A Letter

It has been a while since I have updated you all on our adoption process.  It's not because I didn't want to share, but just because I have been stuck in a Birthmother Letter Rut.

The last step of the process on our part was to write a letter to the birth mother, and make a scrapbook bio of our family.

I have sat down to write this letter many, many times.

I have stared at the keyboard many, many times.

I have typed and erased sentences many, many times.

And I have decided that this is the most difficult part of the adoption process.

How do you summarize in one short letter six years of yearning?

How do you explain what great opportunities you can offer a child, without sounding elitist and entitled?

How do you ask someone to give you their baby?

This was hard for me.

But today... it is finished.

Somewhere out there right now there is a young woman pregnant with my baby, and soon she will read my letter and choose me to be her baby's mama.

Today is a good day.

Tomorrow I will start the scrapbook.

Holiday Eating Tips

Anyone who knows me knows that one of the most important things in my life is eating.

I love to eat.

And I am always first in line at the buffet table.

I got an email from my sister-in-law today with these Tips for Holiday Eating, and I felt that I owed it to you all... my loyal readers... to share.

{photo credit}

1.   Avoid carrot sticks.

Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit.  In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately.   Go next door where they're serving rum balls.
 
2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. 

And quickly.  It's rare.  You cannot find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two.  It's later than you think. It's Christmas!
 
3. If something comes with gravy, use it.

That's the whole point of gravy.  Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.
 
4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass.

Why bother? It's like buying a sports
car with an automatic transmission.
 
5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. 

The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat
other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?
 
6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's.

{I would add to this: or anytime after New Year's}

You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. {Or never.}
This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the
buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of
eggnog.
 
7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like
frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position
yourself near them and don't budge. 

Have as many as you can before
becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of
shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.
 
8. Same for pies. 

Apple,Pumpkin, Mincemeat. Have a slice of each.

Or if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have
three.   When else do you get to have more than one dessert? LaborDay?
 
9. Did someone mention fruitcake? 

Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have
some standards.
 
10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. 

Re-read tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.

Now that you are done reading my blog for the day... come on down to the Coast Hills MOPS Boutique and keep us company.

Why I Shop at Nordstrom

Did you think I had forgotten about the You're the Boss Series???  Well, I kind of had.

We just have two tips left, and I promise that I will complete the series.  

In preparation for #10, Have Excellent Customer Service {then we will go back to #5, which I skipped}, I thought I would like to to hear about your experiences with customer service - the good, the bad, and the ugly.

So please leave a comment, and tell us about an outstanding {in a good or a bad way} experience you have had {you don't need to mention any names}, and I will post some of the best ones tomorrow.

To inspire you, I will tell you why I shop at Nordstrom.  

If any of you have ever had the pleasure of shopping at Nordstrom, then you know why they are notorious for excellent customer service.  There are even urban legends about old ladies returning tires to Nordstrom.  

I shop at Nordstrom a lot.  I buy most of Nathan's work clothes there, and I always shop the Anniversary Sale for Beau's school clothes.  I find that, contrary to popular belief, their prices are actually fairly competitive with any other store.  But even for a few extra bucks... it is worth it to me to give them my business.

Let me just give you a few examples of experiences that I have had at Nordstrom:

A couple of months ago I purchased a pair of work shoes for Nathan.  They were not cheap.  {Keep in mind that he works at an office where a suit and tie is required every day.}  They were the same shoes that he had worn before... it was just time for a new pair.  I did not realized when I purchased them that they came in different widths.  When he wore them, he complained about how tight they were, but we both just figured that they were new and needed to stretch.  For a month he wore those shoes and came home with sore feet everyday.  The next month we went back to Nordstrom to purchase another pair in brown {the first ones were black} and realized that the reason his black shoes were so tight was because they were a B width, and he needed a D width.  The Manager of the Men's Shoe department did not even hesitate to exchange the shoes he had been wearing for over a month for a brand new pair in the correct size.

Speaking of shoes... one time I purchased a pair of ballet flats from Nordstrom.  I loved them, but the lining kept bunching up at the toes, and it was driving me crazy.  One day I was at the mall shopping, wearing those shoes, and I decided I couldn't stand it anymore.  I went into the Nordstrom shoe department, hoping that they could re-glue it for me, and they literally took the shoes off my feet and gave me a brand new pair!

And while we are on the topic of shoes {I do actually buy things other than shoes at Nordstom} the other day I returned a pair that I had worn several times because they were unbearably uncomfortable, and they took them back and gave me cash, with no questions asked.

That is why I shop at Nordstrom.  And will always shop at Nordstrom.  And have built my customer service model around Nordstrom.

