Thread Show Seattle

Thread Show Seattle

Hey everybody!

I was interviewed for this video by some old friends. Ahh... It's good to know people!

Please watch the video and let me know what you think. I am the third vendor they speak with.

So much fun!

What are you doing on May 14th?

I know I will be at the Shop/07 conference in Seattle. I can't wait for the day long conference for anyone in the retail business. This conference was put together by the lovely Melody who was also the leader of the Ladies who Launch incubator I took part in. This incubator has really helped to change my life, pushed Odessa's into something that is more than just a dream and has introduced me to some really great friends.

This day long event has so many speakers that I admire, I feel almost giddy for Monday.

In other news I am working on getting the shopping cart system set up so that my customers can order on line. I am also starting to create gift baskets with special products made by me.

This weekend will be dedicated to the farmer's market, my garden and spending time with my mother.

Take a deep breath

Yesterday was my last candle show for awhile. It was a very special event held in Bothell for the non-profit A Common Bond. It was such an honor to be a part of this fund raiser and to watch how tragedy was able to bring these women together to support each other for the rest of their lives.
I look forward to donating more items and helping to create a candle for this organization.


I was also able to debut my new palm wax candles.
Palm wax is so different from any of the other waxes that I use, I was slightly unsure of what people would think. Turns out they loved it! I got special orders just for the Palm wax candles.

So it looks like I will now offer candles in Soy and Palm wax. I will post some pictures soon!


I am cleaning house and taking it easy today. To say I am exhausted in an understatment! I love running my company but sometimes I get so tired I must take a day or so off.

Odessa's Herbals is going to start offering house party deals. I have not figured out all the detais but I love a house show and I love really being able to connect with my customers. House parties are also good excuses to talk girl talk and bond over candles.
If anyone is interested in helping me plan some of these events, please let me know.

Have a great week!

Things I love

Because I run my own company producing products and thus, I think about products all the time, I thought I would share with my readers some things I love and how I use them in my daily life.

Whether it is a company or product, I think everyone deserves to be in the spotlight. I try to be a aware and conscious shopper. I don't like products tested on animals and I try to shop for products made by smaller companies. So think of this as a consumer guide to things I have loved, just started to love or know that I will love soon enough!

SHIKAI - I feel like my home is becoming a shrine to this company. I use almost all of their products. They are all natural and never tested on animals. In the morning I use their henna shampoo to bring the red notes out in my hair. I use the Sandalwood and Amber body wash to take long bubble baths in and when I really need it, I will use the lotion on my skin. However, the body wash is so gentle it actually makes me feel clean and soft. No more dry skin for me!

Weleda - After spending an afternoon at my local herb shop I realized that this company is what I dream to become one day. They have an organic farm on site where they grow the food that they serve in their cafeteria. There is a school on the "campus" where the children go during the day and are so close to their parents that they get to have lunch together. The products are all natural. I use their deodorant spray in Sage which not only works but has helped calm my hears about breast cancer. I also use their face lotion and Skin food on my my delicate parts, face, hands, feet.

Frans- Their salted caramels are divine. I never knew I could like chocolates so much. Not everyone can handle the sweet and salt of these but that only means more for me! Fran's is a local Seattle company and I hope one day to meet the owner so I can tell her that only valentines day, I only request Fran's salted caramels.

Gaiam - Their organic bedding is amazing. I have yet to buy a set but I am just waiting for this summer to come around. I plan on fixing up my house to make it truly a place I love!

Moon Scents and Magical Blends - (closed ) This company was my favorite catalog when I was a teenager. I loved the shop and always had dreams of visiting it. A few years after learning about the store, the owner decided to just focus on custom blended oils. I have bought a couple of her oils and they are lovely. I do really miss the moonscents store because they always had such wonderful items that I can no longer find.

Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab - Ariel introduced me to this company and I am now obsessed. Oh, this brings the old Goth girl out in me. I love the website and I will be ordering some oils this weekend. I love supporting a company that is only opens their doors to the public on full moons! One day I will travel to LA around a full moon so I can see the real deal.



I will keep updating my blog with more items I love but this is a good start for now.

Starting Over

I am so sorry it has been a while since I last posted.
Things have been very busy and wonderful around these parts.

