On February 22:  Bake and decorate some delicious cupcakes in Cupcake Love. You’ll take home a whole box of gorgeous cupcakes, and the knowledge of how to do it again by yourself. Class is offered  again on May 5 and taught be Chelly Vitry who gets rave reviews.

For all you Anglophiles, learn to bake up a selection of sweet treats and then enjoy them in a classic high tea setting on March 3 in Tea for the Duchess of Bedfordshire .  Instructor Rachel Iacino is a Cordon Bleu trained chef and a native Brit–the perfect combination for a delicious class and a proper high tea!

Everybody loves chocolate, right? You can’t believe some of the fabulous recipes you can make in Chocolate Fantasy . The teacher, Robin Vives, always leaves some treats for CFU staff. The staff all have different favorites, but  I think the recipe for chocolate buttermilk cake with sea salt is probably worth the price of admission! YUM!

More on this chocolate thing….you can’t go wrong with Chocolate and Wine Pairing: Find a Bit of Heaven on Earth . What a combination! Taught by Julie Pech.

No excuses for flat, floppy baked goods after taking High Altitude Baking with Randi Levin on March 17. Randi really knows how to bake–at any altitude–and her recipes often feature berries as she freezes them during the bounty of the summer months. Come learn her secrets and taste and bake several recipes.

Katrina is a new teacher to CFU but an old pro at baking cookies. She runs her own cookie & catering business and is incredibly inventive with her flavorings. In Cookie Love on March 31, learn  one recipe that can be doctored in a zillion ways.  Best yet, all you need is a bowl and a big old fashioned wooden spoon!

We are so lucky to have someone as talented as Steve Bass teaching Jams, Jellies & Preserves: Learn to Can, here on February 25.  Steve has won numerous awards for his delicious jams and preserves and teaches you how to make scrumptious toast toppers no matter the season. He’ll teach it again on April 21–but why wait?

Eclectic Verve is a band in Lakewood, Co.  See the article they posted on their blog about lifelong learning.

There is still space available in this class!  Class starts this Friday 2/17/2012 and runs from 9AM-4PM and meets again Friday 2/24/2012  from 9AM-4PM.

Taught by long-time CFU instructor and web design guru, Jason Ackerman – this class will give you the basic HTML/CSS skills necessary to get started on your very own eye-catching website.

Click here to see a complete course description and register today!

Spend the whole weekend speaking and studying Spanish. Classes are offered at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels so you can be sure to be challenged without being overwhelmed.

Teachers devise a a variety of fun exercise and activities to help you build  your Spanish language skills and to help you gain confidence using Spanish in a variety of situations.

Traveling to a Spanish speaking country soon? Or need  to get up to speed on Spanish quickly for work?

CFU Spanish Immersion Weekend is a great way to improve your Spanish language skills quickly and affordably.

Click here to browse the listing of upcoming Spanish Immersion Weekends.

Come learn how you can take advantage of the record low interest rates and get a great real estate deal in one of CFU’s upcoming real estate classes:

February 21, realtor and seasoned Denver investor Kato Mitchell teaches you how to evaluate and find great deals in  Fortunes in Foreclosures .

On February 28, try Introduction to Real Estate Investing. Dick Martin, an experienced Denver realtor teaches you the dos and don’ts of real estate investing.

February 23:  Intro to Tax Lien Investing: Investing to Actually Make a Profit . Discover how to properly reasearch and buy a tax lien–Dan Murray is your host and he’s purchased over 2000!

February 23:  Selling a Home: Take This Class First  Realtor Norm Replin thinks the time is ripe to put your home on the market if youv’e been waiting. Interest rates are low and buyers are waiting. Discover the process and priorities in this free class (must register to attend)!

February 25:  Thinking of Buying a Condo?: Take This Class First  Norm Replin also hosts this informative, free class on what to look for in the condo market. There are lots of great deals—come learn more!

Or browse our entire Real Estate section to find a class that suits your needs. You can also see other dates when these great classes above will be held.

Why do we have so many illegal immigrants? Just what is a green card? Discuss these topics and the procedures of the immigration process. Nancy will also touch on  family-based and employment-based immigration, deportation, asylum and refugee law, and naturalization.

Nancy Elkind of Elkind Aldeman Harston, PC has practiced immigration law for over 30 years and is a nationally recognized expert in the field.

Immigration is one of the hot button topics in the US–don’t miss this thoughtful chance to explore this topic from the point of view of the law.

Donna Shannon

2/11 and Get the Job: How to Build an Effective Job Search Strategy on 3/10.

Other classes that could help can be seen in our Career Search and Discovery Section of the website.  Let CFU support you!

Each day you will have three blocks of Spanish language workshops followed by a cultural activity of your choice.  We will have presentations on Latin American culture, salsa dance lessons and cooking classes.  The variety of the Spanish Immersion Weekend along with our passionate instructors will keep you engaged throughout the weekend.

The next Spanish Immersion Weekend will be February 25-26, 2012.

View schedule and sign up today!

Our instructors are overjoyed to be teaching on this new equipment and we’ve gotten great feedback from students on the new computers too.

If you are taking classes in Office 2007, HTML, or Basics of Web Design, you’ll enjoy the upgraded features on these speedy new computers. More courses and programs in this lab will be scheduled in the future.

Comment on this post and let us know how you like the new computers!

I urge you to apply this idea to your own job-hunting techniques.  Get creative and experiment with the marketing of yourself.  In today’s economy there are many qualified candidates for only a few open positions.  It takes creativity and experimentation to stand out in a crowd of job-hunters.  You must convince the employer that YOU are the most qualified person for the position.  The following three steps can serve as the guide for how to market yourself.

1. TAKE MARKETING CLASSES – Colorado Free University offers a host of classes specifically directed at marketing, such as “Easy Email Marketing” and “The Key to Smart Marketing.” Attend one of these classes.  Insert your own name when they discuss marketing strategies.  YOU are the business and you are trying to market yourself.  How can you attract people to hire you?  How can you get your name out there?  How can you make yourself more visible?  These tips and more can be learned in a marketing class.
2. USE SOCIAL MEDIA – Just as a company uses Facebook, Twitter, blogs and other social media to generic traffic to their business, you can use the same sites to generate interest in YOU.  You are a wonderful commodity waiting to be hired–get the word out.  Design your own webpage and put your resume online.  Be your own commercial.  By getting the word out and marketing your skills to others, you make it easiest for a potential employer to find you.  You may know how to use social media to connect with your friends, but do you know how to use it in a professional way?
3. ATTEND NETWORKING EVENTS – Where can you find networking events in Denver?  Meetup.com is an excellent source.  It lists a variety of groups that are hosting events all around the Denver Metro Area.   Places2Network.com is also a fantastic resource.  To find an event, simply type in the kind of event that you would like to attend (lunch meeting, evening meeting), the days that you are available and the location in which you are interested.  Boom!  Instantly you will have many events at your fingers.  Sign up, show up and start up your own network.  The more you network and market yourself, the sooner you will land your next job.

It is  up to you to market yourself.  However, the more effort that you put into it, the better your rewards are going to be.

See Shelly’s How to Get the Government Job You Want: Tips, Tricks and Benefits can be seen in the Career Search and Discovery Section