A Quick Question For The Makers of Dergree Anti-Perspirant & Deoderant

Dear Degree Manufacturer and Marketing Staff,

I have a question for you that has been on my mind for some time now. Your product slogan is, "Degree... your body heat turns it on." What I want to know is, what happens if/when you break into a cold sweat?

Thank You for Reading This,

I Look Forward to Your Rapid Reply,

~harvestorm

This Statement Is False

Ahhhhhh ..... let me behold the beauty of chaos!

Chaos, positive chaos that is, is a most beautiful and, I believe, utterly essential thing! As any good Discordian can tell you, when one views life as a serious, orderly matter, (as the followers of Greyface do) one develops an oversimplified, binary view of the world and the events that occur therein as either orderly or disorderly, with order being preferred to disorder at all costs. It is, however, a system that does not differentiate between constructive and destructive order. The alternative is to view things as either constructive or destructive. In this system, construction is preferred to destruction. Selecting construction results in both constructive order and constructive disorder.

I have, for some time now, had this Grand Dream to organize and perpetrate a large scale Discordian action centered in the principle of constructive disorder.

Okay, so here's my idea...

You know how they always have Bibles in the nightstands of every hotel, motel, inn, or whatever your preferred means of non-residential lodging may be, right there next to the bed? What I would like to do is coordinate the replacing of these Bibles with The Guide (that’s the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy for those of you who may not be familiar with the book – and, if that’s the case, it’s okay, just make an effort and go out and read it soon).

While the Grand Dream is for this action to take place on a national, or better yet, global level, this could alternatively be done on a smaller scale as well. The switching of the books would have to happen at the same time everywhere in order for the message to be delivered as intended and for the beautiful and positive chaos desired to be produced by the action.

Now, I know that this would take a lot of orchestration, but if the guys in Fight Club can do what they did, why can’t we? Can you just imagine the moment when someone looking in that drawer, expecting to find a Bible, or even just looking for a local phone book, and they find The Guide inside instead?

And then, what do they see as they open it out of curiosity? One simple message ... DON’T PANIC :-)

I Wish I May ... I Wish I Might

If you were able to be granted one wish (now think about this a bit before answering) just one wish for anything at all, what would it be?

Now, don’t think me selfish or uncompassionate for not choosing to create world peace, or to end poverty and suffering of all sorts, or to eliminate the ever increasing digital divide, etc. This is more of a self-discovery question. I am doing this to learn more about myself. You know, like an exercise in increasing self-awareness.

Initially, I thought I would wish for that oh-so-desired "happily ever after," but then I thought more about it and decided that that does not technically qualify as a "wish" in my book. To me, a wish is something that cannot be achieved, received or accomplished ever, at all, by any means whatsoever, thereby leaving it only possible to occur through the granting of a wish. I feel it necessary to note here that there is a difference between a "wish" and a "desire," just as I am obsessively aware of the difference between "want" and "need." (The whole want v. need thing is a whole another story for me…) And besides, my life, as it stands, is already pretty amazing - so why waste my one wish on something that I may already have?

So what would it be then……If I had only one wish it would be for there to always be music in my life. I don't just mean the ability to listen to music... I want the music to play during my life like in the movies.

When I'm scared - I want that creepy, scary music in the background. When I'm rushed and running around like crazy - I want that traditional circus/carnival theme music to play. When I'm feeling mischievous and am secretly planning a way to show someone how much they are appreciated - I want to hear the Mission Impossible theme. You get the point.

Now, granted, I do all of this in my mind already, but I want it for real. But, being the flexible person I consider myself to be… I am willing to compromise. When I listen to music it is primarily the lyrics that I connect with the most. But I'm not asking for an all out soundtrack here... I'd settle for an instrumental score. Oh, how I would enjoy that!

Music is the essence of my being. I exclude no style whatsoever in that statement. I'm not saying that I am passionate about every piece of music ever created, but if you're looking for specific genres - I can pretty much guarantee that I have great feelings towards and an appreciation for some song, artist, or group within the selected category (yes, even a little bit of country.) I did grow up in Texas, after all – what do you expect?

The Whole Book Thing...

Okay, so I finally got around to filling out my profile here and I was going all gung-ho and then I previewed my Profile and saw all the fun little links it was attempting to make out of my incessant ramblings (because, say, take Books for instance - I can't just list some books and be done with that - oh no - I need to communicate a bit about the book and why it is meaningful to me) and realized that what was really supposed to be entered into that area was a mere list - not a full-blown explanation as to why the books actually made said list...

So now, I have decided to do an individual blog about my Top 5 books (which may automatically categorize me as a nerd to some of you, but if you're reading this, at least now you know why its here.) Now that I know not to be so thorough in those Profile boxes, I will keep things short from here on out. I just can't stand the thought of deleting my "precious book info" altogether without giving it a home somewhere. So that's that.

