Summer fun drone photography!

Fourth of July party peel-out.

Little ones scurrying across a bridge.

Rafting Lower Flathead, MT.

Painting the ski hill with oil paints

I finally faced my fears and used the oil paints I got as a gift a year ago. Absolutely amazing, and far better than acrylics! I haven’t painted in ages and the colors, working with oil, getting high from all the fumes (ha, kidding)–loved it.

For this painting, I really wanted something in my living room that was winter/ski themed, and my husband LOVES ski maps, and we can just barely see a little corner of the Pajarito Townsite Tun if you stand in a specific spot in our living room sorta (haha)–so this concept was perfect. I drafted it from our ski map as well as an aerial shot I saw of Pajarito and with my own knowledge of the runs (I took some artist liberties on the accuracy of the runs, i.e., don’t use this as a map haha, but my favorite runs, the “fab four”, and Townsite Run are definitely defined). The tree in the corner was actually a little Christmas tree we had in our living room, and it posed nicely while I painted it! Fun project, looking forward to when I get a chance to paint again!

10 best camping gift ideas! Must-haves for teramping! (Terrific-camping)

Camping outside of Sipapu, New Mexico.

*Update: I have to add the Ooni Gas pizza oven. I just got it for my husband for Christmas, and we have already used it nonstop. Its a portable gas pizza oven, and we took it up for a day trip up in the mountains, made a fire and pizzas after sledding. We also took it up to Angel Fire, NM and made pizza for all my family. So easy, and SO YUM.

Kelty Low Loveseat Camping Chair

This chair is amazing. We initially got it for music festivals where ‘low’ chairs were required. I thought that might mean a little uncomfy for us tall-folks, but this chair is AMAZING! Probably my favorite piece of camping equipment. Why you ask, am I so obsessed with this? Well most of camping is outside, cold, and to cuddle right up next to your loved ones while camping is the best.

2. Insulated French Press

We’ve done all things coffee while camping. Aeropress, bike-pump espresso, and well, an insulated French Press is the best. We actually bring two–one for regular coffee, and the other for decaf. For those lazy camping days where you just want to read and sip mug after mug of coffee, a French Press makes a big pot and keeps it hot.

3. Hammock

Hammocks are so relaxing. Except when you have kids, then they all the sudden become amusement rides, or Amazon river rafting or whatever their imagine gives them… Either way, lots of entertainment (and a bit of having to yell at them to NOT try a 360 with their two-year-old brother), but again fun for all.

4. Mini Guitar

I feel like most of us people want to learn a couple chords on the guitar, or at least pretend to know something while belting out Kumbaya. I’m lucky enough to be married to someone who can actually play the thing while I read a book and drink wine. Our daughter plays it and makes up songs. Overall, entertaining and bonding. This coupled with a simple song book makes a great gift. (Or if you’re me playing, a painful interruption to camping, but at least I’m having fun!)

5. Awning

I can’t count how many times we went camping and it rained. Which, rain while camping is actually quite nice when you have an awning. You can hang out underneath, cook, whatever. And, if your in the southwest, you have shade.

6. Waterproof Rug

Okay, okay. My #1 reason for loving the rug is because they make your campsite so cozy! But really it’s nice to have a place to sit that’s not in mud, or the kids can play.

7. Katanaboy or Pocket Chainsaw

The men on my last cam-trip (my husband and a family friend) tapped into their manliness by competing the Kitano Boy and Chainsaw. They ultimately decided the Kitano Boy and the Pocket Chainsaw did an equal job , after working up a sweat and appetite for beer, and creating a nice pile of firewood. We had quite the bonfire that night.

8. Floatie and Pump

This feels ridiculous saying you need this, but wow, they provide so much fun even if you camp in New Mexico like us and every campsite we’ve gone to has had a tiny-weeny little creek. Just pump up the raft and the kids just play in and around it for hours. Or I sit in it. One creek was so small, the kids spent hours building a dam, and then the raft had a little pool to float in! Playing in a creek is such a good way to cool off, especially if you have a floaty to relax on.

9. Pocket Knife

Nothing like the classic Swiss Army Knife. The kids have spent hours whittling and carving sticks with a pocket knife. It’s really a good skill to have, and they really enjoy creating their little weapons or marshmallow sticks or what have you. I’m not gonna lie, my favorite tool is the wine bottle opener.

10. Rubber-soled slippers or Uggs/Emos

Camping with cozy warm shoes makes all the difference on whether you want to actually go outside each cold morning. Love these shoes.

Summer 2020 Camping Review! And other adventures..

Santa Cruz Lake

And so here we are, at the end of the summer <tear>. I love summer. It’s by far my favorite season. Sunshine, water, green trees–I love it. And got outdoors a lot this summer so here is a review of the spots, starting with my favorites.

Fawn Lakes Campground; Red River, NM I LOVED this site. There was a little creek running through the campground, gorgeous pines, and it was only 2 miles from the town of red river that has an amazing coffee shop (Steam) and a candy shop (win-win for mama and kids–maybe fudge and giant lolipops) . We played for hours in the creek (adults included!), had campfires, I read an entire book–ahh, this place was a great experience.

