crafty 2 Comments

Candle Redux

Just got done making a batch of Kahlua candles. Now the kitchen smells like coffee with a hint of chocolate. Mmm.

I really hate having multiple time-sensitive project ideas in my head, especially when I’m so under-motivated to actually *do* any of them. But… I’d really like to make a minor push for candle sales this holiday season. I have e-mail addresses for all of my former co-workers, and I know they like my candles, and I’d like to offer them some sort of deal — maybe a choice between free shipping and a tealight sampler pack or something.

Thing is, my candle website is horribly out of date, and needs a facelift and a new backend — um, that came out wrong. I mean, I need to redesign the site as well as make it database-driven instead of manually-updated. I need to photograph all the containers I have available, plus include other containers I can order online at a moment’s notice (these hex votives have been favorites of mine, for example).

That’s going to take some time, and I already have more vital things to tackle. Finding a job, retooling the LSM website (per the Board of Directors and Executive Director’s instructions), and NaNoWriMo, which isn’t so much an imperative as it is a personal goal/desire.

So, if I ultimately decide to do a sales push, and I don’t make time to get the website redone soon, it’ll have to be with some sort of catalog-style one-time thing. And I’ll have to hope that my former co-workers don’t get pissed at me for spamming them.

food

Old-Fashioned Dutch Apple Cobbler

I made this recipe on Sunday, and both Aaron and I declare it a success. Granted, I forgot one ingredient in the crumb topping — 2 Tbsp. cold water — but it still turned out pretty good.

It’s not exactly low carb — OK, it’s not low-carb at all — but it is lower in sugar than normal desserts, thanks to the inclusion of Splenda products. Plus, I feel better about my food in general when I know what’s in it. No high fructose corn syrup for me, thanks, and make mine wheat flour.

japan trip 2007

Japan Trip, Day 2, Part 4: Imperial Palace and Sumida River Cruise

I know it’s been a while, and you’d probably given up on me actually finishing the narrative of our trip to Tokyo in May. Even though some of the freshness of the moment has faded, I do want to document the rest of what happened in Japan. You might want to review the previous entries to get yourself back up to speed on our trip so far.

Day 2 in Japan was the Dynamic Tokyo Tour; so far, we’d visited the Tokyo Tower, participated in a group tea ceremony, seen 500-year-old bonsai trees, and had a Japanese BBQ lunch. Next on the agenda was a visit to the Imperial Palace grounds…

Continue reading →

spirituality

Belief-O-Matic

The Belief-O-Matic test has changed a little since the last time I took it. The results are still similar to my 2002 results:

1. Unitarian Universalism (100%)
2. Secular Humanism (95%)
3. Liberal Quakers (88%)
4. Neo-Pagan (82%)
5. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (81%)
6. Theravada Buddhism (79%)
7. New Age (77%)
8. Nontheist (77%)
9. Taoism (71%)
10. Mahayana Buddhism (70%)
11. Scientology (70%)
12. New Thought (70%)
13. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (63%)
14. Reform Judaism (58%)
15. Bahá’í Faith (55%)
…
22. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (38%)

Apparently, Unitarians believe pretty much anything, so I’d fit in just fine there. Secular Humanism made a major jump on the charts, but all my other top ten have just rearranged themselves slightly in the past five years.

As a side note? Scientology should *not* be on that list. I’m not down with the aliens and Xenu and having religious tenets revealed to those who have donated a given amount of money to the church. Just my opinion.