I need your advice!

I am going to do some sort of consumer research here...i have been pluggin' away with my business Ovio Organico for almost 7 years now, it started out as a soap business, and then changed into 24 different skin care products because of my love of making up new products. I quickly realized that i couldn't afford the 12 different types of packaging, and all the professional labels that my products required (especially when there is always a minimum order per label)...so because of my lack of business skills i joined up with my good friend Richard (yes a man, not gay, but we've been friends for a long time..blah blah blah)..so then when Ovio became a real business, with a real accountant, etc..i felt out of my realm...everything had become so redundant and i lost my mojo. :( We went down to 3 products for cost reasons, and  began selling in some stores, but it became boring and not that fruitful...so now what?!  Last weekend i was at a Christmas show, and i had decided the week before to experiment with new essential oils, new mixtures...and even bought some blank Martha Stewart (gasp!) labels so i could create whatever the heck i wanted...and it was so fun!!! The mojo has made an appearance and i'm having crazy brain storming sessions in my, well, brain. Here are a few of my ideas:

1. Carry on with Ovio, but start carrying other products as well and have an on-line shop called Eco-nomical Organical or just Ovio Organico --'the eco-nomical source for all things organic', which would offer great prices on organic labels...

 2. Continue on with Ovio and  develope a product range that is A. very well -priced and sold on-line and at craft fairs, home parties, etc.. or B. regular priced that is only sold in stores, since i have to consider the mark-up the store would put on the product(where would you prefer to purchase?)

3. Continue on with Ovio but make it a mother/baby range only, (and do i sell on-line, or in stores?)

And the last part: What do you use most of? What would you be interested in using? ..i would very much appreciate your comments, phone calls, or e-mails...i need some direction!

Raw food-ness

I bought a Vita-Mix at Costco yesterday..without talking about it with Scott. I came home with a look of glee spread across my face and had to slowly explain why i bought it,('this will change your life Scott', 'it makes hot soup!', 'it was the LAST day at Costco', etc...) he was pretty ticked. $500.00 is not small change around here, so i understand his frustration with his compulsive wife. So i've taken it as my challenge to use it well...last night i made this super delicious soup in 5 min, ..throw all your raw ingredants in, turn it on for 4 min, and the friction makes the soup hot...ta-da!! We made ice cream last night when Scott had a DQ craving...(see all the money we're saving!), and i'm going to make some sort of mush for dinner just to prove you can use it for every meal of the day!! Anyways, i've wanted one for about 4 years since every raw food un-cook book i have requires it for something. I am starting a raw food challenge on Tuesday, and i'm going till Christmas Eve baby..i'll write a little about it, and post some easy peasy recipes.

The requirements are:

*approx. 80% of the food i eat has to be raw goodness
*no white-ness (flour, sugar, dairy,etc..)
*NO coffee..i'm trying this one again
* excercise at least 3 times per week
* no animal products..zip..nothin..

concocting

Tonight i am getting prepared for a Christmas Craft show...wrapping lavender soaps, mixing sugar scrubs, and finishing off a perfume i've been working on...i'm not telling what i put in it, but it smells like coconut with lime, with a dash of cocoa maybe? I'm amazed by smells and how they tend to trick us...i can use 10 different essential oils and have the perfume come out smelling like grape candy...like the fake grape candy. I have always wanted to become a 'nose'...i already drive Scott nuts by detecting the smallest gas leaks, and when i was pregnant the smell of plastic wrap drove me crazy. Mandy Aftelier is a natural perfumer who only uses essential oils and absolutes to create her deeply mysterious potions...a true artist.

babies = hope

Lately I find myself craving pregnancy, birth, and that feeling of being blissed out and in love. In reality though, i know i have a lot of  'things' (for lack of a better word) to work through before even planning a fourth babe... Scott and I have never 'planned' a baby..they just happened on random...and we were thrilled! And with those spontaneous conceptions there is always a feeling of "oh crap...we didn't think about this" mixed with "yee-haw!". So now, its been awhile since a good ol' surprise...and i'm turning 29 , and i'm feeling the weight of 'planning', and 'retirement savings', and with all the bad news in the world, a baby = hope for the future. So maybe i don't really need to have another babe..but even thinking that i might gives me enough hope that my life will not turn out just as i 'plan' it to.

