{Birthday Girls}

Tis the season for birthdays - and lots of them! Many of my family members have birthdays during the August - December months so there are many parties and special dinners during this time. It gets quite busy! This year Cory and I decided to take it easy and have one combo party for Sasha and Clara. Their birthdays are just six weeks apart, so we picked one of the only free Saturdays we have (today, the 3rd) and had a simple pizza party in the backyard with our family.

I was actually out of state on Clara's birthday this year. :( It's always hard to miss a birthday and I think this was the third birthday of Clara's that I've missed because Tastefully Simple's National Conference fell over her big day. But she was a trooper. Cory made her entire birthday weekend extra special and she knew her party was coming soon. Sasha's birthday is coming up at the end of September, so she got a bit of an early celebration today. We'll still do something special on her actual birthday, too.

My little girl is not so little anymore - Clara turned 6 on August 13th! I'm so proud of her and her fearless personality. She is having a blast in kindergarten and has been reading quite well for the past year. She's very excited to be a Girl Scout Daisy this year and to add playing soccer to her list of activities!

Sasha turns 8 on September 30th! Where did the years go? Wasn't she just a 5.5 pound little pink bundle? Sasha is amazing in so many ways. She is very sensitive, very in tune to her own and others' feelings, very smart, and very much into everything girly and sparkly. She is now in the 2nd grade and loving it! She is also starting to play soccer this year for the first time - something she never thought she'd do, but she's looking forward to it.

So we invited all of our family members to come over for a pizza party this evening. It was warm and muggy, but the cousins all had a blast playing catch with a football, riding down a hill in a Red Flyer wagon, and just playing together outside. It was awesome to see so many family members together for a rather relaxing evening since it doesn't happen all that often. And moments like this one need to happen more often:

That's my grandmother, Mom-Mom, with my newest nephew, Jayce. I think they are playing patty-cake. So cute!

Clearly, the girls were excited to dive into their presents!

Many of the gifts will be shared, like this adorable chef's outfit and accessories for their American Girl dolls.

All of the gifts were perfect. Art supplies, Barbie and American Girl goodies, clothes, jewelry . . . these girls were wonderfully spoiled.

The last gifts that Sasha and Clara opened were from Cory and me. Clara has been asking for a GoGo and Me dog for a year. Actually, "asking" isn't quite the right word. "Begging" is more like it. It's the only thing she has really wanted and consistently talked about for a year. I didn't want to get it because it's expensive and honestly - we have two REAL dogs! She can walk and play with them! But I don't want her to be in therapy in twenty years talking about how her parents refused to get her the only thing she really ever wanted . . .

So here it is. GoGo and Me Fur Real Pet is officially in the hands of an ecstatic Clara!

I wasn't quite sure what to get for Sasha. I thought I'd give her a nice, introductory level digital camera since she likes to take pictures with my camera, but I couldn't find one I liked for less than $200. Not gonna happen. Then I happened to come upon Flip cams on clearance and "DING DING DING"!!! That was it! Sasha is always asking me to take her and Clara doing little skits and things, so this is perfect. She can make her own videos and will have a blast. She is quite excited and can hardly wait to start using her Flip tomorrow once it's charged.

Time for cake! I was going to make the girls' cakes this year, but when I asked them what kind of cake they wanted they requested "the cake that Dixon had last year." Well, it was actually a Food Lion cake! We got him a chocolate cake from Food Lion to celebrate his birthday on the actual day since his party was held on a different day. The girls liked that cake and remembered it. Works for me! Cory made three batches of ice cream (vanilla, Oreo, and mint chocolate chip) and I pulled out a triple chocolate fudge cake and a red velevet cake made by the fabulous "chefs" of Food Lion.

The girls were happy and the cakes were actually tasty!

Finally, it was time for the pinata. This was one of the only things the girls said they wanted to do at their party, so Dixon and I shopped for a pinata and stuffed it full of candy.

Ryan managed to crack that sucker open with his mighty swings and it was a candy free-for-all!

I have to say that this birthday party was great - at least in my humble opinion. It was so laid-back and stress-free. The kids had fun just being kids and the adults just sat back and talked and enjoyed the evening. I think this may be the way we celebrate from now on! The kids are now all snoozing away in bed . . . all three of mine plus my sweet niece Kari who decided to stay overnight. Fun!

Happy Birthday to my loveable girls! May this next year bring you happiness, fun, and many dreams come true.

XOXO

{Minneapolis}

Last week was awesome. Inspiring. Amazing.


