I've Moved!

This is a bittersweet announcement. I'm excited, nervous and just a little wistful all at the same time. This is my very last post here on my Blogger bloggity-blog.

I've moved to a new website, and taken this little blog with it. The new site is gorgeous and fresh and clean. Something I've been working on for a long time, but as with any new technology stuff, nervous about the first beginnings as there are bound to be glitches or hiccups along the way. Nothing that can't be tweaked, tho. And it's going to be so much easier to both customers and me too to use going forward. Gotta keep it fresh and up-to-date!

With the new site, however is a new space for the blog to live. This one will remain here for as long as I'm still working the soap biz. Nothing is going away, and there is an awful lot here to still explore.

But if you're looking to see what's cooking - all the new blog posts will over here. Just CLICK THE LINK and head on over.

And if you want to start at the very beginning of my new journey, I've written a little something about  why I made the change, with a little backdrop about my blogging history. It's Not My First Rodeo!

Please join me at the new hangout! I so appreciate all of you who are following along for the ride.

IRS Lawsuit scam - don't call back

As a small home business, I think I get an unusually high number of telemarketing and scammy phone calls during the day. As a smart cookie, I can spot these a mile away now, but just in case you aren't as familiar with them, here a couple of tips:

1. If you get a call that has a recorded message "we've been trying to reach you. The IRS is filing a lawsuit against you. Please call (blank number) to resolve this issue . . . it's a scam. Just got this one this morning. The IRS will always contact you in writing first, and believe me, they have your address information. They will not call you. Not unless you have already ignored all the written letters. And when they do, it will be a live person, not a robo-call. Do not call back. It WILL be a live person, probably with a foreign accent, and they will ask you all kinds of personal financial questions which they will use to dupe you further. Just give yourself a break and let it go.

2. If you get any kind of questionable call, google the phone number, or google the issue (like 'IRS lawsuit scam') and you will know instantly what it's all about. Do this BEFORE you do one other thing.

3. If anyone starts asking you questions about your personal information, to verify your account or passwords etc., DO NOT give out anything. Nobody is going to call you and ask for that stuff. Really. Any legitimate business will verify themselves fully and give you a way to check it out for real before you make yourself vulnerable. Like you can call them back on their main line to do it with their fraud dept, or customer service or whatnot.

I continue to get the frustrating calls from the so-called "Windows Technical Dept" that there is a virus on my computer and they want me to go through some kind of process over the phone to fix it - which, in scam speak, means they are then actually downloading their own virus directly onto my computer. Windows is not going to call you. They are not monitoring every computer on earth to know what is happening to your desktop or laptop. Use common sense and just hang up.

Bottom line: be sharp, question everything, do not share anything over the phone unless you have double or triple checked it out before you call them back. And if it's in your email inbox instead of the phone? Same thing. DO NOT respond or click the link. At all. Never.

Wrapping Up

I'm putting the finishing touches on 2014 and relieved that we are heading into a new year and a fresh start. The past couple of months has been a bit more intense than usual for this time of year, and I'm relieved that it's winding down.

I have literally PILES of lists and notes and project sketched out for 2015. And I'm itching to get started on all those new ideas. Life is all about evolving and growing and trying new things.

Reflecting on this past year is mostly positive, and yet there is quite a lot I want to do better and differently and more efficiently.  Switch tacks and sail off on a slightly different course.  Oh, I don't mean that to sound scary!  I'm NOT jumping ship and dumping the soap business.  Just wanting so badly to have a beautiful new web site, better systems in place so I'm not rushing around so much.  Little things like that.

And of course I'm creating new soap scents and flavors galore, lots of different packaging ideas, and wanting to try some new shows to change things up.

I've got a bunch of new personal goals and projects too that I want to start as soon as possible. I don't want to lose the momentum that I've already got going by taking January off to sit on my tush and just think about stuff.  I'm raring to go.

