The Famous Sugar Cookie

I can't wait to get home and finish these bad boys!!  

They are going to be so cute once their done.  Yay!  

Pictures to follow...stay tuned!

Be Sweet.

-Kristy

I &hearts Sweets Tables!!

As a prelude to my upcoming wedding post, I wanted to dedicate a post to one of my favorite parts of our wedding reception...our Sweets Table!  I designed this table and aimed to keep it fun, light-hearted, whimsical and bring out the inner child in everyone.  Our guests loved the huge assortment of candy and filled up their goody bags to the brim with their favorite sweets.

A Sweets Table, whether filled with candy, delectable pastries, baked goods, ice cream (the ideas are endless!) is great for any special occasion: Wedding Reception, Bridal Shower, Bachelorette Party, Baby Shower, a Birthday Party, Holiday Parties and more!  If you're hosting a party anytime soon, I'd love to create a Sweets Table for you!

{All images by James Woo Photography}

Be Sweet.

-Kristy

Pumpkin Pie Bites

Oh how I L-O-V-E me some pumpkin pie!  And these mini pumpkin pies are to die for!!  Bakerella, the queen of cake pops, posted this fabulous recipe on her blog.  I can't help but share it with my fantastic readers.  I have received such wonderful compliments from you all - Thank you!!  You propel my inspiration and desire to continue by leaps and bounds.  I couldn't be more appreciative.

Enjoy this cute and simply sweet recipe.  

Roll out a refrigerated pie crust.  It comes 2 to a pack, so if you roll the crust a little bit thinner than it's packed, you'll have 24 pumpkin cut-outs.

Stuff the pie crust cut-outs into a mini muffin pan. 

Press the dough down, in and around each muffin cup.  Make sure the stem for the pumpkin remains sticking out.  It's a good idea to alternate muffin cups so the stems don't touch - you'll end up baking 2 batches this way.

Fill each pumpkin to the brim with pumpkin filling.

When you pull the mini pies out of the oven, they will be puffed up, but unfortunately gravity takes over and they will fall a bit.  No matter what, they are still so cute!!

Let the pies cool on a cooling rack.  

So easy and so perfect for Thanksgiving.  But, I lets be honest...who really wants to wait until then??  (Sound: Crickets)  I thought so, no one.  

Grab that chocolate and drizzle away!

Delicious!

Looking for something to use (and eat - wink!) right away?  Pipe little jack o' lantern faces on the mini pies.  I promise they will be devoured in a flash.

{Recipe & Images courtesy of Bakerella}

Have a wonderful day and remember, today is all we have.  Take advantage of it.

Be Sweet.

-Kristy

Martha Stewart Does Halloween

{Fly Away Treat Bags}

This month's issue of Martha Stewart Living is chock-full of wonderful, inspirational ideas for Halloween parties, trick or treaters and spooky crafts to keep you in high-style through the month of October.  

Today, I'm showcasing some of her fabulous Halloween Treat Bags and Favors that you can DIY and will certainly impress your guests!  Click on the link below the picture for the scoop on the how-to...

{Skull Treat Box}

{Pumpkin Pouches}

{Halloween Crackers}

{Jack O'Lantern Muslin Treat Bags}

{Creepy Custom Treat Bags}

{Skull Potato Stamp Treat Bags}

{Images courtesy of Martha Stewart}

Be Sweet.

-Kristy

I Love You Grandpa

"All we have is today.  We are never promised a tomorrow."

This weekend, those words in which I live by came true.  My grandfather, Kenneth Bedell died on September 25th, 2010.  He was 93 years old.  

He was an amazing man full of life and full of love.  Words will never be able to express how much he means to me and how much I will miss him.  My only saving grace is knowing that he is in a better place now, looking down upon his family and watching over us.  

I love you Grandpa.

Be Sweet.

-Kristy

How to Make a Home Safe For an Elderly Person

Howcast.com has a useful how-to tutorial on making a home safe for an elderly person. Some of their ideas include replacing knobs and faucets with levers, non-skid carpets, install brighter lighting, and installing hand rails and grab bars in bathrooms. Although these precautions can do wonders for elderly safety, it is always important to understand when it may be time to get professional home care.

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Home Care Assistance offers the highest quality 24/7 live-in home care in the Region of Halton (Oakville, Burlington, Halton Hills, and Milton), Region of Peel (Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon) and Hamilton.

