Full Plate is up and running...

The new blog site is not very witty yet. It's definitely still a work in progress. But, now's as good a time as any to flip over to the new blog: Full Plate. From here on out, I will be posting to Full Plate...including the announcement of the winning voter, so please go ahead and bookmark the new page if you want to keep up on the recipes and ideas for staying healthy, happy and grounded as a mom. I didn't get around to writing down all the voters' names and having my kids pull one lucky voter out of the hat since the sun was shining just enough for us to go outside and play. Promise to get to that by the weekend!

See you over at Full Plate.

And the winner is.....

And the winner is….. Full Plate! Thank you to Cobie, from New Canaan, who came up with this clever multi-tasking name. Not only did she brainstorm the name, but she’s got a fabulous tag line to go along with it that I’ll unveil with the new site. I am very excited to run with her idea. Stay tuned for a pic of her winning what will be nothing short of a Publisher’s Clearinghouse-style house call…only more exciting because it will involve food.

I’ve got to get busy switching things around, but I’ll make it as seamless as I can for all of you. Not sure when I’ll find the “free time” to do this, so we’ll stay mom-a-licious until the babysitting fairy falls from the sky and grants me a couple hours a day without a kid on my lap as I type.

For those curious about the breakdown of the votes, here’s how things panned out:
Full Plate – 27 votes
Grateful Platefull – 17 votes
Fairfield County Momalicious – 7 votes
Momalicious Fairfield County – 7 votes
Mom-a-licious Fairfield County – 7 votes
Fairfield County Mom-a-licious – 4 votes
GastroMom – 0 votes

And, I did not forget about the drawing for a prize for all of you who voted. Since it’s looking like a rainy afternoon, writing all the names down and drawing a lucky winner is going to be our afternoon project around here!

Thank you again, Cobie, for your creative and spot on new business name!

What's in a name?

I've got a favorite but I'd love to hear what you think of the final choices for a new business and blog name. Please click here to pick your favorite. Votes being tallied until midnight, June 30.

The winning namer and a randomly chosen voter will both be given an in-home cooking lesson!

Drum Roll Please...The Finalists!

Thank you to all of my friends (and friends of friends, and friends of those friends, and those friends' friends...) who suggested names for this blog and my accompanying cooking lesson business. I am excited to share the finalists with you, and have you pick your favorite. You may click here to see the list of possible blog/business names and cast your vote.

Votes will be tallied until midnight, June 30th (that's Tuesday). On Wednesday (or Thursday if Wednesday ends up being completely nutty) I will announce the new name for the blog and the two winners: the generous and creative person who came up with the winning name, and the the winning voter (chosen by random drawing).

The fine print for the contest is the same as the original post.

Hi, My Name Is______________

Interestingly, the majority of you do not like change. Either that, or you just really really like the name Mom-a-licious for this blog. For those of you waiting until 11:59pm June 9 to submit your re-naming ideas, I thought you might be inspired by the names submitted so far. Remember, the survey will be open until June 10, and the prize is a 2-hour in-home cooking lesson (see May 28 posting for the "fine print"):

Animal, Vegetable, Mommytable
Barefoot Mommy
Busy Mom, Healthy Parent, Happy Household
Culinary Instruction by Eila
Daily Feast
Eating with Eila
Eats, Peas, Shoots
Eilalicious
Everyday Eila
Family Foodie
Feast
Food for Thought
Green Apple
Health-a-licious
Healthy body, Happy outlook, Great Mom by Eila
I'll be at Eila's
Jackolicious
Jacolicious
Life-a-licious
Mom and Chef
Mom Is The Cook!
Mom-a-licious by Eila
Mom-a-Living
MomCooks
Mom-entous Fun
Mommy Gourmet
Mom-specialicious
Mouth-Watering-Mama
Second Helpings
Spoony Spicy Relish
Tasty Tales of Inspiration
Terribly Tasty Two's
The "Take-out" Takeover Guide
The Tasty Palate
The Upside of a Busy Kitchen
Tickled Taste Buds
Wagon
What's for dinner, kids?
Yummy Mummy

To be "Mom-a-licious" or not?

I am mom-a-licious. I am not mom-a-licious every day, but I’d say I rank up there 4-5 days a week. That name makes me smile, not because I am snarky but because it reminds me that I am a mom, first and foremost these days, but I also need to stay humorous, healthy, grounded, happy and svelte. The name encapsulates that goal and is light-hearted. That said the website and business surrounding healthy motherhood is already claimed by Domenica Catelli.

When I originally started this blog, the goal was to share recipes and some neat finds/ideas with my local friends and cooking lesson clients. The blog address was free, so I snatched it up and started writing away! But in the little over two months I have been writing this blog, it has logged over 4,000 visitors and it’s clear based upon the emails you all have sent me that my audience is much broader than Fairfield County, and broader than my immediate friends.

With preschool on the horizon, I am muddling through what I want this blog to evolve into. My primary job will always be my children, and I am thankful that I have the luxury to keep it that way—at least for now! But requests for cooking lessons keep coming in, and I have a head full of ideas of things that can help make being a mom more healthy, fun and inspiring for all of us. The problem is, if I am going to grow this business I think I need to back-up and re-name it. While I love mom-a-licious, Domenica claimed it first, and it’s her name. I need to come up with a name that captures the spirit of my blog, but that I can call my own.

Hopefully my technological skills are up to snuff for this part... If you’d like to help re-name the business or give me feedback on this blog, simply click on the following survey. It should just take a couple of minutes and your feedback will be so helpful.

Here’s the fun part: If I choose your name for the blog and accompanying cooking lessons, the prize is a 2-hour cooking lesson in your home (see the fine print below…). So pour yourself a glass of wine and get those creative juices flowing!

The fine print about the re-naming contest: survey responses will be accepted until June 10, 2009 (so don't dally!); in the event that more than one person submits the same winning name I will have my oldest child randomly draw a winner (trust me, he'll be insanely excited about this honor); winner must live within a 30-minute drive of New Canaan, CT; cooking lesson is for one or two people; lesson to be scheduled on a mutually agreed upon weekend or evening during July or September, 2009; winner has the option of a 1-hour grocery shopping trip + 1-hour in-home cooking lesson OR 2-hour in-home cooking lesson; groceries not included; groceries can be purchased by me and reimbursed or a shopping list can be provided.

May the best mom win!