The Thread show was great. I met so many people and really connected with my customers. I really hope that everyone who purchased a candle at the event will share their stories with me as time goes on.
I also meet some really amazing designers and was able to trade candles for great items. I will be adding links in the next few weeks.

I also had the Rainier Club slumber party last weekend. That was so much fun!
It was great to be sitting in a room full of wonderful women, in my PJ's and talking girl talk.
I felt so lucky to be a part of the night and it also felt great to share my candles with everyone who attended the event.
At the slumber party there was a Tarot card reader, giving everyone readings. I loved it!
It has been too long since someone gave me a reading. I am usually on the other end.

I am almost giddy about what the reader said. I will provide more details in the next few months!

One area that I feel really good about today is the fact that I have joined weight watchers again. Like many other people in this world, I need to learn to eat better. In so many different area's of my life I am truly content, and I have always felt really grounded in my body. I think joining Weight Watchers for me is more about the structure and community that anything else. As I get older I have realized that I like structure. I like getting up at the same time every morning and knowing what my day looks like. As my life becomes more full with plans, candles, work, company issues, I began to realize that there were certain areas that I felt I was getting weak on. One of these area's is my weight. I also started to think about how much I have created or manifested this amazing and happy life I am living right now so it seemed so natural to tackle the issue of my weight. I have been working through issues surrounding working, relationships, family, self worth, friendships, money.... You name it, I have been working through it and feeling better everyday.

I also was inspired to create a healthy weight candle for my journey. This candle will help me become more aware when I eat dinner and inspire me to become healthier everyday.

I will update on my weight loss journey and let you all know when I have discovered something amazing. This is just another self journey that I am ready to take on and learn from!



Spring has come around to these parts and much of Sunday was spent in the garden. I have a new bed to plant tall flowers. I need an Evergreen plant that will get over 6 feet tall if anyone has a suggestion.

This weekend was also Arts Walk in Olympia complete with a parade and loads of fun costumes. I had not been to the parade in almost four years but with the recent arrival of my mother to Olympia, I agreed to go downtown and watch it. I am so glad I did. Olympia has such a wonderful community. There were babies and grandparents in the parade. It was so beautiful to see everyone having such a fun time. The children colored the streets with sidewalk chalk and the older people talked with friends. There were dogs and face painting.

I also made candles this weekend and cooked.

Today is the calm before the ?

Today is my last day before my big Thread show.
It's funny. Before the Crave party I was scared and panic. This time around I feel calm and OK with the fact that I don't have over 100 candles to take, or that I don't have every candle I make or that I have about 100 things to do today before the event tomorrow.

None of these events are stressing me out because I know what I have is perfect and that no matter what..... I will have a good time.

This will also be another learning experience for me. I learned from my last show and I will learn from this show. Plus, I can't wait to meet new customers and make some new friends.

For me owning Odessa's Herbals and making the products has given me a sense of confidence I have never had before. There is something about creating a product that uses my expert knowledge and my passions. This something has helped me to feel complete, whole and truly happy. I am not just me anymore, I am a person who is so full of love and passion for life that I want to share it with the world. I am also able to take on activities that in the past would have scared the living daylights out of me, I now can take those activities on and not get scared. I can face the unknown and feel good about myself.

Plus, I have the added bonus of making a new candle for each situation and knowing by me lighting the candle that everything will turn out right and I can now help another person.

Energy always amazes me

So I had my energy healing last night and I have to say, Elaine amazes me every time we talk. At first when I begin working with Elaine I had experienced some not so great energy workers and I had closed myself off for the most part. But, working with Elaine has allowed me to not only open up about the unknown and unseen but I am actually experiencing events that I never knew I could.

Elaine helped me to better understand a relationship from my past. I could not figure out why this person would never leave my life. Elaine was not only able to pinpoint a story that best described our relationship, but she was able to help me release the energy cords connected to this person.

Today I feel free and light. I am excited for the changes and the future. I no longer feel the pain around this person. I feel at peace for my actions and I have a better understanding of why things did not work out. It makes perfect sense on why I wanted to travel and explore instead of settling down and being in a relationship.

My heart feels healed and I know things will only get better.

I did it!

My good friend Jeff came over this morning and helped me to create a Soy Wax Blend that I love!

Sometimes a good friend is what you need the most and today, Jeff saved me big time.

Plus, I can't ever be cranky around Jeff. He won't allow it.