The creek at Fawn Lakes campground was so fun!

Chama RV park; Chama, NM I am not an RV park person, but this place was beautiful. It was right off the highway nestled in a magical forest of cottonwoods. The place was so clean, and right on the river and there was a train track right there in the campsite (major perk for my 2-year-old).

Train tracks for a 2-year-old? Totally awesome.

Redondo Campsite; Jemez, NM The Jemez is just gorgeous–Valle Caldera, Las Conchas–you can’t beat it. We only stayed here for a night, but it was just a no-nonsense beutiful forested site that had a lot of loops so yeah, bringing the bikes next time!

Hike to Lake Gregario during our stay in the Jemez.

Hopewell Campground; Between Tierra Amarilla and Tres Piedras, NM This site is beautiful and has a lake right next to it. The reason its toward the bottom of my list is that someone poached our reserved site, and we got a pretty crummy site on the side of a really windy hill–but the place is right near a beautiful little reservoir that made for some great paddle boarding. The loop was also really nice to bike the babe around. There is some trails too around here that are quite pretty.

Cimarron Campground; Colfax County, NM This might of been one of the most stunning drives–you drive past a place called Valle Vidal and its just a gorgeous mountain valley. The down side is 14 miles of really rough washboard road. and then once we got to the campsite, there was a chorus of generators all weekend. Someone put their generator in our site so they didn’t have to hear it, and started it at 7 am. It is a horse site–so I think it attracted some pretty massive trailer-folk that wanted their movies. on a projector. at 12 am.

Driving out to Cimarron campground. Not to be confused with the one in CO, or the town of Cimarron which is actually quite far from this place.

This is Rio Grande–amazing picnic/floaty spots near Pilar, NM.

That’s all the camping I remember! We have 1 more camp trips planned, and a yurt bike trip–so maybe I’ll update this blog. Other note-able adventures was going down to the Rio grande to paddle board and just cool off, visiting Angel fire to hike and paddle board, and visiting Santa Cruz lake which is about an hour from here and totally worth the drive. We also did a trip to Lake Tahoe which was quite amazing to isolate on a lake–best memories being kayaking with the girls, river rafting, and drink margaritas on the paddle board on the lake. And of course, just being in Los Alamos–the trails are so gorgeous this time of year, and I did quite a bit of mountain biking thanks to all the winter Peloton training. So yeah, totally ready to sit down at my computer for the next 9 months and let my sunburns get a chance to recover…

Hiking in Los Alamos with this guy.

Why I love camping with my tear drop camper (with THREE kids!)

If you can possibly see beyond this adorable bed-head, this is our camping setup.

I love our teardrop camper. It is tiny. The inside is literally the size of a queen bed on wheels, with a hatchback kitchen space. Last year we met some people at a campsite who got a major kick out of how many kids crawled out of our teardrop camper–one, two, “wow, three kids in there!” Yep, three kids plus me, and my husband.

Our 2014 Little Guy Silver Shadow 6wide. Love it!

Here’s why I love it.

1. You don’t have to spend days packing. I love camping. I love outdoor cooking, I love hearing birds and breeze and reading and playing guitar and watching the sky change color. You get my drift. But with three kids it takes HOURS to pack. There is so much stuff! If it’s just me, then I can pretty much camp with just a sleeping bag and a hefty bag of trail mix, but my family of five needs SO MUCH STUFF to keep them well fed and clothed (mostly) and to well, just survive.. And there are so, so many things that if you forget your camp trip could be a total disaster. Like a pot for cooking, or children’s Tylenol, or a pacifier, or shoes (yes, those have been forgotten…)–we have a list of about 75 items that we need for a stress free weekend–anyways, the camper is stocked with all that. Its ready to go! Everything stays organized and accessible (versus having an avalanche of stuff fall out your car every time you need to grab just. one. thing.) Just fill the cooler and grab some clothes and diapers, and um, shoes, and well we are ready to rock!

2. Hard walls means the camper is warm and you are safer from bears if that happens to be a concern (some national parks require them). We have an attached tent for summer nights and some of us spill out into that. But on cold nights, it is so nice to have a hard walled, warm place to sleep. Its also nice to not worry about bears eating you (because again, hard walls), especially if someone sneaks fruit loops in their sleeping bag.

3. It’s really easy to haul and easy move around (you can move it by hand). I like the fact that I can confidently park it just about anywhere .

4. It fits in our carport and works as a storage place for our camp stuff. We don’t have a garage, or much storage in our home, so this is a major bonus for us.

5. It can go just about anywhere our car can go–so we can do dispersed camping more easily than if we had a bigger trailer.

6. It’s super cute. I’d like to say this doesn’t matter to me, but there’s something about tear drop that just makes me want to hit the road and go explore.

7. We cook outside. This to me is one of the best parts of camping. The hatchback kitchen area has all the cooking stuff ready to go.

