Motorcycle Lessons

I am patiently waiting for my Tangerine Stella scooter to come in. I signed up to take the class for my M Class license quite a while ago, assuming that I would have already gotten my scooter and would have been able to have plenty of practice before the class. But no such luck. My class starts on Saturday and I realized today that I had never even been on a motorcycle. Daddy to the rescue. It felt a little like I was 16 again…Daddy teaches Ashley to drive.

It definitely takes some getting used to. It was actually a lot harder than I expected. Ben came up to the office with the kids so Nolen got a chance to ride, too. Ben wasn’t in the best mood because he accidentally hit the ordering station at Sonic when he pulled out and put a nice little dent in the car – but having a ride on the motorcycle certainly lifted his mood. Thanks Em for taking the pics. That was a great idea!

Motorcycle Lessons

I am patiently waiting for my Tangerine Stella scooter to come in. I signed up to take the class for my M Class license quite a while ago, assuming that I would have already gotten my scooter and would have been able to have plenty of practice before the class. But no such luck. My class starts on Saturday and I realized today that I had never even been on a motorcycle. Daddy to the rescue. It felt a little like I was 16 again…Daddy teaches Ashley to drive.

It definitely takes some getting used to. It was actually a lot harder than I expected. Ben came up to the office with the kids so Nolen got a chance to ride, too. Ben wasn’t in the best mood because he accidentally hit the ordering station at Sonic when he pulled out and put a nice little dent in the car – but having a ride on the motorcycle certainly lifted his mood. Thanks Em for taking the pics. That was a great idea!

A Facial with Smirnoff

Ahhhh…what an excellent day! A little creativity goes a long way. Kate and I worked on new product today. It was wonderful to have the ideas flowing and getting so many details nailed down. We really didn’t get working on anything until 2:30 and I left her house at 5:30 but dang those were some productive 3 hours. The exciting part is that we have a ton more ideas to work through! I’m celebrating the fun with a night of facial masks and a Black Cherry Smirnoff Twisted – it’s the only one I have so I better enjoy it. My two year old daughter is begging for a sip…tempting…but better not. I’m hoping my face doesn’t go up in flames tonight. I started with a cleanser, followed by a scrub, then a cleansing mask, a moisturizing mask, Microderm Abrasion scrub and finally a super-moisturizing mask. That’s about 2 weeks worth of skincare shoved into an hour. I’ll tell you if it does any good.

I have to get back to work after the kids go to bed…press release to review and some other writing to do. And I really, really need to take the Christmas decorations down. It’s infinitely depressing to still have the house decorated for Christmas on the 10th of January. I’m sure the neighbors are talking.

A Facial with Smirnoff

Ahhhh…what an excellent day! A little creativity goes a long way. Kate and I worked on new product today. It was wonderful to have the ideas flowing and getting so many details nailed down. We really didn’t get working on anything until 2:30 and I left her house at 5:30 but dang those were some productive 3 hours. The exciting part is that we have a ton more ideas to work through! I’m celebrating the fun with a night of facial masks and a Black Cherry Smirnoff Twisted – it’s the only one I have so I better enjoy it. My two year old daughter is begging for a sip…tempting…but better not. I’m hoping my face doesn’t go up in flames tonight. I started with a cleanser, followed by a scrub, then a cleansing mask, a moisturizing mask, Microderm Abrasion scrub and finally a super-moisturizing mask. That’s about 2 weeks worth of skincare shoved into an hour. I’ll tell you if it does any good.

I have to get back to work after the kids go to bed…press release to review and some other writing to do. And I really, really need to take the Christmas decorations down. It’s infinitely depressing to still have the house decorated for Christmas on the 10th of January. I’m sure the neighbors are talking.

Desperate for sleep

Ben is out of town again so I’m attempting to hold my own as a single mom. I’m so tired! This morning, I could not possibly manage to get up so I did something that I’m pretty sure is in the ‘What not to do’ chapter in any parenting book…I agreed to pay my son if he would take care of Ella while I slept in. He wanted $20 but we settled on $10. So basically I paid $5 per hour of extra sleep. I really can’t believe he wanted $20. What was he thinking? So I’m sure I’ll have to take him to Target today so he can spend his “well-earned” money. When I was a kid, my mom would pay us a nickel for every minute we rubbed her feet. That’s way more disturbing than what I did this morning, don’t you think?

I’m about to load the kids up and head to the Fossil store for a new sling purse. I’m addicted to sling purses – I can’t imagine carrying a regular purse anymore – I have to have a bag that’s strapped to my body. As much us I leave my sling bag in restaurants, stores, work and home, I can only imagine how often I’d lose a regular purse. I just wish there were cuter options.

There’s a new outdoor mall nearby where the Fossil store is and I’m dying to try out my new Joovy Caboose stroller that has a place for Grace to sit and a platform/jumpseat for Ella. You know you’re old when you get excited about breaking in new baby gear. It’s such a beautiful day today so it’s a perfect day for such an errand. Better get to it. Only 3 hours ’till the stores close.

Desperate for sleep

Ben is out of town again so I’m attempting to hold my own as a single mom. I’m so tired! This morning, I could not possibly manage to get up so I did something that I’m pretty sure is in the ‘What not to do’ chapter in any parenting book…I agreed to pay my son if he would take care of Ella while I slept in. He wanted $20 but we settled on $10. So basically I paid $5 per hour of extra sleep. I really can’t believe he wanted $20. What was he thinking? So I’m sure I’ll have to take him to Target today so he can spend his “well-earned” money. When I was a kid, my mom would pay us a nickel for every minute we rubbed her feet. That’s way more disturbing than what I did this morning, don’t you think?

