2010?! WHO OK'D THIS?!

2010?!

When did that happen??

Where did 2009 go?

Shoot, forget 2009, I'm still waiting for Y2K to take effect.

Is it safe to come out yet...? 

I'm not sure how I feel yet about 2010.  For one thing, how are my New Year's glasses supposed to work? 

Please tell me how this can possibly be OK:

And for another thing, what am I supposed to say for the year?  I mean, all throughout the 2000's we've been saying things like "oh-nine," "oh-eight," etc. for short.

What am I supposed to say for 2010?  "Ten"?  "Oh-ten"?  C'mon.

And why on EARTH would I want to say goodbye to 2009??  2009 was pretty darn good to me.

For starters, 2009 was when I got all marriedificated.  This was probably one of the best THE best decision of my life.  My husband is the most wonderful, loving, and caring man I know.  And he has a cute butt.  Done deal.

Also, 2009 was when my sister GRADUFIED high school.  Yep, she's a college student now.  *sniffle* They just grow up so FAST, you know??

In 2009, my other sister and I went to go see [•[WICKED]•].  It is muy awesome and I definitely recommend it to anyone looking for the real story behind the Wizard of Oz.  Here's my kid sis with Elfie after the show (you can still see some of the green makeup clinging to her forehead!  SWEET!!)

I feel like there might be something else... like... maybe... oh, that's right -- 2009 was when... Miss Dot's Cupcake Spot opened [and then subsequently moved] its doors!!  
I've been doing baking for corporate gift boxes for about 3 years now following being a personal assistant for a caterer, but 2009 was when I decided that, as cupcakes are the new black, ♥cupcakes♥ would take center oven rack stage in my baking life.



However...

2009 had its downs, too.

In 2009, my aunt/godmother was diagnosed with breast cancer.

In 2009, my other aunt was diagnosed with breast cancer.

In 2009, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. 

So, what did we do?

Did we whine and pout?  Did we cry a lot?  Did we whine about "Why me why me why me?"

Well, yes.

But!!

We also didn't take it sitting down, and, in 2009, we did the Susan G. Komen Walk Race for the Cure! 

I usually participate in this with my BEST FRIEND IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD, but this year, we had a little bit more motivation.  

Here's me, my mom, and aunt #1 about halfway through the race:

So, I guess now that I think about it, 2009 really had a good long run.  I think maybe I'm ready for 2010.  I'm ready for some new ups and, consequentially, some new downs.  I'm ready for some new adventures and surprises. 

Go ahead, 2010, and hit me with your best shot.

 

  ♥HAPPY NEW YEAR!!♥

Mustache Monday

photo by Chris Rochelle @ CHOW 

This Monday's Mustache is brought to you courtesy of the SF Food Wars.

These little cupcakes are called "Guinness Gasms" - cupcakes boasting "a rich combo of Guinness, chocolate, and Bailey’s."

Reminds me of Martha Stewart's Stout Cupcake recipe that I've been dying to try.  Luckily enough, my hubby's good friend (and self-proclaimed home-brewing master) has a batch of homemade stout that's just begging to be used as a guinea pig skillfully incorporated into these cupcakes.

Stay tuned to hear how they turn out!

~*I hope everyone had a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS*~

2010, here we come!! 

Please buy this for your kid.

I don't care who you are.

I don't care where you live.

I don't care that your daughter is 15 years old, no longer plays imaginary games, and is perfectly capable of using a grown-up oven all by herself.

BUY THIS FOR YOUR KID.

Please.  Do it for me.  

Do it because I do not yet have little terrors bundles of joy to call my own.

Do it because if I were still a little girl, I would want it with all my heart and would cry and whine and beg until I got my way sweetly tell my mother that I would throw a tantrum if she didn't get it love her ever so much if she got it for me for Christmas.

Do it because I cannot justify buying it for myself (a grown adult) even though I'd probably just say something like, "It's OK, dear, I'm just buying it for the little girl we'll have down the road" (thereby jinxing us to have 3 insane monkeys darling little boys and not a girl in sight).

Do it because, well, it's just the right thing to do.

Either that, or buy me a pony.

Your call.

Mustache Monday

As a combination tribute to one of the great classics and description of my general mood as I begin wrapping all of our Christmas presents, I give to you this Monday's *fabulous* Mustache.

Please take a moment to enjoy this lolcat and his owner-assisted mustache.

~♥~

Once you are done with that, take a moment to gasp at THIS with me:

Disneyland has opened a

[temporary, from what I understand]

CUPCAKE KIOSK!

Between this Yelp! review and this blog post, what I surmise is that there is a cupcake kiosk that has opened in Downtown Disney and that it will be gone by January 9th.

All I can tell you is that the hubbs and I will be trekking down to Disneyland sometime in the next five minutes couple days to do a little review of our own. 