8. It’s high quality compared to larger trailers. The few times I’ve been in a new larger trailer, they feel like they are about to fall apart. There is the fake wood trim, fake granite–and this serves a purpose, it helps make the trailer lighter. But, I love how we have birch cabinets, wood interior–everything feels solid and is going to last a really long time.

9. There is pretty much nothing to maintain. No bathroom, plumbing, plumbed in stove–after we had a cabin this was super important to us. We just want to enjoy wherever we go and not spend time fixing anything. Even if that means peeing in the woods.

10. It’s just fun! Cuddling with the kids, the memories we are making–it’s awesome. I love it. I love raising my kids in the great outdoors and watching them play outside and learn how to use a pocket knife or cook weird things on the camp stove, or hangout with friends by a fire.

There are cons. The obvious one being the size of it makes for sleeping to be a hit or miss experience–the main issues being a.) making sure its well ventilated with 5 people and b.) the fact that I have a two-year-old that literally spins like a pinwheel all night, which has lead to me having a foot in my face more than once. Also, not being able to stand up inside is not great–I know that’s a small thing, but putting on pants is quite challenging, and its not really a space you would hang out in. The side tent has addressed these problems though–we have more sleeping room if we want it (even though we still usually all end up inside!) and a place to change and keep extra stuff, and with New Mexico monsoons, a place to go inside while its raining has been pretty nice. So, in a nutshell, we love the tear drop with the side tent included. It’s made for some pretty epic trips this summer–we’ve gone out about every other weekend, and I don’t think I would have done that if I had to pack. every. single. time.

But hey, it is small, and maybe the putting-on-pants thing will get to me, and we’ll upgrade to a 40 ft RV… Stay tuned ;)!

My first professional podcast and what you need to know to make one

One of my ‘interviewees’ for my podcast that focused around ‘kid’s thoughts’ during the COVID-19 pandemic.

I just did my first podcast, and yep, it was quite fun!

I did take an audio/video course, and more recently a three day intensive podcast course from NYU. But, I learned, pretty much anyone can do a podcast.

I just completed two podcasts–one for my class, and the other for my job. For my class, I did a lighthearted podcast in which I interviewed my kids about the COVID-19 pandemic. For work, the podcast was a bit more serious–a day in the life of a B-2 bomber pilot.

Why did I start a podcast? Well, while I am writing this, we are in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and its been a whirlwind of work and taking care of my kids and never, ever having any time to sit and relax and well, read. I am the art director for a magazine, and for the longer feature stories, a podcast seemed like the perfect solution to give our audience an easy-to-access and digestible format: audio. Luckily my team had a lot of support from managers, and the B-2 bomber himself, who read the story. I hosted the podcast, and the editor helped with the wording of the introductions, and another colleague, who had experience with NPR helped editing the music and ‘bed music’ (or the music playing under the audio). My husband actually made most of the music using his band-in-a-box gizmo and guitar, and I just threw a comforter over his amp and recorded it! It was totally a result of the pandemic–working remotely while sending files to each other, getting feedback, and recording and editing using what we had to work with–but the end result was really awesome! And totally a great, accessible format for those of us that don’t have time, or if your like me, find audio a really engaging way to listen to a story.

To get started making a podcast, you really only need three things:

1. Something to record your voice with (I used the iPhone voice memo app),

2. something to edit audio and export an audio file (Mp3). I used Adobe Audition for my work podcast, but for the one I did in the NYU intensive course I used something called Hindenburg–both have free trials, and

3. a hosting site to upload your audio file that can feed it to podcast platforms like Apple podcasts and Spotify. I used Simplecast for work, but there are other (free!) options like Podbean.

For my interview with the kids about the COVID-19 pandemic (posted below), I used the Ira Glass (from This American Life podcast) ‘narrative’ style. The kids totally picked up on this, and I got quite the laugh when my daughter–trying to get my attention–tugged on my shirt and said, “I tugged on her shirt and then I kept asking her to go to the pond,” and then whispered to me, “ I’m doing a podcast!”

The biggest thing I kept hearing again and again when asking for feedback was to write for the ear–write the way you talk–so it sounds natural. Also, cut that audio down! In my NYU course we had to keep our podcast to five minutes, I learned you can cut the audio a lot more than you think–and really focus on those nuggets of audio that can stir emotion while still getting the message across. Audio is a format that can capture emotion in ways that written-word never could–with podcast you literally are in someones head with headphones, so it can be intimate and powerful, especially when when the podcast has a clear, concise message. The NYU course also focused a lot on the storytelling aspect, history of radio and how-to use the Hindenburg software–I highly recommend this course to get started and to also get some professional feedback.

A lot of how-to podcast tutorials focus on the mic equipment, and frankly I used the iPhone Voice Memo app–under a comforter to absorb outside sounds (kids playing outside, cars driving by, etc.), and the NYU instructor thought that I actually used a professional mic for the hosting portion of the B-2 podcast–so that shows you that well, the iPhone mics are actually quite good. As soon as I get back to work, I hope to get a more professional setup, but for now the iPhone gets the job done well. 