I kissed my kids and husband goodbye on Tuesday evening and headed to Baltimore to catch an early flight to Minneapolis, Minnesota the next morning. Why Minneapolis? Well . . . it was time for Tastefully Simple's National Conference! I have attended this conference five times since I joined the company back in 2004 and it is seriously a week I look forward to all year long. When most people hear the word "conference" they think of boring meetings where you're stuck in a room full of boring people telling you boring information. And that is quite true for many, many companies. But not Tastefully Simple! TS conferences are FUN!!! Yes, we are trained and taught new things, but it is always done in a very fun manner. In fact, our National Conference is so much fun that it has officially been renamed "Party Palooza"! Who wouldn't want to go to that every year?


So once again I boarded a plane with my sister Jen, my mother, and my newest nephew, Jayce. My mom has actually attended three Nationals now in order to care for a baby while Jen and I are in session. She's such an awesome Nana!


We arrived in Minneapolis shortly after noon and quickly got settled in at the Hilton Towers. Then we headed out into the city to eat and shop. One of our favorite restaurants in Minneapolis is The News Room. We have yet to have a bad meal there! There is a big wooden mermaid in the lobby that intriqued Jayce. This is the "tame" photo I took (the other one shows him touching her bosom as he gazed up at her face!):

After lunch we took the lightrail to The Mall of America to do some shopping. Yep, one of many perks of going to conference is getting to visit the biggest mall in America! I finally found a pair of comfy flips to replace my brown shoes that were falling apart - yay! We browsed the many stores and then I had a special treat. My dear friend Theresa allowed me to have dinner with her husband Brian who just happened to be in Minneapolis on business at the same time. We ate at Bubba Gump's and had a really good time.

Back on the streets by our hotel we spotted this big metal chicken. There is a story behind this chicken . . . a really, really funny story . . .

The three of us were absolutely wiped out from a long day of travel: up by 5 am, travel via planes, trains and automobiles, shopping, eating, etc . . . so we called it a night. I think we were all asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows, including Jayce.

But the next morning brought a new day and lots more to do. We began by heading to another fav restaurant, Hell's Kitchen. I decided to try a dish that I've heard rave reviews about: Lemon Ricotta Pancakes. Oh. My. Word. These babies didn't require a smidge of butter or a drop of syrup. They were so light, comparable to a crepe, and the lemon and ricotta made them melt in my mouth. Dear me, they were delicious.

We ate breakfast with the rest of our team members who were at conference, plus a couple "adopted" team members. I didn't notice it until now, but almost all the blondes are up front and the brunettes are in the back! How does that happen?

With our bellies full, we headed to the convention center for day one of conference. The theme this year was "Cut Loose" and the entire convention center - both inside the main room and throughout the halls - was decorated accordingly with dance floors, stars, and a dance party feel. TS goes all out with decorations!

We were greeted by our founder and CEO, Jill Blashack Strahan, who got all of us worked up and inspired us to "Magnify the best. Focus on what's next."

One thing that TS always does at every conference is give away really nice prizes. They are referred to as "Hot Seat" drawings; your cheeks have to be in your seat in order to win. Some of the prizes are gift cards to Target, Barnes & Noble, and Bloomingdales, prepaid Visa cards, handbags from Fossil and Coach, TS items, and more. I'm one who seriously never wins anything, so imagine my surprise when my name was drawn out of a bag of over 1,400 consultants and I won a $300 Best Buy gift card! I thought I'd lost my mind! Now I have to decide how to use it . . .

My sister Jen was a featured speaker for one of the Leadership Breakout Sessions that afternoon. She told her story of why she joined Tastefully Simple and the challenges that she's had to overcome over the years in order to grow a strong business and help others do the same. It was very heartfelt and for the rest of the conference people approached her to tell her what a fantastic job she did and how she inspired them. How proud I am to be her first team member and to take this journey with her!

The next day was full of product unveilings for the fall / winter catalog which will be available to clients on September 1st. New soups, seasonings, drink mixes, and FOUR PAGES OF CHOCOLATE are among the 31 products soon to hit our product shelves! WOOT!!!

We also were entertained by a keynote speaker, Frank Miles. He was honestly one of the funniest people I have ever heard in my life. He mixed his message of "face life and laugh at fear" among stand-up comedy, juggling, magic, and even ping-pong ballet. He was absolutely hilarious and inspirational at the same time. You may have seen him on America's Got Talent doing stand up recently - he is SO talented!

After a full day of unveilings and training I joined a slew of other consultants who are on my extended team for dinner and laughs. Here we are posing with some larger-than-life products:

Like I've said before, Tastefully Simple people know how to have FUN! The team at Headquarters gets really into character when presenting things on stage, as you can see below. This is Travis, a.k.a VP of Marketing, doing some John Travolta moves as he presents our new "Jacked Up Brand" onstage.

