A Writer's Hair Clip

The Lovely Adventures of Jack and Jill in Olympia

2012-01-23T17:16:00.000-08:00

Jill leisurely danced to a 90’s love song being sung by a soulful singer in the dark cove on the second story of The Pig Bar in Olympia. She nonchalantly swayed her hips from side to side and closed her eyes so that her ears could listen to the music being sung. Jill was enjoying herself and relaxing by the sound of Olympia.

Watching her was Jack who was seated on the black leather couch underneath the large flat screen T.V. in The Pig Bar. He took a bite out of his pulled pork nachos and then a sip from his cold beer every time she finished going side to side with her hips.

The bartender watched the two of them and silently smiled. “It’s the time for love again I guess” He thought to himself and poured another glass for the gal and another beer for the guy.

Upon a bold move by Jack and help from the bartender, Jill released her phone number and a few days later the date was planned.

“We’ll go out to eat at Wally’s and then enjoy a sunset at the marina,” Jack spoke carefully.

“Okay sounds great!” Jill answered.

Jill felt butterflies turn in her stomach as she looked through her closet. To her surprise, she hardly had any good weekend date clothes. Luckily she saw a store that looked like a closet called Mandelins . So the next day she went back to the closet store to find an outfit for the date.

Upon entering Mandelins she noticed the twice worn clothes on the racks and realized it was a consignment store. But a pleasant surprise awaited her as she started to sift through the clothes…practically everything was a brand name piece. Torrid, BGX, AGB, Jones New York, Alfani, Karen Scott, Calvin Klein, and the names went on and on. The next surprise was pleasantly shocking…the prices were low enough on the pieces of clothing so that she could afford them.

“This place is great!” She exclaimed to the cashier.

“Yes, I love it. You’ve got a great outfit here too. I love that you picked out the pink pencil skirt and white lacy, cap sleeved, top. You must be going on a date!”

“Yes I am,” Jill said while the color in her cheeks rose. “The guy who asked me seemed nice enough and I kind of let my guard down at this little place downtown so I guess I’ll just have to live with the consequences. Hopefully it will turn out to be a good consequence.”

-----

The Date
As Jack and Jill pulled up to Wally’s Sub and Sand which shop, the anticipation in Jack’s abs tightened as he thought of enjoying a good sand which with such fine company. Jill stepped out of the car daintily and put a simple smile to put him at ease.

Wally’s offered the two full sandwiches that they could each customize to meet their tastes in food. There was also entertainment because along the wall were drawings of scenes of local Olympians eating delicious meals at Wally’s. Jack drew a drawing of Jill illustrating to her how beautiful she looked to him with her hair pinned up, eye lashes darkened, lips colored and white lace top accenting her feminine shoulders. Her polite smile turned into a real one as he pinned the napkin portrait on the wall with the rest.

While driving to Boston Harbor Marina, Jack and Jill chatted about their likes and dislikes, commented on the cold February weather and relaxed while watching the wide open sky, forests and fields pass by them.

Once they got to the marina, Jill interest sparked in the scenery even more.

“Can we walk down by the boats and get closer to the Puget Sound?” Jill asked.

“Of course, just be careful the wooden docks are a little wobbly.” Jack answered.

As they walked down the stairwell from the parking lot to the dock and then from the dock to the lower docks on the water, Jill thought of the local families who come and enjoy this place and how she might have one of her own someday.

Walking along the dock, a seal came up and greeted them both with a watchful eye. Boat owners tinkered on their boats and the masts on the boats chimed with the others. The cold air swooped in around them and Jack moved closer to Jill to make sure the wind wouldn’t cut through her light layers of clothing.

At the end of the dock was a bench. Jack offered her the seat and she took it. They sat together and watch the boats sail by, the kayakers’ row and the clouds move past the foot hills that sat just beneath the white capped cascades in the distance.

Jack sighed to calm himself down even further and then put his arm around Jill. She smiled expressing the tingle of warmth that she felt spark within her heart.

“Thank you Jack, I was getting cold and you warmed me up,” she said to break the ice even further.

“You are welcome Jill, you are a beautiful lady and this is the most beautiful place I could think to take such a lady.”

Facing Giants

2011-10-11T23:40:00.000-07:00

Our family dog, Zorro, is a small pooch. He is a Lhasa Apso and as cute as an ewok. He doesn't care how small he is or how cute he is though.

While sitting in the living room enjoying some late evening T.V., I heard Zorro barking. My brother and I went to investigate in the back yard. Zorro had chased a raccoon way up into one of the trees.
A giant, dark, furry animal with sharp teeth didn't scare him and neither have big dogs. I remember when a friend of ours brought over their giant dog for Christmas and he barked at the giant dog letting him know whose house it was.

Instead of cowering behind the glass door with his tail between his legs, Zorro approaches his giants and lets them know how he feels. If Zorro can face his giants so can you. It doesn't matter how small and cute you are, or how big you are, be an ewok and scare the Emperor's best troops off of their flying mopeds!

Key Lime Pie

2011-07-21T18:52:00.001-07:00

While working in the kitchen this week, someone mentioned key lime pie. A instant craving for it came up and the sound and thought of it reminded me of my family at home who enjoys it. That evening at dinner I mentioned it during conversation, a young girl named Rhianna next to me piped up excited at the thought of making one.

“I made one of those just last week! Can we make one tonight?” she said.
“Sure!” I replied surprised. And so it started, the process of making a pie. First, ingredients had to be gathered, which Tylor, one of the summer staff guys, graciously went into town twice after acquiring cream cheese frosting the first time instead of cream cheese. Then Rhianna and I squeezed the life out of several limes, cracked open several eggs to get egg yolks, put in some creamy ingredients, mixed it all together, cooked it and put in the refrigerator to set, but there was no patient waiting. After 45 minutes we enjoyed our pie….soup….since it wasn’t quite set yet.

