10.28.2010

Happy Thursday, Friends.

All this talk about being poor, going without certain luxuries and wanting more has really got me thinking that I need to appreciate more what I do have. And all the time these past few months I've spent preparing for my Etsy feature, and the hours and hours of work since then has taken a lot of my time away from Burl.

When I was younger, I used to think my life would be complete with a husband. Then I wanted a home to call our own. Then I wanted a baby. Now I want another baby. And more land. When does it stop? There will always be more and more that I long for. I've decided to try to live more in the present and appreciate the full life that I'm living and the blessings beyond measure that I have.

So, my babe and I have been working on several projects together and spending lots of time in our cozy home and outside walking in nature. I'll share some details and pictures soon.

Until then, THANK YOU! for all of your comments and donations to Olympic Animal Sanctuary. Keep them coming. I'm so excited to choose the winner!

Have a lovely day, my friends.

A HUGE Giveaway

Do you know how much stuff I can fit into a medium sized priority mail flat rate shipping box? A LOT of stuff. And that's what I'm giving away, one boxed filled with candles, soaps, bath salts; whatever the winner chooses. I'm estimating the box will be filled with at least $100 worth of my products from my shop.

But let me first tell you a little about Bobo. I met him about 7 years ago on one of my first days of work at Redmond Animal Hospital. He was so cute cuddled up in his kennel with his teddy bear in his mouth. He rolled over on his back wagging his tail for me to pet his tummy, and when I reached for him, the little stinker bit me. Really hard.

Bobo was bought as a puppy by his owners, who put him through extensive training to cure his aggressive behavior. But Bobo just never got over his biting issues. His owners had a baby about a year ago and decided to have him euthanized before the baby was born. The literal day of his euthanasia, my friend Trace from the animal hospital called me, desperate for help to save his life. I rallied with some of my friends in the animal rescue community here in Seattle and within a few hours we had a foster home for him. Shortly after, Steve Markwell, the founder of Olympic Animal Sanctuary agreed to take him into his sanctuary.

Steve is an INCREDIBLE man, one like I've never met before. His life is running this sanctuary, which is filled with dogs who would have been euthanized otherwise. He sleeps with them, he spends his days with them, they are his life. And I feel the world owes so much appreciation to him.

~~~

In a few weeks with some of my dear friends, I'm attending a reunion, a weekend of service at Olympic Animal Sanctuary. We need funds to help complete some projects that are desperately needed at the Sanctuary. And Steve is always in need of financial help to support these animals.

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Here's how my giveaway will work:
Donate what you can via paypal to Olympic Animal Sanctuary, even if it's just one dollar. I don't need to know how much you donated, just that a donation was made. This will be on the honor system. Respond to my post here, or message me through email (ambermek@yahoo.com) or Facebook letting me know that you donated. Again, I don't need to know how much you contributed, as every cent helps. I'll randomly choose a winner on Monday, Novemeber 1st.

~~~

Become a friend Steve's on Facebook. And make sure to visit his site and support him in any way you can. Also, don't be surprised if you see him soon in People Magazine, or on Animal Planet, they all are trying to get a piece of Steve :). I'll be back next Monday to announce the winner. Thank you, my friends!

Humble Life

You all are so kind and supportive and your words are so encouraging. And I thank you for that.

I'm afraid I may have left the impression that I'm rolling in money. I'm not. In fact, it's quite the opposite. Alex and I live a very humble life, a very frugal life that I am so, SO grateful for. We sacrifice so very much for the sake of me staying home with our little boy, which is more important to both of us than anything else.

Would you like to know a little about how wonderfully poor we are??

~I drive an old Honda sedan with no air conditioning, torn seat belts and ripped upholstery. And that's our main vehicle.
~Alex drives a dump truck, which is quite old.
~The bulk of our budget goes to purchasing organic foods for ourselves and our dogs.
~We don't have a land line telephone, just a basic cell phone plan.
~We don't have cable television.
~I line-dry our laundry.
~We rarely use our heater, many days we can see our breath in our home.
~I can't remember the last time Alex and I went out together, or the last time we bought clothes for ourselves.
~Aside from food, everything we purchase is second hand.

We absolutely love our poor and frugal life. We have no debt, aside from our mortgage. We save for rainy days, and we love our little, humble life together as a family.

Now if you will, share with me me some ways you save money?

Did I really?

Just mail out the last of ALL my 400 + Etsy orders? Yes, I really did. Time for a long nap.

Enjoying Autumn...Finally

After nearly a month since my Etsy feature, I'm finally starting feel caught up... just in time to enjoy this time of year, which I love so dearly. The crispness in the air, the chilly mornings and warm afternoons, the shorter days, the smell of fires burning and bonfires at the beach, the sun shining lower in the sky, bare branches with exposed bird nests, the fallen leaves all around, the strange fungus that grows all over these corners of the world...Autumn really is a magical time of year.

Growth

I'm always amazed how, with the proper environment and nourishment, life can go from a small seed to a tall, healthy, beautiful being within just a few short months.
Life is amazing.

Wow.

Just dropping in quickly to say hello. My Etsy feature last week was far more successful than I had hoped for. This is the current state of my desk, overwhelmingly busy, but in a good way. Thank you all so so much for you kind words and support. I'm humbled and feel very blessed. And I thank you all for that.

I have about half of my orders mailed, and hope to get the rest mailed today and tomorrow. If you've ordered from me, please know I appreciate it. Very much. And I'm working hard to speedily send packages out. It's all I've been doing since last week, my poor little Burl misses having all my attention. Thank you for your kindness, generosity and patience.

Much love to you, all my friends.