Sara – Page 12 – Coastal Carolina Soap Blog

Customer Service Excellence

Part of being a business owner and home educator is giving myself permission to take breaks, like escaping to the beach on occasion. There is, of course, great value to this, as I come back well-rested and refreshed, sometimes with new ideas for ways to serve my customers better. When I can experience the epitome of excellent customer service in the search for a much-needed break, all the better.

I first encountered Garison online. No, it wasn’t at any place sordid – no Ashley Madison dot com or match dot com-type places. I first became aware of Garison through Trip Advisor. Garison is the Customer Service Manager for The Winds Resort at Ocean Isle Beach, where Mary and I enjoyed a very relaxing weekend away this past weekend.

A view of the beach through the lush tropical landscaping around the resort

Mary and me in front of one of the cool, kitschy, totally necessary signs directing you places

So, what made this guy stand out? Simply put, it was how he handled all reviews, both positive and negative. While Garison hasn’t been at The Winds very long (18 months or so), he made an effort to address reviews that predate the start of his tenure at the resort. Dealing with complaints from what a predecessor did takes some integrity, and I admire integrity. To reviews that end with, “I’m never coming back!” he replies with a smooth, “Even if you don’t stay with us, we hope you’ll come back to Ocean Isle Beach for your next vacation.” A 5-star review got a response of, “Navigating The Winds’ many pathways can indeed be challenging. (There’s a reason we hand out maps! <g> ).” There are winding paths around the property, so the maps are quite helpful. To another 5-star review, there was this comment, which I found amusing, given that it was overcast and lightly raining until the morning we had to leave: “I do apologize, however, that we failed to maintain sufficient control of the weather for you. I will speak with our staff about that and see if we can’t do better for your next visit.” Garison did more than just blow off the reviews with a “Thanks for staying with us and we look forward to seeing you again soon”; he took the time to read each and every review, and he went so far as to accept responsibility on behalf of the resort for things that truly were their fault or failing and using well-placed humor on issues that weren’t.

My daughter and I were already looking forward to the trip, but looking at the online reviews (interesting to note that there’s only been one bad review in the past year) and reading what people were saying, as well as Garison’s responses, just heightened our anticipation and made me want to meet this guy. As a business owner and one who wants to make sure every customer is happy (not just satisfied), I respect and admire that same quality in others in the customer service sector. Garison helped at check-in, and he was willing to let me get a picture with him. On top of that, he was extremely patient with Mary’s efforts to get a clear picture, even though it was time for him to go home for the rest of the weekend.

Garison and me (Photo credit: Mary Nesbitt)

I have great respect and admiration for all that Garison has done as Customer Service Manager at The Winds – guest services, managing the staff (and giving them their due for good work), and also taking the time to deal with online comments. The pleasure Mary and I had as we enjoyed our mom/daughter weekend led us both to declare, “We’re definitely coming back here!” Garison and his top-notch staff sealed the deal on that.

When’s the last time you took a break from the hustle and bustle of your daily life? What did you do?

When’s a Chemical not a Chemical?

Chemicals surround us. They’re in the food we eat, the drinks we drink, and the air we breathe. Our entire bodies are nothing but chemical processes.

A couple of weeks ago, the girls and I were in a shop where there was a sign that read, “Soaps – Chemical free!” Mary, my older daughter, quipped, “So they left out the lye?” I returned, “And the water, the oils, and the fragrance.” While the “chemical free” sign may entice unwary consumers, it really felt like the creator of the sign is , at best, ignorant of what, exactly, soapmaking is, and at worst, willfully practicing deceptive business practices (given that artificially scented soaps are labeled “all natural” and have “essential oil” on the label, I lean towards the latter).

Unit cell, spacefill model of sodium hydroxide (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Soapmaking is chemistry. The very idea of this amuses me greatly, given how hard I struggled in high school and college chemistry. Sodium hydroxide (lye) mixes with water (usually), and that mixture, in turn, is added to oils in liquid form; they are then emulsified together, either by stirring or blending, before having additives added to the raw soap and being poured into a mould. The magic happens here as the mixture creates heat internally which causes the whole thing to gel. This is a super-cool exothermic reaction wherein the beautifully swirled and designed raw soap changes color, smells funky, and looks like really runny, chunky petroleum jelly. It looks like the soap is a ruined mess at this point, but as the hours pass, the soap cools down, revealing the amazing colors and patterns once more. That process is called saponification. Actually, the gel phase is the heart of saponification, a chemical reaction that starts where the lye mixture meets the oils and ends formally at the end of the curing time. While gel phase only lasts 12-36 hours, saponification can last weeks.

