Ria's Collectables

I Am Up For A Challenge - Are You?

noreply@blogger.com (Ria) — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 00:14:00 +0000

As a small, on-line business owner, I am always faced with many behind the scene challenges. Many of which are true learning experiences. Some that are fun and well, some that I could really do without.

August will be a month of not only many challenges but there is one that I am personally going to love. The reason I am going to love this is because I actually am the making the choice to have this wonderful opportunity to share with other small business.

So, here is my challenge to you, if you are up to a blog challenge, visit the Ultimate Blog Challenge. Come have some fun from the everyday world that all of us on-line business owners go through.

Watch our blog posts, we are making some very important changes that we feel are great and hope you will enjoy them also.

Have a great week and I hope to see you at the Ultimate Blog Challenge!

Ria Wallace's Expert Author Email Alerts

EzineArticles.com

The Right Type of Personality is Required For a Candle Maker

noreply@blogger.com (Ria) — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 04:09:00 +0000

Photo credit: mconnors from morguefile.com

The Right Type of Personality is Required For a Candle Maker

Before you get started in the candle industry, you have to analyze your own mindset to see if you have what it takes to be a candle maker from conception to fully-functional success operation. It's not enough to say you want to make money or be your own boss.

Everyone wants those things, but not everyone can achieve those goals. It takes a special person. You don't have to be a workaholic or nor be willing to engage in questionable marketing tactics. You just need to have a few characteristics that are common to most successful candle makers.

The candle industry requires deep commitment. If you're the type to change jobs with your moods, then stick to a 9-5 job. You're building a business and it takes time, effort, reviewing, and tweaking to make it work.

Commitment and a positive attitude can make or break a candle maker. You're going to have slow times. Every candle maker does. Something will go wrong - whether it's a late delivery of supplies or your shopping cart went down. If you panic and shut down, you'll tarnish your reputation as a true professional candle maker.

The successful candle makers do not fly by the seat of their pants and hope everything goes well. They believe in being meticulous planners. They make schedules and plans for their day, week, month, year, and even further down the road.

They plan every step of a product before the product development even begins. They plan every single detail they can think of. The more meticulous you are with your plans, the fewer things there are that may go wrong.

To become a successful candle maker, you need to have an abundance of confidence. Even if you're worried, anxious, or unsure of yourself, what you project must be that you have it all together - you cannot let fear paralyze you.

Are you willing to be a student for life? No successful candle maker gets to the top and stops learning in this industry. If you do, that only means you will eventually become the competitor and fall prey of a hungry candle maker who stayed on the ball with up to the minute solutions and practices in this field so
that they can become king or queen of the mountain when you let your guard down.

You have to know how to get from point A to point B on your journey to achieving financial independence. Do you know what you'll say when your in-laws or spouse questions your "career as a candle maker?" If you are a confident candle maker, the questions won't bother you at all.

If you aren't sure how to develop a game plan for your success, if you do not know how to set and achieve goals, or have a mindset that is not in sync with that of a victorious win, then work on those things before you quit your day job and set off on this journey. You want to be mentally prepared for the challenges along the way.

Submission guidelines: You are welcome to publish this article in your opt-in newsletter or on your website provided it is published in its entirety, including the resource box. Please email Ria Wallace of your intent to publish this article.
-------------------------------
About the author: This article was brought to you by Ria Wallace, Master Chandler and Owner of Ria's Collectables-A Soy Candle Company, that specializes in hand poured, Natural Soy Wax Candles. Her mission in life is "Touching peoples lives one minute, one day, one flame at a time....."™ She is also the Author of Ria's Pay it Forward and My-Our Old House where she shares real life stories and how the little people impact the everyday life of many. Her helpful articles are regularly syndicated online. You can find more articles about soy candle decorating tips, tools and resources to educate and inspire you to use soy candles safely and economically at home. at Ezine Articles.

