happy summer solstice - the new world is all right here waiting for us

melissa nucera - sanctuary locket

Tomorrow we celebrate the Summer Solstice - first day of summer; the longest day of the year.

This is our fifth Summer Solstice with Pluto in Capricorn so our challenge continues to be finding confidence and holding our center throughout all the chaos

(in our personal life this will show up in various ways and in varying strengths - the stars show a time of intense feelings and an “urgency to discover”)

Though these days we are living in are unstable

(this birthing a new world is hard work, but we were born for this - we can do it)

thanks to crazy squares and T-squares that are keeping every one of us on planet Earth on our toes  and showing up in our individual lives and in society (which is just a reflection back to us of our individual stuff) as restlessness, revolution and false safety net breakdown - there is actually nothing to fear.

Our real safety net is still here.

The Course in Miracles teaches "Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists. Herein lies the peace of God."

(one of my favorite teachings - if you can lose it, it isn't real)

Together we continue our journey to the sanctuary we began to seek around 7 or 8 years ago. If we look at what is emerging in our life and we make decisions and adjustments (however tiny because baby steps are totally allowed) to reorient toward that, toward the new, we will be ok. Acceptance is always the place of peace. Resisting change is painful.

Let go of obsolete, stagnant, or stuck emotional responses

most of the time we let go of things mentally or physically, but it is the emotional heart-centered connection we need to release the most.

The themes of compassion, more water (stay dry), stuff coming up to be looked at

(no more secrets - we see this in our own lives and our systems, which just reflect ourselves back to us - the entire NSA scandal is a perfect example- their actions cannot be hidden but also our own actions; ie conversations, etc they are listening to cannot be hidden - there really are no boogie men, no real enemies),

the rising female energy -

we could think - how can you say female power is rising when all around us I see examples of female energy being repressed.

What we are actually seeing now is what is hidden coming up to be looked at so we can deal with it.

This isn't really about female power, this is about female responsibility - we just have to step into that energy. It is right here waiting for us.

When you say to a woman - step into your female power - she might think, "whoa, wait a minute I'm not sure this power thing is for me", but say to a woman - it is time to step into your female responsibility and she gets it.

And because we are all connected every little baby step anyone takes, moves everyone else along, too. This isn't all about women, men have female power also.

We cannot stand on someone else's back without standing on shaky ground. It may appear to make us taller, but it's all illusion. If we look at the shadow (and shadows can no longer be hidden), we can see the struggle underneath.

Our precious Mother Earth is female energy in living form - the more we nurture ourselves and each other, the more she is cared for, too. The repression of female energy is the repression of Mother Earth - it's all the same stuff. It is not a coincidence that this is all coming up for us to deal with at the same time - our stewardship of this planet and how girls and women are cared for here.

The celebration of the summer solstice was stolen from us a long time ago (although stolen is the wrong word here because it sounds like the power is with someone outside of us and it truly isn't) - this year let's say a little prayer for our planet and for our sister energy that is being healed.

We can use tomorrow as a little touchstone to let go of our fear (stepping into our power when we have so long been in the shadow), let go of our narrow views and interpretations and remain focused on the bright, blinding, rising sun that is on the way. Tomorrow will be the most light filled day of the year - how we choose to use our light is up to us!

How to Get Your Work into Holiday Gift Guides - TeamEcoetsy Blog Post

If you grew up in a family (like I did) where you were told not to "toot your own horn".

 (this was one of my grandmother's favorites and I still don't understand it, are we supposed to grab someone else's horn and toot that - that just sounds rude ... and well, unsanitary actually)

She also loved to say that "cream rises to the top" and "people will notice your good work, you don't have to tell them about it, Cathy".

And this is totally true and this is also totally not true (aint' life tricky). When it comes to publicity for our maker business it is best to err on the side of 'not true' and let people know we are out here.

If you want to open up a magazine in November and see that amazing something you have created staring out at the world from the pages of a GIFT GUIDE now is the time you have to take the action to make that happen.

First know your intention

First look at how holiday gift guides fit into the overall intention you have with your business. If you don't want to be bombarded with orders over the holidays - and it is totally OK to say this - it is your business; you get to set the rules.

If you are not set up with the time, supplies, inventory etc for an increased holiday rush, then this is not something you have to do. Cross this post off your list - whew, one less thing to think about.

cut and paste inspiration

Otherwise we will be like that kid who half-raises her hand in school hoping the teacher won't call on her. That's not the kind of energy we want to send out. The half-hand-raise will not work.

This doesn't mean we have to be totally ready - we will never be totally ready for anything. It's a good idea to look at how increased holiday sales would work for you though.

You want your positive energy behind any action you take!

1. Create a media list

To read the rest of my post visit the Team Ecoetsy Blog HERE   

(post includes my HOT SALES TIP OF THE MONTH)

the groundwork - part II our mental body (and yes, my mental body totally looks like Pink's physical body - you will just have to take my word for this though)

New locket by Yael Frankel and Polarity

Mental balance takes practice.

Getting out of balance mentally affects all the other areas of our lives, too (the physical, emotional and spiritual) - just as getting back into balance mentally can help these other areas - often a lot. This is great news because it gives us many more tools in our toolbox to work with.

(Speaking of tools I forgot to mention that hubs drilled into his finger last week with his drill press; the drill press I had switched his drill bit out of and my drill bit into hours before and neglected to switch back, so the length was not what he was used to - ouch - when he called me from the shop I thought he was having a heart attack he sounded so ragged. Luckily it seems ok although we are watching it. I really need a teeny, tiny ray gun for this stuff ... and a flying car, I need that, too)

Our physical body needs sleep and hydration and nourishment and sweating and exercise; our mental body needs the same things.

When we sleep our mental body gets to play, this is totally necessary since we spend so many of our daytime hours mentally stressed - a daily vaca for it is a must.

For hydration and nourishment think about what we are putting in.

Are we around negative people? Watching negative, violent television?

(For years my mother loved Stephen King and horror novels, all those V.C. Andrews kids in attics - she was voracious. Later on when she got sick she couldn't read this stuff anymore - she moved on to romances. When she died we donated 600 paperback romances to our local library. We even made a little gold plaque with her name that they glued to one of the shelves. I was sad to see recently that it was gone, but I guess since romances are so hot right now, they have plenty of new ones to fill the shelves.)

Too much news? The news stations search the world for stuff guaranteed to freak us out - remember stuff like this has always been going on - we just didn't know about it.

Take a break from it.

Many artists are very empathic (think opposite of psychopathic, although an opposite isn't really an opposite - we may be closer to a hedgefund manager than we think we are) - artists tend to absorb the moods and emotions of others more easily than most people. This does not make us special (anymore than a psychopath's ability to be so overwhelmed by other people that nothing gets absorbed is). It is not a good thing if we can't turn it off. We need to be able to set boundaries and until we can do this, some stuff should just be avoided.

So we need to be putting good stuff in - poetry, books, positive information and affirmations, stuff that interests us, stuff that makes our heart sing.

We need to think about what we are thinking about.

Sweating and exercise for our mind is about what we are mentally putting out.

