Archive for the 'E.R. News & Such' Category
-image-About Boxes and Experiences
Phew… I finally have a chance to breath. I kept wanting to post after the opening weekend; then after the second weekend - but now here it is, our Grand Opening has come and gone and I haven’t had the breath or energy to come by and write, till now.
On that front the store has been going well. Each week we have, at the very least, made enough to pay our bills and replace the stock (an exciting thing!). Word is spreading and I’m truly enjoying the customers who come in. Up until this week, even slow customer days had me working non-stop on all the little things that still needed to be done, but since the official Grand Opening weekend I’ve finally had some time and space to breath - for which I am eternally grateful.
If you are waiting for an email reply from me, I imagine I’ll finally be able to get it to you in the next day or two.
I started reading A New Earth (Tolle) in time to follow along with the Oprah class (I can’t resist a free class!). As soon as I started reading it I knew that Wakizashi needed to read the book, so I promptly began nagging him to do so.
When he finally agreed I put my own reading on hold so he could catch up.
Now, when I say that Wakizashi is reading something, understand that I use the term loosely. Wakizashi needs complete quiet to actually be able to read a book, so, needless to say, he doesn’t find a lot of time where he can lose himself in a book. Instead he listens to audio books. What with a one hour commute each way to work he gets a lot of “reading” done.
Which is why I expected him to catch up to me in no time. But, it seems that Wakizashi found Tolle’s narration style hard to follow and he abandoned the book for better listening. What with all the store stuff happening I also ended up putting the book aside and getting lost in busy-ness.
Anyway, it seems that last week sometime Wakizashi started listening to the book again, and now he’s not only caught up to me, but far surpassed me. So, I’m trying to squeeze the book into my days so I can catch back up to him.
Yesterday, I finished chapter three and went back over my workbook questions for chapter two and three. I ended up making a list of suggested exercises that I could do and come back and fill in the answers later. This morning I did the exercise from chapter one:
Spend some time with something you find beautiful without naming it. Write about your experience.
Our store is located in an area of town called Port Dalhousie right next to a public beach and the Lakefront Walking Trail. Yesterday morning I got to work early and decided to find a nice place outside to take my devotional time and ended up discovering a little corner of the beach just at the end, that is cut off from most of the rest of the park. It’s just a tiny corner with a tree and waves crashing on the rocks, but the only people who seem to have discovered it (or care about it) are ducks. It is perfect.
This morning when I knew I was going to work on the chapter one exercise I made a bee-line straight for my little corner of the park. I sat under the tree (where I wouldn’t bother the sleeping ducks) closed my eyes and listened to the crashing waves - while trying not to think of them as waves. I tipped my head to stare up at the tree and tried not to remember that it was a tree.
While I was doing this I was reminded of an experience I had had years ago while reading a book on the Jewsih roots of Christianity. For the life of me I can’t remember what I had read that prompted the moment, but I distinctly remember driving home one night (probably from reading in Starbucks) and being distraught because I had discovered that God was not who I had previously thought he was.
Not only that, but I realized that the only reason I was only just discovering this aspect of God’s nature was because I hadn’t been willing to hear it before. God, I discovered, is always ready and willing to show us all of himself (or, as much as we can handle at anyone time) - he wants to be known as much as any of us do - but I had been (and most of us are) so busy telling him who he was I’d never left any space for him to actually tell me who he really was.
I had created a definition, a label, for God that in truth confined Him - or confined my ability to know him. It was a heart breaking and life changing moment.
This morning as I sat under the tree and stared at it’s branches reaching up and over me, saw the green buds that were the beginning of leaves I remembered that moment crying in the car and I thought - maybe this exercise is like that discovery. Maybe if instead of telling the tree it’s a tree (and having an idea in my head of all that that means) what I should do is just let the tree Be and then I’d be able to discover more about what the tree really was - rather than what I thought it was.
It was an amazing experience. When I actually fully let myself go and really felt the tree… I was surprised at how powerful an experience it turned out to be.
It was like I suddenly saw that the tree is so much bigger - so much more powerful - than I had ever seen before (because I’d never really been looking?). I could clearly feel and understand why so many cultures have worshipped and revered trees. It was a fascinating experience.
Now I think I’d like to repeat it with a nice piece of art (something else that they suggest in the exercise) - I’ll let you know if anything worthwhile comes out of it!
Posted by Megan @
12:28 pm |
-image-So Much to Do, So Much to Say
Have you ever heard the Bible verse that describes God as being able to do “more than you could ask or imagine” (Eph 3:20)? It seems like a relatively simple and self-explanatory description of God, but I’ve been discovering over the last year or so that what I thought I understood, I clearly did not understand.
I think it’s because the things are truly beyond anything we can imagine we just can’t truly grasp, or even begin to understand, just how big that description is. Until, of course, truly big things beyond your ability to imagine start happening around you. Which is what’s been happening to me lately.
