siempre - dorana

In Loving Memory of Our Best Friend, Lancelot (6/1995 - 3/2011)

2011-06-02T12:24:00.012-04:00

He could no longer hear the doorbell ring, nor the dinging of the letters of the Wheel of Fortune puzzles that just a year or two earlier would instantly send him into a startling choir of barks.

Tears fill my eyes thinking of the many times I would find myself wondering when was the last time he had actually heard my voice…

We would giggle as he jerked his head excitedly trying to find the treat that escaped his grasp, his eyesight failing, working himself into a tizzy until he chomped it up happily detecting it after a while, right next to his elusive giant paw…

He lay in the kitchen, quite literally in the middle of where I would be working, while I made dinner every night as he nodded off, sleeping away more and more of the day.

Quietly, Yoda would come home from work, put down his things, give me a kiss hello and together we would wait…

Lance’s ears, eyes, and old joints were steadily betraying him…

But not his NOSE!

After a few moments, we’d watch his eyes begin to flutter and see his nostrils catching Yoda’s scent in the air, both of us laughing out loud as his eyes flew open in excited recognition, tail thumping as he shuffled to his feet to propel his body against Yoda’s legs in hello as we both laughed…

Every night for years, we would find ourselves in a twin-sized ball curled up tightly on half of our king sized bed as he lounged on the other side comfortably.

But he had long since stopped jumping on the bed…

We created wall-to-wall carpeting throughout the house using strategically placed $12 Walmart runners over our gorgeous mahogany floors to help ease his difficulty with traction on the slippery floor.

Last summer we bought a little red wagon hoping he could join us on walks around the block and enjoy the fresh air, and we chanted “BEEP… BEEP… BEEEEP!” as he slowly maneuvered himself in reverse when he couldn’t spin his body around to go in another direction…

But every morning, after Yoda left for work, he would stumble back into the bedroom where I lay, and heave himself against the foot of the bed, his great big otter tail thumping against it as he slithered his body under the blankets that spilled over the edge, pushing himself from one side to the other, nudging me to wake and give him his daily hugs and kisses…

I had thought that this particular ritual was reserved just for me until the last time my nephew stayed the night with us before we lost our beloved Lancelot.

I heard him shuffle from the foot of my bed across the hall into the guest room where he would always sleep when Joel spent the night – the world’s best babysitter.

I followed him and quietly stood at the door to the guest room.

I smiled as I watched my little old man, almost all white with hints of golden yellow, jerk his body familiarly against the twin sized bed, thumping his tail against it while he slithered from the foot of the bed to the pillow of the sleeping boy.

Tears once again filled my eyes as I watched him push his nose under Joel’s neck and gently raised his head nudging his favorite boy awake. Joel sleepily smiled and wrapped his arms around Lance’s big neck and draped his leg over the side of the bed wrapping himself around him. I stood there realizing that I had witnessed for the first time a morning dance that must have gone on forever.

“Morning Lance!” mumbled Joel nuzzled into Lance’s neck as I walked away my heart full of love and joy to have been able to witness the love between a little boy and his dog.

Lance was a true Lab puppy, high-strung, destructive, and downright psychotic!

(Yes, Lance is TWELVE YEARS OLD here! LOL - always a Lab puppy! A very helpful grocery carrier!)

I could write my own novel based on his puppy antics…

But these were the moments… the memories that I cherish the most are of his last year with us.

He would have been sixteen years old this summer; we couldn’t have been more blessed with the time we had with him.

It has been almost three months and not a day goes by that I don’t wake up expecting to hear his otter tail against the foot of the bed and feel his cold nose under my neck against my pillow, wishing me a good morning.

Sixteen years is a long time to love someone – for half of my life he was my best friend – the keeper of all my secrets and the source of my greatest unconditional love.

I learned what it meant to have someone else dependent on me completely for their care, made life altering decisions based on that commitment and somewhere in there, we grew up together.

Thank you, Lance for being my best friend and filling our lives with your wagging thumping otter tail and loyal laughing smile.

“Save a Lab, have a friend for Life!” Labs4Rescue.com

Wordless Wednesday: SUCCESS: Turning Disorder into Organized Chaos - Diary of the Procrastinating Psychotic Perfectionist

2011-04-27T09:55:00.009-04:00

WORDY WEDNESDAY - Turning Disorder into Organized Chaos

2011-01-19T15:36:00.011-05:00

The quickest way to the amazing panoramic views along the Belvedere of Traga off of the Marina Piccola (little harbor) in Capri, Italy, is by funicular railway.

A visual representation of today's mental state... here's to the peace, tranquility and majestic created and natural blessings that are found on the other side.

Happy NEW YEAR! - Turning Disorder into Organized Chaos - Diary of the Procrastinating Psychotic Perfectionist

2011-01-18T12:46:00.020-05:00

Well past the point of declaring customary resolutions and setting unrealistic goals, I have instead resorted to public humiliation and embarrassment, to tackle the task of organizing my office and preparing my businesses for a year of growth and success.

It's been two weeks since I dragged my husband away from his work during our first snow day of the year, to help me finish putting together my new office furniture.

I have since scrubbed, disinfected, dusted, donated, folded, vacuumed the contents of the entire house and shopped to my heart's content all in the futile attempt of avoiding that which I don't want to do, while convincing myself of how otherwise productive I have been.

The shag lime green carpet that I squealed with glee over when I first found it on sale at Ikea, is still in its packaging leaning against the couch in my living room...

The retro acrylic clear office chair is incognito next to it - doing exactly what I had hoped it would do in my office - that is, take up as little room as possible and completely blend in to its surroundings thus allowing the space it occupies to remain open and wide - all while being comfortable and ergonomic...

It is so invisible in my living room while awaiting its move to the under construction office, that I have banged myself into it while walking past it a dozen times...

But my bruises have, until this point, not been enough to make me go into the room and just get it over with - file the receipts, organize the paper, order and prepare my packaging, hang, staple, move - and why not you say?

Because it has to be perfect... not just sorted or stacked, but perfect...

My endless pursuit of perfection has led to this state, because my husband couldn't wait for me to clean and move as I went, instead he said,

"Just throw everything together and get this furniture where it needs to be! Then you can go back and fix it..."

Or this morning's suggestion, "just quickly file everything in large categories and later on go back and file it in the right slots"...

Later on?

Later on?

WHEN?!

WHEN will there be time later on to file and hang and staple and create and create and create?

Instead I'm blogging about the psychotic episode that has led me to procrastinate the creation of my perfect office...

So my dear readers, here I am in this new year confessing and professing my intention to tackle procrastination this year.

I will publish this post today and tackle that which has caused me bodily harm and sleepless nights, I will clean my office TODAY or die trying.... or hey, I can alphabetize my kitchen cabinets, steam-clean my basement floor, paint the ceiling of the entire house, seal the kitchen tile...

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT - "Out of Many, We Are One" - FINALIST in ETSY/NASA Art Contest

2010-12-13T12:32:00.007-05:00

After an emotion-packed month of suspense, disappointment, relief, pride and excitement, the FINALISTS were announced and my entry "Out of Many, We Are ONE" was voted by our community into the FINALS!

THANK YOU for your votes and support!

It is now in the hands of the Etsy and NASA judges panel. The judging will be done in the end of February.

I was tickled to see my entry next to my dear friend Christen's of copperleafstudios.etsy.com. I couldn't be in better company!

Make sure to check out her incredible shop filled with gorgeous copper artwork and stay tuned to read about the labor of love that she's working on!

PLEASE VOTE FOR: "Out of Many, We Are One" - Semi-Finalist in ETSY/NASA Art Contest

2010-12-02T21:08:00.010-05:00

I have just been notified that my entry to ETSY's NASA Contest has made it to the Semi-Finals and I'm SO excited!

Please click HERE to VOTE!

It would mean the world to me to get your vote!

The entry piece is called "Out of Many, We Are ONE" and it took weeks to complete.

I hand-punched thousands of brightly colored dots from card stock and arranged each dot, one by one to create a space view of our beautiful Planet Earth from an image taken by a NASA Shuttle mission.

How COOL would it be for that piece now to go to the International Space Station on the Shuttle's final voyage!?

Each member can only vote once and voting ends Monday, December 6, at noon.

The response has been wonderful and I'm very proud of this piece.

To all who have voted, my sincerest thanks (including my family who I held prisoner on Thanksgiving Day after dinner and passed the laptop to, one by one)!...

I am always awed by the cheer leading support from my handmade and online community.

You are truly an inspiration to me.

Please feel free to repost this blog and SHARE!

** Click here to find out how to get a FREE LARGE PHOTO PRINT CARD of this design! **

siempre- dorana

Todd & Dorana - Our Handmade Weddings: A Simple Fairytale - Featured on dkdesignshawaii.blogspot.com

2010-07-20T10:24:00.001-04:00

Thank you to Diane Phillips of dkdesignshawaii.etsy.com and dkdesignshawaii.blogspot.com for featuring our Etsy Feature on her blog!

Todd & Dorana - Our Handmade Weddings: A Simple Fairytale - Featured on Etsy.com

2010-07-20T10:21:00.002-04:00

We're so excited to have our wedding featured in the world's largest handmade community! Thank you to all of Etsy Admin and members for helping us have the perfect simple wedding!

siempre- dorana

My Cat's More Meaningful Gift to Me

2010-05-28T11:04:00.016-04:00

I smiled to myself this morning as I walked by the guest room and saw my 20-something year old smelly yellow tabby, Merlin, laying curled upside down with a front paw covering his eyes on the bed. No matter how many times I've seen him do that in the past, it never fails to bring a smile to my face.

It must have been the sound of my smile as I stood there watching him that stirred him to instantly follow me as I walked to the kitchen.

It's become my spring morning routine to open the back patio door for him since we moved to our little piece of suburban heaven. Armed with Frontline and his little bell collar with the reflective tag that reads:

Merlin
Brunhammer

it has brought me so much joy to watch him go to the same railroad tie and stretchingly pose upon it, desperately attempting to shred it to threads and then stalk the perimeter of the property balancing elegantly on the flower bed boarders, finally settling on the far side of the back deck to soak in the glaring sun until he can no longer stand it, sometime late afternoon, moving under the picnic table for his afternoon nap.

Imagine my surprise when shortly after I finished my bowl of Mult-Grain Cheerios, I heard his murmuring low meow coming from the back door.

I stood and started walking to the kitchen and saw him standing on the little step, his body perked up, tail wagging tall and proud, his ears propped up high and a shocking smile in his eyes and as I blinked in shock, instantly shrilling loudly,

"PUT IT DOWN!"

He was thrilled as I approached the door and dropped the little brown body with golden stripes across its back onto the step.

The little chipmunk and I both stood there frozen in panic - him from being in the clutching gums (Yes GUMS, he's 20 years old! He doesn't have TEETH!), my heart pounding, petrified fear screaming in my head,

"Oh, GOD! Please don't tell me he killed him!"

I grabbed for the stick we use to secure the sliding glass door and moved towards the cat, who still looked at me as the proud hunting warrior.

The chipmunk finally awakened from its daze and BOLTED towards the edge of the deck.

Sheer chaos ensued as I went after the cat screaming;

"LEAVE HIM ALONE! MERLIN! NOOOOOOO!"

waving my stick and trying to grab onto the cat!

Merlin pounced like a young lion after his prey and caught him again as I continued to scream,

"MERLIN! DROP HIM! LET HIM GO!!"

The little body of the chipmunk squirming in this toothless mouth.

Merlin's eyes wild with excitement... And coming back to me with his catch!

The same cat that has never come to me outside in 12 years!

His demeanor completely confused by my erratic behavior as he continued his low murmuring meow. I'm sure if it could be translated would say something like,

"Lady, CHILL!

LOOK!

I got you a present!

Isn't he cute!? Can we keep him!?"

I grabbed the cat, picking him up and shaking him back and forth like a rag doll, all the time yelling, okay it actually sounded more like the sound of cars popping wheelies in a drive-in parking lot,

"MERLIN! LET HIM GO! STOP IT!! STOP IT!"

I dropped him and he once again dropped the chipmunk who made a wild dash back to the same fateful corner where he was previously captured, with Merlin fast on his tail!

"MERLIN! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

And for some reason I stood there banging my stick on the deck like a mad woman - not exactly sure what purpose I thought that might have...

And he did it.

The chipmunk.

He made it under the plank.

And for that moment I felt guilty.

There was my Merlin, my mighty hunter, with his little paws and legs halfway under the tiny hole swatting dead air as he looked at me with a sad look that said,

"Mom, I'll get him back for you!"

He sat back after awhile looking at the hole and back at me as I picked him up, my heart still racing and rubbing his head the way I know he loves and literally flung him through the door onto the kitchen floor!

Throwing my door stick onto the floor and reaching for some baby aspirin, just in case I really was having a heart attack!

And as I called my mom frantically telling her about the gift Merlin had brought me in hysterics, he jumped on the couch,

meowed,

headbutted the computer screen on my lap,

drooled his smelliness on my arm

and curled up on the side of my leg;

purring, with his tail flickering behind him, settling into a nap at his second favorite spot.

After all, finding the perfect gift for someone you love at that age, is exhausting work!

The THANK YOU - Our HANDMADE ETSY WEDDING - Dorana & Todd 12/26/2009

2010-04-21T11:57:00.000-04:00

How do you thank not just the people that help you create a memorable and joyous wedding, bring happiness to your life both personally and professionally, but also the people that helped you become the person you are and cheer you on as you aspire to be the person you want to become?

We wanted a special way to say thanks to those near and far!

Thanks to the incredible photography of our friend Stephen Shadrach, we collected our favorite photos of the day and a favorite quote and designed our special 4 Page Photo Thank You Card.

We were fortunate to have our good friend Kat Wauters from Etsy's H20works.etsy.com bring our design to life!

It is the perfect keepsake and token of our incredible union.

Thank you for your wonderful customer service Kat!

A very special THANK YOU to our family and friends who helped make our day exactly what we had wished for!

To my ETSY "MORE MEANINGFUL GIFTS" FAMILY - there aren't words to thank you enough for all of your love and support!

siempre- dorana & todd

THE BRUNHAMMERS

Photography by Stephen Shadrach.

The WISH - Our HANDMADE ETSY WEDDING - Dorana & Todd 12/26/2009

2010-04-09T05:18:00.000-04:00

(Our Wedding Day featuring custom made gown by Etsy's cybersewingfairy.etsy.com, flowers by dkdesignshawaii.etsy.com, bouquet crystal jewels by 4classydesigns.etsy.com.)

I was thrilled to find a great Etsy Shop to make special personalized handkerchiefs as gifts for our parents and a special present for my new husband on our wedding day!

Linda from Etsy's EmbroiderybyLinda.etsy.com offered the PERFECT sentiments, fast shipping and the best customer service!

My mother cried at my personal message and proudly shared the story to the ladies at the spa during our pampering that morning

"Mom, thank you for teaching me the importance of corn, Uncle Buck, laughter and love. Love, Dani 12-26-2009"

Linda's handkerchiefs were a perfect way to put into words what I have known since me and Todd's first vacation!

Shortly after Todd and I started seeing each other, we went on a mini vacation to Disney's Epcot Center. It's one of my favorite places as traveling has been such a big part of my life; imagine going around the world in a short afternoon!

In Morocco as we giggled over the silly genie lamps in the gift shop, a woman held one up and asked Todd,

"What would YOU wish for!?"

He looked over at me across the way and said,

"... To spend the rest of my life with that girl over there!"

I didn't think I could love him more than at that moment...

Waking up everyday in the beautiful house that we're making into our home in this dreamy historic town, hoping to start a family soon, I know that a wish was granted that day...

But it is EVERYDAY that he makes all of my dreams come true and I love him even more!

The DRESS - Our HANDMADE ETSY WEDDING - Dorana & Todd 12/26/2009

2010-04-08T05:41:00.000-04:00

After all, isn't always about THE DRESS!?

Everyone knows that I've been fantasizing about a Autumn wedding ever since that last scene in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves where Marianne walks with her white dress floating around her while gorgeous leaves fall down upon them with the incredible colors of gold and reds creating that amazing backdrop!

We didn't do too bad ourselves with this incredible backdrop off of 72nd and Broadway! This picture was taken after the snow storm right before Christmas as I did a trial run of my makeup, hair and unmentionables! (And yes, I promise, I AM wearing shoes - strappy red-satin knotted heels!)

I absolutely fell in love with the off-the-shoulder, simple gown that Mary Jane wore in the Spiderman 2 movie in 2005! I learned that the dress was basically glued onto her body to create that off-the-shoulder, form-fitting bodice and that we would have to do quite a bit of creative design and sewing to pull it off with my ample bosom!

Another favorite dress of mine had a beautiful empire, straight skirt with beautiful embellishments.

I, of course turned to the amazing talented artists on Etsy to find a seamstress that could combine my favorite dresses into my perfect wedding dress!

