Caution: Girls at Work

Oh boy. I have eased in to this new year like no other.

Maybe it's the oddseaonably cold weather we've been having in Texas, and the resulting head cold I've had since 2009. Or maybe I'm just really distracted by how pretty the dates are right now (01.10.10, 01.02.2010, etc.). But it's something. And it's something that has kept me all but housebound in a slothy state of slothdom that I frankly don't have the energy to think about. I think I've gotten out of my pajamas three times since 01.01.10. True story.

That must be why it's my first post of the year. That, or I've been working a lot of fun hours getting ready for the amazing Mom 2.0 Summit and Alt Summit and Kirtsy rebuild and SXSW andandandandand.

Or maybe it's because genius Monica Danna is helping me redo The Queso, and pretty much everything left on the back end of this creaky, no-longer-in-existence 2005 Blogger platform code has been switched over to Wordpress, and honestly, I barely know what any of that means.

But things are in the works.

This spot won't be at all the same next week. And hopefully I'll be wearing clothes that can reasonably be defined as anything other than pajama pants.

Black Eyed New Year's Rockin' Peas con Queso

This is a total repost, but I've had some requests...so here goes.

I wouldn't say we're traditional, but we firmly believe that some traditions are sacred. Case in point: the New Year's peas. So if you cook nothing else this year, you only have a few hours left to cook these. It's silly simple.

The Peas Stand Alone

Black Eyed Peas
Water
Cooked bacon
Onion
Worcestershire sauce
Red wine
Salt/Pepper

Soak 2 cups of Black Eyed Peas overnight in H20. (Or buy them pre-soaked from Whole Foods or whatever). Rinse off and put in large pot. Stir in at least 6 cups of H20, 1 cup diced/lean cooked ham (or bacon) (or bacon + bacon drippings, if you're feeling really crazy), 1 chopped onion, 1-3 Tbs Worcestershire sauce (and/or a very generous glub of red wine!), 1/4 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp pepper. Cover, simmer for 2 hrs.

Then eat them for good luck, for goodness sake! I'll be eating them in this lovely red bowl.

Tomorrow we'll be eating them with queso. Why not? It's so 2010. Trust me.

The 100 Best Songs of the 00s

Last week, Rolling Stone published its list of the top 100 songs of the decade. And I must say, even though it is the greatest music publication in all the land, I think they're crazy. If only for their number one pick. And, okay, also for lots of others too.

To be fair, this isn't an easy thing to do. List making is a fallible business. And as questionable and strange as the last 10 years have been, man, our artists created some amazing music. Plus, this probably is the first decade that most of us can actually remember with sane, measured, adult-brain memories. So, sure, there's a lot of sensory data to sort.

But still. I think I can do better. Because I think I'm smarter than Rolling Stone or something. And, reading through the list again, um, I think I might just be on this one. So here's my version. Of course, the order might shift depending on the day, but I think we're getting closer here.

My Picks for the Best 100 Songs of the Decade


Tell me I'm wrong. What's not to love? And what's missing? What?

Actually, looking back, I already think I've already changed my mind on some of this. See, list making is a dumb idea. At least I'll have a great running mix for all the tiarathon training.

On a serious note, here's hoping our future decade matches the excellence of our artists. I'm feeling very optimistic that it will.

So Happy New Year to you and yours!

And here's to what sounds like it could be a very happy new decade!

It's The Most Wonderful Week of the Year!

Now that all the Holidaying has been Holidayed, we're entering into my favorite week of the year.

I just love this week. It's The Container Store of weeks. The week when you're wrapping up the old and looking forward to the new. With a clean slate. A cleanish slate. And I'm looking straight at my office, or lack of one. I'm thinking that creating one for myself is high on my 2010 list. Here are a few that inspire me. (Almost all the photos are from The Container Store website.)I don't know what it is about orange, but it makes me want to be more productive. And eat oranges.

This one makes that Tetris-loving part of me oh so stinkin' satisfied.
Everything in it's right place, indeed.

I love the light on this one from 15 Inspirational Home Offices by Steve Mullen. Oh those windows! My kingdom for those windows! I'm putting excellent fenestration on my 2010 list too. Oh yes I am.

And then, once I figure out a little workspace, I'm going to tackle the closet.
God help me.

“Once you choose hope, anything’s possible.”*
―Christopher Reeve

*I read that quote today on Twitter. Nice, huh? Lots of other ideas here from Real Simple.

