I am inspired by faith, motherhood, self-discovery, marketing, sports and most things that challenge my thinking.

So I'm sitting in Fuddrucker's eating with my daughter and we have the following conversation after she received her order of chicken fingers:

Lil 1: Mom, do they really use the fingers of a chicken to make these chicken fingers?

Me: No, they use chicken breasts.

Lil 1: Well...do they remove the nipples???

Me: Speechless first...laughing fit. Still laughing!

My daughter..hmmm.

While walking through the foodcourt in the mall, my daughter made the following comment about Dippin' Dots with a concerned look on her face:

Lil 1: Mom, is that REALLY the ice cream of the future?

Me: What are you talking about?

Lil 1: Dippin Dots. Is it true???

Me: Umm, I don't think so. It's just the brand's slogan.

Lil 1: Oh, good! (with a sigh of relief)

Her concern caused me to put on my marketing hat and contemplate if Dippin' Dots really could be the ice cream of the future - and more importantly, why did the powers-that-be in marketing at this company choose this statement as the brand promise?

As a marketer, I believe that its imperative that a brand deliver on the expectations of its promise - a promise which should differentiate the brand from its competitors, be distinctive, induce action from consumers, and most of all - be believable!

In the case of Dippin' Dots, the believability is questionable. The more I think about it, I can't conceive that this brand is the ice cream of the future - by any stretch of the imagination! My daughter falls into the target market (kids ages 8-18) and she has tried the product a few times. Needless to say, she has not taken a liking to the product and was quite relieved that we would still have regular ice cream in the future. I mean honestly, do we need a new type of ice cream for the future? What's wrong with our current form of ice cream?

Also, I'm a little confused as to how the brand's promise relates to its brand identity. The font treatment, web/collateral design elements and the distribution channel(s) all give the brand an 'old-timey' feel. There's nothing 'futuristic' about it. I do have to say that I'm intrigued by the cryogenic encapsulation technology used in the product development to supposedly lock in flavor and freshness. However, I believe that the brand could do a better job at highlighting its functional benefits by finding a creative way to communicate those benefits to the target.

As we continue our study of the Book of James, we are now focusing on Getting Back to the Biblical Basics of Taming the Tongue.

The big idea for today centered on speaking with care. But in order to do so, we have to control our tongues. But in order to do THAT, we have to learn to control our thoughts!Speak with care, control your tongue, control your thoughts If we speak bitterness and anger or hatred, those things are hidden deep in our hearts.

The pastor taught from James 3:1-12 highlighting that the tongue has the power to direct, to defile, and can be poisonous and destructive. There are numerous scriptures throughout the Bible which tell us to use restraint when it comes to the tongue. Psalms 141:3 illustrates David's concern and prayer to God to guard his tongue. Our mouths can get us into soooo much trouble!

I tell my daughter all the time, "Women are better seen than heard." She takes it to the extreme and sometimes states her annoyance if she encounters a loud-mouthed female. LOL.

Sometimes its better to listen, show a KWYit KUNfaDINSe!

My daughter likes music from the New Jack Swing era! It's probably my fault for popping my Ipod in the truck and playing the songs over and over again!

On the way home, she asked me to play the song that goes...."And just let me sleep, don't wake me up til my dream is complete. I'm dreamin...!"

I was a little shocked that she knew the words!



I love Christopher Williams! Always have.

I think he'll be in town doing some stage play next week. Never been to one of those plays, I'm thinking I may go to see it just to see him!

This is my smile from earlier today.



So I was on my way to this awesome Super Bowl party in Mckinney and I stopped by Sprouts to pick up my weekly refill of Metromint bottled water and a bottle of Funf 5 German Riesling - because I just CAN'T go to a party at someone's home empty-handed.

I was at the check out counter and I handed my ID to the cashier, a cute rosy-cheeked guy around 22 or 23 years old. He looked at it and immediately did a double take. I thought something was wrong. With a sheepish grin he told me, "Wow, you're a lot older than you look!"

The highlight of my day...Plus I had lots of sweets at the party. I'm still smiling!!!