I could not have been more blessed to have found a more patient, miracle-working seamstress in all of the world; Linda Mampalao of Etsy's cybersewingfairy.etsy.com ! Aside from having less than 6 weeks to make my custom designed gown with both Thanksgiving and Christmas in the mix, she helped me pick out the fabrics and added her own special touches tying the two dresses together!

I wore my great aunt's vintage yellow topaz and gold calla lily earrings, the pearl and diamond necklace that my mother gave me on my 21st birthday that my father had given to her the Christmas after I was born, and amazing red satin strappy heels!

The weather didn't quite cooperate on our wedding day, but nothing could have darkened my day wearing this breathtakingly gorgeous gown!

We are hoping to take the dress with us on our honeymoon to have the opportunity to take more pictures of the two of us together in the sun!

Thank you Linda!

Photography by Stephen Shadrach.

The WINTER WEDDING SHAWL - Our HANDMADE ETSY WEDDING - Dorana & Todd 12/26/2009

2010-03-17T06:10:00.000-04:00

As I worked with my fabulous Etsy seamstress to create my dream wedding dress, I commissioned this gorgeous Andean Silk Yarn winter wedding wrap with a ruffled edge from the talented Maryum Karim of Etsy's yarncoture.etsy.com!

What an incredibly special work of wearable art!

SO soft and luxurious, I was thrilled with the quality and craftsmanship of the gorgeous wrap Maryum made for me.

It was the perfect compliment to my wedding gown.

I have been so blessed with all the love and support from my Etsy family in helping me create our dreamy Etsy Handmade Wedding!

The CAKE TOPPERS - Our HANDMADE ETSY WEDDING - Dorana & Todd 12/26/2009

2010-03-16T10:24:00.000-04:00

Do you know what you get when you throw two Alpha-type personalities in a kitchen renovation after buying a new house, hand them a couple of power tools they've never used before, demolish the floors throughout the entire house forcing them to move into a windowless dungeon for three months with two smelly cats and a 14 year old, 90lb yellow lab, that can't walk up and down the stairs on his own, sprinkle in a four-week engagement and Christmas wedding - all in less than 6 months:

Yoda and Chewbacca!

If you've ever experienced any of these things, then you're probably at least a little familiar with the conflict that can arise from such chaos; kinks in the budget, hot dogs cooked by hand-held plumber's torch 'cause you forgot to refill the propane tank and there's no stove, the occasional electrocution, and arguments... lots of arguments...

Arguments between two Alpha's who are NEVER WRONG.

It was during one of those arguments on day one million and 82 of drilling cement screws into cement backer-boards, preparing the hallway and kitchen floors for the 1500lbs of Kale Multi-colored Travertine that I yelled back at my now husband, for what exactly, I can't say,

"OKAY YODA! Whatever you say, MASTER OF THE UNIVERSE!"

"What!?" he replied.

"Don't call me that!

And Yoda wasn't Master of the Universe - that's HE-MAN!"

I raised my sword-like power drill up in the air, clenched with both hands pointing straight up and yelled:

"I HAAAAAAAAAAVE THE POOOOOOOOOOOOWER!"

collapsing in a fit of laughter!

And thus, "Yoda and Chewbacca" were born...

My rolling eyes now had a verbal partner: "OKAY YODA!"

"OKAY CHEWIE!" he always responds hoping to get the same rise out of me that he gets out of my Yoda-ing.

Now, to me, that sounded perfectly logical! I mean, have you seen my hairy Chewbaccaness!?

Yoda, wasn't a new nickname in our family... We've been calling my little sister Yoda ever since her little pointed ears coined the nickname as a baby!

Over the summer a fellow More Meaningful Gifts threadmate had ordered fondant little Yodas for her son's birthday cupcakes as toppers from fellow Etsian The Lil Details.etsy.com and I had bookmarked them for my little sister's birthday!

My brilliant idea was vetoed by my mother, but when I started planning our wedding, I KNEW I had to order her fondant Yodas for our wedding cake!

Even better, I wrote to Jenn and asked her if she could make a matching Chewbacca!

When I opened up those adorable little cake toppers I couldn't help but squeal in delight! I knew Todd would pee his pants when he saw them!

They were absolutely PERFECT!

Jenn even covered them in a sparkling finish- the perfect embellishment for a wedding Yoda and Chewie!

And after our ceremony when I brought my new husband to see the beautiful cake that my little sister had lovingly made for us on Christmas day and put together just hours earlier, adorned with the beautiful clay roses from Diane Phillips of dkdesigns.etsy.com and our special Yoda and Chewie Cake Toppers, the moment was just as I had imagined; filled with joy and laughter and even some magical powers with my new Master of the Universe!

Photography by Stephen Shadrach.

The CAKE - Our HANDMADE ETSY WEDDING - Dorana & Todd 12/26/2009

2010-03-15T11:25:00.000-04:00

I have been fantasizing about my Aunt's Brandy-Almond Wedding Cake with cream cheese icing for the last 17 years!

After consulting with 14 - yes, fourteen local bakeries and driving my family insane, we decided that there would be no wedding cake - we'd have pies instead!

It seems that even though there are bakeries that can make a cake in the shape of The Eiffel Tower, not one was willing to make a cake that wasn't just white, yellow, or chocolate cake with some kind of filling in the middle!

So pies it would be!

Really.

We just wanted a couple of the amazing pies from the local pub...But my sister just wouldn't hear it!

"You can't have a wedding PIE! I'll make you a brandy-almond cake with cream cheese icing!"

No.

We wanted PIES!

Did I mention that my wedding was the day after CHRISTMAS!?

Who on Earth would want to be baking a cake during the holidays!?

That Christmas Eve, my little sister came over with a sampling tray of variations of brandy-almond cake with cream cheese icing... JUST like the professional cake shows!

There were brandy-soaked cakes, brandy baked in cakes, some with chocolate fudge fillings, some with vanilla pudding fillings, some with vanilla pudding and fudge filling... You name it, my little sister prepared it!

We sampled, okay we devoured the entire tray of delicious mini cakes!

We chose the Lindt chocolate and vanilla pudding filling and ironically, the almond cake without the brandy!

It's funny how once you get what you think you want, it turns out that it's not what you want at all!

On the morning of our wedding as my sister, mother and I enjoyed our pampering pedicures, she sat back to tell us the tale of how she and her fiance stayed up all night baking our cake...

"We ran out of cake batter and it was too late to start making another batch, so I sent Rumon out to get a box of yellow cake mix...

But it's almost ten o'clock at night on Christmas Day and everything was closed...""He walked up to a Hispanic man closing a Bodega (Spanish convenience store that has everything,) in Paterson (not exactly Disney) and says desperately,

"Sir WAIT! I just need a box of cake mix!"

"We're closed - it's Christmas!"

"Sir, PLEASE, it's my sister-in-law's wedding tomorrow and we're baking her wedding cake and

I JUST NEED A BOX OF CAKE MIX PLEASE!

Don't make me go home without cake mix!"

See...

Exactly why we wanted: PIES.

From the PUB.

Down the Street.

We laughed hysterically as she painted the picture of her fiance practically mugging a poor convenience store worker on Christmas desperate for a box of cake mix!

Our Almond and Lindt Chocolate with Vanilla Pudding Cake with cream cheese icing was absolutely delicious and beautiful!

THANK YOU PIANCA AND RUMON for making us the most incredible wedding cake - the thing that I'll be fantasizing of for the next 17 years!

The FLOWERS - Our HANDMADE ETSY WEDDING - Dorana & Todd 12/26/2009

2010-03-05T08:37:00.000-05:00

(My father and I right before walking down the aisle.)

I remember surfing through the endless pages of shops when I was first introduced to Etsy's Handmade Community.

When I found it, it was love at first sight!

I was completely awestruck by the beautiful images and was dumbfounded when I read that the amazing floral creations from DK Designs Hawaii were made out of CLAY!

OF COURSE she was featured on the Martha Stewart Show, she creates such life-like flowers out of CLAY that even a Botanist like myself had to take a second look!

I was mesmerized for hours as I shared the link to her shop and website with everyone I knew!

When my little sister announced her engagement, I bought her a small sample bouquet from dkdesignshawaii.etsy.com in celebration and to start planning her big day!

I knew then and there that my wedding would have none other than Diane Phillip's amazing floral creations!

Imagine my nervousness when we turned our engagement into a four week affair in the middle of the holidays! I sent Diane a message preparing myself for the possibility that she wouldn't be able to do our flowers.

We were ecstatic when she agreed!

Diane created the most gorgeous open ivory and red rose bouquet and flowers for our wedding! Even in the short time, she allowed me to send her a piece of the lace overlay of my gown to use as the wrap on the handle of the bouquet - it was absolutely stunning!

When I had mentioned to our family that we were doing clay flowers instead of traditional fresh flowers, you can imagine the looks of disgust - I think they imagined me walking down the aisle with a clay pot in my arms!

Everyone was mesmerized as we presented them with the special corsages and boutonnieres and my bouquet is still as beautiful today as it was on our wedding day!

(My stepmother and stepsister pinning the boutonnieres on my new husband and father.)

We ordered extra flowers to adorn the wedding cake that my little sister made for us and we saved and preserved them to send back to Diane to make a Boxwood Wreath for us to hang in our new home!

I can't ever thank you enough Diane for helping us create the special magical touches of our wedding day, last forever.

Photography by Stephen Shadrach and Diane Phillips of DK Designs.

The FAVORS - Our HANDMADE ETSY WEDDING - Dorana & Todd 12/26/2009

2010-03-03T06:20:00.000-05:00

I never imagined that I'd ever be a Christmas Bride! Imagine my surprise deciding on a wedding date of December, 26th - the day after Christmas!

What a stressful endeavor, a wedding... so many details. I've realized just what a wonderful blessing it is that we decided on such a short engagement! The longer the engagement, the more expectations, the bigger the bridal party, the bigger the show!

The most difficult decisions for me were THE FAVORS! I knew I didn't want anything chotchkie or cheesy - nothing that would be thrown in a drawer and forgotten...

And then it hit me! After all, it was CHRISTMAS!

COQUITO!

Coquito is Puerto Rican coconut rum eggnog and a family favorite. It couldn't be just any kind of Coquito - nope - it had to be special!

I found a great wholesale distributor of full-sized glass liquor bottles! Of course I could have made small flasks instead since Coquito is suppose to be enjoyed as a shot, not a drink, but the image of my elegant wedding favors fitting into the back pocket of a pair of jeans, was not what I envisioned!

After a little time on Etsy, I found customized wine bottle labels to match our Red Rose Theme from tishtica.etsy.com! I was absolutely thrilled with how beautiful the bottles and the personalized labels came out!

We then wrote the recipe on Letterpress Cards from missive.etsy.com and attached them with personalized ribbon from espritdejoie.etsy.com!

After 12 dozen eggs, mountains of coconut cream, and 6 gallons of Bacardi Gold, all the anxiety of choosing the perfect wedding FAVORS for our guests, faded away as we watched our friends and family toast the night away with our special brew!

Photography by Stephen Shadrach.

The RECEPTION - Our HANDMADE ETSY WEDDING - Dorana & Todd 12/26/2009

2010-03-02T06:47:00.000-05:00

Vibrant Red Roses and delicate White Hydrangeas created a dramatic accent throughout the reception and ceremony among the all black and white dressed party! The floral vision brought to life by my best friend, Heather Peterson included custom double-sided knot Satin ribboned rectangular glass vases with green Spanish Moss and lit branches! (The double-knotted Satin Red Bows matched my shoes and dress!)

Dozens of flickering tealight holders with red satin bottoms trailed the center of the tables on top of custom made white Satin table runners made by Etsy's Teresa Swift of tsurfer.etsy.com!

Thank you for finding the perfect fabric for our table runners Teresa!

Photography by Stephen Shadrach.

The LETTERPRESS - Our HANDMADE ETSY WEDDING - Dorana & Todd 12/26/2009

2010-03-01T08:55:00.000-05:00

Todd has always been a big fan of the art of Letterpress, so it was important to me to have some Letterpress pieces in our wedding. I was thrilled to find Lisa of Etsy's Missive.etsy.com!

Words cannot begin to describe the amazing design and quality of our custom Red Rose Coasters and Place Cards. They were exactly how we had imagined them and brought a truly special touch to our wedding reception tables!

Our guests were very impressed with the beautiful print work and I ordered an extra set of Place Cards as the Recipe Cards for our favors. THEY WERE PERFECT!

We were touched by the beautiful handwritten Thank You Card and good wishes that Lisa took the time to send to us.

In this process, we learned that how you're treated AFTER the sale is just as important as the way you're treated before the sale. Lisa has been an invaluable resource of information in her trade as we now help my younger sister plan for her wedding this summer!

Thank you SO much Lisa for helping us achieve our dream handmade wedding!

Photography by Stephen Shadrach

The AMBIANCE - Our HANDMADE ETSY WEDDING - Dorana & Todd 12/26/2009

2010-02-11T12:27:00.000-05:00

Our intimate outdoor wedding turned indoors was magical with special touches from some of our favorite Etsy Handmade Vendors!

Perhaps the most photographed was a beautiful personalized luminary that glowed throughout the evening along our "alter" from Jessica Wolf of Etsy's paperacorn.etsy.com.

Jess was so accommodating and friendly throughout the process and we were thrilled with the packaging and speedy shipping! For the perfect glowing personalized token at any special occasion paperacorn.etsy.com is it!

Photography by Stephen Shadrach.

The WELCOME - Our HANDMADE ETSY WEDDING - Dorana & Todd 12/26/2009

2010-02-05T09:06:00.000-05:00

The plan was a small outside intimate wedding with 25 of our closest friends and family, celebrated in our new historic town and home.

(sigh)

Alas, Mother Nature had other things in mind; torrential rainfall! It poured from before sunrise into the following day!

As I walked out of the salon with my hair in cascading waves, the howling wind turned my umbrella inside out while the rain crashed down sideways! I struggled with the umbrella trying to protect my hair as I slid on the pavement losing my flip flops (yes, flip flops - note to future brides: don't get manicure and pedicures done the day of your wedding!).

I remember shuffling through growing puddles of water and thinking to myself, "I can't believe this! This is our WEDDING DAY!"

All morning long I had been convincing myself that the rain was GOOD LUCK!

I had read that rain on your wedding day represented fertility and stability and income and guaranteed a long happy marriage!

But as I drove home realizing that we wouldn't be able to take pictures in our new town and have the service in our beautiful side yard, I was so disappointed!

I made the turn into our driveway and was greeted by our beautiful custom made Wedding Sign created by Jennifer of Etsy's Funki Folk Art.etsy.com that my future husband had attached to our mailbox!

All of the disappointment over the weather and anxiety immediately melted away! It wasn't quite what I had always imagined... it was better!

Jennifer's beautiful welcoming signs set the perfect stage for our living room wedding!

I had been exchanging emails with Jennifer for over a year and we were so thrilled to finally be able to take advantage of her unique personalized signs!

We also ordered a "RECEPTION" sign that Todd stole and positioned over our new Wet Bar in the kitchen!

We can't wait to order my little sisters' signs to welcome her guests to her June Wedding! Thank you Jennifer!

Photography by Stephen Shadrach.

The Treats - Our HANDMADE ETSY WEDDING - Dorana & Todd 12/26/2009

2010-02-03T11:16:00.000-05:00

There are no processed foods, candies, potato chips, no junk food of any kind in our house... really! In fact, one of the greatest joys of going to my best friend's house is poking through the magical cabinet in her kitchen that transports me to another time with Pop Tarts, Doritos, an endless tub of Halloween candy, chocolates - lots of chocolates and my all time favorite: Marshmallows! And not just any marshmallows, but the big fluffy marshmallows - not the teeny tiny ones that we do keep around for the rare occasions we make hot chocolate.

Okay, perhaps there is the occasional tub of vanilla ice cream and chocolate chip cookies, warm chocolate chip cookies and CHOCOLATE. Not just any chocolate though - NIKI'S CHOCOLATE!

There is something about those little white boxes with the freshest, most decadent little bits of sweet heaven! Our favorite: ROCKY ROAD - just something about those fresh soft marshmallows!

We couldn't imagine celebrating our wedding without Nicole Varrenti's of Etsy's nikid.etsy.com's incredible treats!

With whimsical Caramel Apple Pops and Chocolate Covered Coffee Spoons, they were just the special sweet touch of our Handmade Etsy Wedding!

The INVITATIONS- Our HANDMADE ETSY WEDDING - Dorana & Todd 12/26/2009

2010-01-29T12:54:00.001-05:00

We've all seen it before.

The bright fuschia dress from a guest that somehow appears in EVERY wedding photo!

NOPE, not at OUR wedding!

It took some serious convincing, but after much begging and pleading, Todd relented and I was thrilled!

A BLACK AND WHITE WEDDING it would be!

My mother was mortified!

"You can't let people wear white to your wedding!"

Of course I could!

My custom made gown was a beautiful ivory and with everyone and everything in black and white, I was certainly the belle of my ball!

The only color throughout the event were signature Red Roses in my bouquet, flowers, and my Red Satin strappy heels!