Overall creating a podcast was a great experience. I thought this would be such a great thing for our magazine, but I was hesitant to getting into one. more. thing but I am glad I did–taking the time to learn to do something new, in a way, can be self-fueling. I also have my sister to thank for encouraging me to find a way to squeeze in a three day course in the midst of everything else–it was a great experience! 

A letter to my forty-year-old self

When I was twenty, I wrote a letter to my thirty-year-old self. It went something along the lines of: Did you go to all the continents by your thirtieth birthday? Are you a physicians assistant? Do you have a ridgeback dog? And so on…

When I turned thirty, I wrote a letter to my twenty year old self. In a nutshell, my life turned out much, much differently than planned (other than having the ridgeback doggie, he’s still here!). My twenties were a roller coaster of up and downs–highs and lows–really high highs, but also really low lows—like deep, dark depressions, life let-downs, and well, learning that I had what is called pure-O OCD (basically disturbing, repetitive thoughts) that created a paralyzing anxiety since I was young teenager, and turned into a complete, all-out nightmare by my mid twenties. The more scary the anxiety became, the harder it was to address.

But, the highs of my twenties–meeting my husband, having my beautiful daughters, realizing graphic design was a career worth pursuing, and running a 50K through New Mexican mountain tops–these moments kept me trying, kept me moving forward–with the knowledge that happiness is a collection of moments, and these moments are what makes life the beautiful adventure it is.

And my kids? They made me realize that I owed it to them and myself to take care of my mental health–through facing that big ol’ bull right in the face and seeking the proper help and knowledge and not stopping (still not stopping!) to address that f***er.

The struggles and uncertainties have shaped me, and I am so grateful for my life–the ups, and the downs. It seems like the more we go through, the more we experience–the more, in turn, we have to teach and to give. So, just for fun, here’s a letter to forty-year-old me.

Dear Brenda,

Forty! Remember when forty was like, AHHG YOU’RE SO FUCKING OLD! While, ha! You’re there, so get over it! I bet you’re still sexy as hell. How are you? Okay, skip that–how are your kids? I can only image your young teenagers are smart, beautiful, and perhaps, a constant source of worry? Enjoy those teenagers! Remember how much work babies were? You are out of that stage! And you get to see them become little adults–wow, what an adventure. Does Daphne still draw the best in her class? Is Donna still an all-out comedian? Did Eli ever learn how to say agua in English? Did you ever learn patience? Ha! Are you having fun with Ian? Let me guess, he just got hotter–men, they do that–especially when they play guitar <if this was a handwritten letter, a drop of drool would be here>. I hope your love for him is stronger than ever. I hope your love for the kids is stronger than ever. And, I hope the love for you is stronger than ever–and if not, well, I hope life’s not over yet so keep trying!

As I write this, I just turned 33. We’re in the midst of a pandemic, and well, you’ve had quite a few meltdowns while trying to balance work and kids with the stay at home order. Pandemic or not, let’s be honest–sometimes you just freak out, or get super upset, or impatient–are you still like that? Do you still worry about things at work, get frustrated with people, and obsess over saying the right things? Were you ever be able to purely set your focus on what matters? Were you able to answer what “what matters” is? Oh, and, um, are you still trying to lose weight? Did you ever get better at being a mom and doing mom-things like remembering to pack snacks and make the kids brush their teeth? Please tell me Donna still has teeth.

Future me, answer this: does time fix those obvious self-flaws that I see unfold in front of me, but just can’t seem to control? Or, are these things just part of who you are, and you’ll be working on them–or accepting them–until you die?

We just went camping in our dinky tear drop in Carson National Forest, and celebrated fathers day with a poster letter to dad that had words spelled out in candy bars. You helped the girls make dad ‘breakfast-in-sleeping bag’, and Daphne laughed hysterically when Eli insisted on helping crack the eggs–which he confidently cracked right on the picnic table, then placed the two halves of the shell into the mixing bowl. We dumped the first set of batter–at the request of Daphne–because she informed me that both her and Eli sneezed into the batter. The first pancake wasn’t so good–we fed it to Eli–the second one folded as Daphne tried to flip it. The third try Daphne successfully flipped that giant, slightly burnt pancake, while Donna sleepily gathered flower to put on the plates. They paraded to the camper and proudly gave dad breakfast. The weekend was filled with moments so precious–Donna made you the “perfect” coffee out of Nescafe using the camp stove and kettle all by herself, Daphne sang with Phoebe enthusiastically around the fire, and you relit a candle for Eli about forty times just so he could blow it out. You got to read your book and listen to Ian play guitar.

