I love handbags. I do. Not so much the cutesy little clutches, but big beautiful tote bags.  In fact, I have a closetful to show for it.  We all know how much my closet drives me insane. And now that it’s starting to push my husband over the edge, I’ve decided to tackle the beast head-on.  I started this morning when I couldn’t sleep because I couldn’t breathe and began with the floor of my closet.  An assortment of random sandals and slippers and tote bags later, I can finally see the floor.

Being able to see the closet floor is so overrated, by the way.

I was able to sort through my sandals with little heartache but the handbags! I can’t throw them away! Even if they are beyond repair. Or are they? Help please.

Exhibit A:

My patent leather Bugatti Croco Cole Haan tote.  I adore this bag. I rocked it for a good 3 seasons because the burnt orange color just kept working.  But now, the corners are worn and the leather is cracked.  Is it salvageable?

Exhibit B:

My Kenneth Cole oversized tote.  I couldn’t find a decent photo of it online, and my iPhone camera isn’t doing it justice, but trust me, it’s gorgeous in person.  I needed a large bag for my commuting days that could hold my lunch, work shoes, book, umbrella, and smaller handbag – it did the trick and looked good.  But somewhere along the way, it got stained with some kind of red dye (or maybe there was red coating underneath the leather that’s coming through?) Either way, it’s a mess and I’m sad about it. Can it be saved?

Okay, I’m going back in.

For the past seven days I have been laid out with bronchitis and a sinus infection. It started out as just a hoarse voice while I was in Miami and then by the time I got back home, it escalated to what I thought was a cold.  By mid-week, though it was clear that this bug wasn’t playing and I was stopped dead in my tracks.  As my friend posted on Facebook:

“God had to do something!”

I’ve been operating at break-neck speed since the holidays: working on my {re}Treat, heading to Blissdom, traveling with the family for Spring Break, popping over to Chicago, managing the mayhem of home and I guess the straw that broke the camel’s back was heading to Mom 2.0 last week.

Learning to take care of myself is a constant challenge but it’s evident that I’m going to have to figure something out or my body is going to do it for me.  This week I’ve been posted up in the bed, unable to do much of anything – quick trips to the grocery store or to swim/dance lessons for the kids resulted in dizzy spells and the sweats.  I finally broke down and paid the doctor a visit over the weekend who prescribed me with antibiotics and orders to REST and TAKE IT EASY for a while.

Um, yeah. About that.

I really am going to take the message to heart because I’m good to no one in this state! And now that my next trip isn’t until August, I am so excited to not have to travel for a couple of months.  Also, I can spend my energies focusing on Blogalicious 2012 and only one or two (ahem) other projects. Plus, summer’s on the horizon which automatically means slower paces and leisure time.

In theory.

Kicking off Saturday Enjoying Brunch with the Shot@Life Ladies

Laura and Carrie really outdid themselves this year.  The venue is spectacular! I can’t believe that during all my years living in, and traveling to, Miami that I’ve never beed to the Ritz-Carlton on Key Biscayne – I’ve been missing out.  But not only was the setting amazing, the group of bloggers in attendance was impressive.  And not in the sense that there were rockstars there (like Jenny and Kristen and Isabel and and Gretchen and Ciaran), but in the sense that everyone was so warm and down-to-earth.

Also – I enjoyed the sessions. I was expecially excited about the Stepping to the Front of the Line: Case Studies in Doing Things Differently session (more on that in another post) and the Setting Your Course in What’s Next: How Do You Even Do That? session.  Neither disappointed.  For several months, I’ve been feeling as though the blogosphere – and me personally – has been in a state of flux and lack of clear direction as to where we’re headed as a platform and as a community, so I was intensely curious to hear what the presenters had to say in these discussions.

Key takeaways from these two sessions for me were…

You have to be brave with your life so that others can be brave with theirs
~ courtesy of Love Crunch

Live Hungry. Champion Good Ideas. Stand Behind Good Ideas.
~ courtesy of Living Social

Be Prepared to Adapt.
~ courtesy of Gabby Blair, Design Mom

Be Innovative In Responding to Challenges.
~ courtesy of Karen Walrond, Chookooloonks (more on this one in another post too!)