Home Care Assistance Case Study: "Taking the Stairs"

CASE STUDY: TAKING THE STAIRS

SUMMARY

• Client A suffers from Parkinson’s Disease
• Struggled with mobility after returning from hospital
• Our lifestyle plan helped client regain motor skills
  

Client A is in his late 70′s and has always prided himself on being independent. As a journalist for most of his career, he was used to a fast-paced lifestyle that kept him on the go. When Home Care Assistance was asked to care for Client A by his concerned family, he was suffering from the challenging symptoms of mid-to-late stage Parkinson’s. A sudden trip to the emergency room for heart failure only made his Parkinson’s worse. To help his transition back home from the hospital, the Home Care Assistance Director of Nursing met with Client A’s wife, family, case managers, and social workers. Working with Client A’s close family, Home Care Assistance supervised the retrofitting of their own home and the installation of an electric stair lift to help with mobility. Seeing how his health had deteriorated during his hospital stay, Home Care Assistance was determined to give Client A some of his independence back. Settling him into his new home, the Director of Nursing developed an intensive program of diet and exercise, and, most importantly, a plan to help Client A get his life back, all based up on the unique Balanced Care Method of holistic care. Every day, when Client A would make a request for assistance with a movement related task, the aide would respectfully urge Client A to try to do it on his own. Gradually, with close supervision and help from the aide, Client A had a major victory: he did the laundry himself, and then, to delight and surprise his wife, did hers, too. It was a moment of joy for the entire household, as he began to regain some of his independence once again. Eventually, the wheelchair sat, unused, in the corner, while Client A walked confidently with his walker. When the Home Care Assistance Director of Nursing visited Client A’s home after the record snowfall of this past winter, she asked how his electric stair lift had survived the cold. He replied, confidently, that he didn’t know because he never used it. Indeed, he explained, the stair lift was no longer needed now that he could walk up and down stairs on his own. If not for Home Care Assistance, he said, he would still be in the wheelchair that now sat in the corner.

Click on our storefront to find out more about us!

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Home Care Assistance offers the highest quality 24/7 live-in home care in the Region of Halton (Oakville, Burlington, Halton Hills, and Milton), Region of Peel (Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon) and Hamilton.

Hispanics Presumed To Have Higher Risk of Developing Alzheimer’s

The New York Times recently published profiles of Hispanic people with Alzheimer’s providing a real perspective on the disease, how it affects families and a number of important facts. According to studies, Hispanics develop Alzheimer’s earlier in life than other ethnic groups. They are not genetically predisposed to Alzheimer’s, but have other risk factors such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, stroke and hypertension, which put them at higher risk than other groups for developing dementia. The Alzheimer’s Association said that about 200,000 Latinos in the United States have Alzheimer’s. This number could increase to 1.3 million by 2050.

Antonio Vasquez, a 60-year-old with Alzheimer’s is highlighted in the slideshow. One time he once wandered away during a family visit to New York and returned to his home in Philadelphia nine hours later. He boarded a Philadelphia-bound bus, giving his driver’s license to the bus driver, as he did not know where he was going.

Another woman, Teresa Mojica, 63, also suffers from dementia. The disease makes her delusional, causing her to occasionally strike her husband. Interestingly, she has diabetes and hypertension which she developed earlier on in life due to stress. Both are risk factors for the disease.

Courtesy of Home Care Blog

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Home Care Assistance offers the highest quality 24/7 live-in home care in the Region of Halton (Oakville, Burlington, Halton Hills, and Milton), Region of Peel (Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon) and Hamilton.

Preventing Wandering Among Seniors With Dementia

An article in the San Jose Mercury News discusses Alzheimer’s disease and how it has changed over the past 20 years. Since 1980 the amount of Americans suffering from Alzheimer’s disease has doubled from 2.8 million to 5.3 million. Currently, 42 percent of those over the age of 85 will develop Alzheimer’s.

This article opened with a story about a son who came home to find that his mother had escaped the house and was wondering around the neighborhood. Police agencies are now training officers how to detect and search for wanderers with dementia, as wandering is one of the most common behaviors associated with the disease.

About 60 percent of those that have dementia have wandered and about 20 percent wander repeatedly. Many people with dementia do not recognize objects and try to go to a place from a past memory that many times no longer actually exists.

The man featured in this story said that he changed his sleep schedule to follow his mother’s, even if it was in the middle of the day. He also sought advice from experts who told him to hang a curtain over the window at night to disguise and hide it. Other advice offered was to put a medical bracelet on his mother’s wrist with his home phone number on it in case she was to wander out of the house.

As more people are living longer, dealing with dementia and recognizing the signs are becoming more and more important. Learning different ways to decrease wandering behavior among those with Alzheimer and Dementia will be imperative to their safety and your peace of mind.