This Saturday, Rhianna got up during testimony time and shared about how God called her name while she was working in the peach plant. When he called her name, her faith was affirmed to believe that God can do anything. She said she had given her life to Christ in 2008, but not fully since she hadn’t quite believed God could do everything, like speak to her. This week though was a break through.

Proud and happy for Rhianna, I believe she sets a great example for us all. We are like key lime pies. We need good cream cheese, not just cream cheese frosting, to have strong flavorful faith that can be enjoyed by all and it takes time to set us in our faith. Plus God continues to work in us to make our faith as delicious as possible so that we don’t just have faith soup.

Dried Peaches and Soup go to Hungry Kids

2011-06-23T16:28:00.000-07:00

After breakfast this morning, Fritz, one of the directors here at Gleanings for the Hungry, shared about his recent mission trip to Haiti where he went with a team from Gleanings to help people in the recovering country. The slide show began with pictures of individuals giving out dried peaches and soup to hungry people, then it progressed to tell a deeper of story of circumstances aligning and an amazing accomplishment coming together.

The story started to unravel with a picture of a resort by the water coming up on the screen, after seeing many pictures of the hungry being fed, this one seemed kind of odd. But it turned out that there was a woman who worked there that really had a heart for the kids and the team prayed with her about this woman's longing to do something for the local kids.

A week later, when the team came back, she had hired a nanny and brought in 6 kids. The neat thing about this is that the team had been wanting to build a house for Rick's daughter Kim, who is a missionary there that watches over children. In introducing Kim to this woman, a greater purpose for the house was now set...to open an orphanage where Kim could share the responsibility of watching over orphaned children with this local woman.

Donations came in for the house and local people helped build the house and it came together in a couple months. "It was really incredible," Andrea Merrill, who went on the mission trip last year.

To learn more about their trip, go to http://gleanings.org/?p=2182

Snapshot

2011-06-17T21:31:00.000-07:00

I am excited for tomorrow. At 8am I'll be flying out of SeaTac on my way to Fresno where I'll meet my guy and be taken into Dubina, CA to the Gleanings for the Hungry YWAM Base. This will be my first mission project and I admit I am nervous for how I'll adjust from working eight hours a day in front of a computer to physically moving and working with my hands this summer.

I am hoping that they will teach me how to cook since I hear they need help in the Kitchen and I am sure I'll get a chance to see first hand how the peaches are processed through the equipment, dried and shipped out. The latest batch went to Kenya!

I really think this will be good a chance for me to get out of my head, step away from my career, take a break from writing and just experience life and people. After going through the intensive college years, working my hardest at several internships and establishing my reputation in the local business community...my brain is just kind of tired. The break is a welcome one.

I am also excited to support Tylor while he works driving a forklift day to day feeling useful. This last year has been a struggle to find consistent work and it is nice to hear him happy and feeling fulfilled. Seeing him every day in this environment will be new and uplifting for us. :)

My Review of Crush Master 10 Speed Blender in White

2011-05-19T09:58:00.001-07:00

Originally submitted at CSN Stores

Features:

10 Speed blender
White finish
Multi level stainless steel blades
Heat resistant glass blending jar
Ten speeds plus pulse
One touch ice crush
Motor overheat protection system
Safety interlock system
Fas...

Good Sturdy Product

By Monica from Olymipa, WA on 5/19/2011

I am actually very impressed with the blender itself. The blender jar is a very tough, thick, and durable glass (perfect for a blonde klutzy destructible force like me). On one side of the jar, it gives measurements for cups and ounces, while on the other side, it gives liter measurements. This is very handy for a recipe stickler…not me…but for someone who is of course.
The blades in the jar seem to be pretty durable, sharp, and strong. They are long and have crushed up our over-frozen ice cream into perfectly creamy milky mixtures. Just think…with this Crush Master, I can crush ice and make smoothies! This will go over very well during the three days of our Northwest summer when everyone is salivating for an icy smoothie.

(legalese)

Laughter and Fun Mark FAC's First Family Fun Night

2011-04-16T12:05:00.000-07:00

The team at the BHG Family Activity Center is upholding the centers name by bringing families together to become active. On April 15th, they held their first Family Fun Night where parents and their kids, together, got to experience gymnastics and enjoy each others company in a relaxed atmosphere.

It's not every day that you see parents trying to quickly run on a balance beam to catch their kids who are gall abounding over big octagon shaped obstacles, in a game of cat and mouse. That was my first experience at the Family Fun Night and it was a blast. My sister, Natalie Jonen, was the mouse and I was the cat who had to catch her. She was a fast little mouse, but I was faster and adrenaline sent me leaping over the obstacles and running through the course headstrong.....until I rolled my ankle coming down from a leap.

"Cat Down!" Everyone yelled as I walked off the course. It was comical no doubt and everyone was laughing, but all the effort that went into running and jumping was squashed by my inability to coordinate my feet with my brain. However, the rest of the night proved to be fun even for a slow cat like me.

I also noticed that my sister thoroughly enjoyed playing the rest of the games and so did the families. For instance she gladly used all energy at "Ships and Sailors" (which is kind of like Simon Says), relay races, parachute games, exploring all the beams, bars, cushion shape thingies, and socializing with other kids her age and their families.

We all finished the night off by eating pizza from Round Table Pizza (another YEF merchant), Schwan's ice cream and watching Chronicles of Narnia on a giant wall that would make IMAX look like an old fashioned 60's t.v screen. I am glad I went and got to meet new families in a relaxed atmosphere and I enjoyed the activities and of course..the ice cream and pizza were delicious.

The BHG Family Activity Center is a YEF merchant where YEFkard members can participate in the YEF program. I am looking forward to the next Family Fun Night at the BHG Family Activity Center which will be on May 13th starting at 6:30 and hopefully I'll see you there! Remember to vote online on which movie that you want to watch through the Facebook events page that will be set up for the event that will be connected to the BHG Family Activity Center fan page: https://www.facebook.com/#!/BHGFAC and bring bean bags and pillows for the the movie!

