On today’s episode, we have my friend Tammy Tauferner who seamlessly intertwines the intricate threads of being a wife, mother and quality control specialist into the fabric of her life and how embracing ‘yes’ has changed her life for the better.
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On today’s episode, we have my friend Tammy Tauferner who seamlessly intertwines the intricate threads of being a wife, mother and quality control specialist into the fabric of her life and how embracing ‘yes’ has changed her life for the better.
Enjoying this podcast by theheadwrapsocialite….Like, follow and share! Comment below to keep the conversation going.
IG: theheadwrapsocialite
Good afternoon and welcome to everybody. The podcast which shares stories that highlight people in life, that make the world an interesting place, which ultimately ties us all together in unique and wonderful ways. And who am I, you might ask. I would be the headwrapped socialite Weith mom, micro-influencer in the fashion and etiquette world, but on this podcast I will be introducing you to some people who I've had the opportunity to meet along my journey, who have helped enrich me in my life in beautiful ways and who I hope will do the same in yours.
Speaker 2:I really believe you say yes to every invite. You have no idea who God is intending you to meet, so that is why I say yes. You don't want to put limits on what the possibilities are. Yeah for sure, are you going to fail Sometimes, but you tried.
Speaker 1:Good afternoon and welcome to today's episode. I have known this special guest for over 20 years, as two of our children were in the same grade and graduated together. We have shared so much time over the years and I am absolutely thrilled to introduce today's guest, who is none other than Tammy Tofner. With a life that embodies the very essence of dedication and passion, she is a shining example of what I feel it means to be a Renaissance woman. As a devoted wife and mother, she brings warmth and love into our family's life. But that's just the beginning.
Speaker 1:She is also a quality specialist at St Mary's Hospital, where she holds the highest standards of excellence when it comes to healthcare. What sets my friend apart is that she has a boundless spirit of giving back, whether it's through her volunteer work, her artful baking creations or her crafty endeavors. She is also an avid runner and a lover of books who, I believe, will leave you all really inspired. So, with a glad heart, I welcome my friend, tammy Tofner, to today's episode. Can you tell the listeners a little bit about who you are?
Speaker 2:Thank you, Trina, for your kind introduction. It's overwhelming. I am a person who likes to try new things, be involved. Biggest fear is the fear of the unknown. I have three kids, so between the ages of 18 and 25, I have enjoyed being involved in as much activities that they're involved in and seeing things through. I do love to bake. That is a passion. The sound of the mixer is very calming for me. So that is what I like to do after work or my days off is to bake something.
Speaker 1:We're gonna get into your baking a little bit later in the interview, but first, Tammy, I would like to ask you what exactly is a quality specialist and what are some of the things that you do on a daily basis?
Speaker 2:For a quality specialist. We pretty much dot the I's and cross the T's, do a lot of regulatory work, safety inspections, cap inspections as well. We do look at events that occur in the hospital quality control, ensuring that all the instruments are functional. Can you?
Speaker 1:share some insights into how you balance your role as a wife, mother and a quality specialist.
Speaker 2:I'm a very scheduled person, so the day before I have the next day planned as far as am I gonna stop for milk, because once I'm home I don't like to go back out. It's all very scheduled. I do like to wake up before anybody else in the house, so I am up at five, five, 30, sometimes earlier. But that's my time to read, do the rosary, and that's my quiet time. There's nobody moving in the house. Oh, I like that. And then I do have it scheduled one day. Every day is a room to clean, so it should only take you 15 to 20 minutes to clean a room.
Speaker 1:So you have that basically unlocked. You have your schedule scheduled. Yes, like you know exactly what you're gonna do, has this been something that you have grown into or something that wasn't still than you?
Speaker 2:at a young age I became very organized when I had two kids. Okay, mm-hmm, to time things out to accomplish my own time, but time is a constant. Everybody has the same amount of time. It's what priority you put on things. I put a lot of priority on my kids to be there, so they saw me, not so much that they saw me volunteering which they do and they're also now volunteers as well but also I had a lot of commitment to myself to know their friends and that was huge for me.
Speaker 1:I wanted to share a story with the listeners. My oldest son had gotten married and Tammy reached out to me and she says I wanna make something special for him and his wife. She actually did this beautiful quilt when I had gone to visit them. Your quilt is on the end of their bed. It's not just something that you gave and somebody folded it up and put it in a box Like. You mean something to my son. You've always been there for him and I appreciate that. I just think it's just so telling of the person that you are. So thank you, Thank you, Thank you, my friend.
Speaker 1:Thank you. What inspired you, tammy, to become a volunteer? Can you tell us about some of your most memorable volunteer experiences? Oh, my goodness.
