My Things

I am thinking about Christmas and it is only August 4!

I had to, though, because I am making a bunch (that’s a scientific measurement) of Christmasy soaps and they need at least 6 weeks to cure before I (hopefully) sell them.  I am working on (hopefully) doing a craft fair, so I want to have everything ready.

After smelling all of my fragrances and planning some fantastic holiday soaps, I just kept going and started thinking about what to make family for Christmas.

I was thinking orange marmalade and vanilla.  Both homemade.  Maybe I will include some recipes using those ingredients, too.  Ooh, ooh, and I can make a recipe and include some!  (Now, I am on a roll)

And, of course, soap.  I hate being the relative that always gives soap, but no one seems to mind.  I love giving people soap, but I worry that people will get sick of it.  In fact, I backed off a little and then everyone started talking about almost being out of soap!  I guess it’s all good, then.

Okay, so will you totally kill me if I ask what you are doing for Christmas, on August 4?

Quick personal update.

My hands are doing much better.  It turns out that I have joint hypermobility, with is a fancy way of saying that I am double-jointed.  I tend to hold my hands (and knees) in funky, unnatural positions and at my old age of 33, my tendons are very angry about it and fighting back.  I have to wear wrist braces and re-learn how to position my hands.  My tendons are much happier now, though I do get flare-ups now and then.

I stopped doing Weight Watchers, so there will be no Weight Watchers Wednesday.  (I know!  That was short.)  I am using a holistic – whole body/mind/spirit – approach to overall wellness.  I feel wonderful and have lost 7 pounds.  After I have been doing it for a while, I will tell you all about it.

I am sorry that I stopped blogging (again).  At first it was my hand, but now it is the summer!  We have been out so much.  Blogging will be sparing for the next month or two.  Gotta grab those Vermont summers while they last.  They are quite short!

I am no longer going to be doing my political blog, though, so I will have more time for ATHT and for connecting with you all.

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a wonderful day!

I have not been online much lately because I am having a lot of joint pain in my hand and wrist.  I see a rheumatologist Friday to find out what is going on.  It hurts if I type too much, though, which is a bummer, since I like to blog.

We decided not to move, as we were planning.  I talked to the landlord and, since she hasn’t rented our apartment yet, we can renew our lease.  We decided to wait a year and save money.  Bob was having trouble finding a new job in the city we wanted to move to.  We are going to save up to have enough to move next year.  We will not be renewing our lease again!  I really want to move, but I can wait a year.  We have a list of things we want to do while we are still here, so it’s not all bad.  We are in a good spot to save money, too, since our rent here is pretty low.  And the economy is supposed to be rebounded by first or second quarter of next year, which is when Bob will need to find a new job, so it’s perfect timing.

Speaking of things we want to do, I am doing Weight Watchers again.  I have not lost any weight in quite a while.  In fact, I put on a little.  I need to lose some serious weight and WW is the easiest way to track my food intake.  I have a love-hate relationship with WW for some reason.  But, I am beginning to think I just hate the work it takes.  My biggest problem is that I am rather comfortable being fat, so it is hard to get motivated.  And, in case you can’t tell by this blog, I love good food.  (Good tasting, that is.)  I am not trying to look better – although that would be nice.  I think I look fine.  I just am getting to an age where I could start to develop health problems if I don’t get my weight under control.  I think being happy with the way I look makes it harder to change it.

I think summer is a great time to start a diet.  For one thing, there are so many yummy, healthy foods in season, like berries and melons.  Also, the hot weather makes heavy foods seem unappetizing.  Plus, I hate baking in the summer, and if you look at some of the posts on this page, you will see that baking is bad for my waistline.  Finally, it is easy to get out and get moving when the weather is so fine.  Vermont winters are not conducive to outdoor activity – too cold!

So, I will probably start back up with the Weight Watchers Wednesday posts, where I post my loss (or gain) from the previous week and a recipe, tip, or other info I want to share.

That’s all for now.  Enjoy your day!

I guess not.

I didn’t post the deodorant tutorial video this weekend.  But, you probably knew that.

I decided to wait.  While the deodorant itself works amazingly, the product is too soft and this heat wave we just had made it even more so.  I am going to tweak the recipe with some of the goodies in my stash (probably beeswax, among other things) and re-film it.

