Walking in a Winter Wonderland

It is so frigid outside that we are officially hibernating. The high today is 23F so we are not going anywhere unless we have to. Poor Chaka was up and out this morning while the temp was in single digits. I love winter but this kind of cold is just not easy to manage.

Up for today:
Wait to hear back about our lease negotiation. YES! we are moving forward with our location. The LOI has been prepared but we have requested a few changes and now we are waiting to hear something. Once that is finalized, the lease will be prepared, the lawyer will review it and we will have the keys on Feb 1st. Simple right? You know better..... something will come up, it always does. I am keep in the faith though.

Just a word about leases to those who may be thinking about following this path, negotiation is key. Everything is fair game- from the price you pay per sq. ft. to T/I (tenant improvement) allowances. T/I can really help save you money in the long run. This is an allowance that your landlord pays you for the permanent improvements you will make to a space. These are things like improving the floors, bathrooms, light fixtures. Basically things that will be left behind if you choose to move locations. Some places will even let you use the allowance to pay future rent or purchase signage. A lot of places do not advertise a T/I allowance but it is always worth asking if any is available.

Well, I am out for now. The kids have play dates and I have a few calls to make before I have a house full of kids. I also have b-day cupcakes to make.

Bundle up and bring me some sunshine ;-)

Bring Harmony intt your life in 2008!

Happy New Year Fans of Harmony!!!

May this year be filled with peace, love, blessings and plenty of cupcakes and mini treats.

2008 will be the year that Harmony is brought into your life.

Stay warm.......

Resting up for the New Year!!!!!!!!!!!

Not much to report............still relaxing until Wednesday hits.

I have been enjoying some much needed away time with my hubby. We celebrated our Anniversary by going to a wine and chocolate tasting at the Marble Hill Chocolate Lounge on Friday in downtown Cincy. The atmosphere was romantic and the 3 chocolates that we sampled were decent but I was not really please with the customer service. We were served by the owner and I was really excited that he was present (always ready to network). I read an article about him in Black Enterprise (one of my fav. mags) earlier this year and had been dying to get in and sample his chocolates and scope out the decor. He was not personable at all and almost came across as a bit pretentious. I left kinda disappointed b/c I was hoping to do a girls night out there later next month but I think we will take our business elsewhere. Maybe he was having an off night but when you run a business (especially a young business) you can not afford to have an off night or day. I am all for 2nd chances but I think it will be along time before we go back. My hubby even agreed with me b/c I can be very critical at times. For now, I will stick to Godiva (owned by Campbell Soup Co. - just a fun food fact) next time I have a chocolate jones.

Lesson learned for Harmony : Customer service can make or break you.
Your decor could be perfect and you goods decadent but if your service sucks, folks will not return. And you can pretty much guarantee that they will tell someone else who will tell someone else and so on and on....

The weekend got better though. On Saturday we headed to Indianapolis for the night. We stayed in the heart of downtown near Monument Circle and the City Circle Mall at the Hilton. I cashed in some om my point for a FREE night stay (all the traveling I did at Heinz was good for something). It was a wonderful relaxing time. It was also nice to be somewhere we could walk every where. We had the most amazing hot chocolate at the Chocolate Cafe while we walked around the circle and looked at all of the xmas lights. We had a wonderful dinner and planned on going to see Chris Rock for some laughs. The tickets were a bit steep (and of course we are on a tight budget) so we opted to see the Great Debaters. Awesome movie- go see it!!!

Anywho, all good things must come to an end. I am going to enjoy the rest of my time with my hubby and continue resting up for the rest of the week.

Up later this week:
Agreeing on the LOI for our location and moving forward - it's a biggy but I am ready.
Tour a few daycare centers for Z-man- he will have to go somewhere once Harmony opens.
Spend some time with Chaka's mom before she leaves us on Sunday
Hang out with the kids and organize a few more play dates before school starts again on the 7th.

Oh, I almost forgot........Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!

The pleasure's all mine cuz we have seen good times, It's our ANNIVERSARY!!!

A little Tony, Toni, Tone to start this wonderful day off.

Seven years ago today I married the love of my life, Chaka! We decided to head to Vegas and jump the broom while visiting his parents during the holidays. It was a short and sweet ceremony with my brother (who was 13 at the time) as our witness. Probably the most impulsive thing that I will ever do in my life and by far the best thing (besides having my kiddies).