**Also, Real Simple and The Container Store did not pay me to write any of this. They're just inspiring me today.

Last Minute Christmas Gifts. Hooray!

I have some very creative girlfriends, and every year, I force them to invite me over to Lisa's house to make Holiday gifts. They usually oblige. Last year, we made homemade vanilla, and this year, we decided on homemade bath salts. Yummy.

The whole process was super simple...way simpler than the vanilla actually. (And we thought the vanilla was easy!)

First, we all got together and ate lunch. Easy. Then we pulled out the supplies and started talking.

Here's what we needed:

1. Containers

2. Hand Crocheted Cotton Washcloths
(We used these from Etsy seller snowbabyscreations)

3. Dead Sea Salt

4. Cello Bags

5. Labels (2" x 4")

6. Ribbon (We purchased ours at Michaels)

Then we layed it all out. To create the labels, we engaged our friend (and event organizer) Adrienne, who is and will always be my favorite art director in all the land. She makes everything prettier. But you can do whatever on the labels, be creative! Or grab your nearest art director.

Or hey, use ours! Then, stick the labels on the containers.

This was actually the hardest part, I think.
That's why I am taking photos. I was banned from the production.
But Katherine Center, whose hands are shown above, did a fab job.

See? Look how good they look!
(This is because I did not do them.)

Meanwhile...
In the kitchen...

Katherine's brilliant daughter, Anna, was in charge of the bath salts.

Lisa and I were her helpers. We added essential oils to sea salt and stirred it all up in giant mixing bowls. Easy. We used Laundry Tree oils (because they're awesome), but I'm sure any ol' essential oils will do. We went with Up (to pick you up), Down (to chill you out), Turn Around (to get you healthy) themes of scents.

Here are the recipes Lisa created:

UP:

2 cups of dead sea salt

1-1/2 teaspoons LaundryTree Energy essential oil blend

DOWN:

2 cups of dead sea salt

1-1/2 teaspoons Lavender essential oil

TURN AROUND:

2 cups of dead sea salt

1/4 t eucalyptus oil

1/4 teaspoon tea tree oil

3/4 teaspoon lavender oil for "turn around"

Then we put the salts in the jars.

That was fun, and easy. They let me help with this part.

Then we put lids on the jars.

Aren't they pretty?

They also smell good.The whole house smelled like a spa.

Then we grouped them.

And added the washcloths.
(I love these and want to order 50 of them for my house.)

And we packaged them all up.

Done.

The whole project took about two hours, and we were definitely taking our time (and eating and drinking and laughing away).

Now, my Christmas tree smells even yummier, and Harry's teachers are getting a really fun gift. Hooray for easy, fun gifts!

(Added from Lisa)

The recipes can be successfully modified to work well for a last-minute gift.
Just use epsom salt (available in any pharmacy) and essential oils (available in the "natural" aisles of any good grocery store). The amount of salt you'll need depends on the size of the container you choose. For guestimation purposes, ours were about 2" round and 4" tall and held about 6 oz (2/3 cup) of salts.

If you'd like to use the labels that Adrienne designed, you can download then here:

Merry Christmas, everyone!

The 12 Songs of Christmas

I'm in the up-to-my-eyeballs midst of a somewhat tedious project right now, so engaging in procrastination in the guise of motivation, I'm finally letting myself tune in to tunes of yule. And while this duet in this brilliant album will probably always remain my favorite, here are the top 12 seasonal sounds I'm playing on a loop this year in no particular order. Enjoy!

1. All I Want For Christmas Is You: Mariah Carey. Okay, I'll admit it, Mariah isn't all bad.

2. Sleigh Ride: Ella Fitzgerald. Mmm, can't you just taste the gin?

3. What Christmas Means to Me: Hansen. Honestly, I hate my own guts that I love Hansen's version of this song the very very most.

4. Winter Wonderland: Ray Charles. Yes. Perfect.

5. Hark the Herald Angels/Angels We Have Heard: Straight No Chaser. I love the poetry of the phrasing.

6. Oh Holy Night: Kelly Clarkson. Gorgeous.

7. All Is Well: Micheal W. Smith. Let there be peace.

8. Christmastime is Here: Tony Braxton. When I grow up, I want to be Tony B.

9. 8 Days of Christmas: Destiny's Child. You go, Houston girls!