Becoming a Professional

2011-03-13T22:16:00.000-07:00

I feel like I have been riding a roller coaster that has ended now that I am home and doing what I love. I started work as a paid copywriter this last Monday, which has helped me feel validated as a person and as a writer. My life hasn't always been so lovely though. This last Friday when I drove passed Skippers; memories from my first job rushed through my mind. I distinctly remember one particular night that was the start of a long line of personal changes that led me to where I am today.

On that night in Skippers, I was charged with the task of cleaning the chowder pot. The chowder pot is a giant cauldron that Skippers uses to make chowder, but it is more than just that. It is the cantankerous sore that belongs to the person who has to close that night and that night it was mine.

As I scrubbed the chowder pot, burnt chowder stubbornly stayed on the walls, pieces of chowder decorated my fishy smelling black outfit and the hot giant pot ceased to get clean. Anger, frustration and desperation swelled within me. I was so done. It was in that desperation though when I set a fire within my heart that would continue to blaze within me for years. That fire's purpose in me was to keep bettering myself, to become a professional and to make it.

It was in that moment late at night when I smelled of seafood and vinegar and nearing my breaking point, that a stern determination began to set in. That stern determination to make it and become a professional writer has finally paid off though. As I drove passed Skippers, five years and two degrees later, it hit me that I did it. I landed a job as a professional copywriter in Lacey. I am home. I am not in Seattle at Marchex. I am not in Tacoma at UWT. I am home and I am doing what I love. God is amazing.

The Crush Master 450-Watt Black & Deck Blender Review

2011-03-06T17:50:00.000-08:00

A review written by Monica Jonen about the blender provided by CSN Stores.com

Anticipation brews as I sit swirling my pink milkshake, than I take a sip and…smile. My sister ingeniously suggested the sweet flavors of Strawberry, Cherry, Pineapple, Cocoanut and Banana for the milkshake. Each flavor rolls around in my mouth inevitably blending. ‘This must be what pink tastes like!’ I think to myself. Pink is my favorite color and so this thought makes me exceedingly happy.

The machine that allowed me “taste” pink today was the Black & Decker Crush Master 450-Watt Blender. I recently ordered it from http://www.csnstores.com/Black-and-Decker-BL10450H-BND2182.html and it came within a week of ordering it! It arrived on the weekend, while I was out socially playing, and so I let my sister and mother open to test it out first. They are very happy with it, except for the confusing buttons and its’ instruction manual.

I believe the most confusing button is the Hi/Low button. It is a simple gray button that you just push, but communicates nothing. There is no indication as to whether you are blending at high or low speeds except for the sound of your blending. In the instructions manual it says, “Select to change speed between High and Low. The word will appear on the LCD screen to show which speed is being used” However, there is no LCD screen on the blender to tell me what speed I am using. This is frustrating, especially since the instructions manual doesn’t match up to the product.

The other point of frustration is that there are two sets of blending speeds. The ones on top and ones on bottom of the gray buttons, both which serve different purposes (puree, blend, liquefy, crumb, beat, etc). You can’t switch from the top to the bottom buttons though because it doesn’t say how to do that in the so called “instructions manual”.

The directions aren’t very detailed and do not communicate very much, except for that this is a blender, don’t stick your hand in it and turn it on. These are instruction manual problems though, and while tied to the product, (it just means they don’t pay their technical copywriters enough doe). My mother also pointed out that there are three different model numbers which indicates that these instructions could be for any one of those. There is nothing to indicate what model we have though.

The blades in the jar seem to be pretty durable, sharp, and strong. They are long and have crushed up our over-frozen ice cream into perfectly creamy milky mixtures. Just think…with this Crush Master, I can crush ice and make smoothies! This will go over very well during the three days of our Northwest summer when everyone is salivating for an icy smoothie.

And so now you know who to come to during the summer time for hydration. If you are looking for a basic blender though that will serve you blending needs, I would definitely suggest the 2015 version of the Crush Master when it comes out.

Cubes and Interior Decorating

2011-01-19T19:23:00.000-08:00

So with my new job I have a "cube" as everyone calls it. So far, I've put three pink things in it, but I would love to decorate it with wall and art decor. I think I'll get it from CSN stores too because they have free shipping on orders of $69 or more and their A+ BBB reviewed.
I don't know why cubes are gray, it is the sleepiest most boring color. I need some color, because I have a colorful personality! I was thinking about a painting, not a Salivor Dali painting, but maybe a sunset or a picture of the south sound. Something to give me peace and keep my dreaming. I love shopping for fun things like decor, but I prefer to do it online.
Speaking of dreaming, stay tuned for an upcoming review.

