Loving Yourself

As a middle school teacher, I am often saddened by the very low self-esteem of some of my students; girls in particular. I am constantly hearing them talk about how they wished they looked like this, their hair was like this, they had this, or how they wished so-and-so would notice them. It breaks my heart to realize how little they think of themselves.

The Most Successful Small Business In The World

One of my goals last year was to read some small business books to help my business grow. I didn't do it. Why not? Because I made excuses and let the small, everyday things become my routine. In some ways, I was happy to spend time on those small things. Every small moment I have with my family is precious and we spend those moments growing as a family. In others, I didn't focus on my business and I didn't let it grow; I got caught up in my routine.

I am currently reading this (see title) book by Michael E. Gerber. The only reason I chose it was because it was at the library. I picked up several small business books. The only reason I chose to read this one first is because one smells strongly of cigarettes and the other is too big to read while in bed. I read the foreword and was intrigued. I read the introduction and got excited. I have read the first chapter and it really made me think about my business and how I run it (or it runs me).

This book introduces "The Ten Principles" for successful businesses. He also discusses why most small businesses are never anything but small businesses and most don't succeed. I was so excited by the first chapter, that I pulled out my notebook and started writing what that means for me. As I go through the book, I would like to share my thoughts and how this will change me or change the way I think about Honu Naturals.

Is anyone interested in joining me?

Valentine's Day Soap

I bought some of BB's Fired Up Fuchsia and I've been trying to figure out what soap to use it in and I decided on a Valentine's Day soap. I know that most of what we see is a pretty pink or red (see last year's soap), but I decided to do something a little differently this year.

I chose to use a scent blend with amber, musk, vanilla, and sandalwood. Plus, a vanilla color stabilizer because that has "discoloration" written all over it! For my colors, I used Fired Up Fuchsia, Rose Kaolin Clay, Brick Red Oxide, and some titanium dioxide.

I made my soap and only mixed to a light trace. Then, I poured a small amount of scented soap into three plastic cups for different colors. The main portion was colored with Fired Up Fuchsia (which looks really orange in the pictures, but is hot pink!).

I poured some of the main soap into my mold.

 I poured about half of my three other colors in a swirl pattern. Some of it sank, but I wanted it to reach the bottom, so I wasn't worried.

 Then, I poured the rest of my fuchsia soap. I poured my other three colors carefully, so they wouldn't sink this time.

 I used my handy-dandy bent hanger to swirl the soap up and down.

 Finally, I used a skewer to to gently swirl the top. I love the colors! The red oxide and titanium dioxide look great. The rose clay looks more brown than rose, but I really like it.

Want to see what it looks like all cut up? Stay tuned...

Moisturize

Over the years I have heard several people say that they don't moisturize their face after cleansing because they don't want to clog their pores. This seems to be a general misconception about moisturizers. If you choose a moisturizer that is designed for your skin type, it will not clog your pores. In fact, with the proper moisturizer, your skin will look positively radiant.

Customer Service

When I tried to get our furnace inspected last year, I had a heck of a time! I made three appointments with three different companies before they showed up. I understand that emergencies come up, especially in Colorado when a big storm comes in. I understand that things happen, but what really frustrated me was that the first two companies did NOT call me to let me know that the service person wouldn't make it. I called them after waiting an hour.

Well, this year, I didn't even bother with either of the first two companies!

Prices

I get a "Tip Of The Day" from Manta, a business that helps small businesses. I enjoy reading their tips because they are short and sweet :) Of course, they always include a link to more, but I like that I can get a quick idea.

Today's tip was simple, "Don't Compete on Price." I love this tip! I spend so much time trying to figure out how much I should charge for everything! It is so time consuming and complicated.

Rough Time

I haven't blogged in a while and I keep saying that it will change. While I'm honestly trying, here is the biggest problem I'm having: blah!

It isn't that I don't have things to share. I really do! Some of the things I'd like to share are pretty darn awesome too! However, by the time I get home at night, get Hayden put to bed, and take care of everything else, I'm so exhausted and fussy and I can't think of anything positive to say. I've been having a rough time with parents of some of my students and problems with some of the other students. I do a good job of leaving work and my worries behind me when I'm with Hayden, but when he's in bed, everything just crashes down.

I spend the rest of my evening trying to think through the problems I've had, but I don't want to post them here. This isn't my place to complain. This is my place to share my creativity and ideas and other fun stuff in my life. I know that I don't have a lot of readers, but to those few of you I do have, I want to share the good things in my life. Believe me, there are plenty of good things, it is just hard to think of them at 8 o'clock after a long, hard day.

So, that is one of my goals for 2012! Find a way to let go of the bad things that happen at work and focus on the good things. Then, I will focus on the positives here and blog about some of the great things I'm doing! I really can't wait to share. I've started a few new things recently that I think you will like and I want to here what you have been doing too!

Do you have those times too? You know, those times when those little things throughout your day just get to you and make you forget how to focus on the good things.