Chemicals coming together to create a chemical reaction and cause a chemical change. Sodium hydroxide is a chemical – NaOH. So is water – H2O. And oils are as well – the formula for olive oil is C52H96O6. You can separate sodium hydroxide from water, allowing water to evaporate and lye crystals to form (9th grade science fair project). However, once that lye mixture combines with the oils, there’s no going back. The change is permanent and irrevocable. This is the hallmark of chemical change – a chemical reaction produces a change that cannot be reversed. Ahhh chemistry.

Well, you may argue, the creator of the “chemical free” sign means no harmful chemicals. What makes a chemical harmful? How natural it is? Cyanide is a naturally occurring chemical element, but I think we can agree it’s very harmful. Sodium hydroxide is a chemical that can be produced from natural processes (pouring water through ashes), and it doesn’t take much – relatively speaking – to dissolve a 300-pound body. Yet, it sometimes appears in cosmetics and pickles. Dihydrogen monoxide! There’s a “safe” chemical. In fact, I add it to every soap, lotion, and cream that I make. Yet, more people die of exposure to DHMO each year than from exposure to all other chemicals combined! Obviously, what makes a chemical “safe” or not is how it’s used and how much is used. A little NaOH or a little salt isn’t harmful, but an abundance of either can cause sickness, death, or complete disintegration.

Bottom line, there is no “chemical-free” soap, because all components of soap are chemicals, and the resulting product is soap and glycerin. Artisan made soaps are proof that there is better living through chemicals.

A Whole Lotta Makin’ Goin’ On!

I’m back, and it feels great being back! The soaping supplies have been lonely, meditating on the meaning of life while we’ve canned the mid-summer harvest and celebrated the first of two birthdays. The kittens I’ve been featuring in every blog post have found their forever homes, including the Momma cat. This does, of course, include the one that adopted me. And because I thought it might be a good idea for that kitten – I named her Lily – to have a companion besides the big cats, we also rescued a kitten from the pound, named Severus. Harry Potter fans will understand.

The first party revealed that the Polish dill pickles are the most popular pickles to date. I took a quart of them, it wasn’t a huge party, and the jar got wiped out completely. So, we made sure that we got in two more batches of them. Here’s the first of those two.

Picture of Polish dill pickles — Polish dill pickles. Some kind of awesome good!

Since then, the hubby has requested watermelon rind pickles. I had never tasted them, nor had I ever made them. I was always taught, “Never eat the rind. It’ll make you sick.” But, willing to try anything once, I found a recipe for cinnamon watermelon rind pickles and started the process. They’re not quite my thing, but they’re pretty good. We harvested another watermelon this week, and we’re going to try another trick with the pickles this go-around.

Last night, I finished the scarf for my older daughter’s birthday present, and tomorrow, my younger daughter is going to help me make a muslin bag to store it in. She’s really excited about this!

Now that that is wrapped up and in my “done” pile, I have a scarf in process that’ll go to Scarves in the Port City for their ministry to homeless people. Since I tend to have two projects going at any one time, it became time to start a shawl for a wedding I’m attending in October. Oh, this is absolutely gorgeous! Well, it will be, I’m sure. I chose a black mohair and wool blend lace yarn with tiny multicolored sequins woven through. It’ll be warm, and the sequins give it a festive look and offset the severity of the red-black color blocking I’d have otherwise. I’ve started it and unraveled it twice now; this is my first time with knitting lace.

Of course, you’d think I’m nuts, trying to get any yarn work done with two kittens in the house. You’ve seen Lily already, but I haven’t shown Severus off, yet. Here he is. He’s a rescue from the local animal shelter, and isn’t he just absolutely beautiful? With silky fur and the most lovable disposition, he’s the most perfect companion to me and to Lily. I thought Lily should have a companion to play with (since the big cats aren’t into playing with kittens), and I couldn’t have chosen better. She’s half his size, but certainly the more dominant kitten.

Though she be but little, she is fierce.

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Severus, my black cat — Severus at the vet doing kitty corsage

And here are the two of them this afternoon, napping together. Lily sleeps in the middle; definitely my kitten.

