Please Update Your Bookmark

This blog is now living at http://www.andylien.com.

It originally started as Shifting Piles then diversified into various subject-specific blogs under AndyLien.com as an umbrella.  I thought it would be a good move to make it seem like a cohesive website with multiple pages–each with its own blog–but it really just diluted everything.  By spreading it out, it got really ugly on the back end.  Convoluted.  Daunting.

So, now it’s all living together again on one page…and, finally, with me.  It’s no longer hosted on WordPress, but on my own server.

Mine, mine, mine.

Please make the move with me and update your bookmarks.  I appreciate your readership so…and I promise to never change my domain name again.  Even if I should marry a Rockefeller or someone with a fantastic last name that would go perfectly with “Andy,” I will keep the blog at www.andylien.com so as to never make you do this again.

Yours,

Andy

Shifting Piles: Blue Moon New Year’s Eve

It happens infrequently.

It’s happening tonight.

New Year’s Eve by the light of a blue moon.

Food & Recipes: Funny Peppers

Think of the two-headed purple monster on “Sesame Street.”

One says, “Healthy.”  The other says, “Munchies.”

“Healthy.”

“Munchies.”

I give you Funny Peppers.

Born of necessity, they’re healthy munchies.

Woman Things: Facebook Status Updates – December 2008

I am so glad that now is now and then was then.

Simple statement.  True statement.

Woman Things:  Facebook Status Updates – December 2008

Shifting Piles: Christmas Piles

Four days away from home…gifts, groceries, and Grendel

Shifting Christmas Piles…

Thing: Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday: The Mystery of Christmas

Weight Loss: Day 6

I’m writing at 15 Down, 150 To Go every day, so you can catch up on the previous days as well as check in on my progress on this Weigh-In Wednesday.

Woman Things: Gifts from the Blogosphere

From touching to hilarious to anonymous, I’ve gotten some awesome gifts this year from friends who read my blog.

Thank you for the Gifts from the Blogosphere.

Food & Recipes: Stuffed Meatloaf

Quantity and quality…all in one short and simple recipe.  Yum.

Food & Recipes: Stuffed Meatloaf.

New Page: 15 Down, 150 To Go…

It’s time.  I’ve done some revamping with the AndyLien.com materials and pages and it’s time to introduce you to my latest adventure: 15 Down, 150 To Go…

Woman Things: Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday: Dainty

Food & Recipes: Caramel Puffcorn

Need to bring something to a party that isn’t difficult but very, very tasty?

Need to occupy an hour with the kids you don’t usually have?

Try Caramel Puffcorn.  You’ll be glad you did.

Woman Things: What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?

Christmas.

‘Tis the season to be bitter and poisonous.

Okay, not really.

Woman Things: What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?

People, Places & Things: No Coast Craft-o-Rama

Brought to us by Crafters Local 612: No Coast Craft-o-Rama.

Grendel’s Snack

What was Grendel eating Saturday night?

One.  One single Jelly Belly jelly bean.  For 24 seconds. It was a Pina Colada-flavored bean.

He bobbled it around, he avoided my creeping camera, he chewed, he swallowed.

He made me laugh my fool head off.

He’s got good taste.  The bean had a nice nose to it.

Fun guesses, folks.  I love that they said more about you than about what Grendel was eating.  It’s a win-win situation for me, that way.  Sure, it was also rather far-fetched to expect someone to opine that Grendel is eating a jelly bean, but that’s why it was a contest.

I’ll do another, less arbitrary contest later this week…and I’ll let Grendel pick the prize.

Shifting Piles: A Hazy Shade of Winter

Look around.  Andy’s brown.

And my bra…is A Hazy Shade of Winter.

Grendel’s Little Pick-Me-Up

A thrice-failed recipe.

A faulty printer hook-up.

A graphic design program with an expired trial period.

All in the last four hours.

I needed a little comic relief.  Thankfully, he was practically on my lap.

The first person to figure out and post what Grendel is eating, I’ll send you a care package of them.

Leave it in the comment section of this post.  If there has been no correct guess by Monday morning, I’ll post the answer then.

