SONOFA!

Seriously, this had been the easiest issue we'd done.... I remember telling Daina on a Thursday - right before files were suppose to be shipped on the Friday - that it was such an EASY issue!!! Yeh, that night it went to shit.

And 3 weeks later we STILL don't have our summer issue on the street. HOWEVER today we get a couple of boxes. Which might help to renew our excitement about the mag.

There are some things I can't control, or so I've been told. SO I've decided to stop dwelling in the depths of despair and focus on the good stuff... like a dream I had last night about our next Eye Candy feature....

So I'm checking out this house that's for sale and in the living room is Michael Buble! I thought, "He might appeal to the ladies out there and I def. dig his music ... but THEN in walks Dermot Mulroney! You know... My Best Friend's Wedding.... the Wedding Date.... super sexy lips...

I couldn't believe my LUCK! So I chat them up and make "dates" with each of them to shoot them for our Eye Candy spread. They were so charming and sweet! And we even did Karaoke!

And then I woke up.

So, it was a great dream and I will dwell on that today.

Now, I must go make coffee. Gawd KNOWS I won't have a good day if I don't have a coffee!!!

t.

See ya later...

That's exactly what I said to the files as I sent them off to the printer this morning!! YIPPEEE! The summer issue is FINALLY done! It looks so good...I can't even begin to tell you how pleased I am with the revamped design!!!

The copy is tight, the design is SWEET and I can't wait to see a hard copy!

We have some really cool content: How to grow your own Tea Garden is by far my personal favourite! It is such a neat piece by Amanda Whiting. Who KNEW you could grow your one tea garden? That is such a cool concept and made super easy by Amanda's awesome writing!

On a personal note I have to give a HUGE thank you to my hubby Ron who has been the most understanding, supportive guy a girl could ever ask for. I haven't seen him since I started production on this issue...three weeks ago? Good gawd. But I did redesign it so that took a bit of extra time...

Anyway Ron has been amazing... You know the old adage "Behind every successful man is a tired woman." Well, in my case it has been Ron who has taken care of everything - kids, the house, the dog... I truly am a lucky girl!!

On that note, I will keep you posted as to our official street date. Patience... for a taste of what's to come browse the website. I will be updating it this week!

Cheers!
t.

deadlines are looming...

We're winding down from the re:Treat and heading straight into press mode.

One of the biggest problems we're having now is getting our system in place so that we can effectively come out every 2 months starting in Septemeber.

We're excited about doing that... a little overwhelmed at the prospect, perhaps, but we have some really great stuff we're adding to the mag to make it even better than the last 3 issues!!!

On that note, bear with us. We are tired, cranky and living on coffee and no sleep.

But we had a blast at the re:Treat and from what we're hearing you did too!!!

We're looking forward to your feedback for the next issue of the magazine. Keep us posted on your comments...Big Daddy promises not to take any shots at you. Yes you. :}

cheers!
t.

soooo sleepy...

Vegas was a blast. No surprise there!!! Daina and Jody kept everything flowing smoothly while I was gone so we are MORE than prepared for the re:Treat this weekend!!!

I can't believe all of the great things we have to give you!!!!!!

If you haven't bought your ticket, get it at the door. This is one party EVERYONE is gonna be talking about!!!!!

I'm so tired, tho. My liver is is shutdown mode after four days of being drunk and having no sleep. Yeah VEGAS BABY!!! I think it will be a very subdued day for me tomorrow but I am sure Daina, Amanda and Rebecca will party like rockstars in my absence.

See y'all tomorrow!!!

t.

In 48 hours, I plan on being in front of a slot machine. This same time next week, I will be FRANTICALLY prepping for the re:Treat!!!

I hope we get a lot of people!! I'm excited to meet some of the readers...

I'm more excited to get on that plane, tho. It means Daina and Jody have to deal with everything!!!! Maybe they'll appreciate me a little more when they see EVERYTHING that I do. Yes. Po' me. LOL

Anyway I've been up since 4 a.m. and still haven't had a coffee SO I must bid farewell... until after the re:Treat.

We'll be at the Little Monster's Swap Meet today at the Tri Leisure from 11-2 p.m..... stop by and say hi!

cheers!!
t.

Dooooooode! I have 72 hours until I leave for Vegas. I have SO much to do!!!! BAH!

We'll be at the Little Monsters Swap Meet at the Tri Leisure selling tickets for the re:Treat ... be sure to get yours!

