Lemonade stand update:

5:00 Lemonade stand closes. We made $10! Little entrepreneurs can't wait to do it again. Creating on those aspirations is inspiring. See you tomorrow lemonheads. 

3:30-4:30 Lemonade stand open for business.

12:00-3:30 executive offsite.

10:30 am Product made.

9:25 - 9:45 Executive team nailed down vision. Lemonade stand business plan complete. Lemonade Inc. coming soon!

Day 179 - Hey. Sunday is here and there are buckets of lemons growing on our backyard lemon tree. Even after living in California for seven years, that fact that lemons grow in my back yard is a wildly bizarre concept. When I was a kid living in Illinois, the closest thing I got to lemonade was the powdery mix of Country Time Lemonade. Seeing real lemons when I was a kid was like seeing a Yeti. A sighting was never going to happen and if it did, there was no chance of capturing either a Yeti or a lemon.

Flash forward thirty years later and I am now in lemon heaven. Of course my kids have no idea how lucky they are to have lemons growing in their backyard. When they wake this morning, we will use the day to plan and create a lemonade empire. It will be their first lesson in entrepreneurship. In preparation for today's lemon extravaganza, I have created some lemonade printables to get Lemonade Inc. started. Go ahead and use them for any future lemonade stand pop-ups: Lemonade Banner & Lemonade Sign.

This brings me to today's project. Sit down today and start a small business. Do just one task to set your business in motion. Maybe it's sitting down to flush out the business idea or write the first word of the product name. Whatever the first step create a plan to set your aspirations in moving. Will it be easy? Never! Will you doubt you? Of course! However, put all that aside and just do one thing today to take another step to tomorrow. 

In the meantime, I'm going to keep you posted throughout the day on our lemonade stand inc. Look out for updates and photos all day today. We are going to make the juice worth the squeeze. Stay tuned.

Day 178 - Hey! Here we are again. It's Saturday and I don't want to keep you from experiencing the day dedicated to watching cartoons and mowing the lawn. For some of us, Saturday is a day devoted to kicking back, having a beer and going to the pool. In short, it's an important day to power down and party up.

In the spirit of a party, let's sketch up some party animals. Pull out your sketch book and get to drawing up a great party animal. You can keep it civil or go nuts. Your drawings can be classy or trashy. It's up to you. Remember Spuds MacKenzie from the 1980's Bud light commercials? So classy!

The bottom line is, enjoy your Saturday. Create the party time you so rightly deserve and need. See you tomorrow party animals! Go wild!

Day 176 - Hi ho! Friday is here. It's judgement day today. That is, I have entered a bake-off. If I haven't mentioned it before, I would call myself a baking maven. Am I a professional? Nope but do like to fiddle in the kitchen. Am I competitive? That's an understatement. Let's just say my family has banned me from playing Monopoly for the rest of my natural born life. What can I say? Baking and being competitive are in my blood. 

Today, I entered a bake off with two desserts submitted. The first, a monster cookie, containing all the right sweet and salty ingredients to light up the pleasure parts of the brain. The second, a homemade salted caramel that has been deemed by many "throw a man overboard and I'll take his" delicious. I spent six hours yesterday baking and perfecting these desserts.

More importantly, I have realized a contest is a great way to flex creative thinking. A contest provides constrains on creativity but opens up the mind to think strategically. For example, the contest submission today required the item to be a dessert, contain a rainbow and be on a plate. After some intel, I discovered that peanut M & M's are a favorite of some of the judges. I therefore tailored my entry based on the intel and carried the rainbow theme right down to the serving dishes. Well, it seems like creativity and strategy go well together like peanut butter and chocolate.

If you haven't guess it yet, today's project will be to enter a contest. The contest must stretch you in a creative way. It could be entering a pie eating contest at a local fair, a short story contest through a local newspaper or a national photo competition. Here are a few links to popular contests:

The Week Magazine Weekly Contest

Short Story Competitions

Eating Contests

Photography Competition

Code Competitions

Drawing Contests

Get those creative juices flowing. Go ahead and share your contest projects or any creative project up on the Create & Change Facebook Visitor's post page. It's just waiting for you to post your creative work. Well, I need to get back to deciding if the monster cookie or caramels will win. Have fun creating and see you tomorrow competitors!