Om nom nom nom...

♥Free Gift Tags♥

Want some fun Christmas gift tags?  

I made these on the computer, printed them on cardstock, and used a 2" hole punch to punch them out.  Then I punched a hole at the top of each using a regular single hole punch and cut some pretty ribbon to thread through the holes and attach them to gifts.

If you'd like use these tags, too, shoot me an email {|dotsonthespot[at]gmail[dot]com|} and I'll send you a PDF of the gift tag file so you can print and cut out some of your own!

While you're cutting out your tags, check out our cute{♥} Christmas card pictures!

All images copyright Candace Miller Photography 

*Whew*, I can't believe I got those out.  Seriously, I didn't think we were going to make it.

Guess what I else I did?

I FINISHED CHRISTMAS SHOPPING.

Yep, that's right, you heard read(?) me.


D-O-N-E done. 

Before you go getting all jealous, though, I do have some DIY gifts that I haven't quite finished putting together yet.  

No promising I will, though... :-P 

Home Sweet Apartment

Well, it's week two in our new place and we're really getting settled in.  In case you haven't been following along, my husband and I have moved to a new apartment as he's just gotten a job as a property manager for an apartment complex.  This means that he's got a sweet new job and I'm out job hunting again.  Blah.

In the meantime, though, we've been having a lot of fun cleaning up some of the storage areas and finding all sorts of neat goodies liiiiike:

 A knife in the wall!

A fish box!

A tamale pot!

File cabinets from Watergate
Trashcans from subway scene in The Wiz
Ummm...

A doily hat!

An exploded kindergarten
A whole heck of a lot of pony beads!

Two collectible spoons!

A quadrillion dollars
A bunch of fake money :-P (but don't I look gangsta??)

And... a silver butter dish!

I know, I know -- how can we possibly have any more fun than we've already been having cleaning out the storage areas??  I'll tell you how:  

DECORATING OUR FIRST CHRISTMAS TREE!

PLUS! Check out my cute new kitchen :)

There's a spot for my aprons:

A place to hang my fun plates:

AND OMC I GOT TO USE MY NEW CUPCAKE CARRIER!!

This cupcake carrier was a going-away present/early Christmas present from my old supervisor before we moved.  Could she have gotten me a better gift??  I'll tell you what... those cuppies aren't going ANYWHERE!

Mustache Monday

HAPPY MUSTACHE MONDAY!

K so I know it's been a while since I've posted my Mustache Monday but c'mon, not only did we MOVE, but I'm job hunting and preparing for Christmas.  Just ask this lady, there aren't enough hours in a day!

In the meantime, though, please enjoy this amazing mustache for this week's Mustache Monday:

♥Erica♥ from Dollface Delights

Erica sported this fun lip warmer after spotting it in a gumball machine and snagging it up for herself.  Way to go, Erica!  I'm loving your style!

I'd also like to take a minute to accept a few awards that I have been lucky enough to receive over the past week:

Firstly, Lauren of Makeup By Lauren P nominated me for the following awards:

In order, these awards are: "I Frequently Read Your Blog" and "I Love Your Blog" x 2.  If you get a chance, go check out her blog for some really awesome makeup tutorials, tips, and advice!

Next is the Heartfelt Blogger Award that I received from Jenn of Rook No. 17. 

She says it's for putting a smile on her face, especially on Mustache Mondays.  Well, Jenn,  

HAPPY MUSTACHE MONDAY TO YOU!


To both of you ladies:  THANK YOU FOR MY AWARDS!! I am so honored :)

And the Winners are...

Jeannie of Jeannie's Happy World and Christina of Christina's Creative Expressions!

The selection technique I used required a highly scientific method that involved scissors, a pen, and a bunch of little strips with numbers on them.  High-tech, I know.  We don't mess around when it comes to random selection here in the Dot Household.  I don't have time for dilly-dallying.

Anyhoo...

Ladies, be sure to send me your addresses and I'll get these CDs out to you ASAP!!

Also,

Check out my new 'do :)

Stay Fit on the Miss Dot Holiday Plan!

It's that time of the month year again.  Christmas Party time.  The time of year when people reach waaaaay back into their recipe files to find the most sugar-laden, butter-filled, diabetes-inducing desserts that they can make and then quickly wrap up on decorative plates and haul them out of the house before they eat it all themselves and instead leave them out on buffet tables at Christmas parties where they know you won't be able to resist them.  And of course, year after year, you give yourself that little pep-talk before heading out to a party: "I won't bum rush the buffet table.  I won't take two extra brownies and stuff them in my pockets for later.  I won't knock Aunt Bertha over again just to get the last peanut butter kiss cookie.  I'll eat celery and bean sprouts and just lick the top of a gingerbread man but I won't eat it.  Nope.  Not even his gumdrop buttons." 