Kittens sleeping — Lily and Severus recharging

So, for you readers who aren’t into Harry Potter, you may be wondering what the story behind the names is. In the series, Lily is Harry’s mom, and it was Severus Snape, Professor of Potions at Hogwarts, who revealed to Lily why she was different; they were themselves at Hogwarts together. I can’t say much more without a spoiler alert. Severus is depicted as being dark: Black hair, dark robes, stern (severe) demeanor. Plus, there’s just something about a black cat being named for a wizard. There’s a wicked part of me that’d love to train Severus to perch on my shoulder; then at Halloween, I could go around with the girls in my black cape with a black cat perched on my shoulder, freaking out superstitious people. No, I won’t do that, because no amount of fun is worth putting my sweet boy at risk, but it’s still fun to think about.

Stay tuned for peeks at the soaps that are new for your pleasure and restocked for those of you who have your faves. Hint: Sweet Cinnamon & Clove beer soap is back!

Weekend Ta-Da’s

Last week was the week of frustrating unpluggedness (is that a word?). Tuesday evening, my darling younger daughter in a fit of pique threw her sister’s beach ball across the living room to her, knocking a cup of water over onto my laptop, rendering it inoperable for a few days, especially considering it was spread out in parts on the kitchen table. At the same time, I was working on backing up all the files on my old, very slow desktop computer in preparation for having the hard drive replaced and upgraded. That means I was stuck cooking and traveling. Hey, there are worse things.

I put my laptop back together Friday, and Saturday, my oldest and I headed up to my parents’ house for a cookout. Sunday saw me back in the garden. I have so many cucumbers, enough for at least two more batches of pickles. I also harvested more basil for pesto, which I whipped up Sunday afternoon. In the quiet moments, I worked on my older daughter’s birthday present – a scarf in Gryffindor gold and burgundy – and finished another project. (Yay!!!)

Scarf picture — A glimpse of the Gryffindor scarf I’m knitting for my older daughter

Our weekend ended with a visit to the kittens. In two weeks, I’ll be able to bring my new one home. They’ve gotten to be so playful – climbing, tackling, and chasing strings. One little one kept exploring the crack under the door, and Momma Cat was not happy with that. Momma went to carry her back to a safer spot in the room, and the kitten was ducking and dodging, trying to figure out how to scoot by her. So funny! Of course, there must be the requisite weekly kitten pic…

There will be more wonderment this week, including some fabulous new soaps that are soon to be ready for your enjoyment. Stay tuned…

I Never Thought This Would be Me

Pinterest can be my worst enemy. Pictures of lovely architecture, House Beautiful-worthy living rooms free of clutter and toys. Clever organizational tools put together from thrift store finds. And all this from home educating moms of seven kids who seem to be able to do it all. Seriously, Pinterest is not the website for the insecure.

Our living room is cluttered – painfully cluttered. The girls don’t seem to understand the basic concept of “pick up after yourself when you’re done.” It gets cleaned about three times a year. Other than that, though, I think we are doing well. I never really expected to be doing anything like homesteading. but over the weekend, I was told that I am enviable. OK. That’s pretty nice, though I never expected to be.

We had another weekend of glorious productivity. It started with restocking these beer soaps. On the left (the greyish green) is all natural basil and lime. Essential oils of Thai basil and lime blend together in this delightful blend with notes of licorice, pepper, and lime. The tan soap is Sweet Cinnamon & Clove. This was the first beer soap I ever made, and these bars go quickly.

These are just a few of the cucumbers that came out of our garden. We ended up harvesting about twelve pounds of cucumbers, all of which became delicious bread & butter and dill pickles.

Picture of cucumbers — Cucumbers fresh from the garden

picture of pickles — Bread & Butter pickles

After the cucumber harvest, my youngest daughter and I harvested the first batch of basil for homemade pesto. This was so fabulous on chicken and pasta, topped with home-grown tomatoes!

