Happy New Year!

Here we are on day 365, the New Year stretched out before us like a beautifully blank piece of paper just waiting to be written upon.

I feel as though much of what I could say here would sound very cliche and so I will keep it simple and say that 2010 has been a definitive year of growth for me personally. So much has happened that has brought both joy and sadness, but at its end lessons have been learned, new and wonderful connections have been made, friendships have blossomed and hope springs eternal (sorry, I couldn't help it!). I am so happy and grateful for all that has transpired and very excited to see where the year ahead will take me.

I am also very thankful for my cool little group of readers here in this humble space. I look forward to updating it on a more regular basis and plan to share some old family recipes as I have severely neglected my foodie side as of late!

I get nervous about sharing resolutions because, in true Gemini fashion, I will jinx myself. I can tell you that one of my main goals is to continue to find balance in life and to worry less. What are some of yours?

I want to wish you all the best that 2011 has to offer - now get out there and getcha some!!

Happy New Year and Much Love!

XO

It Is A Beautiful World Indeed!

A funny thing happened one day, approximately three years ago... My husband was at the park playing with our two daughters aged four and almost two at the time. A mom at the park struck up a conversation with my dashingly handsome hubby, they got to talking and she explained that she was passing an hour while her older daughter was having a riding lesson at the farm down the road. A name and a phone number was given and thus began a very special relationship with a pony named Bonnie Beau Dot, a beautiful young woman who we think is the best riding instructor on the planet, and the owner of the farm, who I will refer to here as "Mrs. P." - a gorgeous, sassy, firecracker of a lady who might be found riding a big tractor or covered in some type of animal excrement one moment, and then spiffed up and sparkling, the effortlessly gracious party hostess the next. Mrs. P.'s farm is a magical place...


Last Friday night, Mrs. P. hosted a "House Concert" featuring Adam Crossley. What a treat to be able to meet and experience his music in such an intimate setting. Adam drew us all in with his sense of humor and gift of storytelling. Think Coldplay and Sting rolled into one big ball of fantasticalicious musicality - he's got that "it" factor that cannot be bought or taught. Adam Crossley is the real deal and I would like to help spread the word about this very talented singer songwiter.

In 2009 His song "Beautiful World" topped the AC Billboard charts and was the #1 Christmas song in America for three weeks in a row! You can listen here and also find it on his most recent album "Anvil Of A Heart" Adam Crossley : Beautiful World I have no idea why we aren't seeing Adam everywhere...but I have a feeling we will be soon!

As a bonus to our lovely evening, Crescent Moon Coffee and Tea Co. provided baked treats and the best coffee in the county!

At one point during the evening, my husband turned to me and said "What if I hadn't gone to the park that day with the girls?" We have had so many fun experiences, met some wonderful people, and made some lasting memories at this special place.

It's funny how things happen...and I trust that they're happening exactly as they should.

TLC's Homemade Millionaire Episode 4

Based on conversations here and over at Tracy's ProductX Blog, this Friday's Homemade Millionaire hosted by the Super Fantasticalicious Kelly Ripa is sure to be an exciting one!

Don't shoot me, but I will not be watching or tweeting this Friday. I've got it set to record on my DVR and will not check anything online until after I watch. I've got a hot date with my husband and we don't get out much. So, while I am very excited to go out and hear some live music in a very cozy setting (which will also include good food, wine and making conversation with grown-ups), I am very sorry to be missing the show, and will be with you in spirit!

If what I have been reading about is true, I think we might be in for some "real" reality Friday night. It looks like all three of these brainy broads with big ideas (sorry, I couldn't help myself) have very appealing products.

Sarah Haviland and her Think Brand Products look very interesting. Hmmm, the sleuth in me wonders why her website is "under construction" with "more info coming soon"...a clue? I guess we will have to wait and see!

I love, love, LUV Haris Lender and her Luv-A-Cuva - so simple, so ingenious! (big sigh...yes, her name and company name are still wrong on this promo video I grabbed from YouTube. They fixed the one on the TLC website, but I was unable to get that one :) sorry Haris!) Kelly clearly LUVS your CUVA too and I think it's a winner!

Robyn Zimmer and her Window Origamilook so fabulous, I don't know anyone who wouldn't want these beautiful window treatments in their home! Definitely a "why didn't I think of that" invention.

Wishing all three of you ladies the best of luck! We will be watching and rooting for you.

Kelly, if there's a chance you might be reading this, I hope the hip mends quickly and that Mark is waiting on you personally and appropriately (wink, wink).

Ready, Set, Let's Get Published!

The proverbial cheerleader in me (for the record, I never was an actual cheerleader) has been having such a blast writing, connecting, learning and sharing on BookRix that I wanna shout it to the moon! Have you got a book in your head just trying to get out? Well, grab your pencils, stretch your imagination and buckle up! It's gonna be a word wranglin', keyboard poundin' round up! Ahem, seriously, this is really fantastical.

Think that holding your own published book in your hands is a dream off in the distance? Not true! BookRix wants to help you get published with their free-to-enter BookRix “Get Published” Contest, going on now through January 17th, 2011.

This is a new style of contest for BookRix to host – at the end of this contest, one lucky winner will get to publish his or her book!

The grand prize, generously provided by

CreateSpace, is a Total Design Freedom Advanced Publishing Solution, (valued at $2,567!) which will include a custom cover and interior design, comprehensive copyediting, promotional text creation, a press release with targeted distribution, a complimentary upgrade to their Pro Plan, and a free CreateSpace ISBN if the winner does not already have one.

