#18: What's New?

Everyone I come in contact with always asks me this- "what's new?"

NOTHING.

I never have anything to say. I go to work, I come home from work, I eat dinner, I watch TV and I go to bed. Next week I'll throw some fitness classes and workouts in there at LA Fitness. When it gets warmer, I'll start walking the dog again in the morning.

That's not exciting.

We are thinking about opening a cupcake-coffee-wine-music-panini-party shop. The idea is obviously still in its early planning stages. I'm actually excited about the idea of this because it brings my 3 best friends together with me to plan something as a team. We all bring something different to the table and I think it'd be interesting if we owned a business together. Trudy doesn't seem 100% on board with the idea and I think it might be because she and I have had ideas like this before and we never acted on them (the afternoon homework club for teens = one of our best ideas and probably still is). Allison wants to open a wine and cupcake shop. Jaci just wants to decorate cakes. I've got the baking part covered. Trudy wants to do something along the lines of healthy treats for pets. Phil seems to be interested in the business side of things while Ryan is an accountant. Add Liz in the mix with her design skills and my marketing background and we've got a winning team.

The scariest thing about this cupcake shop idea is that I'm seriously thinking about it and the more I think about it, the less I think about school. I really REALLY want to go to school next fall. I will apply to grad schools, I WILL get in, and I will move on but at this moment, things feel a little up in the air. Isn't now the best time in my life to take a risk like trying to start my own business? I'm still living at home (though I really do want to move out and am probably going to look at apartments next weekend), I'm working full time and my circle of friends is amazing. We're all in a really good place right now- why not try something exciting and new? I think now is a great time to take a leap of faith- I can go back to school anytime, right? That is one mantra I do not want to live by- sure I can go back to school at any time (I met a lot of moms that were getting their higher ed degrees at a workshop in January) but WILL I go back to school if I wait too long? That's what I'm afraid of.

As I'm writing this, I am thinking of other things that are actually "new" in my life. I guess all I need was a prompt and some time to sit down and really think about it to realize that there are actually things going on in my life worth writing about.

I'm entering a modeling contest. This may seem very out of the ordinary and strange but I'm in this mindset about trying new things while I'm living at home. I'm going to Winona this weekend to have my friend Abby take some pictures of me, among other reasons, to use with my application. I'm pretty excited about this opportunity to be a model for the clothing store maurices and if I end up as a finalist (which I know is probably a long shot), I'd get to have a photo shoot in my hometown (in addition to other prizes). I think the hometown photo shoot is actually what I'm most looking forward to if I win. Look for more information about this exciting new direction in my life in about two weeks once my application is complete and the voting begins!

I've been meaning to write a substantial update on my life for weeks so I hope this is a sufficient glimpse into my very thrilling life right now. I shall end this post with a picture of my latest batch of cupcakes. I'm not sure how they taste yet (little known fact- I actually don't like eating cupcakes, I just LOVE baking, decorating, photographing and sharing them) but I sure am proud of the decoration! Thanks Martha Stewart for the inspiration!

85-91: Week Thirteen/Picture a Day for a Year

85/365: Jenna, Erin and I stopped at ShopKo, I mean SlopKo, after eating dinner. I find signs like this amusing so I had to take a picture.

86/365: This is the Minnesota River next to Highway 13 on my way home from Winona. Its getting HIGH. I hope it doesn't shut down the road because its how I get to and from work every day!

87/365: Jazz was so sleepies today! When I got home from work he plopped down on top of me where he then likes to lay his head on my computer or get his nose all up in whatever I'm doing. This is him checking out my iPhone!

88/365: I know, I'm so stinking cool with my obsessive compulsive matching. HOUNDSTOOTH!

89/365: I made this bowl many years ago and needed a cool bowl for candy at my desk. Viola! Its misshapen and weird but I like it just the same. Also please note the TV in the background on which I watch the Food Network all day long.

90/365: Oh hey sweet parallel parking job, even though you can't tell because I didn't get a picture of the car in front of me (people were getting in to it and I didn't want to awkwardly take a picture of their car with them in it).

