Will Formulate Products to Your Needs

Yesterday I was asked if I could make a skin care product for someone using certain oils. She knows what she's liked & not liked in other products. She has certain oils in mind & wondered if I could tell her if they'd work together. She also wanted to know the cost.

And my inner response was - YES!!! This is part of what I want to happen with this company. I want people to know that I CAN & will custom blend for their needs, tastes, allergies, etc. And yes, I make it affordable.

I probably make the mistake most new business people make & under price my products. I add very little to my cost when pricing. If you can afford a product from the store then you can afford mine.

Back to custom blending. Yes, I can tell whether a certain combination of oils is feasible. That's what I do when I create my own blends. I work with lots of references & I know essential oils. I've worked with various oils for 15 years. When I blend for the public, I use the safest oils possible for most people. I stay away from some of the popular ingredients that carry warnings, even though many well-known products use them. When I blend for an individual, I'm able to do just what I've done for myself for 15 years - make a product suited to her (or his) tastes, needs, desires.

I've been making my own bath salts for skin problems for 15 years. I make my own body powder with anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, & anti-microbial properties because I'm diabetic. When a guy I know had eczema on his otherwise very handsome face, I made my first lotion bar for him. It worked, too! I actually like custom blending best of all. Then I have more leeway in ingredients. For example, I don't use rosemary in my public blends because it's a strong stimulant with warnings. You'll see it in a lot of products, but I've chosen other oils to do what rosemary does. Personally, I love rosemary & it's one of the strongest cleansing oils. So when I make my own bath salts & body powder, I include rosemary. I have a deep attachment to rosemary & lavender, so leaving the one out has been like snubbing an old friend.

So please do contact me if you have a special need. One way is to add a comment to this post. I've also got email attached to this blog. Who knows - maybe I'll get to include rosemary in your blend! We'll both be happy you talked with me!

God is good!

First I want to recommend a site - http://www.healingwiththemasters.com/. I recommend you sign up to listen to the segments - & it's free. I especially recommend that you listen to the message by Mary Hall & then click through to listen to her 11:11 call on 5/25, replayed on the site. If it's not on the above site, click through until you get to her site. Listening was incredible for me today!

Besides that, today I want to tell you that God is good! God works in mysterious but perfect ways. And He has a great sense of humor, sense of timing, rightness of how He does things, completeness about His efforts.

As you all know, my financial circumstances are not where I want them to be at this point. I'm carefully wording what I say because I believe you attract what you speak. I really try to trust God & not worry, or spend time trying to figure out how it can all work out. My situation seems impossible but I refuse to accept that it is because with God all things are possible. And I've come so far in such a short time. And He keeps providing what I need when I need it, somehow. Sometimes He uses friends & family, sometimes I "earn" it through helping people or cats through Reiki.

This time I was mentally fretting Friday night about mailing costs. I needed to mail product to the drawing winner (finally got her address), some documents that belonged to my newly ex-husband, & some of my products & some other things as gifts to my children & sister. All of these things are acts of giving & I knew it was the right thing to do but I really didn't want to spend my dwindling resources on postage. But I was obedient & prepared all the packages Friday, went to mail them on Saturday.

The final postage cost was around $25, but I walked out of the post office in awe. Here's what happened. I took stamps that I'd found when cleaning out some of my mother's things. I'll confess I didn't have an attitude of gratitude toward finding bunches of old stamps that would need more stamps bought to use at the current rate. Mostly there were 32s, 33s, 34s, 37s. Old stamps. But they paid all that postage! I used 3 stamps at 44 cents that I need to use first because they're marked (now I buy those "forever" stamps), & pulled 3 of my found pennies (picked up in parking lots) from my wallet. I walked out without spending any of my cash & without all those old stamps! It was painless!

I'm not sure how this sounds to you, but to me it was a great lesson & miracle. I did the right thing & God provided - again - just what I needed when I needed it. He's so creative in how He does these things! Much more powerful & awesome than Oz!

Silly me - every time I worry it's without cause. He just keeps taking care of me. Yesterday I worried about the heat index today. Normally I don't do well in heat - I learned the hard way in my late 20s when I was sick for 2 days from heat exhaustion. And I suffered terribly the 2 summers I've lived here, could barely function during the day. I don't have any air conditioning in this house. There are only 3 windows in the upstairs & they're the wrong kind, won't hold an air conditioner unit. Instead, I have lots of sliding glass doors, & a fan for each one, bought when we moved here. Today it's around 90 degrees & I'm not feeling it! I'm fine! I'm just so in awe of how He takes care of me!

Short Blog

This is going to be short & quick. How can I follow up after yesterday's post anyway?

I'm off to go change my name on driver's license, car title, new bank account with new bank, etc. I am now officially as you see it, Jenny Lea Schwartz, so I've got to go change records to reflect that.

Meanwhile, I'm watching one of my baby groundhogs wander through my back yard, grazing. I have animal magnetism of the truest sort. I attract groundhogs & cats. Groundhogs appear wherever I live & begin to breed & burrow. When I moved here 2 years ago there was just one groundhog I saw at the end of the season, at the back of the property. Now there are at least 8 around me, including 4 new babies!

It's the funniest thing, first happened in Hagerstown when I lived on that farm. In 2000 there was just one old groundhog who'd show up when the apple trees started dropping their apples. By 2008 he'd died & his daughter had 4 babies, & she was visible all season. She dug a burrow up against the front of the house & another at the back of the house. Each burrow was exactly where I spent the majority of my time - at the front below my couch & behind the bed, in back it was right below the kitchen sink with the spy hole at my chair in the dining room. (That's where I took all my meals, studied - we didn't have a kitchen table.)

I guess I've always been a person of power & magnetism. When I was a teen I couldn't get a watch that would work on me. Even Timex watches, considered to be good watches back then, would race once I started wearing them! I was in my early 20s & had to buy an expensive watch before I could get one that worked. It was one of the premium brands. I've also mentioned that I can't wear most perfumes that smell good on others. Something about my body chemistry just doesn't mix well with most commercially produced scents.

