Spotlight on Michigan!

I've been meaning to do this all week, and I'm finally getting around to it. I've found some fantastic shops on Etsy.com, and I have decided to feature two great shops I've found in Michigan, and I hope you'll consider buying from (I know I am or have!!)

First up is YouStinkSoap from the West Side!!! The products in this shop are all vegan and smell great.


I've purchased soap and lip balm from this shop. I love the vanilla velvet buttercreme lip balm - I've been using it all this week.










I also have two soaps in scents named Harmony and Kismet. And, with my order, I received a sample of the Bergamot Mandarin soap - took it to Tulsa with me, and loved it!

Next up is pjturner's shop - she's from Kingsley, near Traverse City. She has great woodwork, including pens, bottle stoppers, and keyrings.

Here's my favorite from her shop!











I hope you find some great items in these shops! I'm going to attempt to do this as a weekly feature, though it may be more sporadic than that. But, be on the lookout!

I will...

1) Clean a little more of my apartment this week. I've been working on this, and slowly, things are being purged, and I'm putting scrapbooking supplies in their rightful place. There's still much more to be done, but I'm excited I'm even getting rid of as much as I have.

2) Go to yoga classes this week. I missed last week, but for a good reason. However, I'm feeling a void in my life where yoga was, and need to get back to it. I also need to look into meditating.

3) Read more. I have two books that I've started, and haven't picked them up in at least a week. This just isn't like me.

4) Take better care of myself. I'm starting off small. Those of you who know me know that I'm pretty low maintenance - an eyebrow wax every couple months, no makeup, let my hair air dry, and if I could wear my yoga pants all the time, I'd be in heaven. However, dry skin is telling me to at least put in a little effort to my daily routine...

5) Buy Michigan products - whether it's on etsy.com, at the store, or anywhere, I'm going to attempt to make more Michigan purchases. Or at least shop at locally owned stores! See this blog!

That's just a short list of what I hope to accomplish in the upcoming months...others include getting back into scrapbooking (too many pictures, so little time!), making jewelry and bookmarks (I really, really need to do this), and get things back to normal.

We'll see how far I get...

Just can't shake it...yet.

Last week was rough. Today I feel like I'm recovering - not quite normal yet, but not in the fog that I was in. And, I'm sure that will change over the next few days.

I'm glad that somehow, everything was turned in for Jaycees. I'm happy to be able to focus on 2009 now. I'm also happy to report that I think my cold is finally going away.

I can only predict that the rest of this week will get busy at work. My evenings are pretty much free except for 2 this week, and that's not too bad...maybe I'll actually finish my book club selection this week before we meet!

Blogging to keep busy...

I haven't blogged in almost two weeks. Life has just gotten in the way. I went to Tulsa, OK last weekend, and started a blog entry while I was waiting for my first flight, but it went by the wayside. I really don't have much to report in the food department, except that the restaurant at the Hilton we stayed at was horrible! It was overpriced, the food was bad, and service was bad.


I was there for the US Jaycees Leadership Academy. It was a great weekend, overall, where I got to get to know some of the other presidents from Michigan, met lots of Jaycees from all over the country and even the world, and got lots of new ideas.


This weekend was Local Officer Training for Jaycees, and then the year end banquet for our chapter. I was officially sworn in as the 81st President of the Lansing Jaycees on Saturday night, and let me tell you - I won't forget it. Especially since I had to yell my speech over the sounds of a band that was playing Chicago covers...lol.


Sunday turned out to be a lazy day, and was going alright...until I received a phone call around 9pm, telling me that a friend of mine, a fellow Jaycee from Muskegon, was killed in a snowmobile accident Sunday afternoon. I didn't really cry last night, until I got home, and started thinking about the last time I saw him, about two weeks ago...and how I'm glad I gave him a huge hug then.


I'm still sitting here in disbelief. I didn't know him long - met him in August, to be precise. But we had really started to talk more and get to know each other, and he was really fun. He texted me on Saturday night after getting back from Dallas, to ask how the banquet went. I was tired, and figured I'd get back to him the next day...and I didn't get that opportunity. So I'm having this "what if" questioning of myself...I know I shouldn't, but it just happens.


My thoughts go out to his wife, family, and friends. R.I.P. Adam.

Purging my office

This morning, I wasn't quite sure what I was going to start with doing at work. Then, my first round of bluebacks came in...

Somehow, this spurred me to make room for them in my legislation file drawer, and put my new stuff together for the year. So, I've been going through piles in my office and purging things. This is hard for me to do, since I tend to save everything.

That page a day calendar from last year? Saved the pages so I could read them later...with what time? GONE.

All the newsletters that I read long ago and are still sitting here? GONE.

Files on my desk? BACK in the filing cabinet and nicely labeled...

And on and on...I am hoping to see some semblance of my desk again soon, but who knows when that will be?

Last day of vacation!

Which means back to work tomorrow - for three days!

This has been a great break for me - I've been able to sleep a lot, just hang out, do some reading (though not as much as I would have liked), and get laundry done.

You would think I'd be bored by now and want to go back to work, but no, I think that I could be on vacation for awhile. Haha. But, since I must go back to work and life, I have to leave sleeping in behind...

While I've been on vacation, I've had it in the back of my head that January was going to be busy, but I think it really hit me yesterday when I looked at my schedule again...

In which case, I had to watch this - a bit of humor, in the form of Hoops & YoYo!

I usually don't blog this much...

But, I just found this on PoshMomma's blog...



Have you?


Bold the ones you have done.



1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Been to the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen pyramids of an ancient civilization
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Visited the Caribbean
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Been to a World Series game
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp (a monument for camp victims)
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten sushi
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79.Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day



Hm, it seems I have quite a lot to do...

New Year's Post

So, last night we decided to stay home. I wasn't feeling so great, and it was nice to just spend some time at home watching TV and doing a whole lot of nothing. I'm doing the same thing today, watching football, switching over to the Winter Classic hockey game.

Though, as I'm also surfing the internet looking for a yoga class to head to this weekend, I also decided that I am going to make one New Year's Resolution. I wasn't planning on doing it, but this one seems pretty simple and just as a reminder throughout the year.

Make sure to schedule time for ME.

That's it. Simple, easy, but when things get busy, not always so easy. When I tend to get busy, I forget about taking time out for myself. So, whatever it is - working out, yoga, reading, or just watching a movie, I will make sure that I schedule time for myself.