Archive for the ‘Rambling...’ Category

(I’m a very visual person but I have no photography relevant to this post. I’m sorry but here’s a pretty flower picture to enjoy until spring.)

Almost 8 months ago I started this blog. For me it began as a creative outlet – mainly for photography. But that’s not what got me started. Something happened to tip me over the edge, to move me forward in starting the blog.

Something very simple.

Our children were getting older, more independent. I could see how, very soon, I would have more and more independence of my own too. And while it would be nice to think I could just waltz back into my old career, who’s going to hire a “former” art director that’s been a full-time stay at home mom for the past 11 years?

Yeah, right.

As a prior creative in advertising, I’m constantly thinking of tag lines, headlines, slogans, funny quips, jingles and visual puns. I secretly rate commercials. It’s what I do. Ideas for Saturday Night Live skits flow through my mind – like it’s my job or something.

And, believe me, I know I’m not alone. Creative people are everywhere. Everywhere.

So one day, about this time last year, when I had an idea for a Chick-fil-A cow commercial, it shouldn’t have been anything out of the ordinary. But it was a good idea.

Obvious really.

So obvious and grand that I decided to contact one of Chick-fil-A’s ad agencies of record in Texas via email to share the concept.

The brilliance. The sheer genius.

That’s sarcasm people. I don’t make a habit of tooting my horn and haven’t contacted an agency for a job since quitting years ago, much less to tell them I’m a creative marvel. So what was I thinking? I was a stay at home mom. The last time I had been in a brainstorming session (with associates much more creative than me) was during the first trimester of my now 11 year old. I could barely admit to others in public that I liked to take pictures and now I’m contacting an ad agency to tell them I’m the bomb with a good idea?

All I can say is that when you hit 40 things change. A new kind of confidence (or carelessness) emerges.

I looked for the actual email exchange. I must’ve deleted it, but as I recall it went something like this…

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Dear Oh Mighty Creative Ad Agency,

You don’t know me but I rock. I eat Chick-fil-A all the time and had a burst of creative inspiration whilst eating one of their tasty sandwiches last week. As a former art director I’m not just any Chick-fil-A eating numbskull who thinks they have a good idea. I actually have a good idea. An idea for a commercial with the cows.

Please contact me so I can share my great mind with you.

Sincerely,
The marvelous mind of Amy

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And their response…

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Oh dear, Amy,

Thank you but we’re disinclined to acquiesce to your request.

Sincerely,
I’m-so-lucky-I-have-a-cool-job-and-you-don’t-agency-chick

.

(Yes, again sarcasm. I’m full of it.)

Of course I’m aware of all the advertising standards, policies, contracts, etc, so I shouldn’t have been surprised when I received a no. I understood and fully expected it. I’m sure they get crazies contacting them all the time.

But, still it was a good idea and I was frustrated. Angry even.

I began to stew about it. It churned my insides. Funny how it took someone saying “no, we don’t even want to hear what you think” to get me going. A conversation with myself ensued and continued over the course of weeks ’til I was convinced that they could suck it and I should open my own agency.

(I would never tell anyone to suck it. That’s not very nice, but it sounds pretty edgy, real dramatic. And my husband thinks I should be more edgy.)

Anyway, out of my frustration grew the desire to push past any barricade for my creativeness and do my own thing. Hence the blog, She Wears Many Hats, was born.

So thank you sweet lady from the ad agency in Texas who wouldn’t even listen to my idea.

Thanks. I now have a blog.

And not only do I have a creative outlet, but I’ve learned to spread my wings.

And yeah, my little ol’ blog is one of several hundreds of thousands, but it’s mine. Mine.

And it’s been fun – it’s made me look at every day with a different set of eyes.

And it’s made me push myself out of my comfort zone many times. It’s given me more confidence.

And while I’ll never call myself a writer (writers have editors, proofreaders, writers know how to always use perfect subject verb agreement;), it’s given me a voice.

And most of all, very most of all, the one thing I never expected, is that it’s given me new friends, from everywhere. So many super, wonderful people I would’ve never met otherwise.

So thank you again advertising chick in Texas. I now have a blog, partly thanks to you.

(And I still have a great idea for a Chick-fil-A ad, so ha!)

So, tell me, what in your life has pushed you out of your comfort zone?

Or are you still stuck and need a little nudge?

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This week my life was filled with many things but here are some highlights.

Modifying Nerf guns.

And a plethera of parts and trips for parts for multiple modifications. I’m over the Nerf gun modification phase for now.

Boiled peanuts.

And burning peanuts. Yeah, I’ll get back to you later on that.

And this creature, our dog, Jake.

He’s very demanding.

Pretty uneventful around here. I can’t complain.

What about you? What have you been up to?

I’d love to hear.

They say Napa is all about the food and wine. And, no doubt, I enjoyed some food last weekend that was out of this world.

But, for me, Napa was more about the people.

Thanks to the gracious people from Bush’s Beans, I had the privilege to travel to Napa to cook at The Culinary Institute of America (CIA for short) for a day with three other bloggers. Sandy from Reluctant Entertainer, Tina from Mommy’s Kitchen, and Aggie from Aggie’s Kitchen were my cohorts in the culinary adventure. They’re wonderful, beautiful ladies, inside and out. We had great fun in the kitchen.

I’m so tickled for the chance to get to know each lady – hope to see them again soon!

We cooked, ate and shared creative ways to use beans. It was a blast. (Be on the lookout for new recipes that I’ll be posting soon adding to my Bodacious Bean recipe file.)

Ken, Katie, and Christina, all representing Bush’s Beans, were our hosts along with Connie Guttersen.

Their genuineness and relaxed demeanor was passed on to all of us. You feed off of people like that. I have to admit that I left home a little concerned about not measuring up or feeling uncomfortable, but they certainly set me at ease immediately. Their companies hired well.

Under the direction of Connie Guttersen, R.D., Ph.D., author of The Sonoma Diet, and Andy Wild from the CIA, we managed not to lose any digits and succeeded in cooking up some tasty eats.

Connie Guttersen is as refreshing and positive about what she does as anyone I’ve ever met.

She knows her stuff and was a wealth of information in the kitchen. She’s an encourager – a cheerleader. Connie will be starting her own personal blog soon and I can’t wait to share it with you as soon as it premiers.

Andy Wild from the CIA was our instructor in the kitchen for the day.

I’m not sure what he thought about all of us taking pictures of every single thing he said and did, but I was thankful that he was chosen to be our go-to man.

He taught us the basics in knife skills as well as other tips.

I was sad to say goodbye to the CIA Friday afternoon. It truly was a day I’ll not forget.

Later that night my husband (yep, Randy was able to go with me and I’m so glad he did) and I met Michelle from What’s Cooking and her husband, Glenn at Ad Hoc for dinner.

Once again the food was fabulous but the company was even better. We laughed and talked for hours, practically closing the place.

Look how cute and tan she is? And I’m so, so…pink.

How is it that you can meet people for the first time in real life and feel like you’ve known them forever? It’s amazing to me. Michelle is a forever kind of a friend. Be sure to check out her site – especially if you’re interested in cooking with kids.

I know this sounds like a bunch of hiney kissing, but honestly, everywhere we visited over the weekend we met super people. Whether a cab driver, wait staff, door man, or a stranger on the street, at every turn there was a smiling face, a helpful hand – definitely noteworthy hospitality. And I’m from the South where we’re known for hospitality.

Truly the people made our experience a real treat and I’m very thankful for that.

(While Bush’s Beans covered much of the cost of our trip, no one paid me to say these nice things. There are nice people in this world – real nice people – everywhere. No bull. Nice people. Nice.)