Being a good sport...

I was thumbing through a several month old magazine in my large, ever growing stack of back issues. I was kind of speed reading an article meant for parents on how to make your kids into good sports. There were several good suggestions and certainly this is one of those things most of us manage to pass with at least an average grade as we move into adulthood.  One of these, I can say I absolutely mastered and I know now exactly why.

"IN LIFE, LOSING IS MUCH MORE COMMON THAN WINNING"

It makes perfect sense, right?  To make it into adulthood, we have to weather a lot of disappointments.  We don't get the candy we want at the grocery store check-out.  We don't get to play with that new toy, now (and the ensuing tantrum certainly doesn't get us any closer to the toy box). We don't win the lead in the school play.  We will never, ever be good enough to stand in front of a sold out stadium and sing to our heart's content.  Chances are that Publisher's Clearing House prize patrol will not be standing at our door with a BIG CHECK.  There are a lot of little letdowns in the life's path to maturity.

Nephew Rog in 2008 sporting the colors!

My road to being an expert in tackling this attribute: I happened to be born into a family in Northern Illinois about an hour and a half from Chicago.   Our family was a huge fan of the Chicago Cubs, despite having reasonably good substitutes on Chicago's South Side, up in Milwaukee or down in St. Louis.  It was just that we were North Siders.  So, plain and simple I got used to losing.  Almost every day in the summer from the time I was in grade school, my team would go up against a team that may not have been any better than the Cubs and we would lose.  Nearly every single day more often than not, I would have a chance to exercise my "good sport" muscle.

That practice didn't involve something that was a matter of my personal health or wealth.  After all, it was just a game--and not even one in which I played.  So, it was a painless way to be told NO. Believe me, the lesson was learned and retained.  GO CUBS!!

Now, the main question is how a girl without kids found her way to that article at all!  Perhaps it is because I can always use a refresher course on the basics.  You know, wrap that dental floss around your teeth as you floss--not just in between them!  Drink lots of water!  Say Please and Thank You!!
At craft shows I get asked questions a lot and I try to give good advice.  But, that doesn't always translate into my real life conversations with friends and family.  Ever got into one of those one-up discussions with someone?  Next time, I hope I can just let it go and cede victory...because I don't/won't win them all!

Mom and I at Wrigley in 2006 with Rod and Dad!

 

December 2014 Soap News and Special

Hi Everybody--

What an exciting month we had in November.  To start off I had three shows.  Some of you met my painter friend Eve at Lake Eola for Fiesta in the Park.  I was up in Micanopy for the Fall Festival.  Both shows had nice cold/cool temperatures very fitting for a Fall show--and we both saw a ton of customers--thank you!  The next weekend I went to New Smyrna Beach for Flamingo Follies.  The exciting thing was coming to open my tent on Sunday and finding about $400 worth of missing soap, soap dishes, soap bags, lipbalms, yada, yada, yada!  Turns out that about a dozen artists had things missing.  The worst was a mosaic artist who had over $500 worth of products stolen.  Bummer...and probably not even worth turning in to my insurance company.  I took photos and filed a police report "in case", and the City sent a refund of 50% of the show fee. Someone is getting a lump of coal in their stocking!  Coincidentally, someone stole one of our Disney salvage bikes off our carport last week, too.  Double Bummer!

After I finished restocking a ton of soap, I made a quick trip up to Illinois to finish the winterizing of the cottage. The temperatures did not cooperate with me getting out in the yard, but, I was able to get a full van load unpacked, get two window air conditioners put away and then spent a couple days enjoying a beautiful snowfall.  I had left the old Mercury mini-van up there to use in the winter, but, we are rethinking that plan!  The first day it fired up, but, I had no lights on the dash board.  And the oil light was on.  I checked the oil and it was fine so I drove it.  The next day I had to scrape ice off the windows and once it started the lights were still off the dash AND the radio and heater stopped working.  This was not good!  I have lived in Florida 30 YEARS and this girl needs a heater to work when the temperature goes under 50 degrees.  I  added a bunch of pictures to the blog a week ago, so take a look if you are interested.

