Who knew?

You know those fabulous gorgeous wedding invites you get in the mail (perhaps not in the past few days if you live in Canada)? The ones adorned with flourishes, and ribbons and jewels and such? I've always been jealous of people who could create such pretties. To have the patience, or to hire someone to have the patience to churn out these works of art.

Well, when a client approached me and displayed such confidence in me that I had just that kind of patience... well, I laughed my ass off. Then, I promptly got to work. Satin ribbon... oh, and real, honest-to-goodness starfish! Yeah, that's how I roll. Turns out, I DO have the patience.

Who knew?

What to wear

I've been wearing jammies for 2 years. I'm wearing them now. Really.

So when it was brought to my attention that this would not fly at the Shes Connected Conference later this month, I was really struggling with my dusty wardrobe.

So I thought the best solution was to let you, the people, decide.

Click here to dress me.

An ode to the greeting card

Let me begin by stating that I have kept every greeting card ever given to me. Every. Single. One.

There are so many memories wrapped in each tiny sentiment that I can't bring myself to throw away any of them. My husband thinks I'm crazy, but it's his ancient Valentines that remind me that I do love him and should keep him around. I have them all.

Some are dated.



Others date themselves.





Some are simple.



Others so elaborate they require some form of lamination.



Some are filled with so much love and sentiment that it's practically spilling out.



While others say only what they need to.



I have the manditory everybody-must-sign-it office card.



And the less commonly received I'm-breaking-up-with-you card.
(Classy, I know.)



Some are well kept treasures from loved ones lost.





While others anticipate loved ones yet to arrive.





Many are handmade.





And offer thanks for the strangest things.



The best ones contain hidden treasures inside.



One thing is for certain. No matter where or who they came from, each one is a captured moment in time and each one is treasured.

Special thanks to my mom for saving all my treasures before I had the sense to do it myself.

Paying it Forward

So, I was so completely overjoyed to have been selected to attend this year's Shes Connected Conference in Toronto. So overjoyed, in fact, that I struggled to fall asleep last night, thinking of all the great people, information, conversations, contacts... oh yeah, and the swag too.

But, I also know what it's like to not go to these events, (Ahem... BlogHer, Blissdom) and have your entire Twitterverse inundated with hashtags created to stab you in the gut and remind you that you are at home. Alone. In your basement. With a quart of chocolate ice cream. Sobbing. Oh, just me? Moving on.

So, with such an opportunity passed my way, I thought it might be nice to pay it forward just a little. This one is for anyone who cannot attend the conference for ANY reason. ie: you are a dude, you live in the Yukon, you have 17 kids and no sitter, you weren't selected among the HUGE pile of entries.


Here's the prize


1 pack of 10 - bird on a tree blank cards


1 pack of 10 - awesome encouragement cards


2 - make a wish birthday cards (keep them handy for emergencies!)

Yeah, I know, it's not an iPad, or fancy shoes. But...

I MAKE CARDS FOR A LIVING!

Here's what you have to do
(each one of these will earn you an entry into the draw)

• Send me a tweet, telling me what you love about the Shes Connected networking website. Don't forget to include #shesconnectedconference in your tweet!

• Visit cow & the moon's Facebook page and "like" it.
  (if you already like it, then you rock, and you earn an entry)

• On our Facebook wall, tell me something you had hoped to learn at the Shes Connected Conference. It doesn't have to be super insightful... What colour are Erica Ehm's shoes? What kind of danishes did they serve?
  
  I will try my hardest to be a good ambassador and give an answer to each and every one. Leave your twitter handle at the end, and I may tweet you your answer as I find it!

The contest will close at 11:59EST on October 18th, and a winner will be announced sometime in the afternoon on October 19th.

GOOD LUCK!

Always learning...

So, I'm new at this. A new entrepreneur. New at marketing myself. New at selling myself. I can market the hell out of other people's stuff, it's what I did for years. But I'll be damned if I can do it for myself. Sort of a "I'm my worst critic" hurdle that I need to jump.

So I'm continually looking for great (inexpensive, cause I'm not made of the stuff) venues to absorb information and surround myself with influential people. People who know what they're doing, or at least can fake it better than myself. People who laugh in the face of adversity. People who take challenges, pop 'em in their mouths and chew them up a bit... but still remain human and nice and civilized. People who I aspire to be.

I found such a venue today via Twitter (aka: my alternate universe). It seems Shes Connected, the social networking site for women, is hosting a conference near the end of the month. It's FREE for those who are selected to attend, and all you have to do is fill out an application. Huh. Awesome. So I did just that. Then I tweeted about it. Then I wrote this blog post. You see, the ladies at Shes Connected are looking for "connected" women to attend their event...duh. I'll admit, I'm not that connected (or at least, not as much as I'd like to be). I'm working on it.

Should I, by some unknown force, be chosen to attend such an event, I will be surrounded not only by 100 of the most connected ladies in the country, but also the likes of Erica Ehm, Maureen Dennis and Donna Marie Antoniadis ... to name a few. All successful women, who I'm certain have oodles of knowledge to pass on to this newbie.

A Girl's Prerogative

So I've changed my mind. Hey, I'm a girl, it's expected.

Our über-adorable "new boss" cards, which can be found online here, will no longer be accompanied by a white envelope. Instead, these little beauties will be luxuriously hugged by a chocolate envelope. Chocolate by colour, not by content. Though wouldn't that be something. Chocolate envelopes... I'm working on the patent as we speak. Mmmmmm.

cow & the moon is jumping!

At least that's what they're saying at Greetings Etc., an online source for retailers seeking greetings cards, stationery, and party goods, including memo pads, note pads, giftwarp, packaging bows, stationery paper, party games, party suppliers, and stationery sets.

Check out the mention here!