I was also very much looking forward to hearing Brene Brown speak for the very first time. I loved her.  It was like chatting with a brilliantly in-tune friend.

That afternoon was the highlight of the day though – we had a 12×7 Anything-but-General Session.  There was a lineup of 12 different speakers, myself included, who had 7 minutes to present on their topic.  It was such a fun and interesting approach to solving the conference organizer challenge of providing lots of great content, giving people the opportunity to speak without packing the schedule and losing overstimulated attendees to, say, the beach.

And? My presentation went swimmingly! My topic was Channeling Your Awesome: Keys to Aligning Your Passions Into One Business Strategy - seemingly impossible to fit in 7 minutes!  The audience was engaged and thanks to the sage advice I received from Karen, Anastasia and Monique, my content was well-received.

Giving my spiel...and rocking Humid-Miami-Hair.

Saturday night I had the privilege of joining some fabulous ladies for dinner at Essencia on South Beach – I was in heaven being able to order an entire snapper and satisfy my yearning for saltwater fish.  Then, I headed back to Key Biscayne to do a “poetry” reading at the Bounce and Hallmark Desserts and Delights Party – big fun.

Beautiful Table. Gorgeous Company.

My roomie Elena and I wrapped up Saturday staying up late and chatting; ahhhhh another good day.

{I actually wrote this post on Thursday night and then got distracted and forgot to publish it! Typical. So here are my retroactive thoughts from Day 1 of Mom 2.0 Summit…}

Every single time I’m preparing to go out of town to attend a blog conference I run around like a chicken with my head cut off prepping my workload and my household for my absence.  Invariably, I end up questioning why I’m going – do I really need to be gallavanting off in Miami for 3 days?

And then I arrive at the conference and realize – Yes. Yes, I do.

That’s how I’m feeling right about now at the end of the first day of Mom 2.0, after a quick dip in the pool, #ONEMoms and Microsoft happy hours and the White Sand White Party sponsored by LG and Honda.

I love nothing more than seeing friendly faces and giving hugs and laughing with these gals who get me.  It’s such a rejuvenating reminder that what we do is awesome, even though it’s intangible and confuses the daylights out of our non-blogger friends and family.

I’m among my peeps and I love it.

Today marks exactly 4 months of my being a 100% solopreneur.  While it’s been completely exhilarating, it’s also been completely overwhelming.

Real talk.

The simple fact of it all is that the daily structure that I once had while working a 9 to 5 is gone. Out the window! And I totally underestimated what that would mean for my household, my family and my life.  Having to be somewhere at a certain time forces you into motion – and from that other things flow.  For example, needing to be in the office for 9:30am meant I had to be on the road (showered and dressed) at a certain time with my lunch in tow.  It also meant having 10 minutes to sit down on the train or when I first arrive into the office and take inventory of the day ahead.  Dishes, laundry and errrands all had to wait until my workday was over.  Now, without me having to be anywhere, the structure of my day had turned on its head.  I thought I was just being hard on myself and figured that I’d find my way after a few weeks, but it never happened! Instead, I’ve been muddling through days where I did some of everything, but got “nothing” done.

And it’s been driving this hyper-productive, Type-A personality – and not to mention my husband, cray (or kray depending on your school of thought).

I was on the phone with a girlfriend of mine and she was having the same issue.  We decided to heed the cliche advice that we’d been hearing for work-at-home women and moms: Schedule Your Days.

Seems a little extreme, but I am a love of lists, schedules and itineraries, so it didn’t faze me in the least and I gave it a shot.  Putting together My Week Ahead actually gave me some iota of comfort in that I was taking control of my discombobulated life and creating a plan.

I’m so anal, I know.

But it’s been an entire week since I did the schedule and it’s been working so far.  Of course, monkey wrenches are thrown in and I’ve had to adapt and revise, but that’s life, right?

I have time scheduled in for exercise, for getting dressed (why oh why has this suddenly become so difficult?), for taking a lunch break, for work hours, for playing with the kiddos, and everything in between.