10. Christmas: Jon Bon Jovi. Come on, admit it, we all totally dig New Jersey.

11. Joy To the World: Whitney Houston. Crazy can sing.

12. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. Diana Krall. From my house, to yours.

Sketchy

I can not stop laughing at this site. If you haven't checked out Sketchy Santas, go ahead, treat yourself. I'm telling you why.

Hello, San Francisco! Here I Come!

Remember how I said that I was going to keep it going in December. Well, I so am. Starting today. Right after I board this plane for San Francisco, the Golden Gate City, the Painted Lady City, the Adult Disneyland City. Actually, what is SF's official name? Le Google didn't turn up any immediate and obvious results. But surely it has an official name. Until this can be uncovered, I'm calling it the Seal Rock City. And I'm heading there today for the last stop on the 2009 Kirtsy Book Tour of Justice. The event will be at (Jordan) Ferney Studios. My lovely pal Gabrielle Blair will be there. The great Robert Oatley Vineyards will be supplying the wine. And I'm staying with Maggie. She will be supplying the fun. If you're anywhere near the Seal Rock City, join us tomorrow night! Also, the lovely image above is from vgm8383's flickr stream, buy this SF print!

Christmastime is Here

We celebrated last night by putting up the tree. At one point, Harry said to me, "Mommy, I'm really good at Christmasing." And I quite agreed. It's going to be a great month.

Hands On Small Business

Every other week or so, the gals behind Kirtsy get asked how the heck we started and run a business from different locations around the country. Or maybe they ask us why we do this. I can't remember. But the point is, we get these kinds of questions a lot.
So sometime last summer, we had the idea to host a few small gatherings in a few cities to show our friends exactly how easy it is now to start, run and/or promote a small business online.

We talked with the good people at Microsoft Office Live and they agreed. In fact, we use Office Live to organize things, so we knew that they knew what we were talking about. And they did. So they saw our few events idea and raised it to a whole new level...100 events in 20 cities in 6 weeks. We laughed. They said they were serious. And away we went.With 27 teachers, we jumped in. These amazing women started teaching about how to build a totally free website with Microsoft Office Live, as well as cloud computing and file sharing, then a little about Twitter and a little about promotional ideas on Kirtsy.

And the Hands on Small Business sessions just keep getting better and better. 92 down. 8 to go. Six more happening this week:

Boston on Dec. 1

Portland on Dec. 1

Oklahoma City on Dec. 3

Chicago on Dec. 4

Little Rock on Dec. 5

Houston on Dec. 9

And if you can't make those, we have one more big announcement thanks to Office Live. In January, Amie Adams will be leading two more virtual HOSB sessions. So no matter where you're located, you can catch HOSB LIVE on your computer.

Everywhere on Jan. 8

Everywhere on Jan. 12

As usual, they will all be free. And be great. And you'll leave shocked that you just go so much great info and met so many fab new people...for free! So exciting. Find out more at the Hands On Small Business site. I'll see you there!

The Light At The End. Or Not.

Tomorrow will be the last day of NaBloPoMo. And honestly, I can't believe it's almost over. This thing has flown, this thing being November. And I'm almost thinking I may keep going on this thing until the end of the year. Not even kidding. Because I still need to write about:

1. Hands On Small Business. 100 events in 20 cities in 1 month with Kirtsy and Microsoft Office Live. Whew.

2. Kirtsy Book Events. Washington DC. Dallas. Austin. And this week, New York! Next week, San Francisco and Denver. That's like 12 posts right there.

3. Alt. I seriously can't wait for this.

4. Mom 2.0 Summit. Dude, there is so much going on with this one that I need to tell you about.

5. Better.TV. This was fun.

6. BBC Interview. Also, fun. And with pumpkin pie.

7. Updates on the April to April list. I'm behind. Yikes.

8. Other stuff that's happening. No really. There's other stuff.

So, yeah, for sure that should get me to at least Christmas. And after that, I can just type in nonsensical Japanese or something, because no one will be reading that last week anyway. So, basically, I see your November NaBloPoMo and I friggin raise you December. All three of you who are reading this. You. Keep reading, yo. Because this tunnel just got a little bit longer.

Chartreuse Saturday: A List

1. I'm sitting at the bar in my mom and dad's kitchen, while my mom is making bacon. I may never leave this place. Or, I may leave in just a few hours because my body can no longer take the massive amounts of food that's been served since we arrived here on Monday. Seriously. Six days and five nights. They should have a shuttle queued up to take you straight to an angioplasty clinic.