The theme of the wedding was beautifully set with the calligraphy lettering for our invitation by Jerise Fogel from Etsy's jerise.etsy.com.

Our HANDMADE ETSY WEDDING - Dorana & Todd 12/26/2009 and the Introduction of Renovation Girl and Comp Boy!

2010-01-28T15:39:00.004-05:00

The Engagement Announcement - Our HANDMADE ETSY WEDDING - Dorana & Todd 12/26/2009

2010-01-27T12:02:00.000-05:00

I am SO excited to finally get the opportunity to catch up on the last eight months!

Had someone told me eight months ago that we were going to buy a new house in a dreamy historic town, spend six months giving birth to a new kitchen as a DIY project from studs to custom wet bar, get ENGAGED AND BE MARRIED BEFORE THE NEW YEAR, I wouldn't have believed it!

For the next couple of weeks, I am thrilled to walk you through our HANDMADE ETSY WEDDING that we planned in less than 6 weeks for well under $5000 including a custom a Dorana design wedding gown!

Please make sure to follow my Personal Blog to read about our incredible home renovation!

Dorana & Todd's HANDMADE ETSY WEDDING began with a

Custom Engagement Announcement

created by graphic artist and Etsy member H20works.etsy.com.

We worked together with Kat to design our Engagement/Moving Announcement and are still hearing RAVE reviews from all of our friends and family!

Make sure to check out H20works.etsy.com for custom Holiday Cards, Save the Dates, Announcements and wonderful personal service!

My little sister is getting married this June and Kat once again helped us design her SAVE THE DATE magnets and they were thrilled!

ddots.etsy.com - Custom WEDDING REQUEST for Groom's Gift - "I THINK I Love You!" DDOTS ART CARD

2010-01-12T06:20:00.000-05:00

I was thrilled this summer when ddots.etsy.com received a custom card request from Bride Tracy for a gift for her Groom on their wedding day!

Every couple shares many special quotes and sayings. When they first said "I love you" to one another, he was so nervous that he blurted out,

"I THINK I love you!"

She replied,

"I KNOW I love you!"

It became a little joke between the two of them and she thought it would be a perfect quote for her special Wedding Card!

I'm SO pleased with how it came out!

I am so happy to have been invited to share in such a special moment!

siempre- dorana

Crafting Cat Approved Handmade Kitty Bed by iWunder.etsy.com

2010-01-11T09:41:00.000-05:00

There are antisocial cats, and those that only search for you during mealtime, and those that need to be a part of every breath you take throughout the day!

I am blessed with one of EACH!

Here is my dear Merlin as he succumbs to an afternoon nap after pouncing on a pile of thousands of tiny dots that were piled up on my hammering mat. Pleased with his kill, he curled up in this wonderful cat bed knitted by fellow Etsian iWunder.etsy.com!

4 MMG SHOPPES FEATURED in Etsy's OCTOBER OPAL GIFT GUIDE!

2009-10-06T10:07:00.000-04:00

CONGEMULATIONS TO THE MORE MEANINGFUL GIFTS BNR SHOPS FEATURED IN THE

ETSY OCTOBER OPAL GIFT GUIDE

ddots.etsy.com
nikid.etsy.com
bambu.etsy.com
jetflair.etsy.com

More Meaningful Gifts - 1st ANNIVERSARY FEATURES: The MAD SCIENTISTS of MMG

2009-10-01T08:39:00.000-04:00

"A MAD SCIENTIST is a stock character of popular fiction, specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if they even have a coherent scheme. Alternatively, they fail to see the evil that is implied will ensue from the hubris of “playing god”."

Perhaps they're not quite villainous or god-playing, but the rest is quite possibly true!

As we wind down the celebration of the More Meaningful Gifts Group First Anniversary, I know I couldn't let the month pass without acknowledging the love and support of my favorite Mad Scientists!

At any given time of the day these incredible women are always there to give their love, support, and guidance.

If there is ever an award for ETSIAN OF THE YEAR, no one would be more deserving than our very own Wunder Woman, Jennifer Wunderlich of iwunder.etsy.com .

We are so incredibly blessed to have our very own Etsypedia! She selflessly shares her experiences, tutors us on how-to's in photography, descriptions, the all important tags and everything Etsy! It's like having our own member of the Etsy Admin to talk to everyday!

Wunder, even if you never shared another Etsy tip with us, I couldn't love you more! You are the voice inside my head, never hesitant to speak your mind and make us laugh, always ready to defend us and bold enough to give us harsh critism when we need it!

Thank you for being an amazing team mate and friend...

If Wunder is our Etsypedia, then Ulimanda is our biggest cheerleader! Amanda Giesler of ulixis.etsy.com is best known for her incredible BLOG! Creating instant envy among us all with her dedication to posting everyday, she showcases her wonderful crafts, incredible recipes, and daily Etsy Favorites; our very own Martha Stewart! (I have succumbed to MANY of her found treasures!)

The VERY essence of MMG, Uli is the first to join in on every new project, feature, treasury, blog, listing, life event, and my partner at handmaderegistry.com... I can't imagine an MMG home where her beautiful goddesses don't grace the pages.

Uli, I am so proud of you and the incredible woman you are. I can't wait to see and be a part of the woman you'll become. A Martha Stewart Scientist - who says you can't do it all! I would never have been able to accomplish all of our MMG successes without your support and love.

Thank you for being such a wonderful partner my friend!

No family is complete without a sister! (and I'm not talking about the screaming, pulling hair, get in trouble when THEY throw the once bitten into apple into the trash can and YOU get punished for a month-kind of sister!)

But the kind of sister that you share your own secret language with, that understands "just keep swimming" and doesn't think you're crazy for singing it, the one that you can share your bad days with and is ALWAYS there to pick up the pieces when they're just too difficult to carry on your own...

The same sister that cheers your successes, life events and can be that little voice you need to help you keep dreaming those dreams that may seem hopeless...

Jena Campbell, of marinebiochic07.etsy.com, thank you for being the second mother to our MMG family!

We are so blessed to have you watching over us and making sure no one gets left behind! We are so proud of all of your hard work and determination as you begin your PhD work and all of the good that you do for the ARK.

Thank you for being my MMG sister and friend!

Who would have thought a year ago that a little list of my ten favorite shoppes would lead to such amazing kinship!

Happy Anniversary MMG!

More Meaningful Gifts - 1st ANNIVERSARY FEATURES: The Mothers of MMG

2009-09-14T21:45:00.000-04:00

"A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind percepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts." - Washington Irving

If you're looking for ways to learn about building and promoting your handmade business, you wont find a better group!

But if you're looking for more: from recipes, to first aid suggestions, to celebrating special accomplishments and sharing tears, they pray, send us messages of support and cheer us on before even knowing why! Our lives are richer from the wisdom and generous hearts of these MMG MOTHERS!

The rays of light shining in the middle of a summer day cannot measure the love and unending support that these amazing mothers and artisans of the More Meaningful Gifts group!

nikid.etsy.com

h20works.etsy.com

tsurfer.etsy.com

kimberquinn.etsy.com

designsbyericakortz.etsy.com

More Meaningful Gifts - 1st ANNIVERSARY FEATURES: The Painters of MMG

2009-09-04T07:42:00.000-04:00

"Great art picks up where nature ends." - Marc Chagall

I wonder every day about the many blessings in my life; my family, my friends, the ability to fulfill my dreams and desires, to experience the beauty that God has created.

How very many few of us are able to see God's beauty through the eyes of others - allowing us the insight to see them again in ways that perhaps we hadn't.

We are blessed everyday at MMG with the talent of these incredible artists/painters/sketchers!

Nothing more meaningful than original works of art to make your house a home!

BellaCosaArt.etsy.com

ArtbyDonnaRose.etsy.com

biancadenise.etsy.com

jerise.etsy.com

Check out these other fabulous peacock-inspired pieces from the MMG AUGUST CHALLENGE!

4 MMG SHOPPES FEATURED in Etsy's SEPTEMBER SAPPHIRE GIFT GUIDE!

2009-09-01T21:00:00.000-04:00

CONGEMULATIONS TO THE MORE MEANINGFUL GIFTS BNR SHOPS FEATURED IN THE

ETSY SEPTEMBER SAPPHIRE GIFT GUIDE!

dorana.etsy.com
yarncoture.etsy.com
TrickyBugPaperArt.etsy.com
andra358.etsy.com

ORIGINAL MMG Thread-Mates! A Year Later and Still Supporting More Meaningful Gifts!

2009-09-01T08:46:00.000-04:00

I'm the kind of person that doesn't believe in gift cards and cash as gifts...

There's nothing like the initial glance someone gives you when they get a wish fulfilled or something they hadn't dared to dream of or something that they think there's no way that you could have known they wanted or needed...

I started the More Meaningful Gifts Thread with that in mind.

A year later, out of the nine shops that I originally invited, we are blessed to still have three amazing women who take the time every day to share their talents, thoughts, and ideas with us; but I am most blessed to call them my friends.

Thank you Debra, Kara, and Sima for your continued love and support...

If you're looking for More Meaningful Gifts definitely take the time to check out these amazing shops and talented women.

debralinker.etsy.com

karalennox.etsy.com

simag.etsy.com

More Meaningful Gifts - 1st ANNIVERSARY Festivities! Come Join Us for the FUN!

2009-08-31T09:10:00.000-04:00

MMG CELEBRATING ♥♥♥ 1900 SALES ♥♥♥ ON OUR

٭٭٭٭٭ ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY WEEK CELEBRATION !! ٭٭٭٭٭

CLICK HERE TO JOIN IN THE FUN!

More Meaningful Gifts is a daily thread in the Etsy Forums.

It is a BNR - "Buy and Replace Thread" where a list of Etsy shops are promoted throughout the day. In order to get your shop name on the list, you must purchase from one of the shops already on the list and YOUR shop name replaces it!

MMG was created and launched on August 27th, 2008 and since then over 300 shops have participated with approximately 40 unique shops posting on the thread daily. The thread just celebrated 1900 sales and celebrate a new shop every week with Seize-A-Shoppes!

I want to thank everyone for making MMG so special to me and such an integral part of my life inside and outside of Etsy.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

In celebration all purchases from dorana.etsy.com and ddots.etsy.com for the week of 8/28-9/4 will give you a X5!

(you must sell 5 items before getting kicked off the list! - if you already have a X2 - it does NOT equal X7 - converts to X5).

IF BY 9/4/09 dorana.etsy.com's shop hits 100 sales, each ITEM purchased from either of the curator's shops will get you one entry into the end of the week drawing for a custom

Double-Strand myBouquet FLOWER WEAVE BRACELET - ONE OF A KIND DESIGN JUST FOR YOU -

which will be revealed on http://doranadesign.blogspot.com/ next MONDAY 9/7!

check out these great examples

siempre - dorana

First Custom Orders for DDOTS ® Greeting ART CARDS!

2009-08-07T10:17:00.000-04:00

Check out these great Custom Orders for DDOTS ® Greeting ART CARDS!

19th Anniversary Card for bellacosaart.etsy.com (check out Bella's incredible original artwork); I created a card with their wedding song by Journey and was inspired to create my own "Forever Yours, Faithfully" Bridal Collection! I had a lot of fun creating this card for Bella and whenever I take out the hammer, Todd exclaims, "You're not making another "Forever" card are you!!?" (It took a little more hammering then most!)

Happy Anniversary Bella and may you share many more years of love and happiness!

I was contacted by fellow Etsian, DeslynnWDesigns.etsy.com (check out Des' beautiful, tropical, eastern inspired Greeting Cards), to create a special card for her best friend to celebrate their Christening Anniversary! I was so honored by her request! I made a special FAITH card in honor of their special occasion!

To request a special hand-hammered, one of a kind, greeting card with the perfect sentiment for someone you love, contact me at ddots.etsy.com!

TrickyBugPaperArt.etsy.com - Talented Artists of Etsy Feature - TAETSY

2009-08-06T21:35:00.000-04:00

Today's TAETSY FEATURE showcases the talent of fellow Etsian: TrickyBugPaperArt.etsy.com!

I was Tricky's 20th sale and was honored with this beautiful collection of Greeting Cards and a GORGEOUS keepsake box! Make sure to check out this talented artist and take advantage of several one of a kind designs!

My MARESAR Signature Sleeping Beauty Turquoise Earrings - on their way to a BRIDE on her WEDDING DAY!

2009-08-06T06:38:00.000-04:00

These simple, elegant and timeless earrings will soon be worn on a BRIDE'S WEDDING DAY! Make sure to check back in for when I post the pictures!

siempre- dorana

BOTH dorana.etsy.com AND ddots.etsy.com Featured in Etsy's AUGUST PERIDOT GIFT GUIDE!

2009-08-05T16:54:00.000-04:00

Check out my amazing fellow More Meaningful Gifts shops that are also featured this month; SEVEN in all! (yarncoture.etsy.com, debralinker.etsy.com, kimikal.etsy.com, cardsandnotes.etsy.com, h20works.etsy.com, dorana.etsy.com, and ddots.etsy.com)

TEAM WORK Blog Feature of DDOTS ® Spiral Notecards by SimaGJewelry.blogspot.com

2009-08-01T07:34:00.000-04:00

I am honored to be featured by SimaGJewelry!

I created custom DDOTS ® Spiral Mini Note Cards for Sima's signature Spiral Necklaces and Charms.

Thank you for the wonderful write up and feature Sima!

siempre- dorana

Concerned Customer Complaint: Letter to the Dealership OWNER: "Your Bathroom is an Out House."

2009-07-21T08:02:00.018-04:00

WARNING:

Dearest Readers:

Please stop here if you are offended by "foul" language.

If you need a smile and choose to continue to read, please note the following:

NO. In support of my mortified mother, my mother did NOT raise me to talk like this.

YES. I DID - I REALLY DID send this to the OWNER of the franchise. (Haven't you ever really wanted to complain about something that made you feel uncomfortable but you were too embarrassed to explain it the only way that could truly illustrate your annoyance!?)

The names of the accused have been withheld (Come on! I'm not THAT evil. BUT if I go back next time and it hasn't been resolved, stay tuned - 'cause I'll even post a MAP of the location!)

I waited until I got to the HOME DEPOT to go to the bathroom almost THREE HOURS after I initially arrived at the dealership - ladies, THAT'S how bad it was!

YES. I got a prompt reply. Mortified apology. Commitment to discuss at length during their weekly Management Meeting. (Laughing uncontrollably! Imagine THAT conversation!) And a commitment to rectify the situation.

YES. I am personally familiar with the "condition" that I am referring to - I am proud NOT to be a Nun :o)

THE LETTER - (This letter has been modified from it's original version. The original letter was written with my Blackberry, and let's face it, we're still a ways from publishing "Pulitzer" material by thumbs!)

Dear Madam,

I hope this finds you well. I am currently sitting in your Service Waiting Area as my car is being serviced, and I couldn't help reaching out to you in my disappointment.

I purchased my vehicle from your dealership last August and my fiance purchased another this January.

We had hoped that this would be the start of a "breath-taking" relationship!

This is the second time I've brought my car in for routine service - about my 6th visit to your showroom.

At each visit, I have complained to our salesman, the Sales Manager who turned bright shades of red even through his dark skin tone, as well as the young women at the cashier's desk.

Each time, I've been assured that my complaint would be addressed before my next visit and six times later, I'm STILL completely disgusted!

I am disgusted at the Ladies Bathroom!

The first time my fiance and I both left the adjoining bathrooms we looked each other and said

"it smells like sweaty testicles!". (The language wasn't quite as P.C.)

Perhaps it is just a confirmation of our belief that we are soul mates that we both cried,

"SWEATY BALLS!" out in unison!

Alas, as I have learned in my previous FIVE complaints to members of your staff, I am not the first or several dozen-th person to bring the "sweaty balls"- stench and unwelcoming bathroom to the attention of members of your management.

In fact, on several of those occasions, along with fits of laughter at my bluntness, I have been encouraged by the management to share my frank review to other members of your staff who exclaimed,

"EXACTLY!

THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE!"

Although I am proud to have been accepted as one of your sweaty guys in the dealership-locker-room, that is not the response you should be proud of!

I am also a woman business owner and I am appalled that a business owned proudly by such successful women would allow what, as a woman, you'd understand, more than anything else - that the condition of your bathroom, is an indication of the service one would expect in your establishment!

As I look around in the showroom at 3:09pm, there are only TWO male customers and EIGHT women and even a child!

I would be mortified to let MY child in that bathroom!

You should be ashamed!

Where's the Clorox?

Febreze?

Perhaps a Reed Diffuser or two?!

While I'm at it, the stalls don't even have a hook or shelf to place a purse or jacket!

Completely disgraceful!

I am hoping that by reaching out to you, that FINALLY my complaints will be heard and something will be done!

I hope to hear from you soon and that action will be taken to make visiting the "water closet" in your establishment fair better than an "out house!"

(hoping for some fresh air)

siempre - dorana

UPDATE: Todd had his oil changed last week and excitedly reported:

"There's a pretty plant in the bathroom! And there's new air fresheners!