Top 5: (Not necessarily in that order since that changes with each of my ever-so-passionate moods. Nevertheless, these remain the top 5):

Into the Wild
by Jon Krakauer
(was given to me by a friend - read it in one night - changed my outlook on life forever and really pissed me off at the same time... It still kind of pisses me off, but it goes much deeper than that after the initial anger subsides.)

From the cover: "In April 1992 a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. His name was Christopher Johnson McCandless. He had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life for himself. Four months later, his decomposed body was found by a moose hunter..."

Note: This book contains a true account of actual events and is technically classified as a Travel Essay. But, trust me... it is so much more! Take a chance, read it, and get back to me...


Bridge to Terabithia
by Katherine Paterson
Winner of the John Newberry Medal

(read it originally in 7th grade - never forgot it - now I read it every year - it reminds me of who I am now and who I have always been all along)

The Once and Future King
by T.H. White
(was forced to read it in high-school - have read it every year since)

Yes, this is the grand epic of King Arthur and his shining Camelot; of Merlyn and Owl and Guinevere; of beasts who talk and men who fly, of wizardry and war. It is the book of all things lost and wonderful and sad. That's why I read it over and over again. Because life is full of things lost and is wonderful and sad. It helps me to enter the world of Wart on an annual basis and struggle with the same timeless issues over and again as it forces me to evaluate my life, my choices, my sacrifices, mistakes, and gives me the courage to accept the changes in what I thought was "the plan". Sometimes that means going against the "self" that I think I know and to do the things that I once thought that I would never do. It forces me to be "that girl" when I always thought "I don't ever want to be "that girl."" It's tough, it's painful... but I've made it this far right?

The Little Prince (Le Petit Prince)
Written and Illustrated by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
(had to read this in high school as well - but in French, not English. This one is also read annually and on an as needed basis as well)

Ever get really sad? Ever feel like you're not only just lonely, but truly alone in this world and you just want to connect, to understand something, anything, about why, and just why, where, when, why, why, what for, and why? That is when you need The Little Prince. It's a dinky little $3.95 book that I can find no words to capture the way in which it can touch, find, feel, and locate that hole within you when you need it most. I can't say it will fill that hole. But it will keep you from falling in alone.

The Celestine Prophecy: An Adventure
by James Redfield
(was given this book by a friend - pissed me off too... only because I started reading it late at night and I couldn't put it down so I read until morning, finishing just in time for work and my friend failed to warn me that that would happen)

Yeah, yeah. You might remember this book as one of those "hokey new age wanna be self-help inspirational books" - forget that! Or not, it's really up to you. For me, this book was/is everything it claimed to be.

From the back: "The Celestine Prophecy contains secrets that are currently changing our world. The story it tells is a gripping one of adventure and discovery, but it is also a guidebook that has the power to crystallize your perception of why you are where you are in life... and to direct your steps with a new energy and optimism as you head into tomorrow." I know. Blah, blah, blah, right? Wrong. It makes sense. That's all I can say.

Now go get a book!

Earth Day Extravaganza

In honor of Earth Day, on Tuesday, April 22 the proceeds from any and all purchases made at harvestorm creations will be donated to The Nature Conservancy's Plant A Billion Trees Campaign. One tree will be planted in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil for every dollar donated!

In addition, for the entire day, everything at harvestorm creations will be 17% off.

Why 17%? Because 17 is the number of acres equal to the size of my ecological footprint. If you're curious to know the size of your ecological footprint, you can find out by taking the Earth Day Ecological Footprint Quiz like I did.

So how does my 17 acres compare with others? According to the quiz, the average ecological footprint in the United States is 24 acres per person. So, relatively speaking, I thought I was doing pretty good. But then as I read on I learned that worldwide there exists only 4.5 biologically productive acres per person and that if everyone lived like me, we would need 3.8 planets. Yikes!!!

I'm going to do my part this Earth Day and help to make a positive difference in the state of our planet. After all, as Wendell Berry once so wisely said, "The care of the Earth is our most ancient and most worthy and, after all, our most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of it and to foster its renewal is our only hope." I couldn't agree more.

So, if you'd like to take responsibility and do your part to help take care of the Earth (and treat yourself a bit of art in return) come on over to harvestorm creations on Tuesday, April 22, and take advantage of 17% off of everything in my shop during my Earth Day Extravaganza. And, you can feel extra good about your purchase knowing that every dollar you spend will be donated to The Nature Conservancy's Plant A Billion Trees Campaign. One dollar. One tree. One planet.

I have set a goal of $50 to be raised and donated by myself and friends of harvestorm creations. I will continue this campaign even after Tuesday the 22nd has passed ~ after all, isn't every day Earth Day? If you would like to make a direct contribution to help me reach that goal you can do so by simply clicking on the Plant a Billion Trees Campaign button in the side-bar along the right-hand side of this page.

Finally, for your eco-shopping pleasure, here are some other good-natured Etsians who will also be offering specials in their shops on Earth Day. Be sure to check them out as well:

• Alchemille will offer 20% off of many of the items in her shop on that Special Day. Read more here.

• ArtbySusmitha is having a SALE - 20% off all JEWELRY in her store from NOW through the end of April 22nd.