I also want to say a ginormous THANK YOU to all my loyal customers, followers and fans for all your support this past year.  It's been a lovely party and I'm so looking forward to a future together in this coming year.

Wishing you much joy, happiness, love, success and "clean living" in 2015!!

Sometimes stress is a gift

I'm always astonished at the beautiful gifts that come out of this overwhelming, stressful, fast-paced season. I have so many new ideas and projects blossoming - creativity is on overdrive. And clarity - wow!  When you're so focused and pressed up against deadlines, it's amazing how much de-cluttering happens, and things that fall by the wayside that you realize were not so important. By allowing them to be released there is so much more space and flow.

I just hope I've taken enough notes so I can pick this up after the holidays and make it all useful.  So often by the time I get through the holidays themselves and the recuperation period, I don't remember all the pieces. And end up back in the same old groove without the urgency to evolve.

Hello. Can we get a bazillion bars by Friday?

My giant "to-do" list for Wednesday just got blown out of the water. Change of plans for tomorrow's itinerary. Just got a call from the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center. They just decided this afternoon that they need a small mountain of "cotton" smelling soap bars as gifts for the cast and crew of their Showboat production which ends Saturday night.  Hmm, Flannel Jammies sounds just about right for that.

Oh yes, we need those shipped like immediately, to arrive by Friday so we can wrap them and have them ready for Saturday night's performance.

How awesome and unexpected it that? Who says no to that?  My little bars of soap will be out in a much bigger world and traveling with celebrities to boot.  Do you see those names on the list?!! Vanessa Williams?! And I so love me some Fred Willard too.

The gal who called me is the absolute sweetest.  We met at a street fair this summer, where we bonded over our mutual vintage cat eye glasses, and chatted at length about our secret sources for our collections. She remembered how much she liked the soaps and thought of me first, even though I'm on the opposite side of the country. Which just goes to show you, it really is a small world.

Whoosh - time flies by

This is the last few days at the Washington State Fair and it's been a whirlwind of activity for the last couple of weeks.  Rushing here.  Rushing there. Rushing in circles, panting and overwhelmed.

This little bit of September seems to just disappear in a flash.  The autumn newsletter coincides with the fair timing and after the lull of late August, this explosion of activity always takes me by surprise. But it gears me up for the hectic holidays ahead. And lights a fire.

I just wanted to pop in and dust the cobwebs off the blog. I've got more coming soon, when I get a minute to sit down next week. I've been a little more regular over at the Facebook page, so you can always find the latest there.

A few words to remember from the bigger-than-life Joan Rivers. . . there will never be another one quite like her.

Blogging. Since the year Twitter was born.

I've been trying to write a few blog posts today. I'm a little behind on getting the first drafts done. So I am feeling pressured to do it quickly. Which doesn't always make the best conditions for writing.

Anyway, it's felt like a struggle. And the end result at the moment is not good. They are ramble-y and not entertaining even if the facts are basically right.

I had an a-ha moment late in the afternoon that maybe I'd covered these topics before and would have something to sort of pull from.  No, not copy. But get inspired and at least check to make sure I wasn't saying all the same things again.

What I realized is that I have been blogging since January of 2006. That is a long time. Mostly just blogging to myself, and sometimes my Mom checks in. Possibly a few other peeps from time to time.

2006 was the year Twitter was born. And the Winter Olympics were held in Turin, Italy.  Anybody even remember that?  I wrote more prolifically that year than any other. I suppose it was practice. And lack of focus.

What does this all mean? Nothing. I'm totally brain fried. My writing today is sucky. And after this many years doing it, I feel like I should be better at it. And I don't even know if anybody is reading along.

So I'll just finish this up with...nothing. That's it.

Technical Department calling . .

Telemarketing scam of the day - and boy, do I get some weird phone calls sometimes.  I have gotten 2 calls from this same man today. I just dumped the first one because it didn't make sense. But this afternoon I talked longer because it got me wondering.