a lovely mama

This woman was featured in the New York magazine's Look Book, where a person with great personal style is featured and interviewed. This woman is Molly Findlay and i love how she's carrying her babe in an Ergo, and i just dig her overall look...here is the interview, and check out my Favorite Ergo...i'm definately buying this for my next baby(Scott doesn't read this, so i can say that:)...unless Liz can whip up something similar (shout out to Bloggy Mama creations).

i hate scrapbooking...sorry gals

When someone says, "I'm a scrap booker" or "I'm a scrappy stamper"(someone who stamps AND uses stickers)...i shudder in my panties. I have several reasons for my shuddering:

1. I hate cutting my pictures...one of the best things about pictures is looking in the background many years later and recalling the ugly wallpaper and the size of my moms booty back in the day (hot stuff). Isn't it sort of editing memories?

2. I don't like stickers with themes..'nuff said.

3. I don't like taking so much time to save memories, because then i'll need another scrapbook of pictures of me scrapbooking...("oh, remember the days when i would sit at the table all day long and glue ribbons, and other paraphernalia into a $1000.oo book...)

4. real christians don't scrapbook...its true..ok, its not true.

5. The Guilt!! I simply do not want to take the time to do it, but then i feel guilty, so i go to Starbucks to feel better...(and us moms do not need any more guilt of not being perfect enough!)

6. I don't like being stereotyped by men...(my wife scrapbooks....wicked eh?)

7. I miss real old scrapbooks...like taking scraps and putting them into books.

8. One of the things i loved doing at my grandmother's house was digging through a massive box with a zillion pictures in it..spanning about 5 decades..and then trying to remember the memories together..with organization that wouldn't be possible.

I think that is all of the reasons....and friends if you don't hate me by now..i LOVE looking at YOUR scrapbooks..especially if they involve placenta pictures...SO, to stop the forever guilt of not 'properly' archiving my children's memories, i am going to do these things (ideas are taken from http://www.cookiemag.com/ )

From the top:

1. Memory boxes, simple yet special....i think i'm going to memory box my skinny clothes("now those honey, are the undies mommy wore before she had you...and before she worked at Starbucks")
2. I love this idea: write random letters to your kids, dogs, what have you...and then someday when they care, give them the old unopened letters...or, fill up a daytimer with your agenda and then on the next page write funny quotes from your kids..or something that happened that day. Then they'll have a full picture of what your life AND theirs looked like.
3.Write down on the calender a certain day each month to take a picture of your kids/family members..(hopefully you start this before your husband goes bald...then you'll be able to watch the process...fun!)..remember to use an old camera with real film so you'll have to get it developed and it won't just sit on your computer...then write little notes on the back of the photos about that month,etc..
4. And finally my favorite...a good sturdy pretty box to throw all the best momentos in.

And if you're still too lazy..use your imagination and become a good BS-er, so when your kids ask you questions about their childhood, you'll have some really good half-truths for them....(its OK to mix up which baby did what...does it really matter?!)

Tea please

Throughout my last pregnancy i must have drank buckets full of Red Raspberry Leaf tea...i grew to like the taste, especially with a touch of agave nectar or some honey:) This brew is known for being a uterine tonic; helping the uterus contract more efficiently and reducing the risk of hemorrhage after birth. My last birth was so quick, about 45 minutes of active labor..i went from 5 cm to birth in 40 minutes! Afterwards i barely bled at all, and i fully believe it was due to the amount of Red Raspberry Leaf tea i drank throughout that pregnancy, as I did not have the same experience with my previous births. I would use a french press and fill the bottom with the loose tea, and then drink the whole litre of tea through the morning,then again in the evening. Red Raspberry Leaf is rich in vitamins A, C, E and  B complex, it also contains  highly absorbable forms of calcium and iron, and is rich in minerals such as phosphorous and potassium. It also assists in producing a good supply of breast milk:)  A good brand of bagged Red Raspberry Leaf is available from Yogi Tea