So there you go. Just some of my oddities. Everything you never wanted to know. Maybe now you begin to see why, the day before he married my daughter, my son-in-law announced in a toast to everyone that I'm eccentric. That was news to me! I'm not sure when I went from "interesting," to "quirky," to "bohemian," & finally, to "eccentric." But I've definitely always marched to a different beat! And now to my new name :)

My Personal Oprah Winfrey - Best Life Lesson Ever!!!

Yesterday I watched the most meaningful, beautiful, moving show I've ever seen on TV - the final Oprah Winfrey show. Funny how things work. In my planner, I'd written a note to myself to share a certain lesson yesterday that's connected to her! I was going to postpone it until next week, but Oprah's show moved me to share today.

The Oprah in my life had the name of Fran Santi. She was my Tupperware distributor the one time I was entirely successful at the business, the only MLM type business I've done well with. This was the middle 80s, around the time Oprah started her 25 year show. (I tried selling Tupperware several times in later years with less success due to other things going on in my own life at the time.)

First, a little about Fran. She could have been Oprah's twin soul! Their tastes, actions, leading, even their mannerisms were so similar! Fran loved to shop, do things with "the girls" (her managers), give lovely gifts to those who met business quotas. Back then Tupperware had the greatest reward system for doing our jobs. You qualified for gifts based on monthly & quarterly goals. Fran always added to that & broke it down into even smaller time periods to help with incentive. Therefore, her distributorship was one of the top distributorships in the country, had some of the country's top managers. And me.

One mistake I always made was to compare myself to the top managers & feel like a failure. Please people, don't do that to yourselves! Just be the best YOU can be!!! I didn't paint for 30 years because I was afraid I wouldn't be able to paint my vision, my style. What a waste! I'm not Renoir & never will be but I love painting now & people enjoy my art! Of course at first I didn't paint my vision & style. First I had to learn to paint & then begin to find my self. It's still a process, but you can't get there unless you start! It ended up taking me less than 2 years to begin to find my style! Please don't compare yourself to others. It just doesn't matter in the least how you stack up. It only matters that you do it, express yourself, do your work, work your calling, use your talents. The beauty of hand-made things is in the uniqueness, the imperfections. Otherwise, you might as well just have something a machine made! The same is true with each of us. We are all imperfect but have great beauty inside, differing talents & abilities. I can't fix electronics, have a limited understanding of computers - the list of things I'm not good at goes on. Some people excel at those things, for which I'm grateful. Then there are many things I can do to varying degrees that they can't. Those are my talents & gifts. Mine differ from everyone else's in degree & as a whole. So comparing myself to anyone else is just plain wrong. I don't need to be great at everything. I just need to continue to practice the things I'm called to do, have been given an inclination & talent for.

When I first got into Tupperware, I had no real self image, self confidence, sense of self. I had no friends, no close family. That time in Tupperware changed my life entirely, mostly due to Fran & one of her top managers. That manager is a valued friend to this day. She took me under her wing & taught me how to be successful. She cared, as did Fran. She & Fran believed in me & invested their time. I made friends & found myself.

Fran taught me one of the most valuable lessons ever. She did an exercise with her managers at a monthly meeting. She had each of us write down one word to describe each of the other managers, then fill a basket for each of us with them. Turns out every single one of them came up with the word "sweet" for me. I was shocked. Afterwards I requested some time with her. I wanted to know what to do with what I'd just learned, & how to be more successful in the business.

She taught me that every human trait is a double-edge sword. I remember her words to this day. Each of our traits is 2 sides of a coin, "good" & "bad." The difference is what we do with the trait. For example, the kid who always got in trouble in school for talking in class could go on to earn a great living as a public speaker. That day she taught me that "sweet" is something I could make the most of, with intent & awareness. She said I could use it to draw people to me, create an atmosphere where people wanted to have me do Tupperware parties for them & more people would also attend. I had new confidence & awareness after that, & went on to be tops in sales among some of the best some weeks.

Better yet, it was the beginning of truly knowing myself, seeing myself as others see me, as who I truly am. She cut through all those negative messages I'd been given. It totally changed how I feel about myself, see myself. She opened the first tiny door to my soul that day. It was the beginning of coming into my own, to a new life. After that I felt loved, felt like I belonged. I blossomed & soared. I conducted trainings, hired a team, earned awards. We lost Fran to cancer a few years later, shortly after the birth of my son. Everything in my life at that time moved me out of selling Tupperware. But I've never forgotten Fran, never ceased to be grateful, to love her & talk about her. And in my heart I'll always be a Tupperware Lady!

So, what is your defining characteristic(s)? What don't you like about yourself? How can you turn that around, into positive use? The rest of Fran's lesson was that you can change whatever displeases you about yourself simply by flipping that coin, a turning of the edge of that sword. It's a choice we all can make. Instead of making excuses for ourselves, we can take action & bring those traits into positive uses, change our intent.

Most of us have potential we aren't using yet. What's yours? Is it that you're balancing the coin on the edge, neither using a trait for positive or negative impact - simply ignoring it? Or is there some part of your self or your life that you need to put a more positive spin on? It's as simple as awareness & intent. That was the thrust of Fran's lesson. Two sides to the coin, two edges to the sword - the choice is up to you!

Playing in the Dirt - a.k. Gardening

For me it's truly playing in the dirt. I was raised to be a little adult so in the 2nd grade I told a new friend that no, I wouldn't play in the dirt with her because "playing in the dirt is vulgar." I then went in & sat with the adults while they talked. Now I get to have a real childhood. It's part of my every day life. Some of my friends laugh at me because they love to see the random times the child shows. (They are very loving, knowing laughs & they feel very good. The little girl in me loves that!) Monday night I was at a guided meditation & our Reiki Master gave us each a message crystal afterwards. She told us that it's a very special, personal crystal & that we'd be drawn to the right one. When I picked up mine it started jumping around in my palm as if alive, then jumped into my lap! I heard that laugh when I reacted, said "It's alive!" Until then I'd been very adult, letting others go first to choose their crystal - self-contained, holding back. Message - it's never too late - to be a child, heal your life, heal your self.

When I lived on the farm in Hagerstown I became one with the earth & the land by digging in the dirt, pulling up weeds & grass by hand. I sat on the ground hour after hour creating garden plots. I didn't have the equipment or help to do otherwise. I bonded with the earth & the land during those hours. Bunnies showed up, birds sat in the trees around me, & I watched & communned with them. After clearing, I planted, mostly plants I bought rather than seeds. I wanted to establish a shade garden, then started planting rose bushes in the front of the house. Then I started buying planters, for the sun annuals & perrenials I wanted, the herbs. It was hard to leave that place because I was so connected. I hated to leave my gardens, my roses, my animal friends & birds, & there were many of all of those.

