The number you have reached….

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….is no longer in service.

We are partying at a new pad, people. And it’s name is I HAVE MY OWN DOMAIN NOW AND I AM SO EXCITED.

So head on over to the brand spanking new Bruises in the Frosting (and don’t forget to update your Google Reader and RSS feeds to point over there) and let the party continue.

Posting on the run….

This is going to be one of the shortest posts I’ve ever written.

Started the 30 day fitness challenge on Wii Sports. I rock.

Set up a regular “hill climb time” with one of my momma friends. She rocks.

I lost a whole pound this week. That rocks.

I hope you rocked this week too 🙂

(sorry for the short post. I have stitches in my hand and about to have a houseful of people, but wanted to get this in!!)

OOOOH! Shiny! (A Giveaway)

It’s no secret that I love shiny things.

Being a stay at home mom (for now) with a busy partner gives me virtually ZERO occasions to wear baubles and bling, but I do like to buy them for those occasions where I do get to wear shiny things and look pretty.

Enter Stella & Dot.

Not only do they have pretty shiny things, but they have some pretty wicked everyday pieces like the Garbo Link Bracelet (my favorite), the Pyramid Double Wrap Bracelet (leather and studs = down my alley) or the Heiress Hoops (in hematite) that would rock with a pair of jeans quite nicely.

But the Fall 2011 collection is STUNNING. There are so many things I would buy in this section, I think I might need to get a job to buy it all.

Like this beauty to the left. The Marchesa necklace.

I’m thinking this bad boy would look amazing with a plain white button-down shirt, a fedora hat, some boot-cut dark wash jeans and some black high-heel boots.

A mom can dream.

But turquoise really floats my boat.

The greatest thing about Stella & Dot is they do the home party thing. You provide the people and some refreshments and people like the lovely Courtney Parham come to your house and show you some pretty jewelry and you don’t have to put on public pants if you don’t want to.

And Courtney (who is an independent stylist with Stella & Dot) has been nice enough to provide a pretty sweet prize for one of my readers!

You ready for this?

She’s giving one lucky person a Revival Tassel Necklace (retail value $79)!! This necklace has been featured in Redbook and InStyle, and Rachel Ray wore it on her cooking show.

The Revival Tassel necklace has a brass chain tassel that swings from handset crystal pave balls, and a string of ivory colored beads. Designed by celebrity designer Nancy Liebowitz. (30″ length of beads. Pave balls and tassel measure approximately 6¼”.)

I have the matching bracelet and I love it….goes with everything.

Want to win it? Here’s how:

MANDATORY ENTRY: Head on over to Courtney’s website, check out what she’s got on her site and leave a comment here telling me which piece you like the best (THEY HAVE PURSES!).

Additional entries (leave a comment for each one)

**ONE ENTRY by liking “Bruises in the Frosting” on Facebook!

**ONE ENTRY by subscribing to my blog! One subscription entry per user. (Just clicky the “HECK YES” button up there in the top right corner, or subscribe on Google Reader)

** FOUR ENTRIES for every $50 of product purchased from Stella & Dot by Courtney Parham: http://bit.ly/SDcourtneyparham. There is no limit on the number of entries from purchasing items. For example, a purchase of $100 gives you 8 entries! After you make your purchase, be sure to post a comment on this blog to let me know what you ordered.

** ONE ENTRY by following me, @miacupcake, on Twitter and sending this tweet: “I just entered to win @miacupcake’s Stella & Dot jewelry giveaway: http://wp.me/pXaXa-js”. (Or something similar….you can be creative if you’d like 🙂 One Twitter entry per user per day.

** ONE ENTRY for each +K you give me on Klout! (blogging, mamavation, food…pick a subject!)

– Giveaway ends Friday, September 2 at 5pm PDT

– Must be 18 years or older

– U.S. and Canada residents only

DISCLAIMER: I didn’t receive anything for doing this giveaway or review. I won a piece of Stella & Dot jewelry from my friend over at Motherly Law and became totally obsessed with it and that’s it.

Pushing All my Buttons (mamavation Monday)

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I’m a procrastinator.

There, I said it out loud.

I won’t try and fix a problem (with myself…my kids get IMMEDIATE attention) until it’s a pretty big deal.