Now it smells like SWEATY BALLS WITH PERFUME!"

I think I might have to post that map...

baitser.etsy.com - Talented Artists of Etsy Feature - TAETSY

2009-05-19T06:38:00.000-04:00

Today's TAETSY FEATURE showcases the talent of fellow Etsian : baitser.etsy.com!

I am absolutely IN LOVE with all of the great items in her shop in support of the men and women who serve and protect our country!

Thank you baitser.etsy.com for your dedication and support of our heroes and their families!

Make sure to check out this great shop and support our men and women in uniform!

IN LOVING MEMORY OF THOMAS J. KLOSTERHOFF 7.25.08 - MADD - FOREVER IN OUR HEARTS

2009-05-18T14:20:00.027-04:00

The sign read:

NOT RESPONSIBLE
FOR ARTICLES LEFT
FOR MORE THAN
FOUR MONTHS.

Every day those words would flash into my memory as I went through my endless list of things to do. They would burn brighter and literally shout in song as I drove anywhere near the vicinity of the shop where the sign hung on the wall of the Riverdale Dry Cleaners.

As I searched the hidden zippered compartment in my purse for the odds and ends that were important enough to be stored in its company, my fingers would often brush against the bright pink dry cleaning receipt and I'd again be reminded of those haunting words.

Every now and then I would grab the wrinkled, thin, fading pink paper and unfold it to read it.

December 20th, 2008.

The ritual would be repeated again in January.

And February.

And March.

And as April came closer and closer and March 20th came and went, the words on the sign that echoed in my head during my daily routines began to haunt me now as I slept.

I would wake up in the middle of the night startled as I grabbed for my phone and check the date.

March 21st.

March 22nd.

March 30th.

April 5th.

April 20th.

April 20th... It came and went.

So did May 1st.

I would find myself those last few days intentionally avoiding traveling anywhere near the dry cleaners and yet every time I cleaned out my purse, I made sure that the receipt was safe.

"I'll pick it up tomorrow."

I told myself time and time again.

I had promised my mother that I would take her to the eye doctor's that Monday morning. I had completely forgotten about it as I went through my morning routine of emails and tasks. Around noon when she called again, I jumped up and hurried to pick her up as my heart raced when I neared her neighborhood.

The particular dry cleaners that haunted my days and nights was close by, but I managed to pick her up and get her to the doctor's in time that afternoon.

On the way back to her house, I took the late turn off of Route 23.

"I have to go home and pick up the car to pick up your sister after work!"

"I know. I have to pick up my jacket at the dry cleaners!"

"Oh, okay."

As I said the words and turned onto the main road, I could feel my heart racing.

I parked the car, grabbed my purse and pulled out the familiar wrinkled, thin, fading pink paper tucked away in the hidden zippered pocket and unfolded it to give to the attendant at the shop.

As he turned away to search for it, I looked up at the sign

NOT RESPONSIBLE
FOR ARTICLES LEFT
FOR MORE THAN
FOUR MONTHS.

and felt my stomach turn in knots and my face turn red as my heart raced.

I watched him holding the faded piece of paper looking down as he paced up and down the lines of clear plastic wrapped dozens of police uniforms, prom dresses, dress shirts.

He would steadily look up at the rack and then down at the paper causing the hangings to rustle as he scurried up and down the lanes, at first looking determined and after awhile appearing noticeably frazzled.

He walked back to me empty handed as I began to lose my composure as he went to the computer. He looked up at me as I spit out quickly,

"It's a leather jacket.

Camel-colored.

It's a leather jacket!

It's camel-colored and has four buttons!

It's a leather jacket!"

I cried out as I could feel the tears start to form in my eyes and he turned back around to continue the search with the new information. The sign that haunted my days and nights stared back at me as I looked back and forth from the sign, to my mother in the car, to the frustrated man searching for my camel-colored leather jacket!

NOT RESPONSIBLE
FOR ARTICLES LEFT
FOR MORE THAN
FOUR MONTHS.

I KNOW! I KNOW!

I gripped the counter tightly as I turned back to the attendant who echoed,

"A leather jacket..."

I watched him go to the rack closest to me, right in front of me in fact, as he grabbed the arm of a jacket and pulled it towards him so that I could see it.

"It's a leather jacket!

It's camel-colored and has four buttons!"

I felt dumbfounded that I continued to repeat the same words as if my ability to produce my extensive vocabulary had somehow left me.

"YES! THAT'S IT!"

I cried out.

As he grabbed it off of the carrier and stepped towards me, I clutched the counter tighter.

He placed the jacket in its plastic wrap on the hanger over the counter nervously as I unsheathed it.

I closed my eyes as I looked down towards the pocket.

"You weren't able to fix the cuts on the pocket."

I sighed to myself more than the attendant, as though a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders - four months and 15 days of weight.

"No. I'm sorry. We can have the entire pocket replaced if you like. We were able to secure it closed so that it doesn't continue to tear and got most of the stains off but it will look better replaced."

"NO! NO," I answered as I paid.

"It's perfect!"

I gingerly touched the v-shaped cut and scratches of the beautiful soft leather in a trance, as I covered it back with the plastic wrap and rushed out to the car.

"What took you so long! I'm going to be late picking up your sister from work!"

"I'm sorry! He had a hard time looking for my coat!"

"Did they get it fixed!?"

"It looks good. They want to replace the pocket but I like it the way it is..."

"Why don't you go ahead and replace it! It will look better! It's an expensive coat!"

"No... Cody scratched it and it tore when I went to see Tom and Cheryl last time I was there..." I whispered.

"Who's Tom and Cheryl?" she asked as my eyes instantly filled with tears.

"Oh... Tom."

"It's perfect. I don't want it fixed." I replied as I dropped her off...

...For the last several years a large portion of my “job” consists of giving a “quantitative, monetary value” to the life of a person – how ridiculous is that thought

– Life Insurance…

I can’t insure one’s LIFE – how do you replace a father, a mother, a husband or a wife?

I can’t put them in a little plastic bubble for their monthly premium and protect them from life’s uncertainties… I can only protect their “income”…

The concept I’ve always understood, the role as a family’s financial guide and the comforting hand to help them through the financial difficulties that seem every day to intensify; part financial advisor, part marriage counselor. Each acts that I’ve committed my life to – a kind of service that I never imagined I’d be doing.

But I had never experienced the personal loss that I help families prepare for.

Never.

I had never had anyone I’ve ever known die.

Imagine that!

- Thirty year old funeral virgin! (Talk about great theatre!)

I’ve had friend’s loved ones pass and their family members die, but I’ve never had a family member, grandparent, or friend – seriously – no one pass away.

I had never felt that void, the pang and heartache of loss, the sense of mortality and longing for that “one more day, one more time” with someone who I loved.

And then this summer I delivered my first death claim.

I sat in front of a family and handed them a check representing the “quantitative, monetary value” to the life of a person they loved.

In front of me that day were a mourning mother and father and EIGHT brothers and sisters.

The client wasn’t someone who called me up one day ‘cause they realized that no one would be able to pay for their funeral if God forbid something happened to them, or a man with a family to support, or someone with a lot of debt who didn’t want to burden his family with it…

He believed in “buy term and invest the difference".

He believed in planning for and protecting his future and the life and family he wanted to have some day.

He believed in ME.

He was my agent, my teammate, my friend.

He wasn’t originally in my hierarchy. We were colleagues for years until his leader left the company and he asked to join my team.

He was just 23 when we met.

Tom was that young man that walked into the room, tall and dashingly handsome with dark hair and shockingly, striking eyes, and a smile that lit up the world around him. His dark suit and bright shirts never seemed quite right – there was that “country boy” about him that screamed “jeans and t-shirts”!

Children naturally were attracted to him. In my favorite memory of him, my two year old nephew was nestled inside his arm while sitting on his lap as the two of them and a group of our coworker's children sat watching Finding Nemo in my boss' basement during an office party.

He still asks fondly about "Uncle Tom..."

For the last couple of years we had shared a certain kinship as we both struggled with illness. He was suffering from a heart problem, while I was going through my cancer treatments and even though we always shared our most positive cheering selves with one another, there was a silent mutual understanding of fear and anxiety through our illnesses.

He and I became our office’s poster children for the importance of protecting your insurability.

Younger agents would often brush off our encouragement that they secure their life insurance policies now while they were young and healthy. Like most young people who have their whole lives ahead of them, they see themselves as completely invincible.

It became a theatrical performance for Tom and me, as we hung out in meetings with these young immortals. There would always be that perfect break in their cheerful, indestructible, and naïve justifications when he and I would look at each other with that knowing glance.

He would stand up, so proud to have this innate purpose among us and introduce himself.

“Hi, my name is Tom. I’ve been with the company for almost three years. I was 23 when I started working here and bought the base policy for a preferred insured, and I pay $23.00 a month because it was part of my own personal financial foundation. Have to practice what you preach right?!”

You could see the eyes of those new agents rolling, looking at that devastatingly handsome man-child – a vision of strength and health and youth.

“I thought it was a great deal! And it IS ‘cause last year I was diagnosed with a heart condition that makes that insurance policy the only coverage I will ever qualify for, for the rest of my life. I am now uninsurable and it is all the insurance I will ever leave my wife and children some day because of my illness. I’m thankful that I at least have something to protect them with.”

He would then smile that crushing smile as if he had just reached the top of Mount Everest!

There were several mornings in the past year that I had awakened to calls from my Vice President letting me know that Tom was in the hospital. All I had to hear was, “Dorana, Tom…” and I would quickly call him to see where he was and if he needed me. He never hesitated in assuring me that he was alright and that he would be home soon.

That morning when I got the call, I was barely out of bed. I remember hearing Janis’ voice and looking at the clock puzzled for a brief second, before I jumped up and started getting dressed sensing that this time, it was different.

It started the same, the words echoed so familiarly,

“Dorana, Tom…”

“Where is he? I’m on my way!”

“No, honey, I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t worry it’s not too early. I’m already getting dressed. I’m closer than anyone else. Where is he?”

“Dorana, I have some sad news my friend.”

Patience has never been my strong suit and I remember this feeling of annoyance that she wasn’t spitting it out – WHERE WAS HE!?

I was putting on my shoes and grabbing my keys when she said,

“Dorana. He was on his way home from work last night from Krogh’s…”

The words echoed as she said them and I was digesting each word individually feeling them vibrate through my conscience, “Krogh’s, Krogh’s,” I thought to myself.

“Last night was Thursday. Thursday is our meeting night. Why was he at Krogh’s?”

I closed my eyes at that crushingly surreal moment as I steadied myself, “We meet on Tuesday nights now...”

“…He was on his way home from work last night from Krogh’s…on his motorcycle and he was hit, head on by a drunk driver. He didn’t make it, honey. I’m so sorry…”

I was in the car already when Janis repeated herself again in response to my silence.

I sat looking at the steering wheel not fully understanding, still waiting for her to just TELL ME WHAT HOSPITAL HE WAS IN!

If she could just tell me, I would go and we would hang out and laugh and tease everyone who looked at us sternly, and maybe we’d get a client or two while we were there… That’s what we always joked about doing, but he would always call me as I was on my way there to let me know that he was okay and on his way home, that I would see him at work; but now I just needed to know WHAT HOSPITAL HE WAS IN!

“Dorana.”

“I don’t understand. Where is he?”

“He’s gone honey. The accident site is still a crime scene. There was nothing anyone could do. Are you okay? Do you need me to call Heather or Todd?”

“No, no. I’m okay. Thank you, for letting me know.”

I hung up the phone and instinctively called his cell phone, it went straight to voice mail…

“Hi. You’ve reached the voice mail of Tom Klosterhoff…”

It was the last time I’d hear his voice…

And at that moment I felt it – that blinding explosion of agony that feels like your lungs are collapsing as you gasp for air, your heart is shattering while it’s beating out of your chest, and your head is burning from the inside out – uncontrollable and unlike anything I have ever felt before in my life.

I cried and cried. Sobbed while I clutched the steering wheel tightly feeling as if I’d crumble right there in the seat and melt into nothing.

“He was killed by a drunk driver on his way home from work…”

I was trying desperately to comprehend the words as I repeated them.

“He was on his motorcycle.”

I hated that motorcycle, the racing bike that he was so proud of. I remember the way he ushered us downstairs from the office to see it.

We live over an hour away from our office and that was the top of the gas price peak. His truck cost too much to fill so he would ride in to work on his bike; his hair all disheveled which made him look all the more attractive.

“He was killed by a drunk driver on his way home from work…”

He worked as a bartender and was the most conscientious server. Always made sure to call someone a ride when they had too much to drink, he had the numbers of his regular patron’s wives on his cell phone to make sure they got home okay…

“He was killed by a drunk driver on his way home from work…”

I was there for every moment that I could be.

I thought that there would be nothing that paralleled that initial insurmountable pain until I walked out of the funeral parlor during the wake for a minute of air when I saw her…

I closed my eyes tightly, painfully, I prayed in that instant for strength as a weakness swept over me and I grabbed the wall to steady myself, certain that I must have been losing my mind, as I opened my eyes again and saw her (A vision? Was it an angel?) as she smiled brightly, running with a friend through the hall of fifteen hundred mourners.

And there she was, I had never met her before, but she instantly captivated me – I would recognize her anywhere in the world.

Her hair, her smile, those striking eyes, so very familiar - Tom’s eyes, his youngest sister - the very image of her brother.

I’ll always remember that first moment that I saw her with her laughing, brilliant, sparkling eyes – Tom’s eyes.

... After the funeral I became obsessed with needing to have something to hold on to.

I'll never need anything to remember him by - he'll forever be a part of my life, but I needed something close to me everyday to remind me of how short of a time I was blessed to have had him in my life - a way to share his story with others.

I searched for days and found a wonderful artisan who created a custom sterling silver charm that read:

IN LOVING MEMORY OF THOMAS J. KLOSTERHOFF
7.25.08 MADD
FOREVER IN OUR HEARTS

I attached the charm to my key chain and every day no matter where I go, I'm reminded of my obligation to never let someone I think may have had too much to drink behind the wheel, but most importantly, a reminder of the wonderful man that left us much too soon...

I thought that picking up my favorite leather jacket all fixed and cleaned from that afternoon where Tom's dog had jumped up excitedly and torn the pocket would somehow erase what little I had left to remind me of him, but now I realize that there is a moment in everyone's life where the reality sets in that every sunrise and set is magical, every moment is precious, and every friendship is a true token of God's love.

That moment came to me on the morning of July 25th, 2008, when I lost my good friend Thomas J. Klosterhoff.

I will forever miss him and I'm thankful that I will never be the same.

Successful LAUNCH OF DDOTS.ETSY.COM - Premium Hand-dotted Paper Art Cards and Gift Tags

2009-05-18T12:58:00.000-04:00

On Etsy Day, April 24th, I officially launched my new Paper Art Shoppe - ddots.etsy.com! I am absolutely thrilled with the great feedback and success! It is a wonderful day when you can create something new that others appreciate and embrace.

DDOTS ® Greeting ART CARD and Gift Tags are hand-dotted with a hammer and special tools - they ARE NOT done by using a hole punch or templates of any kind!

Simple designs in three different hand-dotted fonts create beautiful shadows of the image INSIDE the card as you open it!

Each DDOTS ® Greeting ART CARD measures a standard 4 ¼” X 5 ½” on textured card stock in BOLD COLORS and is paired with a plain white envelope and comes packaged in our parent company a Dorana design custom packaging ready for gifting and mailed in a rigid mailer to protect from folding and damaging your ART CARD!

DDOTS ® Greeting ART CARDS are currently available in these colors:

Sky Blue
Aqua
Lime Green
Vanilla
Orange Sherbet
Red
Coral Pink
Chocolate
White
Black

DDOTS ® Greeting Art Gift Tags are created using archival quality papers and adhesives accented with beautiful ribbons and MAKING MEMORIES BRAND eyelets.

Etsy
Buy Handmade
ddots

BLOGGER FRIENDSHIP AWARD

2009-05-01T08:08:00.000-04:00

BLOGGER FRIDAY FRIENDSHIP DAY!

I'd like to thank Tami of The Holistic Diva for her support and awarding me last week's Blogger Friendship Award! It's truly my pleasure to be able to share great artists and business tools with our amazing HANDMADE COMMUNITY!

In turn, I would like to award the Vespa Blogger Friendship Award to the following people who have shared their friendship and support!

Ulixis Crafts
Penguinware Boutique
H20 Works
Nicole's Homemade Treats
DBaker817
Marine's Craft Corner
SimaG Jewelry
Tsurfer
Bella Cosa Art
Debra Linker

If you would like to pass this award on to some of your blogger friends, then here's how to do it (as passed on to me):

1. Put the logo on your blog

2. Add a link to the person who awarded you

3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs

4. Add links to those blogs on your blog

5. Leave a message for the nominees on their blog

Thank you to my blogger friends for sharing your knowledge and humor.

