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For twelve years I have poured by heart and soul into Futura. Before I was a mother, Futura was my first baby. -That I have loved and nurtured for more hours than I could ever count. -That I have beamed with pride over every step of the way. So as exciting and humbling as winning [...]
I make a lot of pasta. I know all you anti-carb people probably think I am crazy to put pasta and skinny in the same sentence, but I love pasta and frankly, it’s fast –which is what I desperately need these days!And if you choose a veggie or whole grain based pasta then you are [...]
I am pretty confident I have the best mom in the world. Sorry to those other moms out there, but it is so true. My mom is gentle and generous and kind. She puts others above herself-almost to a fault. In addition to still parenting my teenage siblings, she is a full time professor and [...]
Oh la la! These are GOOD. I love anything Buffalo and I think if my kids weren’t eating these I would have added more Frank’s Red Hot, but this ratio was perfect as it was– sweet with a tang an not too spicy for the kiddos. You know what was hot? The Murder Mystery that we [...]
Hello my friends! How was your weekend? Namely how was your Cinco de Mayo?! I was feeling a little under the weather on Friday so I headed for the doctor, only to be told I had bronchitis + a sinus infection. Blah. But, I still did manage to hike in the woods under the bright [...]
Two things: 1. Americans celebrate Cinco de Mayo way more than any Mexican. -And it certainly is not a big drinking fiesta. But that’s what I love about us Americans-Always lookin’ for a party! (St. Patrick’s Day anyone?!) When I lived in Puebla (where Cinco de Mayo happened) I actually slept through the celebrations. Seriously. [...]
So excited to have the sun shining on my face as I type this! And I am excited to announce a great giveaway from PopSugar! Their Must Have boxes sound amazing. They contain all the hottest trends from food to fashion and have a monthly membership plan too. Love! In order to win this month’s [...]
It just dawned on me this morning that next month it will be 12 years that I have run Futura Language Professionals. When I started it, I had 6 children (one of whom was my little sister) in a tiny one room office where I taught them Spanish on Saturday afternoons. I soon closed the [...]
I don’t know about you, but when the spring weather starts tease me with some intermittent sunny days, I get antsy. Really antsy. As in, it is hard to sit at my desk antsy. I want to be out hiking with my kids. With my face in the sun. Spring shopping. And I certainly don’t want [...]
The Original Skinny Mommy. That would be my Grandma, aka Gigi. To say she is amazing would be an understatement. She is extraordinary. She is in her mid 80s (Sorry for the big reveal Grandma!) and she runs TEN MILES every other day. And on the opposite days? She lifts weights. I am sure you [...]
It was one of those weekends. Sprinkled with fun— And dashed with a few snafus. Then the sun came out after an entire week and I kissed my friend’s new baby on the head. - We ended Sunday with a fun dinner at another friend’s where our kids ran around laughing and causing havoc while we simultaneously [...]
I heard Jillian Michaels talking recently and she said she had to be the tough persona she is on Biggest Loser because, “These people are suiciding with food.” Wow. What an incredibly powerful statement. -And yet, I guess it is an accurate way to look at morbid obsesity. Slowly killing one’s self with food. I think what makes that [...]
Two weekends ago my adorable friend Jaime got married in an Asian Fusion style wedding. It was elegant. It was fancy. And it was so stinkin’ fun. I for one, had too much fun. It may have been the shot of tequila that my friends and I capped the night off with at midnight. oops. [...]
Happy Friday my friends! Did I tell you how a couple of weeks ago we went to Jamaica for my sister in law’s wedding? Well, the wedding was beautiful-probably one of the most scenic weddings I have ever been too and I couldn’t get enough of the food at the rehearsal or the wedding-it was delicious! The [...]
I have become one of those super annoying people who talks incessantly about the weather. I try not to, but come on! It was 35 degrees and pouring rain for the third day in a row as I drove my kids to school this morning–In mid April. It makes me want to stay in my [...]
There is this local coffee shop here in Milwaukee called Stone Creek and they have an amazing Cardamon Latte. It is such an interesting, exotic flavor and is my 100% favorite coffee. Starbucks Spiced Vanilla Latte comes it at a close second. Because I work from home I usually make my coffee here with my (lifesaving!) [...]