Courtesy of Home Care Blog

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Home Care Assistance offers the highest quality 24/7 live-in home care in the Region of Halton (Oakville, Burlington, Halton Hills, and Milton), Region of Peel (Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon) and Hamilton.

We're going....HERE!!!

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a roller coaster junkie.  I love the thrill, the anticipation, the moments that are so far beyond exhilarating that all you want is for them to end.  Then you want to do it all over again!  My husband surprised me this week and informed me that he's taking me on a road trip to one of the greatest roller coaster parks in the United States....Cedar Point!  Now that the fiscal year at work has come to an end and with so much going on in our lives, he saw that I needed a little break from the everyday hustle and bustle.  

So...to Cedar Point we go!

Cedar Point is located on a Lake Erie peninsula in Sandusky, Ohio.  The park has 17 roller coaster rides, 16 thrill rides, numerous family and children's rides, not to mention a water park.  If I can hit all 33 roller coaster and thrill rides, this trip will be one for the record books.  I'm so excited to get going, I can't wait!  I realize how lucky I am to have a husband who cares so much and wants to do things to make me happy.  Thank you so much for all that you do for me!!

{The Corkscrew}

{The Mean Streak}

{Mellennium Force}

{Power Tower}

{WindSeeker}

Be Sweet.

-Kristy

A "Curious George" Inspired Birthday Party

A friend who is very near and dear to my heart is about to have one of the most amazing gifts life can give bestowed upon him.  He and his wife are about to welcome their first child into their home any day now.  This good friend of mine is also a Curious George fanatic and has already put in a request with me for a Curious George Sweets Table a year in advance.  I came across this Curious George themed table and it brought a smile to my face.  So many cute ideas, great use of colors and I absolutely love how the table isn't overwhelming - just the right amount of baked goods and candies for a 1st birthday party.

I can't wait to welcome the new addition!

{Images courtesy of Candy & Cake}

Be Sweet.

-Kristy

Chocolate Covered Pretzel Sticks

Super simple.  Super easy.  Super delicious!!  Great for any occasion.

Chocolate Covered Pretzels

Ingredients:

-1 bag of pretzel rods

-1 package of chocolate bark coating (Ambrosia)

-Festive Sprinkles or toppings

Supplies:

-Baking Sheet

-Wax Paper

-Baking dish

-Tall drinking glass

Microwave chocolate bark in a tall drinking glass at 20 second intervals, stirring between intervals.  When chocolate is melted, you are ready to begin dipping!

Take 1 pretzel stick and dip it into the glass, coating 3/4 of the pretzel stick.  Use your index finger to tap the top of the pretzel to shake off any excess chocolate.

Hold the pretzel stick over the baking dish and liberally cover with sprinkles.  (I mixed the sprinkles used HERE into one dish for a festive assortment!)  Rotate the pretzel stick to ensure you cover all sides.

Lay the pretzel stick onto the baking sheet covered in wax paper.  Let the chocolate bark set before eating - approximately 20 minutes.

Enjoy!!  

Be Sweet.

-Kristy

(Lindsay - let me know what Nick thinks!!)

Dementia's Crippling Effect on the Canadian Economy

The global cost of caring for the 35.6 million people worldwide with dementia is $604-billion - equivalent to the revenues of Wal-Mart and Exxon Mobil combined - as it is fast becoming one of the world's biggest health challenges. Its prevalence will increase at an "alarming rate" for at least 40 more years according to a study by Alzheimer's Disease International, a London-based consumer group. By 2030, the report estimates that the number of people with dementia will nearly double to 65.7-million with annual global costs totalling $1.1 trillion (US). In Canada, dementia costs the economy about $15-billion a year and is expected to grow to $153-billion by 2038 while case will jump from 500,000 to 1.1 million.

"The figures are cause for great concern, and we hope that this report will act as a call to action for governments and policy-makers across the world. It is vital theat they recognize that the cost of dementia will continue to increase... and we must work to improve care and support services." -- Marc Wortmann, executive director of Alzheimer's Disease International

Currently, the cost of caring for dementia is split between direct medical care ($96-billion), residential and nursing care ($255-billion) and unpaid labour by family caregviers ($253-billion). The costs of dementia equal roughly the economies of Turkey and Indonesia making it the world's 18th largest.

