Confessions of a Paper Freak

The Reality of the Handmade World

2012-02-08T10:54:00.000-08:00

I love the Handmade Marketplace. I'm sure that is no surprise.

I have loved every minute of creating and building my Handmade Business.

I love the community of Handmade Business Owners.

But there is something that I think too few people are admitting, and I think it's time we start to talk about it.

The reality of having a "handmade" business is that you will probably not make money. I don't say this to be Debby Downer... I say it because it is true, and I think people need to start admitting it so that we can find a solution.

I have many, many friends with handmade businesses.
I have a couple of friends with handmade businesses that are living off their income.
And I have one friend who turned her handmade business into a "real" business and now has a warehouse, a full staff, and a husband who quit his job to run her business full time.

Last year I read an article in Inc. Magazine about Etsy. The article stated that in 2010 the 400,000+ sellers on Etsy sold $314,000,000 worth of products. It went on to say, "Three hundred and fourteen million dollars is an impressive sum, but it amounts to about $785 per seller after commissions - and before taxes. It seems fair to assume, using statistics that the company has released, that there are fewer than 1,000 sellers who make $30,000 a year or more, and a mere handful who make more than $100,000. As one of the site's top sellers wrote in a blog post in 2009: 'Your odds of making $10,000 per year [on Etsy] are better than winning $10,000 through the Powerball, though not by a ton.' The only Etsy millionaires, it turns out, are Etsy shareholders."

When I read this article I was astounded. Mainly because in 2010 I generated almost $20,000 in sales on Etsy {and I lost money}. In 2011 I generated over $35,000 in sales on Etsy {and I made about $1300}.

So if I am one of the top selling stores on Etsy, {which according to this article I am} then the truth is... having a handmade shop is not a very successful way to make money.

I think {and this article also pointed out} that part of the problem is that most of the shops on Etsy are run by Hobbyists... people who are doing it because they enjoying crafting in their free time, and not people who are trying to run a successful business. The problem with that is that Susie Hobbyist sells her handmade invitation for $2 {while anyone running a professional stationary business would tell you that her costs far exceed $2}, so Emmy Entrepreneur, who charges $8 per invitation cannot compete with Susie's pricing.

So what do we do about this? What do those of us that would actually like to be paid for our time and supplies do to make our business profitable? How do we make handmade work???

I don't know for sure what the answer to this is. If I did, Much Ado About You probably would have made more than $1300 last year. But I definitely don't think that it is hopeless.

The reality is that most start-ups take three to five years to become profitable, and this handmade craze has really only just started in the last three to five years. Hopefully that means that more and more of our businesses will begin to turn the corner in these next few years.

But I think the question that I am facing {and I'm sure some of you are too} is can we make it another few years??? And in order to make it, will we have to leave the handmade dream behind and embrace the small business reality of mass production? And wouldn't it be great for our country's failing economy if we could figure out a way to make this work?

These are all questions that I am wrestling with. These are all reasons why I'm not sure what the future is for Much Ado About You.

I think the first step is talking about it. If handmade is going to work, I think we need to start educating our customers on the value of handmade. We need people to understand that buying handmade will cost more than buying at Target or Costco, possibly a lot more, and then we need to see if there is a market that will value that cost and support it.

What are your thoughts? Do you have a handmade business that you are struggling with? Do you buy handmade? Are you willing to pay more to support Small Business and the Handmade Community?

By the way... don't feel bad if you are not. I realize that not everyone feels passionate about buying handmade, and that is totally okay. I am not trying to make anyone feel guilty about shopping at Target or Costco... I shop at both places frequently. But I think there is room in the market for both. Do you???

Let's talk about it.

A Winner and an Announcement

2012-02-02T13:26:00.000-08:00

It's time for a winner! {Only 1 day late... sorry, I was busy recovering from the CHA.}

Congratulations to afiestymom! You are the winner of a Spunk & Love book. Please email me to claim your prize at emmythepaperfreak {at} gmail {dot} com.

If you didn't win, you are in luck! Megan has {very generously} extended the 20% off to all my readers through tomorrow night {Friday, February 3rd}, so be sure to go order your books and use the code MAAY20.

...................................................

Also, for any of you that are interested in my business, there is a big announcement over on my website today. Check it out!

My Second Favorite Day of the Year

2012-01-31T08:58:00.000-08:00

Don't forget to enter our Spunk & Love giveaway here.

........................................................

Today is my second favorite day of the year.

My first favorite is Christmas.

My second favorite is the day we go to the CHA... the Craft and Hobby Association Trade Show.

That day is today.

WOOOOOOOOO HOOOOO!!!

I gotta go see some paper now.

Pregnancy Journals by Spunk & Love

2012-01-26T15:24:00.000-08:00

Guess what??? I have a giveaway for you! I have no idea how long it has been since I have done a giveaway, and I am extra excited about this one because it's from my BFF's shop.

I have told you about Megan's shop before here, when I told you all about her Birthday Books. But she has just introduced a new product that I am so excited to share with you today.

Check out these Pregnancy Journals

I had a pregnancy journal when I was pregnant with Beau. I got it on the bargain bin table at Barnes & Noble. It was not the cutest thing I had ever seen, but I had never seen a pregnancy journal so I loved it. And I still treasure it. I never made Beau a baby book, so my pregnancy journal is all we've got! I wish mine was half as cute as these.

Megan's books have four sections, one for each trimester, and one called "your arrival".

There are places to record all the best moments of pregancy {and even some of the not-so-best moments}.

Are you pregnant? I bet you are wishing you had one of these now.

So here's the great news:

Spunk & Love is giving away one of their fabulous books to one of my fabulous readers

And if you're not pregnant, don't worry because you can choose one of their Birthday Books instead.

Here's how to enter:

Check out Spunk & Love here and come back and tell me which adorable design you like the best. {I am partial to the Beau and the Penelope.}

For extra entries, leave a SEPARATE COMMENT for each of the following:

Become a follower of this blog {or let me know if you already are a follower}
Like Spunk & Love on Facebook here
Heart Spunk & Love on Etsy here
Pin a picture of one of Spunk & Love's items on Pinterest
Tweet about this giveaway
Post a link to this giveaway on Facebook

The giveaway will close on Tuesday night {1/31/12} at midnight PST time, and I will announce the winner Wednesday morning.

Giveaway open to US Residents only.

Oh wait... I forgot the best part!!! Megan is offering my readers 20% off her entire shop, now thru Wednesday, February 1st! Just enter the code MAAY20 at checkout. And if you order now and win this giveaway, Megan will refund the purchase of {1} book! Isn't she thoughtful??? That's why she's my BFF.

The Rest of the Story...

2012-01-24T21:34:00.000-08:00

There's something that I've been wanting to share here, but it's a bit touchy and I know that I need to share carefully to be certain that you hear clearly the reason that I am sharing.

So let's just start with that - I am sharing this story today to give God the glory for all He has done for our family this year. Period. So please, please hear that.

Okay, so those of you that have been around here for any length of time know that almost 10 months ago our family was blessed with our precious baby girl, Penelope. If you don't know our journey you can read more about it here, but let me briefly sum it up:

Two years ago I held a raffle on this blog to raise money for our adoption costs. I mentioned at the time that we had some friends that had amazingly offered to pay for the majority of the adoption, but that we expected our portion to be about $5,000 or $6,000. In one week we raised a whopping $6085! It was overwhelming and touching and God's confirmation that He had a plan for our family that included adoption.

This last March we were contacted by our agency about a potential match for us, and long story short... just 7 days later we held our baby girl in our arms. {For the long story, read here, here and here.}

I shared a lot about what happened that week, but one major thing, one really significant part of the story, I left out.

I want to tell you now.

I'm just going to kind of retell the story, so those of you who have not read it before will not be lost. {It's a fun story, so even if you have read it... please read again. You won't want to miss the new details.}

One Wednesday afternoon I was packing to leave for my cousin's funeral and I got a phone call from our agency that there was a potential match for us. This was the second time we had gotten a phone call about a potential match, and the first time it took an agonizing week for them to call back and tell us that the birth mom had chosen another family.

I called Nathan with the details and we decided that we did want to be presented to this birth mom, so I called the agency back and gave them the green light. They said that they were going to be presenting her with three or four families that evening.

I figured we would have to just put it out of our minds until we got home from the funeral, but I texted my friend that was planning to pay for the adoption, just to let her know that there was a possibility that we could be matched soon.

What I got back from her were several panic-stricken texts basically telling me that they did not have the money to give us at that time.

I panicked myself, and called Nathan to find out what we should do. He was right in the middle of something important at work and told me we would have to talk about it when he got home, but I was afraid that would be too late. I knew that if this birth mother chose us and we had to back out it would kill me. It wasn't fair to her, and it wasn't fair to my fragile heart that had already had too many no's over the last seven years. But Nathan assured me that we would figure it out if this was our baby.

I spent the next several hours panicking. I finally got a hold of my mother who said to me,

"Emmy, there have been many delays in this process for you, but God's timing is perfect, and if this is your baby than He will provide the way."

I felt much better.

While I was still talking to my mom Nathan called to say he was on his way home. He also said that he was confident that this was our baby, and that we would figure out the finances. For my husband to say that was a miracle in itself. He likes to have our financial ducks in a row. The fact that he was at peace about this gave me the peace I needed.

So I went back to packing and tried to put the potential match out of my mind, since I figured it would be several days until we would hear anything.

The next day, less than 24 hours later, in a parking garage in San Luis Obispo, we got the call.

The baby girl, that they had originally told me was due in three weeks, would be arriving by induction in just 8 days. Which meant that we now officially had less than a week to come up with about $20,000.

We put that aside for the time, and reveled in the excitement of the fact that the baby we had waited seven very long years for was on her way into our family.

The next two days we racked our brains trying to figure out how in the heck we were going to have $20,000 in just a few days. I thought about having a calendar pre-sale, but realized that I would have to sell about 550 calendars in five days to make that work. It wouldn't. I thought maybe we could sell one of our cars, but they're old and not worth $20,000. Plus then I wouldn't have a car. That might be tough with an infant.

Saturday morning as we laid in my sister's hotel room trying desperately to find a solution, I suggested we try taking out a personal loan from our bank. Nathan didn't think we would qualify, since we had pretty much just maxed ourselves out purchasing our home, but we decided it was worth a try.

We called the bank {because our bank is a credit union and it is open on Saturday mornings}, and I spoke with a loan officer. It took about five minutes to apply for $20,000. She told me that they usually have an answer in 24 hours, but since it was the weekend I should expect to hear from them Monday or possibly Tuesday. Which meant that if we didn't get the loan, we would have about 2 days to find another solution.

We left for breakfast with my whole family.

An hour later, while we were still at the restaurant, I got a call from the bank. We had been approved for the loan and could have the money by Monday morning.

I called my friend to tell her that we had the funds taken care of, and she assured me that they should have the money before I even had to make my first loan payment. Which was good since I had no idea where we were going to come up with an extra $450 a month.

A couple of days after we brought our baby home from the hospital, my friend and her husband came over to meet her. They again assured us that they would come through with the money within weeks.

I saw them a couple more times after that, by random coincidence, but that was basically the last we heard from those friends.

Without sharing too much of their story I will just say that all hell broke loose in their lives. They are currently separated, living several states apart, and completely broke. And I know all this because she is a blogger, and for a brief stint a couple of months ago she made her blog public and I caught up. I requested access to her blog long ago, but she has never granted it to me.

Now, I want to again be super, super clear here: I am not mad at my friend. I harbor absolutely no bitterness. I feel nothing but complete gratitude that God brought her into my life, even for a brief season. If she had not offered to help us with this adoption we would never have met our Penelope. We would never have thought that we could do this on our own. I know that her friendship had purpose, and that God used her, even if it wasn't in the way that she had hoped. I have tried to reach out to her. I sent her an email explaining all of this, and telling her that I missed our friendship, but I'm afraid her embarrassment keeps her from responding.

And it's okay. I get it. But I miss her.

There are really two reasons that I felt I needed to share this here. One, like I said, is to give God the glory for once again providing for our family in a way that only He could. He performed a miracle that week in our lives. A modern day miracle. It would have been easy for the praise to be given to our friends instead of the Lord who provides all things. Even the money they would have given us.

The other reason I wanted to share is that I want other families out there to know that adoption is possible. In the end, we payed about $35,000 out of our pockets for this adoption. The loan has been paid in full, and our tax return will pay the last of what we put on a credit card. I am telling you this because I want you to see that out of the $6,000 that we had in savings, God paid a $35,000 bill.

Fishes and loaves.

If you are hesitating to start an adoption journey because you have no idea how you will come up with the money, please just put one foot in front of the other and start the process. Don't let money be the thing that keeps you from getting a baby. There are grants and funding available, and you will get a huge tax credit from Uncle Sam the year your adoption is finalized.

There are also people that are willing to help. Ask. And then accept their help.

Get creative. Hold a raffle, have a bingo night, ask friends to donate items to a garage sale.

Maybe you could consider starting with Foster Care.

Just please don't let money be the thing that keeps you from getting a baby.

I truly, truly hope that you have heard my heart here. I love my friend and I pray for God's great provision in her life as well.

I just felt like my readers, who have been so amazing and supportive throughout this journey needed to know the rest of the story.

3552 Dimes

2012-01-18T09:41:00.000-08:00

My pastor said something a few weeks ago that struck a cord with me. He said, "Sometimes success is more difficult to handle than failure. Sometimes the failure is the blessing."

It made me think that maybe Much Ado About You failing would be a blessing, because its "success" has certainly been difficult.

I have mentioned a few times on this blog the fact that my business, while wonderful and my dream job, has yet to be profitable. I think I have said that while working my tail off for three+ years, I have not made a dime.

Until now.

Nathan finished my books for 2011 yesterday, and I am so excited to say that Much Ado About You has finally turned a profit. In 2011 we made 3,552 dimes to be exact.

Source: theunquietlibrary.wordpress.com via Emmy on Pinterest

Now, for those of you that are not mathematically gifted... that is $355.20. Or, as Nathan calculated for me: 17 cents an hour.

This may seem ridiculous to some of you, but to me it is a really big deal. Payoff. Confirmation. Profit. The encouragement that I needed to keep going.

And hope that 2012 will bring a few more dimes. Just a few.

UPDATE: Nathan just called to inform me that it was actually $1,355.20. That's freaking 13,552 dimes!!!

Hello 2012

2012-01-02T16:26:00.000-08:00

Source: gatherlove.tumblr.com via Emmy on Pinterest

2011 was quite a year. For almost everyone I know, it was full of high highs and low lows.

For our family:

We settled into our new house, our first real grown-up house, and are still pinching ourselves at the wonderful home that God provided for our family after years of searching and waiting out the ridiculous California Real Estate Market.

We mourned the loss of my beloved cousin, unable to understand God's timing, but knowing that he lived more in his 35 years than most do in a lifetime.

We received the most amazing gift of all when in one whirlwind week we found out that we had been matched with a baby girl, and brought our precious Penelope home from the hospital just 8 days later.

I was able to take an extended maternity leave from my shop, and my amazingly loyal and supportive customers patiently waited while I enjoyed time with my sweet newborn.

I re-opened my shop, and had the most amazing month of all time... doubling my previous highest sales month and totally overwhelming my production, in a good way.

We grieved the end of a marriage in our family.

