I am SO NOT a Baker

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

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

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

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

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???

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

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.