Stuff I am Working on Around the House

Pottery Barn's $179 version

Jackie's $40 version

Rod and I were married 27 years in December last year.  That tied in to this project--and it really got kicked off after a trip to IKEA.  I noticed a couple ladders holding linens and I asked one of the employees, where the ticket was to buy it.  Of course, they had made it.  (I also had my eye on bookcases to convert Rod's reading area which was presently a couple of concrete blocks and pieces of wood--no kidding!). 

So, after spending a couple hours looking for an inexpensive version to buy online, it dawned on me that I would have to make it from scratch.  A trip to Home Depot was in order.  I bought a few sticks of nice pine for about $30 and headed home to set up the sawhorses.  An hour later the project was ready to be assembled.  I used wood dowel pins to attach the rungs to the long pieces of pine.  This was the hardest part, as my measuring on one of the rungs didn't match up. 

A couple hours later (involving a lot of rigging and cussing) I had the ladder assembled and glued--it's not perfect.  But it is good enough!

By this time I had decided on the bookcase from IKEA so I went to pick it up.  I tossed in a can of their paint/stain to match so I could use that on the ladder.  The bookcase went together in an hour or so, but, the fun part was keeping it hidden from Rod.  I parked my big soap cart in the doorway of the spare bedroom and started working on it when he wasn't around.  I put a big red bow on it when I finished and pushed it up against the far wall.  So, unless he had a reason to go in that room--and I couldn't think why he would--it would be safe until the unveiling on December 21st!

Rod was surprised!  We have a really huge, heavy comforter that we don't use that often living in Florida.  This ladder is the perfect place to park it most of the year.  The ladder's final resting place is kind of hidden behind the bathroom door so it also provides a place for him to park his shoes and hang his uniform pants!  That wasn't my original intent, but, since it is hidden who cares!  Oh, and I spent a couple dollars more on some hardware to mount the top to the wall so it stays put.

The finished project--bookcase and ladder.

Rod now wants to go to IKEA again and get some more of the storage boxes to put his odds and ends in on the shelves.  He is also using the bookcase to display an old train set he got from his family and some of his camera stuff.  Success!

Another Completed Pinterest Project

I Wear my Biggest Flaw on the Outside

Do you remember that Wisconsin newscaster, Jennifer Livingston?  She replied to a viewer's email about her weight on camera and opened up a national discussion on obesity and bullying.  And the "Girl on Page 194" of Glamour Magazine, Lizzi Miller? 

She and Glamour were alternately celebrated and villanized for showing "reality".  These women are both gorgeous, beautiful, and completely not what they seem.  Jennifer runs a household with three girls, a gorgeous anchor-man hubby and competes in 5k races--in addition to her newscaster duties where she clearly is smart and effective--oh and she has a thyroid problem.  Lizzi is a plus size model (size 12-14, really? LOL) and is an avid softball player and belly dancer.  At the time the picture was taken she was 20 years old and was clearly confident and awesome. 

What do they have to do with me?  I am THEM--big, flabby, but, smart and confident too.  I have this outward "flaw" that even some of my best friends don't understand.  They suggest diets, just eating a bite, making better choices, just work it off!  They ask, "why can you manage everything else in your life so successfully but fail so miserably when it comes to your weight and eating habits".  LOL, yes, one of them said pretty much that exact thing...and we laughed and then I asked her if she didn't think I ask myself that very thing every single day?  Then I went home and cried...and I don't remember exactly what I ate but I can pretty much guarantee it was too much of the wrong thing too late at night!

Being overweight for many of us is a constant battle of choices.  Most of us know the science of calories and how to burn them off.  It's just that we choose wrong more often than right.  Yea, lets go to the Cheesecake Factory, or to the frozen yogurt place or to the place with those yummy pitchers of margaritas!!!  You, my skinny-but-judgemental friends, will just burn off those transgressions with your super potent metabolism.  Me, not so much.  Even if I drag myself out of bed to the gym, to the walking shoes or the Wii Fit workout--I am wired by my genetics to be heavier than most people.  I just don't have too many Olympic athletes in my family.  We just aren't built that way. 

So, what to do, what to do???   Today I choose to get out and walk, eat healthy and to make good food choices.   I did that for most of the week last week and I dropped 8.6 pounds and bettered my obese BMI from really awful to a still awful 38.26.  Baby steps.  And I know that working on this from the inside is just as important as working it on the outside.  The key today is just to keep working it!

Resolutions--A New Crop for the New Year

Happy New Year! 