He says he's calling from the "technical department" of Win-something about a problem with my Windows computer. I've been a Mac girl my whole life and there is no Windows computer here. Ever. This second call I made him tell me who he was actually calling and he had my name right. And he tells me that some bad things are being downloaded through Windows to my computer whenever I'm online.

I tell him that he's really confusing me since I don't have a Windows computer. And he's so insistent that his database cannot be incorrect and that there absolutely is somebody in my house using a Windows computer. I had to tell him that he's wrong and I don't have any idea where he gets his information. (It's quite clear that he's calling from a call center in India.) Both times, when I finally told him that I didn't have that type of computer he hangs up.  So I don't even get to find out if he's selling me something or what he's really calling me about.

What's this all mean, jelly bean? Was he going to have me download some kind of software bug over the phone to steal my identity? Anyone else get this kind of call?  Let me know in the comments below if you have had something like this happen to you, or if you know anything about this proposition.  

What the heck is the "Win-mumble" company anyway? I asked him twice and was going to ask him to spell it, but there was static in the line and communication was difficult.  Now I'm even more curious (and nervous) than before.

Monday morning overwhelm?

Ever have a Monday morning where your to-do list for the week is a wee bit overwhelming? I keep this list of mantras close by just for those day. Alexandra Franzen (who is awesome btw!) wrote a list of 21 mantras for people who are ridiculously overwhelmed. A couple of my favorites:

 I don’t have a to-do list. I have a list of helpful suggestions.

 I don’t have an inbox. I have a collection of happy invitations.

Read the rest of them here: http://www.alexandrafranzen.com/2013/07/13/21-mantras-for-people-who-are-ridiculously-painfully-excruciatingly-overwhelmed/

Why we procrastinate . .

and how to stop doing it.  That's what the article said it was about and I was immediately hooked.

If you've been reading along, you probably already know that I, myself, am a bit of a procrastinator.  I've always believed that I needed a hard deadline to really motivate myself.  That planning ahead and working in advance was harder, because my time was always at the stretching point, and if I had a few minutes to take a break, relax, do fun stuff or whatever, that life would be more enjoyable.  Ebb and flow instead of always in high gear.

But after reading this article on Greatist today, I might have to give it more thought.

Two psychotherapists (Phil Stutz, Barry Michels) explain that procrastinating is the avoidance of doing something, not because we don't know we need to do it, or even want to do it, but because by actually doing it, we think we will experience something uncomfortable or even painful.  It's retreating to our comfort zone, and making excuses to put those things off.

Hmmm. I'm going to need to observe this in myself for awhile. I did not have an "aha" moment where I instantly recognized this in myself. But I am not shrugging off the idea either and tossing it aside with the belief that it doesn't apply to me. This might actually be the source of some of my procrastinating, and I don't want to miss the opportunity to figure this out and get into action again.

Their solution, which is brilliant also, is to just straight on tackle the painful whatever.  Like run straight into it, because pain shrinks when taken head on. It only becomes the giant monster when we avoid it and dramatize it.

This could be an awesome, liberating thing!  They've written a book "5 Tools to help you find courage, creativity, and willpower - and inspiring you to live life in forward motion."  Need to check this out.

Are you a procrastinator too? Let me know in the comments below if you do this too and what you think about this theory.

Fire at the Fair last night!

I arrived at the fairgrounds to tear down my display this morning and we couldn't get into our building at first.

There was a huge fire at the fair last night - started at midnight, so no people were there. The building right next to ours burned to the ground - the entire barn is just gone. The fireman who got there first said they rescued dozens and dozens of animals - 48 piglets, chicks, turkeys etc. They only lost one small piglet. 

Wow! Total mess this morning. We were able to skirt around the barricaded off area, but had hoses and trucks parked all over the entrances to our hall.  I had to jump fire hoses to load out my stuff. Our Artists in Action area was fine, thank God. And the soap stills smells like soap and not smoke. We got very lucky - though I feel so badly for the folks that were in that building.  