So I have been making candles all day and will continue into the night. I must buy more molds due to the Soy taking longer to cool but I am so happy with switching to something all natural that I can't imagine ever going back.

Sunday

Is it terrible to feel uninspired?
Today I woke up and just feel kinda cranky. I am not sure why but today just feels like an off day.

I think I will work in my garden and ask the universe for advice.

I have a dilemma with my candles. I am starting to make a 100% soy pillar but it is just such a different wax than the food grade Paraffin I have been using. Soy is softer, not shiny and does not make candles I love.....Yet.....
But the benefits of Soy are greater than the Paraffin so I will keep trying.
Plus, my market keeps asking for it.

Sometimes it just takes time to find the perfect mix. This is the experiment phase of creating a product.

Change is good.

I just need to take some time to do something else for a few hours.

Good Day Sunshine!

The sun is out in the Northwest!

What a wonderful day to wake up and see the rainbows across my bedroom. I have a lovely little crystal ball that I hung in my office to bring me luck and light. This morning it was glowing!

I am pretty busy and calm right now in life. My energy feels like it is at a really high vibration and I am filled with love. I am going to get an energy session with Elaine next week to work on cutting some more cords that are attaching me to the past. I can't wait for this session. Every time I work with Elaine, I get the most amazing results. Over time I have been able to see how much she has helped me to move forward.

At work this week I have been listening to Debbie Ford's Hay House Radio Show. Debbie Ford works with our dark sides and teaches people how to face what they fear, love it and start to make better choices. This has been a real eye opener for me. It feels good to admit my dark side and then face it so that it becomes light again. I think that's why I wanted to meet with Elaine. I have come to realize that there is some anger I have been ignoring and I am ready to release it.

Should make for an interesting week!

I had the best time last weekend!

I went to San Fran for the weekend. It was a combination of work and pleasure, but mostly pleasure. This was a college reunion for a group of my best friends and a chance for me to catch up with some design folks I admire. Every time my college friends get together, we laugh, cook amazing meals, talk, play games, enjoy each other's company and there are always hugs!

I was able to stop by one of my favorite design studios, Neutron and pick up a copy of their amazing new book on trends and design called Zag. I met Neutron a few years ago while helping to set up the Brand Gap conference in Portland.
Another amazing person I saw was Jody Turner. She is my hero and mentor in so many ways. Jody Turner is a trend expert, a business woman and a compassionate future leader. If you have not heard Jody speak or check out her website, I highly recommend her work. She will give you hope for our future generations.

This next month is going to be a busy one for me. I have the Thread show coming up in less than two weeks. I have the Rainier Club slumber party. I just donated some candles to the DIFFA ( Design Industries Foundation Fighting Aids) for their upcoming event, Glam2. And I have the in home fund raiser in May.

Another wonderful person I met with was Vera in San Fran. We had a really interesting discussion about energy. Our discussion helped me to realize how all the work I have done over the last few years to rid myself of old pain has worked. I can go through the day without one negative thought about myself. It is such a wonderful feeling to realize when you are in the perfect energy space. I am able to release desires and trust that the universe will provide.

Excuse while I take a break

So this last weekend what did I do?
I slept.

Really, all weekend long I slept. I am not sure if I am sick or just needing to take a break for a bit. I have been going pretty much non stop for the last 6 months and I am now ready for some personal time.
So this week I am going to start going to my new gym, I am going to cancel all my plans this week that I can and I am going to just spend some time alone.

I also need to start writing in my journal more.
I thought I might start doing some writing exercises and share them with my blogger friends.

So this week's exercises:

You know that your life should be different. At some point you took a little detour to this life you are living now but you can tell your energy is working towards a better life. What is this life like? Who is in this life? What are you doing? What is your heart telling you? What do you see first thing in the morning? What happens in the evenings?

Dream big. Write down everything you can think of. Create this life. Write everyday. Keep writing this until you can really feel it. Keep writing this down until you realize that what you once thought was a dream is now slowly becoming reality because this dream is starting to manifest in your life.

I do this a couple of time a week. It has helped me get through dark times and great times. Lately I have been too busy to write and I can feel it. I need my alone writing time everyday.
So this evening I will go to work out, I will go home, light a candle and write at least 6 pages in my journal.