Hello my friends! As you all know, after winning the Hottest Kitchen Entrepreneur Contest last July life has been insanely busy launching my new product line-Busy Bree’s Dinner Starters. One thing I have figured out is that selling the product to the grocery store is not the hard part-supporting the grocery stores is the hard [...]
Wham. A kick to the gut. Wham. A wack over the eyes. A tug of war. For the pillows. For the sheets. This is what it is like when my little one attempts to sneak into our bed. Yet there is nothing sneaky about his restless sleeping, which often takes place at a 90 degree [...]
What do you typically do for Easter? For many years my husband and I have hosted Easter brunch, which I adore. ….Quiches, fresh vegetables, and of course, mimosas. This year things will be different. Andy will be out of town on Sunday morning, which means I am going to be a busy Easter Bunny! Also, [...]
Hello my friends! How have you been?! Long time no talk, right? I was just in Jamaica for the past week where the house I was staying in for the majority of the time had no air conditioning much less wifi. So I came home to almost 600 new emails between my two businesses. I [...]
I have to apologize for two things: 1. When you read this (If I can get my technology straightened out) I will be sitting in the sunshine on a tropical beach. 2. The pictures kind of suck stink. I was far too lazy to get them taken before sundown. I can tell you, however, that [...]
My friend Donna always teases me because I don’t have a sweet tooth. In fact, I hate to admit it but I barely even skim any recipe that includes cupcakes, cakes, tarts, bars, cookies…. I will never make them. First of all I am a terrible baker. But more importantly- I simply don’t crave them. This is [...]
Can I just tell you how much I love doing my little monthly segment on Fox? Seriously it is so much fun. I don’t get paid a cent. Not a single one. Which I guess shows how much I like love doing it. I love all my jobs and companies and feel beyond grateful for [...]
Happy Friday my friends! (A little early…) I have always believed that diets are just plain wrong. They tell you what you can’t eat, which just makes you crave those things even more. If I had to give up carbs, I am pretty sure I would be obsessing about French bread 24/7! And though diets do [...]
Are you a St. Patty’s person? As in do you drink green beer, wear green t-s and sport plastic necklaces and silly hats? Do you indulge in Irish food and kiss your fellow Irishmen?! It’s been many moons since I have had a St. Pat’s like that! Which may be explaining why I am completely [...]
So my Annual Meeting for Futura was a great success! We kicked it off with a Beer & Cheese tasting with my staff and a few hubbies at the Cheese Bar Wednesday night. With beer + cheese on the menu nothing can go wrong, right? Right. Thursday we gathered at the Aloft Hotel in a [...]
For the past several months my co-worker Lindsey and I have been working on plans of our Annual Meeting for my company, Futura Language Professionals. It is a meeting of the minds where our staff and franchise owners come together to learn, collaborate and inspire. This year’s theme is called Ignite! It is dedicated to [...]
Here. This. Now. As I was driving to Madison yesterday with a gut wrenching feeling about leaving my family all day on Sunday to go to do a demonstration of my product at a grocery store I heard a guy on the radio say this was his mantra. Here. This. Now. He repeats it. He [...]
First of all can I tell you that last weekend I was in sunny, beautiful Florida with my sister?! The air smelled of the sea. The wind whipped through my hair. I got sunburned. I drank icy cold cocktails. I laughed with my sister. I marveled at the sound of birds chirping. I admired yachts on [...]
I was at the airport recently and a girl in line next to me at Subway ordered a salad. I am sure she felt instantly skinnier and healthier just by ordering it. Don’t we all? But as I watched her pour the entire giant thing of Ranch dressing over the top and smother it in [...]
Back in the day (as in way back) my friend Kim and I would spend Thursday nights at the Park Bar for Free Vodka for the Ladies Night. We would belly up to the bar and drink unrecognizeable vodka concoctions and dance our “patented” dance -the walk away. We would dance together- then apart in a [...]
You know how they say the best gifts are the ones you want to keep for yourself? That is completely how I feel about my Busy Bree’s Dinner Starters. I love them. I use them every week. They make the “witching hour” less stressful. So I believe, wholeheartedly that every mom in America should have [...]
Brrr…It’s cold outside! Wisconsin winters are pretty much the worst in my book. I am the kind of girl who was meant to live in a place where the sun shines and the temps don’t dip below 70. No such luck . So I kind of hibernate, eat, and plan warm weather trips. I think for [...]