What did you do today?  Rod was off yesterday and today so we spent a lot of time together, but, we didn't do much.  I guess that's what you do on a Holiday, right.  That's hard for someone used to going all the time, and somehow, it felt empty and kind of lonely.  There are just times of the year you want all your loved ones surrounding you.  I guess I needed that and I should have done something about it.  It came and bit me in the ass later in the day.  My big accomplishment was seeing almost all of the Rose Parade...I haven't done that in ages.

I started Weight Watchers a week ago.  My Mom and sister started it around Thanksgiving and I have been keeping tabs on their progress.  My sister has done terrific, while Mom decided to take a hiatus until after the Holidays.  (care to guess who I take after???  :))   I think during the whole six weeks, Jodie only gained once--and only 1/2 a pound.  Yea, Jodie!!!  So, I am feeling greatly inspired.  Yep, moved enough to actually sign up for WW online.  AND, to stick with it for the whole week.  Yea, ME!!!

The online program has been great.  It is very similar to SparkPeople, the free online dieting site.  I just felt I needed a little more accountability since my dieting has never really "taken".  I figure if I paid for it, I might be more inclined to actually last more than a day.  I also want to sign up for Planet Fitness but I don't want to do that until I know I will actually GO.  Sounds like I am procrastinating, eh?   Yes, I am.  But, I really want to not let my initial enthusiasm burn out too quick.  If I do baby steps, then I may just be able to get into a routine that I can make into a good habit. 

My worst habit when it comes to my health is night time eating.  Sometimes I feel that my kitchen cabinets and my refrigerator are calling out to me to come and EAT.  It is a very real problem and it is surely associated with emotional eating--brought on by...who knows.  I am afraid my introspection in this regard has not been deep enough or frequent enough to come up with a cause.  But, tonight on the last day of Week 1, I had a very real struggle. 

What do I do instead of eat?  I mean, I always have business stuff to do and it's year end so there is a huge list of inventory/bookwork tasks to be accomplished.  My house is not white glove perfect.  I have lots of projects and things-to-do on written lists.  But, when I sat down and thought about it tonight, I really struggled.  I mean, WHAT DO I DO INSTEAD OF EAT?  Then the tears started and all the food in the kitchen was ready to comfort me, but, I didn't want to ruin an entire week of on-plan eating by raiding the refrigerator.  So, what the f**k do you do when you usually go and binge on something but you want to stop that behavior?  Really, I had to find out something that might work. 

So, I grabbed a glass of water and sat down at the computer and punched "what to do instead of eating" into Google.  I found tons of ideas and lists of things to consider.  I copied them all into a word document and started editing until I came up with MY LIST.  Make that my new "What to do instead of eating" List!  And I made a couple copies so I can put them where I might need them.

So, I am going into my weigh-in tomorrow morning with a positive outlook--I am o.k. with whatever the scale says because I know I did a good job making choices this week.  I stuck to the plan.  I walked a couple times.  I drank lots of water.  And, maybe the most important thing I did was to come up with my new list to help me tomorrow night, or the nights after when I am confronted with the kitchens gremlins trying to make me eat.

Here's my list.  Please let me know if you have any ideas I can add to it.  Again, it's MY list, so I didn't put every single suggestion I came across--just things that will work for me down the road.

 Things to do instead of eating!

Drink a glass of water and then:



Paint your nails

Brush your teeth/whitestrips

Clean/Organize something!

Fold those clothes

Reorganize your closet.

Pick our an awesome goal weight outfit.

Throw away/donate clothes that are too big

Clean my cat’s litter box

Doing dishes

Cleaning the toilet, shower, or sink.

Cleaning makeup brushes works

Clean your TV and computer screens.

Sweep the floors.

Go for a walk

Play the Wii

Start a journal with pictures, quotes, memories

Read a book

Play a game

Put a puzzle together

Take a nap

Make some tea

Put up inspiring pictures/sayings

Pamper yourself

Do a facemask

Soak your feet

Deep condition your hair.

Go to a movie

Call or e-mail a supportive friend.

Do something to keep your hands busy.

Make a grocery list of healthy foods

Work in your garden, or start an herb garden

Study a foreign language online.

Meditate. Sit on the floor, breathe deeply, and think about what is stressing you.

Read poetry out loud to yourself.

Make your bed.

Drive down a road you haven’t been on before.

Take a sketchpad outside and draw.

Sing along to the radio, except in a falsetto.

Write a story and illustrate it.

Donate the old blankets to a local pet shelter.