Treasures Found in Cinderella's Closet

2010-12-08T22:13:00.000-08:00

A mother and three teenage girls walk into Cinderella’s Closet. Glittering beautiful gowns of all colors hang in rows along one wall, while jeweled shoes and purses line the other. Surrounded by what looks like expensive gowns and accessories, the mother nervously pulls a volunteer aside.
“Is it true? Is it really true that my girls can borrow the dresses on scholarship? Because I can’t afford the rental fee,” the mother asks.
“Yes,” the volunteer replies.
Tears begin to well in her eyes as she hugs the volunteer.
Yes is the answer that everyone receives when they come to Cinderella’s Closet and cannot afford to rent a gown for prom. Cinderella’s Closet is a non-profit service organization that promotes self worth in females by lending dresses and everything a girl or woman needs to go to any dance or special event.
Often times, Cinderella’s Closet is the last hope for some girls and without receiving scholarship dresses they would not be able to go their high school prom. You may be wondering what the importance of a prom is to a girl. To Renata Hansen, founder and president of Cinderella’s Closet, it means building up a young girl’s self esteem by making her feel beautiful.
In today’s society, young women are bombarded with images of anorexic models and constantly attacked with ads telling them how to lose weight or wear more makeup.
“My goal is to give women self esteem so that they can see themselves differently. I try to be as positive as I can and give the message that you are beautiful,” Hansen said.
Girls that receive scholarship dresses do have to write why they want to go to the dance and what it means to them. One girl wrote, “My parents both lost their jobs, my brother is living somewhere else and I am a fifth wheel. Thank you for helping me feel beautiful.”
Helping Cinderella’s Closet fundraise is YEF, an organization that supports youth in their pursuit of excellence. YEF’s mission is closely aligned with Cinderella’s Closet mission of helping youth which is why Hansen joined YEF.
“I just saw it as a win-win and I especially liked that they are helping youth. I also see it as a variety of ways to raise money. Felt like a no-brainer yah know?” Hansen said.
If you would like to support Cinderella’s Closet you can volunteer, donate dresses, go online to http://ccn.yefsite.com/, and go to The Masquerade Ball at The Landmark in Tacoma May 14th, 20100. You can get 10% off a tux at Top Hats in Tacoma for the event and your ticket includes dinner, an auction, live music, dancing, wine, and dessert.
What message are you sending to your daughter?

Whats Trending: Sock Monkeys!

2010-11-08T22:59:00.000-08:00

So to lighten things up a bit, I thought I'd share my thoughts on the new sock monkey trend.

Here is an example, I was shopping on CSN stores, (it's another Amazon that has contemporary coffee tables to sock monkey slippers) and I noticed these slippers!

When I was at the Tacoma Food and Gift Festival, the sock monkey's were everywhere! Kudos to CSN for keeping up on the trends, but you know who I think started it? A couple guys from Canada. They were at the Tacoma Food and Gift Festival last year and had these sock monkey hats.

What makes them so popular? Is it that they are a classic comforting character or is it that it's such a funny thing, it makes a perfect gift for a kid. I was tempted to buy one at the festival, but find it hard as an adult, to buy it. My boyfriend might wear a sock monkey hat or slippers, seeing as he sees life a little lighter than I do, but still I don't know if its a reasonable buy. I think it is just something popular, classic and trending right now. Of course the definition of trending, includes something that people are no doubt...buying.

Homeless By Choice Because He Was Homeless By Default

2010-11-08T19:23:00.000-08:00

Disclaimer: Sensitive material

Roy Juarez Jr's dad was a roofer by trade and his hero. One day, his dad promised him a fishing trip. The next day, at age 7, his dad left with his cousins, family and dog to go get “ice”. They left Roy at his aunt’s house and came back 2 days later to gloat about what a great time the trip was. That was his first lesson, how to be angry, to hate and hold a grudge. So he built a relationship with is mom. But in the middle of the night, she would call out, “Me Ho, Me Ho” which means “my son, my son,” than she’d cry out in Spanish for help. The last night he remembered, his dad broke her jaw.

So his family moved into hiding from place to place trying to avoid his abusive dad, but his dad always found them though. The police were at the house so much for domestic calls that the cop started dating his mom. The cop said come live with me, but I don’t want any kids. So at 14, Troy became homeless and a couch surfer. He had a 9 year old sister and a 2 year old brother to take care of.

Family after family adopted him and would tell him, “You are just like a son to me” and he said “No, you don’t know me!” and built barrier after barrier. Finally, he took a notepad and pen and wrote two letters to be read at his funeral. One letter was to his dad and he said, “I forgive you dad.” After Roy finally did learn the lesson of forgiveness through mentors, he went to college, graduated and got a job.

One day Roy’s boss tells him “If you work for me, you’ll never do what you are called to do. In three months you don’t have a job.” Fresh out of college that is a frightening thing to hear, but his boss was right.

So he asked God, “What do you want from me?” That night Roy had a dream that he was walking into an arena with young kids and a band playing come on in and together we can make a difference. Then he went to Denny’s to work on his tour. His tour is 24 months and he is going across the nation to tell his story. Check out his site here, http://homelessbychoice.com/.

Roy believes in young people, encourages young people to keep on dreaming and wants to remind adults to never make children feel like a burden.

“If you grow up in a hard life and learn lessons you’ll never learn in a book. The greatest lesson is forgiveness and becoming the change you wanted to see in the first place,” Roy Juarez said. Let’s make some change for the homeless kids in Olympia.

You can help by donating socks, underwear, sleeping bags, tarps, flash lights and winter coats to Standup For Kids-Olympia, http://su4k.yefsite.com/. These items are not just on a one time giveaway, but a bridge for volunteers to communicate with homeless kids and build relationships with them, relationships that lead to trusting volunteers to help them get off the streets.

Here are Some Fast Facts about Homelessness:

13 kids die of disease, suicide or abuse every day on the street
There are currently an estimated 1.3 million homeless and street kids in America
2/3 kids on the street try to commit suicide
Children makeup 27 percent - the fastest growing segment - of the U.S. homeless population.

http://www.standupforkids.org/about/faqs.aspx

Bringing Up A Leader

2010-11-06T17:40:00.000-07:00

To pick up where I left off, at Capitol Playhouse, when a new kid walks through the door, they are walking into an accepting community. Someone who is shy and may not say boo to the other kids in the hallway at school will find friends and get the chance to sing and become a leader at KIK. One such leader is Alayna Deatherage.

Alayna grew up singing with Kids in Koncert. In her first year, she sang at the 9/11 memorials. She was eight years old. In the following years she sang in places around the world, including Japan, France, Washing DC and Disneyland. She turns eighteen next month and is now the choir president. This is her last year with the group.

“It’s always good to make connections with people in other countries,” Alayna says. Even now she is still in contact with her Japanese host family and is good friends with some other youth from France.
Connections in Japan and friends from France only come after working hard to raise funds needed to travel. Last year, the kids sold YEFkard discount cards. A YEFkard membership provides discounts at local businesses.

