Posted in General Reflections, tagged community, diversity, square peg round hole on September 13, 2011| 9 Comments »
Or, is it you cannot put a round peg in a square hole?
Whichever way it goes, it doesn’t.
But aren’t you glad we can be a community of differences?
A true leader in life is one that can truly be her (or him) self. Why not?
A true leader also accepts and embraces diversity.
A true leader does what is right, even if it means the square peg doesn’t fit into the round hole. Why follow the crowd, why pretend the peg fits?
Annie’s Goat Hill Handcrafted Soaps – Smell and Feel the Goodness
Posted in General Reflections, tagged 9/11, September 11 on September 11, 2011| 3 Comments »
9/11 remains fresh in my mind on a personal level. As that mid-morning began to unravel I remember contacting my loved ones – my sons (through email and phone calls), then my sister, my father, and my friends. Everyone in my immediate world was safe and sound.
I watched smoke billowing from the Twin Towers on MSNBC, at that time on a very slow connection on my desk PC at work. I could still see disaster progressing. Nothing short of horror.
As I walked to my boss’s office, an employee asked if I was okay. My words, “Yes, but our world will never be the same again.” As the doors to that office closed, 5 of us prayed. It was a sad day. I left and headed out to what was eerily empty interstates and roads – wanting to get my feet back on home ground, stay in touch with my family.
I completed a Google search a few days ago on 9/11 to refresh my own knowledge, beyond memory. Reading was painful. My throat tightened, my heart hurt. There is still a lot of doubt in the minds of American people as a whole. I have empathy. There are a lot of un-answered questions. Our lives did change 10 years ago.
God bless America. God bless those that lost their lives, and those that were injured. God bless their families and friends.
Thank you to those that worked tirelessly through the minutes, hours, days, weeks, and months that followed 9/11.
We will never forget.
Posted in General Reflections, tagged books replaced by Kindles, save the books on August 17, 2011| 4 Comments »
As I look at the stack of soap-making books that I am determined to scramble my way through, random thoughts form.
Our nose guides us through a lot of things in life – emotions, trouble, pleasure, and even memories.
Speaking of pleasure and the nose, can you imagine walking into a library without being able to smell the mustiness of old books and paper? Imagine walking through the libarary doors only to be enveloped with the smell of electronic books and devices.
Imagine no more books. What a sad day that would be.
Perhaps that thought seems worthless…not to me.
The internet is a spectactular thing, even now, even after multiple decades of its existance. But it does not replace a good old-fashioned book.
You can read a book, research a project, relax, study, without any interruptions, without recharging a battery. You can drop the book when you fall asleep. You can pick it back up later without marking your spot electronically. And within that particular book, there (usually) is no conflicting information.
Like a good bar of old fashioned soap…books needs to stay, good old-fashioned books.
Ramble thoughts are written now.
What do you think, are books going to evaporate? Will museum rooms be created just for future generations to marvel at books?
Posted in AGH Business News, General Reflections, Inspirations, tagged challenges in life, HR2359, safe cosmetics on July 20, 2011| 5 Comments »
Recently, as I was enjoying a ride, I thought about how some of the basic instructions we received in motorcycle safety class last summer does reflect life itself.
One such instruction was “look into the curve.”
In life, especially when faced with challenges, if we look into the curve, look where we plan to exit the curve, we steer ourselves in the right direction. We come out of the curve, the difficult maneuver, exactly where we set our eyes to bring us out.
While working through the twist in the road when we do not look left, right, or down. We hold our posture, looking ahead, at the end result. We focus.
It really does work.
Have you faced any challenges lately where looking into the curve might help?
I have. One is HR 2359, a bill that could be devastating to you (as a consumer and friend), me – a small business owner, and the country in general, as we might lose more of our freedom. Where do I stand? I am against the bill, but I am looking into the curve, with my eyes focused on the end result. I may need to adjust. I may need to make changes. But I am focused. And I will survive, stronger than ever. I hope you find that type of resolve to your conflicts as well!
