About Laurie · Business Owner

How I Celebrated My Birthday

Laurie1 Comment

Thanks to my dear friend Lisa for the cake!  A little piece of heaven.

This year I spent my birthday in the most beautiful place on earth for a crafty mom-preneur, The Creative Connection Event. I blogged all about what I learned and who I met over on Tip Junkie:

How to Launch a Business
How to Use Social Media as a Marketing Tool
Entrepreneur Lunch Panel
Taking Business to the Next Level
Getting Published and Editorial Credit
The Future Face of Retail ~ The Digital Marketplace

    As an aspiring business woman myself, I was honored to rub shoulders with uber successful women like Ree Drummond, the Pioneer Woman, blogger, turned business woman, turned author, she’s the next “Rachael Ray”.  Ree is so gracious and it was a highlight getting to chat with her several times throughout the weekend.

    Heather Bailey, graphics designer and blogger, who now licenses her designs with major corporations and has a fabric line, pattern line, and stationary line. I’m sure we’ll see her in Target very soon if she’s not already.  She’ll be a household name very soon as I’m sure she’ll pattern her product  line like “Martha Stewart Crafts”.  I’m in awe of her talent.

    Amy Butler is already uber famous as her patterns and fabrics are out of this world! She’s cute and kind as can be.

    I was at the event on an official capacity as one of the social media corespondents.  However, it wasn’t all work.  We headed over to the Mall of America, rode some roller coasters and a fabulous dinner.

    We went shopping at the Junk Bonanza!  It was really cool and reminded me of Canton but a lot more eclectic.  It was incredible to experience.

    It was completely appropriate to spend my birthday with these amazing women and fellow bloggers.  This year I decided to “go big or quit” with Tip Junkie.  Instead of riding the trends, I decided to take the bull by the horns and really see if I could make a career and full time living with TipJunkie.com.

    It’s been a heck of a lot of work and I’ve had to really focus on my goals and keep moving forward.  However, all the long hours have finally paid off and my goals have been realized.  Was it worth the sacrifices my family and I have made the past year?  Absolutely!  I’ve always believed that short-term sacrifice for long-term results is something that’s worth it for sure.

    What’s next? Well, I’m not quite sure.  I know that I’m going to sleep, a lot!  I’m going to start asking for help and collaborating more.  I’ll still be traveling, speaking, and attending events.  I’m open to what the future brings… so we’ll see.

    My entire childhood I grew up feeling like I was different and that my talents were very peculiar and unusual.  I cannot even begin to share with you the joy and gratitude I feel now as an adult finding my place and being able to use those strange talents to help others and make life a little more beautiful.  I have found purpose, a career, and a heck of a lot of joy in what I do.

    Being surrounded by women who also share my passions and unique talents has been a huge surprise and a major bonus! 

    I’m honored to be among such a talented and driven group of women.  They get me and I get them.  We have really formed long-lasting friendship and are constantly lifting each other up. We Skype, text, chat on the phone, email, Facebook, and even Tweet each other.  I consider this crazy online sisterhood a true gift and one I don’t take for granted.

    My friends in  real life also did not disappoint.  They threw me a delightful lunch where I accidentally insulted the waiter {“L” on forehead}, laughed so hard my side hurt, and teared up as I genuinely adore these women.  They are the women I rely on every day to help me carpool, plan fun outings with, get advice from, and gain strength from.  We vacation together as families, celebrate birthdays with, and they are amazing examples of who I am trying to become. 

    Ah, and then there’s my sister.  She has truly become my rock and best friend.  Honestly, I have no idea how she puts up with me, my work schedule, and all of my responsibilities.  But she’s always there and encouraging.  I hope to return the favor from here on out.  She most certainly deserves everything that life has to offer.  She’s the most generous, sincere, and thoughtful person you’ll ever meet.  Plus she’s so sarcastic and a hell of a lot of fun!


    Huge thanks to everyone for making my birthday so much fun.  It’s one I’ll never forget or take for granted.  I feel honored to have so many genuine friends who each have their own unique talents that I just adore them for.  You’re the best!

    Blogger · Girly Girl

    What Do You Want?