Mental activity is the seeds of all creation. Keep a journal of your ideas - make it a point to come up with 5 new ideas every single day. Do something creative everyday - in a perfect world creating is all we would be doing. Make your time on this planet count

Read books that challenge you. Always be learning something new. Do puzzles. Reason things through. Take pictures. Write something (I set my counter and write at least 1500 words a day. Yes, I'm sorry, I know you wish I'd set that counter at 500. I can't help it - I'm in training).

Build mastery. This may seem like a physical thing, and it can be, but physical mastery involves alot of muscle memory - it's our focused mind that does the work first.

Mastery creates freedom. When you master your craft, you can make a life with it anywhere. When one road winds down to briars and sticker bushes you can merge into a new one. When you master making a business, when one road ends, you can just build yourself another business.

And maybe because while our body is sleeping our mind is playing (a medical doctor might disagree with this, I don't know, I am not a doctor obviously, although I do wash my hands a lot so I am kind of a doctor - it just feels true to me) - our mind needs stillness through meditation. Practiced meditation, walks in nature, long baths, practiced focus on the task at hand - quiet and solitude.

next up- part III, our emotional body

the groundwork - part I (we probably need more sleep)

gorgeous NEW carrie gault polarity locket

Maybe this isn't part 1 but since I never got this series off the ground (ack- I can't resist) - we'll start here.

There is a basic premise in many spiritual teachings and in A Course in Miracles

that everyone is connected and not only is everyone connected but everything is connected.

We are all made of the same stuff.

And your stuff affects my stuff and my stuff affects your neighbor's stuff and your neighbor's stuff affects the Amazon rain forests.

Because we are all made of the same stuff.

Now, you do not have to believe this in exactly the way I do or the way anyone else does, but let's pretend for a minute this is an absolute fact.

What would it mean in your life if everything was connected? What would it mean for your business?

What would it mean if your physical, emotional, spiritual and mental selves are not only eco-systems within themselves but they make up the larger eco-system called you which makes up the larger eco-system called us.

Our businesses are part of this everything, too.

Sometimes we think we need more balance in our lives. And most of us do. But life balance has never really been about work vs home life - it has always been about balancing the physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental spaces.

Getting out of balance in one areas affects all the other areas. This is easy to see with physical stuff so let's start here - we need to get enough sleep.

(both my Chinese acupuncturist and a medical intuitive I used to know told me that sleep is our most important activity - it is not a non-activity - our body is literally rebuilding itself while we are sleeping, our emotional self gets to rest, our mental self gets to play and our spiritual self gets to stretch, it is hugely beneficial, especially those last couple hours)

If we are having trouble falling asleep - this means we are having trouble stopping. What are the other spaces in our life where we need to STOP and we just keep going? Because everything is connected changing that behavior will help our sleep. This works in reverse, too.

If we have trouble staying asleep - this means we are wanting to start something else before the thing we are doing is finished. Start finishing other things before moving on to something else. And I say things, but things are not always things - that thing you may need to finish could be the words you need to voice or that feeling you need to just feel until it lets go of you.

Tips to better sleep -

1. Don't eat after 6 or 7pm - we know Oprah has been saying this for years. Forget the diet part of it. Your body has alot of rebuilding to do while you are sleeping, you can't have it all bogged down digesting dinner. Also this doesn't mean you eat at 7 and then lay in bed until 10 reading your Kindle.

We need a couple hours of activity after eating before we lie down. If we are going to bed with our Kindle at 7 (this is my ideal night btw) - we need to stop eating by 5.

(when I was a kid I was in the hospital for a long time after I was burned, when I came home my family started a tradition of always having a 'special' - a treat at night - like I had at the hospital for those months - this has been a hard habit for me to break since I see this snack as a 'special' - I used to drive home from work every night thinking about the snack I was going to have that night - ugh)

2. Get up early
3. No caffeine after 3pm - for me it's no caffeine after my morning tea, this stuff varies
4. No big mental stimulation for the last couple hours before you go to sleep, no computer, no news, read a real book with a book light and the lights off, no computer or Kindle lights - there are lots of studies about how artificial light affects our melatonin - the book light isn't perfect, but it's probably the least amount if you are a night reader like me
5. Eat a smaller dinner
6. Meditate (not too late in the day)
7. There is a drink called Calm that helps me - it is a calcium, magnesium powder and has lots of excellent reviews from online users

Meditation really helps us discipline our mind because for me - and I was a terrible sleeper for most of my life - it is really about letting my thoughts drift away and clearing my mind again and again until I fall asleep. George falls asleep instantly - for me it takes discipline.

My acupuncturist can fall asleep within seconds and takes 15 minute naps every day. I used to think naps made me more tired - but I was usually napping from exhaustion because I hadn't slept the night before. Energy naps are one of my intentions.

dreamy melissa nucera polarity locket

I fell asleep during acupuncture for the first time yesterday- it is hugely more beneficial if you can sleep through it - I woke up with alot of creative juices flowing and much more focus and motivation. I had also slept well the night before

(and spent an hour sitting on my front porch watching ants - I cannot recommend this enough - they are so awesome - I hope to hell the big ones are not eating my house though)

- it's not one thing that will make us sleep better. It's a process. It's work. We need more sleep - if this is a problem for you, you have to figure this out.

Also hubs snores, but not when he lies on his left side so I take no prisoners when he tries to sleep on his back or right side. For years he would do this for a while and snore away and because I knew I wouldn't fall asleep right away anyway I didn't say anything. But now we know he needs to not snore for better sleep and I need to still my mind, emotions and body with quiet.

We need to exercise until we sweat - sweat releases toxins from the body. These toxins affect our mental, spiritual and emotional places, too. We need to use our muscles, remember this isn't just about our physical self - everything is connected. We won't be able to carry the weight of the stress in our lives if we let our muscles go all to hell.

We need to stay hydrated (thanks for the tip DancingMooney) - I don't know if the 8 glasses a day thing is really necessary, but I did get rid of my late day headaches by adding 3 extra throughout the day.

We need to eat right. And I know they change the rules on this all the time. It doesn't matter. Forget their rules. We know what we need to eat. If we don't - there is a miracle called muscle testing - forget allergy testing -  you can do this by yourself or find someone trained to do it. It works. Google it- there are different methods - find one that works for you. When you think about it - of course it works - everything is connected. It's no more a miracle than us being here in the first place - wait - that actually is a miracle!

Gut health is important - our gut is a HUGE part of our eco-system.

(and I love saying gut health, when I say this to people who haven't heard these words used together before, it stops them in their tracks - I think some part of them knows this is important stuff, and, of course, it sounds just too gross not to be interesting)

Google this stuff - there is lots of great info out there about making our bodies more alkaline, reducing inflammation, what vitamin C and D and probiotics can do, eliminating certain foods like sugar. We can change our life with this stuff.

next up - how this physical groundwork relates to our business part II

3 Things That Might Happen To You When You Start a Blog plus a creativity tip for summer

it's your world - write about it

1. People might get mad at you.

This does not just go for people you write about - although I always tell people - everyone (except for my daughter) is fair game on my blog. I would, of course, never name names (well, almost never).