Speaker 2:Done quite a bit of volunteering. What I love about volunteering is you do not have to be educated for the job and so many people, I feel, are afraid that they're not gonna do it right. Or there are people that show you how to do this and you learn and you spread that learning to other people and you bring people into volunteering. Takes a tribe Memorable. I remember the school carnivals. It was just a lot of work and somehow I ended up leading one one year. Oh, what else was there? There was the mystery dinners. Could you explain the mystery dinners? We create everything from scratch and you try to figure out the end clue and you travel from room to room and there's different course meals in each room and it takes a lot of people to put these things on.
Speaker 1:These classrooms do not look like classrooms, yeah it's like you walk in it, Whether it was the Huck Finn room or just the Peter Pan room or the ballroom the Beauty and the Beast ballroom I think it was too. I mean, there were a bunch of different rooms, but you step into this storybook land. It's like parents transform these classrooms into literally like a smaller version of Disney World If that's impossible, like it's so cool.
Speaker 1:Okay, listeners, I'll tell you happened to me today. So I open up to welcome my friend, our special guest, tammy, into my home and she presents me with this. I wish you guys could be here. But she presents me with this box and on the outside of the box and I'm already super excited, like my hands can't stop fidgeting with it. But on the outside of the box are these two penguins and they're carrying these Christmas ornaments. I'm gonna open up the box. In my heart, I think I know what's inside, but I'm gonna open up the box so you, dear listeners, can take this journey with me. I'm gonna say I'm gonna open up this box, tammy, and Light's gonna come out. I'm gonna unwrap the first layer. Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh. Tammy is amazing.
Speaker 1:So inside this box are her delectable holiday Christmas cookie treats that I have been jonesing over for I can't even tell you how many years, because I'm gonna tell you this quick story because you know I always have a story. Mrs Toffner gave my son a plate of holiday delectable treats to bring home to share. Well, such family never, ever saw these treats. I happened to run into Mrs Toffner at the store and Mrs Toffner says so how did you enjoy the cookies? And I said what cookies, darling? My oldest ate the cookies for himself. I just want you all to know that I get my cookies and I am going to hide them. I'm just joking so I won't be selfish like that, which I'm gonna take a bite while I'm giving this interview. But, tammy, can you tell us what exactly each cookie is and what they represent to you?
Speaker 2:So when I put together a cookie tray, I look at. The different shapes of a cookie is very important to me. When I do pick out the cookies that I'm gonna bake, I bake from December 1st to December 24th, a cookie a day. I have tried in the past to do the whole cookie exchange thing where you make 12 dozen of one cookie and then you invite your friends over and you switch by the time you get to that last cookie you hate them.
Speaker 2:I mean, you're just tired of that cookie. I have tried the whole. This is my baking weekend. The kitchen is a mess, just not relaxing at all. So what baking does for me doing a cookie a day is you make your cookie, you do your dishes, you get your ingredients out for the next day, and you can keep going throughout the month. Prior to COVID, that was challenging. We had music concerts, we had lots of activities in the evening and once COVID hit, I was really able to successfully do it without being stressed out, because where was I going? I was home. It was just so much more relaxing. So that's where it really took off, where I could successfully complete.
Speaker 1:So can I ask you does your family get involved with helping you custom create the cookies? Do you have a family recipe? What pushes you towards one cookie versus another?
Speaker 2:There is family favorites are the first thing. What do you want for cookies? So I know when Dianna comes home I'm going to make sure that I have her cookie that she wants. My kids do get cookie boxes mail to them, oh my goodness. Every couple of weeks they'll get a new variety sent to them. So it's nice, the ones in your box, those are peanut blossoms.
Speaker 2:So it's your perfect peanut butter cookie. With the Broxth Star you can have high V brand. The Broxth are the most consistent size wise, so each of them are one ounces and I did measure quite a few. That's the quality piece of it. I love it. What I stamped the cookie with, you probably know those based on using a fork. I actually stamped those with a crystal vase that I got as a wedding gift. It has stamped more cookies than it has held flowers, oh my gosh. So I do go to estate sales. I do pick up glass that has different impressions because the early glass is so much better, design wise For sure. So look at the bottom of your stuff.
Speaker 1:That is so cool. I would have never, ever. How did you come up with that, using household items like your vase?
Speaker 2:I'm a very detailed person. Different things that most people would brush off so that's so cool.
Speaker 1:Okay, now, this puts this whole delectable delight into a whole nother realm.
Speaker 2:So the next one is cocoa caramel delights. It is a thumbprint I always do some type of thumbprint so it is a chocolate based cookie that is rolled in pecans, crushed, chopped finely, and then it's melted caramel with heavy cream. Okay, with heavy cream. I did find through Pampered Chef, I love it, the drizzler I was just going to ask you.
