This, I have to have!

I really want this....

I think I deserve it, no?

This one is from the same gal, a new color....

Perfect for a new baby boy's room!

Both items are from MadeByGirl...a blog I love, with her own shop!

Check it out here...MadeByGirl

Toodles....

Umm...really?

It's already over....like, I can't believe it,

like I thought they would last forevs, like, like, they were so cute. 

Sads.

Secrets Revealed {Part 2}

If you missed my post yesterday, you better read here or you will be 

thinking to yourself...what is this girl talking about?

Now, where did I leave off?  Oh, I was telling you how my life's work is rewarding but monotonous at times and I wasn't looking, but found myself on a new adventure.  

Last summer I attended a party, where I saw an old friend.  But, before I saw him, I saw a piece of jewelry I could not take my eyes off of.  I have always had a knack for sparkly things, jewelry that stands out and gets people talking, but this piece was different.  The piece of jewelry was provided by her husband, the old friend I mentioned.  It was a bracelet, not just a gift from him, but a product from a company that he is a Vice President to.  We talked, I told him I loved it, and that I had to have a bracelet like that!  And where could I get it?   He told me it is sold in boutiques and is quite the rage right now.  It's very popular worldwide and on the east coast but that it's just getting more popular here in the Midwest.  The more I looked into the product, the more I wanted to have it. And as you know, I like jewelry and needed some sort of outlet in my life. So, he hired me to do some media public relations for him.  I started blogging about it here, and offering give-aways to you all.  

That wasn’t enough for me.  After he saw my passion for the product he encouraged me to sell it on my own.  Now that idea was a great one.  I love sales, I love people, I love jewelry, and I loved this product!  

The product is Silverado Jewelry USA.  It is similar in some ways to the competition, and I will say their names once...Pandora, Chamilia, and Troll.  But, it's different.  Silverado offers bling beads, and murano glass beads with bright colors, and they have lines for men and kids too!  And when I got my own bracelet, I loved the feel of it...their beads are chunky and substantial and you can feel the weight of it when you wear it. My bracelet even makes a noise that I fell in love with instantly!  Okay, I am not trying to pitch a product, but you know me...if I love something I share it here, and this is one of the things I love!

So, I met with a web designer.  Because I don't have time to shop boutiques.  I want to, but I don't.   And currently there was no site that had the glam and pop and swagger to sell this product.  I was determined to build one myself.  And today I can finally announce that I am the proud owner of an online jewelry boutique selling Silverado!  

I met with an awesome web builder, many times, for many hours.  I became an LLC which is a ton of work in itself.  I had to come up with a name and a feel for the products this site will represent.  I chose the name, Must Have Moxie.  Why?  Because the word moxie means, energy, spunk, spirit, confidence.  And that's the jewelry I like!  And here is the logo:

That in itself was fun to help design.  The same company helped me come up with the design of the site itself, again, lot's of work, but fun to do and attach my name to!  I have a dear friend who is a photographer.  We met and she took pictures of me and my jewelry because I will be the designer listed on the site.  Wanna see some photos?

The photographer's name is Nealy Lanzen.  She is excellent.  She made me feel so comfortable and totally delivered the look I was going for.  She is confident and has an eye for making amazing photos.  She also writes a blog that's so fun to keep up with.  You can check it out here.  And if you are interested in her taking photos of you and your family you can find her here.  I have already signed our family up for pictures at the end of the summer!

It takes a lot of work to put together a business.  I have learned this so far.  Whew!  I have put in some major blood, sweat, and tears, but I am sure it will be worth it!  I am excited for this new adventure and I hope you can follow me on this road. 

With great pride, I am happy to announce my website, it's called www.musthavemoxie.com.  Check it out, tell me what you think, I have a feeling you will love it!

Toodles...

Secrets Revealed ! {Part 1}

Enough is enough.  I'm gonna get personal and share my story over the past few years with you.  It’s a long story, but if you know me, you’re gonna nod and think I am glad she is telling it.  If you don’t know me, except through this blog, you may find we have a lot in common.  Either way it has to be told to understand my secret, my new endeavor.

It started 9 years ago when I landed a job that I never thought I could get, much less a job I would love and be good at.  That last statement takes a lot for me to say, cuz I am not bragging nor would I consider myself a bragger, but after 3 jobs that I mostly loathed, I got a different job.  This was back in the day when I was single with no kids and had all of the time in the world.  I got a job in pharmaceutical sales.  And it was with a top company, one that everyone knew the name {Pfizer} and at the time, it was the number 3 company in the world.  Now that in it’s self, is pretty cool to be a part of.  I liked my job, more than I thought I would.  And turns out, I was good at it.  I tell you that because, me getting good at my craft allowed me to win awards and travel, and live a life I couldn’t have without this job.  But this love for my job and the success at it taught me a lot of who I am, and who I still am today.