    Laurie3 Comments

    I’ll never forget one Christmas we were having the hardest time getting Dylan to tell us what he wanted from Santa.  He finally asked me, “If I don’t tell Santa what I want, will I get it?”  I had to restrain my myself as I was at the brink of frustration with him and I said, “No! You won’t.  If you don’t tell people what you want –  you’ll never get it.” 

    I’m quite sure everyone in the Santa line could see the huge light-bulb over my head at that very moment.  I finally got it myself.  I have to ask for what I want otherwise I’ll get just that – nothing.

     I had the best conversation with a dear friend about getting what you want out of life. That conversation has been so eye opening to me.  She recently went to the Mighty Summit which was a small get together of power women in social media. The entire weekend was about their Life List and making those things happen for each other.

    What a profound experience to be in a room full of influential women who are reading the top 5 things they want to do in life and having someone sitting next to you say, “You want to write a book? I just published a book and can help you get in touch with the right people.”  {{jawdropping}}

    Needless to say, Allison has convinced me once again that I have to know what I want and then ask for it.  So I’ll be taking the next week to write down my life list.  The problem that I’m facing is that I have a very limited imagination.  HA!

    What’s on your life list?  I need some suggestions. {{giggle}}

    Blogger · Mother of Boys

    A Peek at My Techy Family

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    Chevy Malibu is Perfecft for my Techy Family from Laurie Turk on Vimeo.

    This is the last video that I did for Chevy.  Honestly, I had SO much fun making them.  I’m no Spielberg or anything but man it’s fun to make fun of yourself!  {{evil laugh}}

    As I get closer to 40 I find that I’m really quite ridiculous and I think it’s hysterical!

    I was supposed to show off the USB port for your iPod but um… I thought it would be more fun to poke fun at how techy my family is and how we utilize ALL FOUR of the charging stations in the car.  I mean, really what other family would use all of them at once.  {{bwaahaa!}}

    So I hope you enjoy my little white and nerdy video.  This was all done in one take as the boys did a great job playing along.

    Blogger

    A Little Obsessed

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    A Little Obsessed from Laurie Turk on Vimeo.

    Here’s a fun video I did for Chevy.  I’m making fun of my love of Diet Coke by showcasing how many cup-holders the Chevy Malibu has.  It has 6 cup-holders!  Which is as many as my minivan.  I thought that was pretty impressive.


    I included an inside joke I have with a few of my blogging friends.  You might notice “Rachael’s Recycling”.  It’s from a conversation we had at Mom 2.0 Summit about recycling.  {{giggle}}

    I swear I’m such a bweeb but maybe it will help you start your Monday with a laugh.  I’ll take one for the team – no problem!  {{giggle}}

    Girly Girl

    Girls Weekend in Canton

    Laurie1 Comment

    For my birthday, Lisa organized a girls weekend and shopping in Canton. Whoohoo!  Seriously, I could not have asked for a better birthday present.

    It was two days and one night of roaring laughter, a lot of great finds, and surrounded by beautiful things.

    The past month I’ve been completely overwhelmed with gratitude.  Gratitude for the women in my life who are so easy to be friends with, who are so caring and genuine, and who see me as I truly am and not how they want or perceive me to be.

    The older I get, the more I realize how vital these kinds of friendships are.

    Life is way more fun when you get to let your hair down and just laugh and be yourself.

    These women have the uncanny ability to bring out the best of myself.  It’s what my sister calls “Fun Laurie”.  {{bwaahaa!}} 

    So a huge huge huge huge thanks to Lisa, Cali, Chanda, and Melissa for making 34 so much freakin’ fun!

    Mother of Boys

    Happy 10th Birthday Dylan

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    Dylan is now in the double digits as he turned 10 years old!

    To my dismay, he wanted his friend party at Main Event.  I guess good-bye are the days of home parties with decorations, props, and handmade goodie bags.  {{drat!}}

    The kids had a blast at laser tag, bowling, and arcade games.

    It’s just what 12 boys want to do for a party.  They were in dude heaven.

    To set the party up for success, I made sure that both Davis and Drake had a friend to entrain them.

    Lisa and Billy came and I’m pretty sure they had just as much fun as the boys did.