And my weight has been a pretty big deal for long enough. I went through the Mamavation campaign, and then my life kinda fell apart at the seams (and everywhere in between) so it was easy to let the exercise routine and everything else fall by the wayside.

(I wish my Gruve still worked….that was a handy tool 😦 If BodyBugg wants to give me a bugg, I wouldn’t say no….and would probably wear it EVERYWHERE.)

So now is the time.

Procrastination is over and done with and I’m sick of being this size.

I’m also harder on myself than I am on anyone else. If I fail, I’m super disappointed. If I succeed, I wonder if I could have succeeded even MORE if I tried harder.

So I need to try. More. Right now.

Week 2 of roller derby boot camp was yesterday too. And I was hell-bent and determined not to make a total ass of myself out there on the rink.

So I worked this week. I went hiking and I ran around with the kids and I bartered someone for a weighted hula hoop that’s supposed to help with strengthening my core.

And I did it. I made it through another booty camp without stopping. I didn’t sit down (well, I did twice, to have some water) and I fell a half dozen times, but I know how to fall. So I didn’t hurt myself.

And the only thing that was sore this morning was my lower back, which just means I need to work my core more this week.

GUESS WHAT? I lost 1.6 pounds this week! I can’t wait to see what happens when I adjust my diet too 🙂

Hope you all have a GREAT week, and work just a little bit harder for yourself this week 🙂

Stay tuned for a fun giveaway and a review or two, and maybe a post 😀

It’s all Gruntstyle’s Fault.

So I had my first night of roller derby boot camp last night.

And I was FREAKING TERRIFIED.

I used to be a skater, for about 8 minutes, before I had Chuck. I wasn’t very good and I was totally out of shape, so I sat out a lot. And I was sore all the time. And I hurt myself a lot.

That being my last “real” skating experience (not counting the bout I skated in February), I expected to get out there and just try not to die.

But I did not die. And I actually did quite well (despite a broken piece on my skate, that I did not discover until late in the game….it’s a miracle I didn’t injure myself).

And I didn’t have to sit out.

And this morning, I didn’t have TOO much soreness. (My inner thighs and my butt are killing me though.)

I blame Daniel Alarik from Gruntstyle and his amazing workouts that I’ve been doing on and off. And I blame Mamavation for putting me on the road to being back in shape. And I blame myself for working my best and preparing myself for this, even through the rough personal stuff we’ve been going through.

Could I have done better? Absolutely. But that ship has sailed, and I’m (VERY BRIEFLY) resting on my laurels before I get right back to work.

This week I lost 0.2 pounds, but those were hard-earned. That was a lot of “there is soda in the house and I’m not going to drink it.” And “the kids want to eat out, but I know we have healthy stuff I can fix for dinner.” And “no, I don’t need to have a margarita with friends.” (Although I really wanted to do each of those things.)

Making good choices and strapping wheels on my feet to kick some tail. That’s my health mantra this week 🙂

So make this week count, and come next Sunday night, think good thoughts for me betwen 5pm and 7pm PST!

Loving Them as they Fly Away

Sometimes it is hard for me to be happy for people.

I’m getting better, but when my friends are growing and expanding their lives in new and different ways, it’s hard for me to see that them growing doesn’t necessarily mean hey are growing away from me.

So my lesson of late is to be there for my close friends as they buy exciting new houses (if any of you need me, I will be living in my friend Ketta’s kitchen because it’s AMAZEBALLS) and prepare to bring another life into the world, or move clear across the country to pursue exciting opportunities.

It doesn’t mean I love them any less because they are doing things I am financially/physically/geographically incapable of doing.

It also doesn’t mean they love me any less.

So I will keep loving them in my own bizarre way (which involves funny emails, occasional random phone calls and forgetting to text back as well as showing up on their doorstep with food when they’re sick) and accept their love in return.

Because I am worthy of awesome friends, and am truly happy for their growth.

Holy Smokes.

thank you to whomever nominated me for this….you like me! You really like me!

By Best All-Around Mom Blog

Update: For those of you more tech savvy than me…this is supposed to be a badge that is pink and super awesome and says “Nominated for a Parents’ Mage Best Blog Award”! And I can’t make it appear. SAD. Help??

