Once more unto the breach

Well here we are again folks. Tech time. Tonight was the first technical rehearsal for The Cocoanuts. It's gonna be a fun one. So far the artistic team seems to really gel, which is great. We are keeping a good pace. I have no idea how long the show is (I've heard 2.5 and 3 hours), nor how many scenes, but we made it up to page 20 or thereabouts in the script, which seems decent.

I sent out an offer at the beginning of the week to the run crews and actors for some doTERRA samples. So far, I've given out 6 of the 20 sets I have. I'm thinking about pitching it again top of next week, or just talking about it around. I'm hoping that the people who have them already will start using them, and then others will ask them about it, which will lead back to me. I'm learning that doTERRA and essential oils have to be a word-of-mouth, experience-sharing, one-on-one kind of sell. As soon as I identify those people who are really interested, this is going to be the easier market for me.

Tupperware is a whole other thing. It's kind cutthroat!! But I like it. It's balance. Yin and yang. I have Monday and Tuesday off, and I'm trying to brainstorm ways to get at least one party in. I have other evenings available next week too, but it's easiest when I have nothing else happening that day to plan and arrange and find someone to watch Char Star. It's a bummer I'm in tech all day Sunday, cause the Super Bowl seems like an amazing opportunity for a Tupperware party. I still may try to bring in some stuff to tech. Maybe make salsa again, in the green room on a break. Show off my stuff!! We'll see. Either way, I really want to make stuff happen. I'm soooo ready to get on all of this. I'm kinda amazed how truly excited I am. I just have to find people to get on board with me.

Rally!!

Went to my first Tupperware Rally and new consultant's class tonight. It was pretty fun. I got some goodies to help with parties, and alot of good ideas. Oh, and some spanish brochures, which I was thinking of buying anyway.

Tomorrow I start tech for Cocoanuts. Oi. It's gonna be a wild one. Time to get some sleep!!

Building Bridges

Tonight's get together did not go as well as I hoped. In fact, it didn't really go at all, from a party/business stand point. I made some good salsa and guacamole. Two people stopped by. Nobody bought anything. BUT I made some connections. I talked to two of my neighbors that I didn't know until Sunday evening, and tonight I got to know them better. They are both into having more community events. I've lived here almost two years, and nobody NOBODY has done anything like this. Yes, we have HOA meetings quarterly or maybe semi-annually, but that's not really a social gathering. Now we're talking about potlucks. So today, even though I didn't build my business, I built my community. And I did get to talk about my business, so maybe in the future I will have some customers. 

I learned alot today. I gained some new ideas on how to sell the products I have. I gained two new friends. And I gained some perspective. A year ago, I would have considered tonight a huge failure, and I probably would have given up about an hour in. But today I stuck with it. I made the food, set up the table, was available and present for those people who stopped by. We played with Charlotte and had great conversation. (That kid is a hit everywhere she goes. I should just put her in a sandwich board and let her walk around town. Ha.) I built bridges. And bridges lead us over obstacles. 

That's nuts!!

I hate nuts. All nuts. I have never liked them. When I was a kid, I would attempt to eat peanuts when everyone else was eating them, and I always thought they were gross. I have tried several different nuts, and all I can say is walnuts are the most tolerable and almonds are disgusting.

Ironically, I do not mind nut-derived things. I like peanut butter and love Nutella. I'm a fan of almond scent blends and that gooey pecan filling for pies (but not so much the actual pecans). Again, I can even handle walnuts, as long as they are in a salad or pasta, and the occasional macadamia in a cookie. I also enjoy hazelnut milk. (Are pinenuts nuts? Cause those are also okay. But a peanut isn't really a nut either... hmm...)

Everyone always says "How can you hate nuts?? They are so good for you!!" As if that means anything. Fast food is TERRIBLE for you, but people love it. Brussell sprouts are anecdotally good for you but are traditionally unliked. I don't like avocado either, and those are super healthy. It doesn't matter how amazing they are, I'm probably going to gag if I just eat nuts by themselves. No I'm not allergic. I just really really really do not like nuts.

As mentioned above, I find almonds particularly nasty, which is just cruel in some ways, as they are the healthiest of nuts. Recently though, in an effort to eat healthier and have more snacking options, I have decided to force myself to like nuts, starting with almonds, the most foul. Why?? Because if I can get past my loathing of almonds, I can do anything. (I used to work in a bakery. We made burnt almond cake daily. I had to frost them and stick the almonds to the outside. It was my least favorite thing; I often took a break or went to the bathroom right about the time we would do it so I could get out of it.)