You get to cuddle with those kids, help them with their problems, and though you are always, always tired–there is always a reason to smile. I mean just last night Daphne was looking for coloring pages on the internet. She was like, “oh mom, that one says a bad word!” I leaned over and saw an -adult- coloring page that said, ‘You Fucking Got This'.’ She continued, “At least it says it in a positive way!” and then quietly, slightly smiling she said to herself “you fucking got this.” I was like whoa, what? We both were laughing–and thank goodness, she didn’t want to repeat it. Its moments like these that leave me just laughing, and proud that my daughter has a sense for bad words better than my own–(earlier she asked me to not be so “explicit” when I said the word dang-it. It took her a few times to pronounce explicit..). but she also has a sense of humor, and is just a solid person, it makes me proud that she is someone that anyone would just want to hang out with to make those moments that threaded together make up life.

So as I think about the next decade of life, where will you be? Will you do all the things 40’s promises your younger self? Pay off your house? Have more time to date Ian? Go to soccer games or music concerts? Be able to travel more? Maybe get a promotion? Not have any more diapers to change?

Here’s some thoughts from a younger, stupider self (because everyone wants advice from that person!) I hope you look back on this time with love, and not just remember the hard parts of raising kids, and working, and dealing with every little trial. I hope the future brings you a sense of peace, that you can finally become like a laid-back turtle that just enjoys sitting in one place and get total satisfaction from just watching the sun move in and out of clouds. I hope you continue to just love, really love and embrace the people in your life. I hope you remember what your grandma told you when she was 89–relationships are the only thing that matter in life. I hope if life gives you lemons, you zest that shit and make yourself one hell of a cocktail. But whatever happens, whatever turns your road takes–you just remember, you fuckin’ got this.

Love,

Your younger self, Brenda

June 23, 2020

Buying a fixer upper for short term rentals? 11 reasons to consider before buying anything!

I mean, who wouldn’t want to go here?

What I learned from buying a second-home-fixer-upper to use as a VRBO

In summary, don’t do it.

My husband and I bought a fixer upper home, gutted it top to bottom, and got it VRBO-ready within a year. Once on the VRBO website (which stands fro Vacation Rental by Owner), the home rented out every single day during the summer season. This place was a super spunky AFrame on a stunning, lake-front lot–only thirty minutes one direction to train-loving, southwest paradise Durango, Colorado and thirty minutes in the other direction to hot spring's mecca, Pagosa Sprins.

We found our place for $165k. You literally could sit on the deck and watch the moon rise over the lake, listen to the wind pushing small waves onto the red rocky shore, or hope out your front door, grab a paddle board, and be in what I think of a pure heaven. The mountains were gorgeous, the lake was an L shape and if you kayaked to the North, incredible snow capped 14,000 foot peaks would come into view. There was tiny grocery store, and a couple restaurants away but the feeling was remote, and the smells of pine seductive.

We had no idea how to get a second home, or if we could afford one. I figured we were doing pretty well with the first home we bought, rationed that “hey, if we were in the Bay Area, these homes combined wouldn’t reach the mortgage we would have to pay there!” There was red flags, the septic had to be updated and we heard that was around 20K. The place was ugly inside—filled with brown carpet and paneling—but the visions of potential was growing and twisting with my emotional connection to the view.

The guy who was selling it by owner didn’t exactly strike me as the honest type (The septics fine—its been like that thirty years, just dont touch it,” and “ you can tie a boat right up there".” Later we found out it was common knowledge that the lake and land in front of the lake, was Tribal land and national forest. No boat could be tied anywhere to preserve the beauty of the land. But, we got a deal of an inspection (only $350, you sure?!) and it came back as pretty okay! So we went for it.

I’m gonna go ahead and skip what happened next—the part where we bought it, closed, and basically discovered everything had to be redone. Not just painting walls and getting a 20k septic, but everything. The electrical was so outdated—the electrician was surprised the place hadn’t burned down. When we started running propane, it constantly smelled like propane, and the Propane guy refused to fill it (as he should!) until we had new connections, and a new stove, which lead to discovering the need for a new water heater, and new furnace. Every time we came, there was a water line busted, and we ended up having to replace all the pipes . The plumber we called noticed the sewage lines were had major leaks—and I’m not talking just gray water here. On Mothers day, I went to see the current septic system, if anything traveling did make it through the leaks. Buried under a bunch of sticks and old window panes, I found the :septic system:” 3 foot deep hole. That hole-in-the-ground was not only ethically wrong, but no way was it going to handle a summer of renters. It, and all the plumbing going to it, had to be redone immediately.

Just a fun lil’ picture of under the house. If you zoom in, the shitter pipe isn’t fully connected at the corners… :|

Back to the inside of home, it looked clean when we bought it, but we found the cabinets where completely filled with old medications, or rusted pots—I swept up 13 cigarettes in the kitchen alone. We took 9 trips to the dump one day (45 minutes away) to empty out the shed that seemed somewhat clean when we bought it, but completely packed). The carpet, walls and everything in between smelled like smokers. The house was on a hill, and the deck was about 15 feet in the air—the foundation for the for the deck? Nonexistent. Literally, one post was floating two inches off the ground, another was sitting on a brick. These posts were also the foundation for the house. The list went on.. and on..

