ADDY Awards Night!

I wouldn’t go so far as to say this is a Cinderella story, that would be a little too dramatic: but it sure felt like one. At 4:00 pm I was holding my crying, runny nose two year old who did NOT want the peanut butter wiped off her sticky hands. My almost 5 year old boy was trying to see how high he could jump in the air off the living room ottoman combined with all the noise and fanfare that that ensues. (And yes, I was telling him to stop, but he couldn’t hear me over the peanut buttered toddler’s screams.) To top it off, our very old dog was doing her rhythmic/drive you insane constant loud bark at the window. BARK BARKBARK (pause one second), BARK BARKBARK (pause one second) and so on and so on. You get the picture. I’m not covered in soot like Cinderella, but you could make an accurate guess of what my children had eaten during the day by looking at my shirt and pants.

I now have t minus 45 minutes and counting to transform my tired mommy look into a glammed up, cocktail attired, dot com owner for the Houston ADDY Awards presentation. BarkingWife.com was nominated for a design award. Our web designers/developers, 4 Guys Interactive, had kindly invited us to this posh event. Where was my fairy godmother, the horse drawn carriage, the sweet birds with ribbons to fix my tangled hair? More importantly, where was the red wine to calm my nerves???

Somehow, I managed to get my act pulled together despite the M.I.A. fairy godmother and all. I raced off to Carolanne’s  and off we went to the ADDY Awards. So, what are the ADDY Awards? Before I answer, I must say, they are a BIG deal. The ADDY Awards competition, with over 50,000 entries annually, is the industry's largest and most representative competition for creative excellence. Sponsored by the American Advertising Federation (AAF), the awards are designed to honor advertising excellence and to cultivate the highest standards in the industry.The who’s who of the creative world in Houston was there and nominated for awards. After jumping off the corporate career ladder four years ago and diving into a stay-at-home mom world, I felt like I was crashing someone else’s swanky corporate party. But, the vino and friendly folks made me feel right at home in no time.

The lights dimmed in the room, the awards presentation started. As they got closer and closer to the category that BarkingWife.com was in, my heart started beating harder and faster. And then, there it was, they said it… “A Citation of Excellence is awarded to 4 Guys Interactive” for the design of BarkingWife.com!

For two stay-at-home moms starting a business on a shoe string budget, striving to have it all, overcoming many obstacles during a year long process of getting www.BarkingWife.com from concept to actually launching, this is a Cinderella moment: one that I will remember forever. We have only been live on the World Wide Web for three short months. I feel like a man in an overcoat smoking a cigar should pat me on the back and say out of the side of his mouth, “You’ve come a long way, baby”! (Of course if that actually did happen I would probably spontaneously mace him.)

Cheers,
Holly

P.S. Guess what!?! Our award was account in the Houston Chronicle on Sunday, February 20. Isn't that the coolest!