I already buy almond milk for Char. I keep her regular milk intake just below the minimum, and she is down to two bottles a day, for naps and bedtime. I give her almond milk with breakfast sometimes. Awhile back, I accidentally poured myself a cup of almond milk instead of soy milk (the Fred Meyer packaging for both is nearly identical). I took one big gulp, and instantly realized and regretted my mistake. But a few weeks ago, when I made my decision about nuts, I started with the easiest, handiest thing- almond milk. I have discovered that if I add things to it, and have it hot, it is bearable. So far I prefer it with chai over soy, and I've been putting a drop of OnGuard in hot almond milk before bed to prevent colds. I still do not like it cold by itself, but I have decided to stop buying soy milk as often and stick to the almond milk as a staple alternative beverage. I have a bag of whole almonds sitting in my cabinet waiting to be made into face scrub, but I may try my hand at making my own almond milk too. I doubt however that I will be attempting to eat them anytime soon.

Skip it

Last night was the first night that I've truly been just too tired to push through and do my blogging and planking. Up til now, I've always just said "No, you need to do this, just get it done, then it's over, you'll feel better." Last night I just couldn't do it. My wrists hurt. I felt totally drained. I just started taking an antibiotic, and I don't know if that's affecting me, but I feel a little off.

Yesterday I made two flyers, so I actually accomplished my building hour. Then I found a new ghost show: Deep South Paranormal. It is interesting. I like their accents and they say some silly stuff.

It's Sunday! I have to work. Hopefully today is the last day of scrambling for childcare. Fingers crossed.

This counts right??

So I've been failing a little at "building" an hour a day now that we are in the thick of it at work. But I have been playing "Uncharted" for about an hour a day. That counts right?? I mean video games build critical and strategic thinking and hand eye coordination... right?

Somebody help me out here!! Haha. Oh boy.

I am feeling empty brained tonight. Don't really have anything to say other than today was a good day. I think things are starting to finally move in the right direction. My boat is afloat. :)

Jumping hurdles

Today has been.... yeah.

A Tupperware party I had set up for Saturday got postponed. That in and of itself is not a big deal, and I totally understand. What is a big deal is that I was really excited for it, am really excited to do a party, and I want to generate income. Not to mention I feel like I'm letting people (managers) down right now in both Tupperware and doTERRA. I know that is just pressure I'm putting on myself, and I've dealt with it in some ways, but at the same time, I'm raring to go, why isn't any one interested?? Grrrr! I just don't have the right market, but I have no idea where to FIND that market.

I did some creative thinking today and I believe I have solved last night's problem, and after talking to my TW manager today, I think I have a plan there too. I'm just going to have another Tupperware party here. I'll do it open house style and have everything in my kit set out, and use the items I can to make stuff for guests. I'm bummed that my steamer isn't going to be here on time, so I may have to see if there is someone in the area I can borrow one from. There are many things that can be made in it. I may try the hamburger sliders, but I haven't decided yet. I can definitely do yams or regular potatoes again, and broccoli. I can make salsa and guacamole in my Pro Chef. The first step though, is to do it the old fashioned way, and go door to door to my neighbors and invite them over for a social! I have a few other places I can put it out there, and hopefully at least a few people will see some things they like.

The main mission here is to keep a positive attitude and just keep working. Keep finding those needs and trying to fill them.

Stumped

I have come upon a frustrating roadblock in my travels to share doTERRA and how it has changed my life with as many people as possible.

We are about to go into tech. Tech is stressful. I have tools in my back pocket to help with that, specifically a bunch of samples that I want to give to people who feel in need. I can identify those people easily: Actors and run crew. I can easily send an email that will get to the run crews through our company mail. Actors not so much. They are on a separate list, since many of them use their personal emails, and I do not have ready access to this list. So far my inquiries have been met with trepidation. I absolutely understand not wanting to give out the info, and I am happy to go through conduits, but it seems unfair to me that even digitally, the acting company is cut off from the rest of us. I see a need, and I cannot fulfill it. Ugh!!!

I am in the process of crafting just the right email to send to everyone and hope that someone(s) will forward it to the acting company. I won't have all the samples until next week, so I have a little while. I initially wanted to hold an event, but after researching that option, it seems it would be best to wait until I have guaranteed interest. Finding a space and a time has proved difficult, and I am low on time and funds.

The part that is possibly most frustrating is that I truly do not care if none of them buy anything from me or enroll. I just want to share my experience, about how my chronic condition is alleviated by these products. I know how physically and emotionally demanding being part of a show for 9 months is, and I spend all year hearing from everyone in the company about their aches and pains of mind and body. And I can help!!!! If I could just get the info out there.

Plank it!

This is the challenge I've been doing. I'm posting it here so I have a quick reference. I'm tired of searching through my timeline for it!!!

I forgot to mention Sunday that I made my own hand sanitizer. This is the recipe I used, which I amalgamized from a few different ones.

