"

Strive to Be More Quote

"Life is about becoming the person you never thought you could be, to have more then you thought you would have and to be the person who wants to leave a positive mark on this world because you are here for a reason and your life should not stop just because you gave up hope or you think you accomplished all you could. Life doesn't stop until you let it stop. Striving to be more is what will keep you going !"

Easter is Coming...My Annual Egg Hunt

Easter is by far my favorite Holiday. I am not sure why, maybe it's because Spring is coming or because it is a holiday where we are all together and do not have to go nuts on buying gifts. It's also the one time of year I really really miss my Grandma, "Nonna",  the most.

In preparation for this celebration I always throw an Easter Egg Hunt. Once I had my own house I always said when I had children I wanted to do an Egg Hunt. So again, this year Mother Nature, as always, was VERY kind to me and gave me a BEAUTIFUL day for my annual Egg Hunt. We hid 300 eggs and had 18 little rug rats running around the yard, which is perfect to accommodate 40 people.

The children had a great time, it is also nice for me and my "random group" of friends to get together, which someone once asked how I knew everyone and I laughed because we all have a unique connection somehow. It is a great, fun, young bunch of people and I am grateful to have each one of them in my life.

Needless to say it was a great day and once again the Egg Hunt was a huge success!

Feel Good Song: Sting Desert Rose

This is my favorite song by Sting

Never Stop Dreaming Quote

“We dream to give ourselves hope. To stop dreaming - well, that’s like saying you can never change your fate.” Amy Tan

Make Things Happen Quote

“Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.”  Ralph Waldo Emerson

Destined to Be Quote

“Some things are destined to be -- it just takes us a couple of tries to get there.”  J.R. Ward

Happy "Post" St. Patty's Day!

I hope you all had a great St. Patty's Day! Funny how although I am not Irish I, like most of us, still really enjoy this day. When I was younger it was all about the drinking but now that I am older it's a fun holiday that we can celebrate by dressing up silly, making everything we eat and drink green and for once a holiday you can have fun without having to buy anyone a gift!

I spent most of my saturday with my lil one and two nephews. We had a great day filled with corn beef and cabage, green cupcakes, green apple sauce and I even had my own marching band :)

Saturday night I was able to spend it with my fav Irish gal- my best friend and had some Summer Ale with some friends. Needless to say it was a great day. I hope you all had a great St. Patty's Day as well!

"Irish Blessings" To All Of You!



"May the road rise to meet you. May the wind be always at your back . May the sun shine warm upon your face, And the rains fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again

May God hold you in the palm of his hand."

"Wishing you always - Walls for the wind And a rood for rain And tea beside the fire. Laughter to cheer you,And those you love near you,

And all that your heart might desire!"

My "Pot of Gold"

My Juggling Act

I feel like life is a juggling act. I am a part time worker and a mom and I seem to constantly be juggling the two. For example tonight I am making my daughter green cupcakes for her St. Patty's day party at her preschool while checking my email for work. I am 40% worker, 55 % mom, 5% "me" and 100% go go go.

I know that you are all thinking the same way. I mean think about it. In life we all juggle different parts of who we are. For me I am a mother, worker, wife, friend, daughter, sister, aunt...and the list goes on. I juggle being there for my child, putting her in activities that I think would be good for her social skills, trying to be involved in her schools-yes she is currently in two different preschools which means pack snack for one and doing projects for another.

Then I am a worker with multiple clients, I juggle different tasks all day long for different clients. Then there's the "me" part. The person who loves to go to the gym, have date night with my hubby, grab drinks with my girlfriends, and when I have the time write or blog and catch up with family and friends. I have been so accustomed to this juggling act that even when I do get that free moment to lay on the couch I am reading the paper or a magazine while watching T.V.

If someone asks me to give up a part of my juggling act I couldn't. Being a mom was what I'm meant to be, working helps me grow a part of who I want to be and the "me" part...well let's face it we all need some "me" time.

So I guess my juggling act will have to continue. I may age a little faster from it but I guess at the end of the day all those parts really do make up who I really am!

Event to Support the Boys & Girls Village to Help the Children of CT

Enjoy a night out while helping a great cause! Fairfield Coupon is teaming up with the Boys and Girls Village to promote their "Laugh Out Loud" event Saturday, March 31st at Fairfield University's Quick Center. The Comedy show begins at 8:00pm featuring comedian Richard Lewis, who stars in HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

Tickets go on sale the weekend of March 23rd at http://www.fairfieldcoupon.com/ and best of all Fairfield Coupon will be donating 100% of their profits from this event to the Boys and Girls Village.

So mark your calendars! Tickets go on sale March 23rd at http://www.fairfieldcoupon.com/.

Feel Good Song: We are Young

This is a great song!!!

Be Happy Quote :)

"For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

My Lil One's First Day at Big Girl Preschool

"There may not be a lot of things in my life I was made to be but one thing I know for sure is I  was made to be a mom!!" 

My Soul :)

Feel Good Song: Have a Little Faith in Me

What We're Meant To Be Quote

"In the end we're all destined to be what we're meant to be"

Life Quote

"Funny how the things we all complain about, the things we cry about,  the things we all worry about are all the things that make up what life is all about! You can't escape from it so you might as well try to enjoy it"

Pick Yourself Back Up

"Sometimes you have to let yourself breakdown before you can build yourself back up"

I saw this quote today and wanted to share it with all of you. I feel this quote says a lot. We go through life feeling one way, ignoring things that bother us and smiling even when we aren't truly happy. So I wanted to let my readers know that breaking down is not a sign of weakness. Ignoring how you feel and  hiding your true feelings will only cause you harm. So you have my permission to let go and feel but the trick is to remember to then pick yourself  back up.