Hey y’all! I am channeling my inner Southern girl right now in preparation to get the heck out of dodge. (Ie: Icy cold Wisconsin!) in favor of warmer pastures. (Ie: Palm Beach, FL) I am off to visit my adorable sister on Friday and am looking forward to slowing down for the first time in months, [...]
By all accounts, my kind of glorious morning. I lingered in bed past seven am. (Which never happens), while Andy rangled our rowdy boys and new puppy downstairs. I made myself a cup of coffee and ate it-in silence-while watching TWO episodes of the Property Brothers on HGTV. Then my little guys bellied up to [...]
I don’t know about you, but often I have the “best laid out plans” for my family~ let’s just say visions of hearts and rainbows… And often times I am met with a miserable FAIL Such is the reality of a 2 year old and a 4 year old ..and then down the dumps goes my [...]
Holy crazy weekend. I am one blessed chica to have not one, but two careers I adore. But working 7 days a week is EX -HAU-STING. whew. So, I was so excited to spend the morning with my little boys romping around at the hunt club with our crazy springer spaniel puppy in mountains of [...]
I can remember a couple of years ago my friend telling me how she bought nitrate free hot dogs for her son. I nodded my head in agreement, smiling, pretending like I had any clue what she was talking about. Boy how things have changed. The thing I have loved more than anything about having [...]
To my neighbors who may have seen me with wet hair on any given morning in -30 degree temps lying down on my porch taking pictures of plates of food. I am a (relatively) sane person who has an insane obsession with recipe creation. And since I still have not read the directions for the camera that [...]
Have you ever noticed how utterly crabby people are at the grocery store? I smile. They glare back. I continue to smile, strolling down the aisle. They grumble, trying to push their way down a too small path. I stand in line happily reading gossip magazines. They huff and puff. Perhaps they do not know the [...]
I cannot tell a lie. Not sure if it is the old Catholic guilt in me or what, but I am pretty sure I am one of the most honest people you have ever met. So, I cannot sit here and act like I am all excited about the superbowl. In fact, I don’t even [...]
I keep joking with my friends that if I keep up eating the way I have been I will need to change my website to chubbymommy.com Can you say chocolate butter?! I am serious. I ate chocolate butter a couple of weekends ago when I went out to dinner with my friends. I am an eater. I love [...]
Fridays are hands down my favorite days. My Spanish school is closed. My office phone is not going to ring. Andy is usually in town and takes the boys to school. I linger in my pjs and pony tail, grateful that I don’t have a video camera on my computer, because I look bad, but [...]
This recipe is a total keeper. It can be made for lunch or for dinner. Served on a bun. Over pasta. On grilled polenta. Or even straight up. I made it on a busy weekday night while the boys at their turkey hotdogs (don’t judge-they were nitrate free ). I had this again for my [...]
Can you say Craziness?! That was December-all of it. Full of fun, laughter, inspiration and craziness. Andy and I took a little getaway to Puerto Rico and had so much fun in the sun, in the jungle and strolling down the cobblestone streets of Viejo San Juan. We came back to a complete whirlwind-my birthday, [...]
Good Morning my friends! When Rachel from Rachel Cooks asked me to do a guest post for her because she was going to be busy adjusting to be having two little ones at home, of course I gave a resounding, “YES!” First, because I adore her blog (www.rachelcooks.com) (especially all the fun interviews), but secondly [...]
Can I just tell you that 30 minutes of cooking in front of a live audience goes on forever?! You need way more talking points then the five I wrote down for the first day of the Builder’s Show. So, I started just simply talking. and talking. and talking. And pulling topics out of my [...]
I know some people don’t care for her, but I have personally always liked Rachael Ray. Her girl next store ways, her huge smile, and even her cheesy Rachaelisms. {Think evoo, delish, yum-o!} And of course- Stoup. She uses this word to describe a soup that is really hardy, like a cross between a soup and a stew. I have [...]
New Year’s is pretty over-rated, right?! I am fairly certain that my best New Year’s Eve celebration has already come and gone when many a moons ago my best friend Kim and I drove a tiny red convertible to Florida to celebrate with friends at Universal City Walk. We joined our friends, dancing outside in [...]
Like the rest of middle America, I am on a quest to eat cleaner. - To Consume more veggies and more fruits in 2013. I am not saying it is a “New Year’s Resolution” , because I already eat pretty healthy. And let’s face it, most resolutions don’t last… - but lifestyle changes do. Did I [...]
