I’m so excited to see this get back on it’s feet. Almost every day I receive an email from some kind person telling me how this app has helped them turn their life around. I had no idea it would have such a profound effect when I first launched back in 2008. It’s worth every bit of blood, sweat and tears that went into getting it this far. I truly appreciate all the amazing support I get from folks around the world. I feel so wonderfully blessed to have the skills to put this together for others who need it most!

Thanks for being loyal supporters. You’re amazing!

About a week ago I released a brand spanking new version of Gratitude Journal. This one is fully loaded with all sorts of new features. It took me well over 9 months to create. I designed and redesigned. I tested it for hours, over and over again. Trying to think of every use case scenario. I shared it with friends and had them test it. I was sure it was ready for the world. Positive.

Then the emails started to come in saying “I upgraded and lost all my journal entries!” and “I used this religiously for 3 years and now almost everything is gone.”

My heart sank. I was devastated. I was sure the upgrade process moved all the old entries over. I tested it over and over. More emails poured in about performance. Again, it was snappy on my device. Why? None of my testers mentioned this. In addition to the emails were the reviews on iTunes. I choke up just thinking about them. It’s as if my intention of creating happiness had completely backfired.

After a week of sleepless nights and not seeing any rhyme or reason to this, my developer friend, Jiva, showed me there was hope. Using some snazzy tools and with the help of a few amazing users willing to share their data, we discovered that the entries weren’t lost after all. I cried tears of joy and let out a huge sigh of relief.

But then the performance. With hundreds of entries the app is almost unusable. It takes ages for a screen to open. I didn’t know this before because I delete my entries every now and again as a way of letting go. I have a fraction of the data of some.

So where does that leave us today? A fix should be submitted to Apple by the end of the week – I hope. The performance issues may take some doing. I’m not sure. But I do promise to get this fixed. I also resubmitted the old version to Apple for those of you who like the retro version.

I’m fully to blame for not testing the app with hundreds of records. I didn’t realized people used it so much, but am insanely grateful they do. I also hired the wrong developers who did a poor job and now I’m paying for it (more on that later).

I guess I was trying to please too many people in this release, listening to every request trying to make a super gratitude journal. If you use my app, you’ll know that it gives you a quote with each entry. The funny thing is that I got this quote in the middle of last week’s sleep-deprived-trouble-shooting-email-apologizing-is-it-all-worth-it-pondering fiasco:

“I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.” – Bill Crosby

Through the blue summer days, I shall travel all the ways,
Pricked by the ears of maize, trampling the dew:
A dreamer, I will gaze, as underfoot the coolness plays.
I’ll let the evening breeze drench my head anew.

I shall say – not a thing: I shall think – not a thing:
But an infinite love will swell in my soul,
And far off I shall go, a bohemian,
Through Nature – as happy, as if I had a girl.

-  Arthur Rimbaud

What a perfect day to celebrate my birthday… 11-1-11. All ones. Yes, I’m the person who will always makes a wish when the clock shows 11:11. The number one is my lucky number. So this year I’m making that my word for the year. Luck. Lucky. Luckiest.

I’ve been blessed with beginners luck. The first time I make a new dish it always turns out surprisingly delicious. The second time, not so great. My first iPhone app was a huge success. The second and third didn’t compare. The first time I got on a plane I didn’t just go to the next city, but part way across the world to live for a year in Germany. To learn a language I only studied for one year. One works just fine for me.

The word for luck in German is glücklich which is the same word for “happy”. I love that. Luck is happiness and happiness is luck. The phrase “happy birthday” in German is “herzlichen glückwunsch” which directly translated means “heart filled lucky (or happy) wishes”. Those Germans are so “vernünftig”.

The Roman philosopher Seneca once said “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.” I feel these past years have prepared me wonderfully for what lies ahead for this next year of life. The trials have given me insight, patience, and the wisdom I need. Mostly, I realize more than ever that each day we are all lucky in our own way. Here’s to a glücklich year for all of us.

ps: I also want to wish my late aunt Carol heart filled wishes who was also born on this day!

Two of my nieces spent the night with us yesterday – fitting in some time with their baby cousin before they head back to school. They showed up wearing a couple of wigs they scored at our neighbor’s garage sale, and the laughs just kept coming all day long. Our son absolutely loved all of their attention too.