So much energy

You know that feeling when you first realize you are in love or at least sweet on someone.
You feel like your bouncing off the walls and just full of energy. The world seems so exciting and wonderful and you realize your brain is open to new things that you never thought were possible before?

Well that is how I feel today. Except I have no new love but I feel a new love for life!

I am excited. I can hardly sit and work. I just want to shout to the world about how happy I am. I want to visit all of my friends all over the world and tell them about how amazing life and living your passion can be. I want to preach to anyone who says " I'm bored". How can you be bored in life? There is so much to do. If I could never sleep, I might!

I want to travel, to take photographs, to move around, to dye my hair ....
Basically, I want to change it up. I want to feel and be free while following my passion and using my gifts to help others.
I want to manifest. I have so much energy I need to put to use. I want to sit in a cafe in Rome and write endless pages of what kind of life I will be living. I want to spend my whole day dreaming. I want to connect with people and talk about life, love and travels. I want to read a really good book or see a great concert. I want to drink red wine and light my new candles. I want to spend the day in the Garden with the sun on my face. I want to walk my dog along the beach and watch her play in the sand. I want to visit friends who live in LA so I can see a gentle and warm side to the city. I want to run away to NY and get my new labels printed. I want to fly to Sweden and meet some new people.

So much dreaming.... So little time.

Instead, I will finish up my day of work and attend my AIGA meeting.
My vacation has been moved from Ashland to San Fransisco and that is fine with me.
Maybe now I can meet Vera!

For every season there is a movie

There are just some movies that appear in my life at the right moment.

In my late teens early twenties, it was Beautiful Girls with Uma Thurman and Timothy Hutton.
I remember Uma Thurman given one of the main characters a lecture about how there wasTimothy always someone in love with your partner and it was your wonderful job to fall in love with those great parts of that person because if not you, then there will be another. At the time, this scene gave me hope that one day someone would love all those little things about me that I love about myself, and if my partner at the time could not see how wonderful I was then there would be another who could.

A few years later it was Sliding Door. Oh! how I love the English and all things United Kingdom. The story line about this movie was what would happen if three seconds in a person's life was different. Gwenie was a strong woman who had been taken for granted by her partner and found not only herself but also a new love by being stronger and living her life. She changed her hair, moved in with her friend and went out on her own.

And now.... The new movie is The Holiday....
With Kate Winslet and Jude Law. It's the story of what happens when you a take a break from life and become the star of your own movie. I have watched this movie twice in the last day and it is so inspiring. Both women are strong career women who meet lovers that not only fall for their strength but really truly admire them for being who they are. It's not about looks, or being cool or even how hip they are. It is about being smart, kind, funny and strong. And it is about finding someone who really sees that part of you that is wonderful. It is about falling in love with someone and having them feel exactly the same way back.

It inspired me to make a new candle to attract people that will love you for being you. Nothing more than just who you are and will help you to realize how amazing you are.

So much happening

April is already almost full of events!

I just signed on to be a vendor for the Thread show in Fremont. And I also found out I will be visiting with three of my best friends from College in April and I have the annual Rainier Club slumber party!

So there is a lot of action happening around my home lately. I am busy trying to prepare everything for next month while enjoying the wonderful sunshine and birds that have come out to play.

Everyday I feel stronger and stronger as a person.
Is strong the right word? Maybe grounded is better. All I know is that I feel at peace and really happy with where I am at in life at this exact moment.

Which brings me a new candle I am creating. It is a peace candle. It is for peace in the world but also just for peace in your life. It is the kind of candle that you buy a couple of and just burn them to enjoy the moment. There is no larger aspiration associated with it then whatever you are feeling at that moment.

I will post some pictures soon.

The candles I have been using

As the winter turns into spring and the sun sets later everyday, I have been noticing that my intentions are manifesting all on their own. Much like the planting of seeds in the fall that turn to wonderful flowers by the summer, all of my intentions are being created without me obsessing on them. It is a very peaceful occurrence for me.

This week I have four candles burning on my counter.
1. Creative Space
2. True Love - a new candle I just created
3. Success
4. Intuition

The combination of these candles has created a very calm, success and grounded life.
Having just survived my Saturn Returning, I now feel I am on the correct path for my life. I can't believe about how confused I was only a few years ago because I now know myself so much more.