Speaker 2:So a drizzler to drizzle anything on anything makes it look pretty. So huge thing for me. I used to put it into a paper bag. You clip the corner and then use that as a drizzler. It is very true, If you have the right tools, life is so much easier. There you go, so the garage is full of tools. I can have kitchen full of tools. Oh, I love it.
Speaker 1:I give you a clap on that. That is fantastic. That is fantastic.
Speaker 2:So those are a family favorite. I typically do double batch those so I do have some to get because they go very quickly in my house. Do you freeze them? I do Up to two weeks. I put cookies into a rubber made Tupperware container and I layer with wax paper so most cookies aren't froze more than two weeks. So it is doable.
Speaker 1:How long did it take you for this delectable box? I did it over the weekend. Oh my gosh. Wow, I feel so honored Like you have no idea. Like, once this episode goes to press, like these cookies are going to be gone and there's going to be nothing left, kids, nothing Like. I know you're going to hear me chomping on them. I'll try not to be very loud, but then you'll probably hear an ah, because my mouth is already watering. I have another question, and this is in the cookie realm. You have experimented with different cookie recipes. Would you mind sharing with the listeners the most unique or unexpected cookie creation you've tried, and how did it turn out?
Speaker 2:The Spam Cookie the 2022 post-bulletin winner. I always attempt to make the winner of the post-bulletin cookie challenge. The Spam was a bit much for me. It was with Maple and it's just wrong. The cookie I'm going to try this year is it has mashed potato in it, so I'm really interested to see that it's a recipe from the Depression era. It's going to be interesting to try. I am not trying the Spam again, though.
Speaker 1:One and done One and done You're heavy. Are there any cookie baking traditions or stories from your family that you'd like to share during this festive month of December?
Speaker 2:My mother baked beautiful trays of cookies and there was so many. Her point and we talked about this was there should be something for everybody, so everybody has. Everybody has their own favorites. Everybody should have their thing to choose, and so that was so special.
Speaker 1:We'll switch gears and I'm gonna start delving into my cookie box here, but your passion for crafting has always been really impressive. How has this creative outlet impacted your life and do you have a favorite craft project?
Speaker 2:I grew up in a house where you can make anything, and so that's the belief. So if I see something, I try to make it. I love making. So crafting just allows you to be creative and nobody has what you have.
Speaker 1:That is true. Have any of your kids carried on like the crafting gene? Do they have it?
Speaker 2:Dina does, dina does, rachel does too. So talented Dina crochets and knits, so she makes tops and she gives them to friends.
Speaker 1:Dina, remember I'm your aunt I would like a crocheted top to match a pair of crochet jeans that I have. So if you would be so kind, I would love it. Just saying can't really tell me. That was our commercial break, adding Dina into the mix. And Rachel, whatever you'd like to gift and treat at, I will take whatever, and will you too. We didn't forget you.
Speaker 2:Yes, we didn't forget you, we didn't forget you.
Speaker 1:We have to add Will in there. You enjoy running. What motivates you to lace up those sneakers and how do you stay committed to your running routine? For me, it's the people.
Speaker 2:I run with. Those are the people that are. Are you coming this morning? Are you coming for breakfast? So, it's very inspiring. You see what they accomplish and they're so proud of what you accomplish as well. So everybody needs that support group and I really just started running about seven, eight years ago. Just showed up at Terraloco's beginning to run class.
Speaker 1:And that's it. And you were bitten by the running bug.
Speaker 2:Yes, the coaches at Terraloco were amazing.
Speaker 1:What is it about the coaches that keep you coming back as well? They?
Speaker 2:believe in you. They believe beyond what you believe you can do. So when I started, my goal was 5K, then it became 10K and then it became a half marathon. They believed in you to get to that half.
Speaker 1:That's awesome. Take me back to your first half. Like how was that? Could you sleep the night before? How was it? When you were running, where is your family there to cheer you on? What did it? What did it feel like? Because there's never, there's never anything like that first time.
Speaker 2:My first half marathon I ran with a friend, rebecca. We went to Mankato and that's where we did our first half, and it wasn't until I hit mile seven. I was like, oh, I can do this. That was your half point and it was doable. And you did it, did it, and you did it. I did it half three times now, damn girl.
Speaker 1:Good for you, tam, good for you. Do you have any?
Speaker 2:races coming up? I do not Right now. I'm on limitations.
Speaker 1:OK.
Speaker 2:So Achilles tendonitis, so healing. I'll probably start back running in the spring.
Speaker 1:Nice.
Speaker 2:Just to get some rest?
