Hey guys, sorry there was no post yesterday, Mondays are always crazy busy for me and yesterday was no exception!
Anyhow, I wanted to tell you how well the Lotus Blossom did! I sold all but two bars and would have sold them for sure but Sunday was fairly quiet for me, the good news is that I am sure they'll be grabbed today at my Concord Market. I didn't get to go last week so am looking forward to seeing everyone. Anyhow, the Lotus was a success! I know you were all waiting to hear!

I am lucky enough to have these everyday heroes in my life, and you hear me talk about them all from time to time, so here's a short post about why they are all heroes to me:
Jerry, my husband of 23 years, we've been through thick and thin together (mostly thin) and he's still always there for me and it's hard to believe I love him more today than the day I married him.
Cody, my youngest son, he's such a good friend to me too, he has an old soul and I am so thankful for him. We have the same sense of humor and heaven help us when we have to do anything together, like move furniture!
Rhonda, she's my BFF! We met at Technician school (became Registered Veterinary Techs at the same time) and I am so fortunate to have found her. She's one of those people you can tell anything to, she'll tell you what she thinks, but isn't judgemental ever. I know I can always get an honest opinion about things and she has such a good head on her shoulders, I have relied on her strength many times.
Shawn,a fellow business owner,  he's my coffee date! He owns this fabulous candle company (www.whitehallcandleco.com) and we get together and talk about trends, suppliers, the Farmers Market,business strategies and about anything else going on! It's always nice to just get out once in a while and I so enjoy his company. He's a really awesome person.
Keith, he's the Manager Extraordinairre at the Walnut Creek Farmers Market and he's another one of those sane people that I can always go to with things I am concerned about and he's always been a great shoulder to lean on.

I am sure there are folks I am leaving out (people that get the Oscars must feel this way too!). You know who you are! Just a little note of thanks to all of you for being there, and being my everyday heroes, you all mean so much to me.

This is really awesome, it has to do with shopping locally and keeping the dollars in your own community. It especially struck a nerve with me because my own little downtown here in Antioch is all but a ghost town. I so hate to see the little businesses go out, we really need to support them. Please follow the link for more details, it's a good thing!   http://www.the350project.net/store.html

Did anyone else get thunder yesterday? It scares the bajeebers outta me! At least I was home, my son Cody was in Brentwood and in addition to the thunder, they got lightening and hail! I don't like thunder, hail no!

Yesterday I had to go to Oakland for some supplies, and I always make a detour through Alameda. I used to live there and it always beckons me when ever I get that close. I feel like it will always be home, even though Antioch is my official home. I think what draws me there (and here too) is the old homes, "victorian" and "arts and crafts" homes. I love that you get a feeling for the personality of each of the homes, they are so unique and individual. I just love old in general, things that have lived a long life and are still going strong. It gives me a warm content feeling to go there, so happy that it's been a small part of my life. I hope you have a place like that too!

This is a sneak peak of the new Limited Edition that's curing right now. When my friend Shawn and I get together for our coffee chats, we talk about suppliers and trends, among lots of other things! (www.whitehallcandleco.com) Anyhow, he was the one that introduced me to this fragrance and it is REALLY something! Hoping it will be ready by next week, I can't even describe it, just really rich and exotic and very addicting, I cant get enough of it! Oh and there's Shea Butter in it too!

There was an eensy beensy special once-a-year event at Kaiser Antioch yesterday and I was able to attend! It was about 7-8 vendors, inside, that's always a treat! They had a cancellation and my friend Roxanne (she's the manager of my Tuesday Market in Concord)invited me and I was really happy to be able to go. The fun thing for me is always seeing my customers that I haven't seen since the Market ended last season. I wasn't at this particular event last year so wasn't sure if they'd know to look for me, but they sort of did this network thing and it was really great to see them. I told them about the new soaps since I was there last, Haiku (Rose Geranium, Clary Sage and Lavender with Shea Butter) and Petals (Tahitian Gardenia with Shea Butter) and they really liked the new selections. So the good thing was a lot of them told me they were down to just one bar, so this will hold them over til the Market returns April 22nd. Am so looking forward to seeing everyone! Thanks to everyone that made the event a success!

We got to go see the movie today (after I finished re-arranging the Studio, which looks fabulous by the way!) . I really liked it. Be forewarned, you will jump a few times, it was funny when all 3 of us jumped in unison! Anyhow, it's one of those films that you sort of think about after you see it. I wont say anything else, hope you get to see it!

So I have this awesome Studio, and I am always looking for ways to make it more efficient. So today's project will be to move that big ol' honkin' table I have closer to me. I do all thje main soapmaking there anyhow so it will make it easier for the next "marathon" session of soapmaking. There are also some shelves I haven't been utilizing well because I have my bakery racks in front of them, so want to figure out something for that too. I just love it when everything is clean, efficient and organized! Plus it will feel like I have more space if I do it right. Better go do it while I'm still motivated! That's the one nice thing about rainy weather, you get projects done!