Etsy. . . Where Handmade Rocks!

I first heard about Etsy back in the fall of 2005 before anyone knew what it was or how big it would get.  I was having fun making beaded jewelry at the time and thought of selling it on Etsy.  But being the procrastination queen I am it never happened.  Now Etsy has blown up and is THE place to buy and sell handmade.  I think it is great because it has given new life to handmade products.  There are so many things out there made on machines or by an assembly line of people.  It is wonderful to shop on Etsy and see all the wonderful creations people have made with their own hands.  I made my first purchase there in December.  It was an acrylic art print.  I love it!  I have it framed and hung on the wall in my living room.  I am inspired each time I see it.  Thats the thing about Etsy....its ability to inspire!  

I have often spoken about how creativity has helped me deal with fear.  When I focus on a project it takes me out of my busy mind for that time and a shift in my focus happens.  Whether I am making a beaded bracelet or spending time behind the lens of my camera.  I get caught up in the moment and loose all track of time.  I feel happy, calm, and inspired.  I have found it to be essential to my emotional well being.  Problem is I don't do it enough.  Sometimes I have a hard time getting started especially when my mind is running around lost.  But if I can get in the zone....who knows where it can take me.  

This past Christmas I made my own cards for the first time.  I used images from my photographs and handwrote my own sentiment.  It was the most fun I have ever had sending out cards.  Sharing my photography and being creative with it was great.  I plan on doing it again!  It inspired me to use my photos to make cards.  And it led me to FINALLY open my first Etsy shop Cathy Marie Creations I have started out with my photo cards and eventually plan to share some of my beaded jewelry.  It is exciting for me to put my creativity out there.  I hope you enjoy it!

You can check out my shop here.  You can also scroll down the right side of this blog and get a preview.

What is your favorite way to be creative?  How does your creativity help you?  Have you ever been on Etsy?  Are you a fan of handmade?

Boobie Bracelets. . . Are They Offensive?

I have referred to my breast's as "boob's" for years never thinking anything of it.  In my book Breastless in the City I used that word quite often.  For me it is just a way to lighten up things when talking about breast cancer.  I certainly didn't think it was an offensive term.  Apparently to some it is.  

Have you heard about the awareness bracelets that recently made the news and the school that banned them?  Keep A Breast is a non profit raising awareness about breast cancer and they are selling bracelets that say "I love boobies".  There is a middle school in Santa Clara, CA where some of the students are wearing these bracelets.  It is causing quite the ruckus.  The school administrators have banned wearing the bracelets even though they admit to being in support of the cause.  The female students were getting harrassed by the boys over the bracelets.  

Middle school is such a young age and I wonder  whether or not they even get the point of the bracelets or just find it humorous especially since the wording on the bracelets is poking humor at the issue.  Apparently the female students were getting harrassed by the boys over the bracelets.  Personally I am not offended by the bracelets.  I am not sure though if it warranted banning students from wearing them.  

Read the story here.

What do you think?  Did you hear about this story?  Do you think the bracelets should have been banned?  Do you find them offensive? 

Fake Perfumes. . . Oh So Toxic!

I remember when Carrie and Samantha were buying fake Fendi bags out of the trunk of a car in an episode of SATC.  Well that was no where near as dangerous as buying a fake perfume except for the dog that chased them down an alley on their way there!

I always buy my perfumes at a department store or Sephora.  Although I have seen discounted perfumes being sold in different places I have never purchased it anywhere else.    And now I am very glad I never did.  Harper's Bazaar magazine recently did an article in their January issue titled "The Fight Against Faux Fragrances"   by Maria Ricapito.     It was quite disturbing!   The article stated that fake fragrances have been found to contain things such as antifreeze, urine, and bacteria.  As you can imagine this can cause skin rashes and has the potential to make you sick.   Your skin absorbs everything you put on it.  I would be horrified to find out that I had absorbed things like urine and bacteria from my perfume!  These counterfit fragrances are being sold online as well as by street vendors and flea markets.  The author also included a list of ways to spot a faux fragrance.  

According to this article the best place to purchase fragrances is at department stores and stores like Sephora which is where I will continue to purchase mine.  Check out the story at the above link.  

Where to do you buy your perfume?  Had you heard of this type of counterfeiting before?  Do you know anyone who had a bad reaction to discounted perfume?

Signature Scent. . . Do You Have One?

I always wanted to be one of those women...the ones who would walk into a room and their scent proceeded them.  I wanted to have a signature scent.  This was ever since 4th grade.  I loved the perfume my teacher wore.  She wore it every day.  It was her signature.  As I grew up I wanted to smell like her.  She wore Babe by Faberge'.  

That wasn't my first perfume.  I wasn't allowed to wear perfume till I was a teenager.  The first one I remember wearing was Luv's Baby Soft.  Then as I got older that wasn't mature enough for me.  What I discovered though was how certain scents made me feel.  Whether it was my own or that of a boy I was crushing on.  

I started to discover that I could find comfort in familiar scents.  Certain ones could make me feel happy, or sexy, or even sad.  When my husband died just the smell of his cologne could bring on the tears.  I remember sitting on the floor of our walk in closet the day he died smelling the lingering cologne on his shirts that needed to be laundered.  When I wrote him letters during our dating years I always sprayed my perfume on them and he did the same.  