I’m about to load the kids up and head to the Fossil store for a new sling purse. I’m addicted to sling purses – I can’t imagine carrying a regular purse anymore – I have to have a bag that’s strapped to my body. As much us I leave my sling bag in restaurants, stores, work and home, I can only imagine how often I’d lose a regular purse. I just wish there were cuter options.

There’s a new outdoor mall nearby where the Fossil store is and I’m dying to try out my new Joovy Caboose stroller that has a place for Grace to sit and a platform/jumpseat for Ella. You know you’re old when you get excited about breaking in new baby gear. It’s such a beautiful day today so it’s a perfect day for such an errand. Better get to it. Only 3 hours ’till the stores close.

Happy New Year!

Yesterday was a great New Year’s Day. I was completely engaged in my craft for 10 hours. I cropped with Virginia and Bernie and the Scrap Bucket in Plano, TX. I don’t know that I’ve ever really cropped at a store before – certainly not in the last 3 years. I’ve hosted countless crops as a store owner but rarely was able to participate, so yesterday was reviving. I didn’t get nearly done what I wanted to but I have a mission and a goal and am now somewhat organized. I’ve decided to take over the living room and leave my stuff out indefinitely, much to my husband’s dismay. I need to be able to work on it constantly but still be with my family. I hated leaving them yesterday.

Today, I’m off to see Narnia with Ben and Nolen. My sister is keeping the babies so the three of us can have an outing…like the old days when Nolen was an only child.

I’m anticipating a new toy this week that is going to change my lifestyle completely. Can’t wait!! And no, it’s not excercise equipment though that wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Happy New Year!

Yesterday was a great New Year’s Day. I was completely engaged in my craft for 10 hours. I cropped with Virginia and Bernie and the Scrap Bucket in Plano, TX. I don’t know that I’ve ever really cropped at a store before – certainly not in the last 3 years. I’ve hosted countless crops as a store owner but rarely was able to participate, so yesterday was reviving. I didn’t get nearly done what I wanted to but I have a mission and a goal and am now somewhat organized. I’ve decided to take over the living room and leave my stuff out indefinitely, much to my husband’s dismay. I need to be able to work on it constantly but still be with my family. I hated leaving them yesterday.

Today, I’m off to see Narnia with Ben and Nolen. My sister is keeping the babies so the three of us can have an outing…like the old days when Nolen was an only child.

I’m anticipating a new toy this week that is going to change my lifestyle completely. Can’t wait!! And no, it’s not excercise equipment though that wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Smella

My brain hurts, my body hurts and I’m completely exhausted. I can barely keep my eyes open to even write. Today was a crazy day but very fun. I finished up some odds and ends at the office first thing this morn, then met Kate at Northpark Mall for some trend spotting and product development work. I love this part of my job but this is why my brain hurts tonight. We worked through so many awesome ideas. We have a lot of work ahead of us and I still need to go through some old notebooks and e-mails to search for random ideas and such but at least the process of our next launch has begun.

After my day fun, Ben and I loaded up the kids and went to my friend Penny’s house for dinner (an hour late, mind you). Penny became a friend of mine as a customer when I owned the scrapbook store. She and her husband have 3 kids – Mitchell, Allison & Michael. We haven’t had the opportunity to get our families together in over a year, so I was really looking forward to catching up while the kids played. We all had a great time until about 5 minutes before we waked out the door to head home.

Ella (2 yrs old) came pulling at my shirt and looking very distressed, had me follow her into the playroom where I was greeted with a smell that immediately told me something that something was amiss. She pointed to a lovely patch of you know what. I immediately thought, oops…the dog had an accident on the carpet…only Penny and Greg don’t have a dog. The next 30 minutes were spent with me on my hand and knees with the Bissell Green Machine scrubbing the carpet and Ben hosing Ella down in their bathtub. What a way to end the night. Penny and Greg now have a permanent reminder of the Smiths’ visit – until they get new carpet anyway. Nolen made me laugh. As we walked out to the car, he exclaimed, “Hey, Mom. Now we have 3 names for Ella… Ella, Hella (a name we use when Ella not on her best behavior) and Smella!”

Smella

My brain hurts, my body hurts and I’m completely exhausted. I can barely keep my eyes open to even write. Today was a crazy day but very fun. I finished up some odds and ends at the office first thing this morn, then met Kate at Northpark Mall for some trend spotting and product development work. I love this part of my job but this is why my brain hurts tonight. We worked through so many awesome ideas. We have a lot of work ahead of us and I still need to go through some old notebooks and e-mails to search for random ideas and such but at least the process of our next launch has begun.

After my day fun, Ben and I loaded up the kids and went to my friend Penny’s house for dinner (an hour late, mind you). Penny became a friend of mine as a customer when I owned the scrapbook store. She and her husband have 3 kids – Mitchell, Allison & Michael. We haven’t had the opportunity to get our families together in over a year, so I was really looking forward to catching up while the kids played. We all had a great time until about 5 minutes before we waked out the door to head home.

Ella (2 yrs old) came pulling at my shirt and looking very distressed, had me follow her into the playroom where I was greeted with a smell that immediately told me something that something was amiss. She pointed to a lovely patch of you know what. I immediately thought, oops…the dog had an accident on the carpet…only Penny and Greg don’t have a dog. The next 30 minutes were spent with me on my hand and knees with the Bissell Green Machine scrubbing the carpet and Ben hosing Ella down in their bathtub. What a way to end the night. Penny and Greg now have a permanent reminder of the Smiths’ visit – until they get new carpet anyway. Nolen made me laugh. As we walked out to the car, he exclaimed, “Hey, Mom. Now we have 3 names for Ella… Ella, Hella (a name we use when Ella not on her best behavior) and Smella!”