I like the painting, tiling and flooring, but that was a small part of a major problem. By the time we got this place livable, it was renting like crazy on VRBO. We had done it! But, everytime we drove up (4 hours from our home) we started to dread what was wrong, what had broken. Everytime we had a renter, we started to worry about what could happen to them and would they fall off the deck or trip going down to the lake or, which actually happened, have two bears come through the kitchen window (luckily, the renters took that lightly!) It was a major, major source of stress. We had small children, and it took so much time from them (although, they did love the place!).

1. Is the place within an hour or two of your home? If not, don’t expect to go there a lot, unless you have a lot of time on your hands and like the journey!

2. Was the place well-inspected and in great condition? Basic inspections seem to only be surface inspections–get specialists for septics, termites, etc. Know what you’re getting into and the costs associated with that… but also make sure if those costs double, or triple or more–its not gonna kill you financially.

3. If the place is remote, it probably doesn’t have sewage, or electrical, internet, cell phone service or trash pickup –all things you need to think about. Is there anyone who can manage the VRBO while you are away? A handyman in case something happens? A cleaner you can hire? We had a construction worker not only steal from us but was clearly squatting at the place with his girlfriend in the winter (sheets were messed up, and two whiskey glasses left out)–we couldn’t confront them because, well he was the ONLY one who actually did decent work!

4. I get the draw to wanting magical place you return to, year after year, but we basically can go to any VRBO we want anytime as much as we want and it is still cheaper.

5. Maybe you’re telling yourself you can sell it make money on it. You won’t. We spent 50k, and about 30 back-breaking weekends there and three very stressful years later we were happy to have only lost 10k... But very sad that we spent so much time on something that ultimately was totally stressful, and took so much time from our kids.

6. Do you have kids? We bought this with the idea that this was for them–but really it just took a LOT of time away from them. Back to point 4–just book a place where everything is maintained for you–even the cleaning!

7. Do you mind managing 24/7? We had a “manager”–and she was AWESOME. But every time I got a message from her, my heart spun into full on anxiety mode–did something happen? (Yes, two cub bears came through the tiny window while the renters were sleeping. Yes, the sink that you paid to get fixed fell on a drunk lady who was hanging off it and she wants all her medical bills paid for. Yes, the renters couldn’t fit their giant truck in the parking space and the neighbors asked them to move–okay! Me–Lets refund them a night so we get a 5 star review (later I found out they literally parked in the middle of the street so of course the neighbors couldn’t get through!) Basically, with a manager, you will still be the owner, and responsible for everything.

8. Don’t do it.

9. Don’t do it.

10. Don’t do it.

11. Do you have a lot of cash? Are you retired (or just loaded, like our neighbors who made it big in recent Colorado-friendly industries?) Then, well good luck.

So, what happened? We put the cabin on the market on the market, found out cabins in remote areas can take years to sell despite being so close to great towns, and took what we could get after 8 anxious months on the market! We are SO glad that we did. We totally enjoy having disposable income, no stressful phone calls and used a summer’s rental income to get an absolutely no maintenance travel trailer to make memories in!

So tell me, anyone make a similar mistake, or about to? xo

Dia de Los Muertos Pumpkin

Our glowing pumpkin :)

I love this pumpkin. This was one of those human ingenuity moments that resulted from necessity: the necessity to not carve a pumpkin due to baby in one arm. Also, I had a super cool white pumpkin since the store ran out of orange ones, so I wanted to do something different.

How to achieve these results? I used the white pumpkin, a black sharpie to draw the face, and black-light face paint to accentuate the face. Then, stuck thing under a black light. I also tacked on some glow-in-the-dark spider webs as hair. Again, baby was in one arm–so I spent about ten minute free-handing this–hopefully you can take it further!

How to create impact as a graphic designer

I am going to keep this post short and sweet. To create impact as a designer, the answer is simple: know your audience. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE. This is different from "I think my audience would like this." Nope. That is what you think, not what you know. The way you truly know your audience is ask them! 

I recently was the graphic designer for an employee giving campaign. I sent out a small survey using survey monkey to only fourteen employees to test their knowledge of the campaign. Most of them didn't even know the basics of the campaign–such as that they could donate to ANY nonprofit and that the lab matched a portion, or even that the campaign existed. 

Even thought this was a small sample, it significantly impacted design decisions. (Studies show testing only testing 5 people can give you dramatic results–so don’t think you need a massive budget for focus groups to get good info!)

The end result: We increased last years giving from 2.2 million to 3 million.

There were a lot of factors in this increase that also influenced people to give–a new giving tool, a new project manager on the campaign–an all out effort was made by everyone. Enthusiasm and change from how things had always been done? Yes, incredibly effective–thus, results achieved.

The project was also a finalist in the 2018 Adobe Government Awards. 

In conclusion, by knowing what the audience didn't know, we could work our campaign to truly target the audience. How we did it? You can read more about the campaign here.  

How to create an epic senior photo

My brother's pride and joy: being his team's water boy after breaking his collar bone... twice. 