A friend of ours hooked us up with a lime basil plant. I thought, What in the world am I going to do with this? I was looking up basil recipes online and saw one for strawberry basil popsicles. A local indie popsicle business makes something similar, and I thought the lime take on the basil would be delightful with the strawberry. I blended in a bit of vanilla yogurt, and wow!!! It’s like a virgin strawberry daiquiri on a stick!

picture of popsicle — Strawberry Lime Basil popsicle

And no weekend would be complete without a visit to the kittens. Momma Cat is doing great, and my kitty co-parent/friend and I were both surprised to discover that she tested negative for FIV, Feline Leukemia, and worms, which is quite miraculous, considering that she was a completely outdoor cat until three weeks ago. The girls and I placed a few kittens on the bed to give the tiniest one of the litter a chance to nurse without “the chubbies” pushing her out of the way.

Kitten pic — Worn out kitten. I love her little face!

I don’t consider myself as that enviable. I am simply a woman who enjoys playing in the kitchen when I’m not making soap or enjoying kittens. Cooking, like soapmaking, is sweet alchemy – taking a variety of different ingredients and putting them together in fun, creative ways to make something new. It’s even more enjoyable when I can make something completely new to me, stretching my skills.

The next post will contain suggestions for making DIY easier and doable. I’m not selfish with my recipes, as most of them come from outside sources. Comment if there’s one you’d like.

Getting Back to Basics

Once upon a time, I was a suited-up professional working in a healthcare environment, punching a (mostly) 8-5 clock. Some days I worked until 7 or 8, and I was on call every single weekend. I was rocking the soap biz on the side, working markets one weekend a month. We lived in a townhouse in a nice urban area and could walk to the grocery store if we wanted. Unfortunately, it was uphill coming back. In fact, making soap was the closest I came to doing the neo-hippie-slash-homesteading thing.

A couple of years after leaving that position, it became very clear to us that we were going to be trading urban life for coastal rural life. I was pregnant at the time, so finding a new job wasn’t high on my list of priorities, but making a home was. I had visions of biking places, eating fresh-caught fish on a regular basis, and having our own little garden spot where we could grow our own fruits and vegetables, enough for our family. One out of three ain’t bad.

In the six years since we moved, my business has taken off in unexpected ways, and I have changed in unexpected ways. I never dreamed I’d be home educating my daughters. Our “little” garden spot has had really bad years and really great years, but those great years haven’t yielded just enough for us to enjoy, but enough to share. This year, it’s giving us some to can, too. That’s another thing I never expected to be doing – putting up my own canned goods. We tend to gravitate towards condiments (cranberry mustard, jellies, jams, and butters) and dessert stuff (pie fillings and chocolate sauce), although we have made and put up pickles, Brunswick stew, and chicken soup. These, too, we are able to share.

jars of chocolate sauce — Jars of homemade chocolate sauce that Mary made. Taste better than Hershey’s!

When we lived “in the city,” I didn’t own a working sewing machine; I’m on my second one since we moved, one that my fellow business owner said is “a good one for children” (thanks, Sarah), but which is most definitely a step up from my Singer. I used to sew; when I was a teenager, I made pillows for myself and for gifts, and I’ve done some of that since being married. My long-time customers have seen the bags I’ve made for gifts or to hold bars of soap, too. I’ve made a messenger bag and three purses. Most recently, I’ve sewn curtains, a rather large project, as they’re covering a sliding glass door.

Soapmaking. Canning. Sewing. Knitting. (My oldest daughter is over my shoulder, or I’d show you what I’m working on for her.) I look around at all these things my hands have made, at all the ways I’ve stretched myself to create a warm home and the ways we’ve worked together as a family to achieve it, and I am pleased.

(Next week, look for pictures of homemade pesto and more pickles. I wish I could share our bounty with you.)

Our Highly Productive Weekend

Some weekends are just made for indulging in all sorts of hobbies and fun, with added points for making a home homier. While the girls were gone last week, I spent a few hours making the curtains for the back sliding glass door. This project had been on my radar for at least two years with a couple of agendas: One, I wanted to get rid of the horrendous vertical blinds that had been slowly falling apart, slat by slat, since we moved into this house six years ago. Two, I wanted to find a fashionable way to block drafts in the winter and the hot morning sun in the summer. I think I’ve met my goal, don’t you? I love how they let in diffused light!

New tropical curtains — The festive, tropical curtains now hanging in my dinette

Close-up of curtains and valence — The curtains with their box valence. My chairs are upholstered in this same striped print.

