that kind of quarter

Wow - SO most of the quarter has passed without a blog post. Luckily, this is a great break from studying for my comprehensive exam this week. I have a lot of great new items, and even finished a piece this morning. Soon, I will be back in the swing of creating, including a painting and a simple mosaic for a coffee table once the current wave of exams passes. Also, am excited to getting back into creating after almost a month off ( lot has been going on lately) and trying some old a new things.

An active few months...... and next place to donate too....

My next donation of discontinued inventory and some "extra" items I hadnt got around to listing will be to . I had originally planned on making it this week, However, I am extending and adding to my Last Call sale due to some other changes going on! Here is a link to my etsy store if anyone is interested Sale items are all listed in the Last Call section at 50% off of original price or more.


Okay, back to the last few months. I have been working on some new items, and focusing more energy on my pilates and wellness business . Due to some changes at a place I had been teaching for over 4 years, I finally got the courage to leave and start teaching on my own and subleasing space in a beautiful studio. This seems to have started a theme of speaking up about what I want and moving towards it, amidst of lot of letting go of old ideas and spending what time I would typically spend on my store focused on personal growth, reflection and deepening my faith.

Oddly, the easiest situation to deal with has been someone taking my atm/debit card info. University Credit Union is an amazing financial institution to work with, as everything was pretty much taken care of within 48 hours of filing a report. That said I am not ready or really comfortable yet blogging about one of them, and the other soon to be big change is finding a new roommate. This entered my to do list a few days ago, and since I am in also in midterms, am finding it is so far easiest to do some actions and start with doing what I can (tell classmates to start getting word out since I'd prefer someone from school network) and going through my stuff to see what I can get rid of, what I need and how I can rearrange and clean up as my roommate moves on and I need to start showing my place. Plus, the creative side of me loves to redecorate and re-arrange so while a lot of work, some of it is enjoyable and will be a new change.

PATH - a local organization helping the LA community

In my last post, I wrote about wanting to focus more on giving back. I cleaned out some of my inventory and unlisted items, and after a final sale, took them over to a wonderful organization in West Los Angeles. I decided to do this since really it is a win-win situation. I am able to clear out some of my inventory, and give back and hopefully someone will get a fun handknit item to enjoy or even give as a gift. All participants in the programs get first grab at donations. What isn't used, is then donated to Out of the Closet, and from what I as told, sold in their retail stored which benefit people living with HIV/AIDS.

Also, at the time, a lot of attention was on Haiti, and sending donations. This got me thinking, yes it is important to help out on a global level, and that there is also a lot that can be done locally, and sometimes those organizations get overlooked, as well as local needs in the community. Anyways, here is a link for more info about PATH - People Assisting The Homeless. They work with many agencies and visit the link for the glamour project and other events and ways to offer support. Thanks for visiting !

It's a crazy life - or at least been a crazy week

(Picture was taken on the Coast Starlight Train - September 2009)

First of all - thank you and welcome to new followers & readers- I haven't checked on my blog since my last post - so it was a nice surprise to see a jump in support!

A couple of my friends, would say for weeks "It's a crazy life" while we were out eating our weekly thai lunch. This last week (and even two) great examples of how many things can go on at once, and yet its possible to stop, be present with all of it, and be able to laugh about it by the next day and get past it.

Without going into to much detail yet, some changes in my work life are happening. Many of them are things Ive been planning for, yet had been doing the wait and see with places I wanted to work with - since I was resisting changes since still have 3 quarters to go in school. It is some extra work right now, yet so much of the footwork has been done over the last few years, that actually great timing since postponed a huge and important exam due to my intuition and have some time off from school and a lighter schedule once finals are over.

In the midst, My etsy store is finally stocked to my goal of 100 items +! I have also updated my cosaverde page, have 2 new designs on the way, and a new part of my Recycled Knits line slowly being introduced. My pilates also has new pics from a recent semi-impromptu photo shoot on the reformer, and growing in content rapidly!

The funniest and craziest part is in the midst of all this, while eating a Thin Mint, and leaving for the optomotrist, my porcelin crown on my front tooth fell out - and gave me a legit reason to reschedule an appointment had wanted to reschedule or cancel all day. Luckily I have a friend from school who is a dentist and could FB her for temp advice so I only had to go to the gas station and drugstore somewhat toothless. Got to be grateful for how things work out. A few hours before, some had gotten clarifying, and a bit dissapointing news at one of my workplaces, just after rescheduling my afternoon client. ALso, amazingly worked out since needed to focus on myself, and probably would not have been able to be as present for my client. so in a crazy life, things work out !

Making A Difference

Okay, so I am not the most consistent blogger. I often get ideas about blog entries, and then get busy with school, spending time with friends, knitting, and of course not siting in front of a computer.

With all the attention on Haiti right now, and growing up around a lot of service. I did want to take the time to reflect on both integrating my values with my store, and my blog. In my day job, and education, I am used to providing a service. In my creative and job, I wrote in a business plan about the importance of giving back.

After contemplation, and being honest with myself about my personal discomfort with simply using a blog as a marketing tool, I am planning on focusing on ways people can make a difference, both globally and in there own community, and not just by writing a check. Each month, I am planning on focusing on a different cause - and like before there will be some overlap between knitting, healthcare and the environment, and some cool products thrown in from time to time, because really, there are a lot of creative people looking at ways to make a difference and be of service in different ways. It is also an unknown what is a service to others, as a friend and customer told me that the comfort and coziness of a scarf was a service to her since she is often outside for her work, and all forms of art have that ability to brighten up someones day and provide service, depending on how you look at it.