An epic photo starts with a little personality, a lot of natural lighting and a good camera lens. Okay, an iPhone was used to take the above picture. And of course I didn't photoshop that! ;)

I use this Canon lens for nearly all my portraits.

For my little brother Joey, I took him to our ski hill and photographed him with about five different backgrounds using natural lighting but no direct sunlight. Each of these photos was taken during the middle of the day but in the shade (to eliminate over exposure).

I researched poses ahead of time so I could tell him how to stand, sit, and so forth. 

And of course, he brought his own pose ideas...

Deer and Bear Pallet Art

To create the deer pallet art, take apart a pallet with a hammer and trim the boards to create a pallet canvas  that is 15.5" by 20". Wood-glue them to a backing, (which, in my case, was just two pieces of scrap wood that span perpendicularly across the pallets).  

Without scaling down or selecting "fit to page" while printing, download this deer stencil and print on eight 8.5 by 11 sheets of paper. Then, put together the each deer as if it were a four piece puzzle. There will be tiny white gaps where the printer couldn't print between the pages, just draw or visualize the line extending to the edge of the page (rather then cut off the edge).  Tape the pieces of paper together. Cut out the deer shapes to create a stencil (note: exterior lines of the deer stencil show edge of pallet canvas). Hold the stencil in place and carefully trace around it using a colored pencil close to the color of your paint. Paint within the lines. 

For the bear, create a 12" by 12" pallet canvas, download bear stencil, print the stencil on two 8.5" by 11" sheets, tape, cut, trace, and paint outside the lines to get a similar result. 

Use a grid when painting from a picture

Original photo of a buffalo I took in Saint Ignatius, Montana. For my painting, I cropped it and reflected in photoshop, and created a grid to help me get the correct proportions of the buffalo. 

I had the opportunity to go to a buffalo conservation in Montana. I took photos of amazing animals–buffalo, sheep, elk, deer–all in their natural habitat. Naturally, I went home wanting to paint a picture of a buffalo. My mom gave me a black canvas to paint, and I sketched out the outline of a buffalo from a picture I had taken. The buffalo looked more like a pig.

After some convincing, I finally gave in to my mom's tips on making a grid, and sketching the buffalo piece by piece. The results? A buffalo that looked like a buffalo. To do this, divide your picture into a grid, and enlarge that grid on your canvas. Draw out each section of the grid (rather than the entire picture). This will ensure accuracy in proportions. The smaller your grid increments, the more accurate the drawing. Once you have your photo in sketch form, then start painting in the colors and the details. 

It is much easier to draw the shape within a box on the grid then trying to draw an entire buffalo body. Buffalo shapes are really unique. 

Designing anniversary and My Little Pony cakes

Here are the cakes I recently designed and created. My sister baked the cake for the 50th Anniversary ones, and with the leftover we made the my little point cake for my niece's birthday - and I did the frosting, filling and decorating. My advice for designing cake is be sure you can visualize it first. If it's a big job, sketch it all out first. I won't go into the details, but I'm posting some of my favorite recipes this summer for cakes. I'll also post my favorite summer dessert recipes. I'm basically just making a list of favs... before I forget them. :P

Enjoy!

Super Easy Vanilla Buttercream (used in both cakes)

Soften 4 sticks butter in microwave until soft (maybe 10 - 20 seconds) but not melted at all. Put in mixer at medium speed until creamed (about a minute). Change to low speed and  7 cups powdered sugar on at a time until incorporated. Add 2 tablespoons vanilla, 1/4 salt and 4 tablespoons milk. Mix on medium-high for three minutes. Voila!

Super Easy Chocolate Mousse

1. 1/3 cup hot water
2. 1 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
3. 1.5 cups heavy cream
4. 2 Tbsp sugar

Add Hot water to chocolate chips and melt in microwave for 30 seconds (stir) and then another thirty seconds. Repeat until chocolate is almost melted (don't over heat or won't work). Meanwhile Whip the cream and add sugar. Fold in chocolate. Chill. 

Vanilla Lemon Macarons

Filling:

In mixing bowl crewm 1/4 softened butter  + 1/4 cup cream cheese. Then add lemon juice to taste (maybe 1 tbs) + add powdered sugar until consistency of frosting.

Cookies:

- 2 egg whites

- 1/4 teaspoon vinilla

- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

- 1/8 teaspoon salt

- 1/2 cup sugar

- 1 tablespoon cornstarch

(This below recipe is copied from: http://www.recipe.com/lemon-meringue-sandwich-cookies/ )

• In a medium bowl allow egg whites to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper; set aside.

  2.  

  Add vanilla, cream of tartar, and salt to egg whites. Beat with an electric mixer on medium to high speed until soft peaks form (tips curl). In a small bowl combine sugar and cornstarch. Gradually add the sugar mixture to the egg white mixture, about 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high speed until stiff peaks form (tips stand straight). Fold in lemon peel.

• 3.  