We had a fantastic Christmas, grateful for our Savior's birth, and then enjoyed 10 whole days of vacation time with my husband home from work and my shop closed, ending in a quick anniversary getaway to celebrate 11 amazing years of marriage.

I hope that your year has been one of blessings, growth, and seeing God's handprint in your life.

Now, on to 2012!

I have to admit something that may surprise some of you: I have really debated whether or not to continue Much Ado About You in 2012. I have spent the last several weeks going back and forth... some minutes thinking that I can't possibly keep up, and then the next minutes knowing that I can't possibly give it up.

Let me just say this: owning a small handmade business is hard. Very, very hard.

It is not glamorous. It is not a hobby. It is not lucrative. That's where the problem comes in.

I have been running this business for about three and a half years now. Between the months of August to January I work 70+ hours a week. I don't really get to enjoy Thanksgiving or Christmas because I am busy. Very, very busy. I dream about calendars and convos and shipping labels.

And to date I have not made a single dime.

I have sold somewhere around 3,000 calendars {I don't know the exact number because I have been too busy to count}, and I have not made any profit.

I am not complaining. I am very aware that most start-up businesses do not turn a profit for three to five years. I also know that I have had some major growing pains along the way, mostly thanks to printers and failed marketing ideas. But the reality is that after three seasons of working my tail off, I have yet to be able to give myself a paycheck.

And for the most part I am okay with that. I know that this business does not have to be about financial blessing for me {for more on that, see this post}. But when I find myself daydreaming about cleaning my house, folding laundry, and making dinner {things I rarely get to do anymore} I have to wonder if it is time for a change.

Yesterday I read this post by my friend Rachel, and it really hit home for me. I want to simplify my life in 2012.

But when I get right down to it, I don't want to quit Much Ado About You. I love my business, I love my customers, and I love being a part of the handmade community. Love it.

So, for now... Much Ado About You goes on.

We will be open through mid-February, then will likely close up shop until summer to plan and prepare for the new line. Expect some changes. More on that at a later date.

I am not one for New Year's Resolutions {maybe because I don't diet or exercise}, but this year I want to set some goals in hopes that it will help guide me to a more peaceful, simplified 2012.

So here they are... my Goals for 2012.

1.  Make Money

The truth is that in order to justify the strain that this business is on my life and family, it needs to be profitable. So this is it. We turn a profit in 2012 or we close the doors in 2013. I am making that commitment to myself and my husband right now.

2.  Blog 2 or 3 Times a Week

I love blogging, but it is the first thing that gets cut from the to-do list when that list is too long. But I miss the interaction with my blog readers, and I miss the outlet of having a place to share my randomness.

3.  Get More Sleep

This will be accomplished two ways... getting my way-too-old-not-to-be-sleeping-through-the-night baby to sleep through the night, and going to bed earlier.

4.  Get the House Organized

We moved last December in the midst of my super busy season, and just as the dust settled on Much Ado About You, we got a call about a baby. Nothing ever really got put away properly, and the disorganization is driving me nuts.

5.  Finish my Bible Study

Last year I started writing a Bible Study on Infertility, which is really just about why God allows suffering in our lives. I was on a roll and feeling very inspired... and then we got a call about a baby.

So that's it. This turned out to be a very long post, and I'm sure I have lost most of you by now, but having it up here on my blog will serve as motivation for me to follow through.

I hope that I haven't lost too many of you in my absence, and I hope you will join me as we make 2012 the best year yet! {Wow... that was a little cheesy.}

Guest Blog: Scraps of Soul

2011-12-05T10:56:00.000-08:00

I have a dear friend that I have known since I was three. Her name is Amanda. We grew up together, went to college together, and have stayed connected through Mommydom.

Several summers ago I led a group of about 25 women through Beth Moore's The Patriarchs. If you have never done this study... I highly recommend it! It is Beth's best, in my opinion. If you have never done a Beth Moore study, you must.

Anyway, in this summer study of 25 women, I think there were maybe three that had not experienced some form of infertility or miscarriage loss. Amanda was one of the ones that was in the midst of the storm.

Over the weekend I read a posting on Amanda's blog, Scraps of Soul, that was so beautifully written and so poignant, I asked her if I could share it with all of you. Please check out her blog... she's so wise, but enjoy this posting here. I hope it touches you, as it did me.

The Age of Miracles
The age of miracles is not yet over, and that you may tie to.
--Susan, Anne of Ingleside

Having a baby is like falling in love. While you're waiting for both to happen to you, it seems everyone around you already has what you so desperately want. To those struggling with infertility, to lose "unlucky" in love: both feel like a right is being denied them.

But then when you fall in love, or you become a mother, you discover that both are a privilege you could never actually deserve. (Neither is actually as romantic as you imagine, either, but that's the subject of another blog.)

Before I "tried" to have a baby, I didn't think much about what it took to get pregnant, in terms of the inner biology, that is. The mysterious union of cells, all the ways that the right things have to happen at the right time? No, mainly, conception seemed like something that could happen at any moment and needed to be prevented. But then once I was ready to be a mom, I thought of little else. My first pregnancy happened fast. My second, well, it took about a year, one of the longest, most frustrating, face-up-to-all-my-control-issues years of my life.

Almost eight years into motherhood, and surrounded by women in their childbearing years, I now appreciate the miracle that each pregnancy and each birth is. And though we know a lot, scientifically, about fertility and biology, in my personal experience, babies often come without seeming to play by any of these rules.

Just a few examples from my inner circle:

*A mom who sought medical help to get pregnant the second time and was told that biologically, she shouldn't have even been able to have her first. The mom's reaction? Appreciate the first as a miracle.

*A mom who spent her life savings on IVF treatments, and through it had one son and then fraternal twins. And then got pregnant with Baby #4 by accident one year later. The mom's reaction? After the initial panic, she thanked God for the miracle.

*A mom who was "done" having children and using preventative measures, and got pregnant with Baby #3 anyway. Again, initial panic, followed by thanking God for the miracle and asking Him to now provide what she needed as a mother.

*A mom who spent years in fertility treatments, had given up, and then suddenly had her first. And then five more, in a span of six years. (That one is my grandmother.)

*A woman whose cycle was so out of whack that she decided there was no hope of getting pregnant without intervention. And then got pregnant without it that very month. (That one is me.) My reaction? To praise God for the miracle, Olivia Faith, named for the peace I found on my journey to have her, and the faith that got stronger for having walked that road with God.

On my personal journey, what I've decided is that if God thinks its the right time for you to have a baby, He gives you a baby, no matter what science or medicine says. I was thinking about this in church on Sunday, hearing the story of the angel Gabriel telling Mary that she was going to have a baby that would defy science -- even simple first century science -- altogether. And when she asks, well, how is that going to happen, I don't even have a man here, the angel tells Mary that even her "old and barren" relative Elizabeth is pregnant too, "For nothing is impossible with God."

It suddenly occurred to me that in bringing about the Messiah, the Savior, he performed several fertility miracles. It started with Abraham and Sarah, father of Isaac, who would become father of all Israel, the line from who Jesus would come. God told Abraham that his descendants would be as great in number as the stars, even though his wife was barren and was now in her "old age." When Abraham told Sarah, she laughed with incredulity. And God struck her mute for a while as punishment. "Don't believe I can do it, huh Sarah? Why don't you just be quiet and think for a little bit about who I Am?" God delivered on that promise, and then Sarah laughed for another reason: joy.

Then, thousands of years later, God blessed another "old" and barren woman with a baby, Elizabeth, who gave birth to John the Baptist, who Jesus called the greatest man to have lived. When God told Elizabeth's husband, he laughed incredulously too, and he too was struck mute for a while. "You know the scriptures, Zachariah, and you're still laughing? Now you go sit quietly and think for a while, too."

And then finally, God does his greatest fertility miracle yet: he makes a virgin a Mom. This is a stumbling block for a lot of people. This is too hard to believe. To some it doesn't even seem necessary to believe in the virgin conception; Jesus can be who he says he is even if he had a biological earthly father. But me, I think it is literally true, and falls right in line with what God was doing all along. "You think I can't do what I've promised? I brought the earth out of nothingness. Now, watch this."

I have walked the infertility road with a lot of women who love God, and this thread through Scripture of God blessing women in barrenness, conception, and motherhood touches my heart. I love that He chose to bring Jesus to us through women, through moms. I think he really loved those women, and he really has a heart for women today, whether they are mothers, or want to be mothers, or are mothers of spiritual -- if not biological -- children.

I love my mighty God, even though believing He can do anything -- absolutely anything -- challenges me because it means I have to still trust Him even when he chooses not to. I watched one dear friend face up to this just this year, a clear word from God that he was not going to give her any more children. She accepted this with faith, and came out the other end of her long struggle with a sense of satisfaction and a clearer picture of who her Father is than she ever had before. Another miracle.

I'm grateful for the miracles of my daughters, for the privilege, the unearned gift of being their Mommy. I'm grateful that the age of miracles is not yet over. Because though they have been conceived, carried and issued forth -- a process that challenged my sense of control at every turn -- I'm even more in need of God's miracles now that my kids are out. A lot of things seem impossible. How can I keep them safe? How can I teach them what they need to know to live in this world? How can I prepare their hearts for eternity? How in the world will I pay for college? I can't really do any of these things. But I'm waiting on God, because I know he's already said to me, "Oh yeah? Seems impossible? Just watch what I can do."

Sale Extended!

2011-11-27T22:30:00.001-08:00

I have decided to extend our Small Business Saturday Sale through Cyber Monday!

Enjoy.

To remind you:

I have not one, but three great deals for you!

First:

Buy 3 or More Day Planners {excluding the Months Only versions} and get The Whole Shebang Add-Ons for FREE*

That's a $14 value for each Planner! 

Second:

Buy 1 Large Desk/Wall Calendar and Get 1 FREE

{no limit}*

That's a savings of $24 for each FREE Calendar! 

Third:

Spend over $150 and get 

FREE SHIPPING 

on your entire order**

*Just include a note in your Message to Seller at checkout that you would like to take advantage of the Small Business Saturday deal, do not add the free items to your cart.

**Shipping will be refunded through PayPal within 24 hours.

Take advantage of 1 or all of our offers, but hurry... they are only good until midnight!

Also remember that this Thursday, December 1st is the LAST DAY to order for guaranteed Christmas delivery!

Support Small Business Saturday

2011-11-25T21:22:00.000-08:00

Check out this posting on my Much Ado About You website for the
BIGGEST DEALS I HAVE EVER OFFERED.

Think FREE, FREE, and more FREE.

Support Small Businesses this Saturday... they are keeping our country afloat. Happy shopping!

Hair {Yes, I am Posting about Hair Again}

2011-11-08T17:13:00.000-08:00

Why is it that you can be going along with a hairdo that you like, day after day, and then all of a sudden it stops working. That is how it always goes with my hair. I like it. I like it. I like it. Poof! I hate it.

Or, your color is fine. It's fine. It's fine. Poof! You have inch long roots!

The last several days my hair has not come out of the ponytail holder.
It's time for a haircut.

So, what do you think?

There's the messy bob:

Source: google.com via Emmy on Pinterest

The random super long front piece bob:

Source: hairstyleswebsite.com via Emmy on Pinterest

The heavy bang bob:

Source: 99.158.160.201 via Emmy on Pinterest

The Paris:

Source: shorthairstylescuts.com via Emmy on Pinterest

The side part bob:

Source: hairspotlight.com via Emmy on Pinterest

Or, the if i could just have her eyes to go with it bob:

Source: fashionzen.blogspot.com via Emmy on Pinterest

Are you sensing a theme? I'm thinking a bob. I love bobs.

Perspective

2011-10-26T16:53:00.000-07:00

Something has been on my mind lately. Perspective.

This word is troublesome to me at times. It can be the center of an argument. It can be the reason two people cannot see eye to eye. It can cause frustration and disagreement and hurt.

But lately this word has brought me humility, comfort, and a sense of blessing.

I told you that I broke my toe. Well, it still hurts, and I am still wearing this boot. It has slowed me down, kept me from doing fun things with my family, and in general been an annoyance. But I realize that it could be worse. I could have had to wear a cast, which would mean I couldn't shower or shave... two of my must-do's for every morning. I could have had a more serious, permanent injury, or been given a terminal prognosis. This toe has given me perspective.

Last week I was working on the finances for my business {my least favorite part of small business ownership}, and I was frustrated that no matter how much money comes in... it seems that there is always as much money going out. I have felt many times over the last few months God's confirmation that this is where He has me, and yet I was frustrated that I seem to spin my wheels in the profitability department. But then, almost audibly, I heard God tell me, "Emmy... when did you hear me say that this business was for YOUR blessing?" I was reminded of my employees, who get to come to work when they want, for as long as they want, wearing what they want, and then get to take a paycheck home to their families. I was reminded of Penelope's amazing Nanny that gets to play with the cutest baby on the planet a few days a week, and then work on her own developing business on her days off. I was reminded of the many emails I have received from customers that LIVE by their planners. And most importantly, I was reminded of the opportunity that this business has given me to share God's glory with countless people that would otherwise have never heard my story. My finances have given me perspective.

Over the weekend I learned that a couple very close to me is getting divorced. There is no evidence of any tangible reason for this split other than that they are just two people that don't get along. My heart is broken. How quickly the devil sneaks in and whispers lies that tear people apart. I ache for this family and the devastation that is coming. I am reminded of how important it is to love our children, but keep our spouses as our first priority. I am reminded that the little things become big things when we aren't intentionally loving. I am reminded of how blessed I am that after 16 years, I still love my husband as much as the day I fell in love with him. This news has given me perspective.

Last night I saw a posting on Facebook that led me to this blog. I read Ashley's story about going in for a D & C, and waking up having had an emergency hysterectomy, and now facing chemotherapy for possibly cancerous cells that are attacking her body. It was a painful reminder of the day that I went in for a laparoscopy, and woke up having had both of my fallopian tubes removed, which meant that I officially could never again get pregnant naturally. Her husband's side of the story reminded me of my sweet husband, forced to make a decision on his own that would forever effect me. I am praying that Ashley's body will be fully healed and that the chemotherapy would wipe out anything that is trying to harm her body. And I am grateful that a very painful part of my life ultimately resulted in Nathan and me opening the door to adoption, which brought us the greatest treasure of all... our Penelope. Ashley has give me perspective.

What all of this is reminding me is that every day we have a choice. We choose the perspective that we are going to use to evaluate the circumstances in our lives. We all know a person that chooses to live life from the perspective of a victim. These people choose only to see the negative results of the circumstances that surround their trials. These people ask questions like "why me?", "what's next?", and "when will God bless me?" These people are tough to be around. They miss out on the flowers that grow after the rainstorms.

I want to be a person that chooses a different perspective. I want to be a person that says, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised." {Job1:21} I want to choose the perspective of finding ways to share God's glory in every season of my life. That is my perspective today.

What is your perspective?

Sacrificial Love

2011-10-04T21:45:00.000-07:00

I broke my toe last night. I have broken toes many times, but I have never really been 100% sure that they were actually broken... until last night.

I stubbed my right pinky toe on the coffee table. When I looked down at it, I saw what may have been the grossest thing I have ever seen. My cute little pinky toe was at a 90 degree angle to the rest of my toes.

