Kelley in the White House?

Maybe not today. But I did rub elbows with our nation's leaders!

I was recently invited to attend a Jeff Fortenberry fundraiser. To my surprise, Vice President Dick Cheney was in attendance. Of course I had to get a picture!

I shook his hand, said "Good Afternoon, Mr. Vice President," smiled for the camera and was ushered away. And, no, he didn't invite me hunting.

Summer is finally here!

What could be better than warm days, swimming pools, outdoor BBQs and hanging out with friends?! I, like most of you, could not WAIT for summer to get here. I got ready with buying buckets of sangria and marguerita mix, a new swimsuit and set up appointments to tan before I blind anyone.

So raise your glass to the next three months!

Cheers to my friends!

Today was my birthday party! Trish Claycomb, my friend that is soon to be married, is needing a massage right now. Jamie Petersen, to my right, is wanting to watch naughty sites on my internet and his wife Courtney is looking through our years of photos. We are having such a good time, I can't imagine my life without them in it!

Here's to my many friends that showed up for my 28th birthday party! Cheers to you!

Home remodeling

We are currently remodeling our home, room by room. I find that the more I remodel, the more expensive each room gets. It started with our bedroom before we even moved it. We painted the walls and replaced the carpet. Total cost was $325.

Next was the our bathroom. Eric made the vanity and my mom gave us a mirror. The gutted the entire room and the remodel was only $600. We didn't replace the actual tub or toilet.

After that was the laundry room, which started with us getting a new (free) washer and dryer from my folks. It turned into some big project and now we are looking at around $400--and we didn't gut the room.

The next step we just made was remodeling my office, which is also the work out room and den. The room is still costing us money. Total expense so far = $780, and we still aren't done.

My advice? Make a budget before you start any remodeling!!

Naïve About Business

I find it hard to believe the people can start companies without know anything about business. First, I have an excellent tailor. She's from my hometown and such a nice lady. She ran her tailoring business out of her home for friends and family, but word-of-mouth grew her business out of her hom. Well, she decided to open shop a few months ago. She found a decent location and brought in all of her sewing machines, fabrics, and other supplies. She then kept charging me her previous rate. I told her that she HAD to raise the rates a bit to maintain her bottomline. She had absolutely no idea what I was talking about.

I also asked her about her logo and advertising. She said that a friend whipped her up a logo and showed me a business card. She planned on putting it on her sign above her front door. The 'logo' was an old, overused script font and nothing else. I begged her to let me design her something that fit her style and was a bit more trendy. I couldn't talk her into it. And then she told me she didn't plan on advertising.

WHAT?!?! I couldn't believe my ears. I'm guessing she never did a business and/or marketing plan. You don't have to be a genious to sift throught the internet and find simple and concise information on how to run a business. I'm really trying to help her and I hope she survives 2006.

Crazy Christmas Shoppers!

I'm sure you all are experiencing the insanity of Christmas shopping. So far, I've had my parking spot stolen, had a fellow customer cut in line, and have been called 'you people' by a retail employee. Great experience so far! Now I just need someone to break my arm. No wonder people are shopping by internet or sticking with gift cards. Who needs the constant hassle of going into stores for gifts?

Any fun shopping (or not so fun) stories out there?

A Sad Thanksgiving

Yes, it's true. The inventor of Stove Top stuffing passed away this month. So when you are loading your plate up with a delicious helping, remember to hold your spoon up in toast to Ms. Ruth M. Siems.

Thank you, Ruth, for keeping our Thanksgiving meals enjoyable and 'stuffed'.