To all of that I say: RELAX.  I'm here for you.  Over the years I've accumulated some great techniques for weathering out the Christmas Party Frenzy and I'd like to share them with you in the hopes that come bikini season you'll be just as stressed out excited as I am. I've put together this 5-point list of things you can do to help yourself stay on track this holiday season. 

1. Bring a Date
   Bringing a date opens up the door for so many possibilities.  Need an excuse to grab an extra cookie while under the watchful eye of the Nazi hostess who's already seen you take three?  No worries!  You have a date, one who apparently is incapable of getting up and getting his own food so you kindly have volunteered to do it for him.  *BONUS*:  if you're married and your date is your spouse, you totally  look like the ever-loving doting partner here.  Cha-CHING!
   
   
2. Only Choose a Few Items for your Plate
   This goes hand-in-hand with the item above.  By bringing a date, what you have actually done is brought another plate.  What you'll be doing here is setting up a decoy plate, i.e. the one that people see you holding and think, "Wow, she's got great willpower."  This plate can be covered in anything healthy: celery sticks, broccoli, and/or the yucky-looking healthy dessert that that one chick brought  but no one's touched (who invited her anyway??).  After you've set up your decoy plate, load up your date's plate with the goodies you really want.  Peppermint bark?  Why not!  Brownies AND cookies?  Who cares?  It's not on YOUR plate!  *BONUS*:  By eating off of someone else's plate, you're actually not incurring any calories!  That's right!  If we go by the simple rule of "He who carries it keeps it on his hips" (the lesser-known cousin of "He who smelt it, dealt it"), you're actually not gaining any weight by eating off of someone else's plate.
   
   
3. Stick to the Rule of T.H.U.M.B.
   
   Touch it, it's yours.  No seriously, touch the whole darn plate of those brownies with the swirly frosting and chocolate chunks.  Who's going to eat them after your grubby mitts have been on them?
   
   Hurry past the healthy stuff.  Why would you eat carrot sticks at a Christmas party, anyway?  YOU'RE AT A CHRISTMAS PARTY!
   
   Use caution when approaching a dessert you cannot readily identify.  Are those raisins or chocolate chips?  Does it look dry and bland and therefore possibly healthy? Skip it.
   
   Move yourself into a position in the room that allows for maximum bee-line potential for possible seconds.  Or thirds.
   
   

   Bypass slow-moving people.  I'm not kidding here.  Some people like to mill about and continue their conversations loooong after the buffet has been open for business.  These people are not your friends.  Bypass them immediately.  (If you're an iPhone user, this little gem might be just the thing you need)
   
   
4. Weigh Yourself Regularly
   This is key during this party season to make sure that you're staying on track with your weight management goals.  When torturing weighing yourself, be sure to use a scale that is a couple pounds off (in your favor, of course).  This allows for the linear shift analysis to move in a parabolic mountain scheme vs. a paradigm warp thus giving you your preferred true weight.  This is an exact science as is not meant to be understood by you mere mortals people without a medical degree, so don't even attempt to understand the gravitational implications.
   
   Of course, if all else fails...
   
   
5. Exercise
   Sometimes you just need to grit your teeth and bear it.  Exercising is a great way to hurt yourself by falling off the treadmill because you were singing too intensely to Savage Garden's Truly Madly Deeply blow off some holiday season steam while helping you stay fit.  I've taken the time to research some useful tools that may make your whole workout session a whole lot easier.  Check them out.
   

See?  The Christmas Party season doesn't have to be all that daunting.  Really, just follow my 5-point plan and you'll get through it just fine.  Trust me; I make cupcakes.  Would I lie to you?

My First Giveaway!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

Come on, come all, come to my  

|:|VERY FIRST GIVEAWAY!|:|

What a perfect way to begin this Merry SITSmas!!  I have never ever, ever done a giveaway before (hence the aptly-named "Very First Giveaway," but I have something so special, so spectacular, so mind-numbingly amazing that I can't help but want to share it with all of you:

MY TWO-VOLUME CHRISTMAS CD SET!!

Now I know what you're thinking.  You're thinking: "Well I just don't know about this.  We've already got our own Christmas music that we listen to year after year and I just don't think Uncle Scrooge could handle the  change."

To that I say, "BAH HUMBUG!  My muzak is SPLENDIFOROUS!  These carols are hand-selected (well mouse mouse mouse-selected) for superior listenability and enjoymentification!  Songs include the musical stylings of Johnny Mathis, Ringo Starr,  and The Jackson 5!

How do you enter?  SIMPLE!!  Just leave me a comment below and tell me what your **favorite** Christmas carol is.  That's it!  I mean, if you want to follow me too, that's fine.  In fact, 9 out of 10 followers agree that most of the stuff I say is sort of OK.