If you had told me, say, four months ago, that I would be doing what I’m doing right now I wouldn’t have believed you. I tell you, it hadn’t even occurred to me that it would be possible. Which is why when I occasionally find myself baffling at the course of events I’m currently caught up in I can’t do anything but ponder just how big a statement “more than you can ask or imagine” truly is.
You see, since last August I’ve been working on starting an online store. It was my secret project that I’d been slaving away on (and then of course avoiding when it got a little too scary). I had the whole thing planned out, budgeted, and product starting to collect in my office. I only had a few key things left to do to launch: print labels, get photos done, finalize the website.
I had wanted everything to be up in time for Christmas sales. But due to certain factors (mostly my avoiding the to do list when I became overwhelmed) it, clearly, wasn’t ready for the winter. I spent a month or so being pretty disappointed in myself, and then decided enough was enough and I needed to push through and finally set a launch date. I figured everything could be ready for March - everything would be ready for March. No more procrastinating.
And then in February something happened. A serendipitous event, sparked an idea, which caught fire and sparked action and… long story short: We are opening a real store this April.
Yes, a real brick and mortar store with walls and doors and regular hours. There’s a cash register and shelves and everything. (See what I mean about the more than you could ask of imagine thing?) The bank loan is in and all I’m doing now is finalizing my product orders and waiting for all the STUFF to arrive.
I have to say, I’m a little overwhelmed.
The store - believe it or not - was born out of Everyday Renaissance and my coaching business. I started with the simple online store idea: sell products and kits that will encourage women to take time out for themselves. It was going to be an online store dedicated to the idea of Solo Moments.
Then I started taking an Aromatherapy course. I wanted to include essential oil blends in my kits, so the course seemed like a wise investment. But, the more I read, the more fascinated and obsessed I became with learning about health and well-being. I started having epiphanies about how my coaching should be more holistic; I figured if I was coaching people to make changes in all aspects of their lives then they’d see results faster, feel better, and the changes would stick better. I was suddenly toying with the idea of being a coach who focused on Holistic Well-Being.
(Actually, typing this all up is making me all excited again!)
At the same time that I was becoming so fascinated with health and well-being I’d also made a few key decisions about my product sources. I tried as much as possible to support small businesses - especially women in business and in the arts - I’ve got all kinds of hand-made products which I’m immensely proud to carry. I’d also chosen to go fragrance free; the boys in my house are allergic to perfumes so all my products were scented with essential oils rather than chemical fragrance. So, while I was at it, it wasn’t too big a jump to, as much as possible, choose products and companies that were eco and health friendly.
I didn’t really plan it that way, but that’s what started happening. So of course, it seemed only natural that, as I became more and more passionate about the subjects - and realized how overwhelming it can be and how much I wished there were simpler ways to make good decisions - that maybe we should try and do something more.
And that, my lovely friends and readers, is how Every Day Well-Being was born.
Well, there’s a bit more back story as to how it got from the web to the real world, but remember, I’m trying to make a long story short.
Every Day Well-Being is all about making it easy for you to Live Well - how ever that looks to you. We’ll be carrying eco and health friendly body products, make ups, and cleaning products. Essential oils and essential oil blends, as well as lots of things to help the environment and things to help you take care of your soul too. It’s all about being healthy and balanced in your whole self - body, soul, & spirit.
I am SO excited!
We’ll still be putting the store online (so all of you too far away to stop by and visit can still check out our awesome stuff!) - that’s been delayed to coincide with the actual opening of the store doors (April 19th - write it down people!). We’ll also be making some changes to the blog so that I can include articles and tons of info on any and of all the subjects that catch my (and your) fancy.
And, in addition to all that, I’m still doing my coaching (of course, because coaching is what I love and who I am) and I’ll be starting to speak at workshops and conferences. The plan is to have everything coming together all at once in April.
Now, if you’ve been wondering where I am or what I’ve been so distracted by that I can’t be bothered to blog you now know! I’ve gone from being frustrated (with not launching in time) to being washed away in a giant wave of more than I could possibly have even begun to imagine. Phew…
By the way, if you’ve got any ideas for the store or anything you are just dying to see me offer or do I’m ready and eager for your thoughts and ideas. After all, my inspiration for all this has always been you ladies. Now, I’m off to check on dinner and start shopping for the store again - sigh… shopping! I’ll talk to you again soon - I promise!
Posted by Megan @
6:39 pm |
-image-The Official Contest Announcement
I thought I’d give the Girlfriends Art Contest it’s own post to make sure you hadn’t missed it, cause I’d sure hate to not get to see all the beautiful and lovely things you would have come up with!
