My husband bought me some Trader Joe’s Salt and Pepper Dark Chocolate as a stocking stuffer for Christmas. I love good chocolate as a gift. I was excited to try something new. I busted into that pretty little blue circle, took a nibble and was totally grossed out. Grainy, gritty, icky and bitter. I know Mexican style chocolate is supposed to lean that direction, but it was a bit much for me.

Then I had an idea: use it for Mexican Hot Chocolate. It had all of the components of Mexican Hot Chocolate built in – spicy, peppery, salty and dark. It just needed some milk and a few enhancements. I made some for my husband tonight. He’s not a hot chocolate addict lover like I am. He said it was one of the best drinks he’s ever had. (Although it might have been the fresh whipped cream, chocolate shavings and loving preparation.)

Here’s the recipe.

Mexican Hot Chocolate

Total Time: 10 minutes

Yield: One 8 oz. serving

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. 1% low fat milk
• 1 disc Trader Joe’s Salt and Pepper Organic Dark Chocolate (1.3 oz.)
• 1 Tbs. cocoa powder (see note)
• 1 Tbs. brown sugar
• One cinnamon stick

Procedures
Chop the chocolate into small chunks. In a saucepan, whisk all ingredients together. Stir constantly over medium heat until the chocolate melts and mixture is just about to boil. Pour into a mug and serve with fresh whipped cream with chocolate shavings. Drink it.

Note: For the cocoa, I used King Arthur Flour brand Double Dutch Dark Cocoa, dark and smooth. Any % milk would work, too, it would just affect the creaminess.

(c) 2013 Kerri Smith

BellyRest, LLC
Contact: Kerri Smith, CEO
Phone: (814) 571-2984
Email: kerri {at} bellyrest [dot] com
State College, PA – August 16, 2012

Red Tape Fighting Mompreneur to Appear on Fox and Friends Weekend with Maternity Pillow

Government red tape is severely affecting the creation of new businesses in America. Mompreneur, Kerri Smith, who invented the BellyRest maternity support pillow, has experienced this first hand and decided to fight back. Smith successfully launched an IndieGoGo crowdfunding campaign to pay for pillow tag registration fees. Her story, told via a rap and music video has garnered national attention.

Fox and Friends Weekend discovered Smith’s story via TheBlaze.com and contacted Smith to appear live in their New York City studios on Saturday morning, August 18, 2012.

Smith cannot legally sell her maternity pillow through an online retailer until she pays $3,660 in state pillow tag registration fees. 15 states require law tags on pillows and BellyRest may not be sold in one of those states until the fees are paid. “I can’t even buy my own pillow until I pay the Pennsylvania pillow tag registration fees,” said Smith.

Smith got mad. So mad that she wrote a rap, recorded a music video, and launched a campaign to pre-sell enough pillows to raise the money she needed to pay for the state pillow tag registration fees. “The video has really helped people understand my red tape situation. Everyone I talk to seems to have a story of when they were little and wondered what would happen to them if they cut the tag off of their pillow.  When they find out about the fees, they agree that this is ridiculous.” The equally ridiculous rap is called “Do Not Remove Under Penalty of Law.” Smith co-wrote the rap with her good friend, Julie Kosoglow.

Word spread about the pillow tag campaign through Facebook, Twitter and by personally emailing friends and family to encourage them to watch the video and make a contribution. Smith also reached out to mom bloggers who were extremely supportive and could empathize with the pregnant women who need BellyRest.

Smith knew that there was a political angle to her story as well. She contacted several prominent conservative news websites to see if they would be interested in covering her story. An editor at TheBlaze.com got back to her and posted an article a few days later.

“Being on TheBlaze.com was a turning point in my campaign. People were made aware on a personal level how red tape was preventing me from starting my business. It wasn’t just political talk anymore. They could see my face and hear my story. They agreed that the registration fees are an unreasonable barrier to entry for entrepreneurs like me.”

Within two days, Smith had exceeded her goal of $4,660 by $1,400, reaching a total $6,060.