I covered my eyes and screamed for Nathan to "fix it... fix it... fix it!!!" Here's what happened next:

My husband reached down and popped my toe back into place.
I heard a sound and felt a feeling I hope to never hear or see again.
Then I hyperventilated.
Then I started laughing/crying so hard that I snorted several times.
Then Nathan told me I should take a shot of tequila for the pain.
Then I had a glass of wine. {After the shot of tequila.}
Then I got mad at Nathan for not taking a picture before he popped it back into place.
Then I "slept" with a bag of frozen corn taped to my foot.

This morning when I noticed that my foot was swollen to twice its size and bruised halfway up my arch {with only a little exaggeration added for drama}, I decided to go get x-rays.

Turns out that my toe broke in half.

The doctor was super impressed with Nathan's popping job, because he said it was lined up perfectly. This only served to encourage my husband's "I'm practically a doctor" stance.

The doctor said that since I didn't want to use crutches {because how does one use crutches with a 6 month old baby???}, I have to wear this hideous shoe for the next 4 to 6 weeks!

I am now gimping all around, trying not to bend my foot, icing and elevating, and just generally a disaster.

But you know what? {Insert radical shift in tone here.} I have a heart and lungs that work. I can survive without the use of my pinky toe, but Sharlie will not survive without a new heart and lungs.

Have you Shopped for Sharlie yet?

I told you last week that my husband and I are going to match the donations of the first 100 people that purchase my Meal Planning Tutorial and Printable. I heard today that we have sold 69 so far!!! That is so amazing... I am blown away! Thank you so much to each and everyone one of you that has purchased it already.

But I want to sell 100. That is my goal: to raise $1,000 for Sharlie from this little blog.

So won't 31 more of you consider buying it???

Our Youth Pastor spoke in "big church" this week on a series called "Livin' Large". He said something that really hit me. He said, "Imitate your Father by living a sacrificial love for others."

It made me think about Sharlie, and this whole campaign. For myself {and I am guessing nearly all of my readers} $5 is not a sacrifice.

It is a skipped trip to Starbucks.
It is one less bag of chips at the grocery store.
It is one less magazine to read this week.

But it is not a sacrifice.

So now I am going to ask you to do something.

I'm going to ask you to go buy the $5 printable, but I am also going to ask you to give more.

Buy another printable or tutorial from one of my super talented and creative friends.
Buy advertising space for your blog or shop from one of the many blogs that is donating their proceeds.

Or just give. Give. As a sacrifice.
Give to show Sharlie love.
Give because Christ would give.
Give because you want to be more like Christ.

And then feel joy, knowing that you were a little more like Christ today.

I would love to hear what you are going to sacrifice this week in order to give a little more.

Now I am going to hobble up to bed, grateful that I have a mostly functioning body.

Become a Sharlie's Angel

2011-09-26T11:34:00.000-07:00

Good morning dear blog friends.

This morning, I am feeling inspired and blessed after an amazing day at Blog Sugar yesterday. I had a wonderful time seeing old friends, meeting some friends face-to-face for the first time, and making some new friends. And I am reminded that even though some people don't understand it... my bloggy friends are real friends. The relationships that I have built in this crazy blog world are real and important to me, and I value each and every one of you!

One of the panels I attended was run by Julie of Joy's Hope and Jeanett of Life Rearranged, and they reminded us all that whether we have 5 readers or 5,000, we have a captive audience that is actually listening to what we say, and that we should be using that platform to do good and share Christ.

So today I am so excited that you amazing people have come to read my blog, and I hope that you will allow me to share an incredible opportunity to do good.

My dear friend Jessica of Allora Handmade asked me to join her and an amazing group of women to help her best friend that is fighting a battle for her life. Here's a little bit of what Jessica would like you to know:

Sharlie is a wife and mom.
She loves to read.
She loves to laugh.
She has an infectious smile.
And the best hugs on the planet.
Sharlie is also awaiting a double lung AND heart transplant.
She is an inspiration.
A fighter.
A miracle.

Please go read Jessica's post to hear the whole story... as Jessica said, Sharlie has Cystic Fibrosis, and is awaiting a double lung and heart transplant. She is a woman that has beaten the odds, and then some. But she has a 4 year old son that needs her to come home.

Sharlie's family needs to raise about $250,000 to cover her medical bills. That seems daunting, I know. But if you break that down... If every person donated just $5, then it would take 50,000 donations. If every person that blogs about this fundraiser has 500-1000 readers, then only 50-100 bloggers would need to get their readers involved. That is totally do-able.

Let's do this!

Jessica has put together a shop full of goodies including some awesome tutorials and printables {all of which cost just $5} from some amazing women, and I am so humbled that she asked me to be a part. The best part is that 100% of the proceeds are going directly to Sharlie's family.

Please check out the shop, and check out my Meal Planning Made Easy tutorial and printables and tell me what you think!

My husband and I have been touched by this story and have decided that we would like to do a little extra. So for the first 100 of you that go and purchase my tutorial, we will match your donation! Please come back here and comment to let me know that you purchased it. I just know that we can do this!

Let's be one of the blogs that raises over $1,000!!!

I Have a Nemesis

2011-09-16T15:16:00.000-07:00

I have a Nemesis.

She doesn't know she's my Nemesis. In fact, she probably doesn't even know who I am.

But she is my Nemesis.

She makes planners. She started out her business doing invitations and announcements {just like I did}. But a few months after I started my calendar business, she introduced a line of planners. Don't get me wrong... I am NOT insinuating that she copied me. I guarantee that at that point {and, like I said, probably still} she had no idea who I was. It was just an unfortunate coincidence.

She is a much bigger deal than I am. She has a real office, and big giant printers the size of cars. She has a beautiful website and great products.

I want those things. So she is my Nemesis.

One of my employees is on her mailing list, and every time she comes out with something new and great my friend forwards me the email and I say, "Curse you, {insert Nemesis name here}."

It seems like I am constantly bombarded with her name. Yesterday, a bloggy friend of mine posted about her fabulous new planner that she just purchased from my Nemesis. It made me sad. Doesn't she know about my fabulous planners???

A few weeks ago I got an email from a customer telling me how excited she was about finding my plannesr, and how they are so much better than the ones my Nemesis makes {and she didn't even know that she was talking about my Nemesis}. It made my day.

I think I will frame it and put it in my office.

I realize that the heart of this matter is that I am jealous of a person that has already reached a level of success that I aspire to. I know I should not be coveting her business. I know that God has blessed my business, and will continue to bless it, and that maybe someday I too will have a real office and a giant printer the size of my car.

But in the meantime, I will just continue to refer to her as my Nemesis. Like Dr. Doofenshmirtz does with Perry the Platypus.

In a Stunned Daze

2011-08-18T09:27:00.000-07:00

I am a little speechless this morning, so I will try my best to put my feelings into words.

When we got Penelope, I knew that I had to take a break from my business. I waited a very long time for her, but even if I hadn't, who wants to miss those precious moments that you don't ever get back?

But I love my business.

For many reasons, including the fact that in less than 3 years I sold over 1500 calendars with almost no advertising, I know that God called me to this business and has blessed it beyond measure.

But there are days that I daydream about throwing in the towel and "just" being a housewife {believe me... I know that is not a just}.

This business is overwhelming at times. I work hard. I work a lot. And to be honest... up until this point, even though we sold almost $30,000 worth of calendars last year, I have made no money. No profit. Not one dime.

That is actually typical for a start up business. Normally, the first three years are profit-less, which is why many businesses fail. And I have to admit that after working nearly 15 hours a day last fall... I had to wonder if it was worth it.

But, like I said, I love my business. Love it, love it.

Then my sweet friend Lysa TerKeurst contacted me and asked if she could blog about her calendar that she loves.

I have done many blog giveaways. They generally don't generate many sales. I think this is because people are waiting to see if they win, and then by the time it's over they forget to order.

But I also know that Lysa is kind of a big deal. She is a New York Times Best-Selling Author, the President of Proverbs 31 Ministries, and one of the coolest people I know. So I expected that I would get at least some orders out of this promotion.

Like, maybe 10.

Yesterday at about 11am our time Lysa's blog went up.

By 11:45 I had received 20 orders. 20!

By day's end... 56 orders, and over 60 calendars sold. The highest single day sales we have ever had.

I spent the majority of my day running back and forth to the computer to re-list items as they sold out. My parents kept calling me to tell me all the wonderful things people were saying about Much Ado About You on Lysa's blog.

When I woke up this morning, I had 8 new orders.

There are currently 578 comments on Lysa's blog posting. {Head on over there and comment if you want a chance to win.}

I am amazed. Stunned. Shocked. Overwhelmed. But mostly grateful. Grateful. Grateful.

Oops... I gotta go. Two more orders just came in... I gotta go re-list some items.

It's Been a While, So...

2011-08-09T12:20:00.000-07:00

You're welcome.

So Much Excitement

2011-07-29T08:56:00.000-07:00

I am on the edge of my seat!

I can't wait for the shop to re-open on Monday!!!

There are so many things to tell you about... so many new features and products... a new website... LOWER PRICES!

I am going to be working all weekend to get everything in place, but for now, a sneak peek:

EEK! Are you excited too?

Christmas in July

2011-07-27T18:21:00.000-07:00

Today I drove by a house that had icicle Christmas lights up, and a light-up plastic Jesus, Mary and Joseph on the roof.

Clearly, they do not live in an association, but don't you think just one of their neighbors would suggest they take it down? Or take it down for them in the middle of the night???

Maybe they are just really efficient and they put them up for this Christmas.

Regardless... it made me feel much better about the state of affairs in the Blakely household.

Don't Bother Me... I'm Pinning

2011-07-25T08:28:00.000-07:00

Some things I have been pinning lately:

Source: deliacreates.blogspot.com via Emmy on Pinterest

Chore Blocks! How much fun are these? I LOVE this idea.

Source: None via Emmy on Pinterest

I am obsessed with this backsplash! I want it. Now.

Source: simplykellyblog.com via Emmy on Pinterest

If only my office were ever this clean. Right now I'm not even sure you would be able to tell what color my desk is.

Source: realmomkitchen.com via Emmy on Pinterest

We made this for dinner last night, and it was delicious! Big hit. If you're looking for a super easy recipe to feed a big crowd this summer... this is it! We also grilled some pineapple slices, and I made rosemary infused white rice. If you have a rice cooker {which everyone should}, cook white rice in part water and part pineapple juice and add a few sprigs of rosemary on top. I removed the rosemary when it was done cooking. Yummy.

Source: leilockheart.me via Emmy on Pinterest

My friends say I have a knack for repeating the same story with the exact same details every time. Hey... at least I don't exaggerate.

Alright... of to try to get some actual work done. ONE WEEK UNTIL THE SHOP REOPENS!!! EEK!

Drive an Hour

2011-07-13T22:12:00.000-07:00

I want to know what you would drive an hour for.

Today I drove an hour for a Bob's Big Boy burger. It was worth it.

That's my mom and Penelope... and Bob.

I love a good burger, and Bob's has one of the best. And you know what the best part is? It's $7.99 for a burger {which means a double burger, because that's how Bob makes them... yes, I know that Bob is not actually the chef}, fries and a salad. That's a good deal.

So what would you drive an hour for?

If I Marry Nathan Again, Can I Have Another Wedding, Please???

2011-07-11T15:01:00.000-07:00

I had an amazing wedding. It was a beautiful, fun day. It was {almost} everything I had ever dreamed of {and yes, I was the girl that had started my wedding portfolio when I was 10 years old}.

At the time, I would not have done much differently. {Except for my dress. I hated my dress.}

But I have to admit, if I was getting married today... it would be so different.

I would have a destination wedding.
I would get married outdoors.
My bridesmaids would all have different dresses, and the men would not wear tuxedos.
I would have a small wedding.
It would be very eclectic, and very vintage.
I would not do my own flowers.
There would be a swing band.
I would wear leopard print shoes.

I envy today's bride. With the popularity of DIY and handmade products I feel like there are so many more creative options for adding a personal touch to your wedding.

I keep telling Nathan that I want to have another wedding, and I think he's starting to worry that I may go looking for a new groom. NOT A CHANCE. But can I just marry Nathan again?

I recently came across Erin + Brett's wedding on green wedding shoes.

Oh. My. Gosh.

This might be... no, this is the most fabulous wedding I have ever seen! I wish I had been there. Plus, they look like a super fun couple. I want to be friends with them.

Here's a little sampling {photos by Gabriel Ryan Photographers}:

Isn't it fabulous??? You must head over to green wedding shoes to check out the entire posting. There are so many details that you are going to want to see. You can also check out Erin's blog here.

Oh, and my wedding would have umbrellas. Somewhere.

Mani-Pedi Time

2011-07-06T10:03:00.000-07:00

For the fourth of July I decided to give myself a festive mani-pedi.

Then I remembered why it is worth every penny of the $29 to have it done at a salon. I kind of made a mess of my nails. I wanted my toes to be blue with white polka dots, and my fingers to be red and white striped.

The stripes didn't happen.

But in my attempt to figure out how to make lovely stripes I went on Pinterest to search for nail art.

Now, let me be clear about one thing here: not unlike my feelings about clear bra straps, I think nail art has a time and a place, but for the most part is tacky. Sorry.

If anything, I prefer the fanciness to stick to the toe region.

I have to admit, I found some pretty cool options that I would love to try {read: have someone try for me}.

Source: weheartit.com via Emmy on Pinterest

Source: thebeautydepartment.com via Emmy on Pinterest

Source: heynicenails.com via Emmy on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Emmy on Pinterest

Source: weheartit.com via Emmy on Pinterest

Source: hercoffin.net via Emmy on Pinterest

Source: polyvore.com via Emmy on Pinterest

Source: weheartthis.com via Emmy on Pinterest

Source: weheartit.com via Emmy on Pinterest

Source: polyvore.com via Emmy on Pinterest

Source: chloesnails.blogspot.com via Emmy on Pinterest

Source: frmheadtotoe.com via Emmy on Pinterest

But I also found these beauties. Ladies... please don't try this at home:

Source: google.com via Emmy on Pinterest

Source: rina-alcantara.com via Emmy on Pinterest

Source: lemondrop.com via Emmy on Pinterest

Source: weheartit.com via Emmy on Pinterest

Source: blogs.nailsmag.com via Emmy on Pinterest

Source: None via Emmy on Pinterest

Source: nevertoomuchglitter.wordpress.com via Emmy on Pinterest

Lenny Kravitz and Me

2011-06-30T17:52:00.000-07:00

Two days ago, my friend Paige of Pink Lemonade posted this picture on Pinterest:

I had to have one. So I immediately went on Amazon and found out that they also come in red.

That evening I saw this:

Today, I look like this:

Rockin' this phone makes me feel like a baller.

The fact that Paige {who is 15} didn't know who Lenny Kravitz is makes me feel like an old lady.

Instafriday

2011-06-24T08:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Lindsey of The Pleated Poppy ever so generously "linked up" my WIWW {well, Thursday} post for me because I am still a little bloggy lame and have not figured out how to do that fancy thing.

Today, I decided I. will. learn.

So I am {hopefully} linking up with Jeanett over at Life Rearranged for Instafriday!

So here is my week, via my cell phone:

We had to drain our fountains so that the state will let us finalize our adoption.

Beau and Peeps hung out on the couch.

Peeps decided that she loves Sesame Street.

I saw these in the Nordy's catalog, and decided that I may have to change my mind about Tom's.

I learned how to use Illustrator. Sort of. Well... enough to make a header for my new website. Stay tuned!

