Immortality is one of my goals

The other goal is a new wardrobe.

Over the past few years I have gotten really out of shape. In fact, I have gotten really dumpy, lazy and it started catching up with me.

I knew I was a thick woman (putting it nicely), as a matter of fact, I was obese according to all the online indexes. Why did I get to be this way? Well, it was simple. Too many calories in, not enough energy exerted.

I have always been fairly slack about exercising. In fact, to be honest, I was not raised up in an environment where physical activity was the norm. I wasn't an athlete, I never took dance classes. As a child I played with my friends, took music lessons and was an avid reader.

My diet growing up was pretty good considering this was the 70's. We ate a lower fat, low sodium diet, lots of white meat vs red meat and vegetables. So my diet has always been fairly clean.

I had a good metabolism as a child and young adult. I just didn't gain weight easily. BUT I was a smoker. Off and on through out my twenties and early thirties I smoked tobacco. Then my mid 30s hit me, I quit smoking (9 years now!) and my metabolism slowed down, my eating habits picked up.

And so did my weight.

I DO NOT regret stopping smoking. At all. I believe I saved my life. But I sure swapped one addiction for another. Tobacco to food. I am a foodie, I love really good food AND we need food to live.

However, last winter I needed to get some new clothes for myself. I found myself purchasing XL shirts. I was purchasing large bottoms. I was filling them out. They were tight. I was preferring "stretchy" yoga style clothing because jeans were too binding. I was winded carrying my 20 pound yapping dog up 300 feet from the bottom of my yard (which is on a hill), my knees hurt going up the steps carrying naughty barky pup.

Ugh. I had gotten fat, sluggish, really out of shape.

So I made my first every serious NEW YEARS RESOLUTION: to make a lifestyle change.

I didn't want to do that four letter word: DIET. I wanted to eat right, eat enough, learn to love to exercise, not be such an internet junkie, read more, do more.

So I announced to my husband this is what I was going to do. Make a lifestyle change. And I did.

I joined (or became reaquainted) with Sparkpeople and began tracking what I was eating. I mean seriously. I purchased measuring cups and spoons and a small food portion scale. I increased my water amount. I began repeating the mantra "fat is not my friend" ... which means, I decreased the amount of fat in my diet.
And I began to move. Started with a Wii Fit. I worked out on it, then started walking, then started moving more, then this summer I joined a fitness center.

Oh joy and rapture! The ELIPTICAL! I can put my iPod on and listen to music of my choice AND read at the same time. Working out is fun!

So now here it is mid November. I've lost 40 # pounds (I am at a plateau right now) and would love to get another 10 pounds or so off then maintain.

I've gotten rid of all my xl shirts and wearing medium/large (depending on the cut) and am sagging in my pants. My large pants I got (the stretchy yoga style) are fit for lounging around the house because I have to hitch them up when i walk ... Can't work out in them anymore.

Long rambling short: yay. I am not going back.

Now, to lose these last few pounds so I can go shopping for a brand new wardrobe!

Here it is mid-November

15% off Sale this weekend only! November 20-22

I totally forgot to blog this! Please visit my Faerie Made site to save 15% off everything on all orders over $40.00 this weekend.


Discount is automatically applied. Also, locals can request it at the Craft Explosion at Vance School today.

Ciao!

Vance Craft Explosion

The Vance Holiday Craft Explosion will be held Sunday, November 22nd from noon-5pm in the gym at Vance Elementary. The event will be right off the lower parking lot on Clinton Avenue, but there will be plenty of parking all around.

There will be a great collection of vendors including:
Crankypants Knits
Faerie Made Soap
Roly Poly Crafts
Spotted Dog Farm
Circles and Squares

and many more!

There will also be a yummilicious bake sale and silent auction.

Get a jump on your holiday shopping and support Vance Elementary and local artists at the same time! What could be finer?

Copied from BlogAsheville.

15% off Sale this weekend only! November 20-22

Please enjoy 15% off all orders over $40.00 this weekend November 20-22!

Time to stock up for Christmas!

You don't have to do anything, the discount will automatically apply when you hit $40. Also, complimentary shipping on all orders over $55~

Faerie Made

The Big Warm up

Today I went to get my eyeglasses worked on and had an hour to kill while waiting for them to get finished. I went into Sears to the Land's End section to check out the winter coats for my daughter.

I have had an eye on a down jacket for her and wanted to see it up close and personal. I went in there and they didn't have it in stock. So I decided to go ahead and order it online and do so while there since the coat was on sale for 30% off.

As I was getting ready to leave, I noticed a card that mentioned something about the big warm up.
The Big Warm Up is where you donate a gently used coat to the Land's End and can receive 20% off a new coat from Land's End. The coat you donate is given to the Coalition for the Homeless and someone else can go warm.

I wasn't even planning on this, but I had my vest I had purchased last year in the car. I've lost a lot of weight this past year and my down vest was I got last year for Christmas was too huge (it was a bit big when I got it, but now it swallowed me).

So I brought in that vest and gave it over. Now someone will be warm and my daughter has a really pretty coat to open up on Christmas morning. Win Win!