Here I'm not at all connected. I haven't dug in the ground at all. I'm renting (with option to buy) & don't feel it's my land to dig in. So I just have a few of my containers with plants, two of which I brought with me. I have a beautiful babies breath that blossoms in pink & white flowers! I also have 3 clusters of yellow lilies that I planted when my only son went to serve in Iraq for a second tour of duty - my variation on "tie a yellow ribbon."

I didn't think I'd get to plant anything this year. Money is tight & my entire future is up in the air. When my beloved daughter talked about gardening, I was envious. But yesterday I indulged. I bought 2 tomato plants, a catnip plant (a gift to my companions of course) & 5 seed packets. Then I went out & hand weeded & pruned my lilies, babies breath, lavender, & whatever else might be coming back up (a little chamomile, for one thing). I have 2 lavender plants I bought when we moved here 2 years ago & one is coming back nicely. The other isn't doing so well. I also went ahead & planted the tomato plants, since one was looking a little wilted.

This year I managed to resist chamomile. It's hard to grow from seed & I have a jar full so I restrained myself. The rosemary plant I wanted was $5 so I'm going to try to grow it from seed. I usually don't do well with it. I've never tried lemon grass from seed, or fernleaf dill, but will this year. I've had dill cravings & love lemon grass in herbal teas. I'm also planting sweet basil (found American Seed packet from Walmart for just 20 cents) & lemon basil. Those are "musts" for me - I love to use them both in salads & with tomatoes all summer. Both do very well from seeds.

I love planting plants & watching them grow & produce but I love growing from seeds even more. I get such a sense of accomplishment & wellbeing when I see those first sprouts. I love watching them grow leaves, then flowers or something edible. I love the harvest. I feel I'm contributing beauty & worth to the world. So even though I'm going to use containers, I'll be very happily playing in the dirt today!

While I was writing, I got to watch a baby chipmunk on the balcony outside my office, & the babies & adults playing in the trees in my back yard. I heard a whistle pig whistling (for those not in the know - that's a groundhog). I have 4 babies that live next door this year! I see them out my office window. I also saw the largest redheaded woodpecker I've ever seen. I'm also watching squirrels, listening to bird songs & my beautiful Woodstock wind chimes. Life is good!

Memory Orbs - Pet Memorials - New Products Announcements

Announcing the launch of Rainbow Lights Memory Orbs. These are beautiful marbleized orbs in a rainbow of colors that honor our beloved pets, & come with a ribbon for hanging. Each comes with a copy of the original poem, "Rainbow Lights," which honors the memory & significance of our pets. If you like, they can be personalized with the name of your pet. You can also hang tags from it if you like - his/her rabies or ID tag, the microchip tag... Or they can remain subtle reminders of your loved one.

These were originally made for Angel Baby Mommies, as a Christmas ornament. The orbs can be personalized for people or pets, be hung from a Christmas tree or year round from the beautiful ribbons I include. They make a perfect gift - for yourself or a grieving loved one. Or they can be used to honor the living, too.

In addition, I have a friend who makes "Memory Jars/Containers." These are personalized containers to hold the remains of your beloved pet. I'll make photos of both available as soon as I can figure out some of the computer work needed to do that. New laptop, "old dog" needing to learn the new systems.

We are also working on angels as some type of ornament, memorial. We're open to suggestions on that one. Or, if you have something you've created you'd like to market through us, please let me know! This is a network of caring providers.

Part of being creative about fulfilling your needs for wellbeing is being wholistic!

How I Do It All - Part II

The planner is the biggest thing that's made a difference but I also have a few other tips to share. These are variations of things you may have already heard. But they're coming from someone you know, telling you they work.

I'm very organized. I take the time to clean up after myself as I go, for the most part. That way, the next time I need to do something, my tools are in place & ready to go. Cleaning up for me means making sure things are in working order & put away.

I've invested in my tools over time. I buy the least expensive when possible, but I make sure to buy quality. I also make sure what I buy suits me & my needs, fits. I also save things, recycle within my home. Sometimes I'm pretty creative in the use of things. That clear piece of plastic from a photo frame will come in handy one day & doesn't take up a lot of space. I'm storing it with pieces of cardboard. Then, when I need something, chances are I already have it in the house, or something I can use to make into what I need.

I have lots of pretty & cute things in my work areas. I buy quality scissors, but hold out until I find pink ones. I surround myself with the colors & things that make me feel good when I use them, look at them, look around me. So I love the environment I've created. It fuels my creativity, my energy. Even paying bills is less of a chore.

I use a lot of baskets & plastic bins. I work smart. I work as I go, from room to room. Unless my brain isn't functioning well, I combine tasks & trips from one area of the house to another. So I'm also very organized with my time. When needed, I make a list to carry with me to make sure I minimize trips. For example, I hate the stairs to the downstairs part of this house. The litter boxes, laundry, & my elderly mother are down there though, so I always have a whole list of chores to do once I go down there. That's when I use a list other than my planner, so I can carry it with me & not miss anything. I usually have a laundry basket at the top of the stairs & I pile it full of things I need to take down with me (& my list), then down there pile it with what needs to come back up.

I handle things as they arise as much as possible. I hate it when a bunch of little things or administrative things or papers pile up on me. I feel burdened by them, overwhelmed. I've learned I function best by handling them & getting them out of the way right away, taking those few minutes. Knowing yourself is a big part of being able to get things done. I don't start my day with the unpleasant stuff if possible. I start my day gently with my cups of coffee & this blog, email, etc. Then I tackle the "biggies" of the day, then do the rest. I reward myself at the end of the day. Sometimes I journal about all I've accomplished so I acknowledge myself. I find I've done way more than I thought I did! Most of the time I just put my feet up, watch TV for pure pleasure & mindless release (my daughter called it "brain candy"), have a snack, & knit a dishcloth. Knitting dishcloths is one of the greatest releases & methods of relaxation I've ever found! Bless the woman who taught me to do it in the late 1980s! Now I can teach you if you want. Just contact me. I've got that gmail.com address - jennyleaschwartz.