I got an email yesterday from Olga who is a fan from Austria! How cool is that?!! She's somewhere in our distribution area visiting and picked up the mag at her friend's house. She's not a mom (yet) but she says "My first reaction was WOW!! What a great idea you (gorgeous) ladies have. The magazine is insightful and funny - nothing quite like it in Austria I must say."

How sweet! She's thinks we're gorgeous! :}

"It is cool and smart not the typical mothering magazine, but judging by the way you ladies act and look (went to your website - what a great looking bunch) you are not the typical mothers. Your husbands are very lucky indeed, Canadian women are so beautiful!!"

Yes, Olga, you're right. Our husbands ARE lucky bastards! LOL

Anyway I wanted to share that because any time we get feedback - negative or positive - we take it seriously and love to hear what you have to say. Especially if you think we're gorgeous! :}

I heard on the radio yesterday about a book called My Beautiful Mommy. Sweet title, isn't it. Makes me think of a nice book with cute things kids say about their moms. No. You know what that crap is? It's about how to explain to your kid WHY you're getting plastic surgery!! Written by a doctor in California so that kids understand what their mom is doing and WHY it will make her "beautiful."

What a crock of -'scuse the language in this blog but it's gonna get nasty - SHIT! Seriously.

I haven't read this book but I'm gonna. And I'm gonna blog and write about it in the next issue.

From what Charles Adler on 630 CHED was saying, this book is about endorsing plastic surgery to younger kids and to ingrain in their psyche that plastic surgery is something they NEED.

This pisses me off. I don't care if a grown woman chooses to a boob job or a nose job or a tummy tuck. That is YOUR prerogative. But to make a kid - who is impressionable and can be swayed to think the way their parents think - believe that in order for them to be accepted into mainstream society they must fix something... IS BULLSHIT. Seriously.

Lola is 2 years old. She is beautiful. Oz is 6. He has the most gorgeous orange hair and is the cutest kid in the world! My kids are great the way they are. They will grow up hearing that from me.

I've heard of stories from moms - friends or colleagues of mine - who have been told by THEIR own parents that they needed a nose job or that they really should lose weight because their ass is too big... what the hell kind of parenting is that?

Maybe it's JUST ME but that kind of parenting is a form of abuse because you're raising your kid to believe in the magazines out there that airbrush and feature size 0 models as the "standard" of which you should aspire.

More BULLSHIT. I can't stand those damn magazines and I do NOT like the path society is taking. If being a size 0 and having perky boobs or a porcelain skin is the only reason I would be liked or loved, then I'll take my fat rolls and double chin because there is NOTHING wrong with me the way I am. I am a good person and a great friend. I am not perfect on the outside or on the inside but I am OK with that.

And anyone who isn't can kiss my fat ass because I will change for myself, NOT for anyone else.

My Beautiful Mommy?

As far as I'm concerned, that doctor in California is a dumbass who is going to contribute to bulimia, anorexia and self-hate in little girls everywhere.

Unless us moms unite and take a stand against BULLSHIT like this!

Ahem. I'm going to get another coffee. And get back to work. Dammit. 71 hours left...

tamara

The evolution of MOM Mag

I just got an email from CIRA...for those who don't know, CIRA is the governing body for web domains, websites, etc...

It said I have 7 days to renew MOMmagazine.ca

Do you know what that means? It MEANS the concept of MOM Magazine is a YEAR OLD!!! Holy crap! I didn't launch the site until mid May of last year but I must have started researching the domains this time last year.

Where has the time gone?

I boggled. Seriously. I never would have thought that the magazine would have come this far, this quickly. Who woulda thunk that I would have done a photo shoot of Sheldon Souray for an issue of MOM Mag???

Back in the day when I was a sports scribe I used to think that some of those players needed to be featured in a way that was appealing to women. A calendar, maybe? Some sort of shoot that would show women who WEREN'T hockey fans why they SHOULD be hockey fans.

Shooting Sheldon allowed me to achieve that goal.

Anyway, I digress... where the hell has the time gone? I think registering the domain was the first step to launching MOM Magazine. In fact, I don't even think I told Big Daddy that I was doing it.

But really, it was only a $15 investment and my time for doing the site WHICH has come a long way since I first launched it.

I just thought I share that milestone with you at this early hour. Yes, it's 4:30 a.m. and I am trying to get as much done before we leave for Vegas next week. Can't leave Jody and Daina with TOO many things to take care of before the re:Treat!!

I've got to go make some coffee. Seriously, I won't function much longer without it.

t.