Haters gunna hate...

Sometimes...you just gotta be a hater.
Today I'm a hater.
And I just happened to come across the greatest shit ever.
The haters guide to the Willams Sonoma catalog.
Read and enjoy.

Dump Everything!

...and join us for Jenn's baby shower!

About a month ago I threw a little baby shower for my friend and co-worker, Jennifer. Her little guy is due ANY day now, and I was a little crunched on time, but I made it work! Jenn is such a good sport and just rolled with all of my crazy ideas, which is why I love her! =)

 

 I have zero dollars in my Mighty Mouse piggy bank, Ladies and Gentleman.  Because I was expecting help, but didn't ASK for it, I can only blame myself. So here is how I went about throwing a cute baby shower ON A BUDGET!!!

 So if you remember correctly, I'm like Charlie Sheen at baby showers...WINNING!!! You can see some previous posts here:

Diaper cakes made by me =)
Diaper cake tutorial
Diaper cake supplies
Congrats Mike and Mandy!

 All of the places around here to have a party, like the Fire Departments, Moose Lodge, Knights of Columbus etc wanted at least $400, all the way up $900 just for a few hours! Times like this, I wish my firehouse wasn't SOO far away!! No one else volunteered their homes, and I live with my parents and six dogs, plus I live the furthest away, so that wasn't going to work. The ONLY person who offered to help and have it at their house was Jenn, and NO WAY was I going to make her clean her house and everything to have company over!!!

So, I called the local Ledo's Pizza and I asked how much their party room was, and they said it was FREE!! As long as you order $50 w0rth of food! Perfect. I ordered 2 pizzas for myself, Jenn, and anyone else who waned a few pieces, and a pitcher of sweet tea, and they everyone else figured out their own lunch and paid for it. Sweet! They have delicious food and amazing sweet tea, which seems to be hard to do in Culpeper!

Think outside the box on your location! It doesn't HAVE to be a "fancy" restaurant, or someones house. Ledo's is a pretty inexpensive place, but it was nice not to have to clean up before OR after aside from what we brought in!

I did all of the invitations, naturally, that's my favorite part. I went with a construction/dump truck theme because she already had a "traditional" blue/teddy bear shower when she had Ryan, and a "typical" pink and purple one for Alayna...so I wanted something fun, playful and 100% boy for this one!! I put one invitation on a large white mat and had all the guests sign it for baby Chase :)

As far as decorations went, I would have liked to do a little more, including banners and lots of yellow and orange balloons, but the ceilings in there were around 12 feet...so that made it difficult. I also had to get everything in my car in one trip. You have to think about these things, especially when you are going at it alone =)
The Decorations that I DID included CAUTION tape around each table, a CAUTION tape bow on the back of Jenn's chair, and some cardboard construction signs that I got on Amazon.com. They were 4/$6. I got 2 packages and put them standing on the tables. I also used toy Tonka trucks on the tables to hold favors, cards and other small items.

As for favors, I used the orange swirly lollipops purchased at Oriental Trading. They came with Stickers, which I had them print with "Jennifer's Baby Shower!" I spray painted a foam block and set it down into a Tonka truck to look like it was hauling it.

 The second favor was a game really. I bought these 24 ducks on Oriental Trading as well. They have little construction helmets on! So cute! I put them on the table, spilling out of the bull dozer. One of the duckies had a dot on the bottom. When everyone was done eating, I had them grab a duck. The one with the little dot was a 10 year old, she was SO excited!

 

The "real" favors are the Hershey's HE bars. I saw them a LONG time ago at a wedding where they made HE & SHE bars with their wedding date. These took a little time  to come up with a pattern, but once I did, easy peasy lemon squeasy. Orange card stock, with a black card stock dump truck cut out on my cricut, and one yellow ribbon. Cute and easy!

Jenn's sister in law made a cake and cupcakes

Momma opening presents

 

Decorate a bib for baby Chase! Hmmm, lets see who can spot mine!

 Hmm, I don't think she will be naming her baby after Dr. Roshandel!!

So thats it! You CAN throw a baby shower by yourself! And inexpensively!! Anyone else tried to do this recently?

Boy toys...

Oh ok, I'll be back tomorrow...

Launch me!

So, I've officially launched with Initials, Inc....

Initials is a company that sells amazing purses, bags, backpacks, diaper bags, etc. that are personalized/monogrammed. They're beautiful, and I want the whole catalog...but I'll restrain myself for the time being.

I've been thinking about direct sales for a while now, not only to supplement my income, but to get out of the house, and be more productive, and meet people as well. I just hadn't come across a company that really grabbed my attention yet. I knew I didn't want to do anything with food, so that ruled out Tupperware and Pampered Chef, and I don't do candles, and I'm not so much into talking about sex toys.

