Still hibernating.....Being Still......And BAKING CUPCAKES, Of Course!

Well, folks, I am still taking time for me and away from my journey to Harmony Cupcakes. Enjoying my time with Z-man and my other two pumpkins. My oldest prince Amari celebrated the big 08 on Monday. He said he had the best day ever as I tucked him into bed. That really warmed my heart.

Not much to say today, or this week for that matter. Just taking time away, being still and listening to what the universe has in store for me. More revelations to come, I am sure!

Here are some photos from a cupcake order that I filled yesterday for the folks at 53rd bank! They have been some of my best customers! They ordered Over the rainbow, vanilla and 76 dalmatians

Enjoy today........I'm out.

Friends, how many of us have them?????????

This has been an awesome week! From my b-day celebration to all of the well-intentioned pick me up calls that I received, I must admit that I have some really awesome friends and family.

Every now and then my vision gets a little hazy. Walking this road to entrepreneurial freedom is NOT easy (especially when you have limited start-up funds and big $$$ dreams). But I can say that I have so many people to keep me believing even when I want to throw in the towel and defer my dream (which in the past week, I have done about 20+ times). I just want to say a huge thank you to my sexy hubby, Ed in Buffalo, My best friend in the big NYC, and The Jones/ Williams families, my PPI crew, and my "new" sistafriend Ms. N for all of their EXTRA encouragement and support. Tackling a dream is never easy and starting a business is probably one of the most trying things that I have EVER attempted to do. Kinda like birthing an elephant (right mom?)...... this is also the name of a book by KARIN ABARBANEL that I am waiting for it to be released. I read Karen's How to Succeed on your Own and it is a must read. Amazon has both books pretty cheap and I am sure that the library has them both.

Anywho, I will continue to move forward. I have decided not to share progress about Harmony's location until we actually have a deal that is signed, sealed with keys delivered.

I am out. Prince Amari has strep and it is his b-day weekend so we had to cancel his b-day plans (bummer). A little TLC and he should be up and running by Monday, just in time to turn the big 08.

Be blessed and not stressed, Peace.

They say it's your birthday dadadadadum.......

Yep! I am a year older, stronger, brighter, wiser and most of all more FABULOUS than ever. Today marks my last official number birthday. My mom stopped counting at 29 and I have decided that 32 will be the number for me.

The kids were so sweet today. They marched in and sang to me while I was still in bed. My oldest 2 gave their own renditions of the Happy Birthday song. Nalah's was more R&B Neosoul while Amari completely rocked out pretending that he was playing the electric guitar. I do fear that I may have a teenage son who is a rocker with a band that practices in my garage or basement someday. Amari's musical taste is very diverse but at the end of the day he loves good old fashion rock n roll and 70's funk. Our rides to school used to be very comical b/c Amari was the only kid in pre-school and kindergarten that knew all the works to Earth Wind and Fire and Heatwave's songs (2 of Chaka and my favorite groups). He is truly my special 70's groovin' prince.

Anywho. Today was pretty low key. I pretty much rolled solo with Z-man as my side kick. Chaka and I were going to meet for lunch but Z-man fell asleep and I just did not feel like waking a peacefully sleeping baby just to take him out in the 30 degree cold (with snow on the ground) for a very quick lunch date. Instead I snuggled up with a blanket and read all morning while I did laundry (man, that statement alone sounded like I am ready for my AARP card).
Chaka and Amari did take me to dinner while Nalah was at gymnastics practice and then we all came home for a quick mini b-day party. I lucked out with a much needed gift certificate to the spa from them all.

I can honestly say that I don't feel any different today than I did yesterday. I do truly hope to find peace and serenity in this next year of life. Last year I wished for patience and I think I may be half way there. What can I say, I am a work in progress. One thing that I know for sure is that I will no longer dwell on the past. Instead I am going to celebrate my successes and live in the moment.

Until next time, Peace.

Oh, my posting will continue to be sporadic until Feb. 1st. There is a lot going on and I simply have not had too much to say, so bare with me. There will be more Harmony news to come in February.

I am out.

I just want to party all the time, party all the time....

Today our family celebrated my birthday(it's Tuesday!) and just had a day of FUN, FUN and more FUN!!!
Chaka let me sleep in and did not wake me to go to church this AM. I was so grateful. Resting until 9 or so really did my body good. I am feeling refreshed and renewed.

We really partied all day today. We did not worry about time or about our budget, we just had a little fun. Our intentions were to drive to Columbus to Genji, my favorite Japanese steakhouse and have a fun meal but none of us felt like the 90 min. drive, so we settled on Pappadeuxs. Our meal was very nice. If you ever dine at Pappadeuxs I highly recommend the crab fingers as an appetizer or your meal. The sauteed crab fingers are AMAZING! Chaka, Nalah-B and I really enjoyed them. Prince Amari tried them even thought he does not care for food from the sea. He insists that it is not right to kill and eat animals out of the ocean. We still have not figured out why he thinks that it is OK to kill and eat animals that roam the earth but not the sea. He politely tells people that he does not eat anything from the sea. Go figure, he is 7 and he is really passionate about this so we just smile and let him be. Anywho, the meal was nice.

After our meal we headed over to Krazy City to PLAY!!! We rock climbed, drove racing cars, played games and just really had a good time. I needed this play time b/c I am so serious all of the time. Everyone knows that Chaka has the fun loving worry free spirt and I am the serious thinker who OVER ponders and plans everything. Thank God opposites attract b/c MAN our lives would be dull if Chaka were more like me.