I tried to convince my Mom to come back to Florida for a couple weeks.  I knew she would love the Tallahassee Market Days show and she could spend Thanksgiving with us! But we decided that was too long for her to be away from home and Dad.  After much discussion, she decided to come for a week.  So, we spent three days on the road and had a wonderful trip full of great Mom/Daughter conversations.  Then, a day after being in Orlando, she started having back pain.  Bad pain, so bad that she started walking hunched over.  I thought it was just achy pain from her new stretching exercises and walking.  But when I say her walking like that the day before her plane trip back to Illinois, I knew it was a very bad problem.  We got her into a massage therapist, which loosened her up enough to get on the plane.  That and some great wheelchair assists on both ends of the flight!  The doctor appointment the day after Thanksgiving shows a disc problem so she is on pain meds, a steroid and muscle relaxers.    

I want to thank you all for another year of successful business--it is over 15 years--thanks to all of YOU!  I am in the process of booking shows for 2015, so, please be sure to go to the Show Schedule at www.JackieSoap.com  to see where I will be next year.  I have already had one major show problem.  Turns out the folks at the Deerfield Festival of the Arts have brought on a promoter to run the show and they decided last minute during the jury process to concentrate on ART only.  So, as a c
rafter, I was not invited back to the show.  This one hurts as I have done the show for almost 14 years.  My friend Lynn Upson, the Spice Lady, was not invited back either and she was the first craftsman invited to do the show almost 20 years ago.  So, I really need any suggestions you might have for art and craft shows in South Florida.  Which shows do you go to?

Oh, don't forget the Cyber Week special is up on the website--10% off all orders, plus the December Special and Free Shipping if you spend $50 after the discount!

Show Schedule
January 2015 
3-4 
10-11 Jensen Beach Arts and Crafts Festival 
17-18 
25-26 
31-Feb 1 


February 2015 
7-8 Lake Placid Country Fair 
13-15 Lakeridge Winefest, Clermont, FL 
21-22 
28- Mar 1 Dacie FL Orange Blossom Fest 

Industry News

Industry icon, Paul Mitchell, has a new directive this year encouraging their fans to take part in the Pay it Forward movement Check out the website at  #GIVINGISMYSTYLE  In the spirit of the season, the brand is donating up to $200,000 to it's partner charities for people taking part in the gallery  at the website.  

In an update to a post a few months ago, China has now abolished the requirement for animal testing for most cosmetics manufactured in the country.  That means shampoos, makeup, many skin care products and perfumes will be exempt from animal testing.  For imported products, the ban is in effect as long as the product's final finishing--packaging, for example--is done in China. 

Here in the states, the California Legislature adopted Resolution 22, another Cruelty Free International initiative. The hope is to get the US Congress and the President to support uniform restrictions on animal testing of cosmetics for the nation.

Company News  

The big news is the continuing Black Friday/Cyber Week specials up on the website.  CYBERWEEK - good for 10% off your shopping cart total through midnight December 7, 2014.  After that we will resort to the special as described below. 

I also talked above about the 2015 Show Schedule, so stay tuned for any and all changes that may be coming down the pike!  I really try to do shows around the state and I am always looking for more great ones.

After 15 years of doing a traditional Men's Bayrum scent for the shaving round, I decided it was time to mix it up.  What took me so long??  So, for 2015 the Pirates Booty Bar is now scented with a 100% natural essential oil blend of Lime and Pine.  

SPECIAL

For the month of December, every soap order will receive a free bar of Everything but the Kitchen Sink Soap with every three soaps ordered.  I have an abundance of these in stock right now and they are very popular with new and old customers!  And remember if you need to stock up, all orders of $50 or more receive FREE SHIPPING!  This time of the year is a great time to take advantage of this deal!

What you ask is an Ugly Soap--this would be one example!!