He said when he arrived it looked a giant fireball had dropped into the middle of the fair and there was smoke plumes 500 feet high.  Big happenings...







This was a 2-story building, and if you look into those doorways there is nothing but charred sticks.

That's a grandstand tent that is collapsing onto the stage just outside our doors - the cables holding it up were attached to the roof of the burned building.

A river runs through . . .

There's something strange and wonderful that I've noticed repeatedly during the week when I'm just starting to get ready for something big. It's like the very process of getting prepared to go out in the world -- whether it's a show or a seasonal newsletter with website updates -- seems to be like turning on the spigot to the universe. All kinds of other stuff just starts streaming in out of nowhere. Today it was a little flurry of mail orders, more than I've seen in the past two weeks combined.

I could be slightly irritated or anxious about how I'm going to squeeze all that in when I'm already under pressure to get my show ready to set up tomorrow and then work the rest of the week. Or I could be grateful and elated that the river has meandered back in my direction and just go with the flow. I think I'll do the latter. It feels better.

Do you feel a breeze too?

I can sooo relate to this photo right now.

I'm actively working on getting this little soap business up to snuff for the year 2014 in the online universe.  Can you believe I've never dipped my toes in Facebook?  Some of you will be totally all "OMG, how have you lived?" while others of you might be like I was (even last month) "what's the fuss all about? why can't you just face to face?"

Well if you're in business and you want to stay in business, it's no longer an option to opt out.  Like having a web page, you have to have a Facebook page.  

I have no idea really what I'm getting into.  Still trying to figure out the technicalities of uploading photos and getting all my settings in a row.  Which balloons from there into how to get my link straight in all my other online locations, and what do I post there and when and how and what is all the friends and likey stuff.  My head hurts.

I'm truly feeling a little exposed at the moment and vulnerable.  And like some stupid kid just instagrammed my ass all over the internets.  I'll be an expert in no time, I'm sure and will be guffawing about how long it took me to join the club.

So if you want to head over and have a laugh yourself.  Or fan me/follow me/like me, whatever the hell you're supposed to do . . . see ya at the cool kids table.

https://www.facebook.com/soapworks.studio

Something you might not know...

Here's a fact.  Soap can be dirty.

Soap bits, flakes, tiny specks etc when they land on the floor, stick to the counter, or stick to your pants, can really make a mess.

via Skreened

I'm not sure if I have ever explained the whole scientific what-nots of soap, but its molecular composition makes it a magnet to dirt.  That's truly how it works.  The soap molecule, when enacted by water, becomes magnetically attracted to dirt molecules.  That's sort of the grade school explanation.  Detergent molecules suck themselves to both dirt and grease - hence dish soap and laundry soap which are too harsh for our hides.

Anywhooo.  I've also noticed that it works without water.  This is not a new observation, but just one that I am keenly aware of again in this moment.  My office is, ooooh, how to say this, filthy.  The bits on the floor have attracted general dirt and become almost sticky little gummy magnets for cat hair, dust bunnies and whatever else is floating around.  The bits I have stuck to my pants when I carelessly wipe my hands off, are now stuck to the seat of my office chair.  I've got little piles of flecks of all kinds of fuzzy stuff all over.

Whoah.  This place needs a deep clean.  That's what happens when the sun comes out, even for a few short minutes.  You see all the dirt that's accumulated during the last few weeks of dark, stormy, grey days that feel like endless evenings, especially in the basement.

Telemarketing Rant

In the last couple of months I've got a handful of calls to "update my business information."  They don't really say who they are, or if they do, it's some sort of ambiguous data service name.

The first few times, I just did it without thinking.  It seemed like a good idea for any business to make sure their name, phone number, type of business was correct, right? Especially that first call who thought I made swimwear.  Or the second call that listed me as a detergent manufacturer or something.  I'm still not sure that the next time it won't be something equally off since I'm pretty sure I don't fit into one of their neat little boxes with a category number.

