-Researched and ordered shitake mushroom plugs for the trees that we took down in the front yard.
-Mourned the trees we took down in the front yard, but am very happy for the warm sunlight that we are now getting on our house.
-Still working on my new product line…I’ve already ordered ~ 20 pounds of different herbs…mmmmmm
-Visited family, step-family, family-in-law, soon-to-be-family.
-Took all the Thanksgiving turkey frying oil from my brother and put it in my car! (Yup, the Jetta can run on turkey frying oil too!)
-Finally finished my last school project.
-Tried a good bit of goat milk to see if I can drink it without getting all gassy…so far, so good. (You wanted to know that, right?)
-Taught K how to say “wierdo”, “fuzzy”, “papaw”, “super duper”, “booty” (as in ‘pirate’s booty’ the smack), “bling bling” (as in her Aunt Carla, now called aunt bling bling, since she was trying to get K to say bling bling instead of thank you! That’s what you get for trying to teach my daughter inproper inglish!)
-Spent some time trying to figure out how to be a good mom and wife without losing my mind. I need a week vacation at some seaweed mud spa!!

Happy (almost) first day of December!

Toby had a rough day today, so I took him out to dinner at a Mexican restaurant we had never been to before. (Whose spirits aren’t lightened by a ton of chips and salsa and greasy cheese??) After dinner, our little tornado (aka-K) decided she didn’t want to get into the car. She has just recently realized that she is mobile and doesn’t need to be carried everywhere. So, since it was a fairly nice night out, she decided to take a stroll. Toby and I followed her around while she waddled around the block, powering her locomotion by a flailing right arm. She is such a total cutie!! We probably walked around for 20 minutes…which is a lot for her!! It’s easy to remember what a wonderful life I have when I look at her.

On another note…The photographers from Kiplinger’s came down for the photo shoot on Friday. I was expecting a snooty group of people who would throw their noses in the air and complain about how unphotogenic we are. But everyone was completely wonderful. Neither one of us likes to have our photographs taken and we were in front of the camera for ~3 1/2 hours, but they made Toby and I feel very much at ease. I believe the issue will be coming our early next year. It will be the 2005 Best Mutual Funds issue. I’m so not a wall street woman…it’s wild to think my face will be on the cover of the magazine. SOOO I have started working on the re-vamp of my business (I really hope it does get mentioned in the article). Here are my ideas for new products:

SOAPS

• Peppermint/Poppy Seed
• Gardener’s Scrub
• Cinnamon/Oatmeal
• Lavender/Rose
• Coffee ‘Morning-Pick-Me-Up’
• Jewelweed/Poison Ivy Soap

TEAS

• Rooibos Daily Tea
• Lover’s Tea

KIDS

• Immunity Blend Glycerite
• Respiratory Health Glycerite

OTHER

• Green Sea Goddess Facial Scrub

I would love some feedback…would you use it, catchy names, anything (this is where I need you lurkers to speak up!! Maybe you’ll get some samples!)

My favorite moment of today:
Driving to school, alone in the car, music blaring the local 80’s station, singing at the top of my lungs…”Been around the world and Ieeeyaaeeeyaaee, I can’t find mah baybeh…”

The race was amazing!! I’ve been in big crouds of people before, but there is no way to adequately describe the feeling of watching 35 thousand people from 100 different countries running in New York City, surrounded by over 2 million cheering spectators. It was electrifying! We had a blast!!! Even Toby, who is currently hobbling around the house discussing how he will be sore for a week, had a great time! He ran 26.2 miles in 4 hours and 46 minutes, and that includes the times he stopped to take pictures, eat an orange, and stand in line to pee! I’m beeming with pride for my man. Here are just a few shots I took for your viewing pleasure:
Mile 17, Toby stops for an orange and a picture. That’s my sister to my right. She flew up to NY to visit and watch the marathon.
This is the sea of runners after they have crossed the finish line in Central Park and were given their medals and warming blankets.

Live From NY CITY…it’s My Blog!!

(I’m trying to type as quietly as I possibly can while K is taking a very needed nap next to me. We are currently sacked out in my cousins studio apt. in Manhattan. I haven’t been to NY since I was 10 and I feel like a kid again…what a wild place this is!)

Last March, Toby’s friend asked him if he wanted to run the NY Marathon with him and Toby said yes (Neither of these two are runners, by the way.) So, for the last 8 months, Toby has been in training…and this Sunday he will race. I am so proud of him…what commitment (what is it with me and the “…”? I really have no concept of when it is appropriate to use it, but I sure do like it…Now, on to the race…) Early in his training, I tried to get out and run with him, for support (mentally, not physically. He has a good pair of running shorts to take care of that). But, I couldn’t even make it more than one mile and I was wheezing. So, whatever…I’m not a runner!

ooopp, the queen has just woken (is that a word??) from her nap. So we are headed to the corner store for some fruit.

I’ll keep you posted on the marathon.

Four more years of his macho, take over the world, bullshit! Four more years of lies! Four more years of support for the rich! Four more years of destroying the environment! Four more years by scaring this country into feeling like we can’t live normal lives without constantly looking over our shoulders! Four more years of forgetting about the children! I know that Kerry is not the end all-be all, but he’s certainly better than what we’ve got now!!

I am depressed. I am sad and disappointed. I am scared for this country. I am scared to see what is going to happen in the next four years. I am more worried about four more years of Bush and his crew than I am about terrorism, that’s for sure!! Toby joked about moving to New Zealand if Bush won…now, I am seriously thinking about it!!

I don’t want to believe it. Please, somebody wake me up!!

OK, so ~2 months ago I wrote an email to Kiplinger’s Magazine asking them some financial advice. I wasn’t really expecting much of an answer, but I thought, what the hooey. Well, I got not only an answer, but a phone call from one of the big wigs at the magazine. We talked for ~40 minutes and he ended by saying that he may call on me sometime if he needs to write an article about mutual funds for short term investing (which is what we talked about). Long story short, we are not only going to be in an article, we are going to be on the COVER of the magazine!! AND we are not only going to be on the cover, but we are going to be on the cover of the “Best Mutual Funds” issue, the best and most popular issue of the year!!! WOW!! All because of a little question. So, now they are sending down photographers to spend the day with us, do our hair, buy our photo clothes and get shots for the cover and one for inside the mag. Isn’t that crazy!!

So, since my business might be mentioned in the article, I’ve decided it is time to do a total overhaul to the website, product inventory, etc. If you have any suggestions for new products that you might like to see, or anything else, please let me know!