It's a New Dawn, It's a New Day, It's a New Life, and I'm Feeling Good

Happy New Year Everyone!

It's kind of funny, isn't it, how January first brings with it the promise of better things, better times, a new broom sweeping clean, etc, etc? That's a lot of pressure for one day, especially one that was proceeded by a night of heavy drinking. But I'll go with that flow because it seems appropriate that we should have a 'fresh start' day and why not 1/1/11?

For those of you just joining the Amused and Abused blogosphere, I will recap why we are here and what is going on. Feel free to peruse previous posts, some are actually quite entertaining (while others are merely folderol.) I began blogging earnestly in 2008 when I quit my 'day job' to pursue a more creative life. You can see from the amount of posts in 2008 and 2009 that I was posting nearly every other day on average. Then in 2010, it averaged more like monthly (with the reality being that I haven't posted since August). Augh, what a horrible thing for a "writer"!

My dream when I quit my job was that I would write hundreds, neigh, thousands of scripts, novels, sketches, poems, essays, etc. It is truly amazing how quickly one can get writer's block when one is confronted with the task of actually writing down the thousands of ideas running through her head. Gulp. Oh sure, I wrote a few things, but nothing like the quantity I wanted to write. I have a million excuses, er, reasons, why it didn't happen and sure, there were some legitimate interruptions (most noteably, the Graminator - my then 87 year old Grandmother who I help take care of - fell and broke her pelvis, meaning need for hospitalization and a major increase in care on my part.) But I still feel a bit of shame at that waste of precious time.

2009 came so quickly and brought some new challenges. I helped plan my brother's wedding and as part, baked a few things for the shower and wedding. This led to the 'a ha' moment where my mother said, "You could sell this stuff" and Glitter City Sweets was born. I found a commercial kitchen, baked up samples, set up a website and figured I would wait and see if it caught on. Boy, did it, and in directions I never anticipated. I soon was sending handmade marshmallows, yes marshmallows, and cookies and candies around the country. It was obviously meant to be. Oh, and I also spent my summer working on a fabulously funny film called "You People". It was my first feature film acting role, and it was a blast. I got to be with great people having a wonderful time and we ended up with an awesome film.

2010 came even more quickly it seems and the first half of the year whizzed by in a flurry of promoting GCS, marketing, networking, developing new recipes, etc. Then mid year, the wheels came off the track a little bit. I lost my dog of 15 years, which to a non-dog person may not seem like a great tragedy but affected me deeply. Then the Graminator, who is 89 at this point, suffered a cerebral hematoma. While the hospital stay was mercifully brief, the lasting repercussions were not. Due to her advancing Alzheimer's and weakening physical state, she was placed on home hospice. This means that she has 6-12 months to live. Because her conditions are not of the nature that anyone can predict an exact date, we get to live with the grim reaper constantly reminding us that we will lose her, probably sooner than later. More and more of my time is spent caring for her physical needs. Watching her slowly slipping away is exhausting and saddening. I already begin to miss her. But she still smiles at me and laughs at me and tells me she loves me, so the pain I feel is bittersweetly mixed with joy and admiration for a wonderful woman who has lived an amazing life. But life must still go on, and after a bit of a slow summer GCS took off for a record fall and holiday season. Blessed be the powers that brought this on, because quite frankly I needed the money to keep living this creative life. And amidst all of this, the family picked up a new hobby, handcrafting. (I use this generic term because we dabble in jewelry design, fiber arts, upcycling, etc.) This "hobby" led to the creation of a second small business, Glitzy Kitsch. It's still in it's infancy but one thing leads to another and it has germinated the seed of yet a third business in my mother's mind and I will move Heaven and Earth to help make her dreams come true. Oh, and that little movie I did? It has won handfuls of awards, played at film festivals big and small, and is now available for purchase on DVD and will soon be available on Amazon Video on Demand. It's a great film and now you will have no excuse for not checking it out.