Peeps slept. A lot. And didn't like it when she had to wake up to eat.

Beau went rock climbing.

I enjoyed about 20 minutes of heaven... watching The Sound of Music with my two favorite girls.

Donna and I finished working on a new product, and sent it off to the printer! {Eek!}

So that's it. That was my week. Oh and Beau finished 2nd grade, my dad and I finished building my boutique booth, Beau and my dad started painting it, Beau moved up a level in swimming, I cleaned out my garage, and lots of other mundane little things happened.

What I Wore... Thursday???

2011-06-23T21:19:00.000-07:00

I had hoped to post this yesterday, but yesterday came and went.

So here is my What I Wore Thursday.

Jeans by CAbi

I can't remember where I got the top... but I know it was cheap and I've had it forever and I wear it all the time. It's comfy.

Shoes by Jessica Simpson

Necklace by Allora Handmade

I love how my Allora necklace turns jeans and a tee into an outfit.

i heart chevron

2011-06-21T19:49:00.000-07:00

I have decided that I love chevron. There. I said it.

Now I'll show you why.

And I couldn't resist this one! Penelope needs these:

For the sources of all of these images, and to see even more fabulous chevron finds, check out my i heart chevron board on Pinterest.

The Great Debate

2011-06-10T16:43:00.000-07:00

Last night I went to the grocery store while Nathan stayed home with four sleeping children {we were watching my sister's kids}.

It was not a great time to go to the grocery store. I was hungry. It was one of those trips.

When I got home I pulled out my first of what would be many snacks from my score:

Nathan was apparently disgusted and told me that no one buys 3 Musketeers. He said that getting a 3 Musketeers bar at Halloween is equivalent to getting a toothbrush.

So I posted this on Facebook:

"Raise your hand if you like 3 Musketeers bars. My husband and I are in the middle of a heated candy debate."

Well apparently there are some strong feelings about candy, because I got 43 comments on my post!

And as it turns out, the majority of my Facebook friends agree with Nathan, but only by a small margin. So I am hopeful that my loyal blog followers will back me up on this one! Let's hear it friends... who out there loves a good 3 Musketeers??? C'mon... the fluffy middle... what's not to like?

Let's hear it for the 3 Musketeers!

You're the Boss: Business Cards

2011-06-09T15:55:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I realize that I have never finished my You're the Boss series. It's possible that someday I will get to those last two points. It is possible. But in the meantime I thought we could have a little chat about business cards.

I told you I have been obsessed with Pinterest. I have also told you that I am working on a lot of changes for the shop. So one thing that I have been searching for on Pinterest is cool business cards. It is true that first impressions are lasting and important, and that is true for your business as well. Your business cards should be cute, creative, quality, and most importantly... representative of your business.

Here are a few that I found that make me want to know more about these businesses:

{source: oh, hello friend}

You have to check out the post on this one to see exactly how darling these cards are. These are stand-outs for sure!

{source: Sunday Collector}

I love the simplicity of these cards, and the fact that they are super economical. Plus, if she got tired of this style, she can still use the same stamp to create a whole new look.

{source: Timeless Paper}

I love the extra detail of the bird punch. There are so many shape punches out there these days, you're certain to find one that would suit your business. And while this may look like an expensive option, consider how you could order standard business cards and fancy them up with your favorite shape punch.

{source: simple + pretty}

Are you kidding me??? First of all, who doesn't love a library pocket card? This is perfection.

{source: FPO}

I love the vintage feel of these cards. Only problem, as FPO points out, is that you would have to have really big pockets to carry your roll of business cards around in.

Are you inspired??? I'm headed over to Etsy now!

More Sneaks

2011-06-06T08:34:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited this morning! I finally convinced Nathan to spend a day off working for me, so yesterday we started making some changes to the interior of the calendars. Don't worry... we are not changing the main structure... just some interior decorating.

The Queen Bee Market {which I sure hope to get into} is two months from today, and I can't wait to debut all this newness there!!!

For now... enjoy:

Things that I am Thinking About

2011-05-31T16:54:00.000-07:00

This post was inspired by my friend Jessica at Allora Handmade. Her post today made me giggle. Jessica recently moved, and today she said, "my mind is still packed in boxes."

I feel like my mind is being thrown out with the diapers!

So, in the spirit of trying to regain my brain, here's my list of ramblings:

1. I am currently obsessed with Cold Case Files. There are 2 episodes on a day, and I record them and watch them as soon as I am alone {well, with Penelope}. They are inappropriate for Beau and Nathan hates those kinds of shows. But the other night when I got up at 3 o'clock in the morning to feed Penelope and found myself freaking out over the creaks and the shadows, it made me think that it may be time to stop watching shows about serial killers.

2. I have spent the last two years building a Calendar Empire, and focusing solely on trying to make the best calendars ever. But with all the time I have had on my hands lately, I have been working on some new products and I am super excited about it. The creative wheels are turning!!!

3. I hate spit-up.

4. I love sweet baby noises {P is making some now as she sleeps in my arms}.

5. I am amazingly talented with one hand. I can now type, load laundry, put on my make-up, and make sandwiches.. all with one hand.

6. I am grateful for friends, customers, and blog readers who are understanding of the fact that I have over 800 emails in my inbox that I have not responded to.

7. No matter how many times a day I "tidy up", my house is always a mess! Baby paraphernalia is killing me!!!

Sneak Peek

2011-05-29T21:50:00.000-07:00

So I have started working on reinventing Much Ado About You. If I am going to survive having a baby and running a business, some things are going to have to change.

Can I tell you how excited I am about the changes that are in store???

Here's all I will say for now: more products, new options, exciting additions, and lower prices.

Are you intrigued? Okay, then I will give you one more tidbit.

Here is a sneak peek:

I've been planning this for 7 years...

2011-05-23T21:18:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend we had a party to celebrate Penelope with some of the friends and family that have helped to carry us through the last seven years.

It was an amazing day.

Here are some snapshots from the day:

And here are some bonus pics from the weekend, but not from the party:

Have You Found Pinterest Yet?

2011-05-18T11:15:00.000-07:00

Confession time: I have not finished Indie Business 3.0. In fact, since we got back from Utah, I have completely forgotten about it!

In all honesty, the only thing that made me think about it today was that I decided to tell you about Pinterest, and I was trying to remember where I heard about Pinterest. Oh yeah... it was in Indie Biz!

I'm going to have to get back to that someday.

In the meantime, I am obsessed with Pinterest. If you haven't heard of it yet... sorry. You are now going to be obsessed with it too. {Did I mention they just came out with an iPhone Ap???}

Basically, Pinterest is a virtual pinboard. My favorite part is that the pictures are linked to their source, so if there's a picture of a diy project, for example, you can find the tutorial by clicking on the picture and being taken to the original link.

Oh, and if you link to your Facebook or Twitter account, you will automatically be linked to your friends boards.

This is me "pinning":

Notice the adorable feet in my lap?

Here's what one of my boards looks like {from the iPhone ap}:

Now, there's one catch... you can search Pinterest and peruse boards as much as you like, but to create your own you have to have an account. And to have an account, you have to be invited to join. I haven't done any inviting yet, so I'm not sure if there is a limit, but if you want to be invited give me your email address and I will try to get you in!

Happy pinning!

Solutions

2011-05-05T13:55:00.000-07:00

I just have to say how touched I am that some of my customers have had desperate responses to my decision to close up shop until August. It means a lot to me that you all love your calendars so much so that you can't imagine life without one!

If you are a customer whose calendar will end some time between now and August, please email me.

I have a proposition to get you through until we re-open shop.

Big Changes, Big Decisions

2011-05-02T09:06:00.000-07:00

It's so hard to believe that Penelope is one month old.

These past four weeks have been full of images that I never thought I would see around my house again.

I realized yesterday that I am not willing to give up any of the precious moments with this baby girl that I have waited seven long years to cherish.

So I have made a very big decision, and I am so giddy about it that I know it is the right choice.

Much Ado About You will remain closed until August 2011

From here on out, our shop will be open each year from August through February, closing each spring and summer for a little R & R and to spend some time designing and developing new products.

We are working on a plan to accommodate our valued clients whose calendars will expire during the months that our shop is closed, and we will be contacting those people in the coming days.

Thank you so much for your continued support!!! I am so thankful to have a business that allows me the opportunity to enjoy my family!

Jehovah-jirah

2011-04-08T18:10:00.000-07:00

The God who provides. That is who we serve.

I could spend hours telling you all about this last week, but I would rather spend that time snuggling my little girl {or sleeping}, so instead I will just share with you all the ways that the Lord has provided for our family to bring this tiny little miracle into our lives.

*At a time of great mourning for our family, God provided a source of rejoicing when we received a phone call on the way to my cousin's funeral telling us that we had been chosen by a birth mom to raise her baby girl.

*My sister {who allowed me to be in the delivery room for the arrival of both of her children} was able to come to Utah with us to help us ease into a family of four.

*We prayed for a smooth and easy delivery for our birth mom, and God provided exactly that.

*Brooke specifically prayed for a little baby {to decrease the chances of a c-section, which would have cost us more money}, and God provided a teeny, tiny, vaginally-delivered 5 pound, 7 ounce baby.

*When we realized at the wee hour of 6:15am that we were not all going to fit in one car and be able to get our luggage to the airport, one desperate phone call resulted in Brooke's husband Darren pulling into our driveway within minutes.

*Worrying that we would then not be able to fit in our rental car, God provided an unexpected and free upgrade from Enterprise to a brand new Expedition that offered us just enough space for the five of us and all our paraphernalia.

*We randomly chose to stay at the Residence Inn, which turned out to be a wonderful home away from home, with an amazing staff that even brought us a gift for the baby... an adorable stuffed giraffe that sings lullabies.

*Part way through the week we found out that Darren had found a family in our church that owns a 7,000+ square foot luxury home in Park City that was offering for us to stay there for free, saving us about $600 in hotel fees.

There have been so many moments this week that have confirmed that Penelope is the baby that God has intended for our family... the reason that we have had to wait seven long years to meet her.

In case there was ever a doubt, let me tell you that certainly Jehovah-jirah exists. Our God has provided.

Penelope Susan Blakely

2011-04-01T22:44:00.000-07:00

Wow... where to begin???

This has been such a crazy, crazy, amazing week. After arriving home from Justin's funeral, we spent three days cleaning, painting, shopping and preparing to come to Utah to meet our baby. The plan was for us to arrive in Utah on Thursday morning, have lunch with the birth mom and our agency reps, and then for the birth mom to check into the hospital on Friday morning at 7:00am to be induced.

Late Wednesday night as we finished packing for our 8:00am flight, we got a call from the agency. The birth mom's water had broken and she was on her way to the hospital!

We tried so hard to sleep, but only managed about three and a half hours. Leaving for the airport Thursday morning was the most chaotic experience we have ever had leaving for a trip. I cannot even tell you what a disaster we left behind!!! I didn't even make my bed.

At 6:15am we realized that we were not all going to fit in my mom's car with the ridiculous parafenalia that we were taking along, so I frantically called Brooke's house to get another driver. Darren was in our driveway in less than 3 minutes... thank goodness for good friends that live close!

We arrived at the airport in the nick of time, and as we checked in for our flight we received a text that our baby girl had been born. At 8:12am our tiny, tiny, 5 pound, 7 ounce, 18 inch long little peanut was born.

We had to wait a whole day to meet her, but this afternoon we were finally introduced to our little Penelope Susan Blakely.

She is perfect.

We have had an absolutely perfect trip. {Other than trying to upload photos for this blog, everything has gone well. I cannot get a single picture of Penelope and me to upload. Urgh!} God has provided in so many big and small ways, and we have gotten confirmation after confirmation that this is our special little girl and the reason we have had to wait seven years for her to join our family.

We got to meet the birth mom today, and that was perfect too. She is amazing, and we are eternally grateful for her strength and courage in bringing Penelope into this world.

There is so much more to tell, but I am exhausted, and I need to go to sleep so that I can wake up and go get my baby.

And Baby Makes 4

2011-03-26T22:15:00.000-07:00

This week has been an emotional roller coaster.

On Wednesday afternoon as I packed to come to my cousin's funeral, I got a call from our adoption agency saying that they would like to present us to a birth mom. This was the second such call that we have received. We got the first one a few weeks ago, and after six long days we finally heard back that the birth mom had chosen another family. So when I got this second call I quickly put it out of my mind, figuring that we wouldn't hear back right away, and preoccupied with the thought of heading to a funeral.

Thursday afternoon, when we were stopped in San Luis Obispo for lunch on our way to San Jose {yes, we know the way to San Jose... I couldn't resist} we got another call from the agency telling us that the birth mother had chosen us to be her baby's family. *Did you hear that???* Chosen us.

So in a parking structure in San Luis Obispo we got to tell Beau that he was going to have a baby sister.

{My sister took these pictures with her camera phone, so excuse the quality.}

Friday morning, while I was at my cousin's funeral, I got a voice message letting us know that we need to be in Salt Lake City by Thursday because they are inducing on Friday. THIS FRIDAY.

So {no April Fool's here} our baby girl will be joining our family in just six short days, on April 1st.

Can I tell you that we serve a God of miracles?

And how nice it was to be able to share such wonderful news with our entire family. It was a little something to rejoice about at a time when there would normally not be too much rejoicing.

Thank you to all who have been praying for Justin's family. Stephanie has been amazingly graceful and a picture of strength. We got some good news that my Aunt Jodi seems to have a good prognosis. They are still running some tests, but my cousin {her son that is a Physician} is hopeful and encouraging. For those of you that are curious, Aunt Jodi has been diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma which is a cancer of the plasma cells in bone marrow.

Despite the circumstances, we have had a wonderful weekend with our family. Today we spent the day watching old videos of past family reunions and making fun of ridiculously short shorts {on men}, big teeth and awkward stages.

We are heading home tomorrow. I am anticipating an overwhelming week of trying to prepare a nursery, make travel arrangements, and shop for baby essentials. All amazingly good things that I have been looking forward to for a long time.

Please continue to pray for Stephanie and Aunt Jodi.

And please pray that everything will go smoothly with our adoption. Pray for this birth mom... that she would be blessed with a smooth delivery and confidence that she is making the right decision for her baby. Pray that papers would be signed and processed quickly so that we can come home soon as a family of four.

Updates on my Family

2011-03-21T22:19:00.000-07:00

First of all, thank you so much to all who have been praying for our family. It has been a difficult week, to say the least.

People keep asking me if I was close to my cousin. Our family lives all over the country, and has my whole life. We don't see each other nearly as often as we would like to. But we are one of those families that, when we do get in the same room, it is like no time has passed. I love each one of them dearly. I have special memories of each one. In fact, because our visits tend to be too few and too far between, we seem to cherish them even more. Justin was my next closest cousin, age-wise {out of the 10 of us on my mom's side}. To say I absolutely adored him is an understatement. To say that when I was a little girl I maybe wished he wasn't my cousin so I could marry him {while inappropriate} is certainly true. I loved him. Yes, I was close to him.

It turns out that Justin did not die of a heart attack. It was Sudden Cardiac Arrest, which means that his heart was healthy and he died basically instantaneously. If you are interested in more information about SCA, my cousin Jared {Justin's brother and best friend} who is an ER Doctor has set up a blog: Updates on my Brother.

I will probably be fairly absent this week as we prepare to take our trip to San Jose for the funeral.