This year they are encouraging supporters to visit their new YEFsite, an online community and fundraising website from Youth Enrichment Foundation. (KIK.YEFsite.com) Friends and family can visit the interactive social website to stay informed about Kids in Koncert and show support by purchasing from an array of items such as coffee, movie tickets, buttons and other merchandise including the new, even better, YEFkard.

Kids in Koncert is a community where kids from ages 8 to 18 spend a lot of time together singing, traveling and developing close friendships built on trust and accountability that last for a lifetime. The YEFsite social community takes the close knit friendships online, bringing friends, family and other supporters into the KIK world. Check out the site here, http://KIK.YEFsite.com to support the Kids in Koncert community.
This post was previously posted at YEFTalk's blog.

Get Rythem When you get the Blues

2010-11-06T17:36:00.001-07:00

This blog was previously posted on YEFTalk blog:
In a community where everyone is accepted, leadership is encouraged, you get opportunities to travel and have a mentor, I can think of no greater place for a young one to blossom. The community that glows safeness and opportunities at the same time is Kids in Koncert (KIK) put on by the Capitol Playhouse located downtown Olympia.
“It’s a place for kids to showcase their talent, gain leadership skills, self discipline and a new family,” Cathie Shaughnessy said, Business Manager of Capitol Playhouse.
When Cathy told me this, it brought up memories of when I was a kid. I was often the shy and unpopular kid in elementary and especially middle school. In fact in middle school I was picked on quite a bit. My sister who is now in elementary school has told me the kids aren’t any different. If you know any kids in public school you know they have encountered bullying at some point or know of it. That is why the KIK is so vital to our community and our youth.
At Capitol Playhouse, when a kid walks through the door they are walking into an accepting community. A kid who is shy and may not say boo to the other kids in the hallway at school will get friends and the chance to sing solos and become a leader at KIK.
Also, what makes this choir community unique is that there are kids from 8 to 18 that sing together. In most choirs, only kids that are closer in age are put together. With KIK older kids mentor the younger kids, which is important in a young one’s development.
The kids have gone together to France and sang with the Army band at Fort Lewis. Last year the Army band was in Iraq so they did a live webcast concert with them. Talk about learning important real world knowledge at a young age about our troops and the world in general from traveling.
Helping the choir raise money to travel and operate is Youth Enrichment Foundation. Last year, the YEF Kard fundraising campaign help offset the cost of traveling to France and this year the YEFsite will help offset the cost of travelling nationally next year.
Cathy at Capitol Playhouse is excited about the site because it will suit multiple needs. Such as fundraising and creating a family community online since the families can upload pictures, videos and share information on their YEFsite. Their YEFsite is http://KIK.YEFsite.com. Check them out!

Web Innovator Raves about Success of Startup Weekend

2010-10-13T14:17:00.000-07:00

Thubten Comerford first attended a Startup Weekend in September of 2009 when he was invited by the web developer for Startup Weekend Seattle, and now he is volunteering his time to lead the Startup Weekend in Olympia this weekend. As a Startup Weekend veteran, he knows that Startup Weekend is as real as it gets when it comes to starting a business.

“I’ve been a part of several technology startups and this is really the startup experience. It’s meeting deadlines, coming up with something exciting and new, and getting into revenue,” Thubten said.
He also says it is similar to running a 54 hour sprint and at the end you have something to show for. At the end of the sprint, you’ll have more than just a business idea though. Startup Weekend is about meeting people you didn’t know and coming up with something that is marketable, then having that experience continue on. Thubten’s project continued and actually split into to spin off companies that are still going a year later.

One such company is CluePad which helps make sense of SEO for business owners. CluePad gives daily recommendations to business owners on how to improve their business online. The recommendations are based on data about their website, and take anywhere from one to 30 minutes to complete. That is just one example of a technology startup that was created from a Startup Weekend team. Not everyone in the team was a technology person, but they were a part of a team and that is what counts.

“Most people aren’t going to be part of a technology startup, but you can get a feel for the training and be in the environment. It’s like going to space camp, only afterwards you get to be an astronaut. I’ve seen a lot of people hired out after the weekend. Small businesses are the source of new jobs and innovative creations in this country right now. Larger companies aren’t designed to innovate so they buy out smaller companies that were started by a team of people,” Thubten said.

Startup Weekend was started by a small team out of Seattle and now reaches across international borders. To date, Startup Weekend has helped educate more than 17,000 entrepreneurs at over 120 events worldwide, and has facilitated the launch of over 560 new startup ventures around the globe, according to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the nonprofit’s biggest sponsor.

Olympia is fortunate enough to have this worldwide event come to St. Martins University this weekend and have Thubten as the facilitator. Thubten will be facilitating, providing business, technology and social media knowledge to the teams. As well as being a technology startup veteran, he is a social media expert with as many as 80,000 Twitter followers. Look forward to the next article about how important Twitter is to a business. For now, to register for Startup Weekend Olympia, go to www.olympia.startupweekend.org

The Story of Kimberly Bey, President/CEO of KB Associates Bookkeeping

2010-09-14T11:02:00.001-07:00

After being in the financial industry for 11 years, Kimberly Bey, President/CEO of KB Associates Bookkeeping, LLC decided to leave a high end credit union position in July, 2010 and start her own business assisting small business owners with their books.

As a passionate woman who enjoys working with people to find resolutions to their challenges, Kimberly started out helping people as a student in college. While earning her undergraduate degree in English from Bowling Green State University in Ohio, she volunteered as a “defense lawyer”, gradually building her way up to a Chief Justice, fighting on behalf of the students in Student Traffic Court. She’d nail the situation down and fight on the student’s behalf. Kimberly won all of the cases that she fought and had many of the student’s traffic fines lowered.

After college, Kimberly’s first job was at a bank working in customer service. After five months as a customer service representative, she progressed to become a junior underwriter and loan processor for a finance company. Eventually Kimberly ended up running the Closing Department at the bank for four and half years in Columbus, Ohio.

