StruGgling!

I'm continuously struggling with finding a clear concept for my business.. I think because I'm still unsure of what I want my life to look like. According to Mrs. Slim, I need to build my business around my ideal life. What is my ideal life? Now is probably not the best time to think about this, since I feel like a wretched swine of a woman.
I've not even showered today. It was only about an hour ago (it's 10:30pm) that I washed yesterday's make-up off and brushed my teeth. For dinner I ate chili, a couple black olives, and some pineapple tidbits...throw in a tuna jello mold and you have a dinner party straight from 1979. Later, I had a handful of reeses peanut butter baking chips, a scoop of rainbow chip icing, and leftover choco/van swirl frozen yogurt from a trip to Costco a few weeks ago. Yes, I said a few weeks ago. I even went so far as to scrap the gooey film off the top to get to the good stuff. Disgusting. I can't believe I even wrote that down. This is a lose-lose situation. I think I'll save thinking for tomorrow.

Jameson Whiskey S@%*Show 2011

Coors Light Cake girl's mom, who is also a caterer, called on Tuesday for a Carrot/Coconut cake for Thursday. Somewhat last min, but that's ok with me. No problem, I thought! However, when I started asking for more details, how many people, where to deliver to, etc... things started getting scary. My simple, no prob, carrot cake suddenly turned into a carrot cake made to look like a Jameson Whiskey bottle and needed to serve 45 people. That's a big cake, and I have one day to make it.... with a 5 year old in tow.
I emailed her back and let her know that I wasn't sure I had all the necessary supplies to make a cake shimmer green like a bottle, but that I would let her know that evening. She replied with some more info... that it was Pat's 50th bday. He has ALS. This would totally make his night! Weeelllll Sheeeeit! How do you say no to that? ....You don't, and I was happy to give it my best shot.
So I made it work, extremely inefficiently and def not cost effective, but it came together.
Here's how my baking shitshow progressed:

• Wed am: Ask Scott to pick up Soph from school so I could make my craft store rounds that morning.
• 10am: Collected all my coupons (joann's, Michaels, party city ALWAYS have 40 - 50% off one item type coupons)
• 10:15am -Woman on a mission. Stole the 550 to ride in style as I cruise the craft store strip (aka, crossroads). With JoAnn's, Michaels, and Party City all next door to each other, this is where you'll score the good shiz. 
• 10:30am - Fist stop - Party City since I got a tip that Duff Goldman's  blue, yellow, and red fondant were half off. I figured I'd be able to use the blue and yellow to make green and use it in other projects, regardless. So I snatched up somma da and quickly walked the isles looking for yellow signs that might indicate a good deal... SCORE.... cake boxes all sizes 70cents, suckaaa!! Gimme!
• 10:35am - 2nd Stop - Starbucks - 5 shots on ice plaheeeeze. They know me round deez parts. 
• 10:40am - 3rd Stop - JoAnns. I have a 40% off one item coupon, but wasn't sure what I needed. Sheet cake pan and cake boards.. biguns. 13x19. Sweet. I also bought a book - 1000 ways to Decorate Cookies... it was a good idea at the time, but later realized I would have got more out of lighting the 20 dollars on fire... meh.. can't win em all. Oh.. and paintbrushes, a variety pack. 
• 11am - 4th Stop - Michael's: Gold Luster Dust, Wilton white fondant, Moss green food coloring
• 11:15am - 5th Stop - QFC - Baby Carrots, Coconut, Cream Cheese, coke zero (duh)
• 11:30am - 6th Stop - Home. Let the baking begin. 

My plan was to get all the ingredients ready and measured out for two batches of the carrot/coconut cake, but not actually mix/bake until after Sophia's Dance Class. Ready... switch gears:

• 1:30pm -7th stop - Dance Class @ NW Ariels. A brief break from my morning chaos. I watch Sophia's gymnastics for about 30 min, then she goes to dance, where I can't see her. So, I sit on a hard blue chair in a room with blue carpet on every wall, alone with my ex husband.... du du dunnnn... Not really. I have the most amazing ex husband in the world.
• 2:45pm - 8th Stop - Home

We are FINALLY ready to bake the cake. I love making carrot cake because it's so easy. So I made two batches using this recipe in separate bowls, then baked on 11X15 sheet cake and one 8" square cake. 

While the cakes were chillin', I made Soph dinner, read her some stories, bathed her, put her to bed, etc... then I got down with turning the fondant green. What a horrible experience. I was having a really hard time getting the dark green bottle color, so I gave up and decided I'd just paint it with food coloring after I got in on the cake.

Anyway.. the cake basically took all night, but I'm happy to say that everyone was totally psyched when they saw it.

Sukha Sweets...

I like this word. Gary used it today in yoga. It was notable because it kind of sounds like sugar, and even in my deepest practice, it is still in the forefront of my mind. Seriously, when told to "find my driste" or whatever, I'm envisioning big puffs of pink cotton candy. I don't remember what he said it meant.. i thought he said "release".. so I googled it and got these meanings:
Happiness
Ease
Pleasure
Bliss

It was a good thing for me to google today, since it is SO what I need to focus on - just chillin out and focusing on what's important.. friends, family, truth...

Maui: Round 2

Quitting my job may have been the best thing I've ever done for myself. It's really allowed me to realize the importance of TIME and the role it plays in happiness. I have TIME now!! The amount I get to spend with Sophia has probably increased 500%. I have TIME to work out. I have TIME to be happy. I have TIME to sleep. I have TIME to eat. I have TIME to enjoy things I never thought I would... and that includes travelling to Maui with The Dr. twice in 6 weeks. This last trip to Maui was amazing. While The Dr. rode 450 miles on his bike, I had a lot of time to think about my business.

We stayed at the Seabreeze Inn in a little surf town on the North Shore called Pa'ia. It's basically a fancy hostel with 4 rooms to rent by the night, a shared kitchen, a pool, hot tub, snorkeling beach, etc. I'd call the architecture of the house very Hemingwayesce or something and the interior decor, um.., 80's African eclectic... It's random to say the least but oozing with character - as is the owner, Mark Reedy. He's a relaxed, 50 year old (although he looks 40), surfer/musician dude who pops in and out quietly to make sure everyone has what they need. We LOVED it there, and it will most likely be the place we stay from here on out.

Before leaving on the trip, I baked some Coconut-Lime White Chocolate Macaroons for Brad to take into work. They were somewhat of a peace offering to his nurses asking for them to "please not hate me for going to Maui twice in a month"... so I named them the "Don't Hate" cookies. They were somewhat of a random creation, but turned out yummy and pretty! Check out more pics on my facebook page: www.facebook.com/Sophisticookie