Day 175 - Why hello there. Maybe it's because it's summer or the events that have recently happened in world but rainbows have been on my mind lately. What is it about rainbows that make us stop and wonder? When a rainbow appears, we run to the kitchen window, pull over the car and gaggle in delight. When a rainbow appears in a room, we take time to figure out what is creating the prism reflection. Remember the song by Kermit the Frog "Rainbow Connection"? It was an Academy Award Nominated song from 1979. Go ahead and listen to it. It's a deep and thoughtful song. In short, rainbows are powerful, supernatural and beautiful. They remind us that diversity is something we should take time out to respect and celebrate. It's a part of our humanity.

In the honor of rainbows, today's project is to make a rainbow connection. Create support and lift up diversity by creating a rainbow today. Design and wear a rainbow pin, cover your window in rainbow Post-it notes or pour your heart into making a batch of these summer fun rainbow popsicles. Whatever rainbow item you choose to create, make it visible to others and celebrate every color of the rainbow.

Rainbow Connection Popsicles

Makes approximately 3 cups popsicle base. Each popsicle mold holds different quantities so check the popsicle package mold for capacity.

Popsicle Liquid Base

• 1-13.5 oz can coconut milk (full fat)
• 4 limes juice squeezed
• 3 frozen bananas
• 1 cup frozen pineapple 
• 1/4 cup honey

Popsicle Colors

• 1/2 cup frozen rasberries
• 1/2 cup frozen strawberries
• 1/2 cup frozen peaches
• 5 fresh baby carrots
• 1 & 1/2 cup frozen pineapple (1 cup for yellow. 1/2 cup for blue)
• 1/2 cup fresh spinach
• a tiny bit of blue food coloring
• 3/4 cup frozen blue berries
• popsicle mold or shaped ice cube tray
• wooden popsicle sticks (if needed)

Step 1: Place all base ingredients in a blender and blend till smooth. Measure and pour the base liquid into 6 individual bowls.

Step 2:

For the Red color, pour the base liquid of one bowl back into the blender. Add the raspberries & strawberries. Blend till smooth. Pour a small amount of red liquid into each popsicle mold or ice cube tray. Rinse blender clean.

For the Orange color, pour the base liquid of one bowl back into the blender. Add the carrots and peaches. Blend till smooth. Pour a small amount of orange liquid into each popsicle mold or ice cube tray on top of the red. Rinse blender clean.

For the Yellow color, pour the base liquid of one bowl back into the blender. Add 1 cup pineapple. Blend till smooth. Pour a small amount of yellow liquid into each popsicle mold or ice cube tray on top of the orange. Rinse blender clean.

For the Green color, pour the base liquid of one bowl back into the blender. Add the spinach. Blend till smooth. Pour a small amount of green liquid into each popsicle mold or ice cube tray on top of the yellow. Rinse blender clean.

For the Blue color, pour the base liquid of one bowl back into the blender. Add a drop of blue food coloring and 1/2 cup of pineapple. Blend till smooth. Pour a small amount of blue liquid into each popsicle mold or ice cube tray on top of the green. Rinse blender clean.

For the Purple color, pour the base liquid of one bowl back into the blender. Add the blueberries. Blend till smooth. Pour a small amount of purple liquid into each popsicle mold or ice cube tray on top of the blue. 

Step 3: Place popsicle sticks in the popsicle molds and freeze according to the manufacturer's directions.

I'm going to get back to thinking more about rainbows. Enjoy the rainbow connection and see you tomorrow lovers & dreamers!

Day 173 - Hello There! It's officially summer. Does it feel like summer where you are at today? It does here. This week I'm trying to create ways to celebrate summer. I'm thinking about pool time, popsicles and flying kites. Who doesn't love the thrill of flying a kite? After shopping around, I realized there were no kites to be found. 

Whenever I am at Ikea, I always forget my reusable blue Ikea bag in the car. So unfortunately and fortunately, I have four or five of these bags just stuffed away in my garage. Today I found one in the trunk of my car and thought, "What am I going to do with another Ikea bag?" Well watch this video and see if you think this is a good way to recycle a crappy old bag.

Today's project is to create a little blue kite (or a brown, red, black, green, grey kite). The color doesn't matter but looking around your house for all the necessary supplies will be an important part of the creating process. Here is what you will need for your little blue kite:

• one blue Ikea blue bag or other plastic/paper bag 
• one 1/8" dowel rod cut into 2 pieces measuring 17.5" & 12" (consider using kitchen skewers with the points trimmed off)
• clear shipping tape
• scissors
• thin twine

Watch the video above and you will be set to go fly a kite up to the highest height and keep the creativity coming. Just remember to fly your kite safely and away from trees and anything deemed unsafe. Have fun flying and see you tomorrow windbreakers!