But then I started getting at least one, if not more calls each day asking for charitable donations.  All kinds of things I've never heard of.  Issues that totally don't relate to me personally or professionally.  And it's getting really annoying.  Plus I hate having those conversations where you turn down perfectly good people who are trying to help out humanity by saying "take me off your list" kinds of things.  It's frustrating and doesn't need to happen.

If only the Do Not Call list were still a real thing.  But I think there are loopholes in it the size of Montana.  And I'm beginning to think that having your business listing updated is code for 'we're selling your business info to any kind of telemarketing gig we can.'  If you willingly give them your name and phone number - to that "data service", ahem - then it must mean you want to be bombarded by anyone who has something to sell you or request money for.

So today I got another one, only this one was a robot with no identifying information. I listened all the way through to see who they were and at the end there was an option to speak to a live operator.  I clicked to connect and asked who they were and what they were doing with my business listing.  She did a lot of hedging around and then said it was perfectly fine for me to opt out.  That cinched it.

Clearly this is not just helping me out by marketing my business to customers. Well marketing my business to THEIR customers.  Slight distinction.  Geez.  I need to get smarter about all that stuff.  Or I'll spend all day on the darn phone just listening to robots, scripts and huffy hustlers.  Caller ID doesn't work anymore because they all have legitimate phone numbers from somewhere, even cell phone numbers, and I can't be sure it's not a customer.

/End of rant.  I know I've probably had this one before.  It's a pet peeve.  Distractions are hard enough when you're in the middle of something sticky.  But unwanted telemarketing is the worst.

It's cold, blustery and wet out there today people.  Wear your warm socks.  How I wish I had a closet full like this:

Oh yeah, my last show of the year

Ooops!  I forgot to stop by and let you all know that I was at Phinney Ridge last weekend.

I guess it doesn't matter now.  Plenty of people already knew, and a gazillion others showed up.  It was a crazy busy show this year.  Not a record, but close.  I sold out of so much stuff - both days.

And then Monday I worked like mad to send out a thousand mail orders that had come in over the weekend.  Ok, maybe I exaggerated a little bit on that part.  But it certainly felt like a thousand.  And I barely made it to the post office and UPS before deadline.  Racing like mad with my heart pumping.  But it all worked out.  And then I skipped dinner and face planted in bed.

So Tuesday I worked like a crazy person once again to get ready for this week's show at Group Health.  I have a little bits of everything, but it's the last of the last.  And again, I forgot to stop by the old bloggie-poo to let you all know about that too.

Tonight, I have just a few short minutes to catch up on the blog.  It's total pandemonium this time of year.  Barely time to breathe.  Ok, that's an exaggeration too.  I still have time to breathe.  And shower.  But not much else.  The rest is all work, work, work at a ridiculous pace for ridiculous long hours.

The point of all this is that I am set up and selling my last bits of soaps at my (semi-regular) pop-up shop space at Group Health in Capitol Hill this week.  I'll still be there Thurs and Fri from 9:30am to 4pm.  It's located at 108 E 15th St - kitty corner from the big Safeway store there at John St intersection.  Well, actually closer to the new Bakery Nouveau spot across the street (yowza! sugar buzz!).


Warm Beach goes on til Christmas, and so does Allied Arts in Bellingham.  I'll try to restock a little there, but I don't have much left.  And we're running out of days to mail order in time for Christmas.  I'm trying to keep the site updated with what's available.  Today, it's almost everything.  But it's just a few of those everythings.

If somebody orders 2 or 5 of something, it's gone.  There are a couple of batches curing. And I keep thinking I can squeeze in the time to make another batch or two.  Sigh.

Anyway, come see me at my pop up shop!  I've got holiday tunes!  Gift sets!  A full bonanza of lip balms that I made the other night into the wee hours.