So here we are in 2011, which is not only when we reflect on the past but look forward to the future. So what are my plans? Well, first up is the Graminator's 90th birthday this month. We are going to celebrate this milestone because of the achievement and because we know it may be her last. Secondly, I will write more. My writing life has taken a back seat to the other, more 'tangible' activities going on. But that's my fault and it is time to correct it. The world will never get to bask in the brilliance that is my writing if I don't get it out of my head, onto paper and out into the world. This includes blogging, so look for my posts, I am aiming for bi-weekly. I will post more to social media, since that seems to be the way of the future, the way to connect with other humans without having any actual human contact. I am working on building GCS up more, with a couple of irons in the fire that could take us to another level. The Glitzy Kitschers are crafting away and working towards their dreams and goals. And hopefully a little more filmmaking fun. Sounds like a lot, right? Well there are 365 new days to fill this year, so why not make them work for me?

Oh yeah, add the typical blah, blah, exercise more, eat right, yadda yadda. Most of that stuff flies out the window by January 11th anyway. So what are your REAL goals this year? What have you been waiting to do and what are you waiting for? Sure, 2011 is brand new, but it can take whatever you want to dish out. So what's it going to be Loyal Readers? Are you going to make this a fresh start? Is it a new dawn, a new day, a new life? Are you feeling good?

Ups and Downs and Really Downs

So here is how the last week has gone.

Graminator is doing better, after I took her off some of the medication that as prescribed for her. It was an anti-seizure medication that they give as a precaution to all brain injured people. She didn't have any seizures but the medication was turning her into a walking vegetable. Seriously, if I had continued it for the full month as prescribed, I don't think there would have been any Graminator left. I'd rather she risk a seizure than be catatonic. Between a reduction in her medication and some physical therapy (I love her physical therapist, she's awesome and works Gram out very hard, which has made her much stronger) she is coming back to us, albeit very slowly. Now if I could just get her to eat. She is not eating very much, and only eating that due to us spoon feeding her or reminding her to eat every 20 seconds or so. If we didn't do that I do that I don't think she would eat anything at all. If anyone has any ideas on how to increase her appetite, I would LOVE to hear it!

I got a stinkin' summer cold. I had one at the end of June and wasn't quite over it when the Graminator went to the hospital. So a week after she was in the hospital I got another cold, this one much worse than the first. I've had it for two weeks now, and it shows very little sign of going away. It's now manageable, not miserable, but I;m still full of phlem and coughing. Then Tuesday I slept on my neck wrong and have been unable to move my head more than about thirty degrees in any direction. So much fun when I cough or sneeze because of the added neck pain. Yippee.

Glitter City Sweets now has a store on Etsy. I'm trying it out to see how it works before we launch Glitzy Kitsch. Sales have been good and I'm learning the tricks. It has meant double orders this week so I'm busier than normal. Plus trying to get everything photographed for the new store. And working on more things for both stores. So busy, but ultimately rewarding.

Plus this weekend is the 48 Hour Film Festival (You write, shoot, edit and complete a short film in 48 hours) and I'm in charge of writing this thing. We will get a genre, line of dialogue, character name and prop on Friday at 7pm and I'm supposed to have the script done by 9:30pm. There are lots of fingers in this pie, which could make it very difficult to distill into a single vision. But I'll do my best. It's been in the 112º to 114º range in Vegas so shooting should be lots of fun. Whomever decided that the Las Vegas event should be in July should be strung up mid-day outside to experience why this event should really be held sometime between November and March. Just sayin'.

Okay , gotta so get the Graminator ready to go have another CT scan of her brain, so see if the hematoma is getting smaller. Cross your fingers that it is good news and son she will be back to, well, as normal as can be expected. Thanks Loyal Readers and I'm hoping your lives are full and happy!

Viva la France!

Today, in honor of Bastille Day, Glitter City Sweets introduces a new line of French pastries.


French macarons - a crispy almond meringue shell that yields to a chewy interior and sandwiched with rich, flavorful buttercream. So yummy. Available in Vanilla, Chocolate, Pomegranate and Rose - yes, rose, and trust me the incredible texture of the macaron combined with the unique flavor or roses is INCREDIBLE!


Madeleines - Proust's favorite cookie is actually a little tea cake. It's distincive scalloped shape is the reason for the crispy edges and light cake center. Buttery, luxurious and delicious. These scream for a lovely afternoon with a cup of tea and a good book. Available in the Traditional flavor (vanilla with just a hint of fresh lemon zest), an out of this world Orange and Spice (perfect with a cup of orange pekoe perhaps?) and Lavender, which has a wonderful fragrance and taste.