Please continue to pray for Stephanie and her babies, and for my Aunt Jodi who is currently in Chicago having testing done to determine just how far her cancer has progressed.

Thank you again for your support! I can't tell you how much each and every comment means to me.

Hug your Husband

2011-03-17T14:13:00.000-07:00

My cousin Justin died yesterday.

There is just no way to sugar coat that awful truth.

{I am so grateful that we got to share one last dance.}

My favorite cousin, a young father of three with one on the way, an amazing man... died yesterday morning in bed with his wife from a heart attack.

As if that news wasn't devastating enough, we also found out yesterday that my aunt {Justin's mom} has cancer.

The last several weeks I have been working on writing a bible study on Infertility, mainly focusing on why God allows suffering. I have been studying Job, and reading about his response when everything was stripped away from him... loss after devastating loss. And yet his faith never crumbled. Job praised the Lord in the midst of unthinkable loss.

“I came naked from my mother’s womb,
      and I will be naked when I leave.
   The Lord gave me what I had,
      and the Lord has taken it away.
   Praise the name of the Lord!”

Job 1:21-22

In times such as these, it would be so easy to blame God, to be angry with God, to curse, complain, weep, and wail at God, but today I am clinging to the promise that "in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." {Romans 8:28}

While my family is shocked by the news and events of yesterday, God is not surprised. I find comfort and hope in that truth.

Please pray for our family at this time.

Pray for Justin's wife Stephanie, and for the health of her unborn baby. I do not want to even begin to imagine the pain and sorrow she is experiencing. Pray for an unexplainable peace and for strength to get her through these next few days of decision making and funeral preparation.

Pray for my Aunt Jodi who is not only facing the reality that she will never again be able to hold her baby in her arms, but is also facing the battle of her life, fighting against these horrible cancer cells that have invaded her body. Pray for strength for her... strength to fight.

Pray for my Uncle Ed who has lost his son, and now needs to walk his wife through a painful journey of treatment.

Pray for Justin's brothers and sister, for peace at a time when their whole world seems to be crumbling.

And pray for those three beautiful boys that are facing a lifetime without their daddy.

Now go hug your husband. Hold on tight and don't let go. Tell him how much you love him, and how important he is to you. Remember that this lifetime is but a blip, and use this as a reminder that our focus should be on eternity.

A Little DIY Wednesday

2011-03-16T08:58:00.000-07:00

My mind is full. I am so engrossed in my Indie Biz 3.0 course, that I have 9 million thoughts all ramming into each other in my tiny little head. {Really... I have a tiny head. I think it is out of proportion with the rest of my body. It's why my big curly hair works for me.}

Yesterday I spent some time designing what I want my market booth to look like this year, and in turn decided that I need a retro little desk that I can paint aqua. {So if you have a retro little desk that you want to sell me, or if you see one on Craig's List or at a garage sale... give me a shout.}

This has inspired my DIY creativity.

So this morning, I would like to inspire yours. Here are some fabulous DIY projects that I thought you might enjoy. Please to enjoy...

I found this Office Lamp Makeover at Just a Girl:

I need this lamp for my office. Oh! Or maybe for my new market booth. Hmmm.

I am currently obsessed with all things bird, so this Pretty Bird Wall Art from Blue Cricket Design is definitely calling my name:

I think this Picket Fence Headboard from Addicted to Decorating makes a fantastic quick and cheap room makeover.

Now, if aren't afraid to use tools, or you have a husband who will help you, or your brother-in-law has a woodworking workshop in his garage {all of which are true for me}, this Driftwood Candle Holder from Restoration House may be for you:

Of course, if you don't live near the ocean I think this would work just as well with any branch.

And finally {my very favorite project that I am now dying to try}, this fab-u-lous IKEA Rast Dresser Makover from Marcus Design:

Is that not the cutest thing you have ever seen??? She made two of these dressers for just under $125 people! That's ridiculous. I love it!

Who else is inspired to get a little messy???

Why I Shop at Nordstrom: Part 2

2011-03-14T10:32:00.000-07:00

As promised {and before I begin my rant} I have the winners of last week's contest! Thank you so much to all who participated. I had no idea when I started this contest how much all your comments were going to bless my week. It was wonderful to hear all the accolades for my friends.

Now, the winners.

The blog/shop owner that got the most comments was

Lisa from Jomestic Doi!

{You may be confused because it looks, by numbers, like Paige actually got more comments, but there were several commenters there that deleted their first comment and wrote another one, which made it look like there were more than there were. It was a very close call though... Paige ended up with 25 comments, Lisa with 28.}

Congrats Lisa. I can't wait to send you your new calendar!

And as for the commenters... Amy had our winning comment with:

I read Lisa's blog regularly and what I love about it is the wonderful mix of fashion and style posts, handy kitchen and cooking recipes and information, family life posts and real sharing from her heart. I am fortunate to be an IRL friend of Lisa's and I think she's fabulous :). And when I made her refried beans, I am a rock star here at home!!

Amy, please contact me so I can tell you how to claim your prize!

*******************************

Okay, now on to my regularly scheduled rant.

A couple of weeks ago I was at the mall and I had parked outside of Macy's {which I rarely do anymore because I hate even walking through that store}. On my way back to my car I was walking through the Men's Shoe department and I noticed that their Converse were on sale, and Nathan had been asking me to get him a new pair. I decided to try something different and get him the lace-less kind {since it takes him an inordinate amount of time to tie his laces}. Well, it turns out that lace-less shoes are really only cute on kids. Which meant... ugh!... I had to go back to Macy's to exchange them.

I arrived at Macy's on Friday morning already in a pretty foul mood because I was having a rough week. Of course, there were no sales people to be found. Anywhere. I stood at the register for about 5 minutes waiting for someone to show up, thinking maybe they had gone to grab some shoes for the gentleman that was perusing the sale rack. But when I finally asked him if he had seen any sales people, he said that he had not. So I walked over to the back room door and yelled back there... hello???

Of course, a salesman came right out. What the heck was he doing back there??? Who leaves a sales floor empty for several minutes without at least peaking out to see if anyone is waiting? Rule #1 of customer service, dude!

Anyway, I told him that I wanted to exchange the lace-less shoes for the one with laces. Of course, they didn't have the laced ones in Nathan's size, so he told me he would ship them to me. He processed my return {which took a while}, and started ringing up the purchase to be shipped. Immediately I noticed that a $9.95 charge came up on the screen for shipping. $9.95 on $39.99 shoes??? I said, I'm not going to have to pay shipping, am I? {Thinking in my head that I know that my beloved Nordstrom would not charge me for shipping.} Oh no, he promised. There would be no shipping charges.

The next 10 minutes {I had now been there about 20} were spent spelling and re-spelling my address. Finally, he was ready to take my payment. Only, once again, the $9.95 for shipping showed up on the screen. I thought I didn't have to pay for shipping... it is still showing the shipping charge. Oh... he says, the shipping is only free if your total is over $50.

Are you kidding me??? At this point, that man needed me to get out of Macy's as fast as possible. I was not full of Christ's love in that moment. Nope. Not even close.

He gave me my card back and I informed him that this is why I shop at Nordstrom and I stormed out of the store and over to Nordstrom.

Nordstrom had the same shoes, for $64.95. I asked the salesman {who immediately asked if I needed any help} if they would price match. Sure! was his response. They also didn't have Nathan's size, but guess what??? They shipped them to me for free! And the entire process, from arriving in the department to completing my transaction took three minutes. Three. And you know what else? I ended up buying three more pairs of shoes there.

Nordstrom knows what they're doing. One more reason why I shop there.

If you own your own business, think about these things. What can you do to offer the very best customer service? I follow the Nordstrom philosophy, and know excellent customer service always pays off in the long run. I strive for people to one day say, that is why I shop at Much Ado About You.

P.S. its in the details

2011-03-11T08:00:00.000-08:00

Today is the last day of our little blog contest. I really had no idea how much I was going to enjoy introducing you to my friends. I have been so blessed to read the wonderful comments that you all have left! Keep it up!

This morning I would like you to introduce you to someone who truly inspires my creativity. Bloggies... meet Patty of
P.S. it's in the details

I came across Patty's shop last year and fell in love with items like this:

and this:

and who wouldn't love these:

I immediately saw visions of incorporating her embellishments into my own designs. With her permission... these entered my line:

Patty also has a blog, where you can actually find paper crafting inspiration. {You may have thought you were going to find that here, on a blog called "Confessions of a Paper Freak", but here you will definitely find more confessions than paper. My husband teases me about that all the time.}

She's got some great scrapbook layouts, features of her beautiful products, and this super fantastic project that I think I am going to have to try!

Go check out her blog, then when you decide it would be much easier to buy these things than create them yourself... go check out her shop. I just did {again}, and I am thinking you just might see some more P.S. it's in the details items in the 2012 Much Ado About You line!

Go on now... then come back here and give Patty some love.

Have a great weekend!

Simply Handmade by Paige

2011-03-10T08:00:00.000-08:00

When I grow up, I want to be like Paige. Except she is eighteen years younger than me, so I guess... too late!

Good morning blog friends! Today I would like to introduce you to Paige of
Simply Handmade

Let me start by saying that Paige. blows. me. away.

She has a blog {which currently has over 800 followers}.
She has a shop {in which she sells the most adorable things}.
She is amazingly talented at building and promoting her business.
She loves Jesus and isn't ashamed of it.

Oh... and did I mention that she is 15!!!

The best part about Paige's blog is that recently, alomst everyday she has been showing us the super cute outfit she is wearing. She is a great bargain shopper, and has fantastic style. I mean... look at her:

She also has some great tutorials like this one, and this one.

In her shop, you can find these amazing items:

I need to meet Paige's mom someday, because if I have a daughter I want her to be like Paige. And if I don't, I want my son to marry a girl like Paige.

Go check her out. You may be stuck there for a while. But then come back here and give Paige some more love. Let's make her day!

Jomestic Doi

2011-03-09T08:00:00.000-08:00

Okay... I am about to do something that people will tell me I never should have done.

Here it is:

{Insert uproarious laughter here.}

You're welcome. Yes, this was me in my freshman year of high school. {Are you beginning to understand why I maybe wasn't first choice for the cheerleading squad??? And did you notice my awesome digital watch? In our defense... this was the morning after a night of camping. BTW, that sleeping bag that I am laying on is still in my garage. I tried to take it to the Good Will the other day then Brooke went and made me all sentimental about it, so I just couldn't do it.}

That girl on the other side is Lisa. She's the girl I want to introduce you to today. Sorry Lisa. I had to do it. But to be fair... this is Lisa now:

Isn't she darling?

Without getting too terribly gushy and serious here, I have to say in all honesty that having Lisa in my life at this stage makes my heart happy. Last year Lisa donated some items to my Adoption Raffle, and I told you this:

When I was in Junior High I had a friend named Lisa.
We were typical Junior High "friends".
We were nice to each other when it was convenient, we competed over other friends, we were snide at times.

In High School we basically went our separate ways.

Then a few years ago we ran into each other at a mutual friends' bridal shower.
We were both a little nervous {you know that feeling that sends you right back to the insecurity of adolescence?}, but it tuned out that neither of us was still a silly little Junior Higher!

Over this last year I have had the joy of sharing life stories with Lisa through our blogs. I have come to depend on her comments, and can rely on the fact that just when I am feeling like nothing I say is important or worth while {or intelligible} Lisa will sweep in with some amazingly encouraging comment that turns my day around.

Lisa and I have a lot of similarities {like we love being mommies, love Jesus, love creating}, but one major difference between us is that I pimp myself out relentlessly and Lisa sits humbly in her blog corner.

It makes me sad that the world is missing out on the beautiful jewels that spew from Lisa's brain, like this one and this brilliant one here.

Lisa also shares lots of yummy recipes, fun budgeting tips, home decor ideas, and crafty projects.

So please, pretty please... go check out Jomestic Doi here.

Then come back here and tell everyone else why they should go check it out.

No. 17 Cherry Tree Lane

2011-03-08T08:00:00.000-08:00

In case you hadn't noticed from my shop... I like retro. So when I first saw this blog, and this shop, and read this:

My name is Rachel and I’m a 1950’s housewife, stuck in 2010. I'm married to my high school sweetheart, Sean. I stay at home with my daughter Kensington. Together, we bake cookies, wander garage sales, color with crayons, eat spaghetti, twirl to records and give hugs.

It's a good life.

Oh, and we watch Mary Poppins. A lot.

I knew that I liked Rachel. A lot.

I also think that my hubby would like her hubby because he apparently does stuff like this:

which would make Nathan's heart skip a beat. He loves vacuum lines in carpet. I don't do that for him. Maybe I will for his next birthday.

Anyway, today I would like to introduce you to Rachel of
Number 17 Cherry Tree Lane

Rachel has a great blog with fantastic snippits like this one from just last week, and this one here that is one of my favorites.

She also has a shop where she sells adorable vintage treasures that she collects while wandering those garages sales.

Like this:

and these:

and this to-die for little number:

Rachel doesn't live that far away from me, so I am hoping that we will get to make a real-life connection someday soon.

Go spend some time on her blog and you will want to be her friend too.

Then come back here and gush about how amazing her style is.

Hippo Brigade

2011-03-07T08:00:00.000-08:00

Good morning sweet blog friends! Did you have a nice weekend? I had a great weekend. Great. Before I introduce you to another friend I just have to super quick tell you about my amazing weekend.

First, I got my new machine! {Insert the sound of a choir of angels signing.} I will tell you more about this later, but so far as I can tell... this thing is going to revolutionize my business. I am giddy.

Friday night we had an impromptu dinner with one of our very favorite families on the planet, the Witts. That was fun.

Saturday I finally shipped off my old printer that I hate so much so that I can finally get my money back! Then we had another one of our very favorite families on the planet, the Moras over for the most fantastically fantastic dinner, which included deep fried avocados. Maybe I'll tell you about that sometime.

Sunday we had a great morning at church and then finally got our garage all cleaned out of the last of the boxes and I hung up my super fabulous glittered chandeliers that my hubby bought me for Christmas {again... more on that some other time}.

Now I am ready to tell you about another friend of mine.

Bloggies... please meet Beckey of Hippo Brigade

Doesn't she just look fun?

I was "introduced" to Beckey last year when I first started to blog. She is a friend of Brooke's sister, and Brooke thought that I would get a kick out of her blog. {Apparently Brooke finds the time to check in on Beckey's blog... when was the last time you think she stopped by here??? I'm just saying.}

Anywho, Beckey. is. hilarious. Period.

To prove it, here is her description of herself:

My special skills include run-on sentences, picking my kid’s boogers, and eating snacks.
My weaknesses include housework, puppies, and designer shoes.
Although it doesn’t seem like it, I have a degree in English/Writing, but most of the time, I don’t have any idea how to write, because I never really paid attention in class.
I also have my cosmetology license, because maybe one day, I’ll stop having babies and get a job. But for now I’m a stay at home mommy, and most of the time I enjoy it.
Ohh, I do hope you like my website. Make yourself at home and come back often. If you want to say something nice, email me, if you want to say something mean, you can suck it.

Some of my favorite blogs of hers include this one about pasta, her rant about why she hates kids {sidenote: she has two}, and the one where she decided to cook Thanksgiving dinner.

Warning: if you are offended by occasional foul language, you may want to squint when you read Beckey's blog. But still read it. It's funny.

So now go and spend an hour or two laughing your pants off while you read Beckey's blog.