Speaker 1:Yeah for sure. Do you ever feel like you want to do a full?
Speaker 2:I would after I retire. I think, training takes so much time.
Speaker 1:Can you describe a challenging moment in your journey and how you overcame it, showcasing your resilience and your determination?
Speaker 2:Well, that's a big question. I did do the ultimate hike. That's up in Bailutzen, so it's 25.5 miles of hiking. Took me 12 and a half hours. It is for children's cancer research, to walk with people who have lost kids, to walk for kids' research. It's the most mental and physical thing I have ever done in my life.
Speaker 1:When you share that story, it's your journey, but I also feel like you are carrying these families with you as well. It was so impactful when you left there.
Speaker 2:What was your takeaway? There was so much because you spend so much time with everybody. There was such a bond to meet friends from Madison and the cities. It was just very inspiring. I really believe people will say why aren't you saying no? Say no, say no. I have the mentality. You say yes to every invite. You have no idea who God is intending you to meet. So that is why I say yes. You don't want to put limits on what the possibilities are. Yeah for sure, are you gonna fail sometimes?
Speaker 1:But you tried really admire about you being present to the present, just being open to the possibilities of what the universe has to offer you. You know to be open to the present, to be present to the moment. I agree, as we conclude this wonderful episode with my friend, we've all had the unique privilege of exploring what I like to say is her extraordinary life. She is Amazing. Her dedication and her passion Shine through in every aspect of her life, from her role as a wife, mother, quality Specialist to her numerous creative pursuits. I have learned more about her invaluable contributions as a volunteer, her talent, her gift for baking and crafting, her love for reading and her commitment to running.
Speaker 1:I hope that you have been truly inspired by my friend Tammy. Her story is definitely a testament to the power of dedication and Passion, being open to the presence of the moment. She has taken us on this incredible journey through just moments in her life that bring her joy. And this quote by Anayis Nin each friend represents a world in us. I will possibly not be born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born. And today, my friend, you have born something within my spirit that I needed. I will be ever grateful that our lives crossed in this part of the journey. I as well Thank you, my friend.
Speaker 2:I am grateful I said yes, hi, trina.
Speaker 1:Congratulations. I was getting a gas this morning and I stopped. I said let me pick up a newspaper. So I picked up the newspaper and now I'm going through it doot, doot, doot, doot, do, search and search and search and and I come across the life section and I'm like wait, I'm like I Know those cookies. I was like those are my favorite cookies. And then I go and I read a title victory never tasted so sweet. And I see your picture and I was. I just couldn't stop smiling and clapping. I'm like I had sex. You I got tech, tammy. Congratulations, my friend. Thank you so much, absolutely fun. So, tammy, I just have a quick question for you. Back in December of 2021, you were featured in the post bulletin for baking a cookie a day. Today, you are back in the post bulletin as the cookie genius, the 2023 post bulletin holiday treats winner. Again, congratulations, my friend. Well deserved Thank you. It's so unreal. When did you find out that you were the 2023 post bulletin Holiday treats winner?
Speaker 2:I had to drop off my cookie at 9 30 on Wednesday, okay, and they called me about 1 pm that day and to keep it a, secret.
Speaker 1:Can you share what your winning cookie was?
Speaker 2:It was. It was actually in the box that I had given you that day the cocoa caramel delights, the chocolate cookie rolled in pecans, and then it has a caramel center. It's more like a thumbprint drizzled with chocolate. So I love to drizzle on cookies because it just adds something to a basic cookie.
Speaker 1:I mean it really has a work of art I play. You're like I dabble, I dabble. That's the cookie genius question. Sure, and, and what do you believe sets your holiday treats apart?
Speaker 2:they were judge, judged and taste texture and presentation. I like to just play, make things pretty, and I do like certain ingredients. I'm very picky with my ingredients.
Speaker 1:How does one outside of the post bulletin, how do we get the recipe for the choco caramel delights when I bake a cookie a day.
Speaker 2:I posted it and people will ask me for the recipe. I Freely give recipes. There's no family secret recipe.
Speaker 1:Okay, so you don't gate, keep the recipes.
Speaker 2:No, my goal is to inspire others to bake.
Speaker 1:Oh, I love it.
Speaker 2:I hold something to yourself. So even if you bake one of the cookies that I made that year, it's something.
Speaker 1:Thank you, my friend. Again, victory Never tasted so sweet and I am just, so, just Excited for you and I'm just so happy that I was able to get a chance to try the choco Caramel delight and and witness the cookie genius at work. Oh, my goodness, and anything else you would like to leave with the listeners.
Speaker 2:Start baking and start creating.
Speaker 1:Thank you.