    Main Event took care of everything.  So it was absolutely the easiest party I’ve ever thrown, although the ugliest.  {{shhh – don’t tell Dylan}}

    Davis is a natural bowler and did an amazing job.

    Jason bowled with the little boys.  He says he was a great bowler until he took a bowling class in college.  HA!  I guess he lost his natural talent and hasn’t scored as high since.

    Drake loves to bowl!

    On Dylan’s birthday, he woke up to his favorite breakfast on his “You Are Special” plate.

    We went to dinner as a family to his favorite restaurant, Chili’s.

    Dylan is truly the peacemaker in our family.  He’s an understanding older brother and a kind younger brother.  I honestly don’t know what I would do with out him.  He’s the glue that holds the brothers together.

    Dylan is also so appreciative of everything he receives.  He has the kindest heart and really cares about the people around him. 

    Gramma Betty – this is Dylan opening up your present.  Um, I think he liked it. {{wink}}

    Grandma Karen – This is Dylan all dressed up in your present.  He’s so excited about it and can’t wait to cook something.  Maybe he’ll take after his dad and be a great cook.

    Family Cruise Director

    15 Years Together

    Laurie2 Comments

    To celebrate our 15 year wedding anniversary Jason and I went to St. Augustine, Florida for an adventure.  It’s the oldest city in the United States and has a lot of rich history.

    One of our favorite things to do is be cheesy tourists and discover new cities.

    St. Augustine is perfect for us because it’s right on the beach yet it has a lot of things to do and see.

    We did it all!  Rode the trolley tours, toured the forts, and enjoyed the time together.

    We even made it up all the stairs to the top of the lighthouse!

    Ripley’s Believe it or Not! was a lot of fun with some cool photo ops.

    It was just a cool weekend with a lot of yummy food and quality time together.

    On our way to the airport we decided to take a leisurely drive along the coast and made a lunch stop quick stop in Daytona Beach.

    My goodness I cannot believe that it’s already been 15 years that I’ve been married to the most wonderful man.  It seems like just yesterday we had our first baby and were in the throws of trying to figure out parenthood. 

    The last 15 years has been a wild ride but one that I would absolutely do again but only if Jason is by my side.

    We have endured sickness and health.  We have been broke, wealthy, and broke again.  We’ve had to endure the pain of having two children diagnosed and medicated.  We’ve had our dreams dashed and other dreams fulfilled. We have lived in 3 states and have finally found our permanent home here in the DFW area.  We adore it here! We have been tested beyond our abilities.  We have laughed together, at each other, and as a family.  We have cried together, been in pain together, and have been the rock each other needs to keep moving forward.

    I’m honored to have picked a man who completely gets me.  Who loves my excitement for html {web coding}, Sci-Fi and action movies, my OCD and OTT tendencies, and who appreciates all that I am and overlooks all that I am not.

    I would never have guessed 15 years ago that we would live in the DFW area, have 3 boys, and I would be a professional blogger.  {{bwaahaa!}}  If I had gotten that fortune I would have laughed my head off in disbelief.  However, I am truly grateful for my husband, for my boys, and for the life I have today.  I’m honored to have the responsibilities and opportunities that I have and try by best to fulfill them with integrity and the best of my ability.

    I live life each day with the moto “Where much is given much is expected” and I earnestly always try my best.  Every morning I also tell myself, “Today is a new day with no mistakes in it!”  Hopefully, I’ll live the next 15 years the way I have the last.  

    Mother of Boys

    Drake’s Meet the Teacher

    Laurie2 Comments

    Sadly, Drake’s preschool teachers last year were not the best fit. They were a little rigid and weren’t as loving and accepting as his personality requires. {{snicker}}
    This year we are delighted at Drake’s teachers as they are scheduled yet loving, firm yet accepting.  They seem to be working with his stubborn personality appropriately and enjoying his little quirks.

    He looks forward to school three times a week and is learning to be flexible and to follow direction.  I can tell a huge difference in him already.
    Drake is more agreeable at home, at karate, at soccer, and at school.  It just goes to show that when you love and accept someone for who they are – they thrive!