I have a couple bags of endpieces that have been around for a long while.  IF you are a shaving soap user or a Lavender Oatmeal lover--go to the Specials page NOW and get a great deal on the Ugly Soaps.  The Lavender soaps I just put up are what happens when I take an important phone call instead of getting the soap in the mold quickly.  It ain't pretty...but you benefit by getting a great deal on these bars.  Hey, and there are just a few bars of Split Personality 100% Natural on there too.  Really, you need to go take a look at these specials!!

The Specials can always be ordered by going to my website, scrolling down to the bottom of the page and clicking on the big green leaf. This will take you to the "secret" members’ only page so you can place your order. List members' pay actual shipping and tax if applicable, so disregard the shipping charge my shopping cart will show on your receipt. A correct invoice will be mailed with your order. Please put the words DECEMBER SPECIAL in the comments area of your order. You may also call or email, but be sure to mention the DECEMBER SPECIAL; otherwise, you may not get the special price.

With Warm Holiday Regards to you ALL, 

Jackie the SoapLady

Website:www.JackieSoap.com

P.S.  Dear Santa, please bring me the SixThreeZero Paisley Bike this year
--er, right after peace and joy to the WORLD!

The Keys in October

This just screams FLORIDA!  It was just a perfect day with the most incredible blue sky...

This was at the back of the resort we stayed at one night in Key Largo.  We supposedly made a note of the place to come back to, but, I can't pull it out of my memory banks right now.  

Same place in Key Largo--so inviting!

Rod on the beach at Key West.  They have done a bit of improving...but...alas...it is still not very pretty here.  Spend you time at the north end of Bahia Honda Key instead!

Using the underwater camera case...not anything impressive...but it was fun!

Keys style lattice!!  Love it!

This is a garage converted into a business.  I took the picture because I like the look
of the doors for the IL cottage when we do put up a garage!

Rod and I spent just a few days down here in October.  Our usual place in Key West, Eden House, was booked with a wedding so we stayed at the Old Custom House right on Duval.  We would do it again, but, it was definitely a different kind of trip.  Pickles the Parrot made the stay memorable!  We also discovered the Fast Buck Freddies Furniture outlet on the north end of the island.  As always we spent a couple hours in the bookstore on Fleming St. too--just off Duval.  But they were in the middle of downsizing from two spaces to one--so it was too crowded to really shop and browse.  I still came away with two wonderful books, both had excerpts from diaries--one a newspaperwoman from Arizona and the other a book of letters from one of the presidents to his mother.

Bonnie and I brought a load of "stuff" to Illinois after the New Smyrna Beach show.  I was there to winterize.  What that means, I am not 100% sure, but, I did the best I could given the snowfall.  I got the air conditioners out of the two windows and put away.  I was supposed to do a lot more yard work, but, now that I see these pictures--I really like how everything looks with snow piled on top.  

So, in addition to the first snow shoveling in A VERY LONG TIME, I also got to scrape my van windows--with a credit card since my scraper was locked in the Mercury with the frozen shut doors.  I also caught a mouse in a sticky trap I had put out this summer for spiders.  Poor dear was trying to drag the trap through the hole in the bathroom wall.  He must have had a heart attack when I put him in a grocery bag and threw him out the back door.  I hope he did anyway.  

Blue Moon Cottage after the first snowfall,  November 2014

The Zebra Grass with a dusting of snow!

The view out the backdoor when I discovered it was SNOWING!!!!

The next morning this is the view I woke up to!  What a winter wonderland!

The front yard--Bonnie and I trounced through the little bit of snow to get this picture.

And one picture from Orlando on Tuesday, November 25, 2015:  This hawk was just sitting at the top of the roof gable.  I got really close and took a bunch of pictures and he just sat there looking at me, the ground, the sky, whatever.  I wondered if he was keeping an eye out for a rodent or snake in the grass to eat!  I also wondered if he was the hawk who ate one of the mockingbird babies a couple years ago.  Regardless, he was a stately, handsome guy, don't ya think?

2014 Black Friday and Cyber Week Special Codes

                                

Here are the coupon codes to use in your shopping cart at www.JackieSoap.com for the 2015 Black Friday and Cyber Week sales!