I tripped across a small sniglet of coconut cream in my fridge, and I really didn’t feel like keeping it in there, nor did I want to throw it out. Plus, for a few minutes, I was bored, so I decided to toss that coconut cream into a small batch of soap. Gorgeous, n’est-ce pas? Beautifully swirled with Mad Oils micas with a base of blushing Bazooka Jo pink and swirls of Grape Nehi and Silverfin Blue, this soap is scented with a dupe of Sun–Ripened Raspberry for a fun, fresh, summery finish.

Sun-Warmed Raspberry soap — Sun-Warmed Raspberry Soap with coconut cream. Rich and luxurious? Oh yeah!!!

With our bumper crop of pickling cucumbers coming in now, kindly augmented by one of hubby’s customers giving him five more, it was time to work some magic. Magic, however, had to allow for the fact that I don’t have any space cool enough to ferment pickles, so I have to make adjustments. In addition to restocking our cranberry mustard (the dark red stuff), my youngest daughter and I put up 8 pints of Polish dill pickles. They look and smell delicious, but the recipe says we have to let them cure for 4-6 weeks. WEEKS!!! How ever are we going to be able to wait to dig into these?

Jars of food — Jars of homemade cranberry mustard and Polish dill pickles

Hannah, my youngest, decided she wanted to make a mermaid soap for her Grandma, complete with mica. It turned out so pretty! She opted for Lemon Grove scent, her Grandparents’ favorite.

Visiting this sweet girl, her siblings, and her mom topped off our weekend. This little one has the sweetest face. Her sister is my next kitten, but she was buried in a kitten pile nursing. I have to wait another FOUR weeks before I can adopt the adorable little furball. And who doesn’t like looking at cute kitten pictures? Instant happiness!

What made your weekend great? We’d love for you to share it in the comments.

Introducing… Magnolia in Bloom

I don’t know what’s growing in your yard right now, but down here in the South, magnolias are showing off their milky white blooms and their deep emerald leaves. These make an incredible backdrop to bright orange lilies, purple and pink snapdragons, and the plethora of other beautiful flowers that are springing up all over the place.

Magnolia in Bloom soap — Summer-sweet Magnolia in Bloom

We’ve captured the scent of a yard in summer in this lovely soap. Magnolia, soft rose and tangy-sweet verbena dance and blend together in this delicately scented soap. The scent is strong, but not cloying or potent; I’m not much into floral scents, and I am quite pleased with this one.

This is a special edition soap with limited availability at this time, so when they’re gone, they’re gone. Get yours before next Wednesday and enjoy our special birthday shipping offer.

Rewards of Limitations

It’s one thing to tell myself that I won’t do an event. I can list the reasons why it’s a good idea to skip it. I can identify all the affirmations of the decision. The real test comes, however, in the moment: How will I feel knowing the event is happening and I’m not doing it?

Friday, the feeling that I was doing the right thing in not vending Saturday’s event continued. I felt so relieved! I commented to Mom later that that must have been what she felt the first day after she retired. She commented, “It feels like a huge weight has been lifted off of you.” Yes!!! That’s it exactly! Friday, the girls and I ran some errands around town, and I know I had the biggest, dopiest smile on my face. We went to the bank to withdraw some money. The teller took my check and started pulling out bills. Then she looked at the check again. She looked at me with some confusion. Then she looked at the check yet again. She said, “You usually get more money than this. Are you doing the festival?” I replied, “No, which is why I’ve got this huge smile on my face.” It was getting almost comical.

Friday night, I was sitting on the sofa knitting and watching TV with the Swirl God. I said, “You see this? You see what I’m doing? Or, more specifically, what I’m not doing?” He didn’t quite get it. I said, “I’m sitting. And knitting. And watching reruns of TV shows I missed the first time. I’m not sitting at the table labeling a bunch of stuff. And later I’ll be heading to bed at a decent time, and maybe I’ll even sleep in in the morning.” My best friend who usually waits up with me while I’m doing my last-minute show prep was also looped into the giddiness.

The day of the festival arrived, and I did, in fact, sleep in. I pretty much slept until the start of the festival. Then it was on! I made cinnamon roll waffles for breakfast, then I started potatoes for potato salad. Long story short, I made potato salad and a batch of oat bran zucchini chocolate chunk muffins before lunch, and made a batch of pickles afterwards. The girls and their dad went to the festival, but they were back in about an hour; it was just too hot. By all accounts, attendance was down and people weren’t parting with their money easily. It also seems like it was another one like last year when it died 4 hours before the end.