Enjoy.

P.S. Sound effects could be helpful if you can hear him over the Activia commercial.  Hopefully, the Activia commercial is not prophetic for what I can expect from him later this evening.  He was not eating dog treats.

Shifting Piles: The Adult Thing To Do (Updated 12/11/09)

I’m not too proud to admit when I’m wrong.

Especially when I’m right, too.

Shifting Piles: The Adult Thing To Do (Updated 12/11/09)

Woman Things: Love Languages

This in no way negates the fact that I’m out of my perfume.

It’s Donna Karan Cashmere Mist.

Just so you know.

Woman Things: Love Languages

Design, etc.: Grendel’s Photo Shoot Friday

He primped.  He posed.

I think I heard him sigh, “And I’m spent.”

Design, etc.: Grendel’s Photo Shoot Friday

Woman Things: Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday:  I Want to Live Here

Food & Recipes: The Cheeseball

It’s retro.  It’s hip.  It makes you want to eat pickle roll-ups.

It’s The Cheeseball.

Shifting Piles: The Adult Thing To Do (Updated 12/11/09)

I just threw an internal tantrum.

You might not know it, but it was The Adult Thing To Do.

Food & Recipes: Grossest Thing Ever…Try It.

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

Food & Recipes: Grossest Thing Ever…Try It.

Food & Recipes: Marvelous Autumn Chowder

I needed to get this off of my chest.

It’s been years.

It’s yours.

Food & Recipes:  Marvelous Autumn Chowder

Marketing & Communications: December Photo Header Rejects

It has to come from somewhere.

Marketing & Communications: December Header Rejects

Shifting Piles: Locks of Love

What should’ve been a simple shift of hair from my head to the trash bin became a little more important to someone, somewhere.

Shifting Piles: Locks of Love

Food & Recipes: Grandma B.’s Swedish Kringla

I don’t know why this is usually a “holiday thing.”

I would make it any day.

I should work on that.

Food & Recipes: Grandma B.’s Swedish Kringla

People, Places & Things – Gift Source- Max’s: Jewelry, Chocolate & Art

I will not be blamed for any addictions that may result from reading this post.

People, Places & Things – Gift Source – Max’s: Jewelry, Chocolate & Art

Design: Thanksgiving Photoblog by Bjorn – Age 6

I let my nephew, Bjorn, run rampant with my camera during our Thanksgiving Day festivities at his Great Grandma Lien’s house in Litchfield.  Here’s what I was pleased to find upon going through the files on my camera.

Design:  Thanksgiving Photoblog by Bjorn – Age 6

Woman Things: Dreams

Visions of sugar plums.  Horror movies with a little romance thrown in.

Woman Things: Dreams

Shifting Piles: My Black Friday List

Ah…the day after Thanksgiving.

I could practically hear the shotgun starts at the outlet mall in the wee hours of the morning.

I’ve got my own list to attack today: My Black Friday List

Woman Things: A List of Thanks

A woman is nothing without thanks.

Here it is, my List of Thanks.

People, Places & Things: Pioneer Day at the MOA

All the world’s a-buzz over Ree Drummond.

You know what?  She’s worth the buzz.

People, Places & Things: Pioneer Day at the MOA

Shifting Piles: Packing Black

An illness.  A death.  Shifting Piles: Packing Black

Design: A Victorian Bridal Shower

Design: A Victorian Bridal Shower

Marketing & Communications: A New Web Presence – Part 2

How does one approach turning a blog into a cohesive collection of blogs?

I’m still not sure.

Follow the process:  Marketing & Communications: A New Web Presence – Part 2

Food & Recipes: A Quiche to Cope

Food.  A plan, a list, a store…a dish of comfort.

Food & Recipes: A Quiche to Cope

Food & Recipes: Toffee Bars and Coffee

When in doubt, use butter.

When butter isn’t an option, sing songs from Evita and settle for baked goods with shortening.

Enjoy…Food & Recipes: Toffee Bars and Coffee

Woman Stuff: Wordless Wednesday

What’s more helpful than a dog on the bed when I’m trying to make it?

