Elie and I went to a friends birthday party. When we came home, I realized I haven’t yet seen our front door at night. It glows like a Muchtastic Beacon greeting you in the darkness. Behold:
Tova’s Blog
Muchness bands are MUCHTASTIC!!!!!
Working working working on Muchy Muchness Goodness!
Tonight I prepared some Muchness bands that are holiday gifts from an online marketing company! Pretty cool stuff!! I mean, who COULDN’T use a little more Muchness in their lives?!?
Gotta get the clutter OUT! It’s a MAJOR Muchness Killer!!
January is declutter month but I couldn’t wait. Because before you can declutter you have to THROW OUT THE GARBAGE. My basement has so much potential and I have visions of a complete craft and Muchness Service Station down there. But those visions are only in my head, because in reality, this is what’s clouding my vision:
Elie has been nagging me for months to clean out and organize the office but I can’t do that until I have a place to re-distribute the stuff that’s crowding the office. So today, I got myself a bagster and I got to work. Liat napped, Molly watched Cinderella with a friend. within 5 hours I’d created this:
Still a along ways to go to reach my Muchness Service Station but what a sense of accomplishment!! Knowing I could come here and share it was such incentive!! I kept thinking about how encouraging it would be to declutter together once January hits!!!
Here’s a funny bonus shot. There is still ductwork in a garbage can sitting from when we moved in three+ years ago. (It’s finally gonna get GONE in that Bagster)
That whole area is so disgustingly dirty and dusty and I just hate it. Today I noticed that tiny little can I’d never seen before teetering on the edge of all that crap. Can you see what it says?
It’s been a looong day and I’m exhausted but I have 3 minutes till midnight to make myself smile
And here it is. Fresh outta the bath. too stinkin’ cute. Day 13. 🙂 I made it.
I’ve been feeling really stressed out
Today was one of those days where the clock seemed to be standing still and nothing seemed to be getting done. I worked late, came home in time to put the overtired and cranky kids to bed and then, inspired by my conversation with Tine last night. actually left the house and went too the liquor store and bought myself a bottle of wine. Because, I am a 35 year old woman and I CAN.
I took like, 5 muchness pics today, but this is the one I’m choosing to share:
Things that qualify as Muchness
That’s not a great title for this post. ANYTHING can qualify as Muchness when looked at through your Muchness colored glasses. And sometimes, things become Muchness just because they are the things that are there when you are weak and need a crutch. Whether The Muchness takes the form of Potato Chips or cheezy Soap Operas or the sound of rain overflowing from the rain gutters above the window in your office, which you know is ultimately going to cause damage to your house but just haven’t had the head to deal with… actually, dealing with it would be the Muchness, i suppose.
Anyhoooo, I’ve been thinking about my MAKE THE HOLIDAYS MUCHY Challenge and all the things I’d like to incorporate into it. I decided to make a list.
The first thing on the list is that my sequins that I wear would not qualify. I can post them, cuz I wear them, but unless it is EXTREME sequins, or DIY sequins, it’s not the Muchness for My Challenge. And in general, I haven’t suggested people make a list of ideas for their challenge, but I’m thinking that might not be such bad advice. I don’t need to follow my list, but having some place to write it helps me get excited about the things I hope to complete. This, of course, is my THIRD Muchness Challenge and my THEME is organizing my life and also Sharing The Muchness. I can’t possibly make an organizing plan without a list. See how that works? If I follow 25% of the list for my posts I will be surprised. Maybe.
Some ideas:
- Muchifying existing clothes that were bought for the express purpose of muchifying.
- Leaving my office for “lunch” every day. Even if it’s just for 5 minutes to go downstairs, walk outside, pick up a pack of gum and go back inside. I must.
- Cleaning my office. My Basement. My family room. The kitchen. My closet.
- Share my glitter project that I’ve been meaning to share forever.
- Make a serious effort to connect with my real life friends more.
That’s all I can think of for now.
Do you have visions of things you want to include in your 30 Day Challenge? Want to share your theme? Let me know in the comments below!! Wanna participate in the challenge?? It’s EASY! Just Join and start posting!! I’m working on a tutorial and walk through since the site is ‘heavy’ with features but email me if you’re confused. It’s really nor so confusing. 🙂
Much or too much?
Sunday I had an event to go to. I put on the outfit I was thinking and I was happy with it, but I felt sorta gray. And the weather was gray. And I needed a boost. So, I muchified it!
But then I felt a little overdressed so I swapped out the fuschia booties for the black ones.
