Kind of OT - how do you de-stress?

Wow ... those are beautiful! You are incredibly talented. However they would lead quickly to my unhealthy destressor which reared it's ugly head with my current placement -- stress eating :-(. This is the first time in a long time I've gained like this, and I didn't realize I was doing it for about four months. I'm going to start heading to a gym. It's hard to imagine that I will be able to carve the time into my schedule ... but ... :-).

they look delicious!! I go to the gym, though not as often as I'd like. I drive, even if it's for 5 minutes. I play games on the computer and I watch soap operas!!

I used to scrapbook but now I make hairbows. (And my youngest girl is 13!) I can honestly tell if I haven't done anything creative for a couple of days by how well I handle stress. Now I just need people to start having baby girls with hair so I can hoist these bows off on someone! Its become a real problem. DD has about 50 bows. And I just found a sucker with a 2 year old girl. I was thinking that maybe I will donate them to the emergency fostercare shelter or to the fostercare community closet.

I think that's the thing I like about baking - it's creative if you play with flavors and the decorating part is only limited to your imagination and skills, which improve the more you do it. And I think that's an AWESOME idea to donate them to the fostercare community closet. So many times people donate seven cans of green beans to a food pantry instead of donating a box of pasta and a jar of pasta sauce. Hair bows would probably be VERY appreciated!

Or it would be the equivalent of 7 cans of baked beans (that's what I always donate ;)). Now I am dying to get home and create for a bit. I did go through a cake pop phase as well but it took 3 days to get to the final product with the short periods I had to work on it.

zumba WORKS FOR ME!!

With our first placement I found that I like to walk at a fast pace on the treadmill at the gym. And not only walk, but also read a book while doing so and with the TV on in the background. Doing just the walking was nice, but adding in the book reading took it to a whole new level of destressing. Now? well, during the summer there is a weekly auction I like to go to. I don't have to buy anything, just go. Once that ends I tend to be at a loss.

Love your cakes :) I would eat the entire thing in one sitting. But then I would stress over the calories and having to clean up the kitchen. I read these boards, play online games or read a book. I really want to get outside and go walking but the weather can't seem to make up its mind and slush is so not attractive!!! Would love to hit the gym but baby cannot go to respite or daycare settings and DH schedule just does not work to give me time. I stress clean too. A bit on the OCD side that things HAVE to be picked up, clean and shiny. Doesn't work to well in a small apartment with a baby, 14 year old, dog and slobby DH. So I am learning to breathe and lower my standards.

Just had to tell you how wonderful your cakes are! Wish I could stress bake instead of stress eat!

I would LOVE to send you my address so you can send the cakes to me so that I could stress eat them!! LOL!! they are wonderful! In your "spare" time, open a bakery!! It will be ok. Keep breathing...

To manage my constant de-stressing baking, I started a local chapter of a national group that gives free birthday cakes to kids and seniors. Each chapter can donate cakes/cupcakes to any cause they deem worthy, though, so this week I baked for Big Brothers Big Sisters. Butterflies and flowers were a fun thing to do for summer. :) Just thought I'd share in case there's anyone who is interested in doing this, you can pm me for the name of the organization.

How awesome! What a great way to put your talent to such a great cause! Those cupcakes are gorgeous!

Ok, wow...where do I get the cake with the roses?!?!LOL! Beautiful destressing!!

Awwww... I need a butterfly birthday cake for my STBAD in November! I LOVE those!

I have been stress eating...WAY too much. But, when the weather will cooperate, I walk...and I read, too...the frustrating thing is that it has been either too cold, or too hot to walk with babies for quite a while now around here! Argh.. I also try to get out and do photography...sadly, my hubby offered me a day off last week...and it turned out to be the ONE day around here with no decent sky...not even clouds, just this brown smoke cover that we have had...a haze...ugh. We will get back to decent weather!