Not MIA - Just Baby-ed

I don't know if any of my past customers come back to my shop in hopes that I had created new products, but this post is dedicated to that idea.
Running an Etsy shop takes a lot of time and work because you have to create, take pictures, write listings, keep SEO in mind so you show up in searches, then promote and promote some more. I consider my shop at the time to be moderately successful. I make enough money to pay for perhaps two bills, but obviously you only make what you put into it. Because I still work full time and I'm also going to makeup school on Saturdays, plus have two kids (one of them is really little and wants my attention pretty much every minute she's awake) and a husband, well I simply don't have enough time right now to create anything new. I'm taking a lot of steps to be able to do my business full time, but everything takes extreme patience and I'm very cautious because I would never want do anything that could place my family in some kind of financial strain.
It's very weird how one can have a "successful" career, a beautiful family, be a home owner, yet when you are not doing what you love you just can't shake the feeling that you're meant to be doing something else. That's me right now, that's my position. I spend 8 hours every day at a job that pays nearly six figures, and I hate every hour I'm there. People think that my job is cool, but it's not, and if my job wasn't as boring as it was I don't think I would be pursuing my business so vehemently. On the flip side, sometimes I feel bad because there are so many people out there who do not have a job, and I feel like I should be grateful that I do have a job. But we only live once, and well, going to a job daily that makes you kind of depressed is not a way to live. Not to mention every day when I leave my house I leave in so much guilt because my poor baby cries so much. I know this is normal, I have an almost 3 year old and she went through the same thing. But it doesn't mean I don't feel bad every morning when I leave. If I could do this over I would stay at home with my kids at least until they're one. But who knows, maybe they learned something by not having me there every single minute.

My View on Home Births

I'm just watching the news and a woman is shown along with her lawyer because she had a "botched" home birth and her nearly 2-year old child suffered brain damage and still cannot sit up. I would like to tell women out there: The birth of your child is NOT THE TIME TO PLAY AROUND with life or death. Yes, thousands of people have had succesful homebirths, and I understand that a lot of people don't want drugs during labor. YOU think that when you are in labor you will be able to be in charge of what's going. Well, let me tell you this. YOU will be in SO MUCH pain that you will not be able to control what's around and make decisions. If you chose to have a home birth, water birth, or any of that, you better have a plan if anything goes awry. IT IS NOT WORTH losing your child, or giving your child permanent disabilities because you chose an unconventional way of doing things. Yeah, ok, women gave birth naturally for centuries. Yeah, I understand that, but the mortality rate for women and children during child birth was way higher then. If you don't like hospitals, nurses, etc., well, put on your big girl panties and suck it up. If, God forbid, you may need emergency services you want to be at the hospital, not sitting at home wasting precious time, and messing with your BABY'S LIFE. Yes, that's what you are doing. I don't give a shit if you think an epidural is going to mess your baby up. IT WON'T trust me. Plus labor sucks a A LOT. It was designed that way. Believe me, when you start to feel someone is ripping your body apart, you'll be wishing you had the fucking epidural anyway. Sorry for the f-bombs, but it's true. I love both of my babies enough for one, having a C-section, and the other one having an epidural and being at the hospital where she was safe when she started grunting right after she was born. That episode really made me think, what if all these doctors weren't here, how would I know she's OK? The hour that she was away from me under observation was probably the longest hour of my life. And if you don't believe anything will go wrong, well, congratulations for your optimism for one of the most dangerous things you will do in your life which is giving birth to another human being. Don't gamble with life, be safe and keep your baby safe by giving birth at the hospital. Again, I know that lots of people have done it both ways, but why gamble? Visit Hurt by Homebirth if you need some examples. I can barely read that blog, I just sob and cry as both of my babies have had some kind of complication, and I can't simply imagine carrying a child for 9 months to then see him or her die to something stupid like wanting to have a home birth and not have any real doctors around. Please, please, think about your child before considering this, it is NOT WORTH IT.

A Review of the Monkeypod Kitchen at Ko'Olina

The hubby and I celebrated our 3rd year anniversary earlier this month and we decided to celebrate it at Monkeypod at Ko'Olina. I love going back to Ko'Olina because that's where we got married, plus the place is gorgeous. The beach is gorgeous, the hotels are fabulous, and there are many nice restaurants where you can sit and have a super relaxing time. It's like being in a vacation 15 minutes from home! So, Monkeypod! What a peculiar name, right? I never thought this place would be so chic being called Monkeypod. But hey, Chef Merriman named it Monkeypod and that's certainly catchy and different.

