The Daily Grind of a Work @ Home Mom...

ACB Going To Work Out!!

  Alex Casey Baby will be working it out at Healthworks in Chestnut Hill tomorrow!  We're bringing our cashmere, favorite cozy blankets, sleep sacks, pj's and more!  Come see us, grab a coffee in the cafe and enter to win $100 at Cheesecake Factory.  Hope to see you there!!

I Splurged.

Do you ever just need a pick-me-up on a snowy and icky Friday afternoon?  I do.  And since I can't splurge on sushi or chocolate (see The Party's Over), I thought I'd treat myself to a manicure in honor of the cocktail party we are attending tomorrow night.  And, just because.

I usually hit one of the many corner nail salons that feature a slew of ladies churning out the mani/pedi's because they're fine and cheap.  But today I wanted a real treat.  So after hemming and hawing (over what ended up being a few dollars), I hit MiniLuxe, a "nail and beauty lounge" located not far from home.  And you know, it was worth the money.

First off, they did not welcome me with the standard "how can I help you" that seems to be the customary greeting of the corner salon.  I mean, how can you help me?  This is a nail place, right?  At MiniLuxe, I was greeted by an enthusiastic but funky guy who was quick to show me the brand new shades that had arrived the previous day.  After calling the color I was contemplating "fierce", I was convinced.  Not only of the color, but of my decision.

It was worth the extra few dollars for the brand spanking new color choices, adorable items lining the shelves for sale, the uber-clean counters, supplies and manicurists.  After all, you can't put a price on a nail tech who speaks English!

:)

The Things I've Learned

The past year has been a learning experience for me.  It's about one year ago that I left my desk job working for red-neck deer-hunters to start Alex Casey Baby and in this year I have learned a lot.  As a business-owner, I have had to learn how to buy the right product, keep the right inventory levels, deal with the right vendors, keep my books the right way (still working on that :)), and find the right balance between working and being with my kids.  But even more than all this, I have learned that there is a sub-culture of people, namely women, who blog their hearts out every day and make a living at it.

I have taken advantage of this sub-culture, not only by joining it to a lesser degree, but by hitting them up for publicity.  While there is typically no exchange of currency involved in this type of publicity, there is a sort of "gimme" involved.  That is, I give the blogger a product to review and in exchange, they keep it.  It's not uncommon for the said blogger to request a particular item.  But usually, I decide what I would like to see representing ACB on the blog.

It's actually a genius concept.   Sit at home with your kids, collect "swag", and earn an income through advertisers.  There are even blogs that have contests each day, as I learned when I participated in one at 5 Minutes For Mom.  And I've gotta say, I want in on this action!

So I say to my readers, you should get in on this too since what's better than free shit?  Read 5 Minutes For Mom which today is featuring the Oreck XL Ultra Vacuum cuz guess what?  Sometimes it's better to receive than to give.

Girl Power?

What ever happened to Girl Power or more appropriately, Ladies Night Out? 

Growing up in Montreal, I had a bunch of girlfriends.  Everybody was friends with everybody and I was a pretty popular member of the group - regardless of the fact that I was about the first to have my own apartment in my very early 20s ;).  In any case, Girls Night was a frequent theme and one I always loved.

And one I now yearn for.

When we moved to Boston almost 8 years ago, I had many old friends living here.  Being unmarried and young(er), the girls got together for sushi, for movies, or for some kind of cultural event like say, a Britney Spears concert (for real).  Then slowly, school ended, jobs were found in other cities, and people moved.

I made new friends.  Good friends.  But not old friends.  Old friends who understand me.  Old friends who know that I need girl-date night like some women need something to complain about.  Old friends who know that they can call me up on the drop of a dime and I'll be raring to go in under 30 minutes (k, maybe a few more to arrange child care).  But truly, it's still something I crave.

But I seem to be the only one?

I adore my friends in Boston but nobody seems to need girl time the way I do.  One would think it's no big deal to put the kids to bed, abandon the husband, and get to the sushi bar for a late-ish dinner and some gossip.  Truth is, it really is no big deal.  Still, no one seems up for it.

I guess I'll have to wait until my daughters eat sushi.  And have gossip.  And bedtimes later than 7:30.  :)