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sarah are you kidding www..anniesgoathill.comAre you kidding? No, we are not having kids. We are designing a cover…finally!

I have hired the excellent services of Jennifer Smith, talented owner and operator of Eco-Office Gals.

I am thrilled to be at the stage of final formatting of this book, and to have someone with fresh (and trained) eyes helping me with cover design.

This means that I get the book out to you…and yes, I have a growing waiting list, and, I can roll forward on my next books — a devotional, a children’s fiction book which brings fun things to the farm, and a future 2nd edition of Annie’s All About Goats.

As Sarah, the lovely gal pictured above, would say, “Mehhh! Mehhh!” Move forward!

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www.anniesgoathill.comI’ve told stories about my passion for handmade soap to so many people, and I’ll tell it again — it began (here) 49 years ago, and it carried on fiercely into adulthood, right up to this day.

In case you don’t know about me, I have been a soap maker for 12 years. I began handcrafting all natural soaps with pure essential oils and plant-based colorants at that time, and I switched to making goat make soap, including milk from my own herd of goats, approximately 8 years ago.

I joined my husband when he shifted to driving full-time across the United States as a semi-truck driver several years ago. God asked for a change in our lives, and so I made the announcement to close Annie’s Goat Hill Handcrafted Soaps (here).

Change and choice happens in our lives, and then it often comes back around 180 degrees. That is where I am at today. I miss soap making. I miss the small business. I miss my customers. I am still an entrepreneur (a life coach and an author), but I need to make soap again. I need to talk about it, watch it cure, and I need to hold a bar of my silky goat milk gsoap in my own little hands!

My plan is to return to making goat milk soap in February or March 2015. We are in the beginning stage of our initial newsletter here, so those of you that are interested in purchasing my soap, I urge you to sign up and I’ll keep you informed!

Will this be a grand re-opening, or what?

I truly look forward to it!

Mary Humphrey

Annie’s Goat Hill Handcrafted Soaps

Where you can smell and feel the goodness!

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start writing www.anniesgoathill.com

Annie may not have goats in the barn at this point, and she is only in the thinking stages of returning to soap making, but she is definitely glued to some major tasks – book writing!

Update on my books:

Annie’s All About Goats is in the hands of my trusted, talented and extremely appreciated editing team! Progress!

Annie’s lotion making book is approximately 80% complete. In this book I teach the simple process of basic lotion making for the crafty person that wishes to personally benefit from their own made-from-scratch lotion, with goat milk as an ingredient as well. If that were all that I wanted to include in this book, however, the manuscript would be finished. I am in the process of adding product information for people that desire to sell lotions and creams as a business. I have also included my Annie’s Goat Hill formula in the book, which is a creamy viscous lotion that easily squeezes out of thicker pump tubes. A former customer said, “This is goat milk cream!”

Annie also has a youth fiction book which is in the advanced stages of completion. The antics of those two kids! Need I say more?

At this point, I’ll not go into detail about my other book projects – most of which are handwritten on notebook paper and in journals.

Let me know if you have any questions…and look for my books to come!

Annie’s Goat Hill Handcrafted Soaps…Where You Smell and Feel the Goodness!

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reversable apron, crocheting www.anniesgoathill.com

Annie’s is not dead. Sound like a familiar movie title? Well … Annie’s Is Not Dead!

Annie’s Goat Hill currently does not have goats on the apartment patio, nor does it have fresh soap in the (non-existent) spare room…but Annie’s is alive and kicking.

Annie (Mary Humphrey – myself) has authored books (Essential Soapmaking and Advanced Soapmaking: Removing the Mystery), along with stories she contributed to the Selah Press anthology 360 Degrees of Grief: Reflections of Hope, all of these books are available on her blogs, and on her Amazon.com author page. She’s also polishing her first edition, soon to be published, of Annie’s All About Goats. Behind this writing project is the first draft completed of Jackson and Delilah’s Adventures, a fiction youth novel. Devotionals follow suit, which are in the stage of notes written in pen and ink. There may also be books from the kitchen, because this woman can cook. Did you know that? She cooks from scratch and follows the little-bit-of-this-and-that method.

Soap creation and sales may return to the agenda in late 2014. Can you imagine creamy, skin loving goat milk soap once again coming from Annie’s studio? It just might happen.

What you absolutely have not heard about, until today, is Creative Expressions by Annie. You know, she thrives on creativity – writing, DIY personal care products, sewing, crocheting, soap making, aromatherapy and crafts that work all of these things together. The photo above is a sample of things to come – a series of blog posts that she hopes inspires you to new (or renew) your passions. The world is full of beautiful things…and the freedom to use your imagination!

“In this time of ‘information overload’, people do not need more information. They want a story they can relate to.”  – Maarten Schafer

Annie’s Goat Hill – Smell and Feel the Goodness!

 

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The youth fiction book that I am writing is coming together nicely.

I am falling in love with the main characters, Delilah and Jasper, two young Nubian goats.

