Andy's Idea Factory

How fitting that this is posting as we're on our way to Sin City... Yes, I said poonani. And nothing's wrong with that, unless you're in a convent. I got approval from Craig to share this, so here we go.... I can't take full credit for this idea from the factory, but I adapted it, and in art, that means it's mine. :) The idea came from ABC's Cougartown , when Christa Miller's character Ellie gave a sex card to her husband Andy. Andy and Ellie have a newborn, so their sex life is latent. The theory is that Ellie has Andy wrapped around her finger so tight that he has to earn these sex cards to get any nookie (or in our house, poonani) at all. We don't have kids, but we've been together 10 years this year and married for four. I'm not ashamed to admit that just like everyone else, our sex life is great sometimes, and quite latent some of the time as well. So for Valentines Day this year, I made him some of Ellie's cards to give our sex ...

A very long time ago, some random guy in the Denver airport was sitting by the big windows near me, and we started chatting about how I wanted to be a writer, and how my boyfriend and I were starting a company geared at helping people with disabilities travel more adventurously. In just five short minutes I gained a lot from this stranger, who happened to be a business owner and journalist himself. His biggest advice was for us to start a newsletter. Others have told us the same thing many times since then, but this guy hit the nail on the head when he said, "You have to set yourself as the expert in your field," and added that by starting a newsletter, we'd get writing experience, as well as get the word out about our company and products. That was late in 2004, and we had about 6 months into the research for our first guidebook Access Anything: Colorado . In March of 2005, our first newsletter appeared , on the headwind of the release of Colorado. I was still new to...

I'm a baker, it's in my blood. Vivid memories from my childhood of making pasta and cookies and breads and elaborate oven concoctions swirl my brain when I enter the kitchen, and I know all my mother's gifts lie at the ready in my hands, and I feel the presence of my grandmothers double checking my measurements. I like the science of it all, and I love the aromas and results even more. And after living in the high desert of Colorado at 7,000 feet for 12 years, I've learned some great techniques for high altitude baking and cooking. Thanks to my friend Amy for reminding me to share these. Practice makes perfect, and many of these techniques I've learned from trial and error even after all I've read on the subject. One thing that confused me for years was while water may boil faster at a lower temperature, baked goods will actually take longer. Why? Mainly, atmospheric pressure is less at high altitudes than at sea level, this lower pressure affects the bakin...