BLACKFRIDAY - good for 20% off your shopping cart total through midnight Friday Nov 28th

CYBERWEEK - good for 10% off your shopping cart total through midnight December 7, 2014

FREESHIP - off a $50 order

Those specials can be combined, but, you can only put one coupon code per order.  If I see the shopping cart total is over $50 for the discounted merchandise, I will pay the shipping on your order!  This will be done manually--so the shopping cart and the emailed receipt will not be correct.  Your receipt with the order will reflect both discounts!

If you have any questions, give me a holler at (407) 363-1494!  Thanks so much for your business. 

Jackie the SoapLady 

November 2014 Soap News and Special

Hi Everybody!
I am putting the newsletter out a few days early to let you know about two shows THIS weekend.  See the show calender below for details.  

October went by in a whirl of activity.  Rod and I took a few days off and spent some time at our favorite place, Key West.  We weren't able to stay at our favorite place, Eden House, because it was booked with a wedding.  So we ended up staying in The Old Customs House Inn right on Duval.  The reviews were pretty dicey, but, in reality it was a pretty good spot for a quick trip.  There is no front desk service to speak of, you had to find your own parking, the shower was teeny tiny and the TV only had one channel that worked.  BUT, that was all doable...especially when you throw in a cute parrot named Pickles who greeted us every time we came and went from the room.  

Back in Orlando, we have the whole "moving to Illinois" thing on our minds, so Rod and I got a head start on things by cleaning out the shed and the attic a week ago.  We had enough stuff to have a one day garage sale.  We got rid of lots of Christmas stuff, a couple dressers, under-used kitchen applicances and some home decor and pictures--everything big except the Nordic Track and a bunch of books.  The books and a couple small boxes of leftovers went to the Salvation Army and the Nordic Track got posted on Craigs List.  So, now we can actually stack up the next bunch of things to go up to Illinois in the big van.  I will go up for a week right after the New Smyrna Beach show.

We had a cardiologist appointment at the beginning of the month.  Rod was able to come off his blood thinner and the doc suggested cutting his statin in half and changing up his blood pressure pill for another medicine that handles BP and two other things he was concerned about.  It should help to even out his heart rate so there are fewer missed beats and the resulting BIG beat that occurs after a missed beat.  All in all we feel very good about how all this is going--he is eating to our plan and doing his walking, so, what we can control, we are--the rest we are putting in bigger hands than ours!

P.S.  We are going to get down to temps in the 50's and possibly lower this weekend!  FALL IS HERE!

  

SHOW SCHEDULE

November 2014 

1-2          Fiesta in the Park, Lake Eola Park, Orlando FL  AND

1-2          Micanopy Fall Festival (my friend Eve will be doing Orlando and I will be in Micanopy--thanks for the help Eve!!)
8-9          Flamingo Follies, New Smyrna Beach, FL--Booth #106
15-16         

22-23    

29-30

December 2014 

6-7          Tallahassee Market Days
13-14      Holiday in the Garden, Washington Oaks Garden State

               Park, Palm Coast, Florida--sorry, it looks like they will not be doing a craft show this year.

20-21      Merry Christmas!
27-28      Happy New Year!

INDUSTRY NEWS

You know, I am all about SCENT.  And what is more irresistible than "New Baby Smell"!  Turns out that the scent and the phenomenon are being studied.  Blogger and Real Simple Associate Editor, Julia Edelstein, reported on the findings in this article.  What I found fascinating is that they identified the scent as being made up of roughly 250 chemicals.   The combination of these chemicals lights up the rewards center part of the brain.  The same area that would recognize you were partaking of a piece of Godiva chocolate!  I wonder how long it will take the perfumers and formulators to come up with this wonderful scent?  And speaking of scent, check out my third quarter bestsellers, below.

My Great Niece when she was little!