Plus, this will give me a chance to make this recipe my own, instead of someone elses.  I will still credit the original sourse, of course.

I hope to get that done soon, but I am not going to make any promises as to what day I will post it.

In other news, I am trying to get my online store up and running by the end of this month.  Yes, that is Thursday!  I gave myself that deadline.  The thing that is holding me up at this point is the shipping policies and pricing.  I am trying to work that out, so I can have a professional looking shop from day one.

Does anyone want to be a test case and receive a free bar of soap in the mail?  All you have to do is tell me how it looked when it got there, and give me any other feedback you can think of.

Did I say I was going to post more?

I don’t know what happened.  I thought it has been like a week (which is still too long), but it’s been just over two since I posted last.  I lost a week somewhere.  The other day, I thought the finale of Terminator:SCC was last Friday, but it was actually the Friday before.

Things are getting better around here with the D.  He’s coming out of his depression, which is great.  He’s kind of wound up, though, and wants to go somewhere all of the time.  I mean, he wants me to take them somewhere.  It’s not like he will just jump on his bike and go off, like I used to when I was a kid.

Normally, that wouldn’t be a problem, but we are moving in 2 months and I have SO MUCH TO DO!  I have lived here for 8 years and I have a lot of stuff that I need to get rid of.

I am so glad that he is not waking up mopey and depressed and wanting to lay around all day watching TV.  That is awesome.

So, as I said, we are moving.  It is so stressful.  We don’t even know exactly where we are going yet; we just know that it is time to get out of this apartment and probably this area, too.

Yes, I said we do not know for sure where we are going, but we are moving in 2 months when our lease is up.  Talk about stressful.

I guess that’s how a week got away from me.  I have a lot on my mind.

I did make a video of how to make deodorant, though.  It should be ready to post this weekend.  I still need to do the final segment where I reveal the final product and test it out on my arm.

That’s all for now.  Thanks for stopping by!

I finally updated my March blog banner with an April/Easter one.  I have been so bad about this blog.  It’s not that I want to neglect it.  It’s just that things have been hectic lately.

The end of winter is always a really tough time for the D.  His emotional issues really act up and he can be kind of out of control.  I need to be “on duty” all the time.  I have had very little time for anything else.

The other day, someone referred to my political blog as a “weekly,” which was devastating because the little time I do have, I put into that and I still can’t seem to get it up to a daily status.

I also had to put my web store launch on hold.  I don’t have enough products for a full launch yet.  I still need to make the lip balm and more bath bombs, as well as some more soaps.  A couple of the ones I made are not up to my standards for selling.

It has always been a struggle for me, since I started staying home with the kids, and even more so since I started homeschooling, that I do not have the time/ability to fulfill all of my ambitions.  I never wanted kids or a family when I was growing up.  I always wanted to be a single career woman.  So, being a mom/homeschooler/housewife is a job I have to work at being happy about.

It’s not that I don’t love my kids.  And I really hope that I don’t get anyone criticizing me for sharing this.  It’s just that I’m not, by nature, a mom person.  Some people were born for this role.  I was not.

Add to that the fact that one of my kids is, in the words of one professional who has worked with us, “emotionally disturbed,” and, yes, I struggle with being happy.

I was a go-getter when I worked outside the home.  I could be a great blogger, if I had the time.  I could have a successful bath and body business, if I had the time.  I could be something, someone, anything other than what I am, if I wasn’t what I am.

But, to paraphrase that famous sailor, I am what I am, and that’s all that I am.

And that’s okay.  I mean, this is where I find myself, partly due to my own choices, partly because of where God led me.  And I know that He has used these circumstances in my life to make me into the person I was created to be.

It has been painful.  It has been mighty painful.  And I have the World constantly pulling me astray, feeding my desire to be something more, with constant reminders that “just” being a mom is not enough.

Just.  The other day, my husband called that a deadly word.  The great minimizer.  We use it to make things seem inadequate.  It’s such a seemingly innocuous word, yet it has the power to rip your heart out.

No one wants to be “just” anything.

I have to constantly remind myself that I am not just anything.  I am doing a job that I was called to do.  I am making a huge difference in the lives of three very important people.  And this is only a season in my life.  I will have many years to do and be other things.

These moments of doubt and discontent are the lies of Satan, meant to keep me from enjoying life.

