Bettacreek - New home? Plus a pic of some of the ladies here

[Bettacreek]

Sorry for not updating. It was pathetic. There were maybe thirty people who even showed up to shop at the event. I sold a hair oil treatment, two mint scrubby soaps and one other bar of soap (either unscented or the beer soap, not sure which). BUT, I donated a raffle item, four soaps and a hair oil, and the raffle bag was half full of tickets, at $1/ticket. It had more tickets than any other prize. So next show I'm hoping to throw together some gift baskets, which should do well.

 

[savingdogs]

I think it is the economy. No one is buying things like normal. I know my sister just arranged for no gift exchanging in our family this year, because of the amount of unemployment there is in our extended group this time. I was going to make soap as gifts for them next weekend and now I'm going to just make it for ourselves because I don't have to purchase any scent for the bars I make for us (allergies).

 

[tortoise]

Betta - I just learned via this forum that you can make washing soda. (Super-easy).

Spread out baking soda on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour at 250 degrees.

It WORKS! So cool! I did it and made a batch of detergent. Then I made some extra so I won't have to make washing soda for my next 3 - 4 gallons of detergent.

http://www.mysuburbanhomestead.com/...washing-soda-aka-soda-ash-sodium-bicarbonate/

 

[Bettacreek]

Well, there's some major bad news. I called my old employer to see if I could get back in. It has never been an issue to come back before, but the last time I was working, I had to leave on a regular basis and couldn't make it to work some days because my parents couldn't watch the boys. So... they are "unwilling to rehire me due to previous attendance". I'm crushed, to say the least. I loved my job, and I loved the people I worked with. It was an $8.30/hour job, which, for around here, is good for someone with a basic education. Not only does it crush me because I cannot go back to a job that I liked, but it also makes my prospects for other jobs grim, since I obviously won't be able to get good references, since this was the only job I've worked at, since I was 18. I just don't know what to say, besides that I'm crushed. Everything was starting to come together. Guess I should have known better, lol. I will put in an application for Rockview State Prison, to do the paperwork, but if that doesn't pan out (my hopes are crushed at this point), then I'll be lucky to get a minimum wage job here ($7.15 an hour). Up until this, my big worries were buying x-mas presents and getting a deer. I just hope that whatever happens, I can hoarde enough money away to make it through nursing school. Thank god for grants!!!

 

[dragonlaurel]

Good luck job hunting. They are not likely to give a bad reference. Too many companies got sued over that so most companies only confirmed that you worked there and the dates.

 

[Bettacreek]

I'm already over my pessimism, lol. I have a written and signed letter from them stating that I left due to lack of childcare. Other than that, they really have nothing bad to say about me. I was one of their top freaking employees!!! So, not only do I have the letter, but I have that issue cleared up since I have daycare now. It just makes me ever more determined to get top national scores on my nursing school testing. I don't mean to sound like an egotistical ass, but when I had my IQ tested, they said that I was borderline genius. I KNOW I can get top scores. For the high school testing, I had two 99 and a 98th percentile, for the NATION. Now, my math, I admit, is pathetic. My national percentile was a whopping 76%. I need to admit defeat and realise that I can't do all of my math in my head and just write it the hell down. For the nursing entrance exam, I was 90 something percentile, though I admit it was lower 90's. Anyways, damn it, I refuse to give in.

 

[Damummis]

That's right, keep your head high.

 

[savingdogs]

Companies are afraid to give bad references these days, it doesn't happen as often as you might think. I wouldn't worry about that. If you put someone on your resume from that job, someone who you know will speak well of you, then they may not even call the employer but instead call your reference, since you made that number handy. I used to help people write resumes and that is how I would have presented that.

 

[Henrietta23]

Good luck!! I don't know that 76th percentil qualifies as "pathetic" although I understand your point. Don't give up!

 

[Bettacreek]

X-mas is killing me already. I'm stressing out a LOT about xmas. I have one person who gave me an idea for a gift for them. $7 shipped to the house. Then I can add jams to the basket, since they go through a LOT of jam, lol. My mother, my sister (still not sure if she's officially splitting with her boyfriend or not), my brother and his wife and daughter and my dad are all big "dunnos" for gifts. I have some minor ideas for some, but I just don't know!!! My brother and SIL are both saying "don't get us anything, we don't need anything". I will have to put together a gift basket with applebutter, peach candy and then figure out wtf to make for the SIL (as those are just the things my brother enjoys) and some other stuff. My sister is totally an "I DUNNO!!!" She never cooks so I can't do anything like that, she's weird about soap, etc. So everything I make/can make is basically a no-go with her. Jason and I have said that we're not doing presents. We're going to go to the movies or something a day or two before, and that'll be our xmas. I like the idea a lot better than all the other crap. So, I'm just stressing out about xmas.

My bi-polar is kicking my arse. I'm in a totally off mood, and just can't seem to dig myself out of it. I've tried the St. Johns Wort tea, but I might be in a mild manic stage, which then the tea will only make it worse. I just want to sleep through everything, and don't have motivation to do anything. Now, that sounds like a depressive stage, however, I know that this can also be the signs of a manic stage. It's just really hard to pin down. I know that I haven't been in the mood to drink anything (usually if I get manic, I really want a drink). It's just difficult to figure out what the hey is going on with the mood right now. Jason has been worried because I just haven't snapped out of it like usual, I'm just quiet and haven't been talking much, enjoying much or anything of the sort. So, who knows... Hopefully something snaps back into place. Maybe once I get xmas, the next show, the job and all that junk figured out and set, then I'll snap out, who knows.

Speaking of the show, I'm out of ink... $20 to get a black ink cartridge, plus taxes. I need the ink to get the labels printed out for the rest of the soaps. I also need to get baskets from goodwill to make up gift baskets for sale at the show. I need something to hold everything into place though... Cellophane or something. I was thinking about doing gift bags, just arranging the stuff in a nice gift bag and all that hoop-lah, but don't think it'd draw the eye like a basket would. :/ I haven't even made any attempts at adding any new products to the line.

My back has been acting up. Sometime a month/month and a half ago I did something to my back and it's been "killing me" ever since. Some nights I wake up having difficulty breathing because the effer hurts so bad. Jas has cracked it, given me massages out the ying-yang, etc, and it still comes back. I've tried taking ibuprofen, tylenol, a combo of the two, etc. The only thing that makes it go away/feel any better is vicodin. BUT, it usually isn't terrible during the day. It basically hurts during the day, and then some nights feels like someone is trying to kill me, lol. Ok, so I'm being a tad dramatic, but it does literally feel like I'm having back labor all over again, only higher in my back. I called around to find a chiropractor who takes the Access insurance. The one right near us does, but it won't cover x-rays, which are $100. So, there's that.

So, now back to stressing out about xmas presents and the show, lol. Just got a text from my friend who says that they want the tables set up on Thursday, not Saturday morning... That means, all your stuff gets to sit there for a day and a half, and you lose a day and a half worth of work (yes, I'm a last minute gal). I'm not really taking a fancy to that idea at all.