Happy Thanksgiving

I pray that you will have a beautiful and blessed Thanksgiving Day!!!

Hugs,
Kay

New Soaps

I have been making soap like crazy this week - trying to get ready for bazaars and Christmas sales in my Etsy shop. I am so excited about the new scents that I have, especially the Christmas scents. I am finally going to be offering body moisture lotion - made with shea butter, cocoa butter, avocado oil, grapeseed oil and other ingredients that are good for the skin! These two new soaps will be in my Etsy shop on Sunday. Christmas scents and Body Moisture will be listed the day after Thanksgiving. Please stop by to see what's new!

This pretty pink soap is called Grace. This scent is comparable to Philosophy's Amazing Grace - a blend of lemon, rose, cinnamon and musk. Such a light, bright clean scent. I can't get enough of this.

Key Lime - I don't think there's any description needed for this one! Juicy and tart, just like key limes.

I've also set a flat rate of $5 shipping for the Christmas shopping season. You'll only pay $5 no matter how much you buy!

More fun stuff to come!!

Just When You Think You Know Someone

Here's my sweet daughter Stephany. She is very artsy, dresses funky, loves black, has 2 piercings in her lip, and loves to listen to weird music (what teenager doesn't love weird music)! For a long time all this bugged me no end - especially the piercings. But I came to realize that you have to pick your battles. I've come to accept that Stephany is her own person and loves being different.

Yesterday we had to go to Battle Ground so Steph could get her new glasses ordered. I figured since we were out there I'd take a side trip to Old Town and visit the Vintage Gathering Christmas Emporium. This kind of event is something that I absolutely love and have not done enough of it for a long time. Anything vintage, cottage, shabby, pink and roses is right up my alley.

Steph and I stepped inside the store and both of us went crazy! I knew that Steph liked some things vintage - she loved her sister's store in Camas when she used to go there. But yesterday I saw a side of Steph that I never knew existed. She told me that when she gets her first apartment she wants to decorate it in cottage and vintage style!! Then she Tweeted that she'd love to have an antique store some day! A girl after my own heart (actually she had my heart from the first minute I laid eyes on her)!

On the way home we talked about how much fun it would be to have a store again. I told her that it was a big undertaking and the finances just weren't there for it right now. However, we could start junking again, re-do treasures, do sales, and maybe have a booth somewhere. Stephany was so excited! That's all she's talked about since yesterday. How much fun is this going to be to have a "partner in crime" to go to sales with!

Just when you think you know someone - especially your own child - they go and surprise you. This is going to be such fun!!

Going Back To Work

I'm going back to work! Debbie, my boss (and friend) at my old place of work, emailed me to see if I'd want to come back. I called her this morning and said yes! It will only be 2 days a week but that's ok. Next week will be my last unemployment check and I will be starting back next Wednesday! God's timing is so good!!

I could get another extension on my unemployment but I just want to work. I need to be out in the world and working my brain. I will be working on Wednesday and Friday - the schedule will be great as I will have time to work on my soap business here at home the other days.

The best part is that I don't have to go get a work wardrobe because I can wear jeans! Yay!!

Busy Weekend

We survived whatever it was that we had - I don't think it was the full blown flu - and are getting back in the swing of things. The weekend was busy but good.

I feel like I've been living in my kitchen for the past two days. On Saturday I finished up rearranging cupboards and got everything put away. You could actually see the top of the dining room table! Then I found one more box of dishes! I'm not sure where I'm going to put these so I'm going to have to do some rearranging again. I need a hutch or a cabinet as there just isn't enough storage space in my kitchen.

I made baked potato soup and Amish bread for dinner on Saturday. I love that soup and it is so easy to make. There are lots of leftovers so that's what we'll be having for dinner tonight. The family wanted chocolate chip cookies but I was just too tired so those would wait until Sunday.

Sunday we went to Steve's grandma's to help her get some boxes unpacked and sort through her closet. We stopped at Burger King and picked up lunch. She gets so tired of eating the food at the retirement center. It was so cute to watch her eat her cheeseburger and fries - she cleaned up every bite. When we got home from Grandma's I finally got the chocolate chip cookies done and settled in to watch my Sunday night TV programs.

There's lots to do this week as I have some purses to finish up and get more soap made. I got a few more fragrances in the mail on Saturday so this week I'll be making Citrus Basil, Bluebonnet (one of my favorites, and a new men's soap called Leather Jacket. It smells so yummy - kind of a mixture of leather and men's cologne - very masculine.

We're going to have a great week and I hope you do too!

Hugs,
Kay

The Flu Came Knocking

The flu finally came knocking at our door. Steph started getting a sore throat on Friday and today is the first day that she feels better. I started with a sore throat yesterday and don't feel any better today. I'm praying that it won't get any worse!! I'll be back when we're all well around here!

Hugs,
Kay

November

I absolutely love the month of November!! The earth is settling down into it's winter sleep, the holidays are just around the corner, and I get to celebrate my favorite holiday - Thanksgiving!!

I love to plan and cook the whole meal. If I could, I would have a whole house full of people to share the day with me! The more the merrier. It is so wonderful to have this holiday where we can focus on what we are thankful for, eat a wonderful meal, and just the enjoy each others company. No gifts to fuss about, no parties to worry about, no pressure - just pure enjoyment.

Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas. But it has become such a commercial holiday that, to me, the true meaning has been lost. If I could have my way about Christmas it would be 1 gift for each person and the day would be focusing on each other.

I feel sad sometimes that Thanksgiving has gotten lost between Halloween and Christmas. But it doesn't get lost at this house. I refuse to buy anything Christmas related, put up decorations, or even think about gifts until the day after Thanksgiving. It's my own personal way of savoring and remembering this beautiful holiday!

I hope that you will enjoy every single day of November and especially Thanksgiving Day. May you month be filled with blessings and happiness.