Proof

Proof that I wasn't the only one who thought "John From Cincinnati" was boring.

Proof that babies really can sleep in any position:


He fell asleep sitting up and just fell straight forward. I know it's cruel to take a picture of this, but in all fairness, I did move him to a more comfortable position after taking it.

Proof that even babies know how to avoid the paparazzi:



****Edited to include smaller pictures.

Chocolate, Pre-School and Jerk of the Week

Still no name. I'm still down to Third Coast Chocolate and Eat This Chocolate, but I'm waiting on several things before I decide. First, Ryan has to set up a URL for me. If one of the names is not available, then obviously we'll go with the other.

And second, a friend of mine is coming over next week to help me develop a logo and color scheme. Once we've come up with a logo, I'll post it here to reveal the company's name, so you'll just have to wait a bit longer. My friend is also a whiz at marketing so I'm going to pick her brain about that as well. So much to do!

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In other news, Sydney starts full time pre-school in a couple of weeks. I'm a little sad to have my girl gone all week, but it's time for it to happen. She and I have been at odds all too frequently the last few months and we are both in need of a substantial break from one another. Our personalities are quite similar and that is bound to cause conflict. A lot of conflict. But, don't feel sorry for her or me. If you want to feel sorry for someone, feel sorry for Ryan since he's got two stubborn, argumentative females to contend with.

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And finally, did you hear about the woman in this article? She wins the award for "Jerk of the Week". Yes, it's an award that I made up. I think I just might make it a weekly post topic. Heaven knows there are plenty of jerks out there.

And the Winner is.......

I don't know. Sorry. I know the suspense is killing some of you, but I just can't decide between Eat This Chocolate and Third Coast Chocolate. I'm still waiting for feedback from my parents (yes, I'm a grown up who still seeks approval from my parents who don't read this blog and don't check their e-mail all that often) and then Ryan and I are going to reserve (and I'm sure there's a more official word for it than that) a web address so that we can start setting up the web page. How's that for a run-on sentence?

A HUGE thank you to everyone who popped on to vote for a name. Who knew all I had to do to get all those comments was say "please" so much? I just might have to give all of you some free chocolate. Of course, if you live more than 30 miles away and I have to mail it, then you'll have to wait until November so the scorching temperatures don't melt it in transit.

In other chocolate news, I made some "thank-you" truffles for the mom hosting Liam's swim class and she passed the box around the group. All of the families live in the neighborhood, which is my target market anyway, and everyone raved. I don't know if they were just being nice or if they truly liked it, but I went ahead and announced that I was starting my own business making it.

So I guess it's official. I am a business owner.

Scary, huh?

VOTE!!!!!

OK, I think I'm going to do it! Now I need everyone's help in voting for a name for the business. Please, please, please leave your vote in the comments section.

Carpe Dulces (Latin for "to pluck sweetness")
Eat This Chocolate
Sinful, Yet Sweet
The Fifth Food Group
Third Coast Chocolate


Please vote for one of the above or leave me another idea in the comments section.

Thanks!

Coward

I am admitting it....I am a coward. I posted a while back about wanting to start a business and I just can't work up the courage to do it. I'm not afraid of researching chocolate suppliers and candy equipment and I'm definitely not afraid of all of the work making the chocolates or the party favors. In fact, I really like making the treats.

I'm afraid of the food licensing rules in the great state of Texas. You see, the state will not issue a food license unless the food is made in a location that is not a residence. It makes sense and I completely understand the reasoning, but the whole point of setting up this business is that I could do it while my kids were napping, in my own kitchen, on my own time.

Of course, I can do it anyway and just not have a license, but I am a total scare-dy cat and goody two shoes who has this thing about following the law.

There are commercial kitchens nearby that rent out space by the hour, but it just doesn't seem feasible when toting around an infant, especially when it takes hours to make, set and form the chocolate.

Hmmmm.....any ideas?

Dreaming of Cooler Temperatures

So since it's 95 degrees outside with 90% humidity, I decided to cool myself off by dreaming of autumn and I started planning the kids' Halloween costumes this year. Of course, now that Sydney is older, I'm past the opportunity to choose her costume for her, but if I had my way, they'd be dressed like one of these famous pairs:

Shrek and Fiona

Frodo and Arwen

Yoda or Darth Vader and Princess Leia

Cowardly Lion and Dorothy

But, since I don't have my way, I guess Sydney will get her wish to be Cinderella or Snow White and Liam will be something adorable, like a monkey or a koala. At least I still get to choose his costume!

Is it Just Me..... Part Deux

So Ryan told me that my last post accomplished two things: I let everyone know I was having a bad day by ranting and that I proved I was a dork by comparing segments of the Star Wars and LOTR trilogies. He's right on both counts. I'm not embarrassed to admit I'm a dork (because he is one, too), but I after re-reading the post, I am embarrassed by how negative it was. So here's my positive "Is it Just Me...." post.

Is it Just Me.....

......or are Jane Austen's stories really not that bad? (I know, that's not truly positive, but it's as positive as I can get about Jane Austen.) I never could get all the way through "Pride and Prejudice" and I've tried twice: once as a teenager (yay for Cliff's Notes) and once last year. I never made it past Chapter 3, but I did check this out of the library last week and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I just might have to try the book again.

......or is Colin Firth one of the best and cutest actors EVER? I've loved everything I've seen him in, even when he played a jerk in "Shakespeare in Love", and it was perhaps his starring role in the movie linked above that made me check it out in the first place. If you're a fan of "Friends", you'll understand when I say I think he just scored a place on my "List".

......or does watching your kids accomplish something difficult help you keep plugging away with all of the hard work of parenting? Seeing Liam crawl and Sydney sound out words and actually read them ("I did it!! I did it!!") kind of gave me a second-wind of sorts this week.

......or is ice cream the absolute best invention EVER? Next to air conditioning, of course. I think I'm addicted to ice cream and we don't even have it all that often. Just thinking about it makes me salivate a la Homer Simpson and his donuts.

.....or is yard work an activity that can actually be fun? I spent a couple of hours pulling weeds and raking last weekend and enjoyed myself. Of course, my iPod shuffle helped keep me going; I just love being "surprised" with the songs it selects. Were it not for the gallon of bug spray I had to use to ward off pterodactyl-sized mosquitoes and the buckets of sweat that poured off of body parts I didn't know I had, I think yard work could actually rank right up there with reading and cooking as one of my favorite activities.

And in more positive news - our car is back! It has a new hood, bumper, radiator and other innards that I don't know the names of and it looks and runs great! We paid a grand total of $38 to have the side mirror replaced since it was a casualty of my ill-fated Monday Morning Garbage Can Obstacle Course run and not the wreck, but that's it. Our insurance took care of the rest and it's now up to them to haggle with the other guy's insurance. And our insurance turned down his claim to repair his car. HA!

So how's that for being positive?