Chicago

I'm in the Chicago area - Hoffman Estates to be exact. I took the train out on Saturday from Michigan, and Tarzan picked me up at the train station. It was fun taking the train, and I'll probably do it again. I'm here all week, and then Tarzan will drive me back to Michigan on Saturday. I came out this week because my company Backyard Soaps & More has a wholesale show at the Chicago Merchandise Mart. We come to Chicago in January and July to market our line to retailers from all over the country. I went yesterday, and saw the booth, talked to some of our sales reps, customers, our VP of Sales and our Marketing Specialist Joann who is working the booth for 4 days. She and I ate lunch, and I had a great time hanging out. Our booth looks great, although next year we need to get a big vinyl sign with our logo on it. Here are some pictures for your enjoyment.

Fun with blog backgrounds

Thanks to inspiration from Sweet Pea over at Hopes & Dreams for us, I decided to have some fun with my blog background. This is my Valentine theme. The only thing I can't figure out is how to put a picture in that cute little frame on the header? Is it even possible?

New pictures of Rascal

It took about 2 weeks, but Rascal is now getting along splendidly with my other 2 cats. Here are some new pictures of her.



She looks like a skunk in this picture with her bushy black tail!

Germany it is!

Just got a voice mail from my soon-to-be 16 year old nephew Reed. He just found out where he is going for his junior year of high school abroad through the Rotary Youth Exchange......he's going to Germany. I was so hoping he'd be going to Spain or Argentina, but Germany will still be a good experience - he'll experience a new culture and get to see the world. However he'll be learning a language that really isn't all that necessary to learn since so many Germans speak English. I was so hoping that he's learn Spanish so we could speak it together. I wanted him to experience some of the same adventures I did while living for 3 years in Spain and while traveling several times to Argentina. I really hope he at least gets to experience a small town in Germany, and not a big city.

You see he would have ended up in a Spanish speaking country, but at the last minute he switched his priority list of countries (after he had already submitted a list that I had helped him create). He had to list in order of preference over 30 countries; knowing he would most likely be going to one of the top 5 on his list. He kept Spain as #1, but ended up putting Germany as #2 and moved Argentina down the list. He did this without consulting me. I know he is not my child, but you see, I'm the most well traveled person in our entire family and I don't know.....I guess I was hoping to advise him a little more. Instead he listened to I-don't-know-who.

He reads my blog too, so I know he'll read this. I'll get excited Reed, I promise, I really will. Just give me a bit of time to get used to the idea of Germany. I'll help you get your blog started and your fundraising letter written. I don't know if I'll come visit you in Germany, but maybe if you want to meet up in Spain or Italy at the end of your year abroad - we can do that. Also lest you forget my dear nephew - we have a deal that you will study in Spain during your college years.

At least you will be getting out of Marysville, Michigan and for that I am absolutely thrilled.

Switch to Tea

I've been thinking about switching from coffee to tea for awhile. I have started a couple of times, but it was more in the spirit of just giving up caffeine. I would switch from coffee to tea in order to slowly step down from my caffeine addiction prior to each IVF cycle. I really like tea, but I'm not a tea connoisseur; I have a few loose teas, but most of my tea is the grocery store bought bagged kind. The other day I was looking through my Food Network magazine (first one in a subscription I purchased from one of the neighbor kids doing school fundraising), and I came upon an article about rising food stars under the age of 30. Being that I'm from Michigan and a small business owner myself, I was immediately drawn to the blurb about Ono Tea from Detroit (it's actually based in Novi, a suburb). It is so exciting to see other Michigan based small businesses getting national attention. The article talked about Viet Le, age 26 who founded Ono Tea with his sisters Phuong age 32 and Phi age 30. They market tea based on your lifestyle. Anyway to make a long story short, I checked out their website iloveono.com which is awesome and I ordered some tea. Their website explains the benefits of the different kinds of teas, and they even have a section of teas for Yogis! Love, love, love! Another funny thing is that Phuong's nickname is The Tea Chick and she has a blog called TheTeaChick.com. Since my nickname is Soapchick, I find her nickname endearing. I just added it to my google reader and hope to become educated about tea! I ordered a mighty athena green tea, a caramel slimming tea, and a kick the coffee habit tea. I'm looking forward to seeing if that last one will help me kick my coffee habit. I'm not trying to give up coffee permanently - being part of an Italian family that is impossible as I am offered coffee or espresso on every visit to my in-laws. However I'd like to start drinking tea as my daily beverage of choice. There seem to be so many health benefits with tea.

Welcome Rascal

Remember Rascal? Click here if you don't. She was my sister's cat, but now she's mine. She arrived just over a week ago and is settling in bit by bit. She's such a snuggler. In order for me to save her, I had to give my alpha male cat Claudio to my mom. He has been with her for about a month now and is much happier being an only child. My mom is enjoying having another cat (her 20 year old cat died last year) and I get to visit him all the time. He's a very affectionate cat and sits on her lap every night. He just was not good with the other cats; he was always beating them up. Pachi and Guido were very happy when he left.

Thus far Rascal doesn't really care for the other cats, but I hope in time they will co-habitate peacefully. There have been no fights, but certainly a lot of hissing and growling. Fortunately Pachi and Guido are pretty laid back and are not aggressive. I think Rascal will try to be the Alpha Female; time will tell if Pachi will allow it. Rascal is a couple of pounds heavier than Pachi, but Pachi has claws whereas Rascal does not. The good news is that Rascal has had no accidents; she is going in the litter box! I'm using Feliway (cat pheromones) as well as a special litter called Cat Attract. I knew it would work.

I'll take a new picture of her soon with her hair cut. I got her shaved, but left her tail intact, so she looks a bit like a skunk. Super cute.

More Holiday Pictures - Christmas Eve, New Years Eve, etc.

Our Christmas tree viewed from above!

My cousins and I on Christmas Eve - Leigh Anne, Kathy, Me, Megan and Jill.

Tarzan and I on New Years Eve Leann and I on New Years Eve Nina, Mike and I on Dec. 27th. We've been friends for 15-18 years and have met for a holiday brunch every year for probably the past 9 years. Mike lives in Chicago, so I will hopefully be seeing him more. He is a RN and also studying for his acupuncture license. He is now able to practice on people, so I'm hoping for some discounted acupuncture on my frequent trips to Chicago! Nina lives less than a mile from me, and we really should see each other more than we do. When we worked together in Europe (me in Spain, her in Germany), we saw each other more. Hmm, I will try to correct that in 2010.

Holiday pictures - Cocktail Party Dec. 18th

Yes it's been a while since I've posted. Sorry!! Here are a few pictures from the holidays.

PICTURES FROM MY COCKTAIL PARTY DEC. 18TH

Nina, Kacy, Lynette

Anne and IKacy and IEveryone on my upstairs walkwayAnne, Suzanne and Nina Suzanne, Lara, Kathy, Michelle and Nina