A dog on the bed when I’m trying to pack.

Wordless Wednesday: Packrat Love

Design: Wedding Program Cover

Wedding program cover, placecards, signage.

Woman Stuff: Where the Day Takes You

I lead an improvised life, by consequence rather than by choice.

The more I improvise, the more comfortable I become.

Woman Stuff:  Where the Day Takes You

Food & Recipes – Make Men Cry Braised Beef

I can’t tell you how many years people have been pestering me for this recipe.

Okay, I made it up about six years ago.  So, six years.

Now, it’s yours.  All I require in return is your firstborn.  Or a cup of coffee.  Your choice.

Enjoy:  Make Men Cry Braised Beef

Food & Recipes: Wordless Wednesday

I’m too wordy to pull off a truly Wordless Wednesday.

In fact, I can’t even truncate the title to its true “WW.”

Here’s my Wordless Wednesday (WARNING – Graphic and Hardly Wordless)

People, Places, & Things: A Cheeky Monkey and A Piece of Cake

It’s lunchtime on a Thursday.

Nowhere pressing to be…nothing earth-shattering to do.

It’s time for A Cheeky Monkey and A Piece of Cake.

Marketing & Communications – A New Web Presence – Part 1

It was time for Shifting Piles to grow up a little.  Why?

Start the process here:  A New Web Presence – Part 1

Shifting Piles: Shifting Into Gear

What the heck is going on with Shifting Piles?  Where’d this AndyLien.com bit come from?

Allow me to explain.

Shifting Into Gear

Design: An Online Portfolio!

Hey!

As part of this new AndyLien.com venture, I uploaded a bunch of items from my design portfolio.

I will be fighting the color calibration issue until I die.  Other than that, it works.  For the most part.

Take a look-see:  Design Portfolio

Woman Things: I Scored a Spare

It turned out that the Birthday Party I attended on Saturday was a potluck: Bring a kid to share.

This singleton didn’t get the memo.

I Scored a Spare

Shifting Piles: Answers Away

You asked, I answered.  And, since they’re part of the daily minutiae of life, I put them on Shifting Piles.

Shift this.

Answers Away

Marketing & Communications: Ask Away

One of the options for my new website was a page for asking questions.

Apparently, people want to know what I have to say.

So, Ask Away

Woman Things: Make Me Over, Hollywood Style

Halloween is coming…and I’m feeling a little Hollywoody.

And broke.

Make Me Over, Hollywood Style

Food & Recipes: Turkey Tagine

Autumn food.  Now’s the time for good, bone-sticking vittles.

The hardier the better.  And, the heartier the better.

Turkey Tagine

Woman Things: A Random Act of Kindness

Unexpected.  Simple.  Inexpensive.  Thoughtful.

Delightful.

A Random Act of Kindness

People, Places & Things: I Love Blucy – The Blue Door Pub Review

St. Paul’s Merriam Park has its fair share of  great restaurants…and the Twin Cities has its fair share of delicious cheese-centered burgers.  I found both at The Blue Door Pub.

I Love Blucy – The Blue Door Pub Review

Woman Things: I Told You So…

I don’t often lie when I have numerous witnesses…so here is proof that I was in a Circus.

I Told You So…

Marketing & Communications: It’s Show & Tell Time

As I’m researching new website approaches and designs, I’d like to know your favorites.

It’s Show & Tell Time

Marketing & Communications: The Beauty in Blogging

How do you start developing a successful blog or website?

Look to those that are already successful.

The Beauty in Blogging

Woman Things: Snips and Snails and Puppy Dogs’ Tails…

I’ve always been big.  Paul Bunyan was my childhood fantasy husband.

Do big girls get to be ballerinas?  Does pink make me look fat?

Snips and Snails and Puppy Dogs’ Tails…

Marketing & Communications: No Idea is a Bad Idea

Let me pick your brains.  I’m working on a new website–I need verbs from you.

Let’s brainstorm.

No Idea is a Bad Idea