• AthenasDisciple has 25% off all items with green in them now through Tuesday 4/22! Read more here.

• Foret is offering a 15% discount until April 22, 9PM Eastern Time in honor of EARTH DAY.

• Hedgewitch will be offering FREE shipping on all purchases and will be donating ALL proceeds from sales to Friends of the Earth. Read more here.

• HowlingCaterpillars has created a special Earth Day Sale section in her shop with a number of items marked 20% off plus free shipping.

• Ideasign is running a special with 20%-33% off of sale items in his shop now through Friday, April 25.

• jennifersquires is running a Buy One 8x10, Get One FREE promotion in her shop thru Friday, April 25.

• LaPetiteFleur is offering Free USA Shipping on Earrings for Earth Day - through April 22.

• LittleSun has a Tree Hugger Greeting Card on sale for Earth Day. Read more here.

• magickmermaid is having an Earth Day Sale on April 21 and April 22 with 10% off all prints in her shop!

• Marilyn G at suchandsort and cigarboxbeads is having an Earth Day/Week sale with 10% off and free shipping thru April 28.

• pouch is offering a 10% discount on a selection of vintage fabric totes so you can ditch the plastic bags and use something much nicer instead! Read more here.

• Silverofthevalley is offering free shipping on all items purchased throughout April 22nd. Every purchase also gets a mini silver cleaning cloth, anti tarnish tab and a lovely small natural cotton drawstring bag.

• TheBirchTree will be giving away a free hand printed card with every purchase made on Earth Day.

• wildlifer78 has a 25% off sale running in her shop until 11:00 pm (CST - one hour BEHIND Etsy Time) on Tuesday, April 22. Read more here.

Ebullient Expression In Blue

This week's Blog Carnival topic for us EtsyBloggers is "Bull" ... anything to do with bull: the animal bull, something with the characteristics of a bull, the word bull, or words that contain the word bull ... in this case e-bull-ient. The word ebullient means zestfully enthusiastic, full of joy, or unrestrained high spirits.

During my exploration of last month's ZNE Book Club selection, Collage Unleashed, by Traci Bautista, I created a washed photocopy collage which I titled Playtime. I created this piece as a reflection of my feelings of childhood. Because of the playful and energetic spirit of this piece, I found ebullient to be an appropriate description for it and therefore a perfect choice for this particular Blog Carnival theme.

The various elements included in this collage were inspired by the things that I do when I want to reconnect with my inner child: sing, wish, adventure, dream, imagine, dance, love, play, explore, and laugh. I chose to use bright colors to reflect the boldness I associate with being a kid (and is not boldness a characteristic commonly associated with bulls as well?).

Playtime has already sold, but I wanted to share it with you here just the same in the hopes that the joyful mood that it awoke in me might also be stirred in you. I really did have a great time working on ... or should I say “playing with” this e-bull-ient piece!

April Showers Bring Clay Flowers

There’s a storm brewing in Virginia and you’d better be prepared because ... it’s raining clay!! Do you have any idea just how far-reaching the possibilities are for creating with Polymer Clay? I thought I had a pretty good idea ... and then I discovered the works of Stormy Designs.

Stormy Designs boasts Polymer Clay offerings of Designer Art Jewelry, Sculptures, and Accessories for your Body and Home. In addition, Stormy Designs also does custom work ~ creating designs made in your choice of colors and sizes. I have chosen to feature some of my favorite handcrafted, one-of-a-kind creations from Stormy Designs here for you to see.

Self-described as a “young” female Senior Citizen living in central Virginia with her dog and two ferrets, I was surprised to learn that the terrifically talented artist behind Stormy Designs only began working with polymer clay in April of 2007.

On the Stormy Designs website, she tells of how she was “pushed” into trying her hand in polymer clay by a dear friend of hers in Australia. She writes, “I am so glad that I listened to her because I love working with polymer clay.” Well, I’m glad she listened to her too, because had she not, the world would not have the opportunity it does to experience the wonder of the Polymer Clay creations available at Stormy Designs.

On her Blog, Stormy goes on to write: “I have found that I love sculpting mostly. There’s just something about forming that lump of clay into something like a flower or a dragon. I love using inclusions like spices and glitter in my clay and experimenting with textures and techniques. The medium is SO versatile and SO much fun to work with.” Can't you just hear the booming of Stormy's creative thunder in that statement?

And, right now Stormy Designs is offering what I like to think of as a rainbow of sorts to its customers. Throughout the month of April, Stormy Designs is running an April Showers Sale with 10% off the purchase of 1 item ~ 20% off the purchase of 2 items ~ 30% off the purchase of 3 items ~ and 40% off the purchase of 4 or more items. Plus, you get a FREE GIFT with each order AND Stormy Designs now offers FREE SHIPPING to the U.S. and Canada!

So grab your galoshes and ride the storm out over at the Stormy Designs Blog, Etsy Shop or Website. You never know ... you may just find a fabulous polymer clay treasure that will have you singing in the rain!