  Transfer egg white mixture to a disposable piping bag fitted with a large round tip. Pipe 1- 1/2-inch circles that are between 1/4 and 1/2 inch thick onto the prepared cookie sheets, leaving 1 inch between circles.

  4.  

  Place cookie sheets on separate oven racks; bake for 10 minutes. Turn off oven; let cookies dry in oven with door closed for 1 hour. Carefully lift cookies off parchment paper. Transfer to wire racks; let stand just until cookies are cool. (The cookies can quickly become tacky, especially if the weather is humid. To prevent this, store unfilled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.)

  5.  

  Just before serving, placeLemon Filling in a piping bag fitted with a large round tip or in a resealable plastic bag with a corner snipped off. Pipe 1 teaspoon filling onto the flat side of half the cooled cookies. Top with remaining cookies, flat sides down, to make sandwich cookies. Makes about 34 sandwich cookies (2 sandwich cookies each).

Summer Rum and Berry Trifle

Stack Vegan Vanilla Cake (see recipe below) with whip cream, fresh berries and spiced rum.

Extra info : The vegan cake is denser so it soaks up the rum without getting mushy - I discovered this when I didn't have eggs one day... I actually used regular milk... and cream on top so this is not vegan!! And I also had loads of spiced rum due to Christmas cocktail  party leftovers... This turned out so good though I've already made it again!

Cake modified from http://lovingitvegan.com/vegan-vanilla-cake/

INGREDIENTS

• 1 and ¾ cups (220g) All-Purpose Flour
• 1 cup (200g) Sugar
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• ½ tsp Salt
• 1 cup (240ml) Milk (or non dairy if ya wanna go vegan!)
• 2 tsp (10ml) Vanilla Extract
• ⅓ cup (80ml) Olive Oil
• 1 Tbsp (15ml) White Vinegar

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees celsius)
2. Sift the flour into a mixing bowl.
3. Add the sugar, baking soda and salt and mix together.
4. Add the soy milk, vanilla, olive oil and vinegar and whisk it in.
5. Grease two 7 inch round cake tins with coconut oil and divide the mixture evenly between them.
6. Bake for 30 minutes.
7. Remove from the oven and using a toothpick, insert into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean then your cake is done.
8. Move to a cooling rack to cool completely.

How to get people to look at your website

Congratulations, your website looks spectacular!

But how do you get more people to visit the site, stay long enough to get interested in buying your product, come back and tell others?

Collect visitors’ contact information and follow up.

In most cases, you won’t be able to make a sale the first time someone visits your site. Accept it. But that doesn’t mean they won’t become your customers later.

Make sure that you collect their information right away. How?

You give them something in return for their email address. In most cases it is information. A free report or download with a title that intrigues your target audience. They need to find the information valuable enough to give you their email address.

Then what?

Follow up with an autoresponder series

Email management programs like Constant Contact and Mail Chimp let you create a series of emails that can be automatically sent to people when they sign up for your list. That way you can follow up with new subscribers, establish rapport, and send them back to your sales page without having to individually email each person.

An autoresponder series can look like this:

Email 1: Welcoming the person to the list and delivering the promised piece of information.

Email 2: Personally inviting the person to join a facebook group or like a page.

Email 3: Tell a story about how a client solved a problem or overcame an obstacle using our services.

Email 4: Showing the person a link where they can access your blog archives.

Email 5: Providing answers to common questions.

You get the idea. Each email reminds the person that you exist and gives them a chance to think about buying from you.

Add content on a regular basis

Adding new pages to your site is one of the best ways to improve your search engine ranking, and give you something of substance to share on your social media networks. You can add new pages, or simply add a blog to your site.

But what should you write about?

• For every question that your customers have, dedicate a page to answering it.
• Create some pages showing how you do different parts of your job.
• Write a page about yourself, your interests and your quirks.
• Make a list of problems that your customers face, and write about how to solve those problems.
• Write a success story about one of your customers.
• Interview someone who has information that would interest your customers.

The sky’s the limit when it comes to content. Just think about what your customers want to learn about.

The way you present the online content makes a difference.

There are simple tricks that get people to more people to read your content.

Put your introductory paragraph in boldface print or in a larger font than the rest of the article. According to Conversion XL, when subjects in an online readership and eye tracking study encountered an article with a boldfaced introductory paragraph, 95% of them read all or part of the story.

Make the first sentence short. If something looks hard to read, people will avoid it. Often, website visitors skip over and completely ignore large chunks of text. All you have to do is break up your ideas into one or two sentence paragraphs.

Try placing your illustrations on the right side. People are more likely to pay attention to text, and they scan in an F pattern starting on the upper left hand of the page. It makes sense to have your headline be in the upper left hand of the page and the picture aligned to the right.

Having a beautiful website helps your business make a good impression and impacts people on a subconscious level. Content helps you keep people interested, follow up and make the sale. If you would like more ideas on how to come up with content for your website, visit www.mandymarksteiner.com to download a free copy of the “Blog Brainstormer” worksheet.