Ok. Let’s just start off with this. It’s very, very hard for me to share my accomplishments without feeling awkward or overly self-referential. It’s like I hold it all in and then want to share something, but I feel funny about it so it comes out sounding rushed and with a lot of, “yeahs”, and “so’s” and moments of looking down and up and sideways. What can I say. It’s just not easy for me to talk about myself without feeling funny.

I mean.. how many people actually want to sit there and hear about me?!  (other than like My Mom & My Aunt.. and my good friends 🙂 ) So anyways, as I’m sharing about this or that, I’m thinking to myself.. “speed it up Madds, you’re boring them..” or make it more interesting by emphasizing something cool..”  or like, try to be funny or come full circle with the point that you’re trying to make… thus translating into a breathy, fast-paced, looking down, weird story that probably doesn’t make sense because I chickened out about the actual part where I tell the person what it is I did or made or accomplished. THERE! I SAID IT! OH! that felt GOOD!

I actually think I can blame it on one of my favorite people, Kristin Wiig… or shall I say Penelope. I am obsessed with the SNL Penelope skit and love impersonating ALL of her moments.. partially because I always fear that when I talk about myself in the awkward ways that i do, I sound and look like her..

Well.. with all of that having been said.. notice I put this at the bottom of the post, after most of you have scrolled away or over or into space.. I want to tell you something really really cool and special (looking down, playing with hair) and exciting. So, as many of you know, and many others may not, I have been working with my dear friend & mentor, Jennifer Paganelli aka Sis Boom, these past 3 years. Recently, our SECOND Chronicle published book, Happy Home (playing with hair an extra lot and stuttering), was published and is like… super duper popular and doing really well. We have been rated among the best craft books on Amazon and have received tons of positive feedback and features! It’s all so wonderful and amazing!!!!! (pssst, our first book was Girl’s World, which has been doing outstanding!!! WE ARE SO LUCKY!!!).

In addition to styling the wardrobe for Happy Home (thank you to the moon and back, Jennifer 🙂 ) I was also, (looking down like, big time) in the book. OK. OK. OK. That’s enough. This is more uncomfortable than I thought, but it had to be done.

I cannot take much credit, being that our makeup artist & Queen of all trades, Nancy Geaney, hair guru, Ronnie Stam, and photographer, Tim Geaney are all top notch… like, no joke- UH-MAZING. We had a seriously kick-ass team of wonderful & incredibly talented people that literally made magic happen. Jennifer designed all of the fabrics and crafts… in case you didn’t catch that !

I will leave you with these… oh, and see if you can spot Jordan… have fun 🙂

If ya wanna support a sista, check out our book on Amazon. We’ve been spotted in bookstores across the country and overseas too! There is a Finnish version of Girl’s World, which is silly and rad all at once. Ok.. so there you have it. More Penelope-like stories about myself to come in later posts. And you guys thought you knew everything 🙂 I keep very good secrets. You just WAIT!!!!