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.