Then don't forget to come back here and tell us all about how much your cheeks hurt and how you are now eternally grateful to me for having turned you on to another place where you can waste your life away.

Spunk & Love

2011-03-04T08:00:00.000-08:00

Good morning!

I am so excited to introduce you to my first friend today. Blog friends, please meet Megan. Megan, my blog friends.

This was Mego and I at The Creative Connection Event last fall.

You may remember me mentioning Mego before here and here, and a few other times. That's because Mego is my bff.

Today I want to introduce you to her newest venture {which I may have also mentioned before, but you'll humor me, won't you?}: Spunk & Love

Mego creates these gorgeous Custom Baby Books and Birthday Books:

If you are anything like me... you do not have time to create elaborate scrapbooks to record your child's every milestone. Beau is my only child. He doesn't have a baby book. The first two years of his life I printed all our pictures {because I was still using film} and put them in photo albums in chronological order. Since we went digital, I have not even bothered printing them.

That is why these sweet little books that Mego makes are perfect! They are intended to be a quick and easy way to record each precious year of your child's life. I am seriously telling you that you could complete this entire project in one night. {And I am not even lying.}

Here's a sampling of the layout:

{If you also happened to notice the spots on these pictures let me just say that it does not surprise me to imagine that Megan needed to clean off her lens. Don't worry... there will not be spots on your Birthday Book. Love you Mego!}

Isn't that adorable!

I think these make a great gift for a baby shower, or even those first few birthdays for which I can never seem to figure out what kind of gift is appropriate.

They are very reasonably priced {under $30}, which is fantastic for a handmade gift.

Swing on over to Mego's shop and check it out.

Then come back here and tell me how much you love her stuff.

See you on Monday, when I introduce you to another friend. :)

Allow Myself to Introduce Myself

2011-03-03T09:53:00.000-08:00

As you may know, I am passionate about developing, supporting, and encouraging Small Businesses. I love helping other women try to find their way in this Indie Business world. My You're the Boss series is all about helping other women avoid my growing pains, and make some smart decisions about moving past their own.

I have discovered that one of the keys to growing a Small Business is to take advantage of Social Media. Twitter, Facebook, and even blogging are great ways to grow your business... for free!

One of my favorite things about this great big blogging world of ours is that it quickly begins to feel small when you start putting the connections together. The Small Business Owners, the Bloggers, the Blog Stalkers. I love it when I come upon a new blog or shop, and I realize that one of my friends has been there too.

So in the spirit of making the big blog world smaller, starting tomorrow and going through next Friday, March 11th I am gong to introduce you to six friends of mine. They are Shop Owners, Blog Writers, and inspirational, creative women that I can't wait to show off!

To make it interesting... I am making it a contest {I love contests}. Of the six of them, the shop or blog that gets the most comments on their posting within the first 24 hours of the posting will win a Personalized Calendar from Much Ado About You. But wait there's more. One of the commenters on the winning posting will also win a Personalized Calendar from Much Ado About You! That could be you! Check out their shop or blog and comment about what you like, and you could win!

Remember to make your comment within the first 24 hours of each posting {so you will have to come see me everyday... he, hee}!

See you in the morning.

To Puppy, or not to Puppy

2011-03-02T08:49:00.000-08:00

Since the day that I married my husband I knew that at some point in my life I was going to have to have a dog. Before we had Beau, it seemed like a great idea. We even went puppy-hunting at one point, driving out to the Inland Empire to see the largest dog I have ever seen in my whole life: a 250 pound English Mastiff.

In the end, we decided to have babies rather than puppies. Well... one baby.

Then we sold our house and went back to living the life of renters, renting in homes that did not allow dogs. Puppy talk was tabled.

One of the first things that my husband mentioned when we toured our new home for the first time was what a perfect space it would be for our dog. Oi-vey.

So now we are back to talking about puppies. I know it is my inevitable fate. But I am not going to do puppy and baby at the same time, so for now {for now}, Nathan is being patient.

Then my dear friend Sylvaine sent me a link to her husband's new venture: Dogma Pet Portraits.

These faces just might get Nathan's dog home sooner than later.

You may remember me mentioning David before because he is the amazing photographer that shot my current line. I love David. I think he is an incredibly talented man. He captures the most beautifully natural images. I know that those of you with furry members of your families will be thrilled that he has opened up his business to the canine species.

David's studio is located in Costa Mesa. If you are in the area, give Sylvaine a call {714.642.9021} and schedule an appointment. You won't be sorry.

First Day Jitters

2011-03-01T08:44:00.000-08:00

Please visit my friend Alissa's blog, Rags to Stitches to donate to her

Adoption Fundraiser and win some fantastic prizes!

............................................................

It's the first day of school. I got my notebook ready:

my first day of school outfit on, and I'm ready to go. Are any of you in my class???

Help for the Miller Family

2011-02-28T09:41:00.000-08:00

You all know that I am in the process of adopting a child. You also may know that last summer I ran a raffle on my blog to raise money to pay our portion of the adoption costs that my oh-so-amazingly generous friend is not covering. In one week we raised over $6,000, which will hopefully more than cover our costs. We look forward to getting to pass on any unused portion to another family waiting to adopt.

A good friend of mine, Alissa from Rags to Stitches, was inspired by your generosity and has felt led to help some friends of her's, the Miller family, who are currently in the process of their second adoption.

Alissa's giveaway is going on all week long, so be sure to stop by Alissa's blog and check out the fantastic prizes that you could win, including a *fabulous calendar* from Much Ado About You, of course!

Just for a little added encouragement to participate in Alissa's giveaway, I have a super fantastic deal for you!

So here's the deal:

If you blog about Alissa's fundraiser, I will give you a $10 credit towards a Much Ado About You planner.
If you post about it on Facebook, I will give you a $5 credit towards a Much Ado About You planner.
If you tweet about it, I will give you a $5 credit towards a Much Ado About You planner.

If you do all three, you could get a planner for nearly half-price!

*You must include a link to Alissa's blog <http://www.ragstostitchesboutique.com> in your posting.*

Leave a comment here letting me know what you did, then email me a link to your blog posting and/or a screenshot of your Facebook or Twitter posting, and I will send you an email with instructions on how to use your credit.

Dinner in for a Rainy Friday

2011-02-25T09:23:00.000-08:00

It's raining here in Southern California. And it's cold. I realize that for those of you that live in the areas of the country that regularly see temperatures in the teens, 47 degrees may not seem cold. But to a woman that was born and raised and still lives in Southern California... I'm freezing!

So what better than another Quick Fix Dinner Idea for a rainy Friday evening?

Today I am going to show you perhaps the quickest and easiest recipe I have:

Teriyaki Chicken and Noodles

What you will need:

Frozen Teriyaki Chicken from Costco
Egg Noodles
Butter
Parmesan Cheese
Lawry's Seasoning Salt

...that's it.

Boil water and add egg noodles.

Don't forget to add salt to your water. You should always salt your pasta water, although I recently read somewhere {from a trusted source that I now cannot remember} that you should add it after you add the pasta.

Heat oil in a fry pan and add the frozen chicken. {The box at Costco comes with the bags of chicken. One is probably enough for two people... I always cook both.}

When the egg noodles are nearly finished your chicken should also be heated through. Add the Teriyaki packets to the chicken pan.

Drain your noodles. {I don't like to dirty extra dishes, so I don't bother with a strainer.}

Add butter,

Lots of parmesan,

and seasoning salt to the noodles.

Serve.

A Simple Quote

2011-02-24T09:43:00.000-08:00

"If God was {small} enough for me to figure out, He wouldn't be {big} enough for me to worship."

JB Phillips

WIWW

2011-02-23T09:11:00.000-08:00

Here it is! My very first What I Wore Wednesday.

White cotton top from Nordstrom {$38}

Pink Tank from Nordstrom BP {$14}

Jeans by CAbi {$98}

Pinstripe Slip-ons by Roxy {$38}

Green 3/4 Cardie from Nordstrom BP {$24}

White Tee from Nordstrom BP {$20}

Skinny Jeans by Vigoss {$58}

Scarf from Nordstrom BP {$18}

Frencchh Boots by Steve Madden {gift... retail for $149}

Black Long Sleeve Henley from Old Navy {too old to remember}

Plaid Top from Nordstrom BP {gift}

Skinny Jeans by Vigoss {$58}

Black Scarf from Nordstrom BP {$15}

Linderr Boots by Steve Madden {gift... retail for $199}

I am realizing two things from this posting: {1} I shop at Nordstrom a lot. and {2} I like Steve Madden and am ever so grateful that people know that and give me his shoes.

Now, at the risk of sounding incredibly hoaky, I must say that while I find fashion fun and a great creative outlet, I also realize that this is extremely superficial. The most important accessory that I try to put on everyday is a smile {wow... that really sounds incredibly hoaky}. I just think that nothing makes you look and feel better that a good attitude. Some days I fail {Marlo, Jen and Donna would attest to the fact that yesterday was one of those days... I had a printer tantrum again}. But some days, even when I am feeling sad or stressed or frustrated, I remember what it makes me feel like to see other people smiling, and it reminds me to put on my best accessory {yellowing teeth and all}. And you know what... it makes me feel better.

No, I am Not a Stalker

2011-02-22T10:05:00.000-08:00

Okay, well maybe just a little.

I recently revealed that I once met Justin Timberlake. Now I will tell you the story of how that happened to occur.

So it was 2002. Brooke's oldest was a baby, and I don't think I was pregnant yet. *NSYNC was playing a concert that night at our local venue.

We happened to have a friend {who shall remain nameless} that was currently working at the Ritz Carlton and may have given us a little tip that a certain boy band might be staying at their hotel.

So Brooke, her baby, her mom and I spent the rest of the day hanging out in the hotel lobby waiting for the boys to stroll through. One at time, they began trickling through... Joey, that other one that no one remembers, and finally JT.

Somehow we talked Brooke into approaching him. She asked if we could get a picture, and he said he couldn't do pictures, but he would sign anything we brought him. Brooke came running back over to us and we madly sifted through our purses looking for things he could sign. {No, we had not prepared ourselves for this little outing.}

As we walked back over to him the hotel staff approached us and very sternly scolded us, telling us we were not to bother their guests. JT saw what was happening, said it was fine, and waved us over.

He was super nice, way taller than I expected, and even more handsome.

Turns out that was the day that it hit the news that he and Brittany had broken up. Had I known when we were talking, I would have offered a shoulder to cry on or something.

I just remembered a funny thing that happened that night at the concert. {Yes, I went to the concert. I am that girl.} I was sitting with my friend Kailynn, and we had pretty good seats. We were just a few rows back from the stage. To our right, there was a couple sitting in the front row of the side seats. A few people started to approach them and we realized it was Corey Feldman and his wife. Then we heard the girls next to us say, "Who's Corey Feldman?" in their very best valley girl accents.

It was at the moment that we realized that we were too old to be at an *NSYNC concert. My stalking days were over.

I have lots of other embarrassing celebrity sightings {I do live in Southern California} that I will tell you about someday.

8 Random Things

2011-02-18T10:05:00.000-08:00

I was going to tell you 10 random things about myself this morning, but I have only come up with 8 and I have to leave to go take my niece to her My Gym class.

So here are 8 Random Things:

1. I am 33 years old and if I stopped dying my hair it would be mostly grey. I'm not kidding.

2. I hate the color purple, but I wear it a lot. I think purple looks nice on brunettes with brown eyes.

3. Even though I do not have any fallopian tubes and I am on birth control, last week I actually thought I might be pregnant because my belly was so big. In actuality, I think that the late night Doritos and candy for breakfast are catching up with me.

4. I hated my wedding dress. The night that I went for my final fitting I cried and my sister {who may be the nicest person on the planet} yelled at the Seamstress because she was only making matters worse.

5. Two and a half years ago I woke up from surgery to be told that my doctor had to remove both of my fallopian tubes. That night I was in my bed puking from the anesthesia and super sad that any chance of a natural pregnancy was now permanently removed, but I had my husband and my two best friends with me, and it is actually one of my fondest memories. It was a moment in time that I will never forget.

6. I keep telling Nathan that when we are exorbitantly wealthy I want him to surprise me by having Candace Olsen come and decorate my entire house. He says he's sure she's not busy because Full House ended a long time ago. I tell him that he is thinking of Candace Cameron and Ashley & Mary Kate Olsen, but I am talking about Candace Olsen. We have had this same conversation multiple times.

7. When I was in Junior High, my mom and sister won a contest to have a date with a Soap Opera star, Matthew Ashford who played Jack on Days of our Lives. They had such a great time on the date, that we were all invited to come to a taping on the closed set of the show. So I have been to Salem.

8. My very first job was passing out balloons as the Easter Bunny at our local Hallmark Store.

I Heart my Mom

2011-02-16T18:20:00.000-08:00

I am so excited to share something with you all!

But first let me tell you that I happen to have the most incredible mom on the planet {sorry... mine's the best}. I am extremely grateful for such an amazing relationship with my mom, and I can truly say that it is the most easy relationship that I have. My mom and I are very similar, except that she is not at all controlling {which is probably why our relationship works}. She is my cheerleader, my encourager, my counselor, my mentor, and my friend.

A couple of years ago my mom decided that she wanted to start a daily devotional with my sister and myself that we could do by email, as a way of connecting each morning around God's word. We started out going through the New Testament. Along the way several friends and family members joined us, each morning being encouraged by my mother's thoughtful responses to what we were reading. Last year we went through Psalms. This year we have begun to sift through my favorite chapter of the bible, Genesis.

Have you ever read Genesis? It is the best book! Anyone that thinks that the bible is boring should check out Genesis! It's better than any daytime soap opera. There is mystery, intrigue, murder, infidelity, infertility, consequences, wrath, revenge... it's fascinating!

Anywho... last year for Mother's Day my sister and her husband bought my mom a domain, and tried to get her started blogging her daily messages. She hesitated. We all encouraged her because there were so many people joining our study everyday, it would be much easier for others to share this experience with their friends if they just had a website to log on to. She hesitated some more. We explained that this was not to bring her glory, but to share this amazing journey with even more women. She still hesitated.

Last week I finally had some free time on my hands, so I decided to take matters into my own hands. I went back through all the emails she has sent out since the beginning of the year {since we stared Genesis}, and posted them to her blog. I then contacted my friends at Designer Blogs and ordered a darling little layout to make things pretty. Then came the challenging part... I had to teach my mom how to blog. Eek!

The good news is that she is figuring it out.

Please check out her blog meet Me in the morning. {The capital M in Me is for God, not my mom... just to clarify.}

My mom does not believe that anyone would want to follow along as some old lady babbles about the bible, so let's show her! {She is not old, by the way, although she would love to tell you a story about how I recently called her old. She tells everyone that story.}

Please become a follower and join us on this journey. I have so enjoyed reading her messages each morning, and I know you will too. I do it while I dry my hair {I have just enough time to read her message and Lysa TerKeurst's blog, and catch up on the world with my FoxNews ap}. I have already studied Genesis at length, {I went through Beth Moore's The Patriarchs study twice... another one I highly recommend}, but I am learning all sorts of amazing and interesting facts about our God and our heritage each day.

If you have never read Genesis, this is a great excuse. If you have never read the bible, what better place to start than in the beginning??? You can start with the very beginning {her first blog post} or you can join us where we are today {Genesis 9}.

Tell your friends.

