The end of this blog contains my story of community and counsel. I began this post with that story, but decided to move it to the bottom and jump right in with examples of Women, Moms, Business Owners, supporting each other better than any ring knocking Ivy League grad could do...

is a Facebook Community of Momtreprenuers...their description states:  I know being a mom in business isn't easy, but with support and encouragement from fellow moms, you can make it through. Biz Mama is a place for moms to share their stories of juggling motherhood and small business to educate, inspire and connect. We can help each other to be happy and successful! They recently posted my story, which lead to more sharing within this fabulous community of Moms in Business.

MUMZY is a new crowd sourcing website that pools the power of Moms...Where Ideas Come to Life. - Have a great idea or project? Join the MUMZY community and raise funds, launch a business, create a nonprofit or help fellow moms reach their goals.  While they are new to this arena, the concept is powerful.  I recently launched a campaign on MUMZY to help me start an urban garden (click here to help).  Their blog picked up the story from Biz Mama and I have been added to their Entrepreneur profiles.  How nice is this? http://blog.mumzy.com/biz-mama-feature-tess-kearns-of-all-natural-chicago/

I am Tess Kearns.  I am working in my second business.  The first closed and lead the way to All Natural Chicago.  It has been a journey.  It wasn't until I found the community of female business owners in Chicago, that my people were discovered.  When I say "my people", I am referring to the loving & giving community of women business owners who also happen to be moms!  All of us share our struggles in spirit, but it is the support in good and bad times that makes us a community.  If you need it, there is a Mom in Business who can provide or knows someone who could. My husband believes we are the real Mafia, but only in the good way!  The #ChiMIBs have been amazing and I am proud and grateful to stand among them.

Easter is a Christian Holiday celebrating the resurrection of Christ.  It came out of a time when the Jewish faithful were celebrating their Passover.  A time commemorating the deliverance of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt. In 2016, a Leap Year, these celebrations fall out of sync in order to keep all calendars in order.  Regardless of all of these interesting facts, I, as a mom, am always looking for cool things to do with my children.  This year, I found the coolest...a use for those pesky onion skins that are the bain of a Chef's existence in the kitchen.  Thanks to a Facebook video, my children and I were tasked with trying something fun and new to us.

We did it, and here were are results!

First, I walked around the produce department at the local grocer.  I thought of the vegetables that stained the cutting boards in our kitchen, or the ones that might have been available to the indigenous people of this area.  I stood in front of the Spanish onions and peeled all the loose skins (free).  I looked over and saw the red onions (free) and figured it would be worth a try, so I peeled them too.  I grabbed a red beet, they had no golden beets.  I found the bin of tumeric root, it is all the rage these days.  Finally, I grabbed red cabbage like the one in the video.  I needed the items to leave an imprint on the eggs so I grabbed a bunch of carrot tops I had found under the carrots.  I asked the grocer and he said it was fine with him (free). A $10 bunch of flowers rounded out my purchase.  I will admit now, though I encourage experimentation, that the daisies and carrot tops were the best items for the imprints.  I will blog about this again next year.  I intend to make my own video as I found a few fun tips and tricks.  I look forward to it, I hope you will too, now that you see the results.

When we host our Underground Supper Clubs, the clientele varies.  The younger guests often take out their phones, snap some pictures and enjoy their meals.  I love it when I get to see what happens next...here are the perspectives of some of our guests at our January and February dinners.

A photo posted by Loni Diep (@paperfragment) on Jan 23, 2016 at 3:04pm PST

A photo posted by Loni Diep (@paperfragment) on Jan 23, 2016 at 2:11pm PST

A photo posted by Loni Diep (@paperfragment) on Jan 23, 2016 at 2:24pm PST

A photo posted by Loni Diep (@paperfragment) on Jan 23, 2016 at 2:48pm PST

A photo posted by Vi Phan (@vi_phan) on Jan 22, 2016 at 8:57pm PST

A photo posted by Nourhy (@mojoowl) on Feb 26, 2016 at 5:54pm PST