Accidentally Delicious Blueberry Mess

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So I tried to make blueberry jam the other day.

I say “tried”, because I totally forgot about it and it ended up cooking down a whole lot more than I originally anticipated.

But it is freaking delicious. So here’s a recipe for you. This is my first recipe I’ve invented myself, SO BE NICE. If it sucks, tell me. If it’s awesome, tell me. If it doesn’t make sense, tell me.

I apologize for the lack of photos. I will remedy this if I ever write another recipe post again. 🙂

Accidentally Delicious Blueberry Jam (Makes about 8 quarter-pints or 4 pints)

• 2 pounds of blueberries, washed (and check for stems. Stems are gross in jam.)
• 2 1/2 cups of sugar
• 1tsp cinnamon (fresh-grated is nice, but not necessary.)
• 1/4c lemon juice (I use “Real Lemon” juice….the acidity is high enough to make the jam safe. Fresh lemon juice is too variable in the acid levels. If you’re not canning it and putting it in the fridge, fresh lemon is OK.)
• 1/2 box pectin (or 3 Tbsp of the stuff in the jar)

1.  Put 3 spoons in the freezer. Rinse your blueberries (if you haven’t already) and discard any mushy berries or under-ripe ones. Make sure you brush up on canning procedures, and set your canning pot to boil with the empty jars. Put the lids in a heatproof bowl.

Disappointing.

It used to kill me when someone I admired said they were disappointed in me. I would practically keen and wail and gnash my teeth and rend my garments in my agony.

I was a very dramatic teenager.

But nothing kills like being disappointed in yourself. And I am very disappointed in myself this week.

I had soda for the first time in a LONG time. I had alcohol (one tiny gin & tonic) for the first time in almost 7 months.

And I gained.

Boy, did I ever gain. I’m up 3 pounds from last week. Despite all of the walking and cleaning I did….it just isn’t enough for me to play with my kids and count that as exercise.

This is my first plateau. This is also my first actual weight loss struggle too. I was not fat until after I had my children, and I allowed myself to slide down the slippery slope of french fries and skipping breakfast and being a bad food influence on my friends and family.

I know there will be more plateaus. But I refuse to rest on this one. I won’t sit down and feel sorry for myself, like my subconscious really wants to do.

This week, I’m kicking my own butt. AND! I am starting boot camp for roller derby, so I HAVE to stick to this, I don’t have a choice.

As for the Mamavation question of the week: What qualities do you look for in a healthy breakfast? Any go-to breakfast recommendations for a busy mom?

I’m big on smoothies. I love them. Especially green smoothies. You just shove a bunch of stuff into a blender and you’re good to go. That covers me and my 11 year old. My toddler isn’t a huge fan of the smoothies, but she loves fruit. So she gets whatever fruit we’ve got in the fridge plus some whole wheat toast with peanut butter.

Still working on my fiance – he has coffee for breakfast 😉

This post is sponsored by Quaker Oats and I’m writing this to be entered into a giveaway hosted by Mamavation and sponsored by Quaker Oats

Sharpie Love

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Dear Sharpie,

I have loved your pens since I was but a wee bairn and used to use them to decorate my mother’s walls….much to her chagrin and prior to the invention of Mr Clean Magic Erasers.

I have an enormous collection of Sharpies, and use them for EVERYTHING, from writing in my dayplanner to marking numbers on the arms of derby girls to leaving (approved) graffiti in my favorite bar’s bathroom. (They ask you to do this. It’s OK.)

I even hide them from my son who is as big of a nut about using the perfect pen as I am.

I adore your writing utensils and ALMOST always have one with me….so it pains me that I got INSANELY EXCITED about your perk with Klout! And was totally denied. I was actually really upset. It was kind of ridiculous.

But without your pens, I would never have my name on nearly everything I own, the derby girls wouldn’t be numbered correctly, and my backpack in the 10th grade wouldn’t have been as fun.

So if you find an extra fun pack of your pens lying around, I’d be happy to take it off your hands and even happier to share your decorating/writing/doodling goodness with the next generation of the Cupcake Clan.

Love and ink stains,

Mia

Disclaimer: nobody gave me anything to write this. I just really really really love Sharpies and it’s kind of an obsession and I was honestly really sad that I didn’t get the Sharpie Klout perk.