People who disagree with you might get mad at you. too. You will have to learn to live with this.

2. People might think you are an idiot. 

If you start to get really real with your blogging (and you should only do this if you are really really called to) people could read what you have written and think you are not a person to be taken seriously. This could be true. Many people should not be taken seriously. I should not be taken seriously. Maybe you shouldn't be taken seriously either.

On the flip side -

3. People might think you actually know what you are talking about.

I don't think I have this problem, but you might. I suggest the following disclaimer which I use frequently:

Disclaimer - since I am not an expert in anything and cannot be said to actually know what I am talking about I cannot be held responsible for any actions you might take as a result of reading any of my posts - please keep this in mind if you end up broke, living in your parents' basement playing Guitar Hero and doing sudokos.

(unless of course this is an improvement over your current living situation in which case I will, of course, take full credit)

So, if you have stayed with me long enough to wind your way down to this creativity tip, here goes:

Create routines.

Break them.

(not into a million pieces that can never, ever be put back together - why am I channeling Taylor Swift now! help me Jesus)

What I mean is - you need a schedule when you have a business - things put into little boxes, on calendars and notepads. Your body needs this stuff, too - routine nourishes the body, the soul, the mind and our emotions. Routines are good.

But creativity laughs at routine (and not even behind its back- creativity laughs right in routine's face) - creativity is bad ass, folks.

To be creative we have to break the routine. Not forever - not into a million pieces - we need the routine - we just need to break it for now.

The conscious mind says "whoa, what the hell just happened here?" This happened to me yesterday after I spent an hour watching ants on my front porch.

The subconscious takes over and drops off that little gem your rational mind and routine has overlooked.
 
It's summer, folks, (almost) crush the routine! xo all

(I promise to get to the foundation stuff this week - having too much fun thinking I'm funny right now)

my cupcake is better than your cupcake ....

cupcake war corkboard

When my daughter was younger her school would have a bake sale every month.

Every month.

(every grade took a week so there was a steady supply of junk being fed to our children on Friday afternoons)

I am not a baker. I am not even an almost baker.

(although I do have a very nice kitchen mixer gathering dust on my counter)

Also this baking took a lot of time.

There were a couple mothers in charge of this stuff (the mothers who were always in charge of this kind of stuff) and maybe they did like to bake. I will never know. I do know that for the rest of us, by the time our kids were in 3rd grade and we had been doing this every month since they were in kindergarten we were kind of baked (and not in a good way) out.

I knew there had to be a better way to make the $100 a month we made from these sales. One month I decided to just take matters into my own hands.

(this was most likely right after the 'alleged' food poisoning incident I alluded to in a post a couple years back which some people in town still haven't forgotten - let it go Mrs. H - but which most importantly cannot be held against me in a court of law)

Anyhoo, I had the idea to sell letters from Santa to the parents to raise money instead. I made my suggestion to the "couple mothers in charge of this stuff" and the conversation went something like -

me - "you know maybe we could do something other than bake sales once in a while - give the moms a break and throw some new energy into this raising money thing"

I showed them the order form and Santa letter I had come up with. "I'll just donate the stamps, paper and envelopes", I said.

(I must have been pretty desperate to get back into people's good graces)

supermoms - "well, we don't know Carol"
me - "Cat ... my name is Cat"
supermoms - " oh rrighttt ... well, I guess if you really want to do it - anything for the kids right!"

(and yes, in my memory they really did talk in unison like that)

So, long story short - we sold over 100 letters at $3 a piece. I was very pleased with my little feat and already thinking ahead to letters from the Easter Bunny (and whether it would be illegal or just slightly unethical to do letters from Superheroes) when I opened my daughter's bookbag to find the dreaded monthly reminder:

Please circle and return to school with your child by Monday.

I will bake:

 36 cookies

24 cupcakes

1 cake

What?! Hadn't we just raised enough money to put this whole baking thing to bed for a couple months?! I dialed the supermoms.

"yes, Carol, that letter was a great idea, it did very well - we will put that money to good use, but the bake sales - well, they get everyone involved and everyone really loves them"

(everyone but the bakers I was thinking)

I circled 36 cookies.

(and yes, I do see that getting everyone involved - sometimes has its advantages - and I will admit I was looking forward to the high fives I would no doubt be getting from the other non-supermoms when they heard they would not have to do any baking for 3 months, I did have the implied - but never proven remember - poisoning incident to atone for after all, but I still think this more is more thing is how we all make ourselves totally nuts)

Now, this story popped into my head last night because hubs and I had made a change in something for his business that is netting us an extra $250 a month. $250 a month that he was starting to make plans for at the same time I was thinking "great, now since X is working, let's stop doing Y".

Time is the most precious thing we've got, folks.

This is a battle that unlike the cupcake war I am determined to win.

I hope you are having a beautiful day wherever you are - we finally have some sunshine here! xo all

Why I don't check my Etsy feedback anymore or how to sleep better at night if you sell the things you make

Ah, feedback.

I am grateful (usually) that people take the time to comment on the things they buy from me in the public feedback forum, but please don't ask me to look at it.

This "don't look at it" thing was a gradual process.

It started a couple years ago with a particularly unhappy customer whose cork was "too beige".

Now if he had emailed me about this "too beige" thing I would have fixed him up somehow, probably with a refund, cork is ... well... kind of beige, after all.

But he left me a negative (not even a neutral!) feedback out of the blue, the day after Thanksgiving and then he did not respond to my emails to "kiss and make up".

I thought I would have a coronary.

I imagined every potential customer heading over to my feedback page, cork in cart - reading his comments and saying to themselves "wait a minute, what was I thinking, this guy's right, cork is too ... beige". I imagined "clear item from cart" buttons being hit all over the country.

I lost sleep. I knew I needed a change (not with this 'beigeness thing', but with my reaction part of it).

 I set up some parameters for myself (yes, this is what us obsessive, crazy people do).

At first I wouldn't look at my feedback late at night because if there was a problem it would keep me up. Then I wouldn't look at it late in the week, because if there was a problem I wanted to be able to have it resolved by the end of the week.

Finally I just stopped looking. It's been months.

(I will admit to keeping half an eye on the 100% positive on my front page - but it would take something pretty substantial to move that by this time - I've been doing this awhile) 

And I do not say this in any way to offer anyone else advice - and if you are a new seller - you maybe need to earn a few wrinkles (yes, I blame feedback for what is happening with my eyelids) through sleepless nights over some craziness that hits you out of the blue.

I told another maker this and she said to me "but you miss all the good stuff then".

Ugh, she was totally right, of course - but even this did not dissuade me. 

I am missing the 200 feedbacks that read "I love it" to avoid reading the 1 "this hits my baby in the head when I bend over" neutral.

(yes, there is something like that in there).

Now, this might send you over to my feedback and then you will know more than I do. I will have to live with this. Don't tell me anything that is happening in there. I mean it. I don't want to know. My feedback is like my daughter playing quietly across the room when she was little, even when I half suspected a tube of lipstick might be nearby - I don't want to look.