Plus, the winner of the “Get Published” BookRix Contest can choose any of the following sales channels through which he or she would like to enable the book for sale: the Amazon.com website, a CreateSpace eStore, and the CreateSpace expanded distribution channel.

The second place winner will receive a prize of $500 cash, with third place winning $300!

Have you just completed a NaNoWriMo novel this past November? Upload your NaNo work before January 17, 2011, for a chance to see your name in print! Join theFacebook Get Published BookRix Event to receive updates and news pertaining to this fantastic FREE contest!

Specific Contest Guidelines:

The book you choose to upload for the contest must be at least 25 BookRix pages long, but must not be your complete work. That will come later. You may not upload the entire book on to BookRix to be eligible for this contest.

All books must have a cover during the contest. However, the author whose book wins the first place prize will receive a unique cover as part of the prize provided by CreateSpace. Therefore, the “Get Published” contest entry covers on BookRix should be considered temporary.

Only fiction and nonfiction work is allowed in this contest.
You cannot enter work that has taken part in previous BookRix writing contests.

If you make it into the top ten or wildcard pick(s), you will be notified by BookRix to your personal e-mail address. At this time, you must send BookRix your complete work. So have your entire work completed ahead of time, but do not upload it on to BookRix. You will only have seven (7) days from notification to send in your book to BookRix via e-mail.

The complete work must be at least 30,000 words long and sent in Word document (or similar text file) format to contact-en@bookrix.com after you receive official notification that you have made it into the top ten or wildcard pick(s) on BookRix.

If the chosen authors do not send their complete work within seven days, the next best-ranked author will be contacted and so on until ten best-rated books can be given to the jury for selection.

This contest is free-to-enter. Contestants must create a BookRix user profile to submit their works or to vote on contestants to participate.

Authors must register their stories for the contest by January 17, 2011, 6 pm (EST) / 9 am (PST)/ 11 pm (GMT).

You've Got Questions, I've Got Answers About TLC's Homemade Millionaire

Bless my Mama and pass me some pancakes, there has been a LOT of behind the scenes speculations about just exactly what the dillio might be with Homemade Millionaire, Milojo et al. Frankly, I am on the brink of over-analysis paralysis myself and I am not even on the show!

Couple of things that many of us have been noticing, and this first one might not seem like a big deal until you ask yourself the question: What if it were me and my business? So, without further ado ~

Five days ago, I politely brought it to the attention of the kind folks at The Learning Channel (which makes this slightly ironic come to think of it) that in their sneak peek video for this week they have Haris Lender and her company, LUV-A-CUVA spelled wrong (Harris Lender, Lova-Cova). They thanked me kindly and said how appreciative they were that I brought it to their attention. While I am sure that the person who sent me that message was, in fact, appreciative, the message has gotten lost somewhere down The Learning Channel pipeline never seeming to have reached the person whose job it is to edit their website. As of right now (I just double checked to save myself the taste of foot in mouth) 6:38 p.m. EST, still not changed.

I also had a very nice conversation with a trusted source at Milojo, who assured me they had also been in touch with TLC's publicity people to fix the very same issue and that they would reach out again. It feels like the folks at Kelly Ripa's production company, Milojo seem to genuinely care - at this point I am not so sure about TLC. I mean, they're The LEARNING Channel after all. I guess I have it in my head that tv networks employ the best and brightest and don't understand how many minutes it could possibly take for someone to fix this. Anywhoo - next!

We have also been wondering why Milojo had disappeared from Google! There was deep sucking in of breath and the rumblings of no hope for a Season 2 if Milojo has disappeared! Not to worry - Milojo is right here, chugging happily along and also very happy to know that they've got an SEO issue to deal with.

We wondered why, on the Monday morning after the premier of Homemade Millionaire, when Regis asked Kelly what she did over the weekend there was no talk of it whatsoever! What?! How could this possibly be? What does it mean? Why would she not be talking about how exciting it was to crown the first winner Marcy McKenna and her Styling Station?

My sweet source patiently explained to me that the Live Show that aired Monday, November 22 was taped previously because the Regis and Kelly folks were out taping in Las Vegas - mystery solved.

Many of us are still wondering why this show seems to be under publicized. I wanted to ask my source about this as well, but alas, time ran out. Maybe someone out there in tv land can shed some light.

Lot's of other interesting rumblings going on over at ProductX, but I'm hoping to get some conversations started here as well, so I hope you'll feel free to comment and share your own insights.

Looking forward to what I am predicting will be a VERY exciting show this Friday! Stay tuned for a preview...

And in case you're wondering, this is what I look like at approximately 6:15 a.m.

As always - thank you for reading! So many interesting people out there to connect with!

XO

TLC's Homemade Millionaire Episode 3

Hey party people! Looking forward to seeing what Homemade Millionaire has to offer this evening! While I am starting to wonder if this might be the most under publicized show in TLC's line-up... (a post for another time) I am excited for these three ladies!!

Will it be Erika Wilson and her fabulous Purse Flats, Jennifer Martinson and her Magic Dress or Carissa Brown and her Carissa Rose Designs for us busty gals?

While there is no promo video this week, I can tell you (from my very quick research this morning) it looks like a couple of these women already have some great press under their belts! Carissa Brown has been featured by Adam Glassman, Creative Director for O Magazine , and Erika Wilson's Purse Flats have been featured in Glamour Magazine's Fashion Blog and MSNBC's Elevator Pitch! Jennifer Martinson, if you're reading, please feel free to plug any of your own press here as well!

So excited for the three of you and can't wait to see what comes out HAUTE tonight!

Feel free to share any and all advice with us here! We're also having some great conversations about Homemade Millionaire over at Tracy's ProductX blog - so be sure to check that out too!

Best of luck to all of you!