Later in the day, we all went for a walk chatting about almost every teen girl’s favorite topic – boys. I immediately thought of a book I recently read called On Becoming Fearless by the brilliant Arianna Huffington (she ran against Arnie for governor). It’s  about the fact that women have so much potential, yet hold ourselves back. What does that have to do with boys?

If my wonderful nieces are to become the sensational women they are meant to be, they have to become fearless in everything, including relationships. Instead of drifting down that usual route of falling for guys who need to “be fixed”, I’d love to see these young women share their lives and hearts solely with people who brings out the best in them.

If there’s one thing I discovered as a mom is that time is precious and who you share it with means everything. They are so lucky to have grown up together. I hope they continue to look out for each other keeping guys with bad intentions light years away (times two).  They can bet that their aunt Carla will watching over their shoulder just to make sure!

via Philo-sofia

I’m guessing you’ve seen this video on Facebook or Twitter. It’s amazing and well worth a few minutes. I have two nieces that are this age and there is so much I want to tell them like…

1. Read more books. They open your world.
2. Write about it then let it go.
3. Stay in choir so you can sing at campfires by the beach.
4. That job sucks but stick with it. You’ll be ahead of others just by learing good work ethics.
5. If he doesn’t make you a better person, forget him.
6. Leave drinking for a bit longer. Your brain is still growing.
7. Go to more concerts.
8. Learn how to make the things you want.
9. Start giving to charity. Make it a habit.
10. Bad stuff will happen. You will feel crushed and defeated but the universe is looking out for you. Trust it.
11. Learn to let go. It’s hard and it hurts, but it’s the only way to move forward.
12. Be so comfortable with yourself you’re happy to go to the movies alone.
13. Trust your instincts and listen to your heart. It’s not lying to you.
14. Don’t worry if others mistake your kindness for ignorance. Keep being kind.
15. Do yoga and meditate. Be grateful for everything in your life.
16. Twenty years from now you’ll be even more beautiful, amazing, and hitting it out of the park. Believe it.

I feel so lucky. I just love my boys!

In just the past six weeks we welcomed baby Nico (aka Tiger) into our lives, spent 10 days in California, battled a crazy infection, launched an iPhone app, am working on an iPad app, hosted my in-laws from London for a week, hosted a baby shower, and launched a new business called Snapp. Toss in all the holiday stuff on top and I’m not sure what day it is most of the time. If 2011 starts out like this, I can’t imagine how it will end.

These past six weeks have taught me so much, it feels more like six years. Of course, our son has burst our hearts wide open with the beauty of life. Seeing family and friends dote on him brings me such immense joy. This little guy is so wise, aware, and ready for what life has to offer.

My Tiger

I’ll be completely honest. As grand as these experiences have been, there has also been moments when I wondered if we got ourselves in over our heads. A tear of exhaustion would fall into my coffee cup — that black stuff just didn’t seems to be doing the trick. And I knew that I had to dig down deep and change to make it all come together. I would have to do something I avoid at all costs and that is to ask for help. Normally, I will go the extra mile just because asking for help can be so incredible hard.¬† “I can do it. My self.” My stubborness tells me.

Like when I¬† pulled out the snow blower at the crack of dawn in sub-zero temps just to prove to my mother-in-law that I’m pulling my weight. Or posting 250 Christmas cards to maintain the family PR. Or baking something lovely at 5am so my husband wakes from a long night of baby duties to delicious smells. I can do it. I will do it.

Ah-ma feeding Nico

So this is why “change” is my word for 2011. Not only will I witness my Tiger change drastically this year. And I’ve been changing loads of nappies. I also get to see my business evolve. And I myself am changing more than I ever knew possible. I’m not sure if I will ever lose the stubbornness that I inherited from my dad. But I’m getting better at recognizing it and gradually I’m finding it easier to ask others for help. Insane independence is slowly being replaced by togetherness.

Local paper takes a snap of Snapp!

To my pleasant surprise, working together with something is far more rewarding than trying to always do it solo. My mom and her husband, siblings, friends have all stepped forward with a big smile, a feeling of honor, and ready to give me a hand. But mostly, my husband has been right there at every step, as always, with a small joke, a hug, some little magic touch to make it all an experience I never want to forget. Well, that’s if I can remember it all in the first place!

This is the perfect project for me because both my journaling and drawing have fallen behind. I’m hoping this will give me the kick I need to spark creativity, imagination and new ideas!

Sunday I spent the afternoon doing sewing projects.

This morning my dog woke me at 4am.