SpoonerZ.etsy.com - Talented Artists of Etsy Feature - TAETSY

2009-04-17T08:14:00.000-04:00

Today's TAETSY FEATURE showcases the talent of fellow Etsian : SpoonerZ.etsy.com!

I received one of these incredible "FORK IT OVER!" money clips as a gift for featuring her work in our HANDMADE WEDDING SERIES at myhandmaderegistry.com!

I was "forked away" by the amazing craftsmanship and detail! What a wonderfully unique gift for Father's Day and your groomsmen!

Thank you SpoonerZ.etsy.com for your support and generosity! Make sure to check out other amazing silverware creations!

My FIRST BRIDAL/WEDDING Commission!

2009-04-08T08:32:00.000-04:00

I can't believe that a BRIDE is going to be wearing MY DESIGN on her WEDDING DAY!

I'm giddy! It took me several hours to add this piece to my Etsy Shop tonight because I couldn't decide on which image to use as the default picture! I'm thrilled with the way it came out though! Thank you so much for your love and support Heather! Doesn't she look AMAZING!?

myHandmadeRegistry.com's CROPPING TUTORIAL by doodlage.etsy.com - FEATURED ON ETSY SUCCESS!

2009-04-07T23:36:00.000-04:00

Congemulations to our fellow myHandmadeRegistry.com member Doodlage (doodlage.etsy.com) whose CROPPING TUTORIAL was featured on Etsy Success this week!

Chocolate? Meat? NOPE! This Year the ULTIMATE "Giving Up For Lent" Sacrifice: FACEBOOK AND MYSPACE

2009-04-02T08:32:00.013-04:00

The first year that I joined the millions of Catholics around the world in the traditional practice of "giving something up for Lent" (the days between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday, although Lent comes to an end after the Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday) was in the fifth grade.

I had celebrated my First Communion the year before, later than most, but I was newly determined in my faith and went about celebrating and participating in the traditional ceremonies and practices with vigor and conviction!

There was no question what I'd be giving up, my greatest passion at twelve years old: CHOCOLATE!

My resolve was steadfast!

Our Lord had sacrificed his only son for me, I could give up CHOCOLATE for 40 days!...

That first day was torture!

I pushed away the dessert chocolate brownie at lunch in the cafeteria with the heartbreak of watching a puppy die!

Every Sunday my parents would pitifully offer me m&m's or other chocolate goodies attempting to assure me that,

"Sunday's don't count!"

Even then that idea was ludicrous to me!

Sunday's don't count???

As a good student of faith, even as a child, I knew the absurdity of the concept of "Sunday's OFF" during Lent.

Lent isn't about "giving something up" for the sake of "giving something up" that culminates in the "pigging out" and indulgence of that "something" on Easter Sunday...

There HAD to be MORE TO IT than that!

I found a wonderful resource while preparing for this article in Friar Jack from Friar Jack's E-spirations on AmericanCatholic.org.

"Lent is about conversion, turning our lives more completely over... The goal is not to obstain from sin for the duration of Lent, but to root sin out of our lives forever..."

My favorite quote from Friar Jack on fasting from meat on Fridays during Lent as a way to create a simple meal to link us spiritually to those whose diets are poor:

"Avoiding meat while eating lobster misses the whole point!"

Surrendering the luxury of chocolate at age twelve and later in high school renouncing meat for almost five years in the spirit of humility and sacrifice were fitting and honorable for that time in my life.

This year however, I couldn't think of anything that would truly be a testament of my will and a sacrifice honorable enough to match that first day in the lunch room when I pushed away that brownie and the pang in my gut all those years I passed on burgers and hot dogs; but more importantly, something that would make me a better person for doing it.

And then one night when I awoke in the middle of the night wondering if I had a message waiting for me on mySpace and what everyone was doing on facebook, I KNEW what I had to do!

I'd give up mySpace and facebook for Lent!

A dear friend of mine recently exclaimed,

"The internet is the devil!"

Neither of us really believes that as the internet is truly a genius work of art and science where anything and everything is possible, bridging oceans and cultures and ideas!

What IS true however is that

"Idle hands are the devil's workshop!"

How many HOURS are lost each day randomly surfing the internet? How many more are lost finding out what your friends and family are "doing right now!"

Do I really need to know what everyone I know is doing 24 hours a day? What they are listening to, eating, reading, thinking?

I hadn't truly realized my addiction to the personal social networking sites until that day at 2am when I tossed over in bed reaching for my laptop aching to find out what my online world was doing!

Some of you might quickly counter claim, but what about twitter and the forums and all the other internet sites you work on each day!?

The key word there is WORK! Trust me, I've never tossed and turned at night wondering what the front page of Etsy looks like or how many followers found me on twitter!

And as Ash Wednesday neared I wondered whether I would truly be able to stay logged off of those sites.

I began to realize that my addiction was not only taking away precious moments in each day, but that the practice in those sites contributed to my own laziness = sloth, envy in the accomplishments and lives of others, greed as I put my time online above the needs of the people I love and my responsibilities... If I'm really honest with myself, I can admit that in some way I allowed myself to indulge in each of the 7 Deadly Sins in those actions.

So I committed to not only "give up something" for the 40 days of Lent, but to become a better person in my sacrifice here after...

I've ignored friend requests from my friends, cousins, and even my step-mother!

Smile when I hear "aren't you suppose to give up candy or something?"

I fall asleep in the arms of the man I love instead of with my laptop.

Enjoyed my first vacation in years without even turning on my computer to check a single email!

Spend my day doing the most productive thing for my business every minute of the day and when work is over, bask in the time with my family and getting reacquainted with myself!

Celebrate in the fruits of my labor as my work gets recognized within and outside the internet community!

And I look forward to creating that healthy balance that is needed in everything in life - 'cause the point is my friends is to be the

BEST VERSION of YOURSELF EVERYDAY!

siempre- dorana

Last BUSINESS-TYPE Post on Personal Blog

2009-03-11T18:06:00.005-04:00

I have finally decided to separate the BUSINESS from the PERSONAL!

This is the last BUSINESS-TYPE POST on my personal blog!

I've come to realize that the people that follow this blog for my personal stories and narratives are different then those that want to learn more about my business and business related topics.

So I've created http://doranadesign.blogspot.com for all topics relating to business building, my jewelry design and artwork, the registry website, motivational narratives, and anything outside of the "personal" genre.

I hope to see you all there!

siempre - dorana

myHandmadeRegistry.com - FEATURED ON ETSY.COM!

2009-03-11T17:48:00.006-04:00

myHandmadeRegistry.com is FEATURED ON ETSY.COM's BLOG!

On the morning of March 4th as I was in the middle of managing a dozen open windows on my browser and returning emails, running chat rooms and ignoring my blackberry, I noticed its little corner light flashing red out of the corner of my eye... I grabbed it and quickly skimmed through the message titled, "wedding registry" and read,

"hey there, I want to include you in an Etsy blog post and link to your wedding registry site, ok?... maybe you can reblog it! -v"

I remember reading it, "cool!" I said to myself, and flung the phone to the opposite side of the sofa where I went back to whatever crisis was at hand at that moment.

While checking my inboxes and threads awhile later, I noticed the little red number at the top of my Etsy screen that reminded me of the conversation that was awaiting my reply. I clicked on it just as I had a million times before and as the screen reloaded, my heart stopped, I instantly felt the heat wash over me as I saw it...

Next to the message titled "wedding registry," was the profile picture of a smiling brunette with a red bubble underneath that said ETSY ADMIN.

OH MY GOD!

I clicked on the message and read it again and as the words finally sank in, I bursted into hysterical tears!

I threw myself across the couch and grabbed my phone and started dialing and

NO ONE WAS ANSWERING!

I called my mom, answering machine.

I called Todd, answering machine.

I called Heather, voice mail.

I called Gary, and FINALLY after the third try, I could share my tears of joy!

Words can't begin to describe what that moment meant to me. That instant when you realize that the countless hours of work and dreaming about the possibility of your ideas is finally paying off!

The world's LARGEST HANDMADE COMMUNITY was featuring MY website!

When my mother finally called, I could barely speak through my tears! When I could breathe enough to reassure her that no one had DIED, I cried,

"Mom, I've worked SO HARD! I can't believe they're really featuring my website!"

I spent the next several days contacting the HUNDREDS of artisans that I had spent the last several weeks featuring throughout the website to let them know that the "mother ship" had spotted US!

I wasn't online when their feature hit the air. In fact I didn't see it at all until FIVE HOURS LATER late Friday night!

It was more than I could have ever dreamed of!

Our registry is being featured in Etsy's HANDMADE WEDDING SERIES!

Not only was our site mentioned, it was linked to their article with a display of our ENTIRE BANNER with links to our tutorials and even to my own personal shop!

I couldn't have dreamt of a more wonderful affirmation of all of my hardwork!

The rest of the weekend was a blur of welcoming over 100 new members and celebrating as comment after comment of congratulations was left on the blog!

I HAVE TO take this time to thank everyone in our community for all of your love and support as we've worked to make this vision come to life and as we continue to grow and develop, I know I can't do any of this without you!

To my amazing support, Amanda (ulixis.blogspot.com)- thank you for being so generous of your time and talent! I know that this could not be possible without you!

To my amazing MORE MEANINGFUL GIFTS family, my every day has more meaning having each and every one of you in my life!

Here's to the first step in our more meaningful journey...

siempre- dorana

WANTED: A FEMALE GYNECOLOGIST!

2009-02-11T16:23:00.014-05:00

I woke up this morning and planned the outline of my day and remembered to set an alarm for 11:00am. I hurried through my morning routine and tried my best to accomplish as much as I could before my deadline.

I placed the alarm in the upstairs bedroom knowing that it would force me to get up from my work in my office to start getting ready, as my usual tardiness was not an option!

I ran up the stairs and grabbed my towel, a fresh razor blade and as I stood in front of the bathroom mirror, wondered if I should wash my hair.

I scrubbed myself from head to toe making sure to use the exfoliating scrubby stuff and paid special attention as I shaved my legs and even did some careful trimming... I glanced at myself in the mirror again and said out loud,

"I should have washed my hair!"

As I hurried back to the bedroom to start getting dressed, I scurried through my underwear drawer looking for the perfect bra and panty for my afternoon date...

with my Gynecologist...

Seriously, I didn't even fret this much as I got ready for my first date with my BOYFRIEND of two years, although knowing what I know now, I would definitely had paid more attention over my preparation and wardrobe that night... there's a $40 black bra that's STILL MISSING!...

I carefully smoothed lotion over my just-shaven legs and started to put on my undergarments when I suddenly stopped in the middle of pulling up my most conservative, clean and proper panty and practically stumbled onto my face as I ran over to the bathroom and gingerly stood on the scale. I closed my eyes as I made that silent prayer...

Every woman knows the exact weight measurement from their last doctor's visit - for most people it's once a year, even though my experiences seem to be vastly more frequent!

You could have blown every diet all year long and broken every resolution, slept in and missed every spin and yoga class, enjoyed that pizza over the weekend, but the ultimate test - the biggest fear is to weigh more than that little black box on the top of the right hand corner of the last visit's chart!

I looked down as a cold sweat started to cover my still naked body...

SUCCESS!!

I had lost ten pounds since my last doctor's appointment, but now a new concern,

"What am I going to wear so that I could prove all of my hard work these last few weeks!?"

They hardly allow you to take off your shoes to weigh yourself these days let alone let you get naked on the hallway scale so that you have the opportunity to yell for all to hear,

"LOOK AT ME, FAIR PEOPLE OF DR. SCIAN'S OBGYN OFFICE!

I'VE LOST TEN POUNDS SINCE MY LAST VISIT!"

(There's a reason that I set the alarm for two and a half hours before my doctor's appointment!)

As I went back to getting dressed with a sure bounce in my step, I took a mental survey of possible "I'VE LOST TEN POUNDS SINCE MY LAST VISIT" OUTFITS!

Jeans - OUT
Sweats - OUT

And then I found them! The white yoga pants, ('cause the gray ones are dirty), that I can't wear out of the house 'cause, well, they show everything!

No worries though!...

Going to the gynecologist is the only acceptable time to leave the house wearing granny panties with yoga pants!

I slid onto the scale after I fully dressed, ecstatic at only having gained about two pounds - thus able to show I'd lost EIGHT! - and start heading out of the bedroom door...

Just as my foot crossed the threshold to the hallway I froze again!

I looked down at my brand new, pristine white socks with pretty lavender tops and screeched loudly!

"I HAVE TO COVER MY NEW SOCKS!"

With two cats and a dog, stepping across the threshold from my carpeted bedroom into the hallway with my surgical grade new socks was not an option!

As important as the proper underwear is for a woman's health visit, it is much, much more important to have clean, new SOCKS!

After all, the doctor never sees the underwear, he does however get a lovely display of your new white socks, or dingy, dirty ones as might be the case if you don't take measures to properly prepare yourself for this yearly ritual.

He does in fact, see more of your socked feet during the exam than your face after all, and who wants the lasting impression of the man so deeply immersed in your genitalia to be of your poor housekeeping!

So, I always buy new socks for my yearly physical!

I quickly put on a pair of lesser important "house socks" over my "in the doctor's face, new socks" and went running around for the perfect "WEIGH ME, I'M THINNER" shoes...

I slipped on the twenty-year old running sneakers with no shoe laces that I'll be able to quickly slide off my feet while the nurse is reassuring me that taking them off won't make a difference on the scale!

And I was out the door!

I jumped in the car determined not to be late for my date with my gynecologist.

As I rode there I called ahead to confirm my appointment and to see if the doctor was on schedule.

"Ms. Hernandez do you see Dr. John or Dr. Joe?"

"Dr. John." I responded with slight hesitation...

I mean I SHOULD know with certainty the first name of the man who has such intimate relations with me, more frequently than most because of my medical history, the DR. VA-JAY-JAY SUPER HERO with his trustee nurse side-kick!

"Yes. Dr. John." I repeated, confidently this time.

"We're right on time! See you when you get here!"

As I hung up the phone I found myself thinking about how beautiful it is to have a child follow the footsteps of their parent's work...

Who am I kidding!?

My first REAL reaction upon learning that it was a father/son practice was,

"Hmmm, I wonder how THAT happened!?"

My career dream and path in college was to be a physician and what a wonderful trade to help bring children into the world, but it's not quite the same as showing your child how to throw a football or how to make that perfect souffle...

Most parents have a difficult time of explaining the birds and the bees to their children... I guess that conversation went pretty well in that family!

The two hours of preparation that went into my frequent woman's medical ritual culminated in the satisfaction of being congratulated on my weight loss, the polite handshake and hello from my doctor as we both avoided eye contact, and as I assumed the position and reminisced about all of my morning anxiety, I asked myself,

"Why don't I have a FEMALE GYNECOLOGIST?!"

I stifled a giggle at my personal inquisition when I heard the doctor's trusty nurse sidekick say,

"Dorana, how do you always keep your socks so WHITE!"

SUCCESS!!

I Don't Need "Happily Ever After" or a "Knight-In-Shining-Armor" - My Most Romantic Memories

2009-02-10T12:17:00.019-05:00

I have an unwavering faith that there IS such a thing as true love - not the fairy tale, "Knight-In-Shining-Armor" kind, but one where you can be the truest version of yourself and are loved because of it - not in spite of it; a love filled with respect and adoration and a passion that comes from deep in your soul.

Perhaps I live in a naive fantasy land for believing in its existence, but the truth is that I HAVE FELT that love before... I know it exists; perhaps even been blessed by having felt and experienced it many times before...

I remember watching a movie with my boyfriend my junior year in high school and remarking out loud,

"That is such CRAP - not real life at all! That stuff only happens in the movies!"

That weekend while I worked in the department store at the mall, I turned around with my arms full of clothes from the fitting rooms and literally gasped out loud as I saw him walking towards me with the same three dozen, long stem, red, Colombian Roses, in his arms that we had seen from the movie.

He came up to me and gently kissed me and said,

"Don't be such a skeptic!"

At such a young age in the relationship spectrum, I had already begun to question the existence of genuine romance.

As the years have past, I've learned that romance is not always about grand gestures, as much as it is about small moments that stay forever engraved in my heart and memory...

I have been blessed every summer with the ability to remember my first date in the most magical way...

On the first dusk that it's warm enough to sit on the deck and watch the last flecks of the setting sun paint gorgeous strokes of purples and reds across the horizon, when the breeze is still warm and pleasurable, as the light of day slowly starts to dimmer...

I can feel it in the air even before it happens. I just close my eyes and say a little prayer of thanks, knowing that when I open them again, I'll see it...

It won't happen immediately as my eyes adjust to the changing light around me, but they're always there...

The fire flies...

... like little matches lighting the lawn and the lines of tree trunks.

I had never seen fire flies before that hot, humid, Georgia night. I noticed them dancing over the lawn next to the restaurant. When I see them now, it does more than just create a memory, it's like a jolt through my body that makes all of my senses come ALIVE in recollection!