Dementia affects developed and developing countries alike however there is a stark discrepancy in costs between high- and low-income countries. The average cost of caring for a person with dementia in a high-income country like Canada is $32,865 annually compared to $868 for a low-income country like Bangladesh. Low-income countries which account for 14% of global dementia cases make up only 1% of the costs whereas high-income countries have 46% of the cases and 89% of the costs. A major difference is the lack of accessibility to professional medical and nursing care in low-income families where the burden typically falls on family members. This is expected to become a serious problem for developing countries where dementia is expected to grow at a faster rate than developed countries. For example, in the next 20 years dementia cases are expected to increase 63% in North America compared to 117% in East Asia and 146% in Latin America.

The report recommends developing a national strategy to deal with dementia with policies that explicitly focus on supporting family caregivers and to reorganize health systems so that they better meet the needs of patients with chronic conditions such as dementia.

Source: Picard, Andre. "'Alarming' Rise in Dementia Comes with a Crippling Price Tag." Globe and Mail. 21 Sept. 2010. A1-A2

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Home Care Assistance offers the highest quality 24/7 live-in home care in the Region of Halton (Oakville, Burlington, Halton Hills, and Milton), Region of Peel (Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon) and Hamilton.

Sweet Treats for Halloween!!

After reading Bakerella's book, Cake Pops, I was inspired try some of my own cake creations in preparation for Halloween.  This was my first attempt at making Cake Pops, or as mine turned out to be, Cake Balls...so there were a few lessons learned along the way.  With that being said, I'm pretty pleased with the turnout.  I know my Dad will be very pleased when his Halloween package arrives filled with these delicious goodies!

Halloween Cake Balls

Ingredients:

- 1 box of cake mix

- 1 can of store bought frosting

- 1 package of White chocolate and/or Milk Chocolate Bark Coating (Ambrosia)

- Festive sprinkles

- Good n' Fruity Candy

Supplies:

- Baking Sheets

-Wax paper

-Ramekins or small bowls for sprinkles

-Deep bowl(s) for melted chocolate

-Spoon(s)

1.  Bake cake according to directions on the box.  

2.  Let cake cook completely (I left mine to cool overnight)

3.  Cut cake into 6 equal pieces.  Take 2 pieces of cake and rub them together to crumble the pieces.  Make sure there are no lumps in your crumbled mixture.

4.  Add 3/4 of a can of cake frosting to you crumbled cake mixture.  Mix thoroughly.

5.  Roll cake and frosting mixture into 1-1/2" balls.  Place on a baking sheet lined with wax paper.  Chill for approximately 2 hours.

Now the fun part!!

6.  Place sprinkles in ramekins or small bowl.  This make it quick and easy to use when you are ready to sprinkle the coated ball...

7.  Line a second baking sheet with wax paper, set aside.

8.  Melt chocolate bark in microwave at 20 second intervals in a deep bowl.  Stir candy coating between each interval.  When the chocolate is melted (not too hot!) you are ready to begin DIPPING!

9.  Grab 3-4 cake balls from the refrigerator and place them on the baking sheet.  Submerge each cake ball individually into the melted chocolate candy coating.  Spoon chocolate over the cake ball.  Scoop your cake ball and tap your spoon against your bowl to remove excess chocolate coating from the spoon and the ball.  Gently slide the cake ball off of the spoon onto the lined baking sheet.  

10.  Quickly sprinkle any jimmies, sanding sugar or decorations onto the coated cake ball.  The chilled ball will cause the chocolate coating to set fairly fast, so you want to move on the sprinkle step!  (For pumpkin cake balls take 1 green Good n' Fruity candy and insert into the top of the cake ball.  Sprinkle with orange sanding sugar.)  Repeat until all cake balls are coated.  Let the cake ball set until candy coating is firm.

Lessons Learned:

• I used orange Wilton Candy Melts for the pumpkin cake balls and it is much harder to work with rather than my normal Ambrosia Chocolate Bark Coating.  I will need to invest in some thinning agents when using candy melts as it is very thick and very hard to get that smooth look on the cake ball.  I love the many colors of candy melts though so I will definitely be using them again.

• Not all Chocolate Bark is the same.  I picked up a different brand of White Chocolate bark that I had seen at another grocery store and figured it would melt and coat just as the Ambrosia brand I've used previously  - Wrong.  If you find a candy melt or chocolate bark that you like, stick with it.  

• Make sure you completely enclose the cake ball with your coating.  What makes the cake ball moist is the oil from the cake mix and frosting.  The coating constricts the cake ball, squeezing it tighter, so if you do not fully enclose the ball, oil will escape from the ball.

Sneak attack of the Chocolate Covered Pretzel Stick!  This recipe is SUPER easy and one of my husband's favorite sweet and salty treats.  Check back tomorrow to learn how to make your own!

Be Sweet.

-Kristy