And so I warmly share with you my…

Solopreneur Sanity-Saving Tidbit No. 1:
Schedule Your Days ~ both the personal AND the professional tasks

Your mind (and home) will be better for it.

When I first heard of the term “semi-homemade” from Sandra Lee on The Food Network, I thought it was brilliant.

And an accurate description of how I roll.

As much as I adore trying new recipes from scratch, the opportunities for hours to play around in the kitchen are rare (i.e. non-existent).  And so, over the years I have become a master at creating tasty dishes that involve shortcuts – a la Sandra Lee.

I was searching for a doable Chicken and Dumplings recipe for this weekend and came across this one by Southern Plate – homemade chicken + ready-made biscuits = score!  I also love to combine different recipes and pull the best of each to create my own version.  I’m thinking that I’ll pull in some of the steps and ingredients from this Southern Living recipe since I’m really liking the seasonings listed.

I’ll serve it with a crisp cucumber salad to cut the richness of the main dish.

Have a lovely weekend.

Image Credit: SouthernLiving.com

Chicken and Dumplings
by Christy Jordan’s Southern Plate

Ingredients

• 3 or 4 chicken breasts
• 32 oz Chicken Broth (feel free to use water with bouillon cubes added)
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1-10 count can Pilsbury layers biscuits
• salt and pepper to taste
• flour

Instructions

1. Cook chicken breasts in approx. 4 c. of water until fork tender, about 45 minutes. Place broth in medium to large sized pot. Stir cream of chicken soup into gently boiling broth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pull biscuits apart into three layers. Dip each layer into flour and then tear each layer into three pieces and drop into gently boiling broth mixture. Do not stir biscuits a lot, or they will cook up, only gently push dumplings down into broth as they float to the top. Cook about ten minutes after last dumplings are added. Add shredded chicken and turn on low until ready to serve. added, Tear up chicken, add to broth mixture.Turn to low until ready to serve.

**************

Classic Chicken and Dumplings
by Southern Living

Ingredients

• 1 (3 3/4-lb.) whole chicken
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
• 3/4 teaspoon pepper, divided
• 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
• 3 cups self-rising flour
• 1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 1/3 cup shortening
• 2 teaspoons bacon drippings*
• 1 cup milk
• Garnish: chopped fresh parsley

Preparation

1. Bring chicken, water to cover, garlic powder, thyme, 1 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper to a boil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 1 hour. Remove chicken; reserve broth.

2. Cool chicken 30 minutes; skin, bone, and shred chicken. Skim fat from broth. Add chicken, bouillon, and remaining 1 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper to broth. Return to a simmer.

3. Combine flour and poultry seasoning in a bowl. Cut in shortening and bacon drippings with a pastry blender until crumbly. Stir in milk. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll to 1/8-inch thickness; cut into 1-inch pieces.

4. Drop dumplings, a few at a time, into simmering broth, stirring gently. Cover and simmer, stirring often, 25 minutes. Garnish, if desired.

*2 tsp. butter plus 1/4 tsp. salt may be substituted.

In the car on the way home from preschool today, L’il Buddy started screaming about a rainbow to the point where he was inconsolable.

The worst part of it was that neither I nor the girls had any clue what he was talking about.

“Did you make a rainbow at school today?” I asked. Nope (communicated via a furious head shake).

“Did you see a rainbow when you went to the playground?” Chatterbox asked. Nope.

“TURN AROUND MOM! TURN AROUND!” Chatterbox started yelling – “MAYBE THE RAINBOW IS BEHIND US!!”

I was tired from a day of running around all over town and we were almost late to Giggles’ ballet class.  I was so not turning around.

Thankfully Giggles stepped in (with her level-headed 6 year-old self): “Maybe he would like a rainbow cake like the one we made for [Chatterbox]‘s birthday party last summer.”

“A rainbow cake!” I said.  “That we can do – let’s make a rainbow cake tonight, ok?” The idea was met with an enthusiastic head nod and he wiped the tears from his cheeks.

Phew. A temporary moment of peace.  I cannot stand hollering when I am driving. It makes me nuts. And I was 110% certain that he would completely forget about it by the time we got home.

No dice.