(and no, this is not the post I am trying to get my nerve up to write - this one isn't even close)

Of course when a customer contacts me with a problem I take care of it - I am not perfect with this stuff and mistakes happen and I guarantee my work with a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

I know that my stuff being up to snuff impacts not only whether that customer comes back to me, but maybe she comes back to the handmade marketplace at all - maybe next time she heads down to Walmart for a cheapie - my goal as always is to keep everyone away from Walmart.

When customers email me with their kind words I always print them out and have a huge collection on my bulletin board - sometimes I put on red lipstick and give the pages a big old kiss before I hang them up there.

(even though Olive does a little - cuckoo for cocoa puffs - cuckoo hand signal behind my back that she thinks I don't see when I do this - I truly love my customers, truly I do)

I have found though that when people leave a problem feedback and I write to them to resolve it I never hear back from them anymore.

(in the early days I had a couple kiss and make ups and a couple that could not be satisfied, but now when I respond back to help, I just get ... crickets)

I think the public feedback isn't really about getting the problem solved. If I have a problem with a seller I will email them because I want something resolved. This isn't about resolution. Maybe people just want to say what they want to say ... in public. It isn't personal to them and I get that, of course.

To me, the Jersey Girl with skin as thick as a piece of onion peel, it's a whole other story

And yes, I envy you banana peel girls - except for those sallow complexions, of course - but I just can't be that girl. I've tried. I can't do it.
 
And yes, I also realize something about this will come back to me in some other way to be worked out - because changing the "doing" without changing the "being" isn't long lasting, but for right now, I am just fine with this.

For now, the only one I will be kiss and makeup-ing with is my husband.

New Moon in Gemini Today - another chance for a fresh start!

chasing the crayon

The Sun and Moon are conjunct at the New Moon

(if you were being born right now you would be a strong willed and focused person very challenged by partnerships I'm guessing)

This means a tremendous concentration of energy is happening, but it occurs outside our view - this stuff is happening behind the scenes; a common thing with new beginnings.

Sometimes it takes a little hindsight to recognize when new things have started.

This is the energy of any conjunction - we're kind of feeling our way not sure where this will lead.

Mars is opposite the eclipse point with this one so what was brought to our attention about two weeks ago will now be cut off for good so we get that fresh start. The position of Mars at this New Moon also reminds us that we can't live in detachment - it brings Mars (the war) home.

The New Moon is conjunct the asteroid Elpis; the Goddess of Hope. You might remember that hope was the last thing left in Pandora's Box after she opened it. At this New Moon we are maybe unsure if hope is wise or if we are deluding ourselves.

This will all make more sense if you know where this New Moon falls in your chart - that area will tell you where you need to keep your eye on the ball!

Also since this is a New Moon in Gemini it is a great time for affirmations for Gemini stuff like: action, communication, logic, social graces and ease, siblings, mental anxiety, our nervous system, hands, wrists, arms, shoulders and our lungs so some good affirmations for today might be:

I communicate in a way that allows others to really hear me. I take the time to listen.
I easily accept other people's ideas as true for them.
I am totally comfortable having light, interesting conversations with others (other than Olive).
The habit of second-guessing myself is totally lifted from me.
Total healing occurs in my right shoulder.

AFFIRMATION TIPS: get into a happy frame of mind - always make affirmations from a  positive place - write your affirmations down by hand, speak them out loud - I always write my affirmations on strips of paper and put them into a bowl of rice so I can mix them around every now and then with my fingers if things get stagnant - then release your attention from them knowing that your intention is known. Know these things are already yours. xo

this 'human being as brand' thing we have going on is exhausting, relentless and impossible .... short rant

adored vintage

There is a reason my studio is not called Cat Bites.

(other than the fact that I used to have a biting cat and that cat, who I loved dearly but who nonetheless bit the hell out of me every chance she got - was probably my last cat. I am just not a cat person. And, yes, I see the irony in this. And despite the fact that I do, yes, sometimes bite, but only small pieces and I chew 20 times now, so I'm a lot less dangerous than I used to be - yes, I've mellowed)

It may have been smarter to call it Catherine Ivins Studio ... and if the me of today had been around in 2007 it probably would be. Probably.

Dragging poor Olive into it has had some disadvantages for me certainly (not to mention Olive getting this huge head from being recognized everywhere she goes now) in terms of brand recognition and relevancy.

But, the one major advantage I might have inadvertently created is a little separation between me and my business.

This 'human being as brand' thing we have going on is exhausting, relentless and impossible.

It might have worked before the world became a 24 hour a day, 7 days a week place of activity. But maybe it's never worked. Maybe this is the real reason (and not the lead paint) the old masters all went mad.

And while I'm ranting let's stop saying "a business is only in business to make money" - that's another pile of crap that isn't true anymore.

Businesses are created for all kinds of reasons - often because we are endlessly creative people that just need to be creating something. Now someone will say, but Cat, successful businesses have to make money. Even this isn't true anymore. Businesses create value first. Businesses are sold for billions of dollars that have never made a penny.

We need a new definition of success - something about value, something within our power. We need to untie "success" from everything that is out of our hands. End of rant.

(sorry just listened to the wrong interview about branding and money that just gave me a headache and made my heart hurt)

Part III (not really but a very mini preview) what the weakest point of our business is trying to show us and why it is always the place where we give our power away; the place of fear

cork necklace by me

I had a post ready to go on this but now that I have reread it I want to say it differently, so I have to go back and rewrite it.

I want to talk about our foundations and about how attaching ourselves to external goals -

(even when things work out for us because the external world always cycles and takes our external lives up and down along with it, what is working out today may not be working out tomorrow. I remember laying in bed one night many years ago and thinking that every single things was right with my world- my daughter was happy, my mother's health was improved, we were making more money and then I remember laying in bed a week later and every single situation had reversed itself)

attachment without having these foundations in place for ourselves makes life harder (or wait, I forgot life isn't hard) - more complicated - more top heavy, less grounded, more wobbly.

The cracks in our foundation are always showing us the places where we lack trust; the places of our fear; the places where we give our power away. I know that this stuff is a practice - we don't go to the gym and consider it done - the same with meditation - it's the same with self love and acceptance - the same with everything.

I had a big lesson in this yesterday with my business although I'm not sure I want to write about it - the prophetic power of my blog posts being what they are these days and it being so ... unsettled right now.

I might though.

Have a nice weekend everyone - we'll see if I have the courage or idiocy (I can't decide which this would take on my part) to talk about this as part of this series - the "c" word problem that makers have to deal with, the one I never talk about here - the thing that feels like someone has sucked out our stomach, convinced our kids to call them mom and yanked off our arm. No, I am not being dramatic - well, maybe a little dramatic, but it's Friday ....

xo all

the foundation comes before the house (this is not a don't put your cart before your horse story) - part II

the best laid plans locket ....

There is a part I to this series somewhere a week or so back ... I think.

I get distracted.

By work and hubs and our daughter and Olive and the little tufted somethings in the tree in our backyard

(yes, there is a tree or two left out there)

that I simply must stop what I am doing right now and head out and investigate.