Then I saw something on the internet about Initials, Inc. I saw that it was similar to another company that is very popular around here. The patterns, and textures of the Initials bags were much more appealing though, and the quality just seemed better was well. I took a shot and sent an email. When I got an email back from the recruiter, I was very impressed with how welcoming she was, and how interested she was in my schedule, and what she could do to help me make Initials work out for ME, not just getting me to sign on so that it worked for her.

So anyway, long story short, I thought about it for about a week, spoke with the recruier, who is now in my upline, and awesome :) and I signed with Initials, Inc yesterday as an Independent Creative Partner. I should be getting my starter kit this week. I've already booked my first catalog party and possibly another one with my friend's Laura and Kerrin, because they're awesome!

If anyone out there reading this needs anything, wants to book a party, or just wants to check out Initials, inc, here is my website :)

http://www.myinitials-inc.com/Emily/

Weiner dogs on Wednesday, Halloween edition!

Happy Halloween from Whem and Osc!!

This is a pic from 2 years ago, the only year I ever successfully had Oscar in a costume. He usually snarls and adamantly refuses!

I look like I got hit with the ugly stick...but I love my little Jager bomb :)

Happy Halloween from the proud sister of an Aspie!

My sister has Asperger's syndrome (an Autism spectrum disorder,) and for that reason, this melted my heart...particularly the part about not wearing a costume. She has always had an issue with texture, and Halloween costumes are not always the best material and don't feel great on your skin, I can remember this being an issue as a kid.

Tomorrow, a lot of creatures will visit your door. Be open minded. The child who is grabbing more than one piece of candy might have poor fine motor skills. The child who takes forever to pick out one piece of candy might have motor planning issues. The child who does not say "trick or treat" or "thank you" might be painfully shy, non-verbal, or selectively mute. If you cannot understand their words, they may struggle with developmental apraxia of speech. They are thankful in their hearts and minds. The child who looks disappointed when he sees your bowl might have a life-threatening allergy. The child who isn't wearing a costume at all might have SPD or autism. Be kind, be patient, smile, pretend you understand. It's everyone's Halloween.

Haunted Hallow

As I mentioned in my last post, I've been working a second job the entire month of October.  Haunted Hallow is a 25 minute haunted walk through an old farm, including four terrifying barns and lots of scary creatures lurking in between barns as you walk through.

My sister, Erin, has been doing makeup at Haunted Hallow for a few years and loves it. When I moved back home, she casually mentioned something about coming to work there this year, and I was all "sure, whatever."

When September rolled around, it was time to actually go to the meeting and sign up for this place. Hannah and I were still in "whatever," mode...I could certainly manage 11 nights of work for the extra cash.

 Hannah and I both absolutely refused to put costumes on, wear makeup, or do any scaring though...we signed up to sell tickets or concessions, help with makeup and costumes...anything but scaring. No way Jose.

Well...by the second night, I was totally hyped. I LOVE Halloween anyway, and the owners of this place obviously do too. The farm has something special about it that just made me smile and have a good time, and I couldn't ask for better co workers! From the 18 year old kids to the guy that works with my dad at the funeral home, we all just LOVE Halloween and wanted to have a good time scaring the crap out of people. Hearing people scream made me laugh, because that meant we were doing a damn good job! This place is mad scary...I KNOW where all the actors are, and I still got scared, 4 weeks into it!

Night two...I was in full zombie makeup =)

 

Night four, I had a permanent position on the trail. A full time ghoul, with a new costume. Say hello to your new nurse...

  

I couldn't have picked a more perfect job for myself...I got to scare people a bit, but also help and comfort those who were a little TOO scared. I would turn on my flash light and show them that I was just a regular person that likes Halloween, give them a pep talk, and send them on down the trail...to the zombies.

This job was exactly what I needed in the midst of my divorce, financial issues and general craziness in life. I had been feeling pretty low about a lot of things...but having a "fun" job to go to and not have to think was amazing.  Plus, did I mention that I LOVE Halloween??

I feel blessed to have met some amazing people while working at Haunted Hallow, people from all walks of life whom I would otherwise never have spoken with.

If my "real" job made me stay up until 1am, stand outside in my scrubs and freeze, yell until I lost my voice, run up and down hills and fields until my back and legs were screaming or put blood all over my face...I'd be looking for a new job ASAP, but I LOVE me some Haunted Hallow!!! I've never been more exhausted, but it was SO worth it!

Our season has come to an end now, one day early thanks to Hurricane Sandy....but check out the website and come see us in 2013. I will definitely be there again!

www.HauntedHallowVA.com

Oh, and PS...The money that I made at Haunted Hallow is exactly what I need for my divorce! Come on February!!!