Wednesday Wisdom: The Hero Within.....Do you

Wednesday Wisdom: The Hero Within.....Do you have a Hero within you just waiting to come into action? Everyone here in California is worried about the Big storm and our eyes are watching weather reports constantly checking for updates. Meanwhile, yet another earthquake shakes an already devastated Haiti. They really need our prayers and we really need to help them if we are in any position to do so. Personally, I have always felt that your own yard needs cleaning before we can clean our neighbor's yard. However in times of great tragedy that really goes out the window and we do what we can IF we can. "God helps those that helps themselves" to me means, we need to be wise in our giving. Give if you can and in the form that you can. We are all on edge just praying to get through these rough times in good health and with our loved ones safe.
My son and I argued this morning because he has the weight of the world on his shoulders already. He is going to be eight years old at the end of next month. He already feels that it is his job to protect his class should the power go out at school today. He was completely upset with me because I would not let him take his camping lantern to school today.
Meanwhile, my daughter Emily has made up her own language. She can not speak Spanish like Dora the Explorer and some of her friends at school. So, she just makes up her own words. It is my hope that she does not offend anyone with these new words of hers!
My quote for you today is this:

"I think these difficult times have helped me to understand
better than before how infinitely rich and beautiful life is in every way,
and so many things one goes around worrying about are
of no importance whatever.
~ ISAK DINESEN (KAREN BLIXEN)"

I hope you have a fantastic day! Stay safe and warm...take care out there!
Keep it bubbly! xox~Jeri

Treasure Yourself Tuesday! Before you can.....

Treasure Yourself Tuesday! Before you can.....
.....find the treasure you seek in someone else, you must first find the "Treasure" within "Yourself." One of my favorite quotes is from the Bible:

For Where Your Treasure Is There Your Heart Will Be Also. (Matt 6:21)

So if you find yourself without power during this big storm, regain some of your own power. Get out your notebook. Maybe not the new kind that runs on power, but the old fashion paper and pen. Begin making some notes about the things you like to do, or of what you used to enjoy. Sometimes it may help to get out your art supplies and doodle. It may even help to go through old photos albums. It is time to go on a "personal treasure hunt." Time to get in there and dig and remember what your true gifts are and start to use them again.
I could say that I found my true self by returning to school. However, it sounds different than how it really came to be. Recently my "old friend" reminded me that the paths we take in this big adventure may be ours to choose, but all the happenings are not always within our control along said path. While it may be a good idea to make the best of the original choice we have made, the greater good for all involved is sometimes found in dusting our feet and focusing forward.
I stumbled into a new job by walking my kids to school this school year and truly feel it was Divine Intervention at work! While I am out at the school yard watching the kids play, I remember so much of my youth. I remember my hopes, fears and so many joyful moments! The kids talk to me and tell me their dreams. Some of them dream of having a farm with lots of animals, while some practice daily to make the a three point or half court shot! I think of the people I went to school with and remember when they got their first "hit" in baseball. I remember cheering so loud that we lost our voices, but won the game! I told some of the kids last week how much I used to enjoy watching basketball. I told them of when I filmed for our high school team my senior year. Coach Swanitz had to turn down the television when they reviewed the footage. I never could contain my cheering! "Once a cheerleader, always a cheerleader!" I still have issues with volume control and I am okay with that. I have found that by returning to school has opened the flood gates to my writing. I have always been a writer of something. I just have been blocked and not allowed myself time lately. To the thrill and the annoyance of some, my bubbly attitude is back and I no longer feel like I am wall paper at home.
Sometimes we give ourselves away in such small amounts that, that it may seem at the time to be insignificant. Then one day we wake to find that it is hard to recognize the person we are looking at in the mirror. Does this sound like something you are going through? Start digging! Take a class, or a walk down memory lane, or anything that will help you reconnect with you! Find the gifts within yourself and "Treasure" them!"
I never believed that the "of this world" things we rush to gain in this life to be more important than the "gifts" we brought with us into this world. I believe that these "gifts" are awesome and worth sharing! I believe that the following quote holds true for men as well!

But I do not believe our possessions define us.
Instead, I believe it's what you love that expresses the authentic woman you are, not what you own." ~ Sarah Ban Breathnach - Simple Abundance 10th Anniversary Edition

Have a Great Tuesday! Take Care Out There! & Keep It Bubbly!!!

xox~ Jeri

Keepin' Your Bubbles! Music and good friends ......

Keepin' Your Bubbles! Music and good friends ......