Now tell me your stories!

Need to Shop?

Since there are only 60 days left until Christmas,

I thought I should let some of you local folks know about where you can come see us

Much Ado About You gals over this holiday season!

So, here's where we will be over the next few weeks {and why we will be working every other day of those next few weeks to catch up with our orders}:

This Thursday and Friday, October 28th & 29th  - 9am to noon

Coast Hills MOPS Boutique

5 Pursuit, Aliso Viejo

Monday, November 8th - 7pm to 9pm & Tuesday, November 9th - 9am to noon

Crossline Fall Boutique

23331 Moulton Parkway, Laguna Hills

Friday, November 12th - 4pm to 9pm & Saturday, November 13th - 9am to 4pm

The Queen Bee Market

Del Mar Hilton, San Diego

Wednesday, December 1st - 12:30pm to 4:30pm

Oso Grande Elementary School

Holiday Boutique

30251 Sienna Parkway, Ladera Ranch

Come see us and introduce yourself!

Sew Weekly... Sew Adorable!

This weekend while I was catching up on some of my favorite blogs,

I found a new favorite!  

Mique from 30 days had a great posting about birthday parties in which she highlighted this amazing post by Mena Trott of Sew Weekly.

First of all... the posting:

Mena posted about the Sound of Music birthday party she created for her daughter {who is named Penelope, btw... which is going to be our baby's name if it is a girl, which makes me like Mena even more}.

You have to check out the entire posting to see all the amazing details, but let me just say that those adorable curtain outfits ended up on all the guests!

While gushing over this fantastic party {and trying to figure out how I am going to convince my sister to copy it for my niece's next birthday} I checked out the rest of Mena's blog.

Sew Weekly was started to document Mena's journey of creating a totally handmade wardrobe.  Every week she makes herself an outfit, with the goal of having "a closet filled only with clothes that I have sewn myself (with a few exceptions)" by the end of 2010.  She has fantabulous vintage taste {and is totally adorable}, and each week posts her outfit and gives a little description of the project.  My favorite part is that she also rates whether or not she would wear it again.

These are some of my favorites from her collection:

Isn't she adorable???

Check out her blog for yourself.  Tell her I sent you!

{I would like to note that this posting is totally unsolicited.  I don't know Mena, and she doesn't know that I am doing this posting.  I just really like her blog.}

Flowers for Friday

Look what Nathan came home with last night:

Now, before you go yelling at your husband about never doing anything nice for you, you should know that these came from a conference at his office.  I get a table arrangement every year after this conference.

It still makes me giddy.

They smell amazing, and are making my office an even happier place.

Today is going to be a good day at Much Ado About You.

Wanted: Someone to Make my Life Bearable

I got 8 hours of sleep last night.  8.  I feel like a new woman.

So now I can seriously tell you that I need an Assistant.  I have many employees who are amazing and make it possible for me to continue taking orders when we have 68 in the queue.  But I need someone that can take over the busy work of running a business and allow me to actually make calendars.

I have already gotten several emails from interested parties, so I thought I should formally let you all know that I am serious about needing an Assistant.  And here's what I am looking for:

First of all, it needs to be someone that is local and could actually come into my office in South Orange County, California.

I need someone that could come Monday - Friday for about 2 to 3 hours a day.  Somedays may be a little more... some may be a little less {especially during our slower season}.

You would be responsible for:

• Printing out orders from Etsy
• Confirming orders with customers
• Following up with customers that we need more information from
• Entering the orders in our database
• Updating the database everyday with what was completed the day before
• Tracking orders
• Answering emails {this means you need to be able to compose a legible email that is free from spelling and grammatical errors.... I am picky about this}
• Printing calendars for open orders
• Printing tabs for open orders
• Tracking supplies and placing ordering as necessary
• Preparing orders for shipment

It is all quite simple stuff... it is just the stuff that gets me very bogged down and stuck at the computer.  I think that someone else could probably get done in 2 hours what takes me 5, because I get interrupted a lot.

Now, here are the less-official requirements:

• You must have a good sense of humor!  We like to have fun in this office and being okay with teasing and sarcasm is a must.
• Jennifer says that you cannot have an annoying laugh.  She holds "Annoying Laugh Veto Power".
• You need to be confident enough to answer easy questions on your own, but smart enough to know when you can't.
• You cannot be too sensitive for yelling.  Sometimes I yell.  Mostly at computers and printers and rarely at employees... but it happens.

If you are interested, or know someone that might be, please send me an email at info@muchadoaboutyou.com.  Then be patient with me while I try to find the time to respond to you.

Who wouldn't want to join this motley crew???