Packaging!

I've been so busy here with Faerie Made ... lots of changes going on. (not just because it's our busy season ...)

Recently, the main thing has been to get our packaging updated. I am so excited about this. I've been working with Peggy Schneider at Creative Persuasions on all my labeling/packaging needs. She is an amazing graphic artist who 2 years ago designed my gorgeous wholesale catalog and also updated all my labels for my soap cigar bands and my body care products. Because of her eye and attention to detail, my line started really coming together. I make a lovely product, but I'm not a graphic artist ... she is. She took my vision and pulled it together.

However, I'm still printing all my labels in-house. This has been fine and all, but I spend a lot of time printing labels, struggling with getting everything straighter and all ... (sometimes the labels don't go through the printer straighter ...) and while I've used a business laser printer, the oils still caused the print on the labels to smear and my sugar scrubs labels to eventually lose the name. It definitely works much better than an ink jet. However, I can spend an entire day just printing labels!

So Peggy and I got together again and began collaborating on the new labels. Still same look, but this time I am outsourcing the labels. They will be professionally printed and I'm excited about that. The ingredient list will be updated to FDA INCI guidelines (I've mentioned that in past posts) and that was a chore to compile all that data. Glad to be done with that part heh.

To add to the excitement about the packaging changes: starting by years end, Faerie Made soaps are going to be packaged in lovely custom printed soap boxes! We'll have a cut out hole so you can still see our lovely soaps and smell our lovely natural essential oil scents. Oh boy oh boy oh boy!

I paid the deposit day before yesterday and they are doing the proof which I hope to have in my hot little hands early next week. Once approved, then on to getting themprinted!

I've also finalized the new point of purchase displays for our hemp lip balms. So new stockists (and old) will have new pop displays .. lots prettier than our old ones out of cardboard & hand applied stickers.

I can't wait to get them here, in stock and pictures taken to show them off.

Lamb for dinner (that's what's cookin')

The other day I picked up a lamb neck from East Fork Farm ... why a lamb neck? it was on sale. heh. I've purchased other cuts before and prepared it, so I wanted to try this, especially since tasting the curry they had prepared with the neck meat at the market. It was really yummy.

I am a fairly new fan of lamb ... it just wasn't a common meat staple when I was growing up. We had lots of beef and chicken with an occasional pork chop thrown in. So me learning how to cook lamb has been a real challenge. I do love the taste, and purchasing it directly from the vendor has made me thrilled because it's affordable. I really love to support local farms. I really miss it when our market season ends. I'll try to stock up, but I always run out before April.

Anyway, I found myself with this lamb neck and wanted to prepare it. I didn't want to make a curry (too easy ...) so I decided that I wanted to stew it, but I didn't want the traditional stew. You know: potatoes, carrots, onions.

I did a bit of research, asked around at a forum (not lamb cooking related heh) and then decided to go for it.

I got out my trusty crock pot, (I love my crockpot, shall I sing the songs of love for my crock pot???? I use it weekly, several times a week as a matter of fact.)

Anyway, got out the crockpot and turned it on. Grabbed a cast iron skillet and browned/seared the neck in there, tossed in crockpot. Then browned 3 cloves of garlic & an onion in the skillet in the fat from the lamb (it wasn't much, just enough to keep the veggies from sticking), then tossed that into the crock pot.

I added 3 carrots coarsely chopped, a cup of red wine, 3 cups of chicken broth, 3 lovely sprigs of fresh rosemary, 3 bay leaves, a pint of tomatoes fresh packed from our garden, and paprika.

Set the crockpot on high and went away to work. When I got in from the market this evening, the house smelled amazing. The liquid had cooked down and thickened up to a gorgeous rich broth. I pulled out the neck & pulled the meat off with a fork. Added it back to the thickened broth and it was ready.

A bit of rosemary, roasted garlic & kalamata foccacia and brown rice completed the meal.

MMMM....

Rosemary Mint Shaving Soap

Beer Soap fail = Shaving soap WIN!

This soap started at a failed attempt at making a cold process Beer soap with a locally microbrewed IPA. While I had let the beer sit out for nearly a week hoping that the carbonation would go bye bye ... it wasn't all gone. So I got what is affectionately termed "volcano" when I added my lye to the beer.

I was going for all beer as the liquid. Next time, I won't attempt a 20# batch of soap w/ all that gorgeous IPA without proceeding with a bit more caution. It went down the drain... can you say alcohol abuse? Next time, leave out a week and THEN freeze and add lye slowly like making goat milk soap. *sigh*

I had to quickly clean up the mess this made. My sink was full of caustic soda and beer, then I remade the lye concentration using only water.

I mixed the lye water into my oils, then added loads of bentonite clay and my essential oil blend of rosemary, lavender, spearmint and peppermint (our gorgeous Rosemary Mint blend we use in our Shea butter Sugar Scrubs). Then added a titch of sun-dried Argiletz green clay to the batch.

The lather is smooth and silky, just right to allow the razor to glide across the skin.

I made 68 bars, down already to 55.

You can purchase it Here

As for a beer soap? It will have to wait until after the new year ... heh.