(baby cardinals - we have been gifted with baby cardinals - I had to google to find this out because they are not born red, how cool that this gorgeous color they are so well known for comes ... later)

Just like the house; comes after the foundation I mean.

Maybe we need to talk about this. It sounds simple and it is, but it isn't easy. Simple and easy are not the same thing.

Life is not easy. Now this doesn't mean that life is hard, because life isn't hard - it's simple.

But it isn't easy ... it's complicated. I hope you are following this. It's complicated. Life is complicated.

And life is fast. It is fast moving, We are not living in the days when a community would spend decades building a temple that would last for generations. Our temples go up overnight and they come down just as fast.

Our lives are built on four foundations - the physical, mental, spiritual and the emotional. And these sound like separate things, but nothing is really a separate thing. It's all connected. We are all connected.

This is why we can change one thing (let's say we change the physical; we start exercising and lose 5 lbs) and other things change (we have more mental energy, our emotions are more stable, etc) and also why we can change one thing (start exercising and lose 5 lbs) and not change something else, too (maybe the emotional stress) and the thing we changed doesn't stick (we gain the 5lbs back).

There is no way for me to shore up the foundation of my physical life (house, body, work) without unearthing all kinds of other treasures; treasures I want to share (you're welcome, I think).

(WARNING - I choose the word treasures carefully here - I choose not to call these things I am digging up skeletons although yes, some of this stuff has been down there a long time and is well ... some scary shit actually; not all treasure is pretty and sparkly and worth a thousand bucks an ounce - it is all valuable though).

And, no this series won't be about my house (you're welcome again) - this is a business blog (sort of) that maybe needs to get back to business (sort of - it is summer after all).

If you are like me you may have allowed your business to grow in unintended directions. Maybe you have dropped so many oars into the water the oars are dragging down the boat or maybe you are having trouble starting things or trouble finishing them. You may have been depending on the temporary fix (the doing) instead of shoring up your foundation (the being - physical, spiritual, emotional, mental).

Our business is a structure just like our house (and our body) - when stress is applied to any structure, the stress will always find the weakest point.

It may look like the weakest point is the problem- but actually the weakest point is the space that is pointing us toward the solution.

(it might look like our neck ache is the result of a poor choice of pillow or our posture or our work and all or any of these things may be true but our neck ache is also the result of - depending on where this manifests - storing up anger or our inability to carry the heavy load we are asking of ourselves, injustice, defining ourselves by what we have, hanging our head by feeling less than - neck problems often occur with excessively mental people who want to change the world but can't do it - actually we are all changing the world every second just by being here - often these are patterns in our clan, baggage the women in our clan have carried and held onto for generations - when we release this stuff, when we heal, we don't only heal ourselves, we heal all the women who come after us and because there is no time outside of this 3rd dimension we can even heal our ancestors, this is that powerful, how cool is that?!)

Part III what the weakest point of our business is trying to tell us

the law of request - if we need help, we have to ask for it - another lesson from Rumi and Captain Kirk

“Give up to grace. The ocean takes care of each wave 
'til it gets to shore. You need more help than you know.”- Rumi

When my aunt died a few years ago, we found out she owed small amounts of money to every store in town.

These were not stores that offered credit or credit cards or house accounts; one of them was the local McDonald's.

We found this out after her funeral when store owners and managers were telling us not to worry about what she owed them. We were surprised, but probably shouldn't have been because this was a woman who was never afraid to ask for what she needed.

(she also lived very simply on almost no money
and was a very tiny, very wrinkly, very adorable little old woman which no doubt worked in her favor)

She once asked me for $200, cash, and told me firmly to stick it between pages 52 and 53 of a paperback romance I was delivering to her so her husband wouldn't find out about it. I did. He didn't.

We can learn a lesson from her.

Spiritual study (and Star Trek which is kind of the same thing) tells us that if we need help, we have to ask for it.

And that we help people, when we can, and when they ask us.

Jumping into their stuff is what we don't do (and yes, this even applies to our children who come through us but are not us) and if we get upset by someone else's mess that is our stuff; not theirs.  

Obviously we can't ask for help all the time - this would stop us from learning and growing stronger. But after carefully assessing the situation and determining we need it - we calmly request the help we need.
 
I was thinking about this "ask for help" thing last night - when hubby, who never reads my blog, read it and asked me why I didn't call him sooner when I had that flat tire.

I am usually not so good at asking for help. The funny thing is that life had just showed me that all I had to do was ask about 2 hours before.

When I arrived at the flea market and had to park so far away I knew my walk in the blazing sun required sunblock. I didn't have any.

I had walked in the wrong direction of the downtown stores and I knew it was not likely a vendor would be selling any at the market.

But, I thought I would use the power of intent and imagined myself putting sunblock on my arms. I silently asked the universe to pretty please, send me some sunblock.

I walked about 4 more blocks when I saw a woman sitting on the curb next to her bicycle - and yikes, she was putting on sunblock. I looked at the sunblock and looked at her. I guess the question was in my eyes. She asked, "Want some?"- I nodded and thanked her for literally saving my skin.

I thought life was sending me a little lesson on intention, and it is, but it was also a little lesson in the law of request.

As soon as we are ready to ask for help

we are ready to receive it.

Life literally rearranges itself to help us.

(and the truth about license plate # SE714K is that I wouldn't have been able to change the tire in that parking space anyway - so maybe he needed it more than I did)

I was lucky enough to experience this law from all angles in the very same morning. Life is definitely speeding up for us. xo all

fleas, flats and flowers ... well, maybe no flowers this time

Bought the little guy since he matches my set

All week I had been looking forward to my favorite local semi-annual flea market by the beach, held on Saturday.

I got there an hour early, which wasn't early enough apparently because there was no parking nearby, so rather than be one of those annoying parking space stalkers I parked pretty far away and decided to just hoof it- the weather was hot and gorgeous.

(I may have bumped the curb a little bit with my tire while parallel parking but if I did to this day I totally do not remember this)

Now, to back up a bit I had not mentioned this little jaunt to hubs because he gets a little stressed when I go to these things worried something very old and very large and very much not to his liking will be making its way home with me.

(I think he secretly dreams of having a normal wife who spends all our money in the mall buying shoes)

Anyhoo, I walk around for a couple hours and head back to my car being followed for blocks by one of those parking space stalkers.

I give him a friendly wave- like yes, I'm leaving and yes, I bestow my primo, "you will now walk 18 blocks to the beach in the hot sun" parking space to you.

I pull away drinking the lemonade I was lucky enough to buy from an enterprising 8 year old a few blocks back.

(my policy is to always buy anything enterprising 8 year olds are selling; luckily in my experience, this is usually limited to lemonade and girl scout cookies - the day some enterprising mama gets her 8 year old out there hawking more expensive stuff I may have to rethink this policy)

I immediately realize my car feels ... wrong - heavy and slow, it feels sort of tipped. I see the exclamation point on my dashboard and the menacing LOW TIRE PRESSURE warning light.