We also know how to celebrate one another. Consultants were recognized on stage for various accomplishments including top sales, recruiting, leader development, and personal promotions. Here is team member Alissa walking the stage for promoting to Team Manager!

I always try to get a pic of Jen and I together since not only is she my sister, she's my sponsor. How fun it has been to run my business alongside my sister all these years! And for the past year our other sister, Becky, has been partying with us, too. It's a family thing!

And here is another fellow team member, Christa, being recognized for promoting to Senior Team Manager!

How many jobs out there celebrate their employees for simply doing their job well? TS consultants truly are blessed.

Towards the end of the day I got a good pic of the ladies at my table. These gals ROCK!

That evening my favorite part of Nationals took place - the Victory Celebration and Awards Dinner. Check out how TS made the main stage all glitzy!

Jen walked the stage twice that night, once for Movers & Shakers Sales Level 2 and once for Leader Development. Here she is with her awesome sponsor, Karen:

And here are some of us team mates (Tastebuds) doing our "ta-da!"

It was a fantastic night.

Throughout conference many great quotes are featured. I LOVE quotes and find them very inspirational. This was one of my favorites of the week:

And on that note, here are some unveilings for YOU! Tastefully Simple is wonderful and changes people's lives in so many ways. The products are HUGE time savers in the kitchen and make even the worst cooks feel like a chef! The new products are SO yummy! Check them out by clicking the photo below. If something sounds good to you, please let me know if you'd like to have a taste-testing party to try them with your friends and earn them for free! Or if you'd like to place an order on September 1st when they are available, I can help you with that, too.

And if you think Tastefully Simple looks like an awful lot of fun and you've been trying to find a way to make extra income (or replace an income!), we have the BEST new consultant incentive ever! Normally it costs $170 to become a consultant, which is still a good deal considering all you get when you join. From now until September 30th, you can join Tastefully Simple for just $85! And to make it even better, when you activate by September 30th you'll get a $50 credit on your account! That means you'll effectively start your own business for just $35!!!

I can't begin to tell you all the ways Tastefully Simple has positively impacted my life for the past 7 1/2 years, and I'd love nothing more than to help you find success with this company, too. Check out the link below and if it sounds interesting to you or you know someone who needs Tastefully Simple in his or her life, please contact me.
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I'm gearing up for another busy fall party season and can hardly wait for the next conference with my TS family! I hope you'll join us for the fun!

{Happy Birthday, ScrapMatters!}

Hello, digi scrappers!!! What an exciting day today is - the celebration of ScrapMatters' birthday! If you haven't checked out the awesome sale going on this weekend yet, you simply must do that soon. Not only is there a great sale going on, you can also get an amazing collab kit from the ScrapMatters designers as gift with purchase. Wow! Head on over to the store HERE to do some shopping!

Most of you probably came here from Trista's blog: http://tristaree.com/ She has a comprehensive list of all the blog train stops if you need it - very cool, Trista! Now for my freebie. I decided to create a pre-shadowed frame cluster using the gorgeous new collab, Garden Party. I hope you like it!

Download the freebie http://www.4shared.com/file/A8aoDVUS/acmSMBDayFreebie.html

***I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this link works because blogger just decided that I shouldn't be allowed to highlight text to make a link! GAH!!! If it doesn't work, I'll keep trying to get it fixed!

Your next stop on the blog train is Chel's blog: http://scrappingchelcreations.wordpress.com/

Hope you enjoying celebrating with ScrapMatters!

{Big Boy}

This weekend brought a big change for our family - well, mainly for Dixon. Dixon turned two years old at the end of April so we knew that he would need to transition from the crib to a bed sometime this summer. So a couple of weeks ago Cory and I went shopping for a big boy bed. We were hoping to find a really good deal like we found when we bought the girls' beds, but no such luck. But we're happy with what we chose! On Wednesday the bed arrived at the furniture store and on Saturday morning Cory picked it up and brought it home.

Not surprisingly, I had a rather difficult time saying goodbye to the crib. While we didn't buy the crib new ( I bought it and the changing table at a yard sale, for crying out loud!) and I'm not in love with it and unwilling to get rid of it at some point, it still is hard for me to believe it is leaving Dixon's room. This crib held all of our babies, kept them safe and snug, and is a sign that there is a baby in the house. With its removal from the nursery, I no longer have a baby. Wah. This can't be true! Tell me there's still a baby in this house!

