Not wearing heels these days

with me.  Back in November I was diagnosed with a mild case of fibromialgia.  I was also sent to an orthopedic surgeon for my ankle that I sprained back in August.  Turns out I tore ligaments and actually broke a chunk off of my fibula.  Both doctors recommended an exercise program consisting of classes such as pilates, yoga, swimming, etc.  I talked with Jerry and decided to join a club in Dallas where I could take classes with water aerobics and pilates.  I ride in with him on Tuesdays and Fridays and then go on to my space at the Dallas World Trade Center and work from there in the afternoon.  I also go in on my own for a class on Sunday mornings.  I think the exercise program is a positive thing in my life but it definitely is taking some time away from other things, most notably work.

The Pros:

1. I feel better and my ankle seems to be continuing to heal.
2. I am sleeping better at night.
3. People are telling me that I look like I have lost weight.
4. I am up at my booth more at market and thereby more available to potential customers.

The Cons:

1. I am out of the office now every Tuesday and Friday so our shipping schedule is more restricted as well as our production schedule to some degree.
2. Spending some 12 hours a week either exercising, getting ready to or showering afterwards definitely makes an impact on my available time.

Bottom line:  It’s still way worth it!

I just wanted you to know why things may be a little slower to ship or the website may not be updated quite as often or I am not around to personally answer the phone quite so much.

Lavender & Lime

Next on my list to tell you about is our new soap Lavender & Lime.  I just uploaded it to our website and you can find it with our Signature Soaps or listed with the New & Onsale items. It is a fresh, clean scent that is particularly perfect for those who don’t want too strong of a scent.

And lastly, I wanted to let you know that Jerry and I are heading off to Europe on this Thursday, Feb. 2 for 10 days.  We will be flying into London and staying there 4 nights.  Then we are taking the Eurostar to Paris and we will be there for 2 nights.  From there we are flying to Rome and staying 3 nights before we head back home.  Some of the highlights that I already have set up is lunch at the Eiffel tower in Paris and tours of the Vatican Museums and the Colliseum in Rome.  I wanted to let you know because we will not be shipping out any orders until after I return on Feb. 12.  (Neither Annie or Dorothy can do the necessary computer/paperwork processing on them.)  I also wanted to let you know in case you would like to travel vicariously along with us via my Facebook/Twitter/Blog updates.  I am taking my computer and have been given strict instructions to post photos and more as we progress along our route.

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For a company our size we carry waaaay too much inventory.  We have been in business for over 10 years and we have gradually increased both the types of products we make as well as the scents we carry them in.  The last few years with our business contracting due to the economy and a few of our larger customers closing up shop has left us top heavy on inventory.  Keeping all of the products in stock as well as the raw materials to make them is simply not feasible anymore.  Therefore my goal is to pare things down to a more manageable level and so we will be closing out slow moving inventory items as we see fit.  And when we close them out we will put them on sale at incredible prices.  One thing to keep in mind is that we probably won’t have a lot of said close out items so if it is something you want I would jump on them quick.

The initial items we are choosing to close out are our Body Oils and Custom Scrubs.  You can use the Body Oil as a wonderful all over body moisturizer or to create your own custom sugar scrub.  As I write this we have all four scents of the Body Oil in stock – Lavender, Lemon, Rosemary and Peppermint and we are closing them out at $3.25 each or 75% off the original price of $13.00.  Our Custom Scrubs are only available in the sugar and are now $2.50 each which again is 75% off of the original $10.00.  (Important Note:  These two close out items are NOT elgible for our free shipping offer.)

We do still have a few items left over from our Christmas sale:  Mardi Gras Fleur di Lis (7 left) and our Christmas Baskets (4 left).  (The Christmas Baskets are a GREAT value just to buy for yourself!)

I hope everyone has a wonderful New Year.  I hope to have a couple of new soap scents out soon and I am sure we will be periodically closing out some other slow moving items as we go through the year.  All the best and I’ll talk to you soon.

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We have some last minute Christmas specials to offer you ranging from 35% off Christmas Gift Sets to 50% off our Soaring 1.8 oz Perfume to Free Cinnamon Spice Potpourri.  There are even a few Angels and Fleur di Lis cutouts offered at 50% off as well.  Amazing deals all around!

Christmas Gift Basket

Soaring Perfume

Cinnamon Spice Potpourri

Almond Angels and Mardi Gras Fleur di Lis

Check them out at the links above and just remember all quantities are limited and when they are gone they are GONE.

So that’s the sale part of this post.  Now for the shipping info part.

I checked with my local Post Office yesterday regarding cut off dates for shipments to get there by Christmas.  Here is what I was told:

Domestic Priority Mail is Dec. 21

Domestic Express Mail is Dec. 22

We are already past the cut off date for International Priority and even Express Mail.  The only thing that still be shipped international with a chance of getting there by Christmas is Global Express Guaranteed and it has to go out by the 19th for Asia and Australia, the 20th for Europe, Middle East and South America and the 21st for Mexico and Canada.

Now please do remember that these are the cut off dates for the shipment to go to the Post Office.  We can occasionally do same day turnaround but to be safe I would make sure and place your order at LEAST one day prior to the SHIPPING cut off date.  So essentially for ALL regular domestic Priority Mail orders I would have them placed by Tuesday, Dec. 20 to make sure we can ship them out by Wed., Dec. 21 so that they should get there by Christmas.  Please do remember that after we turn them over to the USPS delivery schedule is up to them.

Susan’s Soaps & More will be closed for the Christmas holidays Friday, Dec. 23 – Tuesday, Dec. 27.  We will be back in the office on Wednesday, Dec. 28th.

And last but not least I want to wish everyone a happy and safe holiday season!!

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Shop Small

If you haven’t heard about the Amex Shop Small Promotion then read on.  If you’re in the know and already registered then hopefully we’ll see or hear from you on Saturday.

Susan’s Soaps & More is a definitely Small Business and if you have registered your American Express care HERE then if you spend over $25 with us on Saturday, Nov. 26, American Express will credit you back $25 on your statement.  Please read their terms and conditions and if you haven’t registered already they state that registration is limited.  However I haven’t seen anything about it being closed.  Susan’s Soaps does accept American Express and of course you have to use your American Express card when making your purchase.

In addition we are offering a ONE DAY SPECIAL of Free Shipping for any orders over $25 on Nov. 26th as well.  Obviously we hope you spend much more than $25 with us but if you have been on the fence about trying some of our products you could try $25 worth of Susan’s Soaps  for Free.  Pretty sweet deal!  For this ONE day you don’t even have to have an account.  As long as your order is at least $25 then you should see the option for free shipping.

OR if you are coming to the Dallas Fair Park Holiday we will be there and you can pay with your American Express card at the show.

Just remember:

1. You have to preregister your card.
2. You only get ONE $25 credit per card.
3. The business has to be a small business.
4. You have to make your purchase on the 26th.
5. To be safe I would read all of their terms listed on their website to make sure you qualify.

Small Disclaimer:

All Susan’s Soaps can control is the Free Shipping part – if for some reason you don’t get your statement credit you will have to take that up with American Express.  But if you follow their terms then I don’t see a problem.  We are doing our part as we are most certainly a small business!