I get out and check my passenger side tires and the front tire is totally, down to the rim, flat.

I catch the guy who has nabbed my spot and explain my predicament and tell him I can't drive on my rim and really need my spot back. He literally puts his hand in my face and walks away.

NOTE - IF YOU ARE NJ LICENSE PLATE : SE714K - YOU ARE A TOTAL ASSHOLE

I can't believe I didn't knee him in the balls. There are no parking spots anywhere. I drive back on the highway and pull into the first parking lot I can find - all the time my mantra is "this is a super- amazing rim and it is holding its shape" ...

It takes me about 10 minutes to find the spare tire - then another 10 minutes to get my car to release it - the car comes with a little crow bar that needs to go into a little hole to drop the tire and the hole was totally rusted. I finally get the spare tire to drop and figure out this little strange jack which I am certain I am putting in the wrong place.

 (I just realized I forgot the whole part where I try the can of fix-a-flat that I have been carrying in my car since 2007 - it doesn't work)

I actually get the car off the ground - I have no idea how, but then ... I can't loosen the lug nuts. After another 10 minutes I finally get the lug nuts loosened, I am now a sweaty, out of breath mess (thank God I had that lemonade) and thinking why the hell don't I have AAA, and then ... I can't get the tire off. And then ... I still can't get the tire off.

I once saw George kick a tire to loosen it, so I try that and only succeed in loosening my knee cap.

I give up and call George.

Hubs - I hope you didn't drive on the rim.
Me - *crickets*
Hubs - Did you hit a curb?
Me - No, no way, I didn't hit a curb, maybe somebody slashed my tire.

Now, I hit a curb at least once a week, but I am not about to say this.

George gets there, says, "yep you hit a curb, you need tires anyway" and finishes the tire change in about 5 seconds.

scored duck for farm animal pocketbook pin collection

The irony of this story is that I just mailed my final payment on my car last week.

I had 3 payments remaining but decided to take my Mother's Day earnings (from my shop, my family doesn't gift me with cash ... dammit) and pay it off.

I thought about getting AAA and had the application, which read EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, in my hand, but decided to wait since I had just made a GIGANTIC car payment.

So now, in spite of my GIGANTIC car payment, I need to buy NEW TIRES and get AAA ... on the plus side I do not need a new rim (and as I am typing this I realize I just blogged about a different tire rim - I am telling you my blog is prophetic these days - let me just throw the words lottery winner in here again) and I did score that cute little deer and add a duck to the farm animal, pocketbook pin collection I am working on this summer.

random ramblings wrap-up - today: wth do we do with this or the stuff that hides behind the back fence

Yes, that's a tree crushing a truck.

Yes, this is my backyard.

Yes, there is a bucket loader (I think it's a bucket loader) in our backyard with a tree on top of it.

The bucket loader, is of course a non-running bucket loader and so cannot be used to push off the tree ... of course.

There is a very heavy tire rim (I think it's a tire rim) at the base of this tree. I do not know if hubs set that there in an effort to keep that tree from falling or if it was just a random drop off point for the rim.

(hubs drops truck parts and yes, sometimes even actual trucks, the way other men drop socks - this is the real secret behind my lockets, folks)

The hurricane took 4 trees - one landed on the pool - which we removed - the only thing left of the pool are a few metal posts (because metal is valuable, or so I am told ... although it still sits there) and hundreds of pounds of sand.

There are a couple trees Chris was nice enough to cut up with a chainsaw and of course, the tree on the truck or Mr. Fibbets as I have taken to calling it. And then there is Mrs. Fibbets, another tree that looks about ready to crush our side porch, although hubs has assured me the situation is not as dire as it appears.

Most of the wood has been carted off as firewood - we throw a few pieces in the front yard every week and it disappears. We are down to branches (which are heavier than they appear), a broken storage shed (which I did not have the heart to photograph) and of course Mr. and Mrs. Fibbets.

Now, I am not posting this to brag (I know you are all thinking about the many things you could do if only you had a broken down, rusted out, bucket loader in your backyard) or complain (because obviously a whole hell of a lot of people had it way, way worse than we did from this storm), but simply report on what is happening here.

Months ago I got a price from a tree service of $2500 (insurance doesn't pay for tree removal unless the tree hits something insured) to remove these last 2 trees and chip the wood.

Hubs, who has lots of tree removal customers, thinks he can get it done for half price (this is his thinking with ... everything) - the problem of course is that his customers are out working with people they can get $2500 from and we are low on their list of priorities. So, here we sit, 7 months after Sandy, waiting ... I am not so good at waiting. George shrugs it off.

And not knowing if we are leaving or staying, which changes what we are going to do out there - is slowing everything down, too.

I get sad when I go out back, like I am walking through a forgotten, over-grown cemetery and really, really miss my time out there; hubs goes straight to his garden and can totally block out the dead trees and chaos (must be a man focus thing).

This weekend I am going to shovel the 33' circle of sand into a pile. I'm thinking I'll make a giant Zen garden somewhere out here ...  a little memorial to the trees.

(or maybe a bocce court - trees like bocce, too, from what I hear)

No aha moments yet out here - other than the obvious connection between this mess hidden behind the back fence (no doubt if this had all happened in the front yard we would have cleaned it up long ago) and all the other things we hide from the eyes of others and most importantly try to hide from ourselves that come up sooner or later to be dealt with.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone - the weather is supposed to be great here, I hope it is wonderful where you are, too! xo

random ramblings week - today: when things look too good or am I really sitting around waiting for my flowers to wilt ....

Three times in the last week someone has asked where we bought our hanging baskets.

One, an old man quite unsteady on skinny legs, talked to hubs and was given incorrect information. Ugh. I felt awful - I mean I realize he wasn't asking about something important, but still I wish he would stop back.

Now, I usually plant these baskets myself with a little of this and a little of that with moss liners, but this year I decided to buy the baskets already in bloom. They have just gone crazy out there. We must have just the perfect amount of sun and the perfect amount of water - something must be just perfect for these baskets, but ...

here is the thing with all of this 'perfectness' - I find myself totally unsettled with it.

Every morning I open the front door expecting to see flowers all over the porch floor and naked plants greeting me with brazen leers (who's your daddy now) - little springtime versions of that Charlie Brown Christmas Tree.

Maybe this is because these baskets have been through crazy temperature fluctuations and they could be thinking "It must be August by now, time to croak off" - one day it is 90 degrees and the next it is 40 - the cold temps the other night made me sympathize with every Eggo waffle I'd ever abandoned in the back of my freezer. 

Maybe it is because the color seems lighter than when I first put them up. I'm not sure.

But it is another little aha moment for me - yes, I'm having a lot of them lately - because I am wondering why something that is going good is so hard for me to appreciate - why I am determined to look down the road toward some kind of problem around the bend - why I am spending my time waiting for the other shoe petal to drop.