Sablés - These are a distinctive French butter cookie. Different from shortbread in that they are enriched with fresh eggs, they are a lovely crisp cookie that crumbles in your mouth. Sablé means sand in french and that sandy texture is what makes this cookie so delightful. Claim to this cookie varies up and down the French coast, but all we know is that the lovely combination of butter, eggs and sea salt is brilliant. We make ours in three flavors, Vanilla Bean, Ginger and Pistachio.

These cookies have been in development for several months, perfecting our recipes so that when you bite one of our French cookies, you truly get a taste of Paris! Here is what our French cookie fans said about our macarons:

"The beauty of French macaroons is their texture. A perfect one brings pure joy in biting into it. These French macaroons do exactly that! Beware, though: they're not just addicting, they become a religion." Tina Y., Las Vegas, NV

"Best macarons in the West! Biting into the thin, crisp shell and finding the gooey goodness brought me right back to the streets of Paris. As good, if not better, than any Parisian macaron I've had." Lauren P., Las Vegas, NV

We hope that all of our fans enjoy them as well!

Spilling Guts

I know it's been a while since I have blogged, claiming the excuse that am too 'busy' but I realized that without writing I have all of this stuff built up that I need to purge from my soul. So let's play, catch up, okay?

The Graminator just got home from the hospital. After noticing a bit of unsteadiness and inability to swallow correctly, her doctor told us to take her to the ER, suspecting a stroke. It wasn't a stroke but it was a subdural hematoma (brain bleed). No surgery (at 89 that was just not a can of worms we wanted to open) just medication and repeat CT scans in her future. But now we have to fight to get back to where we were. It's a constant struggle and some days I feel like I'm drowning.


My beloved Java passed away in April. She was fifteen years old and acted like a puppy for all but the last three weeks of her life. I was devastated when she died. I still miss her. I have a new puppy, Blanca. She is not a substitute for Java, but a new companion. She is terrifically smart. She does not destroy my shoes (but my library books are a bit more dog eared than they should be) and she LOVES to rip Kleenex into little tiny pieces. Under my desk looks like a snow storm. I would keep her from ever getting another tissue but the Graminator leaves them everywhere. Puppy heaven.

The cutest puppy ever!

Business is going well. Cookies, cupcake, cakes and marshmallows are selling like...well, hot cakes! I'm introducing a line of French pastries on July 14th (Bastille Day). A national retailer has ordered (and ordered and ordered) samples of the marshmallows to sell in some of their upscale stores. I have stopped holding my breath because of all of the changes they have requested (new package size, new labels, etc) but it has still been an interesting process and quite flattering because of all the samples they requested from many marshmallow companies, I was told that mine were the best. Nice compliment.

Here's the new marshmallow packaging.

And French macarons!

Mom and I are working on a new business venture, working on a handcrafting business. We will be up and running, selling our products on Etsy, next week. I have had a blast learning new craft techniques. I am now crocheting, knitting, making jewelry, sewing and upcycling new and vintage clothing. Now if I could only get three more hours into a day, I would be set. But it helps to fill some emptiness that I'm too afraid to examine or define.

The first necklace I designed. It's called "Blue Roses"

I have to go check on the puppy and the patient. But I will post more soon, whether I still have Loyal Readers or not, because I have missed the venting of my soul. If you are still out there, Loyal Readers, I missed you!

My Life Resolved

Happy New Year everyone! I'm not sure if 2010 will be better than 2009 since I woke to extreme intestinal distress, which I hope is not a metaphor for 'this year will be S#%T' (hopefully it's more like 'don't eat assorted leftovers at one in the morning.)

I did terrible on my 2009 resolutions, having done so well on my 2008 resolutions. So maybe the lesson is to make resolutions that aren't about me? I could re-affirm the 2008 resolutions but since I pretty much follow them every day, I guess it wouldn't mean much. So I guess I'll make some serious ones again, but really try to follow them more. Here goes.

1. I will moisturize more. I live in the desert and my skin is starting to remind me of that fact. So wherever there is skin, there will be moisturizer!