Of course I had to take a couple dozen photos of the room and the crib before taking it apart and storing it in the attic. So here is Dixon's room before (please overlook the lopsided curtain rod):

and here he is in his brand new big boy bed! We chose a sleigh bed with storage underneath since his room has a tiny closet. Right now we don't need the extra storage, but as Dixon grows bigger it will come in handy for sweaters, jeans, and seasonal clothes.

Dixon LOVES his bedding. I really struggled with what to do as far as a "theme" for the room. I wanted it to be something Dixon would like but I didn't want it to be the typical boy stuff. I mainly didn't want it to be something cheesy and too youthful that he'd outgrow quickly.

I stumbled upon this bedding when I took the girls to the American Girl store at Tyson's Corner. There is a Pottery Barn Kids store right beside the AG store and we went in just to look around (and get ideas). I saw a fantastic train light that I totally wanted to get for Dixon since he's completely obsessed with trains - especially Thomas. The base was a RR crossing with blinking lights and it had a red square shade. Awesome - not to kiddy looking but something he would love that would give me a starting point for decorating. Then I noticed the bedding on the model bed beside the light. It was the perfect train bedding for my boy: not too cutey-pie but boyish enough for a young kid. Sold. Unfortunately, Pottery Barn wants over $130 just for the base of the train light so that piece did not come home with me. I'm now on the hunt for something like it. If you see a nice train bedside lamp, please let me know!

Dixon loves his new bed. He loves looking at the trains (he even sometimes calls them "Thomas") and pointing out all the different parts, especially the cars riding on the train. I think this is a keeper!

We aren't able to put bedrails on this bed because there is no box spring, therefore no space to put the rail. Dixon fell out of bed three times that first night but until five minutes he hadn't fallen out since. (Yep, I heard a thud as I was typing this post!) I'm sure he'll figure it out quickly. In fact, I'm really impressed with how well he's been doing already!

So goodbye, dear crib. Goodbye nursery. Goodbye baby stuff. I'm going to miss you and all that you signify.

My babies are growing up. I now have two little ladies who are about to go off to school in a few weeks and one big boy who makes me smile everyday. I suppose the only baby thing we have left are diapers and I don't foresee and end to them anytime soon.

My big boy. How I love him.

{Williamsburg}

Each summer we go to the beach for a week with my mother, stepfather, sister Jennifer and her family, and sister Becky and her family. We always have a fantastic time together and look forward to the vacation all year long. But this is almost always our only vacation . . . meaning we don't take any trips as just the Meyers family of five except for day trips to local places of interest. So this year we decided to leave a day early and spend a full day in Williamsburg, just us.

After a late start, horrendous, terrible, nightmarish traffic and a bout of carsickness, we finally pulled up to the Governor's Inn around 2:00 am. We crashed. But with the sunrise came a new day and we were refreshed and ready to enjoy Colonial Williamsburg.

We walked a couple of blocks to buy our passes and then began our journey! We started our day by going into several of the buildings and shops to learn about different trades and ways of life during the 1700's. This woman knew everything you can imagine about turning cotton and wool into fabric. She showed us how to prepare the cotton, how to turn it into yarn, how to wind it, and finally how to turn that yarn into fabric.

Cory and I were especially interested in the gorgeous gardens since we've been expanding our backyard garden for a few years now. We got lots of ideas and inspiration!

One of the best parts of Williamsburg is seeing all the buildings preserved exactly as they were all those years ago and seeing the employees dressed in period attire and talking / behaving as though it were 1783 instead of 2011. There are so many awesome photo opps. These are two of my favorites from our day:

Cory surprised us with a carriage ride - fun! Our driver / guide was fantastic. She told us so much about Williamsburg that neither Cory or I knew before, despite our numerous trips to Williamsburg in the past. For example, Queen Elizabeth visited Williamsburg when she was a girl and rode in the very same carriage we rode in. How cool is that? She also answered all of our questions, and the girls had quite a few! They wanted to know if there were balls during there. Yes, there were. Did Felicity and Elizabeth of American Girl fame really live there? Yes, they did. She even showed us Felicity's house!

As it turns out, only the very, very super wealthy citizens could afford a carriage. It was the equivalent of owning a private jet today. Wow!

And here is Felicity's house. Elizabeth's family lived not too far from here but we didn't get to see her home.

After our carriage ride we continued visiting various shops and learning about different trades. This cobbler is noteworthy not only for his knowledge of making shoes, but because he looked and talked SO much like Russell Crowe! When we left his shop I looked at Cory and said, "Didn't he look like . . . " and Cory immediately finished with, "Russell Crowe!" It was uncanny.