I am thinking I might do this with other things in my life. I am thinking it is time to stop doing this.

random ramblings week - today: buffer zones - or good fences make good neighbors or if you turn around in my driveway I'll cut ya'

the view of our new fence from our front porch

Every house we've looked at since the idea of moving took root has been built on a busy street

(partly because we have ruled out suburban developments, but mostly I'm sure because we have ruled out busy streets - ugh)

and since we have spent so many years waiting for traffic to stop so we can pull in and out of our driveway, and this feels like something we would like to give up doing, and we have had 3 accidents in front of our house we've been hoping for something different.

I noticed that although every house was built on a busy street- they didn't have that busy street feel our house sometimes does.

I noticed they all had buffers.

They had trees that ran the front of the property line and gave the front yard a more private feeling and really blocked out the noise.

I needed a buffer (in more ways than one and I'll get to that) but I didn't want to plant trees since I'm pretty sure I won't be in this house to watch them grow up (sniffle) and I don't want to just see them through preschool after all - I am a better tree-mother, earth-mama than that.

And I didn't want to spend a gazillion dollars on picket fencing or landscaping.

Anyhoo, to cut to the chase here - we put up an inexpensive split rail fence a couple weeks ago.

The last post wasn't even in the ground on installation day when George and I were looking at each other like - why the hell didn't we do this years ago.

It had nothing to do with the way the fence looked, although it looks pretty good and everything to do with the way the fence felt.

Well, not the way the fence felt since it is rough and weathered and likely to give anyone running their fingers along it splinters - it really affected the way we felt.

For the first time in years (please don't be as slow as me to figure shit like this out) we had a front yard for us.

Our front yard had always felt like it belonged to other people. It was the yard where we cut the grass every week and watched dandelions bloom every spring while disgruntled neighbors looked on in dismay. It was the yard where we planted flowers along the house so they would look nice from the street - the yard where the drivers lined up out front at the nearby traffic light would sometimes throw their cigarette butts and often use our driveway for their u-turns.

(and we are not the kind of people to put up "no u-turn" signs - although it always gave me a funny feeling - and it happened almost daily - I'm not sure if it is because it feels like someone has come to visit and then abruptly decided to leave or it feels like an invasion of our space. I'm not sure what it is that bothered me about it, but it does did)

The front yard felt like something we had to take care of more than something that took care of us - now, I can see that we were looking at the whole thing backwards.

It is exactly the place that takes care of us and it was the fence that created the boundary that let us see this part of our space as ours.

We decided to plant a couple rose bushes - without hesitating we both knew they would be planted on the inside of the fence. The roses are for us.

(which is a good thing since there's no guarantee how long they will last with my not-quite-green thumb)

This buffer zone thing - this "things expanding within boundaries" and not even just within them but because of them is a lesson for my life in so many ways right now.

NOTE - whenever something really works for us or really doesn't work (a loud clear resonation either way) - if we take a moment and really look at it we can often see how this same thing can translate into other areas of our life - aha moments are aha moments for a reason and they are very personal things.

There is a structure creates freedom post I wrote a while back and it all holds true for buffer zones, too, which are the boundaries we create to lay claim to our space. The boundaries that need to come before the place where we get real and vulnerable.

This zone is like the relationship you build with someone before you let it all hang out with them, the space you've built together so you know you will be safe. Real growth only comes from being open and unprotected, but this doesn't mean we need to be stupid.

Yesterday's post about biting off more than we can chew, which was such an aha moment for me, and probably a snore-fest for some (this is really personal stuff after all) shows up in my life in other ways, too.

(which will take us back to next week's series, which I kicked off last week, about do-overs)

It made me think about all the ways I need to slow down and focus and finish my unfinished stuff (or toss it) before piling more on my plate. I don't like to call these things lessons because that feels a little bit like I could pass or fail (although if someone wants to stick a gold star on my forehead I am totally up for that) and that we need to struggle to get it right.

We don't.

These are simply experiences and taking the time to look at what it all means and the way the different parts of our life work together will create clearer, more full experiences for us next time - at the very least we get to feel like the Ewings every time we pull into our driveway (which other cars have stopped turning around in now that we have claimed it ... plus made it harder for them to maneuver into) - we may have to rename this place Northfork.

xo all

random rambling week ....today - why biting off more than we can chew is more than bad manners

My brother and I at NJ's rally

Some random ramblings this week feels like what we need.

(also a scary bad pic of my brother and I at the NJ rally against Monsanto's monopoly of our food supply)

1. Health Stuff

I am going to stay lighter with this stuff since previous posts - depression, thyroid, schizophrenia, cysts, fertility, hiatal hernia topics - have been a little uh depressing, but I did want to pass on a tip that I heard last week from an expert about digestion.

This is important so grab a pen and listen up.

Our only teeth are in our mouths

- that's it. Genius stuff. Write it down or better yet commit it to memory because if you're anything like me, you'll probably lose the piece of paper.

It sounds simple and a bit, well, disgusting if you start thinking about teeth in your stomach or your feet or something, but it really boils down to - we need to slow down and chew our food.

The 'expert' I heard - now I am not going to tell you what kind of expert this was because I do not want to ruin this piece of important information for you - you might get all judgey about it and say something like "now wait a minute Cat, your mailman isn't an expert" or "that guy at the rally with the hazmat suit and the ponytail isn't an expert" - look, I don't go around asking people about their credentials - that would be rude. You'll just have to trust me - this came from an expert.

Our stomachs are not supposed to digest huge pieces of food and when we ask our stomachs to do that - it will need to produce extra stomach acid and we don't want that - so we need to chew our food well. 40 times this guy said - yes, you heard me, 40 times.

So, here's the test- chew a mouthful of food and before you would normally swallow just spit it out

(on a plate not into your hand or anyone else's hand unless you have kids and you want this lesson to really stick with your kids and actually this is a great lesson for kids and we do want it to stick with them, so I say spit your food right into their hands- they will never forget this)

then take another bite and chew it 40 times and spit it out. Check the difference - this is how your food should look when it hits your esophagus.

Esophageal health and gut health are very important. This chewing thing may not be the entire picture - the stuff we are chewing and the eco-system we have created in our body are important factors of course, but this chewing thing is about more than just preventing choking.

Also, don't add food to your mouth once you have food in there. And only put enough food into your mouth that you can swallow it all at once.

You are probably thinking that you already do this. Hubs and I were thinking the same thing until we sat down to eat and realized we were adding food when we already had food in our mouths all the time and swallowing it a little at a time - because we had too much in there. And we were only chewing about 10 times (and I admit getting to 40 chews is a little challenging- we're shooting for 20).

So- today's random rambling - we only have teeth in our mouths. Let that sink in (the words not your teeth, of course if you do use your teeth, just remember to chew ... alot).

xo all

Marching to Save our Food Supply

Tomorrow I will be walking, along with my favorite brother and favorite sister-in-law

(of course we are expecting rain - this is Memorial Day weekend and this is the Jersey Shore after all)

as part of a global March Against Monsanto and genetically modified food.

There is a link to the marches taking place around the globe HERE - if you have a walk in your area and can spare a couple hours this is important. We are all affected by Monsanto's reckless domination of the food industry and our food supply.

Most countries require GMO labeling and more than 60 have banned GMO food altogether including Australia, France, Germany, Ireland and Japan.