Things are actually beginning to turn around.  The D is doing better.  The nicer weather helps.  I also got some great ideas from his therapist that have worked wonders.

Most importantly, I have been leaning on God – HARD – during this time.  He is so amazing.  The difference between trying to do this on my own and doing this while walking with the Lord is, to turn an over-used phrase, like night and day.

I was brought to my knees before I came running back, but it was such a good thing.  I was in a period of being very lukewarm in my faith until my whole world came crashing down around me and I needed God to get me through it.

I am like that.  You can’t gently nudge me.  I need to be hit upside the head with a wrecking ball.

Unfortunately, the wrecking ball also took a toll on this blog.

The good news is, I want to make this a priority during my free time.  This is so much more important to me than having a daily go-to political blog.  This blog is about the stuff that makes life worthwhile.  As the tag line says, cooking, crafting, faith, family…you know, the good stuff.

It is good stuff.

And I intend to focus on all of those things.  The blog got kind of craft-heavy.  Crafting is awesome, don’t get me wrong, but faith and family, and of course cooking, are good things, too.  A gal’s gotta have balance!

Well, this turned into a long out-pouring of some pent up emotional things.  It just kind of came out.  Thanks for listening, er, I guess reading.  And thanks for stopping by my blog.  I appreciate that you do.  And I look forward to bringing you more posts.

I knew it had been a while since I posted here, but I did not realize it had been this long.

I have been really busy lately.  Let me fill you in.

For the longest time, I have wanted to start a business selling homemade bath and body products.  I need to sustain my hobby somehow!  And I would love to be able to contribute to our family income, at least enough money to make my student loan payments.

Well, I tried a while back to get it going.  I even listed a few items on Etsy, but it wasn’t the right time.

Lately, I have been thinking it is the right time, so I have been using every spare moment to research, research, research.

And I decided to give it a go!

My first big challenge was to find insurance that I could afford.  I found RLI Corp, which offers product liability insurance for home-based businesses with under $5,000 in sales.  I got a quote and found out that I could afford it.

Next, I needed to find a venue.  I discovered Art Fire, where I will be setting up shop.  They had an offer for a great monthly rate.  Plus, I fully support their mission to make getting started affordable by offering a free membership level.

I spent the past few days researching and planning my product lines.  And I just placed an order for my supplies to get my products ready for my big launch.  I have not set the date yet, but I will need at least a month to get the products ready, as cold process soap takes 4 weeks to cure.

Maybe the shop will be ready for my birthday in April.  Happy birthday, to me!

Once my online shop launches, I will also be looking for local venues.

This is so exciting.  I can’t believe that I am finally going for it.  I really think this is the right time and I am doing it right this time, with a researched plan and insurance to cover my legal liability.

I can’t wait for my supplies to arrive!

I will be sure to pass along the details about the big launch, including a fun giveaway I have planned.

This was the view outside my window this afternoon.

Snow!

Whoever invented the slow cooker deserves some sort of Nobel prize or something. Probably for peace, since it allows the tired and/or sick mom to still make dinner without losing her patience and keeps the family safe from the terror known as hungry children.

The kids woke us up at 5:50 am yesterday. Add to that, my young downstairs neighbor (yes, the smoking one) plays bass-y music until the wee hours of the night, just preventing a deep sleep, and the fact that the kids jumped on our bed a little too hard, so my back hurts before the night is over. In other words, I am exhausted.

I know that there is no way I will feel like making dinner in a couple hours. Luckily, I was able to put the left over ham in the slow cooker with some split peas (left over from the bean soup jars I made for Christmas presents) and the carrots and celery from yesterday’s crudites platter, and voila, split pea soup for dinner.

Slow cooker = life saver. Or at least, sanity saver.

Anyway, is it wrong that I already started thinking about what I am going to make for homemade gifts next Christmas?

Answer: yes.

I hope you all had a happy day. I did. It was great. Our family time in the morning was very peaceful and fun. Then, my extended family came over, which was not-so-peaceful, but fun also.

If you were my husband and you didn’t know what to get me for Christmas, you could go to either Michael’s or Wal-Mart and get me just about anything from Martha Stewart’s craft lines.  Especially if it had to do with glitter.  Or pens.  Or glitter pens.  (Really any kind of pens make good stocking stuffers.)

I’m just saying.

Not that my husband needs any help figuring out what to get me for Christmas.