91/365: PHOTO SHOOT with Abby! It was wonderful!

78-84: Week Twelve/Picture a Day for a Year

78/365: Liz brought her legit light saber to Phil's Star Wars Marathon Birthday Party. Turns out the cat loved it and kept batting at it and biting it. It was hilarious.

79/365: This is the stack of books I checked out at the library a couple weeks ago and have not read any of. I always think I will get through at least one book but I'm too darn busy. Back to the library they go (a day late, of course).

80/365: I found this cool "Enjoy Today" stamp for a dollar at Michael's. I thought it might be a nice name for the cupcake shop Allison and I are thinking about.

81/365: Trudy was going to come over tonight around 7 but I called her on my way home from work and promised her popovers if she came over early. She was at my house 10 minutes later for these tasty treats!

82/365: I totally FAILED at taking a picture yesterday so this is a picture I looked at yesterday. This is the daughter and cat (with opposable thumbs) of one of the bloggers whose blog I read. Ha. The cat's name is Ferris Mewler. AWESOME. Check out The Bloggess here!

83/365: This is the drawer in which I lost part of my new earring this morning. I honestly LOST it in the junk drawer and I really don't want to take the whole thing apart. Ugh.

84/365: Trudy just suggested chai cupcakes the other day and look! Today's cupcake of the day! Excited to try it.

71-77: Week Eleven/Picture a Day for a Year

71/365: Out to dinner for Jaci's birthday, this is just one of many pictures I took on my new iPhone (I love/keep forgetting that there's a camera on the front!). The night was a blast though I'm paying for it now. Ugh.

72/365: Jazz likes to shove himself in small spaces. I think it makes him feel safe. He wedged himself between the love seat and ottoman today then fell asleep.

73/365: I took Jazz for a LONG walk today around the block today to wear him out before Mom had book club so he wouldn't bark at the ladies. At the end of the walk, I was exhausted and Jazz still barked at the book club.

74/365: Turns out Shamrock Shakes are disgusting. Never again.

75/365: My new favorite drink = Peace Tea. Yum yum yum! Thanks Miss Nina for broadcasting how great it is!

76/365: Enjoying a shot of Jameson in memory of our dear uncle Joe. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

77/365: I'v never had a cast before so when my coworkers needed to practice their casting skills, I volunteered. I am very glad to have gotten casts just for fun instead of for breaking something because I didn't really enjoy having them on- I tried to answer the phone when it rang and just gave up because it seemed too hard. Hopefully I never have to get a cast again.

64-70: Week Ten/Picture a Day for a Year

64/365: I LOVE Chihuily. This masterpiece was in a gallery just outside our hotel. It was amazing to see them up close.

65/365: RICK MOONEN'S ICE CREAM CHALLENGE at RM Seafood. I saw it on TV and was SO happy to get to try it for real.

66/365: Jazz was beside himself he was so happy when Mom and I got home. I realized that he must have thought Dad took us somewhere on Thursday night and dumped our bodies since Dad came back home but we didn't. We bought him this M&M bandana but he was too excited to sit still so Liz held his face for me.

67/365: I went to a WSU Admissions event last night and when I got there, Carl asked if I had brought one of my Ambassador name tags. I HAVE 4 WSU NAME TAGS and I left them all at home. Silly me.

68/365: Happy birthday today to my dear friend Jaci! I just love this calendar I created for the year with pictures of people's faces on the day of their birth. March is the busiest month, I'd say, next to August. Hooray for birthdays!

69/365: We went out to Applebee's tonight. Allison, Phil and I got perfect margaritas (the best drink on that menu by far). Jaci delivered it to our table and said "until we find another martini glass, you'll have to drink it out of the shaker with a straw." That was probably the perfect way to drink that perfect margarita.

70/365: Kyle brought this gift for me at work today- a St. Patrick's Day donut from my friends in Edina. I miss them and donuts on Friday mornings! It was a lucky day for me indeed, one week before St. Patty's Day.