EDUCATION CITY WEBSITE

I just signed my two youngest ones up for a great site - education city DOT com. If you sign up and use a  code that I am giving you here, Tell A Friend Code: H4C5GC5B we will get three free months towards our subscriptions!

It is worth checking out. I came upon it from studyisland.com (used by schools here) where I discovered ABCReadingEggs.com. I have a 5 year old in Kindergarten who hasn't taken to reading quite as easily as his 7 year old sister and 14 year old brother did when they were introduced to reading. So with Little Man it's been more of a challenge. The website is great, and tonight we completed 10 lessons on ABC Reading Eggs. The free trial is for 14 days and already he's done more in an hour than I've been able to get him to do in 10 minute sessions without bribing strongly encouraging him. I guess Flash on the internet beats Flash Cards that mom made...

So please, check out the sites if you have little ones in Elementary school, and if you do sign up for EducationCity.com won't you please use the Tell A Friend Code: H4C5GC5B

NAMASTE

If you've come for cake or cake related words you will not find them here, at least for today. About a week ago I signed up for The 21 Day Meditation Challenge here.  I have meditated in the past, but it didn't 'stick', so when I saw this opportunity, I jumped on it. Lately I have been feeling out of balance, as I am sure a lot of mothers and wives do. I'm not much different from all the rest of you, I just have the additional challenge of working from home all day with my husband, who also works from home all day.

December marks our 15 year Anniversary. At this point, being together 24/7 works for us (mostly), but if it we were together this much in the early stages of our marriage, I doubt we would have seen this milestone. Our youngest, who is 5, will be starting Kindergarten in exactly 12 days. I'm sure it will be like it was on the first day of school for my other two children; I will walk them to their classrooms. I will observe them. I will see them fighting nervous excitement. My heart will flood with empathy and pride. I will turn away so they don't see me crying. My husband will take my hand, chuckle and say 'Uh oh, you okay Mommy?' which will make me cry a little more while I begin laughing at myself. Then I will be hit with the reality that I have not been home without a child to tend to all day since my daughter was born 7 years ago.

So now I have a wonderful, new chapter of life ahead of me. I get to take time to devote to my husband and to my business. And this is why I am participating in the 21 Day Meditation Challenge offered by the Chopra Center. First, I want to get into the habit of meditating (hence 21 days) and I'm hoping to get to a higher awareness of the possibilities that come from meditating. I know, sounds a little 'out there', but so what.

Day one went perfectly smooth. Today was Day 2 and not quite so smooth as yesterday. I had trouble not getting distracted, but apparently however it goes is exactly how it's supposed to go. 'Meditation is like a snowflake; no two are the same'. 

I invite you to join me. Join me here to learn about my journey, or join me out there to begin your own. They make it really easy - just sign up and they deliver it to your inbox early every morning so it's there when you wake up. Simple. Here's the link: http://www.chopra.com/meditationchallenge

Namaste - literal translation: “I bow to you.”

I LOVE LOCAL VENDORS!

I love local vendors who are not too big to provide outstanding customer service. I often email photographers to ask for a copy of a photograph that they shot, of a wedding cake I provided.  The idea is they email the pictures to me and in return I put their link on my website and with the picture of the cake. Fair enough. Who couldn't use more exposure? Well, apparently a lot of people. Of the dozens of offers I've made over the years, only a handful have responded and only one or two said okay. HOWEVER, every now and again you have the pleasure of experiencing just the opposite.

After a very stressful day yesterday, I received an email from one of my brides letting me know that her photographers site had their wedding pictures posted. So I checked them out, and they were great. I emailed the photographer, not expecting to hear back for a dew days, if at all. Wasn't I pleasantly surprised when I received an email, not an hour later, with the photos attached. She gave me a lovely compliment on the cake setup AND a thank you!

No, Lynn Harris, THANK YOU! You made my crummy day end on an upswing, and I so appreciate you for that. And your prompt customer service. Outstanding!

The bride chose to have a Wedding Cupcake Tower. On a side note, the bride is quite creative. She did most of the decorations herself which were so unique and she blogged about her preparations for her wedding so her family could get updates! When I arrived to set up the cake, the way she had decorated the cupcake tower was beyond cute and the perfect backdrop for the cake. Keep in mind when the cupcake towers are shipped, they are plain, white cardboard. She did a fantastic job and transformed it into this:

Don't you just love the colors? They make me feel like spring.

And here's the cutting cake. Vibrant. Happy. Like the couple. Congratulations Clip and Judy!

Photos courtesy of Lynn Harris Photography. You can visit Lynn's site here. 

MEMORIAL DAY

This is such a bittersweet holiday for so many. For some of us, Memorial Day loses the meaning if you've never said goodbye to someone in uniform not knowing if and when they'll return. So this year, make it more about what it actually is and less about the barbecue. And if you need to get into the real spirit of it, head on over to Pioneer Woman who's new photography assignment is titled appropriately "Coming Home."  You can view them here, and here and here.
I must warn you to go there only with a large box of Kleenex. And make sure know one is around to witness your face while you're in the midst of the ugly cry.

Thank you to all of the men and women who fight for our country and our freedom and to the family members of these brave humans who wait for their return.

ITS THAT TIME

Housecleaning. Housekeeping. Blech. Those are dirty words. My house is not messy. It's lived in. When you have children, especially young ones, it's normal that your house looks lived in, right? And when you run a business from your home, it's even worse. Especially when your business is baking. A few words to facilitate a mental image: powdered sugar, flour, cocoa, buttercream, eggs, cream, icing color, mixing bowls, beaters, pots, pans, spatulas, measuring spoons and cups, pastry bags, pastry bag tips, and on and on AND ON.

Throw in being married to a man who also works from home, who has undiagnosed OCD about keeping neat, clean and organized (not to mention a secret obsession with having no dirty clothes in the laundry room) and the pressure is on to at least keep up with the day to day. There's a few problems though. One, I looooooath cleaning. Two, I am a procrastinator. Three, I am the 'creative type'; typically unconcerned with having an immaculate house. Organization can be a challenge.

So today and tomorrow, I am going to speed clean. I am getting my bucket of cleaning supplies ready, I am turning off my computer, my blackberry and the television. I am kicking the kids outside, cranking the music and will be out of the gates like Calvin Borel riding Super Saver. Hopefully I'll last longer than two minutes!

Why the sudden urge? There will soon be some redecorating going on in this house. So I need to get things organized, do some purging in closets and such. I need a clean palette. A fresh perspective. A blank canvas will open up the space so I can do something here with all of the ideas I have found. I discovered some incredible women bloggers last night and got some fantastic ideas around decorating for less without it looking cheap. Check them out here and here. I am warning you though, do it when you have an hour (or two) free because one amazing blog that you will want to read from first post to last will lead you to another blog that you want to read from top to bottom too. Thank you Sarah from Thrifty Decor Chick and Katie from Bless Our Nest. You've both inspired me to make my house feel welcome and cozy to not just it's residents, but everyone who enters.

And she's off....