...The bold colors of green and red of El Vaquero Mexican Restaurant, the tingle of salt on my tongue from the homemade chips on the table, the sound of his voice as he ordered in Spanish, having taught himself the language with that confident, almost arrogant smirk on his face and the sparkle of his eyes as he looked at me with a comfortable understanding that is hard to find in any part of your life, let alone as a teenager in a small town... The touch of his hand.

The fire flies...

The first sight of them takes me back to that first date with a boy who I shared an incredible connection with, a moment of happiness and goodness and hope.

That special time in your life when you live just for that moment - not knowing that some day it would just be a beautiful memory ...

But love doesn't have to have magical fire flies or deep red roses to be memorable...

My most romantic moment was full of laughter and glee...

My boyfriend and I had been dating a few weeks when I went on a week-long cruise that I booked before we started dating.

I had booked it as a much needed getaway after several months of illness and treatments.

We pined for one another incessantly!

My first night back from the trip as we laid together in his bachelor pad, he looked at me, desiring me, adoringly,

"Want me to turn of the lights?" he whispered lovingly.

"No baby, I'm okay," I replied.

"Want me to light up a couple of candles?"

"No baby, I'm okay."

"... GREAT! 'Cause I don't have any candles!

Perhaps I can burn a paperback for you!?

I'll put it in an ashtray, so we don't burn the place down!..," his natural seriousness in contemplating the absurdity made it all the funnier!

I burst into uncontrollable giggles as he continued...

"The PILOT light! We can light the STOVE! That's ROMANTIC!"

Tears covered my face in laughter!

"Wait! We can't make love next to the stove - the cat's litter box is in the kitchen!

That is NOT ROMANTIC!" he exclaimed as he finally grabbed me close to him as I melted into his arms...

I peeled myself away from him long enough to take a scrap sheet of paper from his nightstand and scribble our dialogue that night so that I would never forget the joy and comfort and love that I felt that night as we made love, thankful not to be laying next to the cat's litter box, by the light of the stove!

CONGRATULATIONS AMERICA! : You Didn't Put a Slave Owner in the White House!

2009-01-21T07:50:00.014-05:00

I am thirty years old, Hispanic, a small business woman, and daughter of a retired Army Master Sergeant and...

My deep, dark, secret... Seriously.

My fellow Americans, I did not vote for Barack Obama.

That statement seems so unpatriotic after the $170M (What recession?) pomp and circumstance displayed yesterday as we welcomed our new Commander in Chief.

However, I like millions of Americans, joined in the celebration of a truly magnificent moment in our nation's history. Much to my boyfriend's dismay - Netflix movies arrived that we've wanted to see and songs on Guitar Hero that needed to be conquered - we began the week by watching the We Are One Concert Sunday night at the Lincoln Memorial.

I was touched by the obviously moved presenters and performers and teared up as I sang along to Garth Brook's We Shall Be Free. (Yes, imagine that! A Puerto Rican who loves country!)

I continued in the excitement through the morning of the Inauguration from sunrise, minute by minute, never skipping a moment while I worked throughout the day with my laptop on my lap and ABC's Diane Sawyer and Charles Gibson keeping me company with the latest news and information.

As I watched the President take his oath of office, I was filled with pride in a nation that saw past the color of a man's skin and elected him to our country's highest office.

And I cried when Aretha Franklin's eyes sparkled as she belted out "My Country 'Tis of Thee" in the fulfillment of Dr. Martin Luther King's beloved dream.

I too shared in the remarkable moment as the stories my own grandmother echoed in my mind about the difficulties of being a single working mother with dark toffee colored skin...

The way she has about her, when I call her still furious from another encounter at a department store where an absent-minded person will ask me to help them with their purchase because they assume I must work there since it's the middle of the day during a work week, and I have kinky hair and I look like I speak Spanish.

"Dori, it's because you're not afraid to look a person in the eye and smile, not because you look like you work there!

These days no one has it in them to stand tall, walk proud, with purpose and pride and be confident enough to really see the people around them; therefor you must work there...

Don't change who you are because others keep themselves closed in a bubble unable to see the world around them."

I watched the swearing in, the speech quoting great leaders of our country, watched Laura and George Bush wave goodbye as they boarded Executive One, watched the parade wondering WHAT ON EARTH Michelle was thinking wearing that outfit in twenty degree weather, danced to the incredible drum lines in the parade as I made dinner, and then curled up to watch the Neighborhood Ball where I once again questioned the choice of the First Lady's fashion sense as she glided onto the stage in what appeared to be an unflattering toga with pasted on feathers and cotton balls!

And, I cried at Beyonce's emotional serenade as the new President and First Lady danced for the first time...

You could feel the love and adoration that Obama and Michelle feel for one another. It was truly a spectacular moment.

As the ball continued and Diane Sawyer and Charles Gibson continued to MC the day, ABC began to include editorials on notable people and events relating to the historical event.

A segment featuring the descendants of a slave family from the McCain Plantation in Mississippi changed the tone of the day for me.

I remember watching the segment, looking back at Todd and saying,

"I can't believe of all the stories they could have shared tonight, that's the one they chose!"

It told the story of Mary and Lillie McCain who's great grandfather worked for the ancestors of John McCain. The narrator of the story emphasized,

"If you're wondering about the name, yes, they carry the name of their white slave owner McCain, ancestors of Senator John McCain."

The story detailed the family's plight as freedom fighters and ultimate successes overcoming racial discrimination.

Diane Sawyer finished the segment by explaining that when both the Senator and the President were contacted about the story that their response was,

"...with incredible emotional unity, that there is only one way to redeem it, it is that together we must give them opportunity, give everyone, every child the opportunity, it's the only way to redeem this."

I however question the timing and placement of this editorial.

With so many questioning the role of the media in this election I was shocked that segment was aired in the middle of the night's festivities and even more bewildered that it was sugar-coated as an accidental ironic coincidence, topped off with an insulting inquisition of a respected member of our country.

What can someone say in response to,

"Senator McCain, How do you feel about your ancestors having slaves?"

I am not in any way demeaning the suffering of the McCain family's ancestors, nor am I in any way making light of Senator McCain's ancestor's use of slavery - what I AM questioning is ABC's judgment in airing such a story on the night of "unity and a momentous moment in history".

It almost felt as if it was a

"CONGRATULATIONS AMERICA! You didn't put a slave owner in the White House!" declaration!

It was awkward and incredibly inappropriate. The anchor panel even seemed trapped in uncomfortable silence at the end of the story.

I can appreciate the irony as much as the next guy -

"the Senator whose ancestors had slaves - loses to a man who's half Kenyan."

BUT THEN SAY IT!

JUST LIKE THAT!

Spell it out in black and white (no pun intended).

Don't put the anchors and reporters of that story in such an obviously uncomfortable position to make good TELEVISION - because it was just that - not good reporting, but good Reality TV.

SHAME ON YOU ABC!

I doubt our new President would have appreciated the tone you created on a night meant to unite our country!

My deep dark secret...

My fellow Americans, I did not vote for Barack Obama.

I voted for a man who has spent his entire life in service of his country.

He's earned the right not to have to explain the actions of those generations before him.

I hope that my great, great grandchildren don't ever have to explain mine.

But, as a child of military parents, it was so difficult for me to wholeheartedly back my party's nominee for president during this past election when there was another candidate who not only stood in service of our country as an elected official for over twenty years, but also served our country in time of war.

I have never supported the wars in the Middle East but I am fiercely supportive of our servicemen and women who are fighting for the freedom of so many and protecting our own.

My ex-husband still suffers from illness from the first Gulf War and my father was deployed for almost two years and that time was very difficult for my family. I was barely thirteen when he came home and shortly after that he was deployed again to the conflict in Somalia.

I was so angry!

"Why do we always have to police the rest of the world!? That's not your job!"

I'll never forget that afternoon as my father sat with me and my sister in a booth at a restaurant for lunch. My parents were in the middle of an ugly divorce and it was our afternoon with him.

I watched him as his face started to show the signs of age that I had never noticed before, and his shoulders dropped as he sighed heavily.

He then sat tall and determined - like the proud, dark, and handsome soldier I had always known.

It was at that moment that the father whose English I always teased, with his heavy Spanish accent, was as eloquent as any scholar whose words I'd ever hear...

"Dani, that flag that I wear on my shoulder that stands for the freedom that I help protect, doesn't just stand for you, but for everyone who can't fight for themselves. As long as I wear that uniform I will go where ever my Commander and Chief tells me to go, so that you don't ever have to witness the things that I have."

I am proud that our new First Lady's focus will be on the military family. Heaven knows that they are truly the unsung heroes of our country.

Their sacrifices are immeasurable so that we can sleep safe at night in a world where they shield us from nightmares we couldn't imagine are possible, so that we can dream all of life's possibilities.

My deep dark secret...

My fellow Americans, I did not vote for Barack Obama.

But he did indeed win the election and the hearts of our countrymen.

He is not our first African-American President.

He is our first TRULY AMERICAN PRESIDENT.

A man born from a white mother, an African father, raised in a multicultural home with an Indonesian stepfather and mother and later by the love of his grandparents while his mother worked abroad.

This man is a blending of cultures, races, and family dynamics. He understands the struggles of being unique and learning to overcome the diversity in his life.

What an amazing gift we have been given as a country.

A leader as diverse as the country he leads.

Now that the celebration of a new chapter in our nation's history is behind us, we watch as the President sets to tackle the many challenges that face our country.

I pray that our actions today, and in the next several years, bring pride and honor to the generations to come.

Holiday Magic and Traditions - What are your favorite holiday memories?

2009-01-02T15:38:00.009-05:00

As the traditional American and Christian holidays come to an end with the celebration of a new year, I find myself reminiscing over my favorite holiday memories.

There has always been something magical to me about the fall; the smells, colors, feel of the change of the seasons that leads into the holidays.

The festive spirit in our family began as we prepared for Halloween.

In our cedar-sided house in the woods in Watertown, NY, we would spend afternoons collecting the mountains of leaves that fell from the surrounding acres of trees. My father grew up in rural Puerto Rico where Halloween isn't celebrated but all was not lost as he threw himself into celebrating it with us!

I remember giggling as we stuffed those crispy colorful leaves into his old BDU's creating leaf-filled, life-sized but lumpy soldiers in his uniforms, complete with laced-up standard issued combat boots and covering the spot above their collars with old helmets and hats, positioning them against trees along our driveway as though a small squad of soldiers were taking an afternoon nap on our lawn, resting before battle.

On the night of Halloween, my traditionally quiet and reserved, uniformed father would join our sleeping soldiers on the lawn and wait for the children in our neighborhood to knock on our door for candy.

As they walked back down the driveway, he would jump up from his tree screaming and jumping towards them as their shrieks of terror would pierce the air! I'm sure we dressed up and went trick-or-treating like the rest of the kids, but what I remember most is the ache of my sides hurting by the end of the night from all the uncontrollable laughter and my father's eyes filled with that shine and glimmer of glee!

When the aromatically alluring smells from the Adobo-seasoned Pernil (Puerto Rican pork roast) and turkey would awaken me like tickling fingers shortly after sunrise on Thanksgiving morning, I would quickly jump out of bed knowing that my parents had already been up for hours beginning to cook our feast. I can now appreciate the labor and skill that it takes to perfectly roast two different kinds of meat in the oven into perfection; I'm still trying to perfect that incredible feat! While my parents worked on the various dishes and tantalizing smells out of the kitchen, my little sister and I watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade and decorated our Christmas tree every year.

Our house was eternally full of life during the holidays. Always thankful for the many blessings in our lives, our family was expanded every year as we welcomed the soldiers that couldn't make it home to their own family's for Thanksgiving from my father's platoon, into ours.

As we got older and the Army moved us to new places, we adopted our favorite regional Thanksgiving dishes to our meal. To our traditional Puerto Rican holiday feast of arroz con gandules, pernil, and decadent coquito (coconut and rum version of the American eggnog), we added homemade macaroni and cheese and cornbread dressing from the Soul Food of the South and squash and green bean casseroles from the North...

Thanksgiving was ultimately the catapult of our Christmas holiday.

This year as my boyfriend and I celebrated our second Thanksgiving together, even though I didn't wake up to the smells of my childhood holiday with my family, we curled up together and he watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade for the first time...

When I think about the many places around the world that I've celebrated Christmases, the one place that stands out like a picture post card of the season is Stuttgart, Germany. Stuttgart boasts the largest Weihnachtsmarkt/Christmas Market in Europe - a holiday fantasy land!

The center of town would be transformed into the Weihnachtsmarkt where the air would be filled with the smell of fresh baked soft pretzels the size of our heads that would come with hand churned sweet butter. The bitter cold shielded by the neighboring Black Forest could be quickly erased by glasses (NOT plastic cups) of hot chocolate and hot red wine from the native vineyards. We would shop from the dozens of craftsmen stands selling hand carved ornaments, spun crystal snowflakes and garlands, or go across the street to the large ice skating rink that was built on the town square and just like the picture post cards, it would always magically start to snow as we stumbled across the ice!

I was born and raised in Germany where the spirit of Nikolas has the deepest of roots. Having spent the majority of my childhood in Germany, my earliest memories of "Santa Claus" rather than the bright red suit with white fir trimming, were of traditional folk images with tattered clothes and a patchwork sack filled with candies and coins - not presents. I remember leaving all of our shoes outside of our door the first week of December like all of the children in our neighborhood in the hopes that Nikolas would leave us candy or a coin or two, silently hoping that we wouldn't get a branch root instead indicating he knew we had been naughty that year!

Born into a Catholic family from Puerto Rico, the American tradition of Santa Claus and his magical sleigh of reindeer from the North Pole that landed on roofs and climbed down chimneys to leave presents to good boys and girls around the world, was never really solidified in my mind. I don't think we weren't taught whether or not to believe in Santa, like I mentioned, we never missed the opportunity to rush outside to collect our goodies from our shoes at the start of Advent, but Christmas and Christmas Eve were celebrated differently in our home...

Christmas Eve was celebrated with midnight mass. Christmas day was never about presents or who gave who what. We usually exchanged a small gift or two but prepared for a day of celebration of the world's greatest birthday! Huge family, friends and never-ending food!

What’s known as the Epiphany - January 6th - is culturally our big gift-giving celebration - THREE KINGS DAY! Instead of milk and cookies for Santa, we leave boxes of grass and bowls of water next to our beds for the Wise Men’s camels to drink from their long voyages! Instead of Christmas trees, our gifts were found under the bed, usually unwrapped in the spirit of simplicity… We got our holiday gifts when it was said that Jesus received his. And yet our parents still created magic for us as they urged the boys in my grandmother’s farming neighborhood to ride their horses up and down the street leaving SURE proof along the roads that the Three Kings HAD indeed come to visit us!

As I grew older and started to question whether or not Nikolas and the Three Kings existed to shower us with gifts during the holidays, my parents never backed down from the true meaning of Christmas; the birth of Jesus Christ, the spirit of giving and supporting those less fortunate, and celebrating TRADITIONS.

My mother made sure when we were in grade school that we volunteered with local charities the week of Christmas. We would pick families with children our ages and we would go shopping for the same gifts we had wanted for ourselves all year long. As much as I remember how fun it was to run through the toy store like little elves, the sobering experience was going to the base commissary watching my mother fill shopping carts with basic household supplies and food. Always the conscientious shopper, I still hear her words echoing in my head when I'm going up and down the aisles shopping now, "always have rice, a couple cans of corn, Vienna sausages..." I always knew when things were getting a little tight at home - she would take left over rice and add a can of corn creating a beautiful display of color on the plate and enough food for all of us. Just like my grandmother, mom could come up with a meal from all the major food groups out of nothing in the cabinets until pay day! It was then a family event to wrap up all of our gifts and deliver them to our chosen family recipients, realizing that being Santa was the real holiday magic...

In her determination to keep the spirit of Christmas alive in us as we continue to celebrate in all of the holiday traditions of the places we’ve lived, I've learned that everyone can be Santa Claus, Nikolas, and the Wise Men if we all just have a little faith and BELIEVE!

myHandmadeRegistry.com - Not Just Another Networking Site

2008-12-09T13:35:00.009-05:00

What I think sets apart successes from failures are those that find adversities and ADVERTISE them and those that find adversities and look for ways to make them ASSETS!

After half of a year dedicated to the idea that people really are interested in the artisan community and then researching, promoting and marketing my jewelry shoppes from various online retailing sites, I came to an enlightening conclusion that I had heard over and over again...

"These sites are really just SELLERS selling to SELLERS!"

After all, before I learned about them from another seller, and joined to sell, I had never heard of them either!

And so I started researching about how I could get BUYERS to find MY STORE of handmade goods and I stumbled across a couple of interesting blog posts...

"I wish I could register for my wedding at Etsy.com!"

"Oh, I'd LOVE it if everyone would get me Etsy.com stuff for my baby shower!"

After searching for several days, I found ONE online registry where registrants could add Etsy.com item numbers to their wish list of goods along with the likes of Macy's, Bloomingdales, ToysRUs, etc.

I thought, "Hey! I CAN DO THIS!" : a Handmade Registry - a place where everyone can create a personal page with a list of their favorite items from only HANDMADE RETAILERS!