Keeping her family priority though, Kimberly moved to Washington State to support her brother’s ministry. Olympia is where she continued her career and went to work for a local credit union. During her time at the credit union, Kimberly managed the Lending Operations and lead the department in a developing their new core loan origination system. In Lending Operations Kimberly managed policies and procedures, lending trainings, and many other critical operating tasks. She enjoyed her time at the credit union, but noticed a problem that had arose during the peak of her career.

“While working on the development of the new core loan origination system, I realized that I was spending so much time away from home and my kids. I missed them so much and they were so very patient and understanding during that crucial project period. My 7 year old daughter would get up at 5:30 am all by herself and she would get dressed so that she could see me off to work. So I set out with a determined mind and heart that I would find a way to be at home more; spending more time with my children while still enjoying a satisfying career.

That’s when I started KB Associates Bookkeeping, LLC. It was as if I was a magnet for other mothers who were like minded. We’d discuss our dreams, visions and goals. We encouraged each other to go after each of them by setting personal attainable goals. My motivation is my desire to be at home with my children. And I promise to grow my business enough to hire and bring other mothers and fathers home too. Our children need us and we need our children.” Kimberly said.

The solution to the problem was a business license, a plan and a few other women with the same mind and heart and it is called KB Associates Bookkeeping, LLC. KB Associates’ mission is to bring mothers and/or fathers home who want to be home, happy with a great career and where they belong.

“I am able to spend more time with my kids. They are happier, I am happier and I love my new career as full time bookkeeper,” Kimberly said. The kids she is referring to are her two children, Niko, age 4 and Kaleb, age 7.

KB Associates has five associates who are all mothers and all operate from home. Just like the other women who work with numbers, Kimberly has fit her passions and priorities together, just like a budget.

“Putting numbers together and making them work is like putting together a beautiful puzzle. You can’t stop until it’s finished,” Kimberly said. The KB Associates office will be in the Business Center at the Thurston County Chamber of Commerce on the corner of Plum and Legion Way in Olympia, WA in October, 2010. Stop by and visit!

New Study Shows Eating Raw Chocolate Will Help You

2010-08-25T16:47:00.001-07:00

By: Monica Jonen

New research is showing that eating raw chocolate and the Acai berry can help people lose weight, look younger and fight off diseases and diabetes. Trial members that are part of the clinical study sponsored by XOCAI Chocolate gained have lean muscle, lost weight and reset their body shape without getting any flabby skin. The clinical study found that patients had a reduced blood pressure and cholesterol, and evened out their blood sugar. The clinical trial is a 12 week study on 50 subjects and right now it's in the fifth week. Other benefits people are experience include, increased energy, no hunger, their skin is clearer and they look 10-20 years younger.

Official Quote from Dr. Mike Kennedy M.D., D.P.A

One local example is Matt Moore who consumes the XOCAI chocolate on a regular basis.

"I have more energy and I am less fatigued," Moore said. "When I first started using it, my stomach problems went away and now my acid reflux is gone."

Moore also said that it has helped his muscles heal faster after long hikes.

"It is a blast to see those kinds of reactions with people," Robin Lee said, a local XOCAI distributor.

How does the product work? Well consuming oxygen is essential to live, but when molecules in our body come in contact with oxygen, they oxidize and turn into free radicals. Then those free radicals will assault whatever cells are nearby. So in essence, our body is "rusting" a little bit every day. Antioxidants are good for you though, because they burn fuel and stabilize cells.

"Once those molecules are attacked, their structure and function are changed and they don't work as well," said Joe Vinson, Ph.D, a professor of chemistry at the University of Scranton. (CNBC, 2010 & XOCAI: Healthy Chocolate)

The free radicals are also encapsulated by fat molecules to protect our body from them. So not only is the process of oxidation releasing disruptive free radicals, but it is keeping us overweight as well, according to Robin Lee, a XOCAI chocolate distributor. The only way we can combat the oxidation process and the harmful free radicals is by consuming antioxidants. If you flood the body with antioxidants, it will help burn fat quicker too.

Official quote from Dr. Mike Kennedy M.D., D.P.A.

The Government says you need 3,000 to 5,000 ORAC (the measurement of antioxidants) a day. How do you get all those anti oxidants? Well consuming fruit and vegetables is a good way to get anti oxidants, but how can you eat that many in one day?!

If your reading this right now and don't believe you consume enough antioxidants each day, then you might want to try XOCAI Chocolate. XOCAI has combined raw cocoa and the Acai berry to produce the most potent antioxidant product on the market. If you are interested in trying it, contact Robin Lee at lee@giftofhealthychocolate.com

Olympia Coffee Roasters Find Perfect Blend

2010-08-12T14:34:00.000-07:00

The Olympia Coffee Roasters have found the perfect blend of pleasure and work. I discovered it one Friday night while I was downtown and this is my story.

While networking at Einmaleins one Friday night, chatting with Mathias, a young chap known as Panda, came into the store to invite us all to a party with free drinks and food at Olympia Coffee Roasters. My reporter’s nosy nose started burning, so I had to go.

Strolling into Olympia Coffee Roasters I learned that Olympia Coffee Roasters serves 100% organic coffee bought directly from coffee farmers internationally and locally.

“They are innovative and their coffee is bar none the best among the west.” Chad Akins said, a loyal customer. “It’s a total perk.”

Chad Akins follows their updates on the website where the owners share new developments fresh from the field.

Bryan Dibble, who is a co-partner of Kobos Coffee Company from Portland, Oregon, was one of the first coffee roasters in the northwest, even before Starbucks. Kobos has been around since 1973, take that overpriced coffee milking giant.

Charles Weber, who came all the way from Eugene, Oregon, is the web designer for the Northwest Roasters Group. A position he volunteered for at the first meeting.