I’m pretty sure I was still overdressed for a 4 year olds birthday party. hahahahaha
I think I might have to start looking for some Muchy sneakers. Or maybe I’ll DIY. Like these:
Is it a Sprint or a Marathon?
Today I received a totally inspirational email.
Was it from Oprah? No. Ellen Degeneres? uh-uh. Was it religious based or having anything to do with babyloss? Nope.
It was from a woman named Heather Hawkins and it was for a sale on her new website. Heather makes Handbags. “What’s so inspirational about that?” you may ask. Are her bags handcrafted by artisans in Madgascar or something? No. Not that I know of.
They are pretty leather handbags made in Los Angeles. And now she has added jewelry to her collection. Pretty impressive in it’s own right, but that’s not what inspired me.
Heather and I started our handbag businesses at the same time. I was in New York and she was in Ohio- or Idaho – or somewhere… We were email pen-pals. A different handbag designer had introduced us through email and we communicated regularly for a long while.
I was working in the handbag industry and started my company by working with factories in New York. And she was sewing hers by hand in her parents living room. I was selling in shops and boutiques. She was selling to her friends. I was using fancy leathers and custom made hardware. She was using denim and a glue gun… You can see where I’m going with this, I think.
And we met. She’d moved to Los Angeles. On a trip to find a west coast sales rep for my collection we met up. And she was nice. And after that, we kinda fell out of touch… not sure why, but that’s just the way things go, I guess.
That was 2003. By 2006 I was no longer doing my handbags. I’d had a quick, steady rise and hit my peak in 2005. Then, I stumbled, I took on a business partner that did more harm than good. I was burned out and tired and shut my business.
Meanwhile, I’d kept tabs on Heather Hawkin’s website. She was just going about her business… making her bags, selling her bags…. they were getting better, more sophisticated…. moving at a nice steady pace. A pace that seemed slooooow to me. A pace that would have left me wondering if it was worth it.
And life moved on. i got married, got a job, had babies… I pretty much forgot about Heather Hawkins.
And then I got the email. She’s having a sale on her new website. I am still on her mailing list. And she is still making handbags. And they’re beautiful. And not that my opinion counts for much, but I am impressed. And inspired.
I look at the MUCHNESS- my new passion, and sometimes feel frustrated or insecure about what I’m working towards. It means so, so much to me, and my goal is to share the idea that ANYONE can find their Muchness- their joy and individuality – work their way through some of the darkness of grief or sadness, through the little things and taking the time to count their blessings- even when their blessings take the form of pretty sparkly little baubles- but that email from Heather Hawkins reminded me that, unlike my handbags which I dove into full-force, head first, this is not a ‘business’ that I am building. It is a passion I am sharing with the world- or with 49 people. 🙂 And it can take me a year or 10 years, I won’t stop doing it, because I believe in it! I just gotta relax and stop rushing.
I think the same is true for actually Finding Your Muchness. It’s not a sprint. It’s a constant choice to look at things as an individual. To use your voice and not be scared. To wear what you like and feel confident. To allow yourself to grieve or be sad as much as you need to about the things that you need to, but don’t allow that sadness and grief to block all the joy you are entitled to in this world. And to do it at your own pace. As long as you’re moving, you’re moving forward.
And with that, I’m gonna share Heather’s Thanksgiving sale with you, just cuz. Maybe she’ll track her links back here and that would be embarrassing for me, since she doesn’t know I’ve written this and maybe barely remembers me at all, but whatever. If you buy something, let me know! It’ll make me smile! 😀
| Thanksgiving Sale at www.shophh.com.
Enter code THANKSGIVING at checkout for 40% off site-wide. Only valid through Monday November 28, 2011 so you must act fast! |
Babyloss Support Group
I’m heading out to go to a local support group. Not sure why. Maybe just an excuse to get out of the house? I guess I’ve been feeling a little stressed lately. Maybe it’s an excuse to think about the twins. Something about the idea of just thinking about them is making me feel less stressed. Sort of comforted, actually.
Been wondering where the time flies away to lately. I feel like I barely have a moment to lift my chin, look around and say hello. The kids are getting more demanding of my time, my job is getting more demanding of my brain, the house is being more demanding in terms of needing to be cleaned, sleep is getting more demanding on my body, since I’ve deprived it for so long of a healthy sleep pattern. And this site, with all it’s upgrades and changes and fun stuff, is getting more demanding of my personal passion. In the end, it’ll all work out. The good stuff will rise to the top. As long as we keep moving, we’re moving forward.
More from me later!