1- 2 oz glass squirt bottle (can be found at health food or beauty store)
1 Tbs Witch Hazel
2 oz Aloe Vera Gel (99% aloe)
1/4 tsp. Vitamin E oil (I actually have a jar of those little pods. I used one pod, which is about 1/4 tsp.)
10 drops doTERRA essential oils

• 2 drops each On Guard, White Fir, Lavender
• 4 drops Melaleuca (Tea Tree)

Put oils in a non-plastic bowl (glass is best, but you could use ceramic or metal). Add Witch Hazel and swirl around. Add Vitamin E and then Aloe Vera. Whisk together. Pour into squirt bottle. You could also use a flip top, as long as the bottle itself is glass and preferably a dark color. The Vitamin E will act as both a moisturizer and preservative. Give your bottle a quick shake before each use as the components will naturally separate over time. 

I have no idea how good this really is. Maybe it's more expensive than just using all the little bottles of hand sanitizer I have lying around? Certainly all the ingredients are more costly for me to get myself, but I use way less per pump, and it doesn't accidentally spill all over or pour too much out, or leave my hands dry, and it's not chemical laden. All this stuff about how anti-bacterial everything has lead to super-bugs really skeeves me out! I'm not a germophobe at all, but I also have no desire to catch MRSA. 

So there's my recipe for something that already has a million recipes out there. Give it a try! Tell me what you think!! 

Ruh roh

Serious sinus drainage today, and I have to do Cocoanuts focus tomorrow. Yuck!!

Feeling moderately accomplished this weekend. I went through my yarn stash. Dumped some old scraps and unwound spaghetti messes; made one dryer ball; have a box of stuff I'm never going to actually do anything with ready to be put up on Etsy for sale. I started my taxes and scrubbed the floor in the kitchen and about half the dining room. I also started playing Uncharted.

Tomorrow night, after focus, I need to kick my butt in gear on some business stuff. I bought new ink cartridges today so I can make some flyers to post up around town. I'll start with any public notice boards in Talent, and maybe branch out to Ashland. I have a Tupperware party coming up this Saturday. I hope it is more successful that the last one!

Rep Focus

As promised, I shall give you some insight into the process which we cal Rep Focus.

I work for a large regional theatre that produces 11 plays in three spaces, in rotating rep, over the course of 8ish months. Preparations for those shows happen year round. Your intrepid Illumination Solutioneers in the Lighting department are on contract from January to November (though our Master Electricians do work year round). The first two weeks of the year are spent prepping our Mainstage and Black Box theatres for the first four shows that will open in February. The mainstage will see 5 plays produced, with up to 4 at a time. We start with 3, then in April add one more. One will close in July and another will open shortly there after.

To accommodate the lighting needs of all the shows, we work of what are know as rep plots. Our department manager, with input from all the designers working in the space, designs a basic light plot that provides the most versatile and useful coverage for all shows. There are about 200 lighting instruments in the mainstage rep plot: A front system, a two color pair side system, and two down systems for all areas, along a cyc and groundrow system. This year we also added a backlight system using the Nexeras that are now discontinued and we have replaced with PL4s.

On focus day, we all gather round the donut box and divide up into groups of people who will focus and those that will be go-fers or continue any special projects we have. There are 4-5 people in the air focusing, one person running the light board and marking the plot, and one person onstage focusing. For most focuses, our department manager does the actual focusing, and one of the MEs runs the board. We start downstage and work our way upstage and out, attempting to hit every light in the air in 8 hours. This is not as much time as you would think. This year we went over by about 45 minutes, which is fairly typical. Last year we didn't finish, so the MEs stayed late to get it done.

What is focusing? Focusing is where we point the lighting instruments to the area they want to light up. The majority of the stage floor (and hopefully the entirety of the acting area, but with some of our directors you never can tell, or more truthfully, you know they are gonna stray) is divided up into "areas". For lighting purposes, to get the best coverage (there's a lot of math involved), we employ two sets of areas, a "numbered" system and a "lettered" system. The numbers get front and down light, the letters side and down. When we are going through the catwalks, also know as "the ceiling", we are aiming each light at it's designated area, making sure it is aligned correctly for best lumen output and even coverage, making sure the shutters move smoothly and can achieve the angles we need, and that the color and pattern holding accessory slots are easily reachable. As part of the changeover process between shows, we will change the color and patterns in the fixtures twice a day, as well as adjust the shutters to match the angles of the set, or any shape the designer specifies. For Rep Focus though, we leave everything "open". Here's a picture of an ETC Source Four for some reference.

This year we had a new beast the wrestle with: the Selecon PLProfile 4. 