2. My sister is sitting next to me. She's 30. On this trip, Harry decided to address her as Shermy. Her name is not Shermy.

3. My dad is wearing a "Mason Punchers" T-shirt. Mason is an obscure town in the middle of Texas. The Punchers are their football team. We know no one in Mason. My dad knows every football team mascot in the state. I'm not even kidding. Try him.

4. My brother-in-law is hiding in the back room. He's reading about Augustine of Hippo. He's smart. Mainly because he's hiding.

5. My brother, sister-in-law, and nieces, Hannah and Harper, do not stay here, but instead, stay at their own home. They are also smart. There were a lot of commas in the first sentence. I'm not sure I did that right.

6. My dad says eggs like "ayyggs."

7. James is watching Manchester United play Portsmouth in the living room. They're not actually in the living room. They're in England. He's watching them on TV.

8. Harry is coloring on the floor. He's not actually coloring on the floor. He's coloring on paper. He says he's drawing hearts and dinosaurs, but they look like purple lines to me. This is exactly how I feel in the Cy Twombly gallery.

9. I just told my dad that we might move in with him. He looked at me with love in his eyes and said, "No way in hell."

10. We're leaving in a few hours.

Black Friday: A Photo Shoot

As I think I might have mentioned, we're celebrating Black Friday by celebrating Christmas. Because my family likes to get things done.

Also, they live in Texas. Have I reminded you of this lately? Because if it's not clearly obvious, they do. We do. All of us. Well, not my sister and brother-in-law, but they travel to where the turkey and presents are.
And today, they're both happening here.

The other thing that is happening here today is a family photo for my parents' Christmas card. So what if we're completing all the Christmas celebrations before the Christmas card photo is taken and sent. Details. Details.

This morning, my mother reminded me about this photo shoot. She also reminded me that we all needed to wear white shirts and jeans. No one in our family packed a white shirt. So, at 8 a.m., I traveled up the country road to the largest mall in the state on the busiest shopping day of the year. To get three white shirts. Brilliant.

Everyone is very excited about getting a family picture taken. And about wearing white shirts.

Look at my sister in this photo above.
I think the expression on her face speaks for all of us.

Although my brother looks sort of happier. He always looks happy. He drinks beer.

There were some happy people, and these people were are all less than four feet tall. They spent most of the morning doing this.

And this. Lots of this.
They only stopped to take the photo. They were less happy then.

Harry felt that Tyrone and Mickey needed to be in the family photo as well. So, they're in there. Even though they didn't travel to the mall at 8 a.m. to get white shirts. Not fair.

The picture did actually and finally happen. And after approximately 100 shots, there was one taken where no one had eyes closed or a weird expression on his or her face. I'll post it after my mom sends it. Because my mom will hurt me if I post it before then. She just told me this.

It was a white-shirt, black Friday, photo shoot success.

And then we got on our horses and went home.

Just kidding. No one actually rides around a Texas ranch on horseback. The white shirts and golf carts make these people look like cult members.

Basically, what I'm trying to tell you that my family is like a cult.

A Texas cult that celebrates Christmas on Black Friday.

Amen.

Help.

The Way We See Things This Thanksgiving

All the pies have been made, the potatoes have been peeled, the clinky drink glasses have been laid out, and we're sitting around my parents' house, watching the parade, and gearing up for massive amounts of celebratory food. Harry is super excited about the turkey this year. In fact, he just shared his turkey recipe with his grandparents, and so I will share it with you.

The Hurricane's Turkey Recipe

Go to the grocery store to get a turkey.
It will be alive and have feathers.
A turkey costs $3.
Put it in a bag and go home.
Put it in a pan and wait for it to cook.
It should take 12 minutes.
Put seasoning on it to make it tasty.
Salt and pepper and a "bone tail" makes it good.
You'll know it's ready when the oven beeps.
Put it on the table and let it cool off.
Drink chocolate milk.
Mommy and daddy drink water or milk.
Eat pumpkin pie.
When you finish, take the leftovers to school.
After you clean up, go to circle and sit nicely and get on your mat.

So there you have it.
Good luck with your turkey.

And Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.

Meet Us In NYC!

We've found the perfect location for our NYC book launch event! It happens just one week from today (on Wednesday, Dec. 2 from 6 to 9 p.m.). And we'll meet you at Meet. A fabulous spot in Soho on Crosby Street. Can't wait to see you there!