This can happen for us, too - but we need to take action.

Studies have linked GMOs and Roundup to cancer, infertility, autism, parkinson's, alzheimer's and other diseases.

I don't want to focus on the problem - because we know that what we focus on grows - so my own intention with this walk is to focus on getting our voices heard, getting information out, coming together with like minded people - a focus on solutions.

pulling back to strengthen the foundation of our business (and our lives) part I

I may just be talking to myself with this one, but I have come to realize as we fix up our little house in preparation of selling it

(although the selling it part is looking a little uncertain right now)

we have spent years adding some kind of new or some kind of more or some kind of something else to this house without a clear plan for how all of these fixings work together.

Throw in a woman who loves a good project and a man who hates to finish one and there is the potential for some real trouble here.

(I am convinced hubs inability to finish things is the perfectionist's trap - if something is actually done he needs it to be perfect, it will never be perfect, so it is better to move on to something else less his work get judged and of course my own part in this little dance is that I continually take on projects that I cannot finish without him - which is a whole hell of a lot of stuff actually - I lift weights, sort of, but can't even hold a curtain rod over my head for more than 30 seconds without getting shakey arms? wth)

Those little unfinished things that I used to walk right on past and never even think about, my head being full of new and more things, well, I'm thinking about them now. They are staring out at me from every corner with red eyes that do not look very friendly actually and calling my name with a deep Tony Soprano accent when I try to sleep.

"Hey Cat, it's me, the carpet in the extra room - the room the cat got trapped in that one summer night and tried to claw her way out - I don't look too good. I'm down here."

"Hey Cat, it's me, that hole in the wall from that time you partied like it was 1999 and instead of fixing me you covered me up with that ugly painting, well the new buyer probably won't want your ugly painting Cat - I'm over here."

"Hey Cat, it's me, the laundry room tiles that were never replaced under the washer and dryer so the old ones are still down here. Does Home Depot still sell those tiles Cat?"

UGH!

I can see now how our very foundation has been unstable for years with the weight of all this unfinishedness.

It's made our lives top heavy (and not in a good Dolly Parton kind of way either).

It's made us wobbly.

Wobbly people do not make good decisions. Wobbly places do not support us.

This works the same with our businesses.

For those of us who have been doing this a while we may have allowed our business to grow in unintended directions - we may have dropped so many oars into the water they are dragging down the boat - we may have been depending on the temporary fix instead of shoring up our foundation.

Part II the foundation of our business - back to basics (part II may be after the holiday- if so- enjoy the weekend everyone!)

avoiding toxic chemicals - a few quick tips and why ralphie was right about those bunny pj's

ralphie 1 - aunt clara 0

Bill Moyers had a great show recently discussing toxic 'disinformation'. I believe you can see the entire 30 minute program HERE

Working to eliminate chemicals in our environment (and money in our political system) are probably two of the most important things, outside of raising our own vibration (In Course of Miracles speak there is only really one of us here, so raising our vibration, ie letting more light in through clean eating, meditation, positivity and doing what we love, raises everyone else's vibration, too), we can be doing right now.

1. LEAD - We crafty mamas love our old windows - but think twice before bringing them indoors. I am also seeing a lot of gorgeous old shutters made into headboards and things on Pinterest. Anything painted pre-1970's is going to be painted with lead paint and minuscule amounts can cause neurological damage in children (I once read a study that said people in prison have the highest blood lead levels in the country, huge spikes in levels mostly thanks to childhood exposure, maybe we are fixated on the wrong kind of lead when it comes to crime prevention).

Also soil testing, especially for urban gardens is very important. Lead was in gasoline until the 80's and between that and the paint there has been a lot of soil exposure everywhere.

2. FLAME RETARDANTS - Studies have linked one group of flame retardants, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs, to lower IQs, behavioral problems, early puberty and fertility issues. Flame retardants are in everything from couch cushions to television sets.

This is where changing the money in our political system (ie changing Citizens United) is needed.

The California Furniture Flammability Standard essentially requires that cushioned furniture, children’s car seats, diaper-changing tables and other products containing polyurethane foam are dipped in toxic chemicals. Most furniture sold in the United States is made to this standard. We need to change this.

When buying new stuff look for products made with wool, cotton or polyester filling instead of polyurethane foam - if you are stuck with the old stuff - dust, vacuum and wash hands regularly.

Ditch the fleece pajamas - I know those footed fleece pjs are comfortable but they are probably treated with a chemical called Proban which has been linked to genetic abnormalities and cancer. Kid's fleece pj's that do not contain chemicals are required to be labeled "for child’s safety, garment should fit snugly” - look for this label!

3. BPA - Use plastics that are labeled BPA free, avoid containers labeled with the recycling codes 3 and 7, avoid canned foods - Eden Organics are about the only BPA free cans, Staples offers a paper-less receipt program (I get my receipts emailed to me) - it's easy to sign up and one less receipt for the cashier (the thermal paper includes BPA), and me, to touch.

wtdmb (not so sure this is going to catch on, it's not quite as catchy as wtf)

sarah donnell - patience

The best advice I've heard for the current planetary cycles is the practice of patience.

(Now life is a trickster and also a genius and knows that the best - and possibly only - way to develop patience is to encounter situations that require this of us. Life sends us an opportunity to learn patience by practicing patience - in other words - delays, traffic situations, time spent waiting - you get the picture)

This is the time when we get sightings of what's arriving, but Saturn says .... "hold up here a minute, don't rush forward too quickly! This may take awhile girl."

Impulsive or rash action brings regret under Saturn so don't push, don't manipulate ... just relax, we'll just breathe through this and do what is directly in front of us (the stuff we know is ours).

More details will become clear as the path before us opens.

Watch for signs.

Take opportunities that feel good.

Do our work.

Mind our own business.

Be kind.

when the rare is everywhere it stops being made of magic

Sooo, Kella and I drove up to Brimfield yesterday for the east coast's largest spring flea market.

We were planning to spend the night and go back today for more junk hunting, but ....

something felt different.

Maybe junking has just become too trendy for us - the prices too high, the vendors too testy, the weather too cold - maybe too many things are going on right now in both our lives for us to feel like 'shopping'.

(wth!)

Fleaing has always been more like a hunt than a shop, but at Brimfield - which is literally brimming with everything and with enough of the green stuff you can probably take home whatever you are looking for - maybe it is more of a shop than a hunt.

It was kind of sad.

We are going to try a couple new fleas this summer and see if it is the fleaing that has lost its magic for us or just this show -

as Kella said, "the problem with this show is that we like to find stuff and this stuff has already been found."

I thought I would be off treasure hunting today

(4.5 hours driving there yesterday morning and 4.5 hours driving back last night -ugh- hubs was a little disappointed; he says for me, but I think it had more to do with his evening plans for Iron Man III, which I may have to break down and go see I guess, not the 3D version though)

but instead I am off to the grocers and then to hub's shop to weld some lockets determined to wrest a little magic from this day somehow ... I hope there is a little magic in your day, too and a little of the 'rare' for us to appreciate. xo