We Have A Logo!

This is one of two versions. The other version has the company name and slogan outside of the oval.

We are really excited about the birth of our glove company and hope to have actual working samples before the end of January.

Our web site is being created and the business itself is under construction! Wish us fun! I'd say luck, but who needs luck when you have hard work? I say we need fun!

Happy New Year!

Logo Version Two

Farewell 2008!

I'm usually a little sad to see another year pass, but not this time. 2008 has been such a hard year for so many. I will say though, like with all things, we must experience the bad to be able to recognize the good. I've accomplished a great many things this year in spite of a work injury and the accident that left my back aching and my finger broken needing multiple surgeries. I've been reminded that it's the tough times that weed out the weak and help our true characters, for better and worse, to appear and show us how strong we are and what work we still need to do. How has this year shown you who you really are?

One Week Left

You have just one week left to accomplish anything left undone on your list for 2008! Can you do it? Maybe, maybe not. What's really important is that you keep working toward all the things you want to see happen in your life. January first isn't really any different than February, June, or November first. Certainly there's a special feeling that comes with all the social celebration of the ringing in of a new year, but you can start or keep to a list any time. My lists remain consistent from year to year, my goal is much more to stay on track and keep doing the daily work that makes my dreams come true!

My Annual Christmas Wish

This Christmas mend a quarrel. Seek out a forgotten friend. Write a love letter. Share some treasure. Give a soft answer. Encourage youth. Keep a promise. Find the time. Forgive an enemy. Listen. Apologize if you were wrong. Think first of someone else. Be kind and gentle. Laugh a little. Laugh a little more. Express your gratitude. Gladden the heart of a child. Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth. Speak your love. Speak it again. Speak it still once again.
Anonymous

Christmas Intentions

What are your intentions for this Christmas? Mine are that we will have a stress free, let it be what it is holiday and just enjoy our family. Even more so, I'd like for all of us to be able to let each other be and just get along easily. I'll let you next week know how successful I am!

My mom arrived last night (very late last night!), and Dave's mom will be here tomorrow. Mason will have Christmas with both his grandmothers and even more special is both grandmothers will have Christmas with Mason!

Happy Birthday!

Today is my birthday and first thing this morning, after my sweetie made me coffee, this question was posed, "What if the rest of your life was the best of your life?" This got me thinking, yeah, what if?

What if I let go of this idea that I could have my twenty-something body back? Would I worry less about the Christmas cookie I ate and enjoy my walks more?

What if I looked at all the small changes I've made over the last three years and see the cumulative effects on my overall health? I've stopped drinking soda, nearly eliminated mayonnaise from my diet, generally speaking, eat my meals from a salad plate to help control my portions.

What if I focused on my physical strengths even if some days that focus will be on the fact that I have all my limbs and even though the might hurt, they still work? Better yet, I could be more proactive in lovingly strengthening them without falling back into the pressure cooker I create to be a twenty-something again.

For some reason milestones work for me to take action that sticks. Today is my birthday and I will start my day off by making a list of the stuff I need to finish for Christmas, and the stuff I want to do for me, for the long term, to make the rest of my life be the best of my life!

Are You Counting?

We have only ten days until Christmas and sixteen days until the new year, are you counting? If you are than I expect you realize that today is the first day of the rest of your life! Don't wait one more minute to start doing whatever it is you want to do.

Do you want to lose weight? I do! Figure out what that first step is and take it today. I've struggled with my weight my entire life. I recall my first diet being in early grade school. It didn't help that my mom has been overweight my whole life so I lived with her struggle to lose weight. I know it's in my genes, but I will fight this battle to my death. Hopefully in my attempt to reduce my weight, I will increase my overall health and live for many, many years. For today, I will call my family doctor to see if there's something wrong with my back and anything else I can do to ease the pain that has plagued me since being thrown from my horse back in September. I will do my yoga tape to continue doing what I can physically and continue my healthy diet. What will you do?

Do you want a new job? I do, too! I need to find steady employment early next year. I still do mortgages and have my gloves to peddle, but until those options take off, I need a paycheck! I'm working my social networks, putting my resume only where I want to work, and making my brain work overtime thinking of all the ways I can turn my talents into a salary.

The point I'm making is that this time next year will come whether you choose to make changes or not. I'm taking the steps to make my dreams come true, will you?

Send a Card Today!

Xerox is doing something cool to help you support our troops for free! If you go to this web site--www.letssaythanks.com--you can select a thank you card and Xerox will print it and then send it to a soldier currently serving in Iraq.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could get everyone we know to send one! It's FREE and it only takes a moment to do. No matter how you feel about the war, our soldiers need to know we support them, and we can never thank them enough for the courage, commitment, and service to our country. Please take the time to send a card, and also pass this message onto to others so they can do the same. Thanks to you for taking the time to support our military!

See's For Soldiers

Here's a photo of Dave last year with nearly $17,000 worth of See's candy donated through the Auburn Kiwanis club to be sent to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Walter Reed hospital in Washington DC. Wow, what a great year!