You can't tell from the picture, but these things are long. Seriously almost as tall as me with the c-clamp. Therefore, if they hang straight down, they not only hang beneath the acoustical clouds, they hang directly in the path of some of the other ellipsoidal lights, most notably the side system. This meant a lot of fanangaling. And it is no small task. Moving these things around in our space is a two person job at least. Also, there were several that I was virtually useless for moving because I had no solid, safe reach. We had to go back at least twice and refocus a few lights that had already been done because we realized a few lights later that the PL4 had to be rehung. These shenanigans slowed the whole process down a bit. We made some very good discoveries though, and have info for making these instruments work better for us next year. 

The other interesting that we have discovered about the PL4s, and LED color mixing fixtures in general, is that they need delicate fine tuning when it comes to color palettes. Not every light in the system will mix the same way. These particular fixtures are calibrated to 3 onboard presets: Cool White, Warm White, and Daylight. Each LED is separately calibrated, and since there is no batch uniformity across the individual LEDs, when you go through colors, there can be a wide variation from fixture to fixture, and even LED to LED. We will have our work cut out for us getting them to all play nice. 

Onstage rehearsals start this week, which means show specific focuses. I'm up first!!! Go Cocoanuts!

Selfie!

Today I'm taking an evening for myself. No hour. No business. I did do some internet research for business and wellness stuff I've been thinking about. But now I'm tired. I am going to go plank, then put my baby in bed with me and snuggle. I really want to write a post about today's rep focus, but I will save that for tomorrow night when I am less tired.

Experiments in ingredients

Today is spent an hour baking cookies as a surprise "payment" to my BF's mom for watching Char tomorrow and bailing me out of a deep dark tide pool. Finding last minute daycare is incredibly stressful.

What I learned in the process of baking these cookies:

When it say butter or margarine or something like that, I should use that. I tried doing 1/2 margarine, 1/2 coconut oil. While yummy, the VCO does not have the same consistency and does not hold all the parts together very well. I'm sure there is some kind of substitution method/rubric, but I was winging it.

Essential oil need to be mixed into the "liquid" portion of whatever I'm baking. This advice is given in every blog I've read so far, but I wasn't thinking about it at the time. I put in my EO when I would have put in extract, at the end, on top of everything else. So some of the cookies are VERY Lavender (which is fine and yummy), and some of the cookies are kinda Lavender (which is also fine and yummy, just more subtle).

When cooking with VCO, it will take twice as long. Well, at least these cookies did. I probably could have gotten away with a little less time, but I think it worked out okay.


There are some reasonably shaped cookies, which I will give, but most of them are nondescript mounds of hardened dough. The dough was very pilly because of the VCO, so it just didn't go together right and was very crumbly.

I have another recipe to try, but I need to grab a few ingredients, and I'm not sure when that will be. I have been going through a serious reality shock recently, and I need to get my finances in line with what may be on my horizon. So not alot of new projects for me, but working on getting stuff I already have going further down the pipe.

Not enough hours in the day

I did not achieve my 1 hour of building today. I did get a fair amount dishes done though.

I embark on the new day 5 of the plank challenge. Then to spend time with my man. I don't get enough of that currently, or enough time with my kid. It is weighing on me. So for the night, I'm gonna build my family.

Sick day

I did not go to work today. The only thing that got me out of bed finally, at nearly 10am, was the fact that I needed to feed my kid. I spent most of the rest of the day propped up in some fashion, until about 5 pm. An almost to the minute 24hr stomach bug.

Instead of building anything for one solid hour, I spent the day experimenting with oils and building my health. My wonderful friend Jessika dropped of some DigestZen softgels, which along with what I'd already been doing (lemon water/ginger ale, peppermint tea, DigestZen topically on my stomach, PastTense on my forehead and neck) really kick started me to feeling a whole lot better. I believe I will venture forth tomorrow. I will also be going to bed very soon to up my chances of leaving the house.

So far my family has been very supportive of my endeavors. Two are already doTERRA users!! That's exciting to me. Even if they are going through someone else to get their oils, it's great that they are already in my network. I also got one enrollment today, and handed out a few more Tupperware catalogs yesterday. Things are looking up. I just needed an attitude shift and to remain positive. Sometimes the spigot is slow at first, until some pressure has built up.

Solicitation

I have achieved my 1+ hour of building today by focusing on my Tupperware business. When I got home today, my business kit was waiting for me. I took it in right away, started unpacking it, and just now finished everything I wanted to get done with it tonight. Other than familiarizing myself with the basic kit and getting my bag partially set up, my main goal was to get an email out to my family and close friends letting them know about my new ventures. It was a doozy, and I've actually been working on it for a few days.