Monkeypod specializes in fresh meals and by fresh, I mean fresh. They only serve local fish, local vegetables, Big Island grass-fed beef, virtually everything in their menu is grown here in Hawaii. Our server was extremely friendly and immediately explained to us how their items are organic and locally-grown. If you didn't know from visiting their website they're going to tell you once you sit down. All their appetizers sounded amazing. We tried the Raw Bar Mixed Plate which brings taco (octopus), ahi (tuna), and shrimp ceviche. It was pretty good, but kind of on the small side. The other appetizer we tried was the Pumpkin Patch Ravioli. WOW! That was amazing. That could be an entree all on its own. I really liked it, I thought it was delicious and original. 10 points! My hubby ordered the steak which, again, comes from the Big Island, and I had the ahi steak. I can't talk about the steak (all I can say is that he ate the whole thing - and it was a good size), but I can tell you about the Ahi Steak. It was PERFECTION. 5 stars. It was the BEST ahi I've ever had, cooked in the most perfect way.

Lastly, the drinks. Neither my hubby and I are beer drinkers, but they have more than 30 beers on tap, and serve all of the local beers from the islands. Their beer list includes beers from California all the way to Belgium. We stayed true to ourselves and ordered cocktails. I had a margarita which I thought was ok, and also had a sangria which was excellent. The hubby had a Mai Tai and it was served with some kind of cream on top. I've never seen a Mai Tai like that so points for originality. Overall we had a fantastic time, and they complimented us to dessert for our anniversary. They're just awesome!

I loved everything about this place and I'm so happy they're close to my house. They have happy hour from 3:00-5:30pm where their appetizers and drinks go 50% off, plus they have live music. This place is not to be missed if you're visiting Hawaii, and if you live in Hawaii, careful because you might get addicted. We didn't have reservations, but the place is huge (2 stories), so they have plenty of space.

For more information visit www.monkeypodkitchen.com. They also have a location in Wailea, Maui, which is their original location.

Have fun!

Pick Me Up

Today was one of those days where a lot of things went wrong. First thing this morning, I started working on my orders and soon realized that I needed to make a lipstick and an eyeshadow. I try to give myself a certain deadline for my orders, and I was pretty much at the end of that deadline for all of the orders I worked on today. So even though I still have to go to work to my full time job (which may a post for some other time) I make time to get all of this done.

I proceed to get everything ready, start printing labels, and I get some ingredients out to make a lipstick. I have made hundreds of lipsticks in the past, but today I was out of jojoba oil. I tend to substitute ingredients if I need to, so I decided to meadow foam seed oil, which I have used in the past as well. Well, I'm not sure what exactly happened today, but my lipstick did not work out. I don't know if I measured a tsp a tbsp, the matter is that everything I did was destroyed as soon as I pulled it out of the molds. What a disappointment! I had to contact my customer to let her know what happened and that I would need a couple of days. I'm a perfectionist at heart, but very much human and today I messed that up.

Next thing, I get to make my Lava Eyeshadow, that beautiful red shade many people love. Great! I get my mineral powder, my magnesium stearate, my red oxide, my red mica... everything I need. So simple, measure what I need and mix.... Until (and I don't even know what happened) I spill almost all of the eyeshadow I just made in my kitchen floor. Needless to say I was extremely upset, because at this point is 11am and I still haven't made it to my full time job, which means I'm working late on a Friday night. So after trying to calm myself down I find my vacuum cleaner, vacuum probably $100 dollars worth of eyeshadow from the floor, try to finish my second of three orders, get ready and go to work. I finally get here at 2:30pm, which means I have to work until 10:30pm. Thankfully, my job is flexible and they don't care at what time I come in as long as the job gets done. On the way to work I called my dad because I really needed to hear his voice, and it made me feel so much better to chat with him. He lives in Atlanta and I live in Hawaii so I miss him very very much.

It hasn't been the best day, but I'm looking forward to tomorrow and what comes with it. In the meantime well, smile.



Till the next one,
Stay Beautiful

Bedroom Decor: Update Your Look

I've been wanting to change my bedroom, but I don't want to paint walls or do anything messy. So I'm leaning toward a change of decor and these are some of the things I have been considering:

Wall Stencil: I think a nice stencil is a great way to refresh the look of a bedroom without the mess of paint. I have my eye on this one from 3rd Ave Shore:



It is so pretty! This whole shop has wonderful stencil with a beach-Hawaii theme. They were one of the first shops I ever favorited on Etsy.




Unusual Art: A piece of art that it's simply unusual and original it's a great addition to your bedroom. I'm loving this piece from Pecan Workshop. It's stunning!





New Comforter: Spice up the look by getting new bedding. I have had my comforter for more years than I'd like to admit, and I only alternate it when it's wash day. Although it could be a pricey purchase, overstock.com has a lot of not-so-expensive options for bedding. I'm liking this one which has a coral reef theme and goes great with my already blue walls.



A Reminder: Many of us have so many responsibilities that we find it hard to unwind our thoughts even when we are trying to fall asleep. The bedroom should be a sanctuary for relaxation, and having a physical object as reminder could be a powerful tool. This sign can be found on Studio Liscious on Etsy.





I hope you enjoy these items. If you do please visit their stores and leave me a comment.

Stay beautiful,

Eva