i have a daydream...

Sharon, who ordered the tiny elephants for her granddaughter's birthday, let me know about her friend Tara's blog, Go West Young Mom (click here ) a blog about kid-/mom-/family-goings-on in these Chicago burbs. just when you feel like you live in the boonies and there's nothing to do, there's someone to point out all the fun events you're missing! it's a lot, by the way, Tara does her research. i gave her a shout-out on twitter, and it turned into emails about cookies for her (then) upcoming Go West Girls' Night Out at Urban Style Salon and Spa in Batavia. the specifications were something holiday-appropriate, yet also like the blog's logo. so i made pink and brown (the blog's colors) pinwheel stars in varying shades and textures.

part one of the day was spent finding the place to drop them off. a small brain shortage on my part led me to type "Geneva" in my GPS. i went west all right. and while i was going south, facing the 2pm-ish sunshine through a salt covered windshield, i ran out of washer fluid. don't worry, i got there. then my plan was to go home, get dinner going, and when hubby showed up to watch the kid, i could go to the event and mingle around.

well, part 2 was hubby coming home with a bloody nose because it was so dry out. then he slipped in the bathroom and hurt his knee. i got him put together, the good sport, and i went back to Geneva. i mean Batavia.

i was pooped, but everyone had a nice time. Tara arranged door prizes (someone won a dozen custom cookies, but i haven't confirmed who yet) tasty catering, and various mini-spa services. i chatted up with a few folks, but i had to scoot out early and hit Osco for a knee brace and Kleenex. high 5 to Tara! i'll be at the next one, and i'll stay longer. :)

since then i've been thinking about parties and cookies. i originally started this blog to show my work, and to get an idea about what the baking-audience expects from the baking-artists. in more than a year, i've determined that so far, they want cupcakes and recipes. but what i'm really gung-ho for is the art. and if i were to do this on bigger and fancier scales, what direction should i take it? my own shop? a picture book? how do i make cookies every day, gain exposure, and increase enthusiasm when (perhaps) the world isn't ready yet?

then i came upon 2 websites. one has guest bloggers sign up to make cookies or cupcakes, blog about them and a personal account of how breast cancer has effected them, and donate the cookies to a group fighting breast cancer (a clinic staff, for instance). another organizes groups to gather for cookie decorating parties (!), and the cookies are donated to various charities. now, i can make cookies all week. i'd love to be employed this way, but i do it as a hobby too. i'll even do it for free if i'm invited to your birthday party, so i'm not out to conquer the world with cookies. i just really want them to be popular enough, at some point, that my skills will be needed in the baking-arts world. in the meantime, how do i get all you people involved?

it's MLK day, a day suggested to be one of service, and i know i've spent too great a time on my rear end. and now i'm discovering opportunities to apply my talents to humanitarianism, and i have this funny habit of noticing where the universe is leading me... here's my very important question, so please reply: if i held a cookie decorating party for charity, would you go?