2. I will promote Glitter City Sweets and the 'brand' more. The marshmallows are selling incredibly well, followed closely by the cookies so it may be time to dump some products and re-focus on other things.

3. I will update the GCS website at least every month and try to stay ahead of the seasons instead of rushing to catch up.

4. I will get back into a daily writing habit. I am first and foremost a writer and I'd better remember that if I ever want to get anywhere with it.

5. I will take advantage of every opportunity and potential opportunity that presents itself and exploit the hell out of it. I let too many things slip through my hands instead of making the most out of it. Not anymore. Be it writing, acting, comedy, business or whatever else I'm doing, I will maximize, Maximize, MAXIMIZE my opportunities.

6. I will try to stop being such a hermit. I will actually schedule those lunches I keep promising, I will call my friends 'just to talk' and I will not accept that Facebook is a substitute for real social interaction (ditto for texts and emails.) And I will see more than one movie in a theater this year.

In the spirit of the New Year, I am also joining in on Maura's "31 in 31", her annual de-clutter movement. (See the rules on her blog). If I start with the trunk of my car, I could hit my 31 in one day (but think I'll be truly ambitious and consider my car as one thing...okay, maybe two. Between my car and magazines, I should be done in less than a week.)

Oh yeah, there is also eating healthier, exercising more, blah, blah blah. 2010, here we come.

Things I'm Working On

I will go into more detail later but I had the most lovely (and incredibly overpriced) macaroon from Jean Phillipe Patisserie at the Bellagio. It was called a "Rose Macaroon" and was described as a "raspberry macaroon with rose cream and fresh raspberries". We are talking French macaroon here, not the American coconut kind. Since I have lately been obsessed with flavoring things with rose and violet and lavender, I had to try it. It was beautiful, crowned with a sugared rose petal. It was also $6.50. But again, I had to try it and I figure it is a business expense in the name of research, so I can write it off, right?

Well, there was no discernible rose flavor (even in the petal, though I munched on it happily anyway) but the raspberries were marvelous plump, fresh little morsels. I shared my tiny treasure with Mom and the Graminator so I only got a couple of bites but it was enough to convince me that I need to learn to make French macaroons. I never liked the coconut kind except for one I made but have since lost the recipe for, but the French version is more like a meringue with a ground almond base and since I adore meringue, it's right up my alley.

I am also going to make Black and White cookies of the New York bakery variety, which aren't really a cookie at all but more of a flat cupcake. I adore them and haven't had a true Black and White in years. Once I get them perfected, I think I'm going to call my friend Antonia to try them. She's a real New Yorker plus her husband used to work in a bakery in New York so I'm sure she can tell me if I get it right. And I haven't practiced my New York accent in a while so I'd love to spend some time with her!

Today I'm making gougeres, which are savory cream puffs with cheese. I'm going to Americanize them with a bit of jalapeno cheese instead of the traditional gruyere. And since I'll have the pate choux already, I think a few eclairs will be in order. In fact, I'm off to make the pastry cream filling. Jealous? Well, don't be, my ass will pay the price later on! Besides, you can always order them from Glitter City Sweets! (Superfluous plug for the day, check.)

Getting the Message Out There

The legend of Glitter City Sweets is growing, we got a mention on examiner.com! Check out the article.

S'more good reasons to party!

Posted using ShareThis

Hmm, two Marshmallow Holidays in August. Guess we better start celebrating!

Advice

A good friend, Dyann, is thinking about starting her own business. She sent me an email saying she wanted to pick my brain for advice. While I'm pretty sure I'm NOT the person you want that kind of advice from, here are a few random thoughts that someone may be able to glean a tiny nugget of inspiration from.

Just do it - There are lots of people who will tell you that you need to do copious amounts of research and develop a well thought out "business plan". There are also lots of people who have 'business plans' and no business. I myself have several 'business plans' that never came to fruition. Yes, you need to know what you are going to sell and who you are going to sell it to (so you don't open an "All Pork" restaurant in an Orthodox Jewish neighborhood for example) but you can spend years and years making plans and never actually do any of it. Many entrepreneurs just went out there and did it. They had an idea and they went for it. Sometimes all the planning can lead to fear and discouragement before you even get started. In today's "marketplace" thing are less traditional and structured than they were before so you can go about things less conventionally than before, like making your business plan up as you go along. (Note: If you need loans and investors, you do need a business plan in hand.)

