I Don't Get This

You have probably heard about Etsy.com, the online indie market. It's huge and wonderful, filled with amazing, handmade items - stuff you could never find at your local Target, CVS or Newbury Comics.

When you join the zillions of people selling their goods on Etsy, you really have to work hard to get noticed. You have to join forums and have showcases and who knows what else. It is a very competitive place. I'd rather direct people to my own web site, but I do get an occassional, unexpected sale on Etsy which is always nice. What I find to be a real shame when I peruse the other soap stores on Etsy is how an AMAZING soap maker like Ladybug Soapworks can have less than 100 sales while a hack "soap maker" can enjoy hundreds of sales. I am not going to mention any names, but I am speaking, generally, about people who have crummy photography and who use the melt & pour technique without any real creative element (I have seen some people make stunning soaps using melt & pour, but it is not the norm and the average person can't appreciate the difference between melt & pour and a lovely, handmade soap from scratch).

Etsy. It's a jungle out there.

Big Sister Program

I may not be "mommy" material, but I would still like to make a difference in a child's life. I just signed up to be a Big Sister and this is looooong overdue. I am really looking forward to meeting my Little Sister!

Whole Foods Update

Can be found here.

Bruins Stinker

I am not really a hockey fan, per say. As I've stated in the past, I am addicted to baseball and in the last three seasons or so, I've folded basketball into the mix. It's really all I can find the time to follow when I'm not knee deep in the soap.

Having said this, I must express my empathy to all of the Bruins fans who had such faith in this team. It really did seem as though they had the momentum to go all the way. I know the "punch in the gut" feeling that the B's fans will have to ride out over the next couple of days. It's a total pooper.

I hope the Celtics can win game 7 at home tomorrow. I've realized that Dwight Howard is a real "me, me, me" kind of guy. I can't believe the way he bad-mouthed Van Gundy so publicly. It's very selfish and disrespectful of your teammates, not to mention Van Gundy himself. Right or wrong, you work that stuff out privately. And Alston is a total jerk. No one slaps Eddie House in the back of the head and advances in the playoffs. No one!

The Truth

Gonzaga.

That is my surname. Some of you know this, but some of you do not. The name is Brazilian and I've not a drop of Brazilian blood. I am part Polish (very proud!) and part French-Canadian (also very proud, but somehow the Polish part takes over the French-Canadian).

How did I come to have this name?

My grandmother (after her divorce from said Brazilian man) fell in-love with a married man, had an affair and became pregnant. This is how my father was born.

I did not know about this until after she passed away in 1986. I was upstairs in my room, bawling my eyes out (I loved my Grandma Stella so much and was very close to her) after her funeral. My parents came upstairs and told me the "truth" about my biological history. I was then told that we would never speak of it again.

Nice.

My father lived with his illegitimacy his entire life. He never sought after my grandfather. He wouldn't give him the satisfaction. I still admire the courage it took my dad to avoid seeking his natural father. This is something I don't think I could file away as neatly as my dad did ("He didn't give a shit about me, so I don't give a shit about him."). Still, I wonder about my grandfather. I wonder if he knew I even existed. I don't feel as though I missed out on anything, as I come from a very loving family who cherished me and made me feel safe and appreciated. But I think about him sometimes. And his wife, who didn't know what was going on. And his children, my aunts and uncles, who did not know about me or my dad.

It took a long time to be able to be public with all of this. After my parents told me about the whole thing, I felt that telling anyone would breach the trust I had with my mom and dad. But after a period of time, I realized that I wasn't going to be ashamed of who I was. I love my Grandmother, and that includes every decision she's ever made. Had it not been for her "bad" decision, I wouldn't be here.

There is so much I can say about this woman - I could write a book. Her bravery inspires me everyday. I could never feel ashamed by anything she did. I just wish I had had the opportunity to let her know, face-to-face.

Manny

I thought I would be more up-in-arms about this news, but really I'm just kind of , "meh." I suppose, when he went to the other side of the country and to a different league, he just sorted of fell off of my daily radar. Plus, he was rubbing his new found love and success in our faces and I guess I it was just too hurtful to pay attention.

It sucks to learn about yet another dirty player. I always thought Trot Nixon would be the first big name former Red Sox player to be found out. I mean, I love Trot. Absolutely adore him with every fiber of my being. But, he had anger issues, big face & neck syndrome and frequent injuries. You tell me.

I feel bad for Joe Torre. He spent many years trying to manage around this guy and now he has to deal with his dark side. Meanwhile, the Red Sox enjoyed many a season with him before he was caught. The irony. That's why he gets paid the big bucks, I guess.

Whole Foods

I just got accepted to attend the Whole Foods Local Producers seminar! I was sent an application a couple of weeks ago. They accept 26 people to come every time. I went all out. I gave them a copy of my media kit and a soap sample with the application. I also hand-delivered it.

I got the call this afternoon. This is a real honor. We have three Providence area Whole Foods markets. I am told that the seminar is a chance to meet with partners and to find out what the criteria is for getting your product on their shelves. In my case, I will be meeting with the Whole Body people. If I can meet the criteria, I will likely have Stella Marie in our local Whole Foods Markets!

Isn't this the bees knees?