Ya know how some people say they just know when they have met the love of their life, that was me, I knew. After our first date back at "the"Ohio State University (GO BUCKS!), I called my mom and said that I had met my husband. She remembers the call and jokes about it to this day because the conversation was followed by a lecture about birth control. (I love that my mom is so direct)

Chaka and I have shared such an awesome journey and we have come so far since those days back in Columbus. He truly is my best friend and provides great balance (and comic relief) to my otherwise very serious persona. Today is a day for me and my boo! CHEERS! to us for making it this far, Lord knows it wasn't easy;-) I really look forward to growing old with you and lotionin' your ashy feet when you can not reach them (WINK WINK, SMILE SMILE)

Love ya !!!!

Happy Birthday to ya, Happy Birthday!!!!

I must start by sending warm birthday wishes to mi papa!!! Without his support and generosity, Harmony would still be a dream deferred. I wish I could be with you today to celebrate but I know that we will see you soon. We send you lots of hugs and kisses and most of all peace on your special day. Love ya much Dad.

I am still up b/c I had a diet coke after 1 pm. I know better but I really needed a kick this afternoon. I was dragging and knew that I needed a small jolt to get everything done today with the kids home. Now I am paying the price. It never fails. If I drink anything with caffeine after 1pm, I am up all night. This came in really handy during my college years and especially in the R&D world when I had to do production test runs on new products. These usually occur in the middle of the night when food manufacturing slows down because it doesn't cost the plant much to run a test if a production line is not being used. I can honestly say that the one thing that I miss the most about my former job is testing new product formulations. Watching a product being made in a food plant has always fascinated me. I remember my first internship at the Nabisco Philadelphia Bakery back in the 90's. I was in charge of the fudge covered Oreo line and loved every min. of that summer. Think of the show Unwrapped, I got to make America's favorite cookie and cover it in fudge! I always thought that it was so cool that a food scientist actually got paid to test their formulas in a food plant. Some R&D folks hate going to plants, but for me there will always be a thrill in taking something from the lab and scaling it up in a manufacturing plant. I get the same thrill when I create a new cupcake flavor. My kitchen is my lab and I suppose that Harmony's kitchen will be like the plants that I made so many products in over the years, but MUCH better (and cleaner). Don't get me started about food plant sanitation and GMP's (good manufacturing practices); after all that I have seen, it's a wonder that I still eat.

Well, I guess the caffeine will come in handy when I am working true bakers hours.

I am going to try and get some sleep. We meet with the architect at our location tomorrow morning and I want to make a good impression.

Sweet dreams.

Kwanzaa - A celebration of family, culture and community

I grew up celebrating Kwanzaa in the late 70's. We were one of the first families (in Philly) to incorporate this celebration into our holiday tradition every year. Each child in the family was given one of the 7 principles of Kwanzaa to recite and understand its meaning. One of my fondest memories is hearing our family on a local radio station reciting the 7 principles. I think that this celebration is one of the reasons why I was able to stay grounded while being educated at some of the most elite institutions in the Philadelphia area. I thank my mom for taking the time to celebrate this part of my culture that really helped to build my self-esteem.

As an adult, I have been able to teach my children the importance of valuing their ancestors while celebrating their diverse background by celebrating Kwanzaa.

I will share with you the Nguzo Saba - the 7 principles of Kwanzaa- as the celebration continues through the 1st of the year.

Habari gani? (the greeting)

Umoja (Unity)- The first principal of Kwanzaa.

To strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation and race.

Tomorrow is Kujichagulia (Self-Determination), my principle growing up and by far my favorite. More to come tomorrow.....

Check out www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org if you would like to learn more about Kwanzaa.

Peace.

It was a Wonderful day in the city......

Well, Christmas has come and gone. The kids were very excited and enjoyed Christmas morning. We made lots of memories and ate lots of treats. Family was greatly missed this year though. This is the first year that we have not spent the holidays with our parents. It was different just like this past year. Great things are brewing for '08 though. I can't wait to see how everything unfolds.

I am out for now, my Mamacita (Chaka's mom) is coming from Cali tomorrow and I must prepare for her visit.

More to come............

Happy Kwanzaa!!!!!!!!!