Day 173 - Hey everyone. Today, I thought I would turn over the blog and today's post to a very special guest creator, my five year old daughter. I am constantly amazed by what she creates and seeing the world through her creativity. She is constantly teaching me new ways of doing and challenges my creative self. When I handed over today's post to her, I was in awe of how much amazing creative work she generated in a short period of time. She thought up the idea, shopped for the styling, set up the photoshoot, styled the ingredients, tried different angles, insisted on shooting the photography herself and told me what to write. Frankly, her thought process was incredibly creative. I would have never thought to do half the stuff she instantly knew how to do. Kids have an amazing way of tackling life with such creative zeal. What happens to us as we grow up? Does life suck the creative possibilities right out of our brains? Well, without further adieu, let's get down to the good stuff, the secret movie munch mix.

Hi. This blog post is about a secret movie munch mix that is inspired by the movie "The Secret Life of Pets." I haven't seen the movie yet because it is due out July 8th. As you can tell, I'm super excited to see the movie. Below you can find a list of ingredients for this secret movie munch mix that I created. Today's project is to make your own secret movie munch mix. Use any ingredients that make you happy but the munch mix must include popcorn and you must secretly sneak the snack into the movie theater.

Secret Movie Munch Mix 

1 serving

• 1 cup popcorn
• 1 package "The Secret Life of Pets" fruit flavored snacks
• 1/4 plain M & M's
• 1/4 cup freeze dried cinnamon apple slices
• 1/4 cup Rolled Gold Butter Snap pretzels

Place ingredients in an airtight container and shake. Enjoy during your favorite movie.

Goodbye and enjoy your snack mix. Have fun at your movie! My mom will see you tomorrow pets! 

Day 172 - Oh, hello. Monday is here and to be perfectly honest, today I'm not sure what to create. Maybe the first day of summer has made my brain crave a reboot. Or maybe I just need a day off. Either way, don't we all wish our brains had a refresh button? Imagine hitting refresh and instantly ideas would present themselves to us on a perfectly reloaded page. Doesn't our very own refresh button sound amazing, efficient and very android like?

My Brain Trying To Refresh

Well, since we are humans and not androids, lets be human and have fun today. Let's create a refresh button even if it's silly. Maybe draw a simple reload doodle on a Post-It note. Use some tape and cardboard to develop a 3-D reload button. Use a serious sketch book and draw up reload button. Sometimes stepping away mentally from what we need to do and creating something completely different refreshes our brains.

Well, I'm going to keep drawing my refresh button, hope my brain refreshes soon and kick off summer a great creative idea. Now, go reload your brain too and see you tomorrow humans!

Day 171 - This is a special post for all the dads out there in the world that take on the very difficult and heroic role of being a dad. There are a few in particular that I need to thank. One has done and still does a great job of being a great dad to me. The other has done an amazing job of being a terrific dad to our two little bear cubs. My favorite thing about both these men? They always can find humor in the moment. I dug up some old and new photos of these two fathers. Here are a few of my favorites.

A rare photo my dad and I.  First, notice his shirt says "HOT." Second, notice his expression. The story goes, he held me for this photo and my diaper leaked. 

Next up is a great photo of my dad with the outboard motor that he stuffed in the trunk of our 1977 Green Ford Granada on the way to Three Lakes Wisconsin. He loved that outboard motor. 

Thanks Dad for being a terrific father by making sure I wanted for a nothing and laugh about life along the way.

---

Now, as for the other dad I need to thank. All dads like to take afternoon naps and walk their kids to get donuts after breakfast right?

No way! You are a super, rad dad and our kids are lucky to have a funny, grumpy old bear as their protector.

Now, for today's project, look through old or new dad photos. Remember the good stuff the dads in our lives provide us. Then create a real, honest-to-goodness thank you for a dad in your life. It can be anyone that makes you feel cared for, loved or helps you laugh. Call them up, go over to their house or send them a message about what makes them special.

Well, I'm going to get to celebrating dad today and drag everyone out for a donut. Have a great father's day. "Cheers & Beers" to all you dads out there!