It felt a little bad not being at the festival, not seeing one of my private label customers (another vendor), and potentially not serving my repeat customers. But only a little. I got over it. It just felt so good all weekend! There was the happy, relieved feeling of all week. There was the family time before the girls scattered for the week. There was having the energy to hang in until late with my best friend after his mom got hurt. There was the simple sweetness of celebrating Father’s Day on Saturday with a movie and a special dinner. And then there was Father’s Day itself, the first in a few years where I actually got to see my dad on Father’s Day.

Telling myself no to this event was risky; I stood to lose a good deal of potential revenue. I gained so much more, though, far more than that money is worth.

The Joy of Saying No, pt. 2

This article is part 2 of 2 on the rewards of saying, “no.” You can read the first part here.

As I mentioned in part 1 of “The Joy of Saying ‘No,'” I found joy and a sense of achievement in placing boundaries on my time and preserving my need to rest, sleep, and spend time with my family, even if it meant telling some special large order customers they would have to wait. Last year, I started putting some boundaries on myself, telling myself “no” when everything in me was hollering for “YES!!!”

It began at a local festival I had done faithfully from 2010 to 2014, despite seeing the booth fees increase steadily over that five-year period even as revenues dropped. After 2013’s festival, I crunched the numbers and realized (*gasp!*) I had ended up $150.00 in the hole (and we don’t have to travel more than 2 miles to it). Yikes! I still persevered into 2014 and participated in last year’s festival, again with a booth fee increase and diminished revenue. I decided not to do that event again. It just wasn’t worth it anymore. That was a really difficult decision, as a friend and private label customer is one of my fellow vendors, and I have many local customers who find me there. Deciding to quit had emotional ramifications for me.

The weekend following that event last year saw me at a steampunk convention for the second year. So. Much. Fun!!! I had my costume, I had a fabulous part-time partner to cover my booth, and I was hugging and greeting friends throughout my set-up time. There was so much to see and so many people to talk to, and it was much less tiring than it had been the previous year. Again, though, the participation fee had gone up, paired with travel expenses, and my revenues were down. In fact, it seemed attendance was down for both events. With a very heavy heart, I decided it was no longer financially feasible to participate in this event, either.

I’m a female with a female’s emotions; I feel sad, happy, victorious, frustrated, and angry. The hardest lesson for me in making these choices was, I couldn’t let my emotions run my business. There is room in my business for passion and excitement, but when the ledger books are showing more red than black, then there is no room at that point for emotion-based decisions.

As emotionally upsetting as the necessity of those decisions was, it did not take me long to move past the sadness and embrace the positives. The steampunk convention isn’t happening this year due to “lack of venue.” The booth fee for the other event went up yet again. In addition to that, I found out that attendance really was lower last year, per someone on the committee. Then the weather forecast proved to be the third affirmation that I’d made a smart choice; this Saturday is supposed to have a heat index over 100 deg. No way do I want to be out in that all day!

The rewards for me have been tremendous! This week I’ve supervised my daughter while she made and canned chocolate syrup, made a cover for my older daughter’s Nook, and finished their dad’s Father’s Day gifts. Whereas normally I’d be pulling everything together, doing last-minute wrapping and labeling, and trying to get my daughters ready for a couple of nights at their grandparents’ house, in addition to getting my oldest ready to go off to camp for a week, this week I’m calm, relaxed, and nearly giddy with how not-stressed I am. At random times, I’m dancing around and giggling – yes, GIGGLING!!! – because I’m not doing this festival. I’m not volunteering at our church’s booth at it (this year), I’m not going as a customer, nothing.

Friday we will do Father’s Day, since the oldest leaves at 5 Sunday morning. Saturday morning we will sleep in, have a special breakfast, and stay in our pajamas until close to noon. Sunday morning, instead of waking up late, still dehydrated and suffering the remaining vestiges of heat exhaustion, we’re going to wake up for church and then enjoy lunch with my parents.

The psychological effects of telling myself “no” have been overwhelmingly positive. Sure, there was a little discomfort at first, but like with so many positive changes, those negatives have quickly disappeared in light of the feelings of joy, calm, and excitement I am experiencing this week. If you’re a business owner, a mom, a teacher, a whatever, I encourage you to embrace the word “no” every now and then. You’ll be amazed at how liberating it is.

15 Traits of Emotionally Wealthy People

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