Big Black Hole

Anyone who has ever lost a job knows just how hard it really is to not doubt yourself. We all have the same thoughts "Why did I lose my job? Was it something I did or didn't do? Could I change and do better next time? Will there even be a next time?" Your ego is already in the toilet because you lost your job in the first place and then you start applying for a new job. Now you ego is flushed and on a trip through the sewers. You put in how many applications, get comparatively few interviews, and out of those how many rejections do you hear? It is enough to make any person completely doubt their abilities.

Then, this starts to seep into your personal life. You start to doubt everything. "What if I'm not a good spouse? What if I'm a bad parent? What if, what if, what if?" It can really become a big black hole of doubt that you just keep getting sucked deeper and deeper into. I've even started doubting my ability to run the business I started. "What if nobody likes my products? What if I am just not good enough to do this?" BIG BLACK HOLE!!!

It is time to flip my thinking. I do not DOUBT: I am CONFIDENT!

Sometimes life is rough, so make sure you have a good helmet. I can doubt myself and all of my abilities and let that lead to lying on the floor making funny gurgling noises or I can believe in myself and what I can do. I choose to believe in myself. I do make good products. I am good enough to do this. I will succeed. I have long since accepted that I can't do everything and I can't control everything, but I will do what I can and I am in control of what I can be. Let's pull ourselves out of the black hole of doubt and confidently embrace new possibilities. One way or another everything is going to be ok!

Is anybody willing to share what made them doubt themselves the most?

If anybody wants to know the picture is of twin black holes from www.nasa.gov

Pushy Salepeople

Today I learned a very important lesson. If a vacuum cleaner salesperson comes to your door and offers to do a free, quick demonstration; say no. Then they will argue. They will try to come up with compelling reasons to do this and make you feel bad because you are the last person they need to reach their quota. Again, say no. They will continue to try to convince you. Finally you will say yes, you may come do a QUICK demonstration; you will say this just to get the off the porch.

The problem with this strategy is that now you must let them in your house. The person who comes in is not the same that came to the door because apparently they tag team each other. He will set up the shiny vacuum and start the demonstration while trying to carry on a conversation. Then, because this young man is new, they will send in backup. Both will learn that you are 7 months pregnant and unemployed. One will compliment you on what a lovely home you have, all the while thinking, "Did they bomb the entire neighborhood, or just this house."

You will keep an eye on the clock as the QUICK demonstration carries on. Then the younger of the two will ask if he can go to the bedroom to show you all the stuff he can vacuum off your mattress. If you say no, he will argue and try to convince you otherwise. Luckily for him, his backup realizes that arguing with a pregnant lady in a hot house is not a good strategy and settles for a couch pillow. This part is supposed to disgust you, but you will be past caring at this point.

After about an hour in your home and privacy, they will be ready to do the shampooing of your carpet. At which point you will be at a cross roads. Should you tell them, "Sure go ahead, you've already taken an hour of my time, what's another 30 minutes" or "That's ok, we both know I'm not going to purchase it anyway." Go for option two. Then, they will tell you that it is a great deal at $2495, it comes with a lifetime warranty, and you can trade in your (very) old model to get that price reduced. You will think to yourself "For two grand, it had better vacuum for me!"

At this point, the best you can do is smile and say you have their information and you will consider it. Do not give any reasons as to why you can't really purchase a vacuum for that price right now. They will attempt to overcome those very sound reasons and nothing you can say will get them to stop. Once they leave, feel free to shred the information they left, bang your head against the wall, or if you are not pregnant, go for a shot of hard liquor and try to enjoy your privacy again.

So, what is the lesson I learned? AFTER YOU ANSWER THE DOOR PRETEND YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ENGLISH, YOU ARE MENTALLY DEFICIENT, YOU ARE THE HOUSE SITTER, OR FAKE A HEART ATTACK. Whatever you do, do not engage in any type of conversation, it will be your downfall.

Please tell me somebody else out there has had this happen to them? I need a support group!

Home!

I made it home from camp on Friday and got straight to work getting ready for my first farmer's market on Saturday, which I think went well. I have ideas on how to improve my display and I'll be carrying those out through the season. If you didn't get a chance, come join us this Saturday at the Margarita @ Pine Creek from 9-1.

