If You Were Here With Me In Las Vegas – A Weekend Coffee Share Post

Weekend Coffee Share

Hey there, glad to have you here again for coffee. Do you like this cup? It is one of my own designs, and yes, you can take it home with you.
I hope you do not mind that I will use your visit as an excuse to stop organizing my Zazzle stores for a moment. I did not bake anything this week, too busy, but I bought us some streusel cake.
So this week had been another busy one. I am trying to get ready for a few things, first the above-mentioned stores have to be ready for the upcoming holiday season. I have given them and myself a week to make them just the way I want to. By next Saturday, they better are that way.
Also, NaNoWriMo is only a month away. I want to have the first draft of a book finished by then and use that month to edit the mess I wrote. I say mess because the first draft is always a vomit draft – just a bunch of stuff written on paper – it is the subsequential stages that carve out a true story. Apparently this story will the intro to the town most of my Paranormal fantasy series will be centered in. So the details have to be right at the end. And they will be – hopefully.
Amazon is launching an Etsy-like business section for homemade products, and I am trying to find out as much info as I can. I really love the idea, and will be writing about it on the blog, whenever I get info about it. This will be interesting. (P.S. saw some of the pre-launch selection of some stores and darn they look good – impressive stuff)
If you were here  with me, I would tell you all of the reasons I do not like living in Las Vegas – the gambling in the grocery stores, the groves of homeless people in the parks, just a little bit away from tourist section, the dirtiness of the city, the personal stories of loss and addiction I have been listening to. It is a hard, dangerous city that takes so much out of so many people. On one hand, I see tourists and people with money (as obvious by their clothing, and expensive cars), walking around and partially stepping over people with no place to live. Poverty is everywhere in the US, but I have never seen it so much in your face and seen so many people act as if it is okay. It is not okay. But for me, a temporary resident only here to work for a few months, there is not much I can do. And that is what is killing me. I do what I can, donate where I can, listen to people’s stories and give a kind word or two. As I worry about the content of my next blog post, they are worried about what to feed their children or themselves. It took me a while to learn that I can not rescue everyone – an affliction my husband and I seem to share – so we do what we can to help. I just don’t feel like it is ever enough.

Okay, I’ll stop with the depressing talk, turning back toward my usual more upbeat self, hoping that you enjoyed your coffee, and I will bid you farewell with a blessing of prosperity and happiness, hoping that you and your loved ones will always have what you need, and wishing that you would share with those who do not.

Blessings!

P.S. Please check out all of the other wonderful people who write as a part of the “Weekend Coffee Share”. Give them some love!

Celebrate The Small Things – Las Vegas Edition

 

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I am happy to back blogging, and to be joining you all in this weeks “Celebrate The Small Things” Blog Hop, hosted by the wonderful Lexa Cain.

We finally completed  our move to Las Vegas, which was not just relocating ourselves but our entire business, and as you can expect that took some time, especially considering that we are also in the midst of expanding. So I am grateful to be sitting in my apartment (albeit small) typing this post and connecting with you all. Thank you for all of the encouraging words and well wishes we received since we announced our move, and throughout it. This meant a lot to all of us.

I am also grateful that the pets (two dogs and the cat) did well on the trip from Tampa to Las Vegas. We drove, so this took a while, but they all adjusted fine to the trip, and are now comfortably resting in our new place.

The people in our neighborhood are very friendly, so that is also wonderful. I am grateful for everyone greeting each other, as well as for the some short conversations I had with fellow dog owners. Our place has a special pet court yard which has grass (a luxury in the middle of the desert), and there is a dog park within two minutes walking distance (thank you to the neighbor who pointed that out to me)

It’s almost fall time, and I am so grateful that I can switch my attention from summer decor to fall decorations. I am launching my home decor and lifestyle blog within the next few days, and I am looking forward to sharing some of the beautiful finds, I have already run across (and of course I had to purchase some of them, I just can not help myself).

Hopefully all of you also had a great week! It will be fun reading what you guys wrote, and if you have not joined in with this group of wonderful bloggers, but would like to, just follow this link and add your blog to the list!

Till next week!

Claudia

Moving Forward – A Haiku

"Sadness" Cell phone case by Avalon Media http://goo.gl/lCmfHg

“Sadness” Cell phone case by Avalon Media
http://goo.gl/lCmfHg

 

bitter-sweet memory
letting go off yesterday
no time to look back

Copyright Claudia H. Blanton 2015

 

Book Review: Earth Blessings by Judy Hall

Earth Blessings - A Review

Title: “Earth Blessings”
Author: Judy Hall
Publisher: Watkins Publishing
Release Date: June 17th 2014
Rating: 5/5 Stars

The new book “Earth Blessings” by Judy Hall is a must read, not only for those who work with crystals in general, but also for those who care for our planet, the well being of our fellow non-human friends, and any light-worker.
Detailed descriptions on healing grids, in its most varied forms, from grids to heal the bees, to examples on more personal healing. I always enjoy her style of writing, I own several copies of her other crystal books, it is relate-able, and not as preachy as some other books of the same subject.
The layout of the book, as well as the illustrations and pictures, are highly attractive, and beautiful. As a reference book for grids, as a book of healing, and as a book for personal care with crystals, I highly recommend this volume to everyone.