Day 170 - Morning! It's Saturday! I don't want to keep you from your game of lawn darts and impromptu BBQ plans, so let's talk today's project. Since Father's Day is tomorrow, simply create a card for Dad. Draw some doodles, make a short video or write a funny note. If you find yourself stumped, here is a free printable card just for dear old dad. PDF file here: Cool Dad Card.

Well, have fun creating that special greeting for dad, stay cool and see you tomorrow kiddos!

Day 169 - Helllllloooooo Friday! Since this Sunday is Father's Day, I have been thinking about my dad today, especially since it is summertime. My dad worked his buns off during most of the year but every summer, he made sure to take us on a luxury vacation to the beautiful and remote Three Lakes Wisconsin!

I remember being a kid and my dad packing a weeks worth of everything into the trunk of our glorious 1977 Green Ford Granada. Go ahead and Google it. The car is stunning. It had vinyl seats, no air conditioning and a manual transmission that no one could ever get out of reverse. Anyway, my dad would fill that car to the brim. The contents included three kids, a half a dozen fishing poles, bags of clothes and shoes for five people, a weeks worth of food in a cooler, 20 beach towels, five people and a full size outboard motor. Until this day, I am confident my dad plays a ruthless game of Tetris. 

We would spend an entire week in Three Lakes. As a kid, it was an amazing place, minus the leaches. There was fishing, boating and fun times. Fun times also included lots and lots of ice cream. My favorite flavor was bubble gum. It was an amazing summer scoop. Dear old dad always made sure to buy me a few dollops of the sugary, cold, sweet treat but only on summer vacation. In my dad's words, we aren't millionaires for crying out loud.

All this nostalgia, made me realize that I haven't seen bubble gum ice cream since those glorious summers in 1985. Today, I thought it would be fun to recreate the recipe for my kids. You can find the recipe below. However, today's project isn't to make bubble gum ice cream. Today's project is to pass on a good memory of dad to someone important to you or call dad and relive the memory. Create a connection of the past to the present. If you, however, would rather make dad something EXTRA special, let me introduce Bubble Gum Vanilla Bean Ice Cream.

Bubble Gum Vanilla Bean Ice Cream (using Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream vanilla bean ice cream recipe originally featured in "Food and Wine" magazine) 

• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 1/2 ounces cream cheese, softened (3 tablespoons)
• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
• Wilton Rainbow Bubble Gum Sprinkles

1. Fill a large bowl with ice water. In a small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch. In another large bowl, whisk the cream cheese until smooth.
2. In a large saucepan, combine the remaining milk with the heavy cream, sugar, corn syrup and vanilla bean and seeds. Bring the milk mixture to a boil and cook over moderate heat until the sugar dissolves and the vanilla flavors the milk, about 4 minutes. Off the heat, gradually whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Return to a boil and cook over moderately high heat until the mixture is slightly thickened, about 1 minute.
3. Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese until smooth. Whisk in the salt. Set the bowl in the ice water bath and let stand, stirring occasionally, until cold, about 20 minutes.
4. Strain the ice cream base into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Pack the ice cream into a plastic container.
5. Press a sheet of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the ice cream and close with an airtight lid. Freeze the vanilla ice cream until firm, about 4 hours. Add copious amount of bubble gum sprinkles and enjoy!

For the record, this was hands down the best homemade vanilla ice cream recipe ever! A big thanks to Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream for the stellar recipe. Well, I've got to get back to eating ice cream and telling my kids about their grandpa. Enjoy your cool summer scoop and reliving old times with a dad. See you tomorrow kids!

This post contains an affiliate link.

Day 168 - Hey! Can you believe it's June? I just looked up at my calendar. I have lost a month. When did May roll out and June roll in?  Maybe it's the cloudy weather here in California or the fact that life never seems to offer downtime, but I just realized it's June and this weekend is Father's Day!

Well, shoot! Let's make dear old dad feel special by making him something extra special today. My dad always use to, and still does, carry around a little keychain full of coins. When he would empty out his pockets at the end of the day, he would open the keychain and give me quarter. He would tell me to save it for a rainy day. He always said some day I might need that quarter. Yep, wise words Dad.

