Big, Bad Blogger

I have been so bad at blogging lately. I have just been really focusing on building my business this month so I haven't spent much time in the blogosphere. Thanks to all of you who have still visited me even thought I've been pretty remiss in posting and in leaving comments on your sites. I'm catching up on all of them now.

As I was reading every one's blogs, I realized how long it's been since I've caught up and knew what was going on with everybody out there.

Anyway, I've been tagged by Belle-ah over at http://southerness.blogspot.com/. I'm so excited! I've never been tagged before. I have to give some info about me by using my middle name as a starting point. Here goes:

I changed my middle name to my maiden name when I got married so my middle name is now France.

F. Flag day - the day I was born

R. Raucous - I tend to be very loud. When I whisper, it's like a regular person's normal voice. I just get really excited about things and when I do, I'm just boisterous and dare I say...a little bit jolly.

A. Addicted - I cannot go more than 3 hours without a diet coke. It's very ugly - I shudder at the very thought.

N. Neurotic - Ya down with OCD? Yeah you know me! I'm completely obsessive compulsive. Hand washing, hair tweezing (there may be a stray witch hair on my chin or a pesky eyebrow hair that's getting out of line), fingernail picking,and the list goes on...

C. Christian - Every day I am thankful that Jesus is my Savior

E. Engaged - My husband proposed by having my dog wear a bow tie with a little jewelry bag around his neck. My other dog was also dressed in her finest, wearing a tiara and a garter with a helium balloon tied around her waist. This is why he and I get along so well. We have the same sense of humor.

Now it's my turn to tag - Nap Warden, Blonde Mom and Mother May I. Have fun!

My New Mantra......

Why? Because I do it so well.

Cancel the Babysitter

You will not believe this - or maybe you've already seen it. The manufacturer of Hello Kitty is coming out with a robot that's $6,299.00 (I'm not kidding!) that has face and voice recognition. There aren't a lot of specifics yet, but it has little motion sensors so it can move it's robotic arms, head and legs and can chat with a child in three different personality modes: as a close friend, with the family and as a guessing game.

But, the creme de la creme....the maker of the robot has described it as, "This is a perfect robot for whoever does not have a lot time to stay with their child. Hello Kitty Robot can stay with your child to keep them from being lonely."

Ummm....instead of hello kitty it should be hello creepy.

I Have a Secret

What is it? Is it some deep, dark tale from a wretched past filled with gut-wrenching mistakes and disastrous decisions? Uh, not so much. But it's something that up until now, my friends, no one has known about except for hubby, J and C. I'm not proud...it's not glamorous, but I secretly love to burp. There, I said it. Big, loud, fraternity boy burps. I think it's hysterical to swig my diet coke as fast as I can and then either burp as loud as I can or do something ridiculous like burp the ABC's or the 123's. My kids think it's a riot, hubby - well, let's just say he's not quite as amused. But, I am also the one who taught them to toot (pass gas, cut the cheese, whatever you want to call it) while sitting on their Daddy's lap. Something I also think is just beyond funny. Juvenile, yes...gross, maybe a little....downright silly, you betcha!

Brand New Products

I'm soooo excited to announce that I'll be representing a new product line called Initials. The products are just fabulous. Among other things, you can design your own purse. You choose the style, fabric, trim, monogram style and thread color. When you see the bags in person, they have true "squeal appeal!" Click this link to view the catalog:

http://www.initials-inc.com/preppypurses

I'm really excited to get your feedback.

The Good Time Girls

I've talked so many times about my close girlfriends on this blog I thought you might like to see those crazy kids. As you can see, we can't even keep it together to take one picture...it took 3 tries before we could stop laughing.

Oh What a Relief It Is

For the past 6 months I've been planning a surprise 40th birthday party for one of my closest friends. Her husband asked me to plan it and I was really excited to do this for her. This was a big affair and it has been sooooo hard not to talk about it!!! I got so much help from some other good friends - couldn't have done it without them (Peggy, Julie and Misty - I love you girls!). Well, it went off without a hitch. My friend, Karen, was flabbergasted. She had tons of friends and relatives fly and drive in from other states just for her which is very telling of her warm and wonderful nature. Anyway, I wanted to share with you the details of the party. It was so much fun!

Her favorite colors are blue, green and brown and she loves stripes and polka dots. Here is the style of the invitations that we got from http://www.partycat.com/:

My friend Misty made tablecloths out of this fabric:

and made a swag for the entryway out of this fabric:

We hung paper lanterns throughout the party:

We made centerpieces out of something called blumeboxes (you can find them at http://blumebox.com/ ): We used Martha Stewart ribbon around lime green candles and around the blumeboxes:

There was a custom made banner and crown from a fabulous artist over at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5031136 :

And for any of you in or around the Charlotte, NC area, we used the most fabulous caterer called Triple Crown. The food was unbelievable. Everyone was commenting on how fantastic the food was. Their website: http://www.triplecrowncaterers.com/about_us.htm We had filet mignon and roast turkey. Mashed potatoes with chipotle and montchego cheese. Roasted asparagus, penne pasta with a gorgonzola cream and walnut sauce, crabcakes, shrimp cocktail, baked brie and fresh fruit. And just too much more to list. But the best part...our birthday girl is a small town girl at heart. She loves comfort food and adores cream pies so rather than a birthday cake or traditional desserts, the caterer made banana cream, coconut cream, chocolate cream and boston cream pies for dessert. Yum!!!

We also used the greatest party service for the kids who attended. We had them separated from the adults. They had their own dinosaur hunt party that was provided by a company called Oogles and Googles (http://www.ooglesngoogles.com/birthday-parties.aspx) and they did such a fantastic job. If there's one in your area, I would highly recommend using them for your kids birthday parties.