All in all this was a great day that reminded me that my family is truly my greatest gift. It's days like today that the stresses of opening a business or not opening a business really do not matter.

Stay warm and hug your loved one.

Peace

This is a test...... keep on walking, keep on talking, through this world, walk tall

As for my title.....Yeah, I like John Mellencamp....ain't no shame in my diverse musical taste.

I had to whip out the Kirk Franklin, Mary J. Blidge, India Arie, Poison, Desiree, Faith Evans, The Secret, and the Oprah DVD's to get through this week. Kisses from Z-man was just not making it all better.......... I know that I filled a bucket with my tears, I am not kidding.

This was the first week since taking this leap of faith that I actually considered going back to corporate America. I know, I hear the gasps........

I still did not hear back on the LOI and at this point I have given up hope. I even had a friend call and inquire about the space and she was told that it was still available, which is true. The part that had me baffled is that she got a call back right away from the same woman that I had been working with. I am the fool that had called the home phone and my cell phones to make sure nothing was wrong with them while waiting for a call back from her (I know I am crazy like that). Anywho, I was trying to make sense of it all when a friend of mine who owns a business called to check in on my progress. I brought her up to speed and she pretty much encouraged me to move on and not take it personally, it was just the universe saving me from "something". So I am going to keep on walking and moving forward. This is all apart of the journey, right???? Only time will tell.

Peace out.....

No One can change your life except for...Don't ever let anyone step all over you...Just hold on for one more day and things will go your way

This one is a long one, so grab a seat and a cup of tea, you're gonna be here a minute.....

I know the title is incredibly long but it pretty much sums up the past few days in my world. The words are from one of my favorite songs from 8th grade, Hold On by Wilson Phillips. My hubby cracks up whenever I put on their tape, I have been playing it a lot here lately. I have no idea why I still have the tape but it still plays and I still sing all of the songs as if I was 13 again. It sounds just as good on my son's Fisher Price tape recorder as it did on my boom box in 8th grade.



Anywho, I came down with a tummy ache and cold on Monday and have been out of wack since then. I still have not been able to track down anyone about our LOI. I pretty much started to get really peeved on Monday b/c it had been almost 2 weeks since we requested our changes. Pretty much no one would call us back. Has professionalism gone out of the door????Long story short I am so glad that we did not sign anything b/c we are not moving forward with our location. After consulting with my business coach and crying on Chaka's shoulder, I realized that it was not a good sign that the strip mall owners and the realtor did not return any of my dozen or so phone calls or that another business had closed up shop in the strip mall since we discovered the space right befoer the Christmas holidays. The sucky part is that we already gave the architect a deposit for a space that we are not moving forward with now. The good news is that the architect did a fabulous job so far (we met with her today) and I will definitely use her once/ if we ever find an affordable home for Harmony. So we are out @ $700.00 but hey, lesson learned.... sign the lease and then hire the architect. I think we got ahead of ourselves on this one. Please learn from my laps in judgement. I was just really excited about finding a location that already had a hood, 2 (yes I said 2) grease inceptors and a walk in cooler. The location was in one of the older(less than 5 years) strip malls close to our house. When the Kroger Supermarket left the strip mall to move across the highway last summer, the strip mall started to loose businesses. All in all it has lost 5 businesses in the 10 spaces that are left. Slowly the spaces have filled back up but their are still 3 spots open. I don't really think that the space is going anywhere b/c there are 2 more strip malls being built right up the road not to mention that the new Kroger is in a brand new strip mall. I just don't understand why no one has returned my calls.

I am still plowing forward, but man am I being tested. I am not use to surrendering and letting the universe provide the answers on its terms. But on this one I am going to be still and really listen.

This part of my journey is kinda comical b/c I have not had the "this is it" moment with either of our spaces. My feelings have been more like "this will do" or "It has potential". I can testify that throughout life when I have compromised on a decision and settled for something it never works out, ummmm can I say PPI.

Anywho, this is where the journey gets interesting. Can I endure this test? Do I have faith to keep the dream of Harmony alive or will it become a dream deferred? Only the universe knows. All I know is, for now I am swamped with cupcake orders this week and I have a kitchen that is being over taken by bags of flour, mixing bowls and decorating supplies.

Harmony is coming, whether it is 2 months, 2 years or 2 decades from now, you will be able to bring Harmony into your life. I am like the little engine that could, I am going to keep on moving.

Until, later, Peace.

It's all about ME ME ME ME ME, Forget about YOU YOU YOU......

A little Total to set the tone for the next 2 hours. As soon as I finish this post I am going to take 2 hours for ME. Since Thursday I have been working overtime for everyone else. From picking up Nalah-B from a High School Musical sleepovers in Dayton on Friday to spending 3.5 hours at Nalah-B's meet this afternoon I have been running across the universe for my children and god-daughter. This weekend has not had one min. of ME time.

As my oldest, the prince, says.........I'm bushed.

I am headed upstairs to light some candles, grab a book and soak in our jacuzzi. When we nickled and dimed to build our house almost 2 years ago, our bathroom is the one area that we completely splurged on. It is truly my sanctuary. I even wanted to give birth to Z-man there but my OB did not do home births. So I am off to clear my mind and try to take a moment and not over analyze or think about anything ,which is pretty darn hard for me. One of my nicknames is "the thinker" b/c I am always deep in thought. I am going to try hard and be still and focus on me.