I'm not a sales person. Yes, I have worked in retail, and I have even been the "sales counter girl" for a warehouse. I still do not do well with cold sales or even like engaging in that kind of marketing. But the bottom line here is I need to do SOMETHING for my financial well being, and that means I need the support of my loved ones. Even if they never buy anything from me. Even if it's just good thoughts. Even if they don't finish reading the email and only download the pics of Char Star. I do feel some sense of guilt at soliciting them to check out my obviously money/sales based ventures and websites. I have never done anything like this before, and I'm not sure I worded anything right, and it felt really long, but that's what I got. I laid it all out there, concisely as possible, and without begging. I'm simply giving them the opportunity to give what I'm doing a look-see. And that is truly all I can ask. Some of them have already participated in the Tupperware online party, but I still wanted them to know WHY I'm doing this. And hopefully more of them will at least tell me they love me and hope it all goes well.

Everyone starts somewhere right? I've opened up my door locally, now it's time to cast a wider net.

Pipeline, not buckets

Today was better than yesterday. Let all days be so. The only downside is a strange pain in my abdomen, but that seems to be dissipating. I'm chalking it up to sympathetic pregnancy syndrome with my friend who is pregnant and has gallstones. (I am NOT pregnant. No one freak out.)

It has been a long full day, but I feel like I have made progress on quite a few things. It is a new goal of mine to finish what I've started. I'm terrible at this. I like to start projects. I have tons of ideas, and I always think "I will do this thing!!!" I get all the supplies, I make myself a little area, and then... nothing happens. Everything just sits. But right now, hear you me, I'm committing. I will "build" for an hour a day. This can mean reading in my profession(s), or making something, or cooking something new, or baking. Just making something happen for myself. Building my career, my health, my life. Building for my family. This is my new goal. I'm ready to make it happen.

Falling off

Well...... I missed a day. Almost missed two to be honest, but I remembered I hadn't updated yet, and I'm trying this on my tablet for the first time. I think a laptop is better, but I don't want to go back downstairs. I also did not start the plank challenge again until tonight, but I did restart. Now I only need Char star not to get sick again.

It has been a long, rough week. Aside from babyness, I'm just not doing as well as I'd like at my side ventures. I put the word out there about my party, massively. Emails, Facebook, flyers. 3 greatly appreciated people showed up, and so far 3 more greatly appreciated people have purchased online. It is a small start, but it is a start. DoTERRA on the other hand, is currently going nowhere, and that was what I had thought I'd be concentrating on. Time to shift gears? Or it hasn't been long enough. It's been less than a month still, and I was on vacation for part of it and now I'm back to work full time. I guess I just have to keep putting myself out there.

Non-positive firsts

Tonight is the first time Char baby has really thrown up. Whatever her issue has been the last few nights, I hope it is now out of her system. But now I have to lull a restless baby back to sleep at 1230 in the morning!!!! Probably in bed with me, since her bedding is getting washed and I'm honestly too tired to put it all back together.

I've totally fallen off the plank challenge with her being sick, so tomorrow I'm starting over from day one. That's the only way I can feel right about proceeding. My hope was to finish in January, but that is not going to happen.

I'm really hoping that tomorrow night is better because I have to power clean the downstairs for our party on Sunday. I had meant to possibly do some tonight, but I fell asleep around 9, and woke up about an hour ago to Char crying. Thankfully, having got that much sleep, I was ready to deal with the clean up, even if she wasn't.

And now I attempt to get us back to sleep. Oh boy!!

Building

Another late night, but a much chiller day. Thank goodness.

Last night I went to my first public doTERRA event. This weekend I host my first Tupperware party followed by a doTERRA info session. I'm very excited to have all this inspiration and support going on. And I made my first flyer ever!!!!!

I feel really good about it. I hope it looks as good when I print it.

We are doing a refresher course on the Eos family of lighting consoles at work. Today was the basic intro stuff. Tomorrow we will dig a little deeper into programming functions and other software stuff. It's really informative. And they shipped us a new Eos Ti as an extra board and it is sexy. I just want to pet it. I even wrote that as a note.

Rough

Today was a rough day. 2 hours sleep tending to a discomforted baby. Frustrating stalls at work and in work. The bright part of the day was attending a doTERRA event with my dear friend Myfawny. It reaffirmed my decision to go down this path. While the event itself was a little "Ashlandy" for my general taste, it was very inspiring. I have also decided to add a doTERRA "post" to my Tupperware party. While officially they will be two separate events, it's a great opportunity to get a wide audience.

I was tasked today to be happy the whole year. Little know fact, I don't believe in the permanence of "happy". "Happy" is temporary. Positive is lasting. Joy and contentment are lasting. Success and growth are lasting. In that spirit, what was almost a very detailed post of complaints about "why today sucked", turn completely around and becomes this succinct jot about what was good in my day. Now, to fullfil step #3 of the Wellness Pyramid, I'll shall get some rest. Good night.