It's okay to fail - Sometimes you can have a great product and it still doesn't work out. For example, years ago my Uncle told us about this company he was investing in that had a machine you could dump your change into and it would count the change and spit out a voucher you would redeem for 'folding money'. They would put these machines in grocery stores. My parents thought the idea was weird (because it would cost you to use these machines instead of just rolling your change and taking it to the bank like people had done for years) but I thought it was genius. And it was. There are Coinstar machines in grocery stores around the country. The problem is that the company my uncle created wasn't Coinstar. It was a rival company and Coinstar was able to get their machine to market first. So my uncle's company died and someone else got rich. Now please don't feel too bad for him, he has a place on the beach in Hermosa, a Porche that's paid for and he travels the world whenever he wants. Because he understands that not everything is going to work out every time. He acknowledged his loss and he moved on to his next idea. It is okay to fail, as long as you get past it.

Don't underestimate the power of the Internet - Because my start-up costs were so low for my business (since I bake on-demand I don't have inventory to go bad, I just have the rent at the bakery I rent space from and my Internet costs for the website and marketing) I could take a chance and see what happened. So I thought it could be months before I got my first order. Well, it wasn't months, it was actually before we opened. But it was the second order that surprised me. It was from someone in New Jersey. And the third was from someone in Kentucky. The Internet has literally made it a small world after all. So use the tools that the market has to offer (I can't say enough good things about Google Adwords!)

Be prepared to give up your 'free time' and your brain - I am thinking, constantly. It's always been that way but now my brain is focused on baking all of the time. What should I change, what should I do next, how can I do more? It invades my every waking thought and my dreams as well. And the little Internet business that I thought would take up no time has consumed my life. That's going to happen, especially when you are a sole proprietor. You're it. But when (see, I said when, not if) your business takes off, you get to reap the rewards (see beach house, Porche and travel above)

Don't stop there - Be ahead of the curve. Plan for success and what you are going to do next. My uncle (yes, he is my inspiration for business models since he has owned many a company and made many of them incredibly successful, to the tune of money that most of us can only dream about) doesn't just stop when he has a great business venture happening, he looks and sees how to improve, expand or even move on to the next big thing. Bill Gates didn't just stop when he sold his first PC, did he? I'm looking at how to grow my business and to do so I have a second entrepreneurial idea. Will it work? We'll see...

Surround yourself with great people - I have an incredible lawyer. Honestly, she is wonderful. She specializes in business formation. I'll give you her number. I have a terrific accountant. I use a great web hosting provider. I have great inspiration and advice from my uncle. I have an incredibly supportive network of friends and family. Honestly, I couldn't do it without them.

So what does it all come down to? Be bold, be brave, believe.

And We're Off!

It's official, Glitter City Sweets is now open.

After months of planning, preparation and work, the site is up and running and taking orders. Yup, we have already received our first (and second) orders. But that doesn't mean I get to rest, no siree, today I am finishing up orders plus packing the thank you cookies for those Loyal readers who signed up for the Glitter City blog (to be delivered tomorrow) and working on some new "July only" specials. So stay tuned, because the story doesn't end here folks!

Thanks again for your support. My friends ROCK!

The Genesis

So it's only 3 days until the 'official' Grand Opening of Glitter City Sweets and I have been working non-stop to get all my products not just ready, but fabulous. I can't justify selling just mediocre stuff, it has to be outstanding. So what started off with just decorated cookies has expanded.

See, lots of people do decorated cookies. I think mine are cuter and have more detail and originality than a lot of my competitors. But i still have competition in that market so I felt like I needed a product or tow that was unique, different, completely mine (at least until someone copies me.) So I decided to do decorated lollipops and marshmallow favors as well.

Hard candy is pretty simple to make. Boil a sugar syrup until it reaches hard crack stage, add flavor and color and pour into molds. What makes my lollies unique is the mold. I make my own hard candy molds instead of using commercially made molds. I did this because I knew what I wanted and it needed to be special. So I made my own, a process that involves coming up with an idea, sketching it, sculpting a 3-D model then casting it into a food grade silicone mold. Since I'm not much of a sculptor, that was the step that took the most time. But in the end I think it's worth the trouble to have something that I can sell with pride.

Now I also decided to carry a marshmallow favor line, again because it was something no one else was doing. Of course the idea came from my love of all things marshmallow. Like Peeps®. I love them. Easter time is one of my favorites because I can get my Peeps® on. Sugar covered marshmallows, how can you go wrong? And I love just eating marshmallows. I prefer the handmade kind, like you buy for eight bucks at Whole Foods, but I can also eat the ones from the grocery store even if they aren't quite as good. So I wanted to make favors that were shaped and sugar coated like a Peep® and then I would decorate them. I decided that since I had to learn how to make marshmallow anyway, I would also sell gourmet marshmallows like the fancy stores, only mine would be a lot cheaper (and they are, mine retail for three dollars less than almost all the other 'gourmet marshmallows' and I give you more mallows.)

Now marshmallows seem as easy as hard candy when you get to the recipe. Sugar syrup beaten into gelatin, how hard could that be? Well, my first few batches were okay. They were very much like the jet puffed ones you buy at the store. A little chewy but they definitely were marshmallows. But I would never have sold them. They weren't exceptional. So I kept working. I made batch after batch, adjusting ingredients, adding more of this, less of that. And they were good, but I still wasn't happy. So I threw away pan after pan (since my mother pointed out that recipe development was just a cost of business and that I shouldn't eat all of the product - I think she didn't want my butt to get any bigger!) And I kept working. Now I can't give away my secret formulation but I can tell you that I had a 'eureka' moment which led to my marshmallow breakthrough. And now I can say, with pride, I have the best marshmallows I have ever eaten (and I have eaten many, many marshmallows my friend!) I would gladly put my marshmallows up against any ones, and I mean anyone. My marshmallows are light and pillowy soft. They practically melt in your mouth but they still have that delightful marshmallow chew. And my flavors? Out of this world. I like the lemon meringue the best but only by a teeny tiny bit (they taste like lemon clouds and I could literally eat pounds of them.) The peanut butter swirl taste like a fluffernutter sandwich. And the toasted coconut? Well, I don't even like coconut and these are phenomenally good.

So I knew my cookies were beyond fabulous. And my cakes and cupcakes, well, they are to quote more than one person, better than s-e-x. My lollipops are unique and delicious. And now I have the absolute best marshmallows around. So I'm ready. The site is ready. All I need are more customers. And so I need your help, Loyal Readers. Can you help me spread the word? Post my site on blogs, tell your friends, neighbors and co-workers. Stop random strangers on the street. Post me on social networking sites. Tweet me. And if they put "FNNYGRL" in the special instructions of the checkout page, I'll throw in a half order of the best marshmallows in the world for free. And for you who blog, tweet, Facebook, LinkedIn, whatever for Glitter City Sweets, well, you never know when a surprise will show up at your door!

Thank you, Loyal Readers, for following me on this amazing experience. You have helped me, pushed me, comforted me and encouraged me and I couldn't have done it without you. I am truly blessed.

Monday, Monday, Monday, the grand Opening of Glitter City Sweets. See you then!

I'm Here!

I swear it was never my intention to ignore you, my Loyal Readers. It's just that things are rolling ahead full steam for Glitter City Sweets and it has taken my (nearly) undivided attention.

We even made our first delivery this week. At a party Saturday night I took my friend Tina a dozen "Thank You" cookies since she took some pictures for the website and gave me the suggestion to make "Thank You" cookies in the first place. Apparently Dean and Deluca does a similar cookie - but mine are cuter and cost less than half the price of theirs! Well I ran into a friend of Tina's (everyone is Tina's friend, she collects friends in such an amazing way) who I hadn't seen in a while (apparently book club is a bi-annual event.) She asked me what I was up to and I showed her the cookies. Well, she ordered two dozen to be delivered on Monday to the MGM Grand. Thank goodness Sunday is my baking day at the commercial bakery I work out of! So I consider it a good omen that we made our first deliver before we are even open officially.

The site is in Beta testing right now (THANK YOU Maura and Dyann!) and while it's running and functional I still don't have all of the product pictures up. I'm sure I will be tweaking it forever. It's been an experience making the site. I used a WYSIWYG (pronounced wizzy-wig, it stands for "what you see is what you get") site builder and let me tell you, it's a lie. What you see is NOT what you get. For example, the borders on the pictures are the color "sienna" to match the website. And that's what I see on my Mac, whether I'm using Foxfire or Safari as my Internet browser. But on my PC laptop and my mom's computer it looks black. I don't know why. Plus when I space pictures just right on the sitebuilder, they go all cattywampus in "real life". With no rhyme or reason, pictures that are spaced equally apart are suddenly smushed together or a mile apart. I think the site is acceptable for now but when it begins to make money I'm going to hire a real web designer instead of this DIY junk. But since I could never get my cousin to call me back and I was broke, this was my best solution. Plus I can publish it myself and make changes all I want without calling anyone. (At least the publishing function is super easy!)

I'm thinking that the "press release" and official "Grand Opening" will be June 15th. And here is a super special deal just for you, my Loyal Readers. For every reader who signs up to follow my new blog, you get 6 free cookies. Just sign up for the new blog then send an email to me at shae@glittercitysweets.com saying "I signed up!" and I'll give you six "Thank You" cookies. Free delivery in Las Vegas and free shipping outside of Las Vegas. This offer is good for friends too so encourage them to follow my new blog. But this offer is only good until the Grand Opening so go sign up soon! And congratulations to Maura for being my first follower!

Here is a picture of the "Thank You" cookies to wet your appetite and some pictures of my first delivery.

Blog Neglect - Guilty!

Sorry I have been so neglectful of you, Loyal Readers. I have been so busy getting Glitter City Sweets ready to launch. A new business means experimenting (achieving both success and failure) and I have been using the time off from movie making (but I still went to visit the set this week) to get stuff experimented with.

My cousin Marc was a little difficult to get a hold of to help me with my website so I went the DIY approach. I'm using a site builder that came with the web hosting service I'm using. It has been a trial (I learned to save, save, save my data because it has no draft auto save function which I learned the hard way, multiple times). I didn't like the shopping cart that came with my site so I had to research other options, set up my merchant account, etc., etc., etc. I don't want to bore you with the gory details! I think it's good that I built the site myself since then I'll be able to edit and update it without assistance.

I did need help with one bit of code and since my cousin was reluctant to help me (he hates site builders), I had to beg my friends for a bit of help. Mark, one of the producers on the movie, said he would help me. What I need him to help me with probably won't be on the site when it first goes live, which bums me out a bit, but fairly shortly afterward it should be running.

I also needed a place to put my 'edible ink' dedicated printer so my mom and I cleaned and organized the spare room to use as a mini office/craft room for the two of us. I feel a little like Hitler in '38, invading Poland and Hungary. First I took over the garage, now the spare room. Next up, whole house domination!

Today will be spent working on a couple of products so I can photograph them and put the pictures on the website. Again, I'm hoping to put it into beta test next week so I feel a bit of pressure to get a lot done in a short amount of time (sure it's self-induced, but I think sometimes that self-induced pressure is the worst.) And of course I can't neglect The Graminator so I have to do things in spurts.

I will try not to be so neglectful, wonderful Loyal Readers. Once the site is up and running (and just waiting for orders to pour - or trickle - in) I will have more time for my writing again. I'm anxious to get back to Shelby and her exploits, I got an itchy writing finger! Okay off to make sweets. Have a great day!

Moving Pictures

Hopefully pictures really are worth a thousand words because then this column will be over five thousand words long. Here are some photos from the "You People" shoot. (Thanks to Charisma Schwarze for the photographs!)


This is a scene we shot Monday at Egg Works. I have know idea what I'm doing in this picture but I know it's the scene where I flip out on the waitress (I can tell because I'm wearing the red sweater in this one.)



Here is a picture of some of the principal cast members, taken at the CineVegas offices. From left to right there is Nathan Ferrier (Stephan), James Germano (Danny), Me (Patty), Will Edwards (Felix), Elly Brown (Nancy) and John Baniqued (Jerry). Note the red sweater with penguins on it.