These days my favorite perfume is Amarige by Givenchy.  I have been using it for many years now and I love it.  It is a warm, woodsy, musky scent.  Those types of scents make me feel comforted.  I am not one to go for anything sweet or too fruity.  Amarige is just classic and timeless to me.  I used to wear it everyday and then got away from doing that.  Now I am thinking that it is time to get back to it!

Do you have a signature scent?  What was the first perfume you remember wearing?  Do you wear perfume every day?  How does it make you feel? 

Early Detection For Pancreatic Cancer

As some of you may know my father passed away in June of '08 from pancreatic cancer.  Like most patients it was diagnosed too late and he lived only a year from his diagnosis.  And that was longer than they predicted when the docs gave him 8 months.  He didn't go see a doctor until he was unable to eat due to vomiting and couldn't keep any food down.  The culprit was a tumor on his pancreas that  had already attached to the bottom of his stomach preventing food from passing on through hence the vomiting.  He suffered for years and years with abdomen pain, gas pain and pain in the mid back.  All chocked up to digestive issues.  He just about lived on alka seltzer.  Who knows if these could have been signs of something worse.  That is the thing about pancreatic cancer. . . it has symptoms that can be mistaken for something else.  It is one of the most deadly cancers with only 2 % of patients surviving 5 years.

I read an article in USA Today about a new test for early detection of pancreatic cancer. It is an experimental test which detects a protein found in pancreatic tumors.  The article also said that early detection is not enough.  Only 20 percent of patients with early detection survive.  Although I think this is promising news I feel that there needs to be more talk about prevention.  More discussion about lifestyle choices that can put you at risk for this type of cancer.  

My father was a heavy smoker and an alcoholic.  These have been listed as risk factors for pancreatic cancer.  Even celebrities who have come out about having this disease such as Patrick Swayze and Michael Landon were admittedly heavy drinkers and smokers.  I am not saying that these are the causes however I think that when we talk about prevention these particular lifestyle choices which can cause a myriad of health issues should be considered more closely with regard to this type of cancer.  

Check out the article here. . . 

Experimental blood test may help diagnose pancreatic cancer earlier - USATODAY.com

What do you think of this news?  Do you believe in lifestyle choices putting someone at risk for cancer?  Have you lost someone from this deadly cancer?  

Cell Phones. . . The Worst Thing to Happen to Driving Since Alcohol

Yesterday I watched part of the Oprah Show and the topic was distracted drivers.  Oprah is asking people to declare the car a no phone zone.    Now I am sure some of you can relate to being distracted while driving.  But what they were really referring to was driving while talking or texting on your cell phone.  I don't know about you but I cannot manage to text well when I am not moving!  I could not imagine trying to do it while I was driving nor would I ever want to as it is way to dangerous.  I  cannot believe there are people out there that do.  The thing that cured me from talking on my cell phone while driving was when I realized once I ended the call I had no recollection how I got from point A to point B.  And it was enough to scare me.  Obviously my brain couldn't tackle those two things at once.  Too much shifting attention required.  

According to a show guest our brains are not wired to handle that.  Startling new research reveals that driving while talking on your cell phone is the same as driving drunk.  And texting while driving is worse making it 8 times more likely to get into an accident.  See the show clip here.

When I am on the road I see many drivers using cell phones.  Alot of times they are the ones driving in front of me super slow unable to stay straight in the lane.  So as I pass them to get the hell out of their way I see them chatting or texting on the phone.  As if it wasn't bad enough that there are drunk drivers out there.  Now we need to stay clear of "distracted drivers".

I am a big believer that things happen how they are meant to.  My first husband Paul never wore his seatbelt and I used to get on him all the time about it.  He would say to me "When it is my time to go I will go no matter what".  Sure enough he was killed in a car accident.  Yes he was wearing his seat belt.  I guess he got the last word on that!  But seriously though it does scare me to know that people are out there making the roads that much more dangerous than they are already.  I don't spend too much time worrying about it because I would never leave the house.  I can only do my part and drive as safe as I can. 

Remember when you first got a driver's license and thought you were invincible? Those days are long over aren't they?

Do you use your cell phone while driving?  Do you know anyone who was killed needlessly by a distracted driver?  What do you think of Oprah's No Phone Zone?  

He Just Wanted To Sit In The Sun. . .

I walked into his room and found him near the window.  He was quietly reclined in his chair.  The sun was beaming.  It was lighting up his face.  Ninety years spent living.  All the good and bad of it.  The years had taken a toll.  I hoped it was a life well lived.  

I looked at his hands crossed in his lap.  What were once big and strong time had worn away.  No doubt from years of hard work.  The joints looked swollen and stiff.  Thick glasses framed his blue eyes.  He was fumbling with the cuff button on his black and white plaid flannel shirt as I approached him. Some small talk led me to ask him where he was from.  "The Bronx"  he said sternly with pride.  I told him that was where I was from too.  He said he enjoyed being out in the sun.  Then I asked him if he went to Orchard Beach way back when.  It was a beach my mom enjoyed going to as a kid.   I saw the corners of his mouth erupt into the first smile as he said  "Oh sure. . . all the time." 

Although he would not go to rehab with me that day I enjoyed the few moments spent talking.  Before I left I asked him what he wanted to do.  "Please just let me stay here in the sun.  I just want to sit in the sun."  he said.  As I watched him close his eyes for a bit I couldn't help but wonder if in his mind he was taking a trip back to that beach . . . young, carefree, in a body that hadn't yet betrayed him.

Do you ever wonder what life will be like at that old age?  Is there a place in your mind that you like to visit during your quiet moments?