Mickey Mouse Tonight

I get to go home tonight and bake a Mickey Mouse Cake for my grandson Blake. His mother, Amy, is baking the cake for the guests and I get to bake and decorate the cake he will get to tought, feel, and lick. I am so excited.

This mean a trip to get the correct Wilton colors to tint the frosting....Wilton has true to color tints. Making a Mickey Mouse head will not be hard.......I am so excited!

I promise it take pictures and upload for all to see.

Have a great weekend.

Back Home for One Week

Well, I have been home from the Toy Fair for one week. I feel much more rested than last Thursday.

We are still working on action items from Toy Fair and I guess we will for several weeks. This is all good.....and better than not having any action items.

I must admit that I like the weather better in Phoenix than what New York is currently anticipating. I am not a person who like snow unless all I have to do is look at it.

We are getting things ready for the California PTA Convention. This will help us launch our fundraising activity with the vdoBug. This is scheduled for the end of April so I have some time to get ready.

Wednesday Is Always Better

Yes, the middle of the week always seems to perk me up. Something about knowing in 2 days most of us get to enjoy the weekend.

This weekend I will be celebrating my fourth grandchild, Blake's, first birthday. Although he was born March 1st Saturday is day for celebrating. This means a full house for my son and his fiance since it is expected to rain again. Blake should have a lot of fun with so many people paying attention to him.

I can't wait until the indoor plastic slide I ordered him arrives and his parents can watch him climb and then slide. Hopefully it will take care of his need to climb and he will leave the bookcases alone.

I am so grateful for my family....and I am also so very proud of each of them.

Enjoy and celebrate your family, they are what matters most.

Thought for the Day

I woke up early this morning thinking I would start the day with some old fashioned exercise. Well that didn't happen, no surprise there. But I did have the chance to listen to the morning news.

The item that caught my attention was that of 2 men who apparently stole a car in Glendale. In an attempt to escape they drove right thru the gate at Luke Air Force Base. When approached by a security force officer they attempted to run him down. The officer open fire and the car crashed. One person died and the other is in the hospital.

Why would anyone think they could hide from police on a military base?

First Birthday in San Diego

I am so glad that I was able to travel to San Diego Friday night so I could attend my grandson Jaxsen's first birthday party on Saturday.

The rain cleared out but the winds kept up blowing the balloons around the picnic table in all directions. This did not bother Jax as he enjoyed watching them move. He received a lot of gifts both toys and clothes. He also identified his favorite toy very quickly.

Jax decided the cars that roll forward after you pull them back, a drum set and his very favorite is the lawn mower. While are the party his lawn mower was enjoyed by the other children attending to the point that he did not get to play with it very much. That was changed once he got home.... Jaxsen loves his bath time but when he can hear the mower being played with in the other room he wanted out of his bath and immediately.

The next day was my youngest daughters birthday so we went to World Famous for brunch! Superb food and you get to sit and watch the ocean. Can't ask for much more than that for a great birthday party.

Somehow the drive home went faster that the drive over...perhaps the anticipation of seeing family that I miss made the trip seem slower.

Raining again in Phoenix....as much as we need this moisture I do miss the sun.

Have a great Monday

Back From Toy Fair

I am so glad to be home sleeping in my own bed and enjoying the warm Arizona weather after spending 5 days in New York at the Toy Fair.

What an experience this has been. I have not been to New York since I was a child. Toy Fair is huge with a wide variety of toys for different ages and sexes. I was amazed with the level of entrepreneurialism at the fair. There are a lot of very ingenious people who are trying to get their new ideas launched from new games (how do they think of these things), "green toys" (this is an entire discussion itself), plush animal galore, childrens' DVDs, dolls and books. Simply amazing.

We learned a great deal from our first time at the Toy Fair , sold a few vdoBugs, and have contact with several great new content partners. All in all a successful trip.