Posted in All In A Day's Time, General Reflections, Goat Care (and General Farm), Health, Inspirations, tagged beauty, dedication, dedication to work, dependability, milk goat on June 16, 2011| 13 Comments »
My alone time with the goats normally comes to light in the early morning hours as I am milking one of them. The barn, where the milk room is located, is normally quiet and abandoned as most of the herd is outside grazing or rummaging through the hay I just placed in their feeders.
This morning as I enjoyed a peaceful moment with one of the milkers my thoughts turned to the goat.
She isn’t the prettiest goat in the world. She looks rather thin. She is very healthy. Her scraggly winter coat has been shed. What is left is her glossy “summer-do.” She comes to the milk room to do a job for me. She puts every ounce of her body into her milk. She puts on no airs. She does her job well. She provides the amount of quality milk that no other doe provides. She does not complain. She requires no special care.
Isn’t that how we (as humans) should be? We produce without complaints because we are given the daily opportunity to do so? We do not need to be beautiful, because we are a special and unique begin to begin with. If we do what is needed, consistently, we will provide for ourselves (and others) so much more than what is needed…calmly, on a daily basis.
Why rush? Why hurry? Why try to be someone we are not? We simply put our best foot forward and give in to what does come naturally, and happily.
Thank you to the not-so-pretty, un-named goat. You not only provide beautiful milk for our lotions and soaps, you provide a lesson in life.
Posted in General Reflections, Inspirations, tagged staying young, wise elder, words of wisdom on June 3, 2011| 9 Comments »
I love it when a simple event turns into more than one might expect.
In this case it was a flat tire.
As they pulled our truck onto the lift I walked out the service bay door. An elderly woman was standing on the sidewalk. I noticed her bright and beautiful eyes immediately. We struck up a conversation that flowed like we had known each other all of our lives. It did not take long for her to tell me that she was 87 years old.
Mrs. Reed and her husband owned the service station. 50-something years ago she pumped the gas, and she also included an oil level check, tire pressure check, and windshield washer fluid top-off with gasoline fill-up’s. Do you also remember those days?
Our conversation led me to think about small business, and how relationships with our clients, our customers, and our business comrades are all so important. We want to provide service to the best of our ability, in a friendly human manner, just like the full-service stations did many years ago. Our conversation also led me to think about life in general. How it isn’t about our every-day grind, nor a “me, me, me” world, it really is all about our relationships with people.
Mrs. Reed went on to tell me about her 35 grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and the various remarkable professions and lives that they live.
All of this time I kept thinking, “How does she do it?” She is so full of life. So bright, seemingly without a care in the world.
I never had to ask her that question, she volunteered a simple answer, “You never stop.”
You never stop. You do not listen to the voice that says you cannot do it. You do it. You make it happen. When you stop you accept defeat, both physically and mentally.
Our conversation was lengthy, the details are not included here (for your sake), but I must say, as we parted ways I told her, “You have inspired me!” She held those tiny beautiful wrinkled hands behind her head, wriggled her fingers, as if to say, “Phooey!” But the grin and eyes told me differently, they were encouraging.
We can learn a lot from our elders.
I will always remember those words, “You never stop.” You rest momentarily. Then you get back up and make your world what you intend it to be.
I guess I am not so nuts when I tell my husband, and other people, that I intend to be milking goats, actively, when I am 80 years old. When someone says to me (they already do), “I do not know how you do it,” I say, “I just do it. All of it. It is what I want to do!”
Posted in AGH Business News, General Reflections, tagged customer service, small business fabric of America, smalll business on May 23, 2011| 17 Comments »
We have been a busy couple here at Annie’ s Goat Hill!
We are working on several projects, some we can disclose, others we are better off keeping under our hat until they happen.
One of the fun new things that we have are t-shirts. I have not always been a big fan of walking advertisements for brands but recently as I wore a t-shirt for a much needed cause (the fight for cystic fibrosis) I wondered why I had not added Annie’s Goat Hill t-shirts to our daily casual wear.
Getting the t-shirts made was a struggle. I called 5 small businesses before one responded. The businesses either would not answer their phone, would not respond to voice mail messages, or would appear to never turn on their lights and be in their physical location.
I am all for local business, and when I get permission to mention the one that we used for the printing, I will…but until then, I’ll say they had some great customer service! They printed our shirts based on an attachment to an email, they supplied us with prototypes via email attachments, and even provided an attached invoice. All done sight-unseen. The entire process took 3 days, that is it. I am grateful, to say the least. They deserve a gold start for adding another exemplary small business to the list of glue that holds our country together!
I hope Annie’s Goat Hill always continues to provide customer service that exceeds the middle line. If we ever slip up, by not meeting our customer needs, I personally want to hear about it, and fix it!
Have a wonderful week, everyone!
Posted in All In A Day's Time, General Reflections, tagged business integrity, honesty on April 6, 2011| 11 Comments »
One simple word wraps up how I feel – disappointed.
Have you ever experienced a rash of one type of human behavior, which has left you feeling not so settled?
In short (just a few examples) –
The truth is, in all 3 of these cases, these people did hurt themselves.
The phrase, “The truth will set you free,” rang like a huge bell in my mind as I rummaged through the trough of non-truths. Trying to not judge. Hoping to shed the weight from my own disappointed shoulders.
The truth will set you free. Like simple math: 1) In order to be trusted, you are to be honest. 2) Not only tell the truth, but also admit to mistakes. 3) Never, ever, use another human being to mask your own weaknesses – admit to being less than perfect.
When a person accepts the responsibility of truthfulness they no longer need to lug around a broom and a dust pan to clean up the dirt they leave in their wake. They are set free.
Posted in All In A Day's Time, General Reflections, Health, Inspirations, tagged focus on end result, obtaining goals, weight loss diet on March 31, 2011| 12 Comments »
About 6 weeks ago my husband and I started a weight loss program.
I will not bore you with all of the details of our weight loss plan, but I will tell you we integrated less calories (no seconds at meals) with a focus on whole grains, little (to no) white flour/potatoes/sugar, and a diet loaded with fresh fruits and vegetables. Is it working? Yes. Is it difficult? One huge YES!!!!
My slips and slides, spikes of insulin, have lessened, but now the cravings have returned. It has brought me to comparing the weight loss endeavor to life itself.
How do we stick with a plan? We focus on the horizon.
Small business owners go through ups and downs while growing their businesses. Is their product what they want it to be? Are their customers really happy? One day it feels right, the next day it feels all wrong. It is a natural part of doing business, but, without an eye on the horizon, without the steadfast walk towards the goal, it could be a matter of crash and burn.
Weight loss is no different. Like the carrot dangling in front of the rabbit in the race, if the picture that we want to create of ourselves (a healthier body, or a smaller size) is not retained as a goal, we will eventually give in to our cravings and weight loss will be thrown to the way-side.
Life is full of frustrations, side-tracks, and little lies that tell us that doing what is right is just too difficult. Na-da!
Keep your eye on the horizon. Keep your eye on the goal. Don’t look to the right, nor to the left. Look where you want to go.
I believe, do you?
Posted in General Reflections, tagged happiness, Nature, positive thinking on March 6, 2011| 9 Comments »
This morning brought a few surprises from nature. A return of winter with a coating of snow on the ground. And beautiful deer foraging in the lower pasture. They don’t know the calender still says it is winter as they live their daily lives, I suppose we shouldn’t either. Everything happens in its own time.
Happiness happens in its own time too…but being positive is a decision that we make. I chose to look at the beauty today. Sunshine and green grass is absent, but again, in its own time.
Happiness is an emotion…being positive is an action.
All season are beautiful for the person that carries happiness within. – Horace Friess
| What is Goat Polio?… on Thiamine Deficiency – Ca… | |
| Goat Illnesses and S… on Thiamine Deficiency – Ca… | |
 | Mary Humphrey on Selenium Deficiency In Go… |
Annies Goat Hill Handcrafted Soaps 