(c) Copyright 2010-Ria Wallace
http://www.riascollectables.com/

Ria Wallace's Expert Author Email Alerts

EzineArticles.com

Email Spammers Exposed

noreply@blogger.com (Ria) — Sat, 22 May 2010 02:04:00 +0000

Photo Courtesy of xander

Email Spammers Exposed

Beware, names and email address are exposed as are the programs that these spammers are representing.

Truthful Affiliate Marketers HATE the CROOKS. Help us bust them

Affiliate Hijack (no link included)

ryan_makemoneyonlinesurveys_org_buyers@theconsumerinforcenter.com

On behalf of:

Lauren Mitchell

Lauren@laurenmitchell.com

Cherry Bertina

deeanngreen006@terra.com.co

makecashwithsurveys_buyers@theconsumerinfocenter.com

Janelle Davies

cbpredators212@googlemail.com

This is a "spoofing" site as they have altered our Company's email address. Please note, do not click on any link that appears to have been sent from our company unless, you have purchased from us.

Email address from ?sales@riascollectables.com is not us. DO NOT CLICK AND LINK WITH THIS EMAIL ADDRESS.

What makes Janell Daivies email address so FRIGHTENING is that she is using the same subject line such as changing passwords etc in the subject line.

Angela Moree

support.websitex@gmail.com

Promoting

http://www.pereginadventures.com

Disclosure:

Ria's Collectables is a Soy Candle Company that "Touches peoples' lives, one minute, one day, one flame at a time....."

As an accredited BBB Company, we do not in any way condone the practices of email spammers. As a result, we are publishing these posts to keep our customers aware of what we "believe" to be spamming practices and they try to promote get rich quick schemes.

Why we believe these are spamming practices is due to the fact these emails are unsolicited.

Please note, not all affiliates practice deceptive behavior. As a matter of fact, Ria's Collectables only associates itself with business' whose business practices follow truth, honesty, and integrity as set forth by the Federal Trade Commission.

Ria Wallace's Expert Author Email Alerts

EzineArticles.com

Email Spammers Exposed

noreply@blogger.com (Ria) — Sat, 22 May 2010 00:11:00 +0000

Picture Courtesey of KConnors

Email Spammers Exposed

I really never thought the day would come that I would finally make this post. Hey, I have pondered this for a while and if it is an annoyance to me, than it must be for you also.
When you are in business online for the right reason, which is to build relationships, honestly and from the heart, you run across many irritating things. Yes, as an online business you get spammed. As a matter of fact, on line business get spammed more than any personal email due to the fact that we are always behind the scenes working to improve so that you our customer has the best experience.
Here lately, like in the last several months, there seems to be a rash of Gmail users who think that I as a business owner wants to know everything there is to know about anything but would benefit my customers. Personally, I find this offensive for the following reasons.

* When I am wasting time deleting hundreds of emails that are "unsolicited", I am taking time away from what I do best which is customer service, and making candles.
* As a result, my customers suffer which in my opinion is unacceptable.
* I have gone as far as contacting the security departments of Google and have done a whois search to find out who the source is so that I can put a stop to it. Still nothing works.
I have even had some web hosting company's tell me that, "that was something that someone must have copied". OK, so I am showing you this is going on. Help me take care of it.
I have even gone as far as not publishing the company email address so that all of the new little computer programs pick us the email address and spam us. To no avail.
I have personally hunted the unsubscribe to many of the emails and there is nowhere to do that. Guess what, now we are going to.
From today forward, we are going to start publicly posting the peoples email address that spam our company and it is going to be neatly filed under the Email Spammers Exposed.
Come join me in our fight to expose these people who change things up so that they can either sell email address or just waste our time. I would love to hear from you. Help me spread the word because to be very honest, I would rather spend my time working on things that benefit you, not what benefits people who continue to show that they do not care about truth, honesty, and integrity.
Do you know anyone who is having problems with email spammers? Let me know and together we will conquer this.

Remodels Cost Alot of Money

noreply@blogger.com (Ria) — Wed, 05 May 2010 02:32:00 +0000

Remodels cost a lot of money so why not enhance your light with some tea light candles? You can enhance items on a mantