Posts Tagged ‘Just Amy’

• Honor Your Father

  Date: 2010.06.20 | Category: Just Amy | Response: 5

  It’s Father’s Day and many of you are going to honor your father with gifts, cards, and hopefully a home cooked meal.  I would like to honor my brother who has become a father in recent years.

  Garnet became a father 2 years ago on Easter Sunday.  His bundle of joy was born early, nearly 8 weeks premature, with a handful of health problems.  I can only imagine that becoming a father for the first time was scary enough, but to see this teeny little one in the NICU, struggling to breathe each second, would be more than I could handle.  But not for Garnet.  He was overjoyed, excited and very proud.  He never showed fear.  His strength gave our family strength.  He encouraged me to hold William.  He was smaller than my arm from my wrist to my elbow.  I was terrified.  But Garnet honored me by giving me a great smile of support and insisted it was okay that I hold him.

  I have watched Garnet discover a new side of himself.  He is the protector, the disciplinarian, the clown, the best friend in Will’s life.  He honors the time old traditions of a father/son relationship but allows the nonsense that is pure Garnet.  He is not afraid but will be the first to tell you he is learning along the way.  His instincts have and will continue to make him a great father.

  Garnet honored our late grandfather by naming his son after him.  He has honored me by allowing to have Will’s first slumber party away from home (an adventure I will share with you another time, the two-year-old about killed me!) to be with me.  He has honored his wife by encouraging her to stay home with Will in the formative years.  I hope today I have been able to honor him.  Happy Father’s Day Garnet!

  xo–me

• Giada

  Date: 2010.05.25 | Category: Just Amy | Response: 0

  My friends Trevor and Lauren sent me the absolute best addition to HeyAmy! last week and I am thrilled to share it with you.  They collaborated on the writing and Trevor took over on the mic.  They are newlyweds (at least in my eyes) and clearly by this song have discovered a love of cooking thanks to Giada.  I love the clever use of her Target line and eggplant puree.  I think every fan of Giada De Laurentiis will love this song.  I know you will recognize the music as it’s a parody of “Replay” by Iyaz.  Please enjoy and share with your friends. 
  

  Giada de Laurentiis

  How talented is Trevor?

  xo–me

• Martha Laughed!

  Date: 2010.05.21 | Category: Just Amy | Response: 0

  I hope you had a chance to check out my brother, Garnet, and I on the Martha Stewart Show yesterday.  I can’t express how much fun the entire experience was.  We made memories to last a lifetime that day.  We even made Martha laugh a few times (well my brother did).  I was proud to tell her I owned SILPATS and her comment that I was the real deal.  If you missed it, you can see it here.  Thanks for all your lovely emails, texts, tweets and messages.  It meant the world to me!

  xo–me

• The Siblings Show!

  Date: 2010.05.20 | Category: Just Amy | Response: 0

  If you would like to see a preview of our episode, click here!  I will post the video once the segment airs in case some of you miss it.  Thanks for all the kind emails and tweets about our upcoming appearance today.  We made a memory for a lifetime and really enjoyed ourselves.  I hope that shines through today on the episode.  Again I would like to thank the team of The Martha Stewart Show for being so lovely and welcoming while we were there.  And of course the experience would not have been possible without the wisdom, dedication and mind of Ms. Martha Stewart.

  xo–me

• Martha and Me (my brother was there too)

  Date: 2010.05.19 | Category: Just Amy | Response: 0

  Tomorrow is the day I hope you will tune in to watch The Martha Stewart Show and see my brother and I appearing along side Martha.  You can read about how we got there here.

  I thought today I would share why Martha matters to me.  I could give you all the expected answers–she is the best in her field, she has taught me, she continues to amaze me, etc–but my reasons are different.  Martha matters to me because in more ways than I can count, we are very much the same.  I have read the stories, heard the rumors, and watched the personal appearances and know that she can be demanding.  Many of you would say she is a diva or she expects too much.  Others may say she is too hard to please.  I say she is the absolute best because every hour of every day she demands the best, not only of herself but of those around her.  She is a perfectionist because she knows without the best every day, she would not be winning.  She would not be at the top of her game.  She may appear to be demanding to those around her because she realizes without the best in her staff, she is nothing.  I cannot imagine her asking the best of each of her staff members if she did not think they had it in them to excel. I have found great success in my day job and I have always said it is because I demand the best of myself and those around me.  Without my teams absolute best, I would never have had an ounce of success.  I bet Martha feels the same.

  Martha matters because Martha expects the best every day.  She raises the bar every day of her life.  We should all strive to be more like Martha.

  xo–me

• Last Minute for Mom

  Date: 2010.05.08 | Category: Just Amy | Response: 1

  Tomorrow is Mother’s Day in case you have been living under a rock.  Yes, tomorrow.  Do you have anything for her?  If you have forgotten or simply didn’t have a spare minute all week to go get her something, here are a few last minute ideas for Mom.  Most of them are also easy on the wallet!

  1. Pick some flowers from your backyard and arrange them in a jar that was lost under your sink.  Yes, we all toss jars under the sink thinking we are going to reuse them and somehow they got lost under there.  Get out the glue gun and affix some grosgrain ribbon to the jar to make it uniquely you, uniquely Mom.
     
  2. Find a favorite photo of you and Mom.  Jump to the Dollar Tree or whatever 99 cent store in your town for the frame.  Before you put the picture inside the frame, write Mom a quick note about the picture and put it in the back.  She may not find it for months or even years to come, but when she does discover it, she will have a very special moment.
     
  3. Offer to bring or make lunch tomorrow.
     
  4. If you don’t normally, go to church with her.  You will never see a more proud moment in your Mom’s eyes.
     
  5. Write a note telling her about the best lesson she taught you.
     
  6. Hide her favorite sweet treat (I would hide Peppermint Patties) around the house with a little note attached telling her why she is special.
     
  7. Spend the day doing everything she would enjoy.

  If you are estranged from your Mom, tomorrow is as good of a day as any other to ring the bell and visit.  No need to explain or ask for answers concerning the reasons why you are not speaking.  Simply begin anew tomorrow. Fresh starts are the best starts.

  xo–me

• Flowers For Mom

  Date: 2010.05.04 | Category: Just Amy | Response: 0

  Flowers for Mom are always a good choice on Mother’s Day.  Most don’t get flowers as often as they should so this choice is a perfect way to show her your love and appreciation.

  The traditional dozen roses are nice when they come in a box.  Old school and elegant, this box presented at the door by a delivery man is very powerful.  Plus she can arrange them according to her taste in a vase she loves.  In order to save some money, you can go to a local farmers market and get the roses.  Remember, it’s the thought that counts.

  Why not give Mom flowers that will last forever?  These lovelies are made of paper and will last as long as they are dusted carefully.  There are tons of ideas for ‘everlasting’ flowers at etsy.  You can search for floral headbands, broaches, bracelets or necklaces.  My dear friend Mark got his wife Wendy a gorgeous bracelet of interlocking flowers because ‘They would never die’.  I love his thinking.

  My favorite way to honor Mom with flowers is a corsage on Sunday morning for church.  They are proud to tell their friends of the gift and it very well could be the loveliest accessory.  Grandmother’s, godmothers, aunts and sisters who are mom’s are easily honored with this simple gesture.  Call your local florist today and create a sweet memento for the ladies in your life to wear proudly on Sunday.

  xo–me