Arts and Humanities Initial Post

A new term began today in school and I want to share it with you.  The discussion involves asking ourselves what the term "infinite person" means to us and to name a person whom we think fits this in our minds.

Unit 1: Unit 1: Thinking About the Human Experience - Discussion

Professor and class,
My name is Ashley Jones and I am a single mother of three.  I also am in the process of starting my own bath and beauty products business.  Well, let's see, I enjoy bubble baths and long walks on the beach....  (haha).  I actually do like those things.  But I also love reading and music, I enjoy taking walks with my children and I love to learn new things.  I feel this class is going to be excellent!
To me, an infinite person is someone who sees "the big picture".  This man or woman encompasses all that it means to be human and sees not only the trivial, but the important parts of the puzzle called life, and does not judge.  This may sound loony, but other than Leonardo da Vinci (as notated in the textbook), I see my favorite band's front man Jared Leto to be an infinite person.  When I listen to his music, it is as if he is speaking directly from his soul.  I also follow his blog, and he is simply the most fascinating person I have ever had the pleasure to encounter.  I feel he sees the world differently than most people; he takes pleasure even in the mundane.  Yes, he is in a band that makes millions of dollars a year, but I don't think that even matters to him.  The lyrics to his songs are so simple, yet so complex, that it brings tears to my eyes.  I've never experienced this with a band before.  As it turns out, he is also an accomplished actor in television and film, which ties in quite nicely with him being my version of an infinite person. 
The traits I feel are most important in an infinite person are the ability to never overlook the smallest detail in life, and to apply that to their life, along with a goodness within their soul that can be seen even on the outside.  An infinite person will always be remembered, whether they become famous or not. 
Traits of an infinite person that I would like to learn and apply to my own goals, would be noticing every detail, applying these details, and always being empathetic to people, whether or not I have an impact on their life.  I want to always live like I have an audience; then I will never want to do something I will regret if somebody does see me doing it (hey, it's a great motivator!).

It's going well!

Hey everyone.  Just a quick update.
Things are going pretty well for the business, considering a month ago I had only 1 sale.  This month I have had 7 sales on etsy and a few random sales, along with lots of winners on listia.com (you give stuff away for free and get credits in return to "spend" on other things), so although I am giving my soaps away for free, I am getting a lot of exposure and getting other cool stuff in return.  :)
Check out how my etsy shop is doing and feel free to comment here on any improvements I need to make.  I do realize I need to upgrade my pictures, and add more products (a lot more).  But as to how exactly to upgrade my pics, I would like some advice because I really suck (LOL).  I'm thinking of getting more close-up to focus on the texture of the products.  But I also need some better labeling and packaging.  It's very amateur right now, I will admit.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/JeweledVixenSoaps
Thanks for reading.  I need to wrangle my kids into bed... they've been tracked out for almost 3 weeks and I'm ready to pull my hair out.  Unghh!!!!!
I love my babies though :)   <3

Just an update

Hello gang :)  Just stopping by to give a quick update.
I have been working regularly at my old bar; that's been a boost to my self esteem.  Making a little money again will really help with that.  Plus I've had a few good sales, really getting my name and my product out there!  I will soon be creating like a mad scientist again.  :)
I've been crocheting a lot, and started a blanket the other day.  Wow is that time consuming!  I think so far I have crocheted that blanket for a good 8-10 hours, and it's not even a quarter of the way done.  I know part of it is because I'm still so new at it, but also because it really just is that time consuming.  It boggles my mind to think of how people who crochet items to sell for a living do it.  Obviously they are experts, but it still has to take time!  Dang!  Kudos to them.
So my blanket is going to be deep red with some gold stripes to match my bedroom and bathroom :)  Sexy!!!  Lol. 
Oh, yeah, so my lease is  up at the end of May and I still don't know where I'm moving to.  I have a few places in mind but haven't taken the steps to contact the properties yet, and since it's Sunday today they are probably not open.  Bah!  It's just that my week is so busy from Mondays through Saturdays that it kind of sucks nowhere is open on Sundays.  Oh well, I will get it done :)
Take care until next time!

It's Saturday!

Which means I'm going to do some work at the bar I used to work... lol.  Hey, it's some income and I've always enjoyed myself working there.  I can't wait for my tax refund to put some money back into the soaps... I have 8 million ideas running through my head!  What do you think of a line of epic movie-themed soaps?  And alcoholic drink-themed soaps?  And of course there are the normal seasonal soaps, and the normal year-round soaps.  I love making them, but gotta get them selling.  There is a place 5 minutes from my house that is for lease (a brick n mortar type)!  They probably want more than I could make at first, though.  I know I could work up to it but for the first 2-3 months I couldn't do it.  I might still look to see what they want, though...

I've also been slacking about the gym.  I went the other day with my son, but the childcare was closed for lunch!  ARGH!  I guess it's time to get my happy butt out and just walk there with him in the morning.  I gotta at least take advantage of what I'm paying for!! 

Ok, gonna get back to work trying to promote my soaps.  My lease is up here in 3 months and not sure where I'm moving but I want it to be in the same vicinity to keep the kids in the same school.  Hopefully the new place will be larger so I can have some more room for my soaps.  They've kind of invaded my bedroom.  Haha. 

Good night... gonna go to work and make some money.  The only thing that sucks is I won't get to sleep til 6 am and that makes for a not-very-happy-mommy in the morning :(  Maybe my mom will keep an eye on them for a few hours?  Hmmm...  :)

Hey! My soaps are on the Hot List :)

We're going places, baby :)

www.madeitmyself.com

Check out the Hot List!  The Pine n Mint soap is mineeeeeee.  Lol!  I hope that translates to sales.  I had a decent week last week but this week is not looking as good.  Hmm.  Time to kick it up a notch!

Just 1 click feeds a hungry person (and it's free)!

I found this great website I want you to check out!!!  All you have to do is click on the button on the site and 1 cup of food is donated to feed someone hungry all over the world.  It's free and totally worth it!!!  You can do it once every day.
http://www.thehungersite.com/clickToGive/home.faces

I love this!

::eerie sound effects:: I've been going to ..... the GYM!

So I've been going to the gym since December.  I sort of want to keep a few blog posts about this, as I tend to be really lazy about actually going.  I have not lost weight since beginning, just because it's sporadic. 
Honestly, the biggest problem is the fact that I need to get my car fixed, and if you read my last blog post, you'll see the bar I was working at went out of business and didn't bother to tell me, so I had no time to search for another job.  That being said, I can't fix it right now but am working on it!  So, since it's winter time, I would much rather drive to the gym than walk there (I'm not a fan of cold weather).  And since I can't, I don't go.  I borrow my mother in law's car when she's home, but she works her tail off at 2 jobs and sometimes isn't home before the gym closes for the day.  Kind of sucks, huh? :(
soooooo
Here's to my weight loss goal.  I'm gonna be accountable.
Sunday, February 20, 2011:  No exercise (LOL). 
But tomorrow it is supposed to be WARM!!!!  Like, 76 degrees!!!  I am so stoked.  I plan on being outside a lot tomorrow.  I am gonna go to the gym, clean off my front porch, and plan my container garden.  Also I am going to take lots of pictures of my products in the natural light and ship some packages out.  It's shaping up to be a fabulous day, and it's not even here yet!  I think I will post weekly about my excursions to the gym.  Daily would be too much, lol.  I would rather talk about other stuff.  :P
Take care, until next time!
Ashley