I have an answering machine & it's on 24/7. That means I never have to quick wash my hands in the middle of something & run for the phone. I'm never a slave to it. That also means that if I need "me" time, I don't have to give that up just because someone's trying to reach me during that time. I am totally responsive to needs though. If someone calls & needs me, I will interrupt myself or call right back. But I've learned that a need & a want are two very different things! And my needs come before someone else's wants.

I hope that somewhere in this post, I've given you an idea you needed to hear right now. We all know these things, but sometimes we have to hear someone else say them before we give ourselves permission or are ready to make changes. I've been practicing living & coping this way since 1990, when I began nearly 10 years of working full time while single-parenting two young children. I maintained an old home, provided their outside activities, & did it all while stretched to the limit financially & personally.

How I Do It All - You Won't Find This in Your Women's Magazines!

Ironic to be writing this today since I was going to do it yesterday & never had time to post anything. But I have to say I'm wondering if anyone is listening anyway. No one comments & I feel like I'm wasting my time talking to myself here. So if you're reading this, please post a comment - even just to say you were here.

Even people who know me well are amazed that I accomplish & juggle all I do. People who know me know I'm organized, determined (you could also say stubborn, which is another post), creative, a problem solver, a worker. I'm not sure what other traits they'd add to that list to explain how I do it. No matter what you add, I still amaze them. I'm actually quite proud of that because my newly ex-husband described me as sickly, weak, unproductive, etc. He even partially had me convinced of that 7 months ago, & it was self-perpetuating. One quick lesson here - if someone is doing that kind of thing to you, DON'T RECEIVE IT & BRING IT TO REALITY! Chances are, the person is describing him or herself, not you!

Anyway, short answer on how I do it all. I don't. Not every day that is. Some days I stop & take a nap. I know myself & listen to myself. When I hit an energy wall, I replenish - a nap, a snack or meal, a long break - whatever I need at the time. Sometimes the break is a full day, sometimes several days in a row. It's a marathon, not a sprint.

I say, "Roses are great, but what you really have to do is stop & smell the kitties." Did you know that each person has his/her own unique body scent? Mothers know that of their babies because they hold them close. That time in between when they smell of their bath & are dirty - when you just smell - them. Just like mother animals, we know the smell of our own. Cats are the same way (or your dog, rabbit - any loved one). Take the time frequently to get that close, to have that contact, to truly experience at the deepest level the loved ones in your life.

The one thing that's made all the difference in getting things done this year is available at www.plannerpads.com. The dear friend who sponsored me into Shaklee gave me the planner in January. Those who already have a planner or datebook, get this one anyway! I was a great list maker - "today," "this week," "eventually" lists. I often put too much on the "today" list, always on the "this week," never got around to the "eventually" one. I'd cross off things, carry them over into new lists... I'd have partial lists piled up driving me nuts. It was very hard to get organized that way. I always felt like I had stuff hanging over me, never felt like I'd accomplished enough. I still always had "to do" things in my head disturbing me, the things not on the list or important but not accomplished. I had trouble going to sleep at night because of them. Instead of awakening gently, I'd awaken with them in my head. I never had any peace.

The planner solved all that for me! You get 2 pages per week that open up. Across the top you have columns of weekly activities by categories that you can fill in. That's where I put the "this week" list. Below is daily things to do. You can look up & choose which days to do what. It enables  realistic choices on what to accomplish each day. There's also room below that for set appointments, room to write on the side of one page. No more separate lists! No more losing them, half finished lists, extra stuff in my head. When I think it, promise it or intend it, I write it down. I decide what week to accomplish each item & put it at the top of that week. Then that's all I look at - one week at a time. I don't worry about what I have to do in the coming weeks. It's written, so I know it won't get forgotten. I just look at one week at a time. And as priorities change, I cross things off one week & add them to a future week or cross them off altogether.

That's another secret to my success. I'm flexible. I am open to priority changes. I'm able to respond to God, my family, my friends, & my needs on a daily basis because of this. I let go of what I thought was important when something changes, or when something more important comes up. And sometimes I don't. Sometimes I figure that what I thought was important truly is more important than someone else's priority, don't allow someone else to intrude his/her priority over mine no matter how important to that person. I yield to God's priorities, but I decide about the rest. Back in my single parenting years I was taught that I'm not an unlimited commodity. I was taught that if I don't take care of myself someone's going to have to take care of me & I'm sure not going to be able to take care of my family or responsibilities. That's a lesson a lot of us need to internalize.

Perhaps I'll share other tips later on getting things done, but this is the "biggie."

Healthy Living - Part II

Yesterday I talked about Shaklee's vitamins, supplements, skin care products, & nutritional aids. Today I want to talk about Shaklee & your environment.

Shaklee was founded in 1956. Dr. Shaklee was way ahead of his time on providing good health & stewardship toward our environment. Shaklee was the first company to be certified as providing a zero-carbon emissions footprint.

The cleaning products are highly concentrated so that means more in less packaging. And they're safe. These days all you have to do is tune in to hear about all the harmful vapors & substances in our homes. The information is out there everywhere. One of the latest I heard was about all those sweet smelling air fresheners & how harmful they are.

If you listen, you hear about how cancer is a modern "invention." There was no trace of cancer found in remains before the industrial revolution! Most of us have been made aware of the rise in allergies, especially adult-onset. And asthma. I'm also going to bring up something I've noticed but haven't heard statistics on - cancer in pets. From what I've seen, it's often the cause of death.

As soon as I learned about the safety of Shaklee cleaning products, I finally "got it." A light turned on inside my head. Our pets suffer most from the chemicals we put in their environment through cleaning products. Many pets are kept inside all the time, sealed in with the vapors & chemicals. Our children spend part of their lives away from home, get outside, & have much larger bodies than our pets, but both suffer. Our children & pets crawl & play on our floors. Many encounter what we use to clean our counters, sinks, bathtubs, etc. What you clean with DOES matter.

Because I love my cats, I've switched to Shaklee cleaning products. It's nice that it also benefits me & the environment. I'll confess - I'm 55, so at this point my priorities are: the health of my cats, the environmental impact & me. Sometimes I'm more concerned about me, sometimes the environment. But I'm always a mother first, & with my children grown & independent, living in other states, it's the cats I'm mommy to now. I use Shaklee cleaning products because that's the kind of kitty mommy I am.