My visit to New York, well that is another story. February in New York is very cold, snowy, icy and windy. Coming from Phoenix, Arizona I have long since forgotten snow, cold and icy. There was very little sun peaking thru the layers of clouds which I missed. I must have sunshine.......

I found most of New York people were very nice and did try to help. Then, of course, there are the "typical" New York personalities which made me understand why they have the reputation of being rude to the point that I really don't want to go back unless business drives me there.

Prices....they rip you off in New York. I checked into the Holiday Inn Express in Kanab, Utah with my grandchildren and was given a code for their free WiFi. In the Sheraton Hotel and Towers....no WiFi except in their Starbucks lobby area. There are several degrees of difference between a Holiday Inn Express and the Sheraton Towers...I would rather be at the Holiday Inn Express, lower prices, bigger rooms, free WiFi and hot breakfast.

All in all I will not go back to New York unless I absolutely must.

This afternoon I am driving to San Diego for my grandson Jaxsen's first B-Day party. I cannot wait to get there and see him, my daughter and son-in-law again.

Have a great weekend, I know I will.

Friday...2/13/10

What a milestone this day is for me. I leave tomorrow morning for New York for the Toy Fair. Yes, the vdoBug will be at the Toy Fair for the first time. I will be in New York for the first time since I was a child.

I am not looking forward to the cold weather although I am glad that is has stopped snowing. I am leaving Mesa which will be the 70's and going to the 30's. Yes, I prefer the warm weather and I even enjoy the hot summer days we have in Arizona.

Also, in one week I will be heading to San Diego to visit my daughter, son-in-law, and my grandson Jaxsen who is turing 1 year old! I can't wait as I miss them so much. They just moved to San Diego a month ago...my son-in-law has a better job with a greater opportunity for promotion. My entire family loves southern CA so now we have a place to visit and a reason to return more frequently.

I am taking some fundraising information for the vdoBug along with me to Toy Fair. There are several educators who are attending and I am hoping to get them interested in using this for fundraising.

Well......nothing more until Monday! Have a great weekend.

Dinner with Blake

Just 2 days before I leave for Toy Fair I was able to spend the evening with my grandson Blake (11 months) and his Dad my son Cody.

Cody was kind enough to bring dinner for everyone from Outback Steak House. I had a great 7 oz. filet and watched Blake eat his steak and mac & cheese. With his mouthful of teeth eating steak is not an issue. He likes to take a bite of food and then walk away, no wonder high chairs were invented.

Blake and I then went outside and played with some of the neighbors. He loves to watch other children play as well as playing with dogs. Since he has 2 dogs at home it is no wonder he likes all dogs and is not afraid of them.

He is so happy and enjoys jabbering away. I believe he knows how to say Dada....as he just looks at Dad and says Momma everything Dad trys to get him to say Dada. That look is saying "there is no way I will give you the satisfaction of saying Dada."

I need to finalize my clothing selection as it will be very cold in New York, something I am not used to since I am from Mesa, Arizona. I still need to locate a scarf, hat and a pair of grey slacks. I am borrowing my daughters gloves...upon her suggestion.

At least the snow storms will be over and my flight on Saturday should be on schedule. Horray!

Welcome to Friday

Well another week has passed and I did not accomplish all that I set out to do. Does anyone every complete all that we outline for ourselves? I would love to hear from you and get some suggestions.

This week set me back with my oldest grandson getting ill and since his mother is a store manager and I have the ability to work from home I stayed at home with him. Although he is almost 13, when he gets sick he likes to have that extra bit of care and I like to give it. I do make a good grandmother if I say so myself.

Working from home does not allow me get into all my files so I am not able to do as much as I can at the office. Don't get me wrong, I still completed several tasks just not as fruitful of a day as I would have had in the office.

I finished a press release for our licensing agreement with Raven Tree Press and received their approval so we can move forward with the release. I am really excited about this agreement. These bilingual titles will add more depth to our compatible DVD base and should really help our image.