Busy bees

Today has become somewhat unexpectedly full.

I woke up early to take Char baby to a new daycare. Work was worky. We got our PL4s and they are brutes. It takes two people to safely hang them on the over stage electrics. Fun!! At lunch time I officially became a Tupperware consultant!!! My website is my2.tupperware.com/mariachunn. I will be hosting a party this Sunday! For those of you in the Rogue Valley, doors will open at my home at 3 pm. Be there or be Tupperware-less. I am working on adding an online component for those out of towners.

The most challenging part of my day though occurred when I picked Char up to go home. My darling man graciously picked her up from daycare as the provider had an appointment before I got off work. They went to our friend's house in Ashland and chilled til I could come get her. However, for whatever reason, she was very tired and ended up falling asleep in his car while he grabbed himself a drive thru dinner. She stayed asleep at the house, in my friend's guest room, until right before I got there. She was okay hanging out for a bit, but as soon as we got in the car, she began crying. She cried all the way home. I had planned to go to Fred Meyer after a pit stop for a diaper change and coupons, but that went out the window as soon as we got inside. She was inconsolable. Just a mess. She wanted to be held, walked around, put down; she wanted to see her toys downstairs, but cried when she picked any up or I tried to give her one. We went upstairs. She wanted her music boxes, but only if I held her while they played. She wanted her blankie and her bottle, even in the bathtub, which did calm her down a bit. She had a stuffy, runny nose, but wouldn't let me clean it. She had a little bit of diaper rash, but has definitely had worse, though she didn't want me to put anything on that either. She didn't really want me touching her at all (I noticed her skin was a little dry), but she wanted to curl up in my lap. I finally got some lotion on her body and some vaseline with a little lavendar oil on her for the rash. I brought a warm bottle upstairs, and all of a sudden she just relaxed. Got her into her pajamas with no problem, and rubbed frankincense, lemon, and lavendar oil in coconut oil on her feet. She was out in about 5 minutes once she settled into her crib. She just woke up, about 2 hours later, but I just went in and rubbed her back a little bit, and she seems to have gone back to sleep. Oi!!!!

This is the first time since she was an infant that I have truly been at a loss as to how to calm her. NOTHING seemed to be helping. Bottle and blankie always work in the short term, but I wish I could figure out the actual problem. I hoping that it was just being worn out, from playing and from her first entire day being with new/"strange" people (kids).

So here I am at the end of my day. I'm sore. I still need to continue  my plank challenge and take my vitamins. I did manage to make a new to me dinner tonight that I will also have for at least one lunch this week. Super simple: Half box shell pasta, one can sweet corn, one can peas, a little lemon juice, a little olive oil, garlic salt, pepper, parmasean- toss, serve. According to Natalie, she will now consider considering me an adult because I purchased black pepper. Not sure what the rest of the criteria are, but I'm confident she will notify me when I've past my adulthood test. :)

The Road to Independent Financial Well Being

Everyone wants more money. This is because we live in a culture that relies on money as a means of trade. Can you imagine living without cash? Or a monetary system based on chance? Probably not, but that's really what we live with. Printed money is one big game of diminishing returns. But this is how we function.

My whole life I have lived the middle class conundrum of having just enough money to be considered having enough money. What does this mean?? No college scholarships, grants, or subsidized loans, even though both my parents and I had to take out money for me to go to a university. With that degree, in the Bay Area, I made decent money, but still had to work as much as possible to get by. My last year there I had 10 w-2s. 10. And 2 1099s. And I still pretty much broke even on my taxes. I think I made a total of $40k and got about $700 total back between fed and state.

When I moved to Oregon, I decided to only have one job. That worked for 6 years. Now, though, so much has changed that I need to find other opportunities. I am a solo parent (by choice) and a sort-of homeowner. I make about $100 too much per month to qualify for any support services while I'm working. In the off season, when I am on unemployment, I can get WIC, and it is a godsend, especially during January. I always apply in December, so that I have been off contract for a few weeks, and because qualification is in 6 month increments. Therefore, we get assistance through May. January is rough because I can no longer claim unemployment because I am technically earning money, yet I don't see any of that for almost 3 weeks because of pay periods. Yeah, it blows.

Unemployment insurance itself is another reason I'm looking for more opportunities. I'm over it. This year was just the absolute last straw. I'm tired of the hoops I have to jump through; of being talked down to and patronized when I try to explain my situation and how their system doesn't even provide the correct tools for my industry; of the ridiculously strict guidelines that don't account for everything, yet don't allow any wiggle room. I am so done. It may mean giving up my WIC, yes, but if I can find ways to generate income on top of my regular job and therefore not have to rely on this system, I will be so much happier.

