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What I Learned On Katahdin

This is part way down Knife's Edge, and still six hours to go in our hike. Phil coined the phrase 'blue blaze of sanity' since the fact that there are trail markings is what makes doing this not completely insane.

In the entire history of my blog, I have never thought about and rewritten a post so many times. I didn’t want to sound nonchalant about doing some stupid, dangerous things and at the same time, I didn’t want to sound overly dramatic. Here is my attempt at balance, and my cautionary tale.

This past weekend, I hiked Mount Katahdin with my British friend Phil. He had always wanted to go but thought it was too dangerous to attempt alone. I said when he visited Maine again, we’d do it.

He arrived on Thursday from London and Friday morning, we headed into the North Maine woods (Millinocket more specifically) and made camp. The next morning (3:30 am more specifically) we took down camp and headed into Baxter State Park.

The plan was to park at Roaring Brook Campground, hike the Helon Taylor trail, take Knife’s Edge to the summit of Katahdin, hike down Cathedral then Chimney Pond trail back to Roaring Brook. It is a long and difficult hike under normal circumstances. Attempting this in October is not something I plan to do again, mostly because I was really stupid about it.

Nicole’s Quest To Find A Seamstress Or Why Everyone Should Have A Website

The dress that launched a bunch of phone calls. I love Ebay.It all started when I ordered this fabulous silk designer dress on eBay. Normally completely out of my price range, I got it for $40. I figured if it didn’t fit, I could have it altered.

The dress was even more beautiful in person but since I am not a size 8 Anne Klein dress form, it needed alterations to fit. Normally I attempt this sort of thing myself but the potential for disaster on silk made me decide that maybe I should call in an expert. And so my search began.

A Google search yielded some places in Bangor (an hour away) and a dry cleaner in Ellsworth (30 minutes away). I know that the dry cleaner subcontracts this kind of work out (I had something repaired there before) and it would take a few weeks turnaround to get it back. Was there no one in my entire county who could do this?

I checked the Yellow Pages. Nothing. I even tried to convince a friend to help me do it for money. She wasn’t confident enough to attempt silk but did give me the number of a local sewing store. I called them (since their owner once told me she barely checks her email) and was given a phone number to Acadia Sewing.

Too Cute Tuesday: Limoncello Part II

Too Cute Tuesday often shys away from crafts that take more then a few hours to complete, let alone multiple days. We have short attention spans and like the instant gratification of having accomplished something (anything!) between 7 and 9 pm on a Tuesday night.

All that said, We made a special exception for limoncello. You may remember that we got the party started with zesting lemons and Shakira just two short weeks ago. Tonight, it was time to see how it all came out.

Spoiler Alert: It doesn’t suck, which both surprised and delighted us.

Before you judge the use of a mug, we shared in tasting the results! Yum!

Marketing Monday: America’s Best Idea

Is your business or non-profit promoting itself in a cool new way? Contact me; I’d love to write about it!

America's Best Idea: A good series and a good example of PBS promotion. I feel like I'm hearing about this everywhere, don't you?

I’ll know I’ve hit the big time when I am written about in the New York Times or the Huffington Post…or both! (Until then, I bask in my small-though-significant-to-me internet fame.) It’s probably a bit easier, however, for a national broadcasting agency to get this national press coverage.

Why Ending Effective Educational Programs Makes Terrible Economic Sense

Recently, a local school district has closed off a computer technology program open to high school students. Their reasons cited were low enrollment. My old boss Chris wrote an excellent letter about his experience with the program in the local paper. It got me thinking, beyond the impact of one individual student, how do these programs effect the world beyond the classroom?

Schools exist to make productive members of society. And when you look into the data, a lot of these technical programs end up being pretty effective. They increase graduation rates and beyond that, students who go through these programs earn more money, have lower unemployment, and lower rates of substance abuse.

So subjectively, these programs are fantastic. But what is their actual return on investment, beyond preventing bad things from happening to teenagers?

ROI on a student enrolled in a technical program in high school. Not bad. Actually pretty darn great!

This Week In Business: The Road Trip Edition

I didn't want to be the lame person at the conference taking photos but I allowed myself to be the lame person at the sushi restaurant getting their photo taken. Oh bento!This week, I’ve driven at least 500 miles, 400 of which was to attend a cool conference in the hip city of Portland. Here’s what’s new on the business front:

I went to a social media conference and networked my butt off.
I (and about 200 other people) attended the Social FTW Media Conference in Portland Maine on Wednesday (hence the lack of posts the last couple days). I learned a little and mostly found it was fun to 1) meet people in real life who I’m ‘friends’ with on the internet and 2) feel like I actually understand social media and how and why businesses should use it. I certainly learned some cool stuff to take home but it’s always nice to know you might actually be good at what you do….Also nice to get to Portland and spend time with friends!

For those of you who want to continue the networking (I certainly do!) check out #ftw09 on Twitter and/or check out the Flyte blog. There’s also this article on the event via the NXT and this one via Maine Business.

Too Cute Tuesday: Homemade Applesauce

How do you like them apples? We like them saucy, thanks!

Too Cute Tuesday allows at least one interesting thing to happen to me every week.

I stopped by Annie’s Pride Farmstand in Ellsworth. If you haven’t been, it’s a good stand/general store/bakery and you should totally go to it if you are in Downeast Maine.

Apples are definitely in season and those sweet ones fresh off the trees are perfect for homemade applesauce. So this Tuesday, we sure got cooking!

Marketing Monday: ReadyMade

Every Monday, I talk about people doing clever marketing. If you know a company that’s doing something neato, contact me and let me know!

It would be easy for any print magazine to get a little flustered in this economy. Journalists are being laid off at a higher rate a than other professions and I think we have all seen our favorite newspapers and magazines change over the last year or so.

Oh ReadyMade, how I love to waste time on you, and use your ideas for Too Cute Tuesday inspiration.

One magazine that seems to be doing well is Readymade. I first learned about the publication via my first conversation with who would become my friend Jessica. We were in the company breakroom where we both worked and since she was the new girl, I struck up a conversation. While she didn’t quite have me at hello, she did have me at a creating a chandelier out of string lights for her parents’ anniversary present. As a snappy dresser and fellow crafter, clearly we are going to be friends for a very long time.

Here are a few reasons Readymade seems to be thriving while other magazines seem to be floundering:

Naming Your Own Price: How Much Does It Rock?

Nothing like figuring travel logistics over email to drive connected people to save a few bucks.

My friends Lydia and Travis are getting married this weekend. About a month ago, ten of us who went to college with Lydia tried to figure out group hotel rooms through a series of emails over the course of about a week.

I had first seen my friend Bailey use Priceline to get us a cheap rental car in Vegas. I was impressed with her internet savyness and her ability to save us about 25% on the rental. When Bailey suggested we use the site for the hotel room, a few of us jumped on it.

Four of us formed a Priceline bidding team, each taking a turn to bid on a two star hotel in Ellsworth Maine (hint: there’s one on Priceline so we knew it was the hotel the others were staying at). If you bid on something and Priceline doesn’t accept it, you are locked out of bidding for a certain amount of time so having another person or two can be critical.

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