COMPANY NEWS

So this is a big weekend for shea butter soap in Central Florida.  My artist friend, Eve Silverbach, who you may recognize from the picture below, will be manning my booth at Fiesta in the Park at Lake Eola this weekend.  I will be up in Micanopy doing the Fall Festival in my usual spot across from the Herlong Mansion.  Eve will have the incense rack with her in Orlando along with the soap, soapdishes and other bath accessories.  I will have the bath accessories,  eye pillows and giftbag stuffers with me.  We both will have guest soap samplers and oils.  IF THERE IS SOMETHING YOU NEED, PLEASE LET ME KNOW ASAP SO I CAN MAKE SURE IT WILL BE AVAILABLE.  We think we have the credit card situation worked out--cross fingers, please!  

Nautical Painter, Eve Silverbach

The best sellers for the third quarter are as follows:

1.  Lavender Oatmeal 100% Natural

2.  Oatmeal Milk & Honey Goatmilk

3.  Jasmine Goatmilk

4.  Lilac Goatmilk

5.  Beach

6.  Sweet Earth

7.  Lemongrass Scrubby 100% Natural

8.  Gardenia Goatmilk

9.  Sandalwood Vanilla

10.  Black Raspberry Vanilla Goatmilk

Congratulations to Crystal M. of Illinois who won last month's Facebook Special--a free log of Everything but the Kitchen Sink.  Head over to Facebook and chat with us on the wall for your chance to win our great yearend specials.  Every order in November and December will be in the Facebook contest--even if you haven't had time to friend us there!  I love chatting with everyone, but, it is those of you who continue to order that pay the bills.  A HUGE thank you to you all!

SPECIAL

For the month of November, every soap order will receive a free bar of Everything but the Kitchen Sink Soap with every three soaps ordered.  I have an abundance of these in stock right now and they are very popular with new and old customers!  And remember if you need to stock up, all orders of $50 or more receive FREE SHIPPING!  This time of the year is a great time to take advantage of this deal!

I have a couple bags of endpieces that have been around for a long while.  IF you are a shaving soap user, a Patchouli lover or a Lavender Oatmeal lover--go to the Specials page NOW and get a great deal on the ugly soaps.  The Lavender soaps I just put up are what happens when I take an important phone call instead of getting the soap in the mold quickly.  It ain't pretty...but you benefit by getting a great deal on these bars.  Hey, and there are just a few bars of Split Personality 100% Natural on there too.  Really, you need to go take a look at these specials!!

The Specials can always be ordered by going to my website, scrolling down to the bottom of the page and clicking on the big green leaf. This will take you to the "secret" members’ only page so you can place your order. List members' pay actual shipping and tax if applicable, so disregard the shipping charge my shopping cart will show on your receipt. A correct invoice will be mailed with your order. Please put the words NOVEMBER SPECIAL in the comments area of your order. You may also call or email, but be sure to mention the NOVEMBER SPECIAL; otherwise, you may not get the special price.

With Regards to you ALL, 

Jackie the SoapLady

Website:
www.JackieSoap.com

Facebook:  Become a fan by liking “Handcrafted by Jackie Turbot”.   Post on the wall for chances to win a free goodie monthly.

October 2014 Soap News and Special

Traditional Harvest Festival

OCTOBER!  Oh yes, Fall is here!  Even in the heat of Florida we have the orange, red and brown decorations up in the stores, the pumpkin patches are open and we start to believe that night temperatures now lingering at 70 or above, might soon bring cooler days...sometime, soon hopefully.

Florida's version of Fall...see the leaf colors in the back!!!

This weekend I was at the Deland Craft Show, mainly helping my artist friend, Nautical Painter, Eve Silverbach, who had double booked shows.  So, I was set up with half of the booth filled with painted switchplates and photography and the other half with my soap trays.  Here's a heads-up for you Central Floridians:   Eve will be doing the Orlando show at Lake Eola the first weekend in November.  I will be setup in Micanopy.  I will not have the incense with me...Eve will have it in Orlando.  So, if you need incense at Micanopy, please call me no later than Wednesday  October 29th, and I will pull what you need and bring it with me.