Here we are at Egg Works doing a different scene, because I am wearing a different sweater (blue with snowmen this time). Will, Jerry and I are in this scene, while Kelly (in the red t-shirt) gives us some of his expert direction (I'm actually not kidding, he is a really great director, he's very clear on what he wants but gives his actors room for their perspective) and Mark (in the green t-shirt) tells Kelly how to do his job - just kidding. Mark is a producer and our lighting guy extraordinaire and he does tell Kelly when he sees something amiss. See how I'm eating soup? This is one shoot I didn't mind the sweaters, it was really cold in the restaurant. I had my sweater off between takes and I got so cold I put it back on even when we weren't filming.


Will and Val came down again on Monday to be extras (we missed you Dyann!) and here he and I are in the craft services room (craft services is the movie way of saying food) I don't know what I was saying when Charisma took this picture but it looks like I'm lecturing Will but I'm not. We actually had a lot of fun on this shooting day and he liked all the food I brought (as did the rest of the cast and crew that day. I'm pleased to say that all of the food I made was gone while the Jason's Deli food was still left over - no offence to Jason's Deli, I'm just better, that's all.


Another picture at the CineVegas offices, this time with expanded cast and extras (see Will and Val behind me? Aren't they good siblings to help me out? Yeah, they rock.)

Okay, today I have to shoot as well as tomorrow plus tomorrow is the hospital benefit. But next week I'll write more, I promise. I have some new products for the Glitter City Sweets line to share with you. Bless you Loyal Readers, and have a great weekend!

Making Movies

Sorry Loyal Readers, to neglect you so. My life has been in such turmoil lately that I'm grateful you stick around!

My filming started Thursday. It was an easy scene for me to get started with because I only had one line. But I did have a funny costume and makeup. My character, Patty, and John's character, Jerry have just gotten back from Mexico. So I look like I have a sunburn and the poncho I'm wearing has a Christmas themed cactus on it. (My character ALWAYS wears Christmas themed clothes!)

Here is the picture

I love the suitcase Charisma found for me to carry. It's a hard-sided round American Tourister. I offered to buy it from her but she wants to keep it for herself. I guess I'll have to start scrounging thrift stores!

Friday I had three scenes but I only had dialogue in one of them. It was an important scene though (since it introduces my character) and I think it went well. Kelly was happy and Will (who plays Felix) liked it too. It felt very comfortable to work with him. I didn't get any pictures on Friday and then I left my camera on set (do you think my desire for a new camera is causing me to subconsciously leave my camera behind everywhere I go so that I have to buy a new one? ) But we had fun and I kept cracking up because the actor who played the Game Company CEO (I think his name is Lincoln) had these really expressive eyes and he would make me laugh by just looking at me funny. He is from England and we had a great time talking with him.

Saturday we filmed at the CineVegas offices at The District. (CineVegas is a large film festival and their offices were really nice. They had a cool coffee bar area in the back, it was neat.) We had a lot of extras on set that day and Will and Val came down to be in the movie too. One of the scenes is where I find out I've been fired and I don't take it well. My brother always teases me about my acting (he sniffs the air and says "Does anyone else smell ham?") so this was right up his alley to make fun of me. Hey, I give the director what he wants, and if that requires a little ham, well then stud me, glaze me and serve me up. Charisma took some cast photos so I'm hoping I can grab some from her (since I still didn't have my camera at this point.) Mark took a picture and I stole it from his Facebook. In it you can see Kelly shooting the scene where Jimmy's character is firing us. I look interested, don't I? My knees hurt from that day because Kelly had me dive to the floor multiple times in the scene.


This afternoon we shoot another of my 'big scenes' where I flip out on a waitress. Dyann said she would come by and be an extra and Will and Val are going to show up again. Hopefully we will get enough extras. I have more filming on Friday and Saturday (plus I'm MC'ing and performing at a charity benefit on Saturday night) then I don't have any scenes to shoot for two weeks. I'll be working on Glitter City Sweets, to get the website up, plus I have a couple more ideas to work out. Then I resume three more weeks of shooting. Oh, and I know I have been cryptic about the title of the film, mostly because I wasn't sure how public to make it, but since the title has appeared on cast and crew Facebook pages I guess it's okay to say. The title is "You People". Hmmm, can you see the comic implications?

Okay, I gotta go make rice crispy treats for the crew, plus hair and makeup and all that jazz. I promise to try to have more pictures for you!!!!!