If you're in the Pittsburgh area reading this, please come see for yourself at my Shaklee open house the first weekend in June. You can send me an email at my gmail.com address - jennyleaschwartz - for more information.

Healthy Living - Part I of II

I've told you about my essential oil based products. Today I want to talk with you about Shaklee products. The company & products so fit with what I'm trying to do to help others that I decided to market their products even after thinking I was so done with marketing for other companies. You have to understand that I first tried marketing products in the 1970s & made 10 attempts before Shaklee, was only successful once. You've heard of most of the companies I tried marketing for. All kinds of products, promises, compensation plans, training. I've totally been around the block enough to know the ropes, & I WAS DONE. Then a trusted friend told me about Shaklee - the company, the products, the leadership, the training, the philosophy. She told me in sharing her enthusiasm, just as she does with all things. She gave me several products she thought would help me, because that's what she does.

In an instant I decided to sell Shaklee products myself. I know lots about vitamins & supplements, skin care products. I've done extensive reading to know how to solve my own skin care & health concerns. I know about skin care ingredients to avoid, which most store-bought products contain. I know about the concerns when you buy supplements in drug or grocery stores. I'm sold on Shaklee products because they do the testing other companies don't & they deliver the quality you pay for. So with Shaklee you actually get what you think you're getting when you go to the expense & the time to take or use a product or supplement. Yet you don't pay more for them than you would at a specialized vitamin store. Remember, when you buy your supplements at their cheapest, you're getting the cheapest. That's not the place to cut corners. And when I read the Shaklee ingredients, because I'm familiar with herbs I know the benefits of those ingredients.

I'm also sold on Shaklee products because they work better for me than anything I've ever tried, & I've tried the most often recommended & advertised. One of my issues is extremely dry skin, & skin cracks in my fingers all winter. One product, the liquid hand soap, has totally improved the softness of my hands. Another product, the "Herbal Blends Multi-Purpose Cream," heals most of my skin cracks in just one night-time application! (The worst cracks take 2 nights. I can live with that, since none of the other products I bought specific to the problem ever worked at all!)

Then there's the "Glucose Regulation Complex." Less than 2 months of taking it reduced my need for insulin by more than 2/3rds! I sure don't mind spending $28.50 a month for the product! I had been paying $400 per month for my 2 insulins because I don't have health insurance. I now pay less than $150 per month over all - a huge savings. Plus, needing less insulin of course means I'm much healthier, fewer carb cravings, etc. That means I'm losing weight, again leading to better health & less insulin use all the time. It's the positive reducing spiral I longed for, & I confess I've done it all without adding in the exercise program doctors have recommended.

Shaklee has a variety of products & supplements that help your body heal itself from just about anything. I have access to information on product combinations to aid with most physical problems. (I certainly don't know it all myself, haven't had any time to invest in learning it. But it's like they taught us in school - knowing where to find out is more important, because you just can't know everything about everything.) They also have great products to boost your energy, & for weight loss & sports nutrition, women's health, & children. 

Tomorrow I'll talk about another aspect of Shaklee that's dear to my heart.

CWF Current Scope

On May 4 I wrote about the company name & mission. I mentioned that it's about meeting the various needs of people & pets. This week will be about what we currently do, encompass. And once during this week I'll be sure to give you information that I hope will be of value to your life. I'll be blogging 5 days a week, & I intend to have one blog a week cover creative ideas, "how to's," recipes, tips, whatever pertains.

I currently work out of my home at the edge of a farm, about 1 1/2 hours north of the heart of Pittsburgh. However, I travel into Pittsburgh multiple times a month to participate in many aspects of the vibrant, active & growing spiritual community there. Most often, it's for Reiki events & guided meditations. I consider serving God by serving humans & animals to be my #1 job & healing bodies, minds, emotions, spirits, souls is a huge part of that. Therefore, I spend a huge amount of my time engaged in that business - learning, growing, doing Reiki, attending events that will enable me to be of greater service. I have done Reiki on people in person, as a single practitioner & as part of a group giving Reiki to an individual. As I single practitioner, most often I perform Reiki on animals (so far, only cats) & people from an area in my home, called Distance Reiki.

I can perform Reiki on any kind of animal as I'm in tune with all of them, & able to tune into & commune with them all. I was blessed with a deep love of animals & a oneness with them. But cats are my biggest calling, the animal I feel the most & understand best. I have helped cats cross over, assisting when they had their vet appointments. I'm currently working on a cat with a deep health issue & one who is a traumatized feral now in a loving home. I work with behavior issues, educate cat parents on how to understand & meet the needs of their cats, communicate with the cats & perform Reiki. I'm available to do this in your home or from mine. I've been the "go to" person for cat questions for many years now, could provide testimonials from people on how I've helped the cats.

I've also helped people with emotional & health issues, through Reiki & sharing of information, experience, encouragement, life coaching. I will not share my whole story here, but I can tell you that there's nothing you can tell me I can't understand & directly relate to or find within me. Another of my gifts has been deep empathy, & I've had a hard life. I don't judge. I help people who need encouragement to change their lives & learn ways to help themselves. I'm a creative problem solver, & one of my resources is my daughter, who has her Masters degree in & is a licensed clinical social worker.

I also have a huge network of Reiki soul sisters & brothers, & other energy workers. One of them does dog massage, communication, & animal Reiki. I have a deep love of dogs & once had the best. You may think yours is, but Guinness truly was! However, when someone wants help with a dog, I refer them. I could do it, but why? She's the dog specialist!

This company is totally about providing the highest good. Tomorrow, I plan to cover environmental & health issues, how to have better health for you, your family, your pets.