Another favorite shop was the wigmaker's shop. This woman really knew her stuff about hair. I think the girls found it particularly interesting that men wore wigs far more often than women, that the hair was often animal hair, and that peasant girls overseas were paid a hefty price for their hair because foreign hair was believed to be better than American girls' hair. We also learned that the term "blockhead" comes from this time period. Men would have a block of wood carved into the shape of their heads and the wigs were custom made on the block heads. Neat!

Our carriage driver told us to visit the brickyard because they are making bricks for a new building and invite guests to participate. The brickyard is off the beaten path - I don't think I'd ever visited it before. But it sounded intriquing so we made a point to head that way. There were three men under a tent making bricks out of red clay. They explained the process and how Williamsburg has so much clay they are likely to never run out. Behind where they worked were two big pits of clay. They would scoop up a pile, make some bricks, and scoop up some more. It looked like dirty work to me.

Then they said that the clay has to constantly be kneaded to keep it a good consistency. And here is where the fun began. Anyone who wanted to could take off their shoes, hop in the pits and work the clay with their feet! Of course the girls jumped at the chance. It totally reminded me of Lucy and Ethel stomping the grapes!

When they had enough and were adequately covered in clay, the girls headed to big barrels of water to wash themselves clean - which was not easy. Cory helped them and as a result, we got one of the best quotes ever from Sasha. The girls had just been to VBS at church and one of the lessons was about washing guests feet upon entering a home. One time Jesus washed his disciples' feet because no servant appeared to do the task. So Sasha told Cory, "You are just like Jesus. You have a servant's heart." Sigh. I love that girl!

So we continued on our journey and eventually ended up at the must-have photo op for Colonial Williamsburg: the stockades. I still have photos of my sisters and me in these stockades when we were kids. It was rather surreal to see my own kids in the very same ones!

There are also ankle stockades: you sit on a piece of wood and put your ankles in the holes. Cory and I posed for a photo and each of the girls took several pics of us. Funny this is, when I later looked at the photos there wasn't a single one where you could actually see the stockade! So here are our sad faces:

The day was very, very hot and by this time we were all tired, sweaty, and a bit worn-out. So since we were close the markplace we decided to visit one of my favorite bookstores: The College of William and Mary Bookstore. We were pleasantly surprised to discover a local children's author who was signing copies of his historical graphic novels. We talked to him for quite some time and each of the girls picked a book. Clara's is about "super" women in history (and includes the story of Clara Barton) and Sasha's is about key events during the Revolution.

Because we're dorks, we had to do it. We had to take a photo of ourselves in the elevator - the elevator with a mirrored ceiling! Photos like this one always end up amongst my favorites. They are so candid, funny, and, well, us!

All day long the girls begged for a pretty straw sun hat with a fancy ribbon. But at $25 a pop, they were out of the question. So I found these tricorns for a lot less money at the market's toy store and let the girls have one. Cory was not too pleased about this since tricorns are for boys, but I think they look adorable!

By this time it was almost time for dinner and we were ready for a rest. We found some totally cool trees beside the House of Burgesses and let the kids play. I so wish we had interesting trees like these in Pennsylvania!

Cory and I absolutely LOVE the peanut soup at the King's Arms Tavern, so we had made a reservation for dinner there. It is our go-to tavern!

The soup was amazing, as was the entire meal. The lady of the house spent a lot of time in our dining room telling everyone about the history of the building and the tavern. There were also several musicians who entertained us while we ate. It was definitely a fantastic way to end our day!

As we ate we heard the sound of a fife and drum parade coming our way. My photos are blurry since I had to shoot through the old wavy glass of the tavern, but they are neat nonetheless.

And the day was done. Most of Colonial Williamsburg was closed by the time we left the tavern, and we were all ready to call it a day anyway. So we headed back to our van and made our way to the next hotel where my mother, stepfather, and Becky and her family were waiting to crash for the night. I'm so glad we had this day together, a day to enjoy vacation . . . just us.

{ebay}

OK, folks, I need some help! I'm thinking of putting a bunch of stuff up on ebay to both declutter my home and to make some extra cash. I've purchased from ebay before, but I've never been a seller. Sooooo . . . if you've sold anything in the past and have some advice / tips, please share! I haven't the first clue as to how to even begin!

* Do I set up a new account or use my current one that I've used to make purchases?

* How do you price items?

* Do you tag your items a certain way?

* Are you able to choose how long an auction stays live?

* How do you feel about setting minimum sale prices?

* What else do I need to know???

Many thanks! :)