Get your bibles.

Come meet us all in the morning!

WIWW... I'm Trying!

2011-02-16T07:00:00.000-08:00

Okay, so in my quest to be a more professional blogger I have decided that I should try my hand at What I Wore Wednesdays. I have been trying really hard to remember to take photos of my outfits {thank goodness for my own personal 7-year-old photographer}, but now my camera is at my sister's house with all those silly photos on it.

So for this Wednesday I thought we could have What Kelly Wore Wednesday {which is much more interesting anyway, let's be honest}.

Donna and I recently found Kelly's Fashion Finder on Live with Regis and Kelly's website. Every day after the show Kelly records a little video in her dressing where she talks about what she wore on the show that day. Oh my goodness... we are kind of obsessed with it! I was trying to find out where Kelly got an amazing cashmere and sequined sweater, and Donna wanted a to-die-for dress. Too bad one pair of her shoes is worth more than an entire week of my outfits. Oh well... a girl can dream, can't she???

Anyway, you must check it out. Be inspired. Maybe next Wednesday I will have my act together for my own WIWW. Maybe.

Quiz Fun

2011-02-14T09:11:00.000-08:00

Okay, so you people do like quizzes. I knew it!

Thanks so much for taking the time to enter my fun little contest. I had so much fun reading all of your responses!

Before I get to my answers {and the winner, in case anyone is interested in that}, I have a few comments:

1. You all get ready super fast! I am feeling extremely high maintenance after reading your responses {although, let's be honest... that is no surprise}.

2. To Pinkdaisyjane who said of what famous person would you most like to be friends with? "Famous is in the eye of the beholder; I'd say, Beth Moore or Lysa TerKeurst": I couldn't agree more! I have had the privilege of hanging out with Lysa for a weekend and I can say that if I lived in NC I would stalk her until she let me be her BFF! {Oh, and now I am dying to know what DEAD famous people you are related to!}

3. To Deborah West who said of are you related to anyone famous? Who? "My mawmaw's 2nd cousin, Henry, was Bonnie & Clyde's get-away driver. Does that count? ;)": Yes that counts! And I think that is my favorite response to this question.

4. To Mego: Move to Ladera Ranch. We only have to call 911 when there are homeless people in the parking lot {at least... that's when Jen tries to get me to call 911}.

5. To Amy: I got to meet the Pioneer Woman at The Creative Connection Event last fall and I am pleased to say that she was as sweet and funny as I had hoped she would be!

6. To Amanda who said of ever dialed 911?: "Yes, one time my Dad was outside dumping ash from our coal stove and a half naked woman came out of the woods in the Dead of winter... she escaped from somewhere... pretty scary and weird!": Um, excuse me??? I think we need more details to that story! What the heck???

7. To Leslieannabanana: I have a friend whose husband is Kevin Costner's cousin, so what does that make you two? Funny how small this world is.

8. To Jenni: You are speaking my language with the OTH reference! Have you seen this posting?

9. To TannersMomandDad: I met Justin Timberlake once. It's kind of a funny story that maybe I will tell here another day, but let me just say he was extremely nice, way taller than I expected, and hot. But that's not a surprise.

Okay, now for my answers:

1. What's the farthest place you have ever traveled?

Tahiti: for our honeymoon

2. Would you rather lick the bowl of chocolate brownie batter or cookie dough?

Hmm.. tough choice, but I think I will go with cookie dough. But, like Stephanie Lynne I don't really love cookies... I much prefer the dough.

3. Ever been bitten by an animal? What kind?

I was stung twice by a wasp that flew up my pants a couple of summers ago. I also was bit by our ferocious desert tortoise, Lightning when I was little. {He was really just going for the lettuce and my finger got in the way.}

4. Ever ride a motorcycle?

Twice, both times as a passenger, and both times with one of my husband's best friends. One of those times was on a 20 mile freeway ride to work... I wasn't too happy with the resulting helmet head at the office!

5. How many {if any} times have you been in a wedding?

2x as a Flower Girl, 1x as a Bridesmaid, 2x as a Matron of Honor, and 1x as a Bride

6. What famous person would you most like to be friends with?

There's a few: Jimmy Fallon, Adam Sandler, George Bush, Ellen DeGeneres and Jennifer Aniston are my top choices

7. Ever dialed 911?

Three times in college. Once when a super creepy guy was trying to get into our dorm room {and subsequently broke into another girl's room and tried to assault her}, once when my BFF's boyfriend was threatening to commit suicide, and once when a there was a car wreck just outside our house.

8. Are you related to anyone famous? Who?

Well, my grandma was a movie star signed with Warner Bros. Studios, but I use the term "star" loosely. She made several movies, a couple of which she starred in, one that was named "Playgirl" but was not that kind of movie, and none of which you would know.

9. What are two things you are wearing right now and where did you get them?

My Steve Madden boots that I wear most days and my super cozy tan sweater from Gap.

10. How long does it take you to get ready in the morning?

Okay... confession time: I am high maintenance. Oh wait... have I mentioned that already? This is not a simple question for me to answer because it ranges depending on a variety of factors like whether I am straightening my hair, shaving my legs, or ironing my clothes. First let me say that I always shower in the morning. Always. And I always put on makeup. Always. All that said, and long story short {I know, too late}, anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and a half.

And now for the winner!

Random.org helped me choose Al, who answered:

1. What's the farthest place you have ever traveled? St. Thomas in the Caribbean
2. Would you rather lick the bowl of chocolate brownie batter or cookie dough? Well I wouldn't discriminate against the cookie dough if it was forced on me, but my preference would be brownies. YUM
3. Ever been bitten by an animal? What kind? A cat. My big fatty cat, 15lbs, bites my head if he doesn't like me sitting in front of him on the couch
4. Ever ride a motorcycle? Does sitting on one count?
5. How many {if any} times have you been in a wedding? 2, including my own.
6. What famous person would you most like to be friends with? Patrick Dempsey, he seems like a cool, regular dude.
7. Ever dialed 911? No
8. Are you related to anyone famous? Who? Nope
9. What are two things you are wearing right now and where did you get them? My tan chords from American Eagle, a pink t-shirt also from American Eagle -- wow sounds like that's the only place I shop
10. How long does it take you to get ready in the morning? Hair wash day 45 minutes, no hair wash 30 minutes

Thanks Al! I will be contacting you shortly about your journal. And thanks to everyone who participated. I had so much fun with this... I think we will have to have another quiz day very soon. :)

Flashback Friday

2011-02-11T09:39:00.000-08:00

Don't forget to submit your Getting to Know You quiz answers and enter to win a FREE Personalized Journal.

...............................................

Okay, I have never done a Flashback Friday before, but I happened to come across this photo this morning, and I just couldn't resist sharing it with you.

This is why I am totally okay with not ever being pregnant again:

{Disclaimer: This photo was not doctored in any way.}

This was me, two days before Beau was born. If you can believe it... I have very few stretch marks, and they are only just around my belly.

I am more and more excited about adoption every day.

Getting to Know You

2011-02-10T15:18:00.000-08:00

I was going pee-pee today in our guest bathroom {too much info? sorry}, and I noticed a book on our shelf, "Coke or Pepsi?" It's a silly little book of quizzes that I'm pretty sure is meant for junior highers, that I am pretty sure I probably bought for Jen's daughter but never gave her.

Remember when you were in junior high and you got so excited when the new issue of Seventeen magazine came out and you couldn't wait to flip to the quiz about Does He Really Like You? or Who Would be your Celebrity Boyfriend?

Nope? Don't remember that? None of you loved those quizzes as much as I did?

Well, just in case there are some other quiz lovers out there... it's quiz time on Confessions of a Paper Freak!

Everyone that comments with their answers will be

entered to win a Personalized Journal

from my shop:

Here's the game:

Comment below. Be sure to include your email address and your answers to every question.

All entries must be received by midnight PST on Sunday, February 13th.

Monday morning, February 14th {ohh... that's Valentine's Day} I will choose a winner.

Okay... here we go:

Getting to Know You

1. What's the farthest place you have ever traveled?

2. Would you rather lick the bowl of chocolate brownie batter or cookie dough?

3. Ever been bitten by an animal? What kind?

4. Ever ride a motorcycle?

5. How many {if any} times have you been in a wedding?

6. What famous person would you most like to be friends with?

7. Ever dialed 911?

8. Are you related to anyone famous? Who?

9. What are two things you are wearing right now and where did you get them?

10. How long does it take you to get ready in the morning?

I'll tell you my answers on Monday.

An Idiot Abroad

2011-02-09T08:51:00.000-08:00

Have you seen this show?

Okay, so here's the set up. Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant {brilliant co-creators of The Office} decided to send their uncultured friend Karl Pilkington to visit the 7 Wonders of the World. Only they have several tricks up their sleeves. Ricky Gervais calls it "the most expensive practical joke I've ever done."

It is a comedy of errors, with this poor bloke {I use the term bloke because he's British, and it seems appropriate} experiencing several not-so-pleasant surprises that his friends have prepared for him. Like a mock kidnapping in Israel, a "Honeymoon Suite" in the slums of India, and a toad "feast" along the Great Wall of China.

Nathan and I watched a marathon the other night, and were cracking up {at the parts that we understood... he's British after all}.

At the end of one episode, sweet Karl said something that I found extremely profound and interesting. He said, "I would rather live in a hole with a view of the palace, than live in the palace with a view of a hole."

It made me think... how often do we sit in our holes dreaming and pining for the palace?

We sit in our debt, and yearn to be wealthy.
We sit in the pain of our losses, and envy our friends' successes.
We sit in our infertility, and think of what it would be like to have a baby.

But the reality of what is in the palace is never the perception. It is all a matter of perspective.

Several years ago, when I was in one of the darkest moments of my struggle to have another baby, I have to admit... I was sitting in my hole, absolutely craving to be in that palace. I was angry with God, feeling unloved and forgotten. I knew Psalm 37:4 which says, "Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart." So why wasn't I getting my baby?

About that time I came across a commentary on this passage. I don't even remember where it came from or how i found it, but clearly it was divine intervention.

It explained how often this passage is taken out of context. The reality is that if we are truly delighting in the Lord, then the desire of our heart will be God. Period.

I realized in that moment that I had to make a decision: did I want a baby, or did I want God? Could I have a baby, if it meant choosing my plan over God's? Was I really that arrogant that I would presume to have a better plan than God did?

If I am being honest, for a moment {and by moment, I mean a season of my life} I thought I did.

But as I sat in my hole I began to realize that the palace I was staring at was actually just blocking my view of the majestic kingdom just beyond it. I was so focused on getting my way, that I was missing God's glorious richness in my life.

The hardest thing I ever had to do was tell God that I chose Him. It was terrifying. I was so afraid that if I chose Him, it meant that I would most certainly never have another child. But in the end I realized that God's plan is the very best for my life, and the harder I pushed against it, the more painful my life would become.

So I gave it over. I handed my life to the Lord. I told Him that I would love him even if I never had another baby. I learned to trust Him. And then I sat in peace, truly content that my family of three was permanent.

I have said many times that infertility is the best and the worst thing that has ever happened to me. It has been painful and frustrating, and to be honest, just downright sucked. But in the end, it brought me to a place of complete brokenness and willingness to wholly trust God and His plan for my life and my family.

I no longer live in fear of what may or may not happen in my life, because I know that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Today I am sitting in my hole, content and satisfied, staring at that beautiful Adoption Agency that God built in front of the palace. I have a different perspective.

You Asked for It

2011-02-08T07:48:00.000-08:00

If there are any new visitors to my blog today, I should start by telling you that this is not a blog about food. You might look at my last three postings {or my belly} and think that it is, but I assure you that there is much more to this blog than food.

That said, I had an amazing response to Friday's Quick Fix Dinner idea, and some of you even asked for more. Your wish is my command.

Today I will introduce you to my world famous {well, its famous in my world} Roast Beef Sandwich.

This sandwich was inspired by a sandwich that my husband loved from Mustard Cafe in Newport Beach, but it started at Costco.

A couple of years ago we were at Costco picking up some last minute items for the 4th of July. As usual, we were taking our time enjoying the tastings spread.

That is when I discovered Rosemary Olive Oil bread. Can you say Y-U-M-M-Y, yummy?

I grabbed a few other ingredients, and threw together this sandwich. It was a big hit at our friends' 4th of July party that day. It has been a big hit ever since.

So here's how you can make it too {and be a big hit with your family}.

You will need:

Rosemary Olive Oil Bread
{I get a two loaf pack at Costco, but I have seen loaves of very similar bread in the bakery section of my grocery store}
Roast Beef
Mayonnaise
{because a sandwich is naked without mayonaise... and don't try to use any of that fat free crap}
Brie
Arugula
Roasted Red Bell Peppers
{you could roast them yourself, but this is supposed to be quick... I buy mine in a jar}

I also highly recommend Chipotle Mayo if you want a little kick. If you don't have any on hand you can use add a little chipotle powder to regular Mayo. Same dif.

Now this is not Rocket Science ladies. The only dishes that are required are a cutting board and a knife. Use paper plates. Make this a truly Quick Fix.

Slice the bread.

Spread the mayo.

Add the cheese, arugula, and roasted red peppers and roast beef.

Cut in half and serve.

Oh, and serve with Kettle Chips. That is a very important detail.

The Epicness of Superbowl Sunday

2011-02-07T09:26:00.000-08:00

Every time I go to an event where there are a lot of bloggers there, I always feel like such an amateur. The serious bloggers have their camera with them and snap pictures everywhere they go. I am usually lucky if I remember that I can take photos with my iPhone. I always forget.

But I am getting better. Yesterday is proof.

So, YAY, the Packers won the Superbowl... Greenbay victory... yada, yada, yada... let's talk about what really matters: the epic food.

We ate like absolute champions yesterday. It was the most gluttonous, amazing, ridiculous display of food for 13 people that you have ever seen. It even included boats.

And that is not including the hamburgers we ate for dinner. Yes, we thought we needed dinner. We thought wrong.

This is my handsome husband who made the delicious, albeit unnecessary hamburgers.

I will pay for this day all week. But it was worth. every. minute.

Quick Fix Dinner

2011-02-04T09:57:00.000-08:00

Recently I have been trying to come up with some Quick Fix meal ideas to have in my arsenal for after the baby comes. I love to cook, but the reality of my life is that I don't always have time to make a meal from scratch.

Last night I made one of our family's current favorites, and I thought I would share it with you.

This meal is about 90% store made, so it's even more semi-homemade than Sandra Lee.

Here's what you need:

Fresh Pasta

{I use two packages of Butoni Wild Mushroom Angolotti and one Butoni Three Cheese Tortellini, which is enough for the three of us plus leftovers}
A Jar of Sauce
{I use Classico Vodka Sauce}
Red Bell Pepper
Zuccini
Mushrooms
Shaved Parmesan Cheese
Vegetable Oil

Put a pot on to boil for the pasta.

{Please ignore my streaky pot... I don't hand dry people.}

Chop up the zuccini.

Remove the seeds from the pepper.

Cut the pepper into long thin strips, then half the strips.

I buy pre-washed, pre-cut mushrooms {because it is much easier}, but if you want to do it yourself... good for you!

Heat up some vegetable oil in a saute pan {I use my wok because I like it better}.

When the water is boiling, add the tortellini first because it takes a couple of minutes longer to cook than the angolotti does.

Start sauteing the vegetables.