Today's project is inspired by that keychain memory. Let's create an extra special keychain for the any dad in your life. Here is what you will need:

• Oven Baked Clay {affiliate link}
• 1 1/2 - 1 3/4" round shape cutter (I used a shot glass)
• rolling pin
• cutting board
• a disposable straw
• parchment paper
• baking sheet
• 25mm split keyrings {affiliate link}

Step 1: Sketch out the keyring design. 

Step 2: Pick your clay colors and place the cutting board on a solid work surface. Pick the base color for the design and roll into a ball. Flatten the clay ball with the rolling pin until approximately 1/3 inch thick. 

Step 3: Add other colors to create your design. You will be rolling the clay to 1/4 inch thickness so any design you do will be pressed and bleed into the base. Remember to leave room for the split ring hole. Once the design is complete, roll to 1/4 inch thickness and use your round shape cutter to cut the circle around the design. If you want add text to the keyring, use stamps to create the text at this point of the process.

Step 4: Use the straw to add a hole for the split ring. Bake according to the clay's manufacturers directions. Slip the split ring into the hole on the keyring.

Step 5: Proudly present the custom rad keyring to dad.

Well, I need to get back to sketching up some more designs for the dads in my life. Take care of dad this weekend and see you tomorrow kids!

Day 167 - POW! Morning! It's Wednesday and I am realizing I am going to need superpowers to make it to Friday. Today I asked myself, what kind of superhero would l be? What would I look like? What is my superhero power? Would I fight for the dark side or the light side? As a superhero, who is my nemesis? Most importantly, is my superhero outfit amazing? 

Today's project is to make a list of your superhero powers and then draw yourself as a superhero. We are all superheroes and sometimes need to remind ourselves of what we have to offer the world. Ponder the above questions and then superpower dive into a doodle of yourself in your superhero gear. Reveal it to other superheroes in your life. Think about all the good (or evil) you bring to the world.

I need to get back to trying design anything while flipping panackes. See you tomorrow superheroes!

Day 166 - Oh hey. Yep, throwing in the towel today. Why not? Who cares? Do you hear me throwing my tantrum over here? Tantrum. I love that word. Who doesn't like a good tantrum? If you are a parent, you can see a tantrum a mile away. It's when screaming and endless crying creates an unabashed spectacle. I read an interesting book a few years ago about how the brain works. It broke down the stages of a child's tantrum to the logical brain and the emotional brain having difficulty agreeing on a resolution. 

As we mature into adults, it seems as if we should have the ability to manage the two sides of our brain. I, however, have witnessed talented and very mature adults tantrum. Today, I am finding myself empathizing with said adults because what is happening in the world right now seems senseless. My emotions are running high. When I am in this state, I think of my brilliant and talented friend Kari. She always says, "Being a human is hard." We have to feel stuff that might go against what we think. Life gets sticky, life get messy and to put it lightly life gets hard. Sometimes it feels like the best thing to do to immediately feel in control, is to throw a big hellacious tantrum. However, I am going to propose another way balance out the brain. 

Today or when you are feeling particularly on the fringe, try drawing, singing or dancing. Use the creative side of your brain to let out the crazy, bottled-up emotions. Let's think about it. When angry, doesn't it feel better to stomp around a bit? When firmly planted in a long meeting, doesn't doodling feel great? Stuck in traffic? Turning up the tunes and belting out a ballad is such therapy. Create balance in your brain today. Use your creative tools. They help us ride the wave to become human.

Well, I am going to pump up the volume, pump up the jam and pull out my notebook and try to make sense of all this stuff going on around us. Let me know how your surfing goes, take care and see you tomorrow, humans.

Day 165 - Hey readers. If the title of this post, Project 14, sounds like the title of a top secret experiment, then let your imagination run wild with government conspiracies and covert operations. Or, let me tell you about Project 14, which could be considered an experiment but definitely not a secret.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about about my struggle and success in the altMBA workshop. I'm not going to sugar coat it for you. It was an intense four weeks. While in the middle of the workshop, my life became a mess. There were days I ended up eating a cold corn dog for dinner at eleven-thirty at night. I'd be hammering away at deep philosophical learnings while trying to solve how to make an impact with my life. In short, my brain hurt. Everything felt uncomfortable. To put it lightly, I stretched myself beyond the person I thought I could be. The altMBA, however, was short term pain for a long term gain. Looking back it was an incredible four weeks, full of amazing people, and the opportunity to see my life from a wide-frame perspective.