I am going to work on a candle this week to help others. I have been donating candles recently and working on list of charities that I will contribute too on a monthly basis from candles that I have sold. This simple act has been filling my heart up with love. I want to create a candle for people who love to give and the simple act of giving to others brings them energy and love.

On a side note, my well wishes go out to my friend Vincent Barra who has fallen ill this last week. You are in my thoughts and a package should soon be arriving!

A windy Sunday

This weekend was perfect.
I spent the weekend relaxing, spending time with my animals, friends and by myself. I also spent some nice relaxing time making candles. It felt good to make candles for the pure love of making them. I always love making candles but with no deadlines for awhile I can just relax and make them.

I am pretty busy this week with meetings after work and company related events. I will be attending the annual Ladies Lunch at the Rainier Club in Seattle. I am excited to meet some new members and see wonderful pictures of Italy. The lunch is Italy themed this month. I also will begin making some candles for the slumber party happening at the end of next month.

Next month is already starting to fill up with events!
I will be taking a vacation to Oregon to meet some wonderful college friends I have not seen in a year or so. I also will be working towards the new website with my Photographer Jeff Truelove . Jeff has been really amazing at capturing the feel for Odessa's Herbals that I want. I did take my own pictures of some of the candles so it is not all his photography but without Jeff, I would not have my wonderful workbench or such beautiful pictures and support for my company.

Sometimes we all grow up

I have a new vision for my website, so look for it in the next few weeks.

The last few days have been wonderfully peaceful. I have been able to sign up for three events happening in the next two months where I can showcase my candles, which is very exciting for me. I have had the time lately to really connect with my customers and get to know them better which has lead to some new products, projects and a realization that my company truly has been created to help others.

I have also started to donate candles to some charities around Seattle. One particular charity that I will be donating some candles too is called A Common Bond. It is a non-profit that puts together gift baskets for parents who have new born babies in the ICU. I am very excited to be able to share my energy and love with such an amazing organization.

In other more personal news, one of my intentions that I have set every year for the last three years was to make more girl friends. I grew up with men so I get along with them better but I have to admit, as I get older I long for the connections to girlfriends that I see so many women share. Along with this intention I also wanted to attract really healthy relationships with women. I have attracted really amazing boyfriends, but attracting good girlfriends was a challenge. I have had more drama with friends than lovers.
But I am happy to say that I created a Friendship candle and it has worked. I have so many amazing girlfriends right now! The most interesting part is two of these friends were people I knew in High School who have come back into my life. These women make me feel strong, happy and loved just by being in my life. The feeling that good friends give you is something that can not be replaced.

Sometimes we all grow up and have the ability to step back, look at how our actions affect other people and truly understand the impact we have on others. To understand another person is the ultimate growth tool anyone can have. I have been growing up and realizing what part I play in situations but also watching the actions of others and not taking responsibility for actions that were not my doing. It feels strange but really good to be able to step far away enough from a situation to avoid any part of the drama, to come to peace with what happened and then to send that person love. But that is exactly how I have been reacting to life lately. Everyone deserves to be treated with love and kindness and this should start with me. From this point on in my life I will treat everyone I meet or already know with love and kindness. I will try to see life from their eye's but I will also know my truth and strength.

So to sum it all up. I feel happy, peaceful, fulfilled and loved. It is a great feeling and one that I hope to share with everyone I come into contact with. I live a truly amazing life!

Lessons Learned

Wow.

What might have caused me to give up on my dreams a few years ago, is now only making me stronger.

My Crave Party sale was not as successful as I would have wanted it to be. However, what I learned and my experience doing the show was priceless!
My back went out the day of the show so I was unable to stand up and talk with the customers as much as I wanted too. I also had two friends with me which made me more nervous than I thought it would. I was able to print out a nice press sheet and list of candles. I also received my intention card and my new moo cards.

The Murphy's law about this whole experience was that Mercury was in Retrograde. I have never really experienced this type "everything that can go wrong, will go wrong" fate before but I have to say, everything that could have went wrong did go wrong and I survived.

I came out of the experience was a better understanding of my product, my customers, my target market and what to do next time.

Plus-- Kate Winslet looked so cute at the Oscars!

So for the next month I will be back at the drawing board creating new candles for an event at The Rainier Club in Seattle.
I can't talk too much about the new candles but once I have them all created I will post pictures!