.......... help me keep mine, What helps you keep yours? Do you see the silver lining when it starts to storm?
It is just pouring here on the Central Coast of California. It rained most of the night and it calls for rain most of this week. We all knew the rain was coming. Prepared or not, we must push on into the storm! I looked up this morning for you how and where the term about silver linings around clouds came from. Here is what I found:

The following is from: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia online: look up silver lining there and this is what you will find:

A silver lining is a metaphor for optimism in the common English-language idiom "Every cloud has a silver lining."

Wikipedia has the phrase traced to John Milton's 1634 'Comus' with the following:

"Was I deceiv'd, or did a sable cloud
Turn forth her silver lining on the night?"

In relation to the real world, the term Wikipedia traced it to cloud seeding and the use of; "silver iodide as cloud condensation, which has led to the ironic use of the expression "every cloud has a silver lining" within that industry."

I thought this was very interesting because one of my favorite songs right now is by Lady Antebellum "one day you will." (Look it up on youtube! It is a great song!) It lifts my spirits and reminds me that every heartache makes me stronger. It even says that every cloud has a silver lining! Check it out! The song is very encouraging and helps me get through the day. I like to know where these terms we use come from. Thanks Wikipedia and Thanks Lady Antebellum fro such a great song!!

Lately I have found that I need my music more and more. I have also found great comfort in my friends! Sometimes you need a little extra hope and strength to keep going. Whatever it takes to help you push through your personal storm, hold true to it. Sometimes it takes an old friend to help us realizes that we are not keeping true to all we could be and that we are not getting all we deserve out of this life. To those that are helping my "get my bubbles back," a BIG thank you! You know who you are! I look forward to Keepin' it bubbly now more than ever! Make sure you keep your bubbles too!! Stay warm in the storm, xox Jeri

Hello Saturday!

"HAPPINESS IS NOT A STATE; IT IS AN ATTITUDE THAT WE CAN DEVELOP." ~C.J.Golden [Tao of the Defiant Woman Five Brazen Ways to Accept What You Must and Rebel against the Rest, Golden Books ]

There is a lot to do today, to brace for the coming storm this weekend and next week. We are busy checking our supplies and battening down the hatches! I wanted to give you a little food for thought. The first is above and the second is below.

"You gain strength courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face....You must do the thing you cannot do." ~ ELEANOR ROOSEVELT

I hope the quotes I offer you this morning inspire you to "keep it bubbly" in your life. It is my hope that you will go out there and do something good for yourselves! By taking care yourself, you show the people in your life that you care about them too!
Enjoy your day! ~ xoxox Jeri

Thursday Thoughts! The Apple Truly Not Far From This Tree!

So today, while I was getting my daughter ready for school, she and I were talking about being happy. We were talking about our dog and she was wondering if our dog was happy to be in our family. After a great amount of questions on his likes and dislikes. I finally convinced her that he was happy to be in our family. As we continued to get her ready for school, we went into the next room to get a brush. I began to hum and she asked; "Mom, what are you doing?"
I replied,"Marching to the beat of my own drum."
She looked at me confused and asked; "What drum?"
I told her the drum was a song inside my head that I was humming and that I was just being silly. Although I had made light of it, I believe she knew what I meant, because she responded with; "Well mine is more like a flute!"
I love that about her and I made sure to tell her that! I hope that she never forgets to play her inner flute! Whatever tune or instrument plays within you, please remember to play it & march to it. xoxox~Jeri & Miss Emily

Wonderful Wednesday Wisdom

"Sit quietly do nothing, spring comes, and the grass grows by itself. ~ ZEN WISDOM" The Essence of Zen Anthology of Quotations ~the five miles press

Wednesdays are Wonderful Mid-week Madness! Trying to get are work done so we can have more weekend fun. I would like to dedicate our Wednesdays together and call them "Wonderful Wednesday Words of Wisdom!"

"Sit quietly do nothing, spring comes, and the grass grows by itself. ~ ZEN WISDOM" The Essence of Zen Anthology of Quotations ~the five miles press

We must always change, renew, rejuvenate; otherwise we harden.~ Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

The only way to make sence out of change is to plunge with it, move with it, and join the dance. ~ Alan Watts

I myself have never been good at change. Even as a child I was better to have the band aide ripped off quickly than to have it slowly pulled. Like Monday when I was told that it would rain on Tuesday and Wednesday, I thought it was very exciting! We really needed the rain! Then to have the rain come so slowly was just so hard to handle. I was expecting to awake Tuesday to pouring rain and yet it didn't come until that night and then it really came down! Like anything else in this life, we can control the weather just as much as we can control the words that come out of the mouths of our children! I hope you enjoy your Wednesday! Stay warm and take care out there!!!