Let's get back to Project 14. It's the last and final project for the altMBA. In this project, I am asked to share with you my incredible learnings gathered over the course. Some of you as readers, friends and family have already asked the following questions: "What is the altMBA?" "Do you get a certificate?" "Was it worth the time sink?" "Who is Seth Godin?" "Why did you do the class?" "Why did you disappear for four weeks?" "Did you like the class?" "What did you learn?" and the list goes on. In short, people were and are curious. While each person's experience at the altMBA can be very different, this video captures my key learnings of the altMBA. I hope the video answers some of your pressing questions:

Have more questions? Still curious? Do you want to talk more, grab coffee and a donut? Today's project is to create dialogue and drop me an email to get chatting. This workshop changed me. I'm confident if you are ready, it will change you too. Looking forward to hearing from you, future students.

Day 164 - Hey! Well, I'm going to report on yesterday, today. Initially, yesterday was a frustrating day. In fact it was a week full of disappointments, dead ends and no thanks. Yesterday started out as a nice exclamation point on the week. 

Let me explain. I gathered up the family, stuffed them in a car and headed out on an adventure. I had every intention of working hard to document the day with beautiful photos and create a terrific story. However, I found myself just wanting to enjoy the day. There was the amazing bakery which provided an out of this world cream cheese danish. We ran into the coolest, sweetest and largest dog we had ever encountered. The community pool where we dunked and played as a family turned into a beautiful two hours fun fest. Our lunch was delicious and filled with laughs and monkey business. We returned home for the adults to enjoy a glass of wine in a gorgeous local garden. 

Now, this might sound like utopia, and it was an amazing day. I am forever thankful to the universe for this Saturday filled with so much joy. However, the way I was approaching the day and the way the week had progressed, was like a woodpecker trying to peck a hole in a metal flagpole. I was trying incredibly hard at trying to change something that wasn't in my control. I needed to resign myself and realize sometimes the best way change is to just let the universe do it's job and "try easy." 

Today, create and change by letting the day create for you. Today, kick back, make no clear intention or defined plan. Tuck the smart phone away, turn off the television, don't do any work and just "try easy."

Looking back on the day, I have realized sometimes you don't need to create anything. Sometimes sitting back and enjoying life and letting the universe create a day for you is the best way to change tomorrow. 

Bouchon Bakery Yountville & Gott's Roadside

Day 163 - Hi there. It's Saturday and the last thing on your mind this morning is most likely the upcoming U.S. presidential election. However, California just held Tuesday's primary and I heard a statistic that I want to share with you. Only 49% of California's registered voters voted in Tuesday's primary or 8.9 million people. What happened to the other 51%? 

For a state that fights government for the right to grow kale on their front lawns, develops laws banning plastic bags and creates limitations for driverless cars, 49% seems absurd. Today's project is to create a movement and get everyone you know and that can vote, to vote in the November election. If you know someone who isn't registered, ask them to get registered. Spark the fire that moves people to create political change. 

I'm going to get back to researching "League of Women Voters" and think about strategies to ensure friends and family go to the polls this November. In short, let's get out the vote and change 49% to100%. See you tomorrow great citizens.

This post contains affiliate links.

Day 162 - Hey! Whew. Made it to Friday. When I was a kid weekends always held a reservation for a game night. That is to say my parents tucked all three of us in the car and drove over to their friends house. This is where the kids sat and watched the adults play board games like Mille Bornes {affiliate link} and Clue. {affiliate link}

Today I had flash backs of watching my parents laugh, chuckle and have a great time. Having these memories makes me want to create some similar fun. Tonight throw and impromptu ladies night. (Guys, it's a man's man's world. Tonight, it's the ladies turn.) Request that everyone bring a board game or a deck of cards. Throw together some snacks. Create some laughs as you compete to find out who did it in the library! 

If you want to go an extra mile, create this great game night guacamole and homemade soda recipe. They are easy, fast and delicious.

Game Night Guacamole  

Makes 4 servings

• 2 ripe avocados
• 5 cherry tomatoes finely chopped
• 2 large cloves garlic finely chopped
• 2 limes freshly squeezed
• 2 tablespoons red onion
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 bag of tortilla chips

Step 1: Cut the avocados in half. Remove the pit. Scoop out soft inside into a bowl. Add the cherry tomatoes, garlic, limes, red onion and sea salt. With a folk mix and mash the guacamole until mixed but still chunky. Serve immediately with tortilla chips

Homemade Soda

Makes 1 serving

• 1 - 8oz can of La Croix Coconut Seltzer Water  
• 3 tablespoons Grenadine syrup
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Quince shrub syrup
• cherries for garnish (optional)

Pour the seltzer water into a glass. Add the grenadine and shrub syrup to the glass. Mix gently and garnish with a cherry. Enjoy!