As soon as he ate his last spoonful of rice, he said: “Time to make the rainbow cake now, Mom?”

Drats.

“Absolutely!” I said.

Double Drats.

I’m a big fan of not letting kids down because it’s their endless hope and dreams that make children magical. And so a rainbow cake was in the works.  I found a box of Red Velvet cake mix in the pantry (Nice! Red is totally part of the rainbow!) but was stumped about how to pull off the other 6 colors.  From the way back of the fridge I rustled up a 3/4 full can of ready-made frosting (those things don’t really expire, right?) … but it was Strawberry flavored and therefore pink. This was looking more like a Planet Mars cake than a rainbow one.

And then I remembered the forgotten bag of candy Easter eggs that they had lugged back from Miami…which then reminded me of the forgotten mini bags of Gobstoppers from Halloween…which led to…

A MIGHTY FINE RAINBOW CAKE THANKYOUVERYMUCH.

The End.

The running joke on the Internet lately has been #FirstWorldProblems – I like that those using the hashtag are poking fun at themselves and acknowledging just how good us American moms have it because it reminds us all of the small luxuries that moms in other countries are forced to go without.

Imagine that basic vaccinations are one of those small luxuries.

Here, we don’t have the worry that our child will die of measles or polio or pneumonia or diarrhea.  Diarrhea. Can you imagine? It’s practically a given that each of our children will experience diarrhea at least once and to think that it could be fatal for children in other countries is mind boggling to me.

Now I know that the topic of vaccines is becoming increasingly controversial among parents here in the U.S., but – let’s be honest – it’s because we can afford the luxury of choosing against them.  In a third-world country where vaccines keep children alive, there is no debate.  The moms want them and their children need them, period.

Consider some of these facts:

• Seventy-five percent of unvaccinated children live in just 10 countries. For children in India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Indonesia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, China, Uganda, Chad and Kenya, access to vaccines mean the difference between life and death, a healthy life or a lifetime of struggle.
• This year, 1.7 million children will die from diseases that have all but disappeared in the U.S. Why? Because one in five children around the world do not have access to the life-saving immunizations needed to survive. 

I learned of these facts at an event that I was invited to this past Friday hosted by Wired Momma and Dolci Gelati on behalf of the UN Foundation and the Shot@Life Campaign.  A group of local DC bloggers came out for an evening of delicious desserts and action-oriented conversation surrounding a cause that hits close to home for all of us with children.

What stuck with me the most was how inexpensive the cost of the vaccinations are; for example, the polio vaccine is just 17 cents per child!

Today kicks off WHO’s World Immunization Week.  In celebration, the Shot@Life campaign is on a mission to vaccinate 1,000 children by Mother’s Day 2012.

As my girl Lara from Chicken Nuggets of Wisdom exclaimed during the event: “That’s it? 1,000 children? We can take care of that right NOW.”

I’m with Lara – let’s do this. Whatever your position on vaccinations for your own children, let’s give mothers in under-developed countries the choice as to whether they can give their child the immunization that they need to live.

Here’s how you can help:

• Join the movement and take the Shot@Life Pledge
  
• Send a letter to your member of Congress and tell them that robust funding for global health and global vaccines is a priority for you.
• Share the message with your friends and family.  Like the campaign on Facebook, follow them on Twitter and grab the button for your blog.
• Donate. You can give a child a lifetime of immunity to protect her from measles, diarrhea, polio and pneumonia for just $20.

Just last week, I wrote about my sister contracting meningitis as a toddler – that was in the early 80s, before the meningitis vaccine became a standard requirement for all American children.  My sister lost her hearing as a result of that – preventable –  illness.  Children around the world are losing their lives from not having access to the vaccines they need. Let’s give them the choice to live.

Each time we go home to Miami to visit, it becomes increasingly harder to come back to Maryland. All three sets of our kids grandparents live there and it’s where Hubby grew up.  Since his paternal grandparents had…wait for it…TWELVE children, my Hubby and his sisters have no less than 34 first cousins.

Getting ready for the Easter egg hunt with Grandma D

With a family of that size, there’s never a shortage of crazy stories, funny anecdotes and entertaining antics; it also means, there’s a palpable feeling of love, tight-knittedness and a strong sense of family.