To that end, I've already signed up with doTerra International Essential Oils, (link in the sidebar!!) and am working on getting signed up with Tupperware (link to come). Though it's a story for another post, I have been using doTerra for almost a month now, and the oils have really helped my repetitive stress injury. I'm still on a journey with them, learning, using, sharing. I know they aren't for everyone. I know that there is a lot of skepticism. But guess what? That's goes for EVERYTHING EVER, and I'm not trying to force anyone. I also don't HAVE to do the business side, and neither does anyone who buys from or signs up through me, but I CAN, so why not?? I'm a terrible sales person by nature, but I'm never going to advance any part of any career if I don't learn how to close a deal. And I need to start moving in some direction. I can't be an entry level worker bee forever. I don't want to be either. If I can gain confidence and skill from these ventures, so much the better.

I do have an Etsy store as well, but that link and any marketing will have to wait as well. There isn't anything of note in it yet, and I am trying to decide how to focus it so that I can easily share it, and maybe grab a niche. It is also currently based around knit goods, which are harder to produce with my injury. I'm hoping that as I heal, through good medical care both mainstream and alternative, I will be able to get back into knitting as more than a hobby, but that is a little ways off still. I am also considering "monetizing" this here blog with a few links, but I am still on the fence. Maybe I should make a poll to see if people would care?? I looked at Google's AdSense, which is already imbedded and I can activate if I so choose, but it's just like Facebook ads. I wouldn't really control the content, and I don't like the idea of infomining my own blog. What I would consider is an Amazon banner, or some other company, though I can't think of any that I would want to support that would probably have a program like that. I will have to keep throwing that idea around a bit longer as well.

I have absolutely no idea how any of this will go. All I can do it try.

High Five!

What is this? I've made it five day? Yippee!! Isn't it if you do something for 7 days then it's a habit? Well, I guess I'm close to a new habit.

Nothing too exciting happened today. We worked. Most of the over stage/house hang is done. Our shiny new fixtures should arrive on Tuesday. We are getting Selecon PL 4s. 34 total- 2 skids and a palette. That's a lot of lighting!

With work starting and my parents being in town, its been a few days since I've seen my honey. I miss him!! I'm bad at missing people. I don't usually do it. I know in the past people in my life have been put off by my ambivalent attitude toward presence, but dammit, I miss him. It's a little weird actually. And on top of that, he's pretty much the same way. More than once we have had the conversation about missing each other so much that it is out of character, even when we're only apart for a day or two. Moreover, though we text during these days, we aren't in constant contact. We don't need to know what the other one is doing 24/7 and who with. I believe it's because generally the information is volunteered, sometimes to the point of inanity, which I don't think I could stand from any other person. Example:
11am "Good morning babe."
11:15 "Morning darling."

1:50pm "Just got out of the shower. Hanging in my room."
2pm "Just off lunch. Going back to work."

6pm "Going to hang with my bros. We're gonna play Call of Duty."
630pm "Fun! Just got home. Snacking with Char. Might watch some tv."

WE ARE LAME!!!!! AND IT IS FABULOUS!!!

We make up for it by having long, winding, expansive conversations when we are together, and embarking on adventures of all kinds. (Though we dispute what constitutes an adventure, with my level 1 being his level 0. I think we had to get up to my level 3 for him to consider it adventure-worthy. But I'm teaching him. Haha.)

Bumps in the road

I am incredibly blessed to have the childcare situation that I do. Without Dawn, I am at a complete loss, in many ways. So when she is out of town, I am scrambling to get people to hang out with Char baby. Thankfully now I do have a wonderful man in my life who is happy to help out when needed. I try not to fall back on him too much though, because I know it is hard on him, not being a parent himself. On the flip side, I do my best not to rely on any one person or only a few people (though truthfully, there are only a few that I know will/can watch her). I always worry that these friends of mine will feel like they are being taken advantage of, simply because I don't have much to offer in return. I bake!!! And I can provide knit goods at some point in the future! Also, I will trade childcare if you also have kids! I know, for the most part, that those individuals that I rely on do not feel like I'm only using them for their willingness to put up with a ridiculously smart toddler, but I still want them to know they are very much appreciated.

As much as I can afford, I find "regular" daycare/ professional babysitters. But let me tell ya, it is spendy. I can't believe it sometimes. I can't imagine having to pay for all day care 5 days a week at the rate a traditional place is asking. Even one week is about 25% of my budget after bills. Yikes. I wouldn't eat. Seriously. There would be no money to buy food or anything else for myself. Jesus. How do people do this?? I looked into assistance, just to see what my outlook is in case there comes a day where Dawn is no longer available, and dammit but I don't qualify. Story of my life. I make just enough money (like by $100/mo) to be deemed above the line. Shucks. Too bad day care costs something like $1000/mo. Who the hell thought up this math?

This adventure is really just renewing my pledge to get myself financially independent of "the system". Building whatever income sources I can. I have a plan for doTerra that I am about to implement, and I think tomorrow I will be ordering my starter kit for Tupperware. If my wrists will hold up through the build and tech, I will hopefully be knitting more, and maybe some of those items can be passed along through Etsy. I also want to start making my own skin care products for myself, and again, maybe if that is easy and reasonable to share, I can either put those on Etsy, or just go word of mouth. There is alot of opportunity out there. Not all of it is monetary either. It's about building a support system and a market; connecting with people who want to serve each other.

3 is the magic number

What?? Day 3? Shocking.

Hit day 2 of the plank challenge. I need to start stretching in the morning. For now I'll go simple, but I'm thinking I eventually want to get back into doing a full Sun Salutation flow at least once through. This will probably make the dude laugh when he's here, but then again, he'd most likely sleep through it.

The great "boyfriend babysitting for 5 hours at a time 2 days in a row" experiment was a success. They are both still alive and well. It's a good thing they are buddies. Pretty soon they are gonna have a secret handshake.

I am more tired and more achey.

My parents are in town for about 36 hours because they love me, and more importantly, they love my kid (maybe more than me, haha). They are taking babysitting duties tomorrow while her regular sitter is still out of town. Next week we go to daycare 4 days in a row. Yikes!!! This is the next adventure.

And now it's time for bed. Lots to do tomorrow, mostly work. Sunday I'm hoping to get Disneyland pictures posted.

1/2 buckle my shoe

Plank challenge day one complete. Thinking about "monetizing" the blog. On the fence. I suppose I wouldn't mind Amazon, since it seems practical and convenient. I did post a link to my webstore in the sidebar. FYI y'all.

Oh yeah, and back to work. I forgot my braces today. Not so good move. Must remember tomorrow. Sticking with the regimen I've been on, plus starting the LLV and half strength. Time for ice cream.

New Year, New Me

The Internet. Great denizen of accountability through public declaration of things that may or may not been seen by others. But hey, I'll have to believe ONE person will see this, and therefore I will feel responsible to hold myself accountable.

2014 in the house!!!

Things I plan to do this year:

Lose the last baby weight. Really it's the mama weight. I didn't know it was possible to be an uncomfortably chunky size 2/4 until having a kid. Yes, I realize that is a low pants size, but that doesn't mean I feel good in the pants. So far I have decided to start the morning by planking (the exercise, not the photo trend) as long as possible. This morning I did one minute. That is a great starting point. I hope to add 5-10 secs a day, with no particular end goal. 3 minutes might be good, I don't know. I really want to get back into yoga too. I did about 20 min of a video today, and just, well... classes are better. Something about tapping into everyone's energy to focus and push you along. This however means finding an inexpensive, easy to get to place to take a class at a time when I can get child care. Big request.

I want to end this year at a point where I do not have to rely on unemployment insurance. The system is so. broken. I understand the "why", but the "how" has become unbearably frustrating. To that end, I have recently joined the doTerra family, and really want to make a go at the business end of things, on top of my regular full time job. They gave me a webstore!! http://www.mydoterra.com/mariarenee I am considering signing up for Tupperware as well, but haven't pulled the trigger just yet.

Speaking of doTerra, I want to commit to overall wellness for my family. I have my own ailments I need to heal, but I also want to be proactive with our health in general and finding ways to create a sustainable environment. Reduse, recycle, reuse. Be good to ourselves. Walk more, drive less (which is hard with a toddler and working in a different city than you live). Try to support local business over big box, and support my friends and family in their endeavors, whatever those may be.

I want to fall more madly deeply in love with my amazing companion. He's incredibly awesome, whether he wants to believe it or not. He carried my kid on his back up (and back down) a hill for crying out loud!!! That's... sigh... so unbelievably sexy. :-) It's wonderful to have a mutual respect and appreciation; to be able to talk about anything and everything, even when it's a disagreement or a misunderstanding. Yeah, I'm getting a little teary, I feel that lucky. Shucks.

I want my daughter to continue growing into the awesome person I know she's gonna be. She way too smart, and precocious. It's going to be a 5 star rollercoaster, this one. It's a good thing I love rollercoasters. We are nearing on potty training. One more bastion of freedom. Soon she'll be driving, and then goodbye kiddo!!! Haha. Somedays it feels like that.


Overall I want to commit to having a good year no matter what comes my way. I want to be successful in all my ventures. I want to be healthy and happy. Alright... here it goes...