Farm Hair Don't Care

As I sit here typing, eager to catch you all up on what's been going on here; I have all my pictures ready to share and I all my thoughts somewhat organized. I could not think of a title. Looking at mt coffee cup (coffee always inspires me) this time literally. That's going to be my title. Plus there are a few less than flattering pictures of me in this blog post. So, yea, Farm Hair Don't Care.

I am also really digging that saying on the card I pulled today.

I turned 48 since the last blog post. What an incredible birthday I had! Filled with family, sleeping in a tree house, friends and my very own tepee.

Mike & I stayed at The Magic Land and had a relaxed time. Filled our time with walks, talks, turkeys, coffee and reflection.

The swings there are amazing! Adding a swing to our farm is now officially on the to do list.

The morning of my birthday a good friend and Mike surprised me with a tepee of my very own. I was SO surprised and I am rarely surprised. Also, so very grateful. Laura Lynne knew I would want it and contacted Mike.. they made it happen. This guy really "gets" me.

After all the birthday fun it was back to work. I had four back to back events. SO GRATEFUL for all the opportunities I have been given to display and sell my items.

Another friend, Angelica, opened her home for a Co-Op Chicks Pop Up Sale! It was a HUGE success. People got to drink coffee and hot chocolate while shopping. Everyone that stopped by made purchases and everyone complimented the products and the lovely atmosphere.

The local coffee shop, Toasted in High Ridge, MO If you live in the area and even if you don't, this is a must go to coffee house. It is locally and family owned, the decor makes you want to stay there all day and the coffee.. oh the coffee is so good! Plus, there's a kids corner, a nice addition for a coffee house since most kids are bored out of their minds at coffee houses. Toasted supports local artist and small business. They also host fun activities like slam poetry and trivia nights. I just can't say enough about them. They are simply great.

Toasted held a FREE event for local vendors in support of small business Saturday. There was no cost for us to set up and they didn't require any portion of the sales. This is a rarity for anyone who has ever set up shop at a vending event. It was a great day there! Lots of local people came in, got their coffee, muffins & bread and supported all of us that were set up that day.

A few days later I was off to Webster again. This time at The Novel Neighbor, another quaint and incredibly cool place. I love books so me setting up at a bookstore, I'M IN! Again, a great turn out and many people in shopping mode. I especially liked seeing a few people as return customers that were just at my other Webster event. I am again, so grateful that I was given this opportunity.

Lastly I was off to Timothy Lutheran Church's Christmas Market. It's a German thing and I have no idea how to say it, but I sure love it there! This was my second year there and they set up the most beautiful market for all the vendors. Adorned with all white canopy's and white Christmas lights strewn throughout.

This parish has a lot of beekeepers so it's really fun to talk bees with them. I sold my first bee photos there as well!

Another friend, Brenda, printed and packaged my beloved prints. She's the best! She's the owner of Pacific Framing and I highly recommend her for any printing and or framing needs.

I am so grateful for being invited back to Timothy's Lutheran Church's Christmas Market and for the beautiful job Brenda did with my pictures.

Have you noticed how many times I have used the word grateful in this blog post? A lot, because I am whole heartily, ever lasting, deep down grateful for the love and support from my closest friends. I would never have been given all these wonderful opportunities if it wasn't for their support. I appreciate all the support I have; from my family understanding when I am in "mad scientist" mode, to Mike always believing in me, my extended family, all of my friends and people whom I ship to that I have never met. This is beginning to sound like an award speech, so I'll leave it at this: I appreciate every order, every shared post.. all of it.

This has been a very successful season and year for me. However, I don't measure my success by how many orders were placed, how I did at each event or even by the amount of money I made ( I probably need a business coach!)

I measure my success by how I feel about an event, did I connect with people? Did I help someone in some small way? Did I help someone understand a little bit more about how important bees are? Did I do my best, in both creating the products and displaying them? When I can answer yes to these questions, I feel successful.

On the farm it's been hay, water, hay, water and more hay and even more water! In between those times though there's is some time for cow cuddles, horsing around and watching the chickens being "chicken" about walking into the snow, with the exception of one brave girl :)

Also, I have seen some beautiful skies, some foggy mornings and as I am trying to learn more about mushrooms, comparing spring growths to winter growths.

I foresee a mushroom blog post in the near future.

So here's the scoop on what really went fast at the events. Check them out if you would like some.

Farm Hands is a SUPER THICK beeswax based hand balm. Buy it here.

Eucalyptus Lotion Bars (use instead of a petroleum based product to rub on chest and or under nose to relieve congestion.) Buy it here

Bee Moisturized Calendula Lotion. Buy it here

I'll end with how I started, not the farm hair don't care part (although that's especially true today.. I've got some rendition of a beehive hair thing going on) but rather with that saying on the card. "With The New Day Comes New STRENGTH And New Thoughts." Eleanor Roosevelt.