I need to get back to mashing up some guac and mixing up the soda. Let me know if you laugh away the night see you tomorrow Mrs. Peacock!

Day 161 - Yes. Hello. It's almost summer and I was thinking about what summer means today. It's a time for kicking back, relaxing and taking life in. It's a time to enjoy the sweet things in life like reading a great book. The idea of reading and summer has inspired today's project. I don't know how many of you still read books versus an e-reader but I love to crack open a good hard copy novel. There is just something about the feel of the pages and the smell of the ink. It screams summertime. What is the best accessory for a book? A bookmark. I have lots bookmarks. They have been collected throughout the years and bring back amazing memories of places been and joys shared. 

Today's project is to create a summer themed book mark for yourself and one for a friend. You can find a blank template here: Blank Bookmark Template. Once your summer design is complete just cut, fold and glue the two sides together. Maybe make a hole and add a piece of twine. Then tuck it into your summer reading and give the other to your friend. Summer wouldn't be complete without a good book, good bookmark and a good friend.

If you find yourself short on time, I have designed a few summer bookmarks for you. You can download the PDF file here: Summer Bookmark Free Printables: Designs 1-2 & 3-4. 

Well, I better get back to my reading list. Have fun creating a great summer bookmark design and see you tomorrow, hopefully at the beach!

Day 160 - Greetings! Yesterday, California held the Primary for the 2016 Presidential election. I hope if you live in the state of California you got out there and voted! It's not only important to democracy but voting is sexy. Well, maybe I over sold that last part but there is something about the process of making action toward belief that is pretty sexy. However, believing in something that can ignite change can sometimes feel like a house of cards. When I was standing in line yesterday, waiting to vote, I thought about all the people who wouldn't vote. Not couldn't vote, who wouldn't vote. What if we ALL decided to simply not vote? What would that look like? It occurred to me for the amount of complaining we do about politicians and politics, we are in control of the cards. Our political system counts on us to make sure we set up the cards and they don't fall over. 

In the spirt democracy, today's project is to create a house of cards. You will need an old deck of playing cards. The finish on the cards should be slightly rough not smooth. You can find a "How To Build A House Of Cards Tutorial" on wikiHow. Each time your cards fall over think about our political system and how it depends on each of us to keep it strong. I spent about 45 minutes trying to get the cards to stack. It was torture but it made me think that I need to take steps now to create myself into a better citizen.

Well, I am going to get back to watching "House Of Cards" on Netflix. Let me know how your houses turn out and see you later Frank and Claire Underwood!

Day 156 - Oh hey. I'm just here sitting at my desk dreaming of the beach. Who doesn't love a day of sand, surf and sun? Not to mention our hair looks amazing after a day at the beach. For some reason, the salty ocean air paired with the blazing rays of the sun makes tresses glorious. After consulting with the all mighty Google, I have found a DIY sea salt spray recipe to recreate the beach waves that create beloved mermaid hair. Go ahead and try this recipe. It made my hair feel like a great day at the beach.

Mermaid Waves Sea Salt Spray (original recipe found on Huffpost Style)

You will need:

• A plastic spray bottle
• 1 tablespoon of sea salt
• 1 tablespoon of melted organic coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon of leave-in hair conditioner
• 1 cup of warm water

Step 1: Pour the warm water and sea salt into the spray bottle. Give it a generous shake until salt dissolves.

Step 2: Combine the melted coconut oil and leave-in conditioner into a separate bowl, then add the mixture to your spray bottle.

Step 3:  Shake the bottle again. Homemade sea salt spray done. Apply to towel-dried hair and wait for the mermaid wave to appear.

However, today's project is to think about how you might design a logo for your newly created sea salt spray. What do you need the logo design to communicate? What color pallet would work best for this product? What is the name you would give to the product? Packaging is the last ten seconds of marketing. How would you use those last ten seconds to influence people and sell your product? Think about the voice of the brand you create today.

I'm going to get back to dreaming about the beach. Drop me a line and let me know how your ideas spray out. I'll see you tomorrow, great hair and all!