Won't be able to find Macy's HERE!

Then the daunting task of figuring out HOW TO DO THIS! With neither the desire to wait what must surely take months to create, nor the funds to support it, I remembered a site that I was introduced to where members could customize their pages to create their own social networking site! And myHandmadeRegistry.com was born!

It's still in its infancy, but I believe it can grow into a powerhouse tool!

It is NOT just another Networking Group - our platform happens to be BUILT as one, but this is my vision...

Imagine the now millions of artisan shoppe owners that flood the gates of the Handmade Community. Now imagine how many times just this past week each one of those members have been asked, "What do you want for Christmas? Hanukkah? Birthday? Anniversary?"

myHandmadeRegistry.com is designed for these shoppe owners to share their Wishlist with their families and friends - especially those that have such a hard time shopping for them! Imagine the incredible relief husbands and boyfriends will feel knowing that there's a place where she has pictures of everything her heart desires and all they have to do is CLICK ON IT and it takes them right to the check out counter! (no offense guys - I KNOW there are many of you that are godsends! but let's face it - this is the promise land for most of you!)

This registry now opens up the artisan marketplace to so many more people!

But lets take this another step further...

I've created GROUPS within the community that I plan to market for OUTSIDE OF THE ARTISAN COMMUNITY - for expectant parents, a house-warming group to share decorating tips on a budget and find that special accent piece, and my favorite :

my $5000 Handmade Wedding!

These days the Platinum Weddings we see on WE are becoming more and more of a fantasy to most of us...

But lately, I've been finding myself watching those shows and saying... "I can do THAT" and "oh! I saw something like that in the forums last week for 1/100th the cost!

My vision in this group is to link these dreaming brides with Handmade Retailers who can make those pictures come to life in quality and affordability!

Members of this group can create BLOG posts on their pages with images of the various ideas for their fantasy wedding with tags relating to the items such as "dress", "invitations", "jewelry", "favors", etc. Vendors who can provide those products or services can then find and leave comments on their BLOG where they can also attach images, sketches, estimates...

How wonderful will it be to have such an incredible resource at your fingertips - remembering first and foremost that the most priceless resource in any network is building relationships - someone will always know someone who can help you fulfill your dreams!

...A place where brides can take those black and white fantasies and turn them into vibrant rainbows of possibilities while keeping as much green in their pockets!

I look forward to a million more endless possibilities with this project and welcome any new ideas, suggestions, questions... but PLEASE COME JOIN US and share what an amazing community of artisans and talented business supporters we have among us!

siempre - dorana

Sibling UNRivalry - What's Your Favorite Sibling Story?

2008-11-21T13:19:00.004-05:00

I am the oldest by three years. My younger sister and I have never had a fairy tale sisterly relationship, but there was a moment the spring of my sophomore year in college, that she and I could have played the leading role in any Sisterhood movie!

A decade before the AFLAC Duck was a household quack, we were AFLAC kids. One of the largest employers in Columbus, Georgia, our mother worked for the company. Every year during Employee Appreciation Week, AFLAC would close down Great Adventure’s SIX FLAGS Over Georgia in Atlanta and all the employees and their families took over the theme park for an entire day.

Relatively still a small town, in Columbus, neither of us could ever really hide… Like everyone who grows up in a small town, there’s never really any anonymity… We were always one another’s “sister” or “Angie’s daughter”… In the basically black and white town our features stood out; each of us with our wild, long, curly locks and caramel skin and hauntingly similar laughing voices, although younger, she towers above my 5’4 frame by several inches and has the personality to match her stature!

That Saturday in the park was just as jubilant as every year, special picnic lunches and festivities. While running through the park getting on every nauseating ride, we dragged her boyfriend with us in line to jump onto the Looping Starship. There is a ride like this in every carnival in the world – usually in the form of a Viking Ship that swings back and forth until it spins all the way around! Although the lines were long, they were not the customary hour to two hour waits of a usual park day. The lines were also manageable as monitors playing great episodes of Tom and Jerry and Animaniacs made the time fly by.

While my sister and her boyfriend watched cartoons something else caught my eye from the back of the line… a group of teenage boys were pushing past waiting families making their way to the front. You could hear fathers and some kids fussing and starting to yell, but they continued to snake their way through the line laughing and horse-playing. The boy in the front caught my glare as he neared where we stood.

We had been waiting about half an hour and I stood behind my sister and her boyfriend in line. She was standing facing me with her boyfriend facing her in between us, gazing up at the monitors when the boys reached us in the line.

I don’t know what got into me, I should have just stepped aside like everyone else was doing but I turned around to face them. The boy leading just smiled looking down at me and gave me a “move out of the way” nod as I smiled in my annoyingly sweet way back at him and obnoxiously clamped my hands onto the railings on either side of me and said,

“I DON’T THINK SO!”

He laughed mocking me and moved to grab my arm.

I felt the ground move under my feet as I was swiped aside and slammed into my sister’s boyfriend in front of me!

As I struggled to gain my footing I turned and realized that the force hadn’t come from in front of me by the laughing boy bully, but from behind me!

My sister had crossed over her six foot tall, all muscle – cartoon mesmerized man who was completely oblivious to what was going on. She had managed to climb over both of us in a fraction of a second and grabbed onto the boy’s threatening hand before he had the chance to touch me!

I couldn’t help but burst into a fit of giggles as I heard her scream shaking her head in defiance with one hand up in the air gesturing, and the other pushing the kid back in the center of his chest,

“Uh huh! WANNA PLAY WITH SOMEONE YOUR OWN SIZE!?”

My giggles persisted as she pushed back her boyfriend who was still dazed and confused determined to handle the situation on her own!

She continued,

“Don’t you DARE think of touching her! Get your ASS back to the end of the line!”

The crowd around us was lit as the operators of the line finally sprung into action and ejected the boys from the line to a round of applause!

And I continued to giggle…!

And boy was she on FIRE!

I turned back to the line still laughing while she fussed at me for my boldness and her boyfriend for being so lost in Tom and Jerry that he was about to let his two girls be beaten up by a gang of bullies!

She turned to me still aggravated,

“You only did that crap knowing I’d be here to cover your ass!”

It hadn’t really occurred to me that she would jump to defend my stupidity, but there was this great bubble of pride and comfort that grew inside of me knowing that she would have taken on a whole group of boys to protect me!

We laughed and made fun of one another while finishing the ride and everyone in the line congratulated us.

When we finally stumbled off, we were greeted by our mother who had already heard countless stories from her coworkers of how her “daughters had stood up for one another to a group of bullies! How PROUD she must be of us!”

My sister rolled her eyes and yelled, “Next time mom, I’ll let her get beat up!”

Ok… so we’re not quite the Sisterhood that you see in the movies, but who needs that kind of sisterly love when you’ve got a little sister who will stand up for you when you have a BIG mouth?

MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT CONTEST!

2008-11-19T08:10:00.006-05:00

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PRIZE: TWO PAIRS of myDesign Interchangeable Charms from dorana.etsy.com!
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To view all entries go to:

MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT CONTEST

ANNOUNCING THE WINNER... antb.etsy.com

Thank you all for your entries and the laughter you shared with us over the weekend! I want to also send a HUGE hug to AngelHeartBeads.etsy.com our contest RUNNER UP!

Please join me in congratulating both winners of my contest - they will each receive TWO PAIR of myDesign Interchangeable Charms from dorana.etsy.com!

WINNING SUBMISSIONS
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antb.etsy.com - "Never Go Diving Into Swim Trunks Blindly!"

On my honeymoon, we were at a hotel with a pool. Only new hubby and I were in the pool area, so I decided to get frisky with him. I swam under water to him. The chlorine was bad, so I only peeked a moment while swimming to find him, and then played a little feely-feely with him.

I stood up only to find a very surprised stranger who had my hand in his trunks. He had gotten in while I was underwater.

AngelHeartBeads.etsy.com - ""I CAN'T FEEL MY FACE!" - This story SUCKS!"(WARNING: Adult Content!)

Okay, well... lets see. This is graphic but no foul language! Beware!!!

1998, and I'm in college - and lets say - inexperienced. My boyfriend at the time and I were dating not too terribly long, but long enough where we were intimate. Well, one night he wanted a BJ... and I really had a bad gag reflex. So, he suggested that we go to the porn store, and get something to numb my throat. At this time in my life, I was pretty much good with trying anything once - so off we went to the porn store. We purchase this jar of stuff called "Gag reflex cream" and go back to the dorm.

There were no instructions at all on this - only said "apply to the back of your throat". So me, being stupid, take a nice big ol' wad of the crap and swallow it down. About a minute into the "Act" my entire face has now seized up and gone numb. My tongue wagging out of my mouth like a dog panting for water. I couldn't retract it. I'm hysterical. I can't feel my face. I can't move my tongue. Drool has now started to slither out of my mouth like a stampede of snails on the run from a predator. My boyfriend starts to freak out, which only upsets me more.

If you've never had the pleasure of experiencing complete face, tongue, and throat numbness, then you will never understand the trauma of trying desperately NOT to choke to death on your own spit while crying so hard you start to dry heave.

The only thing to do would be go to the hospital. But no, I couldn't possibly. What would I say? I over dosed on porn store gag cream so I could give my boyfriend head? Could you imagine this being told my Marine father and overly possessive mother? Surely, we couldn't go to the hospital. I feared for my life - and my face at this point.

I'm sobbing and my boyfriend is freaking out and yelling - which only makes me more upset. He's yelling, I'm crying, and heaving, which has now started involuntary farting. The more upset he got, the more upset I became - until the inevitable moment I dreaded.

I puked in his lap. Directly on Mr. Woo-Woo.

Thankfully, my face, tongue, and throat FINALLY recovered after a few hours - but the shame and humility of that night will live on forever.

I didn't see much of my former flame after that experience. And I'm pretty sure he's scarred for life from ever having oral again.

That, my friends, is my most embarrassing moment to date.

Laughter is the Best Medicine - A Vision

2008-11-12T11:09:00.011-05:00

As the days become increasingly shorter and the air's bite gets sharper, and the day's endless list of tasks keeps getting longer - the opportunity for my daily walks with Lance, my 13 year old yellow lab, gets shorter and shorter. But I was determined yesterday to get away from work and the computer before the darkness settled in and when he saw me grab the leash off the hook on the wall, the "smile" on his face was priceless!

It was about 4:30PM EST and the afternoon sky was glowing a faint gray; not yet dark but the light of the sun had definitely been extinguished. Lance, who ordinarily gallops outside with no particular destination other than opposite where he's suppose to be in our yard, stayed close to my heel in anticipation of being strapped to his leash for our walk. As I fumbled with the clasp and his collar, my hands felt that momentary tingling of cold that makes you shake loose the sleeve of your shirt to cover your hands quickly from that shocking effect of the first realization that next time, you should remember to grab the gloves on your way out!

We avoided the traditional walk through the field and the park. While in bed the night before, I was shocked to hear the howling of coyotes pretty close to the development and the creepiness of it made me nervous so late in the day... I steered him up the main hill of our townhouse community towards the street parallel to ours. As we trotted up the hill I pulled on his leash dragging him off the curb while he tried to sniff every falling leaf and I fumbled with the wrapper of a snack-sized Snickers that I stole from the basket next to the front door left over from Halloween; fumbling of course, as I tried to open the wrapper with my hands, half hidden in my Old Navy sweatshirt!

As we turned the curb onto the next street, I let Lance win the tug-of-war as he pulled me onto the curb with him and I giggled as I caught the now freed tiny Snickers bite, before dropping it. I let him drag me along as I tried to dig my hands back into the upper warmth of my sleeves and I finally looked up to appreciate the lingering colorful leaves on their branches.

As we walked along I noticed a neighbor inside her lit garage packing the back of her SUV while her large black dog with a bright blue collar sat directly behind the truck looking out at us. I instinctively clutched Lance's leash tighter and looked down at him. When he was younger he would excitedly bolt after anything that moved! With age he wags his tail when he sees people, completely ignores small dogs as if he couldn't be bothered with them, but he still gets excited when he comes across large dogs...

He looked up, wagged his tail, pulled forward a little and then went back to sniffing the ground around him again. I stood there a little perplexed as I looked back towards the open garage door. The woman waved as I greeted her with a "hi!" and Lance and I continued walking as we reached the driveway where she stood directly in front of us. I turned towards her again and stood there in absolute SHOCK and audibly gasped when she grabbed the large dog by his bright blue collar and flung him over her shoulder and threw him into the back of the truck!

I must have blinked what seemed like a hundred times in the instant it took for her to throw the dog over her head and into the truck.

"Oh my god!" I screamed!

Awestricken and almost paralyzed by what I had witnessed, I walked forward towards her and in the first fraction of a second of thought, wondered quite frankly, if the Bionic Woman had been living up on the hill from me all this time and I had just witnessed her secret powers and in the second fraction of a second a strange haunting wave of fear took over me as I hastened my pace up the freakishly long driveway, worried about the dog that was just thrown like a rag doll into the back of the truck!

And then I froze.

It was as if I was having an out of body experience... seeing myself in a wide panoramic sweep of the neighborhood as I stood in the middle of this driveway with my left hand limp at my side, my dog standing there looking at me startled and my other hand clutching my chest in sheer shock and surprise.

And then it happened...

The laughter!

...the kind of laughter that starts deep inside you - in a place whose very existence because of the seriousness of everyday life, I sometimes question.

I laughed and laughed. I turned and started walking away as my laughter echoed through the neighborhood louder and louder! The tears started covering my face and my cheeks began to burn as I gasped for air in between my bursts of giggles! I bent down trying to gather my composure as Lance licked my face of my tears and the laughter continued!

When was the last time you laughed until you cried and just kept laughing?! The last time you laughed without covering your mouth or stifling the giggles - just opened your mouth and laughed OUT LOUD not worrying about anyone around you and what they must be thinking!

Lance and I started walking again as I continued my laughing and grabbed my phone to call my mom at work to tell her about the Bionic Woman who lives in my neighborhood!

If my laughter had begun to subside before calling her to tell her my story, the recollection of it renewed my hysteria! It took me forever to get out the details of my "vision" between my impolite laughter!

Finally, as the now infectious DLV (Dorana Laughter Virus) had taken its course, she asked,

"So, was it a stuffed animal?"

Her question renewed my fit of giggles as I manage to get out,

"No!

It was a big, black GARBAGE BAG WITH BLUE HANDLES!

I NEED GLASSES!"

I spent the rest of the walk calling my friends and sharing my newly discovered diagnoses spreading the Dorana Laugh Virus for the next several hours, wondering if it would still be so funny when I could tell my story to my boyfriend hours later.

Three hours later as I drove home from running the evening errands, I pulled my car over to the side of the road unable to see through my tears of laughter, telling my story to my best friend, I gasped in hysterics,

"It's STILL FUNNY!"

Time Management - Can You Achieve Work/Life Balance?

2008-11-03T08:38:00.007-05:00

I sat in a convention a couple of years ago and watched a gray haired man with thin rimmed glasses, a bright yellow Hawaiian shirt with red flowers and a bright green blazer nearing his eighties jump in front of the room and claim that every morning by 10AM, that he had done more in his business and made his family smile more than most of us in the room would accomplish by 6PM. I remember sitting there mesmerized by his energy and drive, and determination. He had reached success and fortune a million times over and had no sights of letting up on his life's work and unlike some other rich and successful men and women I have met, was still full of life and genuinely happy.

My grandmother calls me sometimes during the day knowing that I'll be immersed in my work and say, "There are 24 hours in a day, Dori. Eight for sleeping, eight for working, eight for friends and family..."

Bob reiterated those sentiments at that convention when he started talking about the key to his success. It wasn't a genius marketing idea or the best computer software program, it wasn't flashy brochures or business cards or the best graphic designs... it was his daily schedule.

Every night before he went to bed he would detail the following day first broken down into six hour increments and then to three, then to two, then to one hour and then into fifteen minute blocks. His jolly face looked up at us in the room so quiet that you could hear a pin drop! And then it lit up unexpectedly with his jolly laughter as he tauntingly said "first my dears, start with the SIX HOUR BLOCKS!"

We all giggled and listened as he explained how managing a detailed schedule and following it created a life of balance and expectations for both his business and his family. When he was working, he was working and wasn't feeling guilty about not being with his family and when he was with his family, he wasn't worried about work. There was a time for everything and everything had it's time.

He then detailed every hour for us to try to explain how much time we truly have each day. He described his first 6 hour block of time beginning at 6AM with his morning routine, how he first takes time for himself every morning - for his body and mind.

How often we go through the day neglecting how important the health of our body and minds are!

His hour on the treadmill while he listened to his favorite classical melodies or read a favorite book; the luxurious shower and the joy he took making his children breakfast in the morning and hearing about the schedule of their lives each morning!

The next four hours until lunch were impeccably detailed: calls, meetings, reports, call and wish the wife a good morning and wonderful day! Imagine scheduling daily calls to tell someone you love them! What could possibly be a better use of your time!?

