Health and Image: the California Girl

The image above is the picture that most people would look at and say, "Now, THAT looks like a California girl to me."

Most of us ladies would love to look remotely as beautiful as the girl in the pic. Young, blond, tan, shapely, lovely. Yep! The California girl alright.




Here's another pic of California girls in action. Athletic,young, tan, healthy, spirited, sport-minded. That's another ideal California girl image.








The pic above is NOT the typical California girl image. Obviously taken many years ago, yet these are California girls from Alhambra in Southern California.





And these girls above are definitely not what you would consider the California image, even several years ago, yet they are also California girls too. These girls aren't blond, but they ARE tan, healthy...maybe just a tad bit plump for our modern day standards; nevertheless, shapely.





This picture above is probably the more common California girl, whether you want to believe it or not. Overweight, out of shape, not tanned, and probably not blond either.






Here's a California girl who used to look a lot like the girls you see in the picture below...(go ahead, take a look now). The pic above is ME, by the way.





I used to be tan, blond, athletic, healthy, shapely, a killer beach bod and you would see me at beach constantly body surfing. So, what happened? Well, I moved from California, got married, had kids, worked and life got "busy". Before I knew it, I was a plump, middle-aged, out of shape person, very un-California looking...at least if you are to believe the TV image of all the beautiful people in California.

So, NOW what?

My only choice is to get into shape, get healthy, lose weight and quit living like a heart attack in progress.

Plan? Stop eating so much darned bread and eat healthy, don't starve myself, but eat small meals, drink lots of water, and exercise at least 3 times a week.

I started only 1 1/2 weeks ago and already I've lost 5 pounds, but still feel miserable every time I exercise. Took up swimming again...YIKES! Could only swim 8 laps of the 25 meter pool the first time. I'm now up to 28 laps. SLOWWWWW laps, but they are 28 laps all the same.

No, I won't ever look like this:

But, I will feel better, look better and maybe, just maybe I might get close to looking like this:



And not like THIS!

Soap Vendor at Festivals and Such

This has been the first year that I branched out into displaying my soaps at Festivals, markets, bazaars etc. Each experience has given me valuable ideas and great new friends!

Prior to this year, most of my soapy sales have been online only and through word of mouth. Like many other crafters, I work outside the home at a full time job too, many of which are weekends. So, my weekend time is limited. I chose mostly local festivals this year and local markets, which is easier on my time and finances.

How did I find the festivals? I looked up online local town chamber of commerce sites. If there is a yearly festival in that town, they often have vendor entry forms right there online, OR you can call and ask they send you one.

How did I choose the festival? For me, it has been mostly regional. Somewhere where I can come home easily every evening and sleep in my own bed! I also looked at the type of venue and concept of the festival to see if it would fit well with what I sell. I've also had some feedback from other vendors that I know too.

I'm BIG on asking questions, so I ask lots and lots of questions when I talk with the chamber of commerce.

Booth set up: Well, first off, have a sturdy canopy, weighted in case of overly blowing breezes. Very helpful. Have a "wall" around you canopy where the sun and wind can be better managed. A tarp isn't pretty but works. If you see other vendors, you notice all kinds of fun ideas. Lattice fences, bamboo shades etc (I like the bamboo shade concept). I haven't gotten them myself yet, but hey, I'm new at this. Workin' on it. Set your tables in an inviting way. I like more than one table. Having the table set out flat in front shows your wares well, but I always feel this "blockage" between me and my customer when it is like that. So I like to set a smaller table out front for customers to see (flashy eye-candy stuff), then another table that "invites them in" with the meat of my product, that is placed inside my canopy. Once they're "inside" they've usually become more than just a casual onlooker and more the purchaser.

Samples, samples, samples! I have LOTS and LOTS of samples. One lady was so excited about one product she took the sample instead of the full size product and I didn't realize it until after she left! I kept hoping she would come back, but she didn't. Amazingly, when I went for a little break about an hour later, I found her at the festival and she came back for her full size product and traded the sample back. Then, she bought something else while she was there too!

Which brings me to another subject. DO visit as many of the other booths as possible, compliment and get to know your "vendor neighbors". Some are more friendly than others. I have found some great folk and we plan to keep in contact. One fella came without a canopy and it was going to be a miserable hot day. My hubby and I offered to go back home and get our other other canopy for him to use. Hubby was home and had it all packed up, when our vendor neighbor's family called saying they found a canopy for him and were bringing it. Always be neighborly to your vendor neighbors! You may make some great friends.

DON'T just sit there and read a book or engage in private conversation with your family and friends in front of customers. It tells your customers, "Don't bother me" and you WANT your customers to feel welcome. I smile all day long (till my "smiler" hurts!), ask how my customers are doing and get them to talk a little about themselves. That way, I can point them to one of my products that may be of more interest to them. AND, I'm one of those of people that is truly interested in what my customers have to say. I don't pretend interest. People can see through that. If I compliment them on a piece of jewelry they are wearing, it's because I really DO like it.

Now, here is a fun little trick that gets people to stick around, but I need the cooperation of my son. He's a teenager and loves playing the guitar (acoustic and electric) and he's quite good at it. Mostly, he enjoys classic rock pieces and some folk rock. He comes with me to help out, but gets a bit bored at times, so brings his guitar with him and plays. People stop to hear him play! I told him he should leave his guitar case open, maybe he'll get some money for his playing! But, it brings and keeps potential customers to my booth, hence increases sales.

Bring food, bring water, bring towels for any spills or clean-ups. Bring a change of clothes, bring deodorant, bring a mirror and gals, wear make-up and dress nice but casually comfortable. Wear comfy shoes, bring comfy chairs, bring an ice chest! Bring a water spritzer, bring sunblock! Bring pen, paper, calculator, scissors, bags, tissue paper, a small first aid kit and basic OTC medicine, including your prescription meds if you have any. Bring a jacket in case the weather changes!

If your product is good and you are genuine and respectful of others, the rest is gravy! Just enjoy your time and don't think of it as work or money-making. Enjoy!

And while your at it, I'm at Harvest Days in Battleground this weekend (July 17, 18, 19th). Stop by and visit if you are local in the Portland metro/SW Washington area!

Supplies and Loofah Soaps

Loofah soaps are one of my best selling soaps over all. It's a fun soap with a slice of loofah drenched in glycerin soap, scented, sometimes adding an herb or two on top (like you see in the picture).

Brings me to the point of where I get my loofah sponges to begin with. Typically, I order them online. Occasionally, I find a special on them in a local store. But it is usually ordering them from the same supplier because I want continuity in my product.

Last time I ordered though, the loofah had changed significantly! It was shipped flat, which is fine with me, all I have to do is soak it to plump it back to its original form. What was different was that when the loofah plumped up, it was MUCH larger than they were before. So large that it could not be held comfortably in your hand in the shower. This is extremely important! You don't want to be fumbling around with a larger than life soap in the shower! I pondered this for awhile, trying to figure out the best way to make these monstrosities work for my needs. I ended up cutting these things in half! It is much easier to handle now, but they just don't look quite as nice as the completely round ones, in my opinion. Who knows? Maybe you folks out there might like them even better! See the picture below...



So for now, the loofahs will be in half. Still a great item, just looks different. In the meantime, I will be hunting down some loofahs that better fit my needs!

The loofah soaps are not listed yet on any of my sites, but if you mention that you noticed this blog entry and purchase one of my half loofahs, I'll give you 50% off (yes, half off) the original purchase price through September 30th, 2009.

Enjoy!