So, for those of you who didn’t know: I’ve decided to hold a Contest. I’m putting together a small line of greeting cards especially meant for women to send to other women. I’ve got a creative line already set up with art and words, and I’ve got six fun and quirky cards written - but no fun and quirky art. I was pondering this dilema yesterday and decided that the solution must be to simply hold a contest for greeting card art. Let’s call it the:
Here’s how it works, I’ll share three of the insides I’ve got here for cards and you pick two (or all three) that you’d like to illustrate. Then draw whatever comes to mind. Send me your art at muse @flamingrenaissance.com (without the space obviously) and I’ll judge the contest (well, not alone, Wakizashi and a few nameless others will help me). The winner of the contest will have their art published on a small line of greetings cards that will be sold through Everyday Renaissance - and besides the prestige of saying you won and being able to show people your cards you’ll get a contract for 20% royalties on all the cards sold.
Phew… You may submit original art, or you may submit works you’ve already done that you feel suit the cards (as long as you still own the rights to that art). I don’t want to give you too many constrictions (and lose out on a potentially great idea), so instead I’ll give you four words to guide and inspire you. Think: Girlfriends, Cute, Quirky, Fun!
So, if you are interested then here’s the final piece you need to get to work:
Card Text #1 - “Just a little note to remind you that You Matter to Me.”
Card Text #2 - “Shine, Baby, Shine. There’s no one more fabulous than you!”
Card Text #3 - “Laugh and the world laughs with you; Cry and I’ll be right over with the ice cream.”
Submission Deadline is September 29th. Winners will be announced by October 6th.
I can’t wait to see what you all have to send in!
Posted by Megan @
6:42 am |
-image-Only 3 Days Till my Birthday!!
Woo Hoo! I love birthdays. I love parties, and people, and presents! (I almost never get parties or people, but I always get a nice present from Wakizashi.)
In honor of my upcoming festivities, I would like to share with you an odd little rant.
On Sunday I was hanging out in the bookstore (where better?) flipping through an odd book full of questions people had asked and their answers (for some reason I can’t remember the name of the book, but it was by Reader’s Digest). I love these kinds of books, you learn the most fascinating thing. For example, one of the questions was: What’s the difference between women’s razors and men’s razors?
That’s a good question; I’ve never thought of that before! The answer is pretty simple, there are a few minor changes designed to better accomodate women. Our razor handles tend to have a slightly different design making it easier for us to see what we are doing around our hand and the razor, and because we often go for stints without shaving our razors have a little shieldy-thing that makes our long hair stand up so it’s easier to shave.
But, the primary difference is that because women’s hair is finer, and we (apparently) prefer not to be knicked, our razor blades are on a diffferent angle (and now I can’t remember, but they may be a little less sharp too). Men don’t mind being knicked (apparently) and their hair is thicker, so their blades are tilted to give them a closer shave. (Which, I suppose, means that blades advertising “closest shave” will also give more cuts!)
Ok, now comes the little ranty part… After explaining also these fascinating things the book quoted a guy from Schick as saying that despite all the research and work that goes into making razors that are better suited to women’s needs, statistics still show that 80% of women use men’s razors.
Here’s the thing: If women want the closer shave (and the risk of being cut), why would you continue to waste your time and money researching what women should want and not just give us what we actually want? Take a men’s razor, make it pink, and sell it as a women’s razor with the closest shave ever!
I don’t know, it all just seems so simple to me.
There’s no real point to this post, it was just something I was pondering in the shower this morning as I shaved my legs. Now that you can say you learnt something new today I return you to your regularly scheduled surfing.
Posted by Megan @
6:59 am |
-image-Something Happy!
Have you ever heard of Dr. Andrew Weil? I really like a lot of his philosophies on health and taking care of ourselves (lately I’m becoming more and more aware of the fact that medecine in our culture isn’t about health, but just about recovery, so I’m trying to learn how to be proactive in my health care); for example, one of his regular perscriptions is a “News Fast”.
A News Fast is relatively simple and just what it sounds like: You stop listening to, watching, and reading the news for a preset period of time. He says that News Fasts and breathing techniques (many of which I’ve been including in the Solo Moments Podcast) are his most common perscriptions (and most effective). Why? Because the news is overwhelmingly negative; we underestimate the effect that thinking about and carrying around such a negative focus has on us.
After my post yesterday, which despite my point being not to dwell on such dark and heavy things, really did end on a heavy note, I thought I’d share something a little more upbeat with you. I was watching videos on a new streaming site and these two had Wakizashi and I cracking up. Why not smile a little?
This one’s by the “Nintendo Choir”; Wakizashi knew all the video games, how many can you get? (Personally, I love Tetris and Zelda; the acting adds that little “je ne sais quoi”.)
Hey, I know those songs! The Evolution of Dance:
See, now you’re happy!
Posted by Megan @
8:07 am |