Roses & gardening, as promised :)

I have to start by saying I'm one of the most fortunate women on the face of the earth, in part, because of my friends! Turns out I have $277.50 I wasn't counting, because a dear friend has no intention of cashing the check I sent her. She lent me $140 so I'd be able to give change to people at that fair, got it in ones, fives, & tens for me. I sent her a check to pay her back & my share of the table fee, & she won't cash the check because she has income & I don't! She says when I get on my feet financially, we'll talk about whether she lets me pay back the $140. I'm humbled & grateful, awed by the giving nature of my friends. I'm used to being the biggest giver around, not used to being surrounded by big givers. I've had to relearn that sometimes you have to graciously receive - for every giver, there has to be a receiver. I can then give to others in non-monetary ways for now, until I'm back on my feet. Pay it forward :)

Before I get into roses I have to tell you of my love of lilacs. When I was in elementary school, there was a huge lilac bush in the corner of our playground. Every time it bloomed, I'd play IN it every recess, pretend it was my house. I'd spend all recess inhaling that heavenly scent. Some day I'm going to have enough bushes or bush to do that again, just sit in it. By the way, can you imagine how great a draw that smell was? I'm allergic to bee stings!

I was born in the City of Roses, Portland, Oregon. Both my grandmothers (in Portland, & in Dayton, Ohio) raised beautiful roses back when that was a real challenge. In Dayton, my grandmother had a trellis with roses growing up one end of her brick & cement front porch, so that's something I admire whenever I see it, & long for. She also had a wooden arch, the side of which was up against the side door to the separate garage, with roses climbing it. So I have a wooden arch, only mine has a wooden swing hanging from it.

Portland has magnificent rose gardens, test gardens for new varieties of roses. They work on getting the scent back into the most beautiful roses possible, on disease resistance, etc. Some day I'm going to get to go there. It should probably be at the end of my life though, since I doubt I'll ever want to leave once I enter :)

My favorite roses are the ones with the old rose smell, the damask rose scent. Some of my favorites for scent are Mister Lincoln (red) & Scentimental (red & white striped). For sheer beauty, The Fairy is one of my true favorites, although it has little fragrance. For beauty & scent, Royal Bonica is my all-time favorite thus far. It's a classic long stem beauty, a gorgeous, unusual pink, & a few in a vase scent an entire room! I also love many of the David Austin (English) roses for their scent & beauty. I'm also, of course, very partial to Portland (damask) roses (yes, a category). Sheila's Perfume is another favorite - yellow & pink petals, beautiful scent - same with Chicago Peace, & Peace (all pink). I even had a funky little bush called Lil Gigi. The blossoms weren't well formed (to my tastes) & didn't last long enough cut, but the bush produced blooms in a whole variety of fun colors. I'd add it to bouquets of miniatures for the fun value, & I'd grow it again if I found one for sale.

I grew every type of rose except trees & carpet roses, & so many varieties within each category. A few I never knew the name of, because of how I obtained them. A few I'd never grow again. It was a true learning experience - what I liked best once the bushes matured & produced. The same is true of annuals & perennials. Fortunately, I kept a gardening log. I noted the locations of the things I was planting, & at the end of the season noted how they did through the summer & fall. Since I often mixed annuals & perennials, it was very helpful when my pots & gardens would start to green in the spring. I knew what to look for in foliage, didn't mistake new flower growth for weeds. I also learned what I must have each year to be happy, when money or space was limited. I have an adorable spiral notebook with - go figure - an elegant cat on the front. It contains all my garden notes through the years so I can reference it at any time. I also kept a manila clasp envelope with tags from the bushes & things I'd planted, when I needed further reference. I recommend this practice to all of you if you're going to really get into gardening. It's well worth the effort. And I always wrote in pencil, so that if something didn't do well & I replaced it during a season, I could make a note of that & fill in the replacement's information. I guess you could do all this on your computer, but digging in the earth is so elemental that I like my notes to be equally elemental :)

I'm by no means an expert, but if any of you have questions about growing roses or gardening, I'm pretty experienced & would be glad to share what I've learned :) You can send me an email from this site.

Watch this space - again!

Read my blog 5 days a week because I'm full of it! Well, full of creative ideas, actually :) Today is about my favorite subject - ME! Just kidding - it's about some of my favorite subjects: gardening, herbs, flowers.

I'll start out by sharing an idea I came up with years ago. I plant some of my herbs in the glass carafes from automatic coffee makers - the ones I'm going to try to keep alive over the winter in the house. Currently I have 2 so I keep a peppermint & a spearmint plant alive in them over the winter. I learned the hard way not to leave them in a vulnerable place outside. The rest of the ones I'd collected had delicate lavenders in them & the lawn guy broke them all with the weed wacker! Anyway, these carafes look really neat in your kitchen or dining room with your kitchen herbs in them! They'd even make a nice gift with any plant in them, for the e

In addition to lavender, rosemary, & chamomile, I always grow sweet basil, peppermint, spearmint, & flowers. Depending on space, time, & money, I also grow other basil varieties, lemon thyme, lemon verbena (which I absolutely adore), lemon grass, & other herbs. I don't cook much anymore so I usually dry my herbs & use lemon verbena, lemon greass, lemon balm, & mints in teas. I do manage to use all my basil & rosemary in summer recipes - usually pair all my basil with fresh tomatoes, use rosemary when I grill. I used the last of my rosemary to make flavored vinegars & olive oils last year! I haven't used my vinegar yet but loved using my olive oil so much that I'll make more this year.

In addition to essential oils & their properties, I'm very interested in the medicinal benefits of herbs & have some books, have taken a course. When I formulate, I bring that knowledge with me also. As time goes on I'll probably work with herbs more. My fixation is I like to self-grow the herbs I use & I haven't had the garden or physical capacity to do that. I know where to buy quality essential oils but not where to buy quality herbs for product use in bulk.

Benefits of bath salts

I've been making bath salts for 15 years now, for my own various skin problems & for relaxation. When it's cold, I've been known to shut the shower curtain to keep the bath water hot as long as possible. Sometimes I read a great novel, sometimes I just lie back & shut my eyes. I have an extra long bath mat - I think I got it at Bed, Bath, & Beyond, & I always carefully hang it afterwards so it doesn't mold. My mat covers the entire bottom of the tub so I don't slide down when I lounge. I also always have a premium bath pillow to put at the end of the tub so I don't touch the cold porcelain & so that I can lean way back & soak up to my shoulders, lean my head back. I bought one of those things you put over the overflow drain so I can fill the tub. By the time I lean back, the water is about an inch or so from the top. I have bathing down to an art. It's a true luxury experience when I do it, including my own homemade bath salts. I always use lavender & rosemary in mine, then add some other sweet smelling oils until I'm satisfied. I love the combination of the 2, love them both separately, in cooking as well as in aromatic blends. But in the essential oil form, rosemary tends to smell kind of medicinal. I always grow several forms of rosemary, & pots of lavender. I've grown just about every type there is (of both).