I also was able to attend the monthly meeting for Ladies who Launch that included the following women owned businesses: 8 Limbs Yoga, Downtown Dog Lounge, and Brazillis Clothing Store. This event inspired me to keep following my dreams for Odessa's Herbals.

I highly recommended the Ladies Who Launch monthly events. They will inspire any woman that is ready to take her dream and make it reality!

Soundtrack

Candles Candles Candles!!!!!!!!

Soundtrack:
Brian Eno - Here come the warm jets
Yo La Yengo - Anything
French Music - Anything

So I am busy preparing for the crave party as well as applying for a new show and all I can say is.... I now have wax covering all my clothes and even my slippers.
I am so excited, nervous, scared, thrilled and about another billion things all at once.

Soy candles are coming this summer!!!

Ok.... Too busy to write but I wanted to say that new photos of the candles will be posted soon.

Good Times

Have you ever just felt like the world was sprinkled with Fairy Dust and all of your dreams were coming true?
And not the kind of true where it is too easy, but the kind of dreams turned reality where you work hard and are rewarded sweetness from the universe?

This is how my life has been feeling for the last month or so. I have taken many huge steps towards my dream of running Odessa's Herbals and everyday has become an adventure between the Universe and Myself to see which one of us can make the day even better.

I have two weeks until the Crave Party so I am in operation candle making mode. My work space is almost complete which means that my production will soon go up. Once everything is set up I will take loads of photos to show my readers.

I also have been meeting so many wonderful women who are changing the face of business. I think I will highlight those women on a monthly basis on my blog. It is so amazing to start to become a part of a community where people really want to help each other and be friends!

Spring Time

For everyone living in the Northwest it finally feels like Spring has Sprung.
The sun made an appearance this last week and my date book is filled to the brim with activities.

First, Odessa's Herbals will be having it's first public show as vendor at the Crave Party Seattle on February 25th. This a very exciting event and one we have heard so much great stuff about.
If you are near Seattle on February 25th and feel like getting pampered please attend the event and stop by my booth to say hello!

I am also in my last week of the Ladies who Launch group. Joining this group has been one of the best experiences for me. I recommend this to any woman who is looking to become self employed or a woman business owner looking to expand their network.
The next group I am considering joining is called Startup Junkie. This group is for the women who is looking for the next phase of getting her company moving into the fast lane.

I also have had many AIGA events in Seattle in the last month. And, I joined the Rainier Club in Seattle. This club has many networking opportunities for women who are involved in all kinds of business.

To sum up my life, I work my 40 hour a week job. I make candles all weekend long, I attend events in the evening in Seattle and I have become a networking queen bee, all in the last month!!!!!

I will be adding new candles to my website this week and I am hoping to add new products to the site by this summer.

I hope all is well for everyone!

Snow Day!

It snowed last night in the Pacific Northwest which means that everything is pretty much at a standstill.
It's funny, having grown up in Seattle, snow is a force you don't mess with. Hills become deadly, bridges become sheets of Ice that will do you harm, access to places is pretty much left up to walking or taking the bus. I don't see snow days as days when you should leave your house. I know the snow won't last more than a day or two but my philosophy is, if it snows, work from home or just take the day off.

However, many new people to Seattle are surprised by how badly the city shuts down. They act like it is ok to attempt to drive down the step hill of Queen Anne and when they get stuck or in an accident it comes as a shock. They then start to question why the city does not do more to fix the problem instead of asking themselves why they too stupid to realize the city can not sand a street that is too dangerous for the trucks to access.

So people, stay home!

You would not attempt to go to work in a hurricane? Why do you act like snow and ice are forces you can overcome.

I will be making candles all day and drinking tea.

I hope everyone has a relaxing day!

Sleepy Week

The last two weeks have been pretty slow. I was sick which was good because I needed some rest but also bad because production of my candles was pushed back almost two weeks.

Oh well!

I am better now and ready to start up again.

This week will be pretty intense. I start my "Ladies who Launch" incubator on Wednesday. I am looking forward to meeting like minded people and being able to learn and grow with other women who want to start their own business's.

I also am starting a monthly design social event for the Seattle AIGA. If you are in any design field and live near Seattle, please come out to meet other designers, artists, people in the creative industry and start your of Success!
This first Social event will be on January 25th at Viceroy in Seattle.
Please email me if you have any questions.