Please Join in the fun! Remember we want to Inspire & not kill the desire! ~ Negativity gets you none & Positivity gets it Done ! Keep It Bubbly xoxox ~ Jeri

Hello Saturday!!!

"Hello Saturday!" Today....... wake to a new day and say "Hello!" I am bright eyed and bushy tailed and just maybe I have had a bit too much coffee this morning followed by chocolate last night, and a visit with my friend at STARBUCKS! Well today we are getting up early and going for a hike. Even if you are working today, go out and do something for yourself after work. I was once told that if you have agreed to do something, do it pure of heart. If you do the task with regret it will only cause you and the people you are doing it for unnecessary tension and pain.
Well today I am not working. Today it is our 11th Anniversary and as I said before, we are taking our kids out hiking to celebrate the day. We are putting the taxes, the computer & site building, the house cleaning and laundry aside, and we are getting outside! We are going to LIVE in the joy of the outdoors today! We are going to LOVE our Kids! We are going to LAUGH as much as possible and when we get home from getting all dirty on whatever trail we so choose.........We are going to LATHER up! Most of all......today, like everyday......we are going to do the best we can to to stay on the "sunny side of the street" and "KEEP IT BUBBLY!"
~xoxJeri

Things I believe / teach my kids / advice I Always give :

1. Always wear your spf 15 (at least) sunscreen on exposed skin.

2. Always wear your seat belt.

3. A smoke detector will save your life.....check the battery.

4. Always tell people how you feel about them....you never know when the last time will be.

5. Share the road and the trail.

6. You pack it in.....YOU pack it out!

Live, Love, Laugh, & Lather!

As most of you know, in 2006 I began making soap after the most wonderful shower of my life. I had gone to Sedona Arizona for a vacation to visit family and was given a fantastic handmade bar of natural soap. My father's lovely neighbor inspired me with that first "bar" & encouraged me to run with it into this life changing adventure. My research is endless and I have found myself buying every book about soap that I can get my hands on. I am constantly surprised at how much information is available.

In the past three plus years there has been so much bubbling both in my personal life as well as in this business. Through it all I have come to realize that any goal can be attained with the proper attitude. My personal favorite saying is; "positivity gets it done!" Sense I started this business, I have been a member of a trade guild (Handcrafted Soap Maker's Guild ~ 2006-2009). I launched my website & online store at WWW.CENTRALCOASTSOAPS.COM. I traveled to St. Louis Mo. to attend a conference and I began designing private label soaps. I also donated time and soaps to local charities and featured my soaps in local festivals. I kept it all together in this hard economy by keeping a bubbly attitude.

Every new day is balancing act of being Mom, Wife, Friend & Entrepreneur. How can one person be all four? Well the only way a mom could ever survive is to wear more than one hat. Knowing full well that being a stay at home mom is a full-time gig. I "LIVE & LOVE" to make soap because I am a creative soul. "Soap is my happy medium!" There is so much you can do with it! It is like cooking and art combined to create one delicious piece of work for your skin. Although my soaps may smell good enough to eat and are made with all natural products, please do not ingest their goodness! They are all products (for external use only) for your skin to enjoy! It is a good feeling to create something that can bring joy to the life of others and at the same time be a useful product. It makes my daily balancing act worthwhile.

The future of this business and a change of name is on the horizon. I have found that the main drive and spirit behind this business has been my enjoyment of bathing. Everyone needs to take time and give back to themselves so they may feel recharged and ready to give to others. If you can not give to yourself, then you can not give to others. Another favorite saying of mine; "Many a joyful hour is spent in the bath, or in the shower!" For my new promotion of "Keep It Bubbly Soaps," I am creating a new fun line of "LAUGH & LATHER" soaps to encourage 'joy' in everyday bathing and take lather to a new level in natural soaps.

As new products are made and curing I will be blogging about them at letting you know the release dates. I will also be adding new product types to the site. While the KEEPITBUBBLYSOAPS.COM site is under construction, all of my products will be available at WWW.CENTRALCOASTSOAPS.COM. Remember to check back periodically to review what is NEW and KEEP it Bubbly!!

It is looking to be a good and exciting spin for twenty-ten!