This year, with unemployment and the economy in such a mess, we have only been able to generate just over $1,200 in candy donations. This is the Kiwanis Club's only fundraiser for the year, so not only are the soldiers not getting these wonderful candy gifts, but our local community is also not getting the funds they need for scholarships, food baskets, and Boys and Girls Clubs activities, just to name just a few. If you want to help, e-mail me and I can get your donation where it needs to go. Contact Kathy at Kdpartak@yahoo.com or Dave with the CA Army National Guard at 916-267-0669 to locate a Kiwanis See's store or to donate directly to the cause. Clubs participating are Auburn (Rock Creek Plaza - Kmart shopping center), Lincoln (Sun City Community Center and Trailer in the Rainbow Market parking lot), Roseville (Pleasant Grove Blvd next to Panerra Bread), and Rocklin. Call Dave for the location of the Rocklin store.

NOTE: 100% of the money donated goes to buy candy from the Kiwanis clubs to send to our troops!

Holiday Potluck and Meatballs!

We love meatballs! Dave especially loves meatballs slow-cooked in barbeque sauce. With that said, I have a delicious and super easy recipe for you to take to your next holiday party that's not barbeque and will make you the talk of the buffet table!

1 bag frozen (or homemade if you're feeling so industrious!) meatballs
1 jar Heinz Chili Sauce
1 can Ocean Spray Cranberry sauce

Mix the cranberry sauce with the chili sauce and pour over the meatballs. Cook on high in your crockpot for four hours and serve.

To learn more about the Ultimate Party Meatball and many other recipes and entertainling tips, go to http://www.ultimatepartymeatballs.com/Hey, and while your surfing, check out MomCentral.com!

We made these Ultimate Party Meatballs just last weekend and gobbled them up. Dave and Mason loved them. They are the perfect blend of sweet and spicy to make up a fun, filling meal. What more could you ask for?

What's Your Favorite Thing About Christmas?

I love way too many things to pick just one, but if I had to, I would pick cookies! I love Christmas cookies, especially shapes that I can decorate.

Being creative and a former professional cake decorator, this is my annual opportunity to decorate like mad. I may do a little something for Valentines day, and then I start to really warm up around Halloween. By the time December rolls around, I'm rearing to go with gingerbread houses, boys and girls, and snowflakes. I like to add in something basic like chocolate chip and bag up my goodies to give to friends and neighbors.

The very best part about Christmas cookies is that now I get to share them with Mason. I can teach him how to make the icing so it stays put, mix in just the right colors, and then decorate until every cookie is covered in sugar. He, of course, likes the eating! I do, too, but I like sharing the experience with him so much more.

What is the Magic of Christmas?

When people talk about the magic of Christmas, they usually have some experience from their past that conjures up emotions of faith and hope. Oprah tells a great story of being very poor and asking Santa for a doll. Her mother tells her there is no Santa and they have no money for Christmas. Just as her heart is sinking and her eyes welling with tears, there is a knock on their front door. Her mother opened the door to see two nuns standing there with gifts for her. She tells that story today as her Christmas miracle.

For me, the magic of Christmas is just like every other day of the year in that, if you have happiness in your heart, you can feel the magic of others all around you. If you only see the darkness and despair, than you'll be focusing in on that and missing the good that is happening at the very same time. I love my life and live in gratitude every day. I cry when I hear sad news especially as it pertains to children and animals. At the same time, I revel in Mason's laughter and how lucky he is to be surrounded by so much love, especially the love of his parents love for each other.

To me, the magic of Christmas is who you are everyday and how you embrace the season with lights, love, decorations, goodwill, and kindness.

Have You Found Your True North?

If you've found that singular passion in life that causes you to leap out of bed in the morning and think, "This is why I'm here." then this is for you. The True North snack company is looking for "True North" stories to motivate and inspire those who have yet to find theirs.

You can go to www.truenorthsnacks.com/story to share your story and if it's selected as America's most inspiring, it will be made into a 60-second commercial directed by Helen Hunt to be played during the Oscars! Oh, and if fame is not enough, how about fortune? Yes! $25,000 will also be yours to help you continue on the journey of your life.

You guys know me and know I'm am a contest winner. Many of you are doing life work that is exactly what True North is looking for. Send in your story because one thing is certain, you can't win if you don't play! Go to www.truenorthsnacks.com/story and tell your story. You have nothing to lose and inspiration to gain!

If you know someone who has an amazing story, send this their way!

Believe!

Welcome to December! Do you believe? Believe in miracles, yourself, and your ability to find your true north? I believe in all of those things. Christmas is as much a state of mind as it is a time of year. "Whatever you think, you're right."

Let's mix the magic of Christmas with finding our way to our own dreams so we can be well on our way to intentionally winning in life right this very minute! Why wait until January first?

Write to me and tell me what your life long dream is and why you think you can't attain it. It may be that life, family, kids, bills, and any other myriad of circumstance seems to be in your way. Maybe I can give you another way to look at how you could be living that dream today. Along the way, I want to add a dash of cheer and sprinkle some wonder on your holiday season. Join me and share the dream that seems stalled.

Be silly, lighten up and see life through the eyes of a child. When was the last time you felt like anything was possible? My holiday wish for you is to see that dream come back to life and within reach right here and now! Merry Christmas!