I made it back to Orlando in my new-to-me Ford 3/4 ton 2006 cargo van.  So, for those of you wondering about the poor Mercury, it is now the Illinois back up vehicle.  Not sure how it will weather the Illinois cold winter, but, hopefully it will start if we fly up sometime in December or January.   We had so much room in the van, we didn't even reach the halfway mark...which left Bonnie-Dog plenty of room to roam.  She happened to roam through my box of ripening tomatoes, BAD BONNIE, but I still had plenty to make Rod  BLT's, a couple Mexican dishes and a few plates of fresh tomatoes to enjoy. 

I ended up staying an extra week in Illinois as my Aunt Patricia was very ill and in hospice care.  She ended up passing after a very hard 10 days for my uncle and cousins.  I stayed to be with my Mom and attend the funeral.  You will be missed Aunt Pat...

Next up for us is a quick four night trip to Key West.  After that we will begin to get the Halloween decorations out of the attic and get ready for the trick or treaters at the end of the month.  Rod suggested we also use that time to sort through what we have up in the attic and start clearing it out now.  That will help out a lot when we do make the final move to Illinois in 2016.  The Fall shows are detailed below.  I hope to see you all out there!

Show Schedule 

October 2014 

4-5          11-12    Coconut Creek--the Promenade on Lyons Road

18-19

25-26       

         

November 2014 

1-2          Fiesta in the Park, Lake Eola Park, Orlando FL  AND

1-2          Micanopy Fall Festival (my friend Eve will be doing Orlando and I will be in Micanopy--thanks for the help Eve!!)
8-9          Flamingo Follies, New Smyrna Beach, FL--Booth #106
15-16         

22-23    

29-30

December 2014 

6-7          Tallahassee Market Days
13-14      Holiday in the Garden, Washington Oaks Garden State

               Park, Palm Coast, Florida--tentative

20-21      Merry Christmas!
27-28      Happy New Year!

Industry News

Hats off to Dr. Bronner's soap who sometime in the last 10 years finally decided to list ALL of their ingredients on the Peppermint liquid soap.  Some of you may remember when I "outed" them for only listing the vegetable oils, not the full ingredient list.  I know I had used their soap a lot in my early days as I hiked and camped.  So, I am happy to announce with full authority that they are NOT using SLS's in the production of their pure castille soaps!   So what's actually it there?  Here ya go (in English):  Coconut, Olive, Hemp and Jojoba Organic veggie Oils, Potassium Hydroxide (the lye in liquid soaps), Organic Peppermint Essential Oil, Citric Acid and Vitamin E.   Way to go!!

Company News

I made this year's Christmas soap last week and this year it will be a fruity, wine scent called Christmas Cabernet and it will be marbeled with red and orange.  I am still working on a name, but, for now I am calling it Wassail.  It will be available starting at the Coconut Creek show and some wholesale accounts are already starting to stock it!  So, look for it at the next show you are able to attend.  

I also stocked up on the wood soap decks and the netty soap-on-a-rope bags for the giftbags.  There will be plenty available at shows for those of you needing giftbags.  I will also be doing a limited number of special $50 giftbags with the more expensive soap dishes, herbal eye pillows and the other goodies usually found in the $20 bag.  

I just did a batch of Simply Shea soap for the waitlist and since it was gone really fast, I will do another batch if there is any demand.  Those are $10 a bar, but, you get the whole bar with the bumpy top so it is actually close to 7 ounces in size.  I will be catching up on the Pet, Bug and Hunter soap waitlists over the coming few weeks...if you know you want a few bars, please email me here.  

Special

This month the special is just that--special!  For every six bar order, you will be able to pick out a free soap (the scent is your choice) and you will receive a half-guest soap size sample of the Christmas soap to go along with it.  You might also take advantage of the $50 free shipping special, details are on the secret page on the website.  Follow the green leaf to get there!  And always check on down that page a bit.  I will be putting up a bag of Patchouli soap endpieces at a discounted price!  

Have a great month, Everybody!

Jackie the SoapLady

P.S. the overhang over the back door of the new cottage is from an Mazda RX7 automobile!  No one guessed correctly!!  Any guesses for what heats the water in the outdoor shower?  A free soap to the first correct answer!