I'll do a quick random drawing on Friday the 11th and choose not one but TWO (2) LUCKY WINNERS to receive these fantasmagoric discs!!  That will leave you plenty of time to enjoy these CDs before tucking them away for next year.  Heck, why even bother tucking them away?  They're plenty good in July!

Thank you for playing.  This offer is not valid on Tuesday evenings between the times of 4:47 and 4:49 EST, unless it is a leap year, in which case the aforementioned invailidity is invalidated.  If you are left-handed, please multiply the previous statement by 2 and recite the capitals of the first 10 states alphabetically while turning clockwise.  Do NOT attempt this with your eyes closed.  If you are facing north by northeast at the time of entering this giveaway, please hold your breath for 30 seconds or until you are done leaving your comment, whichever may occur first.  If you had fish for dinner last night, you may not enter until you say, "Mother may I?" three times and blink your name in Morse code.  All other participants may comment freely (unless your name is Josephine, in which case, you go girl).  This giveaway is not open to people with fish named Smitty, Lula, or any variation of Tijuana Tim.      

It's Like Christmas in December!

Many of you are preparing for Christmas.

And for many of you, Christmas is coming up quickly. Say... December 25th?

But for me, Christmas came early. In fact, Christmas came today. 

Today I got to open up not one but TWO whole presents mailed to me by some amazing people:

♥Erica from Dollface Delights♥

♥Rhiannon from Pink Sugar Desserts♥

and

♥Jeanette from Sweet Jeanette♥

While I'd like to say that they just randomly decided to send me some fun and spectacular gifts, they actually all had very good reasons for sending them.  Erica and Rhi hosted the First Ever Chic Cupcake Challenge which --get ready for this-- I WON!!   

My very first contest win!

Check out my sneak attack tactics on that crazy box!

Next, Jeanette hosted a giveaway to celebrate an awesome achievement: She reached 100 followers!! You wouldn't believe my surprise after entering the giveaway when I got a comment from her announcing that I was one of the winners.  What better way to follow up my first contest win than with my first giveaway win?? WOOHOO!

I can't believe what a lucky girl I am!  The cupcake goodies from winning the contest will be so fun to have especially around the holidays when all I wanna do is bake bake bake until my daddy takes my T-bird away.  I can't wait to invite people over to check out our new place while wearing my fun new hostess apron! 

The Christmas throw and tote from the giveaway are just in time, too!  With the hubbs and my first Christmas together coming up I've been looking for all sorts of decorations for our new apartment (which we just moved all our stuff into yesterday, thankyouverymuch!)  How cute will that throw look on our couch??  Plus that bag will be perfect for helping me out with my Christmas shopping!

Thanks to all you three ladies for being so sweet and generous!!

Hey, YOU! Pssst! Lookin' for a Sexy Cupcake?

Do you know what time it is?

It's time for ~*SEXY CUPCAKE SATURDAY*~!!

My friend Amber over at The Daily Tribal has declared all Saturdays to be Sexy Cupcake Saturdays to celebrate her longtime ♥love affair♥ with these little personal cakes -- and who can blame her??

Today she's chosen to feature one of my very own cupcakes as her Sexy Cupcake.  What an honor!

Go check out her post and my sexy cupcake!  Give her some looooove! 

This is me.

OK well, not really, but COME ON, couldn't you see me like this?

Well, folks, it's been a few days since I've been able to post anything because the hubbs and I are sort of in limbo right now as we transition from our old home in San Diego to our new one in Fullerton.  Right now, he's up there, I'm down here, and I finally have internet access after, like, THREE WHOLE DAYS (like, OMIGOSH, right??) with no access except for what I could manage on my Crack Blackberry.

I'm really not even exaggerating how disconnected I've felt.  Have you ever stopped to think about all the things we do with computers?  For me, it's Facebook, Blogger, Hotmail, Gmail, I do my banking online, I listen to the radio online... just about everything.  Even if it's just the use of the computer (disregarding the internet entirely), I haven't been able to type up anything, look at any of my spreadsheets (yes, I have spreadsheets.  Spreadsheets are close cousins of lists and I love lists.  A lot).  I've got pictures I have to upload to the computer, I have blog post ideas that I need to write down... heck, I've even got a GUEST POST this Monday that I need to sit down and type but SOOOOOMEONE needs my help loading boxes into trucks so that all of our belongings get from here to there.  Oh waaaaah... Let me call you a waaaaaaaambulance.  Really, hubbs?  You mean you can't single-handedly move all of our stuff yourself?  Gosh darn, what did I marry you for? ♥ 

I do have some fun stuff coming up, though, both here and on Miss Dot's, so please sit tight, will you?  I promise there's more to come!



P.S. -- To have some fun with a picture like I did above, check out this site!