Camp was fun and there is always some adventure to be had. On Monday, I went canoeing with our Junior High age kids and they were having a great time and doing a great job. BUT, just as we reached a little island in the middle of Storey Lake in Las Vegas, NM, the wind REALLY picked up. We tried waiting it out, but eventually another counselor and I set out to make it back to the shore. We did make it, but we were both exhausted. A nice gentleman noticed that the rest of our group couldn't quite make it so he talked to the park manager, who sent for the park rangers. So, the rest of our kiddos got to be rescued by park rangers in their nice boat. We returned the kids to camp and then went back to the lake to wait for the wind to die down and retrieve our canoes. Overall, very long day, but the campers had a great time telling everyone how they had to be rescued!

That was probably my biggest adventure, but the rest of the week was still lots of fun. I watched some archers in bloom work on their archery awards. It is always nice when a newbie gets their first bullseye, they couldn't be more excited. We also had some kiddos overcome their fear of heights are ride the zipline, which it tons of fun! Unfortunately, I didn't get to ride it this year, but that's ok. I hope that are new campers return next year and bring some friends with them. We always need more campers!

Heading to Camp

After being sunburned, windblown, and just plain exhausted yesterday at the Music For Life Festival, I'm heading to camp to get sunburned, windblown, and have exhausting fun. I'll be back next Friday, just in time for my first Farmer's Market at the Margarita at Pine Creek. We'll be out there from 9-1 next Saturday.

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Music For Life Festival-Lupus Fundraiser

Saturday, June 19th from 12-8 at America the Beautiful Park. There will be some great vendors and great music, so come out and join us for a good cause.

The weather is supposed to be gorgeous, so don't miss a great event!

Click for more information.

Keep 'Em Dry

As the weather gets warmer and the days get longer we start enjoying more outdoor activities. Some of these are great for you feet! Really, the best pedicure is a walk along a sandy beach. However, not all of our adventures do such favors for our feet. We spend more time on our feet and sometimes we have to loose the sandals and wear real shoes. Real shoes in warmer weather, for long periods of time. By the end of the day, regardless of how much fun you had, your feet are tired, achy, and probably enjoying some increased fungal activity.

To help prevent athlete's foot it is important to keep your feet clean and dry. One way to help keep them dry during the day in your tennis shoes, hiking boots, or really comfortable work shoes is to use a simple foot powder. If you are just looking for something to help absorb moisture, but you don't want to worry about fancy, make it yourself.

All you really need is baking soda and cornstarch. You can also add arrowroot powder to the mix if you some. Mix your powders together in a 1:1 ratio and put in some sort of container that lets you sprinkle the powder. I used an old powder bottle that I had. It works well, is talc-free, and very cheap to make. You can add essential oils such as tea tree or peppermint, but make sure you sift your ingredients to avoid clumping.

Remember to wash your feet well after a long day!

Photo by D Sharon Pruitt, used with permission from Flickr.

Adventures with Liquid Soap

I did say that despite my note taking, it would be tough for me to recreate my first batch of liquid soap. AND, I was right. I tell you what, getting right the first time is a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, you are so excited by your success that you can't wait to try again. On the other, when you try again and don't do as well it kind of makes me want to throw the bowl of goo. Well, there was no flinging of goo, but it was an interesting adventure.

I diluted my soap paste just like I did before and as before, it worked really well. I slowly heat the water and add the paste, but I don't let it get to a rolling boil, just a gentle bubbling. I found that I lose less of my water to evaporation and I can still see if I have undiluted paste. When I let it really get to boiling, there were too many bubbles to see what was happening, then I let it boil too much and had to add more water because it was goopy. So, gentle boil!

Last time I made the soap, I 3% crothix, but despite the instructions saying add it to my cool diluted soap, I could not get the crothix to do anything but hand out in a big glob. So, I heated my soap (very slowly) and stirred well. As soon as the glob was gone, I took it off the heat and let it cool. Well, I thought I'd be clever this time! I'd add the crothix while the soap was still warm (it really seems like a good idea if you think about it). What I didn't do, was remeasure how much soap I had because some had evaporated. What I got was just like the Gloop I've had my science students make. When you move fast, it acts like a solid, but if you go slow, its like a liquid! Simply amazing. Although, I'm sure nobody would enjoy "liquid" soap that will actually break into pieces, but I'm just guessing. I decided to sleep on it.

This morning I got up with a brilliant plan. I would dilute some more soap and mix that in with my Gloop soap. I did have to rewarm the Gloop-liquid mixture slightly to get it to mix, but it did mix. It has now cooled to a very nice consistency and I gave it a try. It really feels as nice as the previous batch. So, in a VERY round-about way, I got the same results. However, many lessons have been learned. First, don't try to skip steps. Second, always measure how much diluted soap you have left to calculate how much crothix you will need.

I've still noticed that the crothix is a challenge to mix in. Any suggestions?