I am excited about getting our applications in for the California, Arizona and National PTA conventions. This will allow us to reach those PTA members who are involved in fundraising activity. I believe after they see the vdoBug in use they will be convenienced of the revenue potential and ease of selling this product.

I leave in 8 days for Toy Fair....yea.

I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Thursday

I am so glad that we did not get the forecasted rain yesterday. I know that we need all the moisture that we can get in the desert but I am very tired of overcast days. I love the sunshine.
I suppose that I would not do very well in Washington or parts of Oregon.

I will be spending the next few evenings getting our home cleaned up. Since I live with my oldest daughter and her 2 children, I usually do this when my grandchildren are spending the weekend with their father. It is deep cleaning time...moving furniture, cleaning floors and dusting are amoung those things that need to get done. Since I love to clean this is a pleasant chore.

Well, I only have nine days left until I leave for Toy Fair. This will be my first visit to New York City since I was a small child, and no I will not tell anyone how long ago that was. I admit that I am just as excited about being in New York City as I am about attending the Toy Fair for the first time. I do hope to look around and can't wait to show off the vdoBug.

If you will be attending Toy Fair as well drop me a line.

More Rain Today

Guess what, the greater Phoenix area is scheduled for more rain today. Thankfully it is only .1 to .25 inches so we will not have to endure days of rain, just one afternoon.

My granddaughter and I were able to see Riverdance last night at the Mesa Arts Center. This was a great experience for both of us. First, I had never been to the Mesa Arts Center. This is a beautiful building and very importantly easy to find parking. This helped make the experience enjoyable. Secondly, Riverdance was excellent. The dancing and music was phenomenal. Since the original group from Riverdance glory days is long gone I was afraid the quality of dancing would be diminished....it was not.

I got a kick out of "feeling" my granddaughter tapping her feet to the music. She is currently playing the cello and taking gymnastics lessons. She is thinking about changing to the violin and has asked her Mother to teach her how to tap & clog (yes Mom knows how to do these thing...).

My excitement is building as I leave in 10 days for my first Toy Fair. We have a great new toy and this is the perfect place to show it off.

More Rain Scheduled

I cannot believe that there is more rain forecasted for California and Arizona. I know we desperately need the moisture but I must admit that I miss those days of bright sunshine. For the first time in several years I am looking forward to summer in Arizona.

I am working remotely today as my grandson is home sick. It is so easy to tell when they are not feeling well. Last night when I asked him to do his homework he did not use any of his stalling tactics and even went to bed early by himself.

One of my very good friends has given me tickets to River Dance tonight. She is not feeling well either and has a business trip coming up so she need to make sure she gets better. I will be able to take my granddaughter to see this performance. I know she will be excited about this performance because loves to watch dancers. This will be a great bonding experience for us as well.

I will let everyone know about the performance tomorrow. Until then have a great day.

Yea It's February

Welcome to February everyone! What a happy month....only 28 days, my grandson Jaxsen turns 1 year old on the 18th, and vdoBug goes to it's first Toy Fair.

Jaxsen is my third grandchild and second grandson. I will be traveling to San Diego on the 19th to help celebrate his first birthday. It looks like we will have his party at Balboa Park. This should be great fun as he should be walking be then and he loves being out doors. I am also hoping to get a visit to Mission Beach and Wahoo's Fish Taco's.

You may see a theme from my recent blogs as I love food. Wahoo's has the very best fish taco's I have ever eaten. I have not been to a restaurant anywhere else that serves anything that comes close. Everyone else want to put lots of filler and not so much fish, not to mention their sauce is fabulous.

My daughter living in San Diego experienced her first "earthquake" this morning. I received a call from her about 8:15am telling me there had been a quake about 50 miles south and off the coast of Mexico that she felt in her apartment. She thought she was crazy for about 30 minutes until the news started talking about the 5.0 quake. Now she is ready to get her 72 hour kit put together.....and I explained that there might be some afterquakes.

Until later.....enjoy life.