Did you know that rosemary makes almost everything taste better? Did you know you can cook with lavender? My next favorite is chamomile, which I also grow. Mostly I use that for chamomile tea. Ok, more on this tomorrow - today was supposed to be about bath salts.

I don't use rosemary when I blend commercially & it breaks my heart. I hate leaving out one of my true loves, denying one of my true passions! But rosemary carries warnings - may be best avoided if you have high blood pressure (I do, under control with medication, but I eat & bathe in it regularly without problems), avoid if you have epilepsy, it's a real stimulant so best avoided while pregnant, & it might antidote homeopathic remedies. I always try to use the safest oils rather than issue a bunch of warnings! When it comes to your safety, what I use & my personal preferences just don't count!

What I do use in every formula is Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate), dead sea salt, & baking soda. Epsom salt draws out toxins, reduces swelling, relaxes muscles, & relieves inflammation & pain. The magnesium portion is an electrolyte that helps your energy, muscles, cells, nerves, & enzymes. Dead sea salt is about 10% sodium & about 90% minerals such as magnesium, potassium, bromine, calcium, iodine, & sulfur. It's an energizer that helps prevent water retention, draws out toxins, reduces inflammation & relaxes muscles. It's great for those "Charlie Horses" because of how it relaxes muscles & because of the potassium content (lack of is the most frequent cause). Then there's good old baking soda, just like you have in your kitchen. Did you know that it neutralizes acids on the skin? It's great for soothing skin rashes, softening skin, & it helps drain the lymphatic system of toxins & disease!

You can find all kinds of good information on the Internet about each of these ingredients. I've only listed some of the greatest properties, skipped quite a few of the lesser known properties. Even with things that are "better than sliced bread," I'm not going to make long, extravagant claims. But as I've said before, I've carefully researched each of my ingredients. Every ingredient I use has been carefully chosen to work together for your highest good.

Properties of flaxseed in face pillows & of lotion bars

As promised, I want to tell you about the benefits of flaxseed in face pillows - briefly. Many people use other fillers that are heavier, poke you through the fabric, are water-based like buckwheat & rice. Flaxseeds are lighter, smoother, & full of beneficial oil. They can be reheated many more times than water based fillers & retain their heat hours longer. If you've ever used face or neck pillows filled with other materials, you'll just love the difference. I've been using a neck pillow for a face pillow daily for years now. I just loved that combination of herbs the woman uses & her fabrics, would buy a new one every chance I got because the scent just didn't last. That's why I used essential oils in mine. Now that I've created my own with flaxseed, I've completely retired hers. I've bought from many different people, different blends & fillers, sizes, styles. When I created my face pillows, I changed everything I didn't like about the ones I have to come up with something I love. Hopefully you will too!

Now to lotion bars - one of the coolest things you've probably never heard of. It's a solid that turns to a lotion in your hands & then is fully absorbed & leaves your skin greaseless & moisturized. It turns back into a solid once you return it to the plastic jar. I made mine with beeswax, solid coconut oil & jojoba oil as the base. Some people are allergic to nuts so I decided not to use the more common sweet almond oil. As with all my formulas, I try to avoid ingredients some people need to avoid. Beeswax carries a warning for those allergic to bees. I'm mildly allergic to bee stings but have no problem with beeswax or honey. If you're allergic to honey, you should probably avoid products with beeswax. I am able to formulate the same blend of essential oils into another format for those allergic to beeswax, coconut oil or jojoba oil. There are many different base ingredients to choose from & different formats - creams, lotions, etc. I'm basically serving as an apothecary. I come up with the essential oil formulas but there are always alternate oils & bases I can use. Just like a compounding pharmacy, I'm willing to make special batches for special needs.

And that brings me to what's coming. For one thing, I've been asked to formulate something for fibromyalgia relief (that will be a bath salt because of the nature of the disease), something for menopause symptoms (probably also a bath salt - I've got to give it some thought & research), & a product for chronic chapped lips.
Tomorrow I'll cover bath salts because to me that's a category all it's own. I primarily use epsom & dead sea salts (2 to 1) in my bath salt blends.

Products made with essential oils

First, I have to say I'm thrilled with the response from the woman who won the drawing for a free product from the Journeys Expo this past weekend. She's never won anything before & she & her husband are delighted that she won! That makes me so glad to have drawn her name! She's chosen Purr in a Bottle, & I'm waiting to find out whether she wants a face pillow, bath salts, or linen spray. So, onto what those are.

I make flaxseed face pillows with a ribbon tie for those who sleep on their sides like I do. I've been using large buckwheat rectangular pillows daily for 6-8 years now. I also have 2 face pillows. These were bought at various times from various vendors & when I designed mine I solved the things I don't like about the ones I bought. For one thing, flaxseed is by far the superior filler! In Monday's post I'll tell why. I'll also tell you what's so great about bath salts & lotion bars.

I've made all 3 - bath salts, linen sprays & face pillows simply because some people won't take baths, some won't use a face pillow. My linen sprays are safe to use on your body so if you spray your pillow, clothing, or the top of your top sheet (or your teddy bear), it doesn't matter if it touches your skin.

Now, remember I can't make health claims. I really don't want the FDA coming down on me. But you need to know that I've blended essential oils & ingredients designed to provide certain benefits based on their properties & the way they work together. I also managed to make them smell very good despite the fact that the oils were chosen for properties rather than scent-appeal. I've named them carefully, to give an indication of what they were designed for without using the words. So here they are:

In bath salts we have: Energy Workers (to clear negative energy taken on), Purr in a Bottle (for stress relief), D.C. (for deep cleansing & detox), Muscle Soak (for muscle aches), Mmmmmm (what you'll say when your migraine is relieved), Zzzzzzzz (designed to help with insomnia). I also have Purr, Mmmmmm, & Zzzzzzzzz in flaxseed face pillows. In linen sprays I currently have one for sinus sufferers (& a face pillow), Mmmmmm, Zzzzzzzzz, & one called Dreamers (to help induce vivid dreams). Dreamers is also available in a face pillow. The next time I order supplies, I plan to also make Purr as a linen spray. I should have ordered more bottles!