What time is it now?  9:30pm?  Oh yeah, plenty of time to make more sprays and pack a few more orders to go out tomorrow.  plunk.    zzzzzzzz

Fry-day

Today is Friday.  It's not even 7am.  And I'm already feeling fried.

This time of year is so hectic.  I have no idea why I thought that adding a kitchen renovation project to the cake batter would make a better cake.  The cabinets arrived yesterday, not without it's own set of glitches.

But we hadn't quite gotten paint on the walls yet.  So the piles of cabinets around the house is enormous.  Plus the sink and vent hood arrived yesterday too - sitting in a corner of my bedroom as a bonus.  And the flooring is piled up over there.  It's like I'm a hoarder in here.  Just the tiniest of pathways to get from my bedroom to the little electric kettle and toaster in the far corner of the dining room.  Did I mention I have claustrophobia?

Enough whining.  It's all working out, and now things will start to go pretty quickly.  I think.  Except the counter top, which will take maybe a month from now.  Which means I will have lost my sink and tiny little work surface on Monday - until way past Thanksgiving and half of December.  Not thinking about that.

What I AM thinking about is how I'm going to get everything done today in order to set up the Bellevue Club this evening.  I don't even have half of my inventory labelled and packed. Plus these two big wholesale orders need to go out today, since they are already a day or two late.  And I need to restock the Red Ribbons and Reindeer show this morning, with a few supply pick-ups on the way to or fro and be back before 10am when the painter gets here.

The Winter Holiday newsletter, which I posted here yesterday, also got sent by email yesterday.  But the snail mail version was still waiting for those darn gingerbread holiday postage stamps to arrive, which should have been here Tues or Wed  but arrived yesterday too - in all that hullaballoo.  So they are headed to the Post Office this morning too and will be on their way.  Of course that means a trickle of mail orders hit my email box too yesterday.  And I am intending to squeeze those in during the extra few seconds I have today to blink.

Also a lovely woman called me from a local Japanese language newspaper to get my permission to write me up in their upcoming gift guide and will I send photos in the right size.  Very nice and unexpected surprise.  And of course I'll do that too.  There must be some other seconds to squeeze out of this day.

Are you exhausted already just reading about my day today?  Me too.  But it's just a day.  And it will be all over in a blink of an eye.  Tomorrow I'll be selling soap at my little display at the Bellevue Club.  Come on over and see me - extra wrinkly, and a little loopy but happy to be out of the house for a few hours :)

Blowing Winds!

What a wind storm we had yesterday!  I was at Eastlake High School for the holiday bazaar and within the first hour or so the power blew out.  We had only emergency lights and peeping fire alarms to navigate the long hallways.  And it was pitch dark in the restrooms - just feeling along the walls for the stalls and the toilet paper :)

We stayed open the entire day, and still got customers, but not quite the happy, festive show it usually is.  No loudspeakers for the music groups who were playing, no microphone for the raffle, no internet for many vendors to take credit cards.  Luckily I was under a light fixture and a skylight area, so my space was still bright and workable.  But it certainly started to get cold as the day went on.

At least the rain stopped, so we didn't have to load out in some pouring rain.  Wind is easier to haul in.  But it felt like a long day.  So glad to get an extra hour of sleep today.

Kale injury

I have to admit something. I hate kale. I know it's the absolute rage right now. And that there is probably not a single other more nutritious item on the planet. But it's bitter and tough and pretty much nothing makes it better. I've tried.

But in my never-ending quest to be healthy, I cooked up a batch of greens the other day. It was kale mixed with chard, spinach and arugula (which I also dislike, but not as much). Sauteed with a bit of garlic.

AS IF! Pic courtesy of DrewRamseyMD.com

While cooking, I carelessly tried to taste a piece of kale. Check for flavor and doneness. But it slipped and slapped me in the lip, burning me. Gah. What a rookie move! And how dare that crappy kale try to slap me?!