I learned that I like people.  I like talking to all kinds of people, not ones like me mostly, but the ones I can learn things from…people smarter than me, people less off than me, people with struggles, people with joys just waiting for someone to listen to them and remember what we talked about the very last time I saw them.  This job took me out of my home daily, out of the state almost monthly, and out of the country if I hit my numbers.  This job allowed me to make a move across the country to be closer to my now husband…the biggest risk I ever took in life.  This job didn’t define me, but it filled my time and made me smile.  I made great friends at my job, friends that I still have to this day.

September of this year will be my 3 year anniversary to my biggest career change.  I became a Mom.  My daughter literally rocked my world, and I have a heart for her that is so big and vast it scares me at times.  Both of my children are precious, little miracles that God has blessed me with.  And my love for them is fierce.
{Fierce like Caroline from Housewives of New Jersey can be.}

This is where I tell you where I am now and how it has affected me as a woman, and a person, in general.  I decided to quit my successful career to stay at home with my daughter and have continued that decision to this day with both of my children.  I didn’t think it would be a decision that would impact me the way that it has.  Just the same, I don’t think any Mom, working or otherwise, ever knew how hard it would be to be a parent.  It’s hard whether you work outside of the home, part-time or full-time or as a stay at home Mom/Parent.

In some ways I know I have it easier being at home…when it’s snowing, I make cookies with my kids and cuddle on the couch.  When it’s hot and sunny I watch them play in our kiddy pool, and discover flowers and bugs and baby birds.  And some days, if the stars align, I can even take a nap!

But on the flip side, I believe some days I have it harder.  I am always with them.  I can’t check out physically, mentally or emotionally.  I don’t have vacation days or bonus checks or any paycheck for that matter.  When you stay home, you usually have to give up some material things to make it work.   I am rarely thanked for the things I do every day.  When they wake up whining and whine all day long, I pull my hair out.  When they don’t listen and want what they want regardless of what I do to give them what they need, I curse my decision.  Many of days, I have thought…you are thankless and ungrateful and you don’t care what I have given up.  I do it for them, not for myself.  Not one bit of it is for me and my pleasure, because it is so out of my comfort zone.  It’s so out of the realm of the things that make me happy.  You see, I am the type of person who likes to get dressed up and head on out.  I like to be on the go, check things off of my list and be happy with what I accomplished in a day.  I don’t relax until the work is done.  I get energy from doing and being with others.  I feel normal learning from others and relating to people in general.  None of this goes along with the job description of a Stay-At-Home Mom.  Most of the time you are alone.  You are dressed for comfort and laugh when you think of donning makeup or the latest trend.  It will only get wiped off or dirty or simply doesn’t work with chasing kids around the house.



Over time, I realized that me putting my wants/needs aside has done a number on my psyche.  I look at old pictures and think who am I now?  I knew who I was then.  I saw a confident woman with direction and a purpose in life!  Now, I have more days that I see a tired woman in comfy clothes who lives for others and rarely for herself.  I guess overall it’s made me lose a part of myself.  But, maybe that part of me was just who I was at a different time in life?




Those feelings have come full circle!  The older my children get, the more I realize the little things they do make me happy.  I won’t be able to cuddle them much longer, simply because they won’t want me to or they will be off with friends, discovering the world without me.

Last January, I started writing this blog.  It made my world bigger.  It forced me to feel things rather than be in a foggy state of tiredness.  It got my mind working and connecting with people.  People have told me they like my blog, that they enjoy it.  They enjoy it so much so if I miss a day, I hear about it.  And this blog made me define who I am now, in my current career, what I like, what I don’t like, and what little things make me happy.  Because happiness in life is about the little things isn’t it?

And then an opportunity came that I couldn’t resist.  An opportunity to still spend time with my kids, doing something I love, one of my passions.  How many people can say they got the opportunity in life to do that?

{Stay tuned, no I am not gonna sell Amway or tell you about a tiered marketing scam....just stay tuned.}

4 years ago today ....

July 28, 2006

In a tiny church in Lake Elmo, Minnesota,

I married Brandon {Branmuffin}.

And, I still have that smile on my face,

4 years later....

Grab these fast!

I remember the days when I just had one kid.

I had the time to check out other mom's strollers and diaper bags.

 I wanted to have the right bag and stroller to complete my

look as a mom.  I could spend hours shopping on the internet

while my baby was in a sleepfull slumber.

Now, I go with whatever I got and can grab in a flash 

as I rush out the door.

I recently found an article in Parenting magazine

on ridiculous products for kids and I just had to share a few!

This is for potty training boys or a potty on the go.