Over a cold beer and coffee, he explained the whole coffee networking venue to me and said that the Northwest Roasters Group meet twice a year to size up their competitors and roast each other, ha, ha, no, no, just kidding, he really said they meet to bounce new ideas off each other and network.

“They are a very cohesive volunteer based community,” Weber added later.

Of course, every North-Westerner is different, which is why I believe Pemco Insurance loves doing profiles on us. Weber too, has his own passions besides coffee roasting, which make him a great example of a modern northwest coffee guru. Weber has been diving in Kona, Maui, Hoodsport and up and down the West coast.

Besides diving in the Northwest waters, he is also a self-professed hardware geek, in the cool way though. As a licensed contractor, he installs and builds coffee equipment.
In addition, Weber manages his own website, where he makes two-thirds of his sales from distributing whole sale coffee. The other third you were wondering about comes from selling coffee in the Market of Choice stores in Portland, Eugene and Ashland, Oregon.

For the first five or six years though, his business was a 100 percent online. His first customer said,

“I might as well light my money on fire,” because he was buying coffee from a website and didn’t trust online shopping. Of course after Weber delivered good customer service and a high quality product, the guy became a 10 year loyal customer.

Weber has sold coffee to some rather unique customers. He said that he has shipped his coffee to a privately contracted military vessel floating in the waters surrounding Japan and Guam.

“I’d ship them 40 pounds of coffee at a time and they’d always be in a different place,” Weber said.

As we ended our conversation, I gave him my business card. He smiled and suggested I change my title from Human Marketing Flotation Device to Business Buoyancy Control Device, a scuba joke. I told him I was a certified scuba diver as well and first dove in Tacoma, WA.

You never know who you might meet when you wander downtown Oly. But, way to go coffee roaster guys. Keep being green and innovative.

Olylites: when you are downtown, I strongly urge you to check out Olympia Coffee Co on the corner of 4th and Cherry St, simply put, because they are the best of the west and stop by Einmaleins to meet some neat people.

Head on Collision Sends 18-year-old to the ER

2010-07-30T17:22:00.001-07:00

(This happened Friday at 3pm outside of the AIM Mail Center. I was not involved in the accident)

Headed to pay bills in the AIM Mail Center, Rose Willis, 22, was pre-occupied worrying about how to split her room mates rent. After judging the distance of a car in front of her and turning on her blinker, she turned into the Safeway parking lot easing on her breaks.

"I thought I had enough room to turn, but the cop says I was flying. I've turned this corner a bazillion times," Willis said. Willis is a waitress that lives in Lacey. After taking a deep breath, tears come to her eyes realizing what happened.

Kory Pearce of the Olympia Police Department said that the vehicle that spun was heading Southbound on Cooper Rd in the 400 block. The other driver was heading Northbound on Cooper and clipped the South bound driver causing her to spin.

"The North bound vehicle had the right away," Pearce said. Firemen at the scene used the jaws of life to remove the driver side door and remove the driver. The driver suffered minor bumps and bruises and put on a stretcher that went into the ambulance. The female driver who was injured is a newer driver who is just 18 years old. Witnesses report that the South bound driver was driving at an accelerated speed.

The first on the scene was the state trooper heading home off duty. He was obligated to stop however. The rest of the police and ambulance were called by dispatch.

Northwest Business Venues

2010-07-29T14:15:00.001-07:00

The idea of a business venue or shared office space has been replicated around the country in many different ways. However, there are none quite like The Biz Venue, a whole new work environment soon to open in West Olympia, a suburb of Seattle.

This will be a work community that networks together on a daily basis to assist each other and their small business in many facets. The goal of Visionary in Chief, Russ Alman, is to help small businesses realize the benefits they deserve to make their businesses thrive and prosper.
The Biz Venue offers marketing through social media, printing, "anchor" businesses that can help your small business, and a network of professionals who are plugged into the online business venue.

There are other shared office concepts in the Pacific Northwest. In Redmond, WA, there is a shared office space called thinkspace,which is a community of entrepreneurs, high-tech star tups, non-profits, and small businesses. They offer the usual private office, desk and chairs, internet access, coffee, fully furnished lobby and conference rooms. However, they charge $200 per month for two days a week in your own private office.

Another local business venue that is in Tacoma, Suite133, shares an office with telecommuters and "anyone that craves the creative energy from working alongside other people". They offer natural light, wood floors, and a loft-style interior in a historic building. Derek Young is one of the co-founders of Suite133, who originally built the website Exit133.com which is a Tacoma forum and blog about Real Estate, Politics, the Arts and Urban Development.

In old town and downtown Portland, OR, are NedSpace locations. NedSpace holds true to the Portland culture by offering bike parking for its members who are technology savvy and environmentally friendly. One company that uses NedSpace is a water delivery company that delivers 5 gallons of water to local offices via bike. Their tagline is, "Drink the change you want to see in the world". An online marketing consultant, web and iPhone application developer, a web designer and graphic designer also occupy the brick building, making NedSpace a great place for a small business to find help to achieve an online presence.

Sharing the similar interest is The Biz Venue that provides a number of unique products and services to create a small business ecosystem designed to catalyze the growth of small businesses. With a bookkeeping firm, a computer support company and a marketing agency, any small business that works in The Biz Venue will undoubtedly enhance their business. At an affordable rate, The Biz Venue not only offers meeting space, work space, a coffee shop and presentation room among other things, but also a hand up in business services that large corporations take advantage of having.

Goats, Wine and Small business

2010-07-20T14:39:00.000-07:00

On a cloudy Tuesday morning in Lacey are five professional business people bright eyed, coffee in hand, ready to learn. They have come to Classic Winemakers where the strong aroma of the beginning stages of grapes being fermented, hangs in the air.

After introducing themselves, they sat quietly listening to a webinar telecast from Fran Tarkenton. You may recognize that name and associate with his NFL career, but more recently he has been striving to help small businesses become successful through gosmallbiz.com

Today, he talked about a small business in Georgia that differentiates itself by having goats on it’s roof. Fran was excited about this small business and told us that it is all about differentiating your business in the market place. Because that is what keeps people coming into your business and coming back after they leave.