Fox and Friends Weekend also noticed Smith’s story on TheBlaze.com. They contacted her the same day the story went live and booked her to appear on the Fox and Friends Weekend morning show, Saturday, August 18, 2012.

“Now that I’ve hit my goal, I’m essentially back at zero. All of that money is already allocated to paying for registration fees. Now I have to think about normal start up costs.” Manufacturing, materials and production are the next big hurdles facing Smith.

“It’s not about pillow tags or registration fees. It’s about the red tape that is entangling entrepreneurs all over the US in any industry. How many more new businesses would exist if the government didn’t make it so difficult and expensive for us? I view these pillow tag registration fees as a ‘pre-tax’ on my business before I’m even allowed to begin.”

After Smith’s campaign ended, she learned about even more red tape that she’ll have to break through. Four states (NC, OH, OK and PA) charge a tax on every pillow sold, on top of the pre-existing sales tax. And five states, plus the City of Detroit will be requiring Smith to pay for a Distributor License, which will cost $1,015 annually.

“Politicians throw around numbers and tell us that we need to create jobs and help our economy, but they’re not looking at a granular level at real people with real ideas who are wrapped up in these layers of red tape. I’m all for consumer protection, but I believe the pillow tag licensing fees are exorbitant and obsolete. They are a barrier to entry for a small business owner like me. I intend to create jobs and manufacture my product in the US. It shouldn’t be this difficult for me to accomplish exactly what every politician is screaming right now.”

Smith will need to pre-sell 300 BellyRest maternity support pillows in order to break even on the registration fees and begin production of her pillow. Pre-orders can be placed though her website: http://www.bellyrest.com.

About BellyRest

Belly Rest is a small and adjustable maternity support pillow for uncomfortable pregnant women who are having trouble sleeping. Two adjustable pillows provide belly support and low back support at the same time. BellyRest was invented by a mom and is made in the USA.

Contact Information:
Kerri Smith, CEO
BellyRest® LLC
(814) 571-2984
kerri {at} bellyrest[dot] com
http://www.bellyrest.com

The IndieGoGo campaign is almost fully funded, a major university contacted me about writing them a rap about government regulation and red tape, and I’m scheduled to be on Fox and Friends on Saturday morning!

Here’s the article that got it all started.

A few things were really important to me when I was working on the protypes of BellyRest.
I wanted a maternity support pillow to be:

• small
• adjustable
• comfortable

I didn’t want a pillow the size of another human in my bed, I didn’t want something that didn’t specifically fit my body, and I didn’t want a maternity support pillow with itchy fabric.

After 14 prototypes and nine different pregnant women testing the pillow – this was the result!

Here’s what it looks like in action.  The top is made of satin so you glide over it as you roll at night and the bottom is cotton so it stays in place.

How many pillows do you jam under your belly while you sleep?

- Kerri

(P.S. Have you seen the moms rapping about maternity pillows and pillow tags video yet?  Before I can even sell BellyRest online, I have to pay $4460 in state pillow tag registration fees.  It’s crazy.  I created the music video to let people pre-order pillows.  Check it out – if nothing else, you’ll get a good laugh!  http://www.indiegogo.com/bellyrest)

Inventing the BellyRest maternity support pillow definitely helped me get better sleep, but even when I stopped sipping liquid by 7pm, nature called!

This chart represents my personal experience.

Have you seen the rap video yet?  Pregnant moms rapping about pillow tags to help me raise money so that I can start selling BellyRest.  Check it out!  http://www.indiegogo.com/bellyrest

How are you sleeping these days?

- Kerri

I’m finally launching my campaign to raise money to pay for pillow tags.  It’s a long story… I was ready to start selling pillows on Amazon several months ago when I learned about the pillow tag laws.  14 states require tags on pillows.  The annual fees I have to pay to those states ranges from $5 to $750 per year.  It ends up being $4,460 for the first year, just to be allowed to sell a pillow online.

I got together with some friends, wrote a rap, recorded a music video, and I’m launching a campaign on IndieGoGo on Monday, July 16, 2012.  Enjoy the sneak peak at the “Do Not Remove Under Penalty of Law” video.