I also have a lotion bar to help people with chronic skin rashes. I know lots of people who struggle with eczema & psoriasis, & I have too. I've tried everything available over the counter & had no relief plus hate the smell of their tar bases! Most people I know with psoriasis also have secondary infections - baterial, fungal, combination. So I blended oils that are commonly used to treat eczema & psoriasis & included oils with anti-microbial, anti-fungal, antiseptic & antibacterial properties. My first try, for a young male, got rid of eczema problem but was a bit greasy & hard to absorb, plus was heavy on the patchouli, which he didn't love. I then searched until I found the base formula a friend uses & I love how greaseless hers is when rubbed in & absorbed. She doesn't blend for eczema & psoriasis so all I've copied is her lotion bar base. This new incarnation has patchouli but not nearly as much. It simply blends in with the rest of the scent.

Finally, I have oil blends for: chakra balancing, meditation, creative thinking, grounding, forgiveness (of self & others), & empowerment. These are in a base of jojoba oil so that you can apply them directly to the skin.

So, check this space on Monday for further information on the benefits of bath salts, flaxseed in face pillows, & exactly what the heck a lotion bar is. Then on Tuesday I'll tell you what I'm working on next! :)

Thank you for your interest! Ladies, have a wonderful Mother's Day!

About the Company, Me

I spoke yesterday about the company launch. Today I want to tell you that I consider the company to be a great success even before the launch. The company logo should ultimately include a phoenix, because it literally rose from the ashes of my former life.

September 2010 a woman I've never met in person befriended me on Facebook & I did the same. We were both about to go through a divorce & reached out to each other, have been supporting each other. She helped me see that the time is now for me to use my God-given talents & interests, to make a life based on them. In exploring that, I reached out to a long-time friend & another person in my emotional support system for creative ideas on how to make money when you don't have a full-time job. That led me to a phone call to a total stranger, who brainstormed with me for an hour. I was asking whether there's enough work to become a mobile notary & he became my angel. He listened, talked to me about the possibilities available with my talents, then told me I'm a healer at heart. He told me about Reiki energy work & how to look into doing that, said it would enhance my efforts & be a natural course for me & who I am. Now he's one of my best friends!

I went to my first Reiki Exchange at the beginning of October, became attuned to Reiki I a week later, began the friendships that have sustained me. A week after that I had to leave my home with my cats & my handicapped elderly mother & run to safety because my husband threatened to kill her. We didn't get to return home until November 2, a day after I sent him to jail. I had been building my new life in secret, while he was trying to control me, my mother, listening into every conversation, looking over my shoulder at my emails. But I had given my life & my future over to God, & was protected.

He went to jail on November 1 because he'd stolen my mother's life-savings, over $500,000. Boy do I wish I had some of that now! On November 2 we arrived back home in PA with $6,000 of her money he hadn't gotten to (a complicated dance on my part that kept that out of his hands at the end), & I had no job or money of my own, plus full responsibility for my mother & myself & no assets worth much. Just furniture & an extra, very old car. I also had a house full of unpacked boxes from several moves, rent way too expensive for the area, & a whole lot of mess on my hands. Through all this, I put together Creative Wellbeing Fulfillment, "in my spare time" :)

My Reiki friends, my daughter, my sister, & some of my other supportive friends helped choose the name. I've worked with essential oils for therapeutics for myself & family for 15 years. Yet I put about 12 hours of research into the oils to use for each formula - so times 7 products, that's about 84 hours. Looking back, sounds about right. I researched, referenced, cross-referenced each oil for safety & efficacy, each ingredient. Keep in mind, I already knew my oils. But I wanted to make sure that I did the highest good & no harm. I know what's out there on the market - in stores, what you can buy online. I wanted to produce better solutions, & cover problems that aren't adequately being covered. Tomorrow I'll tell you about my products :)

A final word. I didn't tell you my story to make you sad. I'm one of the most joyful people on the face of the earth! I told you so you'd know who's doing the formulating, & know who's behind a lot of what Creative Wellbeing Fulfillment is about. It's not just about essential oil products. It's about helping people & healing needs (& pets). I'm just one of the people involved in this who's "been there, done that, learned the lessons" & am willing to share of myself. I haven't told the half of what my previous life was. Let me just say that I alone (& I'm certainly not alone) can relate to just about any painful experience (physical or emotional) that you've had or are going through, & I'm an excellent listener. I don't judge! I'm in the "business" of using my experience to empathize & help you find your way through, create your own phoenix! And often there's no charge for that :)

Watch this space - we're growing!

It was a very hectic week but I have to say, as a business person, that I'm delighted with my company's launch weekend!!! I didn't sell a lot, but that doesn't determine the success of a launch & it wasn't the right setting for big sales. It was the perfect setting for PR & contacts though.

I met a woman who designs websites for small businesses, for example. My products were very well received, & I met someone who wants to discuss carrying some of my products in her yoga studio! I also got requests & ideas for products/formulas I hadn't considered.

One goal was to make sure I was correct about what people want & need. I don't want to make what everyone else is doing - I want to fill a niche. I believe I'm doing that, had that confirmed.

Right now I'm talking "I." It's my company, my ideas. But, "I get by with a little help from my friends." (Those as old as I am will immediately hear The Beatles tune in their heads as they read that :) I have a network of friends who also have a variety of talents. Some are teaming up with me, offering their talents under the umbrella of Creative Wellbeing Fulfillment so that we can be a wholistic source for people & their pets. That was the idea behind the name. (And it's so long so that I could buy the website matching the name. That required 3 words rather than 2. CWF doesn't flow as a name, spelled out or initials. But think about it - 3 very strong, powerful words. I like that # - 3. Like the Holy Trinity, where my heart is!)

And that's just it. That's the heart of what Creative Wellbeing Fulfillment is all about. Serving God through serving His creatures. And so it was a terrific launch - at the first annual Pittsburgh Journeys Mind, Body & Soul Expo. And I'm sure with our mission as the heart of our business, it's the beginning of a great success. Certainly all the contact seeds were powerful, positive, & very, very exciting.