Shrimp Pasta, Eggplant and Fresh-Picked Cherry Tomato Dinner at my dad's

I’ve been going to gatherings at his grandparent’s house ever since we first started dating 14 years ago and it was such a treat for me.  I literally felt like I was living in the movie “Soul Food.”   I did grow up with a mini-version of the Sunday gatherings at my own granny’s house in Montreal with my cousins and I choreographing dance routines and building army bases out of the pillows on my grandparent’s “Chesterfield” but nothing of the magnitude that my husband’s family is used to by sheer virtue of their family’s size.

My mom plating her Shrimp-Avocado appetizers on Easter

Naturally, they have the usual Southern Soul Food items – greens, mac and cheese, baked and fried chicken and every single kind of cake or pie you can imagine – but, because of their Bahamian heritage AND proximity to the ocean, there’s a definite Caribbean twist to their menu.

In awe at the abundance of fresh saltwater fish in the markets down South #NoFair

Every Friday evening, for example, one of his aunts sells Conch Fritters and Fried Fish directly from their grandparent’s house where the family congregates Friday through Sunday.  Neighbors hip to the game come from far and wide to get their fill.  What’s makes it even more special is that the Conch Fritter recipe is a secret one passed down from his grandmother who passed away several years ago.  Only a select few in the family know the recipe and they are NOT going to share it (trust me, I tried). Also, they are a family of fisherman and so almost all of the fish that they eat is fish that they have caught themselves off of the Florida Keys or in the Bahamas…

@TheRealJoeFerg and his uncle spearfishing

We spent a week in Miami for Spring Break this month and his family had a Seafood Fest on Good Friday.  There was so much food – everything from fried Grouper to Garlic Crabs to Shrimp Kebabs and Lobster Tails on the grill all accompanied by ridiculously good sides, including homemade Johnny Cake.

My first boat ride!

It’s impossible to watch what you eat down there.

Now that we’re back in the DC Metro area, everyone’s going through a little bit of a withdrawal – Chatterbox misses her cousins terribly; Giggles misses the endless supply of kisses and spoiling from her Grandmas; L’il Buddy misses playing sports with his boy cousins; Hubby misses the regular saltwater fishing outings with his uncles; and me?

I miss the Sunday dinners.

A very tropical Chatterbox

Every now and then something happens that completely floors you and brings you back to a special place in time…You just don’t necessarily expect it to happen when emptying your kid’s backpack!

Last week I was doing my usual backpack check – you know, homework papers, scrunched up fliers, assorted junk that is sworn to be something fabulous ["But that's Jennifer's VERY SPECIAL bottle cap, Mom! She lent it to me for the week." Excellent.]  When I got to Giggles’ backpack, I saw that she had gone to the library that day and flipped the book around so I could see what she picked [we're working on her NOT always picking books based on TV shows, i.e. SpongeBob or Dora] and I was totally amazed by the book she had chosen:

This may not seem particularly interesting to you at first glance, but “I Wish I Had Duck Feet” means a whole lot to me…

When my sister was 4 years old, she contracted bacterial meningitis.  It was a scary, heart-wrenching time for the entire family and we were supremely blessed that a potentially fatal infection resulted in my little sister being A-OK; the only lasting effect being profound hearing loss.  We spent so much time in the hospital as she battled the meningitis and then worked on recovering and I, 7 years old at the time, spent an enormous amount of time in the waiting room.

As you can imagine, a hospital waiting room is less than exciting for a little kid and I busied myself reading the meager book selection.  My absolute favorite was “I Wish I Had Duck Feet.” I read it over and over and over and over and over and over for the entire 2-week span that she was hospitalized.  During that uncertain and worrisome time, that book became my familiar friend.

I explained the significance of the book to my daughters last night and actually teared up a little at the thought of what could have happened.  They probably thought I had a screw loose to be rambling on about this silly Dr. Seuss book but it brought back so many memories for me and was a reminder at how lucky we are to have Lisa Pizzeria with us 28 years later.

Giggles, My Sis & Chatterbox

In fact, I think I might just buy a copy for myself.