Actually it tasted pretty good - better than I was expecting anyway. But I'm left with a blister on my bottom lip that is totally irritating and unsightly today. Which is the least of my worries.

We have been having plumbing problems. Like every other older house in Seattle, there are tree roots growing into the sewer line. And I share it with two other neighbors. One of which is a rental property with new managers (which have been wonderful, how refreshing!). So coordinating the whole clean-out has been very time-consuming, while we wait on pins and needles to see if everybody's toilet decides to back up into my basement studio sink in the morning when the whole world is showering and flushing. It's in process now, and while I really have to pee at the moment, I can't use the water, but I'm hopeful that later today I might get to do laundry which has also been waiting for days.

And yesterday there was such a flurry of chaos and craziness when the neighbors house got broken into. Two Chinese families (or groups? or what?) live there.  One apartment in the basement and the other one upstairs. Somebody came in through a window in the back and took all their computers and cash.  Which is a lot.  Like 10 people upstairs and another 5 downstairs?  I might be exaggerating by one or two, but no more than that.  It's a ton of people, almost all younger guys with a few older adults that don't really seem like couples or parents.  I can't figure it out.

The burglars broke down doors inside to get to the basement too and took everybody's stuff during a little one hour window in the afternoon.  I was home then.  I was here just having lunch at that time, hanging out with the cats and doing a little work. All windows open.  Back door open.  Obviously home. But not hearing or seeing anything unusual.

I felt terrible.  It's also a rental house. The owners were there too. So much screaming and waving and carrying on. All of it in Chinese so I have no idea what they were saying. Fire truck. Police. But Jenny (the owner) explained a little to me and I told her how sorry I was, and bummed that I was no help. Everyone they knew came over during the afternoon and evening to hang out in the front, back, side, living room, dining room, porch. Just crowds of people all yelling and gesticulating. Like an angry beehive.

It was sad and yet odd. Knowing what they must be feeling. And yet not knowing anything about the details or what they were saying or anything else about the whole event. Eventually I had to turn on the tv just to get a break from all the noise, distract myself from the buzzing beehive.

This morning I heard that another neighbor just on the other side of the block had the same thing happen, during that same hour. So somebody was very busy at lunch time yesterday. So frustrated that I was right here and missed it! I mean missed seeing something I could share. Not missed getting robbed, obviously.

Things are in a bit of upheaval around here - it all feels out of whack. I'm in 'nose-to-the-grindstone' mode trying to get everything done for the Fair next week. Which reminds me - I need to do a post about that any second. And the autumn newsletter was supposed to go the printer yesterday afternoon, but with all the hoopla in the works, I didn't want to leave the house.

The fall newsletter, new products, updated website, blah-de-blah needs to all get done between now and next week too.  It's Thursday.  I just ran out of labels for the backs of the soaps yesterday. Another totally stupid rookie mistake that I can't believe happened right now.  And shipping from Florida.  On a holiday weekend. That's another hinkie in the system.

High drama. Suspense. Action. Thriller. Will she make it on time?!

Yes. I can tell you the ending. It all works out and everything will be fine. But I'll be hiding out over here working feverishly. Never mind me. Just running as fast as my little legs will take me around that damn hamster wheel :)

Who Said Can't?

Just a little Monday inspiration for your week ahead :)

Seems like when I get to this part of August, when we're trying to squeeze in the last little bits of summer fun and family vacations before school starts, all sorts of new ideas start percolating for fall.  New activities, new projects, new things to try.  Like once summer ends, it's a clean slate to start all fresh and new.  The lazy days are over and I'm ready to get busy and start working on stuff.

Does that happen to you too?  Or are you so caught up in school shopping and appointments and running around to think about what's ahead?

I'm kinda itching to get started on trying something brand new and different.  Just haven't figured out what yet, or how far outside of my comfort zone.