I never dreamed I would write fiction, much less a book intended for children. Before I started the book I found myself thinking about all of the goats that we have raised, all of the kids, and how I have loved farm animals from a very young age, as as far back as I can remember. At that point it became clear to me that I needed to tell my story.

The book is fiction, but it contains a lot of learning tips that children can pick up on, scenes from my own experiences, and it contains fun chapters where a child can wander  through the thoughts and antics of a very young goat.

With only a small story or two that I am still pondering on adding, I’ve begun editing the book.

I will soon announce a deadline. I am excited to place this adventure in the delighted hands of a child. I can see myself as a youth wearing the pages of the book out. My dream is to give that gift to another.

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floating along www.anniesgoathill.com

Why is it we seem to not recognize all that we do until we put it in writing? It causes us to question why we are not taking certain steps, or better yet, why we are still doing something that isn’t helping us reach the results that we want.

In all of our busyness, with an ever-changing world and business life, we tend to forget to check in with our goals.

Our goals – where we ultimately want to be at a specified time. We can get there without plans, but it may take us an enormous time to reach our destination. In fact, instead of getting there in any reasonable length of time, we may be floating along on a slow-moving magic carpet ride, not sure where we are going to land, and perhaps not caring because we are so involved in productivity each and every day. We get busy, right?

This is my personal reminder to set goals and outline the steps to get there. An outline includes concise steps and expected completion times. Anything completed during working hours, that is done above and beyond the outline is either 1) fluff (and takes me away from the goal) or 2) icing on the cake that is necessary for good results.

On a daily basis – be flexible, bend, bend and bend again, but keep the tasks that are imperative to ensure the books gets written, the soap gets made, the website is up and running, or whatever business goals that are set. If the goals shift, the outlined plans must shift as well.

Try it if you want. Imagine, someone has just asked you to outline a list of your sites, your social media addresses, and what your daily work schedule consists of.  What is your mission? What are your goals? Which, by the way, are two very separate things. Are you on track, or floating along? What steps (deadlines and actions) must you take to reach your goals?

Personally, I am facing the legal pad with pen and paper in hand, busily drafting an outline. Checking in with my goals.

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soap making book www.anniesgoahill.com

It has arrived, our expanded and newly published book, Essential Soap Making!

You may remember that Essential Soap Making began as an e-Book. It is now printed as a beautifully covered paper back book, available (here) at Create Space, and (here) at Amazon.com.

In the revised edition we’ve built upon the troubleshooting section, included thirty color photos and five soap formulas.

I am so pleased that we were able to publish photos of the soap making process, especially of trace (the point when the oils and fats have successfully blended with the lye mixture). When I first learned how to make soap, it would have helped so much to see what trace was supposed to look like!

Essential Soap Making, in my opinion, is a great book for a person wanting to learn how to make soap, or even a beautiful addition for a skilled soap maker to add to their library.

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www.anniesgoathill.com swirled soap

Soap making – an art, an outlet – joy filled.

Alyssa Middleton and I recently put on our work boots and stomped through the trenches to revamp our first e-Book, Essential Soap Making. We added personality, reformatted several chapters, and sent our book to an amazing editor, Karen Bowlding. The front and back covers were beautifully and expertly designed by Jennifer Smith. We are so proud of the product, which is now in the proof stage, and will be available within a week in paper back. I can not wait to get the book in my hands!

This morning, as I worked on our second book, Advanced Soap Making: Removing the Mystery, which is forming up nicely, I came to realize that I am genuinely excited to share my know-how of  making great soap, especially the tricks to making goat milk soap.

Soap making, to me, is a mixture of art, creativity, and personal gratification – most soap makers are doing exactly what they love to do.

I encourage you to do that as well, express yourself, take care of yourself, do what makes you feel joy. You were given those talents and passions, run with them!

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comittment www.anniesgoathill.com

The most prominent virtue I gained in 2012 was the ability to be flexible without looking back.

Life and business thrives with an acceptance of change – one that allows us to merely become fluid any time it is necessary.

In 2012, I shut down my soap business and goat farm. It was not an easy shift, but to this day it is providing opportunities that I never imagined could exist.

I started The Creative Entrepreneur blog series in 2012. With the pivoting of business and writing gears, I found I could not devote myself to both my personal and series commitments.

In 2012, I also began writing several books, co-authored with Melissa Middleton of Vintage Body Spa. We published the first book of our series, Essential Soap Making, as an e-Book. We recently re-submitted the book to editing. It is being re-formatted as a book in print. The newly formatted book is within weeks of a publish date.

I have committed (myself) to publishing eight books in 2013. If you are raising your eyebrows at my lofty goal, trust me, so am I. Being flexible, as life continues to take amazing twists and turns, will lead to greater success. But committing to the writing goal, by just tying the knot that won’t come undone, is how it will be accomplished.

I hope you stay and witness my exciting journey ahead!

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h

Merry Christmas!

We hope the precious time that you have with your family and loved ones this Christmas is filled with peace, love, and warmth.

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