What?  I don't want to carry a test tube of Turner's potty with me!

Sonogram cufflinks.... say no more, 

so glad Branmuffin doesn't have these on his birthday list!

This is a time-out pad.  

It provides entertainment and games when you have your child in 

time-out...what?  Wasn't the point for them to think about why they are in 

time-out and for them to miss out on all of the fun for a couple of minutes?

Sheesh!

Okay, gross.  Don't know what to do with your placenta 

after you push your baby out?

A placenta teddy bear kit...

eww...the only words I can even muster.

$150 Swaroski crystal pacifier, 

I love it, I will take 3!

And for all of you women with this problem!

Toodles...

Pick-A-Winner Monday!

Are you kidding me?

It's that easy, that simple, to win $38.50 in fine jewelry?

All you do is leave a comment where I say to and you can win this?

That's nuts!

Wanna see who won this time?

My Bad, my faithful followers...

I missed Bead-A-Full Thursday!  

This is the current give-away,
the beautiful, pink heart bling bead.
Wanna win it?  {$38.50 value}
All you have to do is comment..
comment on what you have put off lately!

Leave me a comment to enter, become a follower of this blog, and 

become a fan of Silverado USA on Facebook.

I will total the comments and pick-a-winner on Monday!

Wanna know why I forgot Bead-A-Full Thursday?

I was elbow-deep in decorating, and working on my secret!

I plan on revealing it a little early.

But, for those of you that can't wait, it has to do with this...

Do you know what Moxie means?

{Sidenote: I've been decorating sooo much, I figured I would redecorate 

the blog background again too...}

Toodles!

My mornings consist of....

This is my morning:

Coffee in my Bodum Double Walled Coffee Mugs, the best,

and they make me feel like I am not in my own home, like 

I snuck out and went here.

My other new fav, Gluten-Free Granola from

Trader Joe's...which I decided I will leave my previous grocery store in

a minute for this place!

Overall, there is just so much to choose from for snacks, meals,

and pretty much everything else!

Don't worry, I will share my finds with you cutie pies!

Toodles, off to decorate!

Hottie Pa-Tottie!

Branmuffin and I finally made it to a Twins game!

That meant a date nite, with another couple, our neighbors,

thanks Dave & Krista!

I sent Branmuffin out at nap-time to look for something Twins for me to wear

cuz I believe you must rock to the look of the event you attend.

He came back with a couple of options, 

pretty darn good for a guy sent on a mission.

But, I decided to just go with my own look.

I realized that all of the hype is with Joe Mauer, 

the Mauer jersey was definitely most popular in the stands and at 

the stadium....and I can see why.....

Hottie Pa-Tottie!

And here is my own hottie pa-tottie and his butt!

Toodles, baseball fans!

Disney, you've made my life difficult

Dear Disney-

Thanks to you, my daughter changes her clothes 

to become a princess an average of 29 times a day.

Thanks to you, my daughter calls her brother 

and father "Prince Charming".

Thanks to you, my daughter only uses princess 

toothpaste to make her "teef sparkly".

Thanks to you, my daughter insists on 

me calling her "Princess Tatum".

Thanks to you, my daughter opens and closes 

the door all day long to "go to da ball!".

Thanks to you, my daughter screams at the top of her lungs 

if her brother so much as looks at her new princess make-up table.

Thanks to you, for locking the real Little Mermaid video in the vault

so I can't truly satisfy my daughter's needs to know Ariel.

But, all in all, I thank God everyday for who she is becoming,

a princess, which is totally cool in my book!

I love you, Tatum!

You Didn't KNOW I do Hair? Gosh...

Yeah, I'm a Mom, I'm a Wife, a Famous Blogger, and now, 

I do hair....my kid's hair.

Just call me Oribe, Chris McMillan, Vidal Sassoon, 

or whomever is the best in the biz right now.

Turner (15 mos.) had a mullet, that needed to go.

His hair liked to hang out over his ears, in a bad, non-cute, baby- fine kinda way.

Ummm...we wanna keep it classy in this family.

So....

Wanna see me in action?

{check out the rough ballerina in the back, nice Tates}

Give the boy a freezy pop and we are good to go!

I asked Branmuffin to just stand in front of him,

entertain him, keep his mind off of what I am doing...

let's just say, Branmuffin grew tired of entertaining before 

Turner knew his mullet was gone.

Seriously, it was a breeze, and as long as he will allow it....I will 

expand my repertoire to hairdresser for the young.

And the after pics where harder to get than a perfect cut, but here goes...

And now he is gonna become a clean-cut tennis pro, 

if his Daddy has anything to do with it.

You can just call my people to see if I can fit your kid in...
my salon is busy,  but I'll try to fit you in if I can.