I remember sitting there as he painted a ticking clock portrait of his day and how each task brought him closer to that final "tock" at 6PM where he shifted from work to home and family and friends!

GENIUS!

If that wasn't impressive enough, there was a detailed weekly account of chores and shopping, family activities, dates with friends and extended family... Every aspect of his life, business and family was given importance.

He had a lifetime of joy because he gave everything and everyone the importance of his time. His wife and children expected him to be working when he was at work and home when he was at home.

In building his business of course there were disappointments and not everything always went as planned but there WAS A PLAN!

I know that in my perfect fantasy world, there is this magical place where my business and personal life somehow create a wonderful balance.

Could we all find this mystical place and that infectious joy I witnessed in that man by merely planning out the details of each of our days? Planning the time for our walks to the park with our favorite four-legged friend, making lunch dates with our children once a week at their schools, a date with our spouse where we dress up in our "first date finest" and anticipate that long kiss at the end of the night - all while climbing that business ladder of success??

I hope you take out that day planner - seriously I know everyone has one that's collecting dust somewhere - and "first my dears, start with the SIX HOUR BLOCKS!"

Art That Shaped My Life - Gone With the Wind

2008-10-27T15:25:00.009-04:00

PREFACE
Sometimes while I'm working and have the television running in the background I'll surf through the channels and come across a television show or movie, sometimes a song that magically transports me to another place and time. It isn't the memories that come flooding back that have me so mesmerized as the realization that in some instances the moments spent watching or listening somehow have etched not just my memory but my personality, my passions, my dreams. Imagine that - how an art like music and "theater" can shape who a person becomes...

Gone With the Wind - in GERMAN - Come on, admit it - that's funny!

In the middle of fifth grade, while stationed in Fort Drum, Watertown, NY we received news that we were relocating to Stuttgart, Germany. I was attending my first Catholic School, Our Lady of Sacred Heart and was a frequent visitor to Sister Bernadette's office, our school principal. I was a dream of a student but had difficulty understanding and accepting how the world was created in seven days and topics of evolution and the time line of the dinosaurs would send my head into a tail spin. Sister Bernadette would just smile and listen to my ramblings as I played with the floppy gray rabbit in her office.

My memories of the school and my friends are happy ones. I think that's the time in my life that I dove into my "tom boyishness". I remember that Christmas, my mother volunteered to take me and a group of my all boy friends to the Salmon River Mall to find our teacher the perfect holiday gift from the monies we had collected in class. She was fond of pigs and we found her a particularly adorable stuffed pig that oinked and knew she'd love it! After our shopping spree we convinced my mother to let us watch Bill Murray's Scrooged that was in theaters that Christmas. Imagine my mother's horror as the opening scene showcased scantily clad Vegas-style dancers in full almost undress as the group of twelve year old boys and I giggled uncontrollably!

My last day in class was an emotional one as everyone cried and they presented me with cards and tokens of remembrance and a beautiful "We'll forever miss you, Dorana!" cake. I remember carefully gathering all of my precious mementos onto the bus and then on the walk home; my special New York treasures...

My parents had purchased a house while we lived in upstate New York and it was tucked away off of the main route on a winding dirt road. Our Spaniel/Beagle mix would run to meet me at the bus when he heard the wheels screech to a halt. It was a custom cedar siding house that had high ceilings and skylights. The first time I saw the house and the skylights I excitedly exclaimed,

"Daddy are you getting me a giraffe?"

Walking to the house that day I was filled with sadness, but somewhat relieved knowing that I wouldn't have to shovel the driveway of snow every afternoon after school in my uniform so that my parents could get their cars into the garage when they got home from work. I would develop huge welts all over my body from the extreme cold - the doctors said I was "allergic to the cold".

My father said "she's allergic to shoveling!"

I was still in awe over how school was never closed for a snow day! I definitely would not miss the tunnels of snow that would pile up in the winters.

As we awaited housing in Germany, we lived in an apartment above a bookstore in a little town in the Black Forest named Calw. My little sister would sing,

"I live in a cow, MOO MOO MOO! I live in a COW COW, MOO MOO MOO!"

It was something out of one of my fairy tale books; cobblestone roads, Tudor-style houses stacked line by line, beautiful bridges... And we lived smack in the middle of town across the street from the cathedral whose bells would ring every hour on the hour! Right in front of our building was a flowing water fountain which we would spend hours playing in that summer.

Our apartment... it was something right out of National Lampoon's European Vacation! It was a "two bedroom" where we shared the only toilet with the apartment next door, complete with an old fashioned skeleton key with a beautifully swirled handle and the doors had large keyholes you could see through. In the middle of the night when the young couple came home and you had to pee, you'd get caught walking through the hallway in your pajamas! Forgetting to check for available toilet paper before you sat on the pot was not an option!

The apartment had an open foyer with a corner booth-styled square table that led into the kitchen... Oh the KITCHEN - there was a complete floor to ceiling mural the entire span of the wall of an actual life-sized photo of a herd of deer in the woods!

After a party with friends, we came home one night to my father jumping into the air!

"Angie!" he yelled at my mother, "There's deer in the kitchen!"

I fell asleep that night in a fit of giggles!

Our shower was located in my parent's bedroom. Literally. In the MIDDLE of their bedroom! It was a standing shower completely surrounded in a square shower curtain contraption and my sister and I shared our space in the "living room" where we were ecstatic to find a pair of Murphy beds - beds that folded into the wall - that we slept on. Cleaning our "room" was a game of "how much can we throw into the wall and cover with our beds before it's no longer flush to the wall?" - game.

One morning I woke the house with screams as a man walked along the side of my window as if suspended in mid-air three stories above the ground,

"Morgan fraulien!" ...He was putting up a tent for smoked fish for a weekend festival!

The streets outside our apartment would transform every Saturday morning into an incredible farmer's market with fresh fruits and vegetables, produce, incredible fresh meats and this heavenly little tent that made fresh to order crepes with the most delectable sauces and toppings! My mouth waters with the memories of fresh curry wurst and brotchen, rotisserie chicken and the sweetest chocolates and cherries you can ever imagine right outside of the door every weekend!

My little sister and I had to wake up before dawn every morning to catch the first of two buses for school. We would run down the street, our heels clinking against the cobblestone as we ran up the stairs to the public bus, "Schnell! Schnell fraulien!" The bus drivers would wait for us each morning while the town commuters sneered at us for being late.

Lazy Sunday afternoons, we would curl up on my parent's bed and watch TV... without cable or any channels in English. We would surf through the channels looking for something to watch and would always settle on Spartacus, the mini series North and South, and of course Gone With the Wind... in GERMAN!

My sister and I would sit there mesmerized by the wonderful costumes and sets and be taken away to another time and world history as my mother would tell her version of the stories and about when she first saw them.

I'd then rush to the library that week to borrow the books and learn the scripts so that I could create my own translations when we'd catch the movies on TV again that weekend!

I fell in love with history and theater that summer... and now when I catch glimpses of those movies, I'm whisked away to that fairy tale cobble stoned town where we were magically immersed into another time; where the church bells sung me to sleep every night and townsmen floated outside my third-story windows!

Are you BUSY or PRODUCTIVE?

2008-10-26T13:19:00.005-04:00

I hope you are all sharing in this gorgeous fall day and that it is filled with sunshine and smiles! I'd like to take some time today to thank everyone for all of their wonderful feedback and support of my new blog! I've had some truly great convos, emails, and comments and I am very appreciative!

I would love to take all the credit, but I definitely could not have created such a uniquely me space without the patiently talented Kristen at wildmagic.etsy.com. Please take a second to check out her shoppe and wonderful graphics and designs!

I had the images and the vision of what I was hoping it would look like, but without Kristen's help it would have taken me weeks of playing with HTML code and let's face it - I'm a writer and an artist - I do not need to be a master of all trades! (I'm still convincing myself of this...)

I am a financial wellness and wealth coach by day and I constantly find myself at my client's kitchen tables coaching them not to engage in tasks that will not net them their hourly rate of desired pay!

In business, you need to spend 90% of your time in productive activities that will create either more productivity or increase your income. It is my nature to obsess over "details". If I had committed myself to creating my new blog or recreating my mySpace page to the exact specifications that I wanted myself, I would have obsessed about it for weeks not days - and even when I would have achieved the desired look, I know that I would have continued to play having had reset my work schedule to include HTML coding!

Don't get me wrong - I did start playing with it on my own for about two hours that day, but I was able to snap out of it once I realized that half my work morning had flown by and I had accomplished nothing. One of my favorite business quotes, "Are you busy or productive?"

At the end of the day feeling drained by hours of tasking only to find that I really hadn't accomplished anything I set out to do, I decided to stop the insanity!

So I quickly logged out of mySpace and blogspot and contacted Kristen and sent her the images I was interested in using, the overall feel I was hoping for, got a quote, and set to work on the projects with someone who knew what she was doing! It was economical, productive and the net effect was a week of marketing and creating that I wouldn't have had had I done it on my own!

What it cost me to hire someone to do it was a mere fraction of MY cost per hour of my own production time! In simpler terms, I was able to produce and create in that time MORE than what it cost me for someone else to do the task...

As I write this I remember that I learned this years ago! When I started college, I was a full-time student and worked full-time in a restaurant but still lived at home. I would get home at 2am from work sometimes completely exhausted to my mother's fussing at me for forgetting to do the dishes or not cleaning the bathroom or leaving laundry in the washer...

After about a week of the ridiculousness - regardless how much I wanted to yell, "Are you kidding me?! I'm never home," I picked up the classifieds and hired a wonderful woman named Terry for $50.00/week to dust, sweep, mop, clean the bathrooms, scrub the kitchen... It was worth it to me to spend half a night's income to pacify my mother at home and give me peace the little time I was home...

Just because you're in business for yourself doesn't mean that you have to do every part of the business.

Figure out what you're good at, the activities that bring you the best results and then STICK TO THAT PLAN for at least 4-6 weeks! You're not going to be able to measure the results of an activity if you change it every time you hear something new! Pick a few projects to start off with and go from there.

Set a SCHEDULE and stick to it!

Hire out your weakness and/or get help with administrative tasks

Working for yourself is the most rewarding job you can have, but you'll never work harder! I have learned a lot about entrepreneurship... anyone that works hard at anything for ten years will be successful in it - just make sure you're doing something you love - because it will still be work ten years from now if it isn't.

Art That Shaped My Life - The Little Mermaid

2008-10-23T12:10:00.017-04:00

I remember the summer that the movie came out on video. I was twelve and I recall throwing a tantrum at the Post Exchange video department trying to get my father to buy it for me! It was that remarkable time in my life where I was nearing the end of my age of innocence.

Ask any military brat and there is always a time, a place, where their life seems to stand still. A time when they recall their family being a real family. A time that was marked by happiness and the first resemblance of stability and normalcy; where real friendships blossomed for the first time. A time when you weren't just that new kid in school.

That time for me was in Pattonville, Germany; a little Army community in the town of Ludwigsburg.

The movie of that segment in my life - Disney's The Little Mermaid.

It makes me laugh to see the name on the screen as I type it! I am NOT the girly-girl type. My girlfriends and I in middle school were the "tom boys." Finding us in dresses was a difficult task even during school dances! We were smart and fiercely independent! Our dress code was predominantly jeans, sneakers and whatever we could steal out of our dad's closets and we never wore anything that revealed our already matured curves.

I wanted to be an aeronautics engineer and my best friend wanted to be the first woman to jump into a black hole! We had our whole academic careers planned out at twelve. Our handwriting was almost exactly alike and we would duplicate our homework for the classes we were good at and just swap them out in the morning before class for one another instead of wasting time on homework for every subject in school; both straight A's and never missed a day of class. ...well, almost.

Our school projects were always due on Monday and we always had the best of intentions to finish them over the weekend during our weekend overnights - projects of course that had been scheduled sometimes months earlier that we had never really started. Mondays would come and we would beg our parents to let us stay home to finish the projects that never seemed to be completed on time. We would always get stern reactions, but my mother always called in sick to work, herded us into the kitchen where we would prop ourselves onto the kitchen counters as my mother made us fried rice for lunch as we recited The Little Mermaid from the opening song to the finishing credits. My father would pop in from lunch knowing his girls were home from school where he would crack the whip at our procrastination, endlessly tease my best friend, eat the brownies we made earlier in the morning and make us both promise not to turn another project in late again!

And we didn't. That fall everything changed in our little perfect community. Our service member parents got orders to deploy to Operation Desert Shield. Those lazy care-free days of reciting movies and singing songs gave way to opening packages of funny money and desert head wraps. The deployments lasted almost two years and nothing was ever really the same again; I was never the same again.

Deployments are tough on military marriages and families - young teens.

Shortly after my father came home from Kuwait, his whole unit got stationed in Fort Benning, Columbus, Georgia.

The time my father was away and our move away from our little world in Pattonville changed my life forever in so many ways; but it was nice to move as a group this time around. A lot of my father's colleagues purchased homes in the same neighborhood and it was nice to have familiar friends and a small support system during the change to a new environment.

That first year in Columbus was a difficult one. It had been many years since I had been enrolled in a public school. I remember the day that I walked into the first of several schools I attended in Columbus. Everything seemed like a normal day until I walked into the lunch room. It was at that point that I was exposed to a social phenomenon I had only read about in books and watched on TV.

I was shocked to see that the lunch room was completely split down the middle in tables where the white students were on one side and the black were on the other. I remember standing there in total shock and then panic as I surveyed the room trying to understand what I was seeing.

Growing up on Army installations we were always exposed to so many diverse cultures, races, and languages, that segregation was a foreign concept. I realized that just like any society we also created social groups but instead of by race or color, we created groups based on interests primarily music! Although the music "segregation" were often against color lines, there were always large numbers of white kids who hung out with the "rappers" and black kids who ran with the "metal" kids. Perhaps the most intriguing part of it all was that in the big scheme of things besides the relative minority of kids in those music groups, the other social groups throughout school looked like something right out of an After School Special - groups based on interests, not on color.

My immediate group of closest friends in middle school in Germany were a rainbow of stunning girls from vastly different cultures. A soft-spoken exotic island beauty with long flowing dark hair and fair skin from Guam, a firey red head with vibrant striking green eyes and fair skinned Mexican - explain that one - a tall, boisterous, athletic Italian brunette, and the most popular girl in school, a full-figured black girl - fiercely loyal!

And there I was in the middle of this lunch room in a panic trying to figure out which one of these black and white two worlds I would belong... Right before I felt myself turn away into a river of tears, out of the corner of my eye, I saw it. My Table. The melting pot of children in the sea of white and black. I walked towards it as they all looked up with smiles on their faces understanding my hesitant glance in their direction. As I sat down they all took turns introducing themselves, first their names and secondly their last known address... the Army Brat insignia...

My first year in Columbus ended like it began, saying goodbye to those that I had grown to love.

On the last night before my closest new friend's family was leaving to their new duty station in Alaska we stayed up late watching The Little Mermaid. My memories of that night are so different than watching the movie just a couple of years earlier and reciting it in the kitchen as my mom made us lunch while we played hookie from school...

This time I sat in my parent's family room, in the arms of a boy who had been my closest friend during that difficult year. I remember the pain of watching him go, having to say good bye again. But this time is was somehow different. The feelings were different. That first innocent love. The kind that grows from knowing someone before you really know yourself. We sat there that night, next to one another, barely breathing as our hands lightly touched and we listened to Ariel praying

What would I give
To live where you are?
What would I pay
To stay here beside you?
What would I do to see you
Smiling at me?

And everytime I catch a glimpse of Ariel's new cartoon on TV or the giant billboard in Time Square advertising the new show on Broadway I'm taken back on a swirling roller coaster of emotions of friendship, family, lost, and first love...

Who says an animated feature is just child's play...

Art That Shaped My Life - Uncle Buck

2008-10-22T08:44:00.010-04:00

First Frost...

2008-10-20T11:26:00.003-04:00

... 27° this October morning. The leaves in all of their fall glory have started to collect into piles of shimmering gold and burnt reds. The year seems to have sprinted into the autumn and now time has screeched into a startling halt, like the frozen crystals of dew on the rose buds in my garden, clenching my thoughts like two freight trains colliding. I should have expected the frost this morning as I walked through the streets of Manhattan yesterday afternoon. The crisp biting air, the cuddling softness of my favorite scarf, a deep jewel-toned turquoise that sets such a startling contrast to the fall colors around me that my sister knitted for me two Christmases ago...

I felt it then, remembered it then, whispering to me in that voice that we all hear but choose to ignore. I voiced it out loud yesterday as Heather and I walked through the bustling streets in the city and like a true friend does, dutifully ignored.

There are signs everywhere.

And then I awoke and heard the words, "There's frost this morning." I closed my eyes again and allowed myself to fall deeper under the warmth of the down comforter, hugged the cat closer to me as she grumbled her protest, and finally gave myself permission to remember...

My favorite season, autumn. The colors, the smells, the unexpected warmth found in the middle of all the promised chill. The beginning of a season of change, a magical transformation. A season of friendship, merriment, and family.