After a couple of minutes, add the angolotti to the pot.

Continue to stir the vegies while the pasta finishes cooking.

In another pot, heat up the jar of sauce.

When the pasta is done {which should be about 7 minutes after you started the tortellini}, spoon it into the pan with the vegies. I use a slotted spoon, but don't worry if you get a little bit of the starchy water in the pan... it will just loosen your sauce a little, which is fine.

Add the sauce to the pan.

Spoon a serving onto each plate.

Sprinkle the shredded cheese on top of the pasta.

Yummy!

P.S. My absolute least favorite thing about Blogger is that it is impossible to space photos correctly, so please excuse the inconsistent spacing on this posting. Ugh!

P.P.S. I think my son is going to be a Photographer when he grows up. Seriously. He took every single one of these pictures.

I am SO NOT a Baker

2011-02-03T08:00:00.000-08:00

When I was a little girl my mom, my sister and I used to bake all the time. I have lots of memories of being in the kitchen frosting birthday cakes, rolling peanut butter cookie balls in a bowl of sugar, pulling cookies out of cookie cutters, and melting marshmallows for rice crispy treats.

Then one day Molly and I found ourselves alone in the kitchen. Making our own birthday cakes.

My mom doesn't like to bake, but she is an amazing mother, so she spent many days in that kitchen teaching us how to bake because she thought that's what mothers should do. {And she realized that once we knew how to bake... she didn't have to.}

I am my mother {in so many ways, not just because I don't like to bake}. I {like my mother} am just really not a sweets person. I like salt. Give me chips and salsa over chocolate any day and twice on Sundays. So my problem with baking is that by the time I am done licking the spatula, bowl, and mixer... I have had enough. I don't even want to look at anything sweet, much less eat it. And then it all feels like a big waste.

The other day I saw these in the grocery store:

and I thought, Hmmm... Nathan loves oatmeal cookies, and these seem like they would be yummy in oatmeal cookies.

So after school one day, Beau and I decided to make some cookies.

We used the recipe on the back of the bag of cinnamon chips because everyone knows that the best cookie recipes are on the back of the bag of chips. Just ask Phoebe's Aunt Nestle Tollhouse.

I got the first batch in the oven, and Beau decided to go out to play with the neighbors. I went outside to grab the mail, and a client showed up to pick up her calendar. I got to talking with her because she was getting ready to move across the country. We were chit-chatting about Washington DC, and missing friends, and... I totally forgot about the cookies!

When I got in the house, the timer was flashing:

and had been for who knows how long.

Batch #1: Burned.

I got the next batch in the oven and decided that I was not going to leave the room. I set the timer again, and waited.

I took them out right when the timer went off. And... they were burned. Dang new oven!

0 for 2.

Batch # 3 went in the oven. I set the timer for a little less time. Then I thought I would just peek out on Beau. I ran into my neighbor and we started talking about his job, the other neighbors that drive too fast, the traffic from the school across the street... and I totally forgot about the cookies!

Darn it all... 0 for 3!

The fourth batch went in, and I pulled my chair up to the oven door and watched.

The timer went off, and they actually needed some more time. When I finally took them out... they were perfect.

I got one more good batch, and ended up with some decent specimens.

Luckily, Nathan likes his cookies on the crunchy side. He ate every. last. one. He even said that they were my best cookies ever {which, let's be honest... isn't saying much}.

I think I'll stick to cooking.

So Much for Planning Ahead

2011-02-02T10:27:00.000-08:00

So our day didn't go quite as we had planned it to go.

We arrived at the CHA at 10 o'clock... right when they opened. We had our handy-dandy shopping cart. We had on comfortable shoes. We had eaten a yummy breakfast. We were ready to rock!

Then we saw the sign that said "Tuesday, open 10:00am to 2:00pm". 2:00pm!!! I thought they were open until 6:00pm!!! Needless to say, I was a little frantic. We decided that there was going to be no time for a lunch break {thank goodness we ate breakfast}, so we quickly called the restaurant where we had dinner reservations for 6:30pm and changed it to a late lunch reservation at 2:30pm.

The good news is that we got some excellent things accomplished in our very short five hours {which seemed like one... I'm not kidding}.

We met our friends at My Mind's Eye, my favorite paper company, whose new line I am so extremely excited about.

We told Basic Grey that we heart them... but we hate how their paper snags so much in the Cricut. {Actually, what really happened is that we walked in the booth and were greeted by Joey, a very nice Rep for Basic Grey, and Jennifer barked "We hate your paper!" We had to do a little damage control after that... but I think we got the point across.}

We met Suede, the fabulous designer from season 5 of Project Runway. He was awesome, and told us lots of fun Project Runway secrets.

{Apparently Jen was so excited, she couldn't even keep the camera still.}

We ran into Jo Packham of The Creative Connection, and I got to hear about some great changes they are making to this year's event after last years not-so-successful Handmade Market.

The girls very proudly wore their badges that said "Professional Crafter".

And... we found our new machine.

Many of you had suggested the Silhouette, and that was the direction that I was leaning in. However, our biggest problem with the Cricut is the mats. We hate the mats. We go through probably 10 to 15 mats a week... in a really busy week, more. They are killing us! Someone at the show yesterday told us that according to Cricut, their mats get an average of 67 uses and we cracked up! Not even close Provo Craft. Not even close. But despite the fact that it also uses mats, we decided to give the Silhouette a try.

About 30 seconds into the demo, we all knew that this was not the machine for us.

The guy demoing the product couldn't even remember how to get through the umpteen steps it took to get to the cut. The mats seemed just as bad, if not worse that the Cricut mats. And seriously... how many cords does it take to use one machine??? We just don't think it's the machine for us.

Then we found the eCraft machine.

We saw this machine last year, but it was brand new to the market, and I am just not a big fan of buying first generation electronics. Plus there were a few features that seemed like they would be limitations for our needs.

This year, they have totally revamped the machine. They said they really listened to the customer feedback and made some big improvements.

But the best thing of all... it doesn't use a mat!!! {Plus, it is bright pink... bonus!}

I can't wait to get our machine and start testing it out. Hopefully, there will be great blog entries to come about how super fantastic this machine is. Hopefully.

All in all, even in the very short four hours, we had a very productive time at the CHA.

But now it was 2 o'clock, and none of us were expected home for hours. Why on earth would we go home when the men were all set to handle dinner and bedtime??? So on a whim, while walking to the restaurant for our late lunch, we decided that we were going to stay for the Laker game.

After sticker shock at the box office and a run-in with some very pushy scalpers, we ended up finding tickets on Stubhub.com. Second row from the top... but tickets none-the-less.

We arrived at the restaurant, famished and excited for our evening's adventure.

We walked into Magnolia, and were greeted by the darling preggers manager, who for some reason was whispering to us. As we looked around the room, it was clear that something was happening... there were several people with earpieces, no customers, and some very grumpy looking people staring at their laptops. Either Obama was there, or we had just walking into a reality TV filming. Happily, it was the latter. Unhappily, it was a taping for Audrina Patridge's new Reality Show.

So we were banished to the patio, and not allowed to use the bathroom. Well, we were allowed to use the bathroom, but we had to stand around like idiots waiting for them to cut tape so that we could sneak by. Then we got stuck in the bathroom, because they were in the middle of a scene, and the cameras were pointed right at the bathroom door!

And even though we were out on the patio... behind closed doors... the producers were still giving us stink eye every time we laughed.

{Those are the mean Producers.}

It was an interesting day.

We had a blast and stayed until the end of the third quarter of the Laker game, that then ended up going into overtime.

{I love what happens when you let other people use your camera. It's better to focus on the people, random photo taker!}

Today we are exhausted. Too much CHA/Reality Show/LA/Lakers Game fun.

CHA - My Favorite Day

2011-02-01T07:00:00.000-08:00

Today my girls and I are going to the CHA.

For those of you that are not crafty nerds, the CHA is the Craft and Hobby Association and this week is their Winter Trade Show. This is where every crafting vendor on the planet comes to show off their latest and greatest. Last year we found out about the Xyron sticker machine {which we now use to put tabs on our calendars}, Fiskars' Fingertip Craft Knife, and Notions. {If you own your own business and do not know about Notions, you need to.}

Also, every paper company releases their new lines at CHA. This is my favorite part.

Last year we were total amateurs. Brooke showed up in her pointy-toed, high-heeled boots, we brought our purses, we ate at the concession stand, and we showed up AFTER is started.

This year, we have a plan. It includes leaving our houses early in the morning, a rolling shopping tote, comfortable shoes, and dinner at Magnolia.

It's gonna be an awesome day.

Indie Business 3.0

2011-01-31T15:12:00.000-08:00

I thought that some of you might like to know about a fantastic online course being offered by three amazing Small Business Owners.

I had the pleasure of meeting Lisa Leonard at The Creative Connection last fall, and I can say with all honesty that she was one of the most incredible women I have ever met. She was the most kind, generous, humble, wonderful lady. You would never know hanging out with her that she is actually a really big deal. I love her.

Anyway, she and two other women {Leigh-Ann of FreckledNest.com and Jill of LuneVintage.com} have put together a course on Starting, Surviving, & Succeeding in the World of Independent Creative Business. It's an interactive, 6-week online course that will cover such topics as Constructing your Style, Product & Potential, Being a Debt Free Business, and much, much more.

If you want more information, check out Lisa's blog. Registration opens tomorrow.

Carseat Shopping: Day 1

2011-01-30T13:17:00.000-08:00

I got a Babies 'R Us catalog in the mail the other day. It said that you could bring in any used carseat and get 25% off a new one. So, turns out it was worth it to hang on to Beau's old infant carrier for eight years!

Okay, but have you ever had one of those experiences where you go to shop for something, and you really just kind of want to look around on your own, but some crazy salesperson has a different plan for how your shopping experience should go???

Enter crazy Babies 'R Us sales guy.

Guess what crazy sales guy, even though giving 100% of your attention to collapsing a stroller may be the safest thing to do... I would rather be able to hold my baby and collapse my stroller at the same time. And while it may comfort you to know that I could lift the Graco SnugRider upside down over my head, and my baby's carseat would not shake loose... I actually don't plan on doing that. So the Snap 'n Go will do me just fine.

Your scare tactics will not work on me crazy sales guy. I have been around the block as a parent before. I know that practicality almost always wins out. And having to use both hands to fold a stroller into an origami shape that I may not ever be able to get it out of is not my idea of practical.

So what do you think???

2011-01-28T18:07:00.000-08:00

So here it is... the new design. What do you think?

I was getting annoyed by all the clutter on my blog, so I really pared it down.

If you are a sponsor wondering where the heck your button went... I'll be in touch soon. In the meantime, do you like it?

The Pop-In

2011-01-27T09:01:00.000-08:00

Today my friend Sandi came over to visit me and see my new place.

When she was on her way over, I looked around in horror, knowing it was entirely too late for me to do anything about what was about to happen.

These thoughts ran through my head:

I could tell her we were robbed, and the house was ransacked.

I could pretend like we just moved on Monday (only dang... she knows that's not true).

I could hide when she knocks.

I could throw on my bathrobe, mess up my hair, put some blush on my nose, and tell her she can't come in because I don't want to get her sick.

Shoot... too late! There she was at the door. Only, it was worse than I thought because she brought her husband with her. Thank goodness I know that these two people happen to be two of the least judgmental people I know.

So there I was, "showing off" my new home in all it's ever-loving-disaster glory.

Please know that I am not exaggerating. It was a disaster. Don't believe me? Okay. You forced me. I'll prove it to you:

That is just a small sampling. Does that make you feel better about your house? It should.
{If it doesn't, then I'm thinking you should get to cleaning.}

Do you have a friend whose house is always in pristine condition?
You know... that girl whose home looks like it jumped off the pages of a magazine, even when you pop in?

That is not my house. So, if you need a friend whose house makes you feel better about the state of affairs in your house... come on over.

I haven't always been like this. Well, I was... then I wasn't... now I am again.

When I was little my room needed excavators to find the carpet. But then I grew up and got my own home and felt pride in keeping it in that "oh sure, come on over" state. Then I started my own business. Then I moved. For the last month my house has looked like a bomb went off, and I can't seem to get a grip on it.

Yet even in the midst of insanity, I find that I am still anal about funny things. Every morning I leave my curling iron and flat iron on my bathroom counter cooling. And every night {even though there is laundry all over my bedroom, three trash bags full of clothes that I haven't decided yet where to put, and trash spilling out of the can} I make sure to wrap up the cords and put my irons away while I sleep. Even though I will just bring them out first thing in the morning, and even though there is no one coming into my bathroom while I sleep to see them... even though... I am compelled to put them away. Nevermind the fact that I have to leap across piles of crap to get to my bed... but my irons are in their rightful place!

Hopefully someday soon I will have order in my home once again, and not have to feel terror at the prospect of someone wanting to come upstairs.

Hopefully.

Changes are Coming

2011-01-25T17:33:00.000-08:00

Everything else in my life is changing... why not make some changes here?

I've decided to simplify my blog.

There is going to be a very different look on this blog soon. There will be much less clutter. There will be fewer distractions. I have already removed the Google Ads. More will probably be disappearing soon.

Stay tuned.

Things I Haven't Needed in a While

2011-01-24T09:45:00.000-08:00

Last week I finally sent all of my paperwork off to the Adoption Agency. Whew!

As I walked the box out to my doorstep for the Postman to pick up I felt like I was at the top of a roller coaster. You know... that part where you have finished the big, tedious, slow climb up the hill, and you are paused just for a moment looking at the giant adrenaline rush that is coming your way. That's what it felt like.

This baby is coming soon. I feel it. Which made me start to think about all the things that are going to change in my life.

And all the baby items that I need to purchase.

It has been a long time since we have needed a carseat, or a stroller, or a diaper bag, or a Pack 'n Play, or bottles... or anything infant related... in this house.

So, first things first, I figure we need a carseat and a stroller. That's where you all come in. I know that many of you have had babies more recently than I have, so I need your advice. I need you to tell me what brands you use, what you love about them, what you hate about them, and if you would buy them again.

The first time we bought a stroller, we bought the most expensive one on the market, thinking it must be the best... right? Wrong. I hated that stroller. It broke within the first few weeks of using it. It had a very small basket. It took way too many hands to collapse. It kind of sucked.

All my friends on Facebook are suggesting the Bugaboo. Before I go and spend enough money to feed a small country for a week, I'm gonna have to be convinced that nothing comes close to this thing. So who has it? Is it worth it? Could you live without it???

And any great carseat suggestions? We had a Britax carseat for Beau and I loved it! The Velcro that held the straps open was a stroke of genius, as far as I am concerned!

Okay, so that covers the two essentials. Now let's talk about the fun stuff. A diaper bag.

The last time I had a baby, there was no such thing as a designer diaper bag. Or maybe I was just too young and poor to know anything about that. But seriously, I don't think Petunia Pickle Bottom existed. I remember when my sister had her first baby, I was so excited to buy her a PPB bag... to live vicariously through her baby style. When Beau was a baby I had a black vinyl backpack diaper bag from Babies 'R Us that I got for $30.

Last night I was introduced to this:

{I thank you Heather... but I'm not sure my husband will.}

Are you kidding me??? THIS is a diaper bag? I think I must have it.

Do any of you have it? Is it as functional as it is fabulous??? I need to know people. If you or anyone you know has this bag... please tell me everything you know about it. Now.