Goats on The Roof sells other things besides a roadside attraction, they also sell Amish made products, furniture, jams, jellies, soups and stews, funny t-shirts, gifts and gags. The business itself is family friendly and had about 3,000 people walk into their store this weekend.

Fran also told us that entrepreneurs work nine days a week because they are immersed in their business and the customer experience. That is true and that is because I think entrepreneurs know that nobody can make it happen but themselves.

Picture taken from Goats-on-The-Roof.com

What a great advice to start my day. Thanks for the tips and advice Fran and shout out to Classic Winemakers and their beautiful store.

Personal Assistant Wades through Heavy Showers for Home Buyer

2010-07-19T11:53:00.001-07:00

While at Leads at Lunch last Tuesday, Ron Hanson of Madrona Mortgage wore the hat of a weather man alerting local professionals to the mortgage forecast of the future

Gathered together in the Olive Garden every Tuesday are professionals referring leads to each other and making everyone aware of their business. The event, known as Leads at Lunch, is sponsored by the Thurston County Chamber. Tuesday, July 13th, everyone sat quietly eager to hear Hanson's presentation.

He began by explaining how lending works.

Lending used to be a stool that stood on four legs. From 1993-2006, the expanding mortgage industry made it easy to get loans, all you had to have was qualify for a couple of the legs. Such as good credit, income, property and a down payment.

Now, it is the opposite, it is harder to qualify for a loan and you have to meet all four legs of the stool. Even if you have an income, you also have to show the ability and stamina to keep the loan. In fact, one fourth of foreclosures happen simply because the owner chooses not to pay any more, regardless of their income.

“It takes an intentionally stout character to pay a mortgage every month, especially when the value of the property goes down,” Hanson said, “right now 37 percent of real estate are foreclosures.”

Things are changing too, when it comes to physically buying a loan. In 2006, you had to sign off on about 20 pages of paperwork showing you knew what you were agreeing too.

Now, your loan package will be about 45 pages since it is more heavily regulated and the government has more to warn you about.

“The problem is that because the packages is bigger, no one is reading it and instead they are just scanning and signing it because they just want to get through it,” Hanson said.

Continuing on, Hanson kept everyone enthralled with his clear understanding of the mortgage forecast.

Another change in the mortgage industry is the appraisal process. Before, an appraisal person would come out to your property, upon the request of the mortgage agent, and appraise your property. Well due to increased government regulation, mortgage brokers now send a message to corporate and corporate sends appraisers out to appraise your property.

“I think it will be an automated system soon though,” Hanson added.

Even though technology is slowly taking over, the best way to buy a mortgage is to talk to someone about the reality of your situation and your needs, when it comes to buying property. I recommend talking to Ron Hanson, he is a personal and friendly guy that you can trust to tell your deepest fears about buying a house.You can email him at rhanson@madronamortgage.com

Local Artist Shows his Stuff at Sizzis in Oly

2010-07-16T23:12:00.000-07:00

I just met local artist David Joel and wow is his work amazing. That is on wood!

Check out more of his work here, David Joel.

Puget Sound Energy Develops New Energy Programs for Home and Work

2010-07-14T15:58:00.000-07:00

By: Monica Jonen

Your local Puget Sound Energy (PSE) works much like a bank when it comes to saving and expanding energy. One PSE goal is to develop more renewable energy, much like a fruitful savings account that produces interest naturally. Another PSE goal is to help customers save as much energy as they can, which reduces our reliance on fossil fuels. Puget Sound Energy expects to help customers by saving more than 4 million therms of natural gas in 2010 and by conserving, more than $16 million in natural gas cost.

Some of those renewable energies include wind, solar and bio-mass. A great example of the latter is poop. Poop? Yes, poop. According to PSE, there are several farmers in Washington who own what is called a Dairy Digester. This Dairy Digester machine converts the methane gas from poop into electricity that farmers can use to power their farm. That shouldn’t surprise us though there is an Iphone app for poop called Poop the World.

Among the less strange technology is the smart energy saving device, the compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL). They are pretty common now and you can find them for a pretty good price and CFL’s use 75 percent less energy. If a home owner replaces five regular incandescent light bulbs with five CFL light bulbs, then they will save around 60 dollars per year in energy costs. If you don’t have a buck to save, Puget Sound Energy will give you a rebate for buying the CFL at Costco.

Another interesting relatively new technology that is utilized to help home owners and business owners is the infrared heat censoring technology used in energy assessments. Imagine walking through a room and spotting red bubbles where you are losing money in terms of energy leaks. PSE offers a $350 rebate on these types of assessments to qualified customers through its HomePrint program. Since the government is on board with the national green trend, they are also offering grants and rebates to help pay for any repairs you would have to make to make your house or business energy efficient. To check it out for yourself, go to their website at Puget Sound Energy.com

A local example of this is Archibald Sisters downtown on Capital Way. They participate in the Green Power Program, a voluntary program offered to PSE’s residential and business electric customers, giving participants a way to guarantee the amount of energy they use in matched in the grid with electricity from wind, solar, biomass and other renewable energy sources. The amount paid by customers goes to support the local development of renewable energy, like dairy digesters.

“One of the cool things that we do is refill bottles (with Archibald Sister products) that customers bring in and we give discounts to customers who do that,” Sophie Edwards said, who is an Archibald Sisters Sales Associate. The Archibald Sisters also participate in Green Power Programs, Green Power Rewards, a benefit offered to Thurston County Green Power Program customers, the rewards card offers residential Green Power customers discounts on products and services at local businesses that participate.

“Customers love it that we participate in Green Power too,” Edwards said. Well that looks like the current and latest trendy thing to do to be environment friendly and I charge you to jump on the train heading towards the future.