Pluck your eyebrows and chin hairs.

Get dressed up and have tea elegantly

Rearrange your furniture.

Sew a patch onto a pair of jeans or a skirt.

Go to the library.

Make a self portrait

Change all your passwords.

Walk around your neighborhood/pick up litter.

Clean out every drawer in your house.

Memorize a famous speech.

Sort out your bills

Take a relaxing bath.

Scream into a pillow.

Pray

Read a (non triggering) magazine

Write a blog

Make cards for people

Catch up on Thank You notes

Organize or take photos.

Scratch things off your “to do” list

Give yourself a foot massage

Cuddle with your loved ones!

Water your plants

Tell the binge that you are stronger than it.

Write a letter to your future self

Make a list of why you rock.

Spin around in circles like a Whirling Dervish.

Roll your coins

Stretch on your exercise ball

Read positive affirmations.

Throw a temper tantrum!

Rearrange your furniture

Enter sweepstakes

Volunteer for something!

Update a webpage

Notable Thoughts: Grace

I save pages from magazines.  I tear out recipes, reading lists, products I like, websites I want to visit--basically anything that catches my eye and warrents a second look.  This page has been floating around various to-do stacks on my desk for the last year.  It was from Real Simple, Novemeber, 2011.  I kept it for the passage, which reads:

"You say grace before meals.

All right.

But I say grace before the play and the opera,

And grace before the concert and pantomime,

And grace before I open a book,

And grace before sketching, painting,

Swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing;

And grace before I dip the pen in the ink."

G.K. Chesterton, from an early notebook (mid-1890s)

I say, just don't say it...live it!  :)  That may be my resolution for this year.  And it certainly gives me another topic to ponder...more thoughts to come back to some day.



Herbal Eye Pillows

It is so funny to me how products evolve--often without any conscious thought to change them.  Big corporations of course employ thousands in their research and development departments.  I just have little ol' me...and luckily lots of customers who aren't afraid to make a suggestion here and there.

I have been making my eye pillows for decades now...but only selling them for about 13 years.  The first generation were made with mostly rice and some herbs I had in the cupboard using fabric I had on hand.  I just sewed up a rectangle of cloth, added the herbs and rice and sewed it up.   Nothing fancy.  But they did the trick so I have always kept a couple stashed in the freezer for the occassional headaches that popped up.

Fast forward into the selling years where I started putting premium lavender buds in with the rice.  Then added some rosemary--basically because it is good for your brain--and flax seed.  I played with the components until I got just the right blend of scent and weight.  Not too heavy that it hurts the eyes and not too light that it falls off easily and doesn't mold to the face. 

Then one day I am at a show and someone comments about how nice the flannel is--so much better than those plastic ones you get at the store.  I had been making both flannel and the fabric I preferred--thick terry cloth.  I tried the flannel ones and liked them so much better that I phased out the terry cloth.  I added some more colors--mostly pastels.

Then a couple years after that a customer came to a show to buy just the insert for the eye pillows.  I didn't have any to sell--they were all sewn into the covers.  **light bulb**  SO, I started bringing extra herb inserts to shows.  A couple years after that a customer asked if I could make a removable cover instead of the sewn in ones.  Well, doh.  Why didn't I think of that.  Mine at home had been replaced more than a couple times when they got too dingy--or too much mascara on them.  What a fantastic idea!!!

And then just a couple shows ago, a family is shopping for a stocking stuffer for Dad.  They know the eye pillow could work for headaches, so they decide to get one.  The only trouble is I don't have a great selection of guy colors.  But, the opted for a neutral green one.  But again...**light bulb**.  I went right out and got more guy and teen friendly colors. 

Finally, I had been playing around with packaging and found those pillow boxes that would fit the eye pillows perfectly.  Add a bit of bright pink and green ribbon and you have my "new look" for my eye pillows.  Of course, if you want it for a guy, I have just the plain boxes--or even just the ziploc bag to store it in!!  What a bargain, you get all my years of research and development for only $12.00.  :)

Bath Salts and Milk Baths

Our new packaging for small servings of our bath offerings are plastic take out containers decorated with bright ribbon.  The take out containers have a white damask print and the ribbons are full of polk-a-dots.  Inside the ones with the pink ribbon, you will find 8 ounces of our Eucalyptus Mint Bath Sand.  These bath salts are awesome if you are looking to soak for achiness in muscles and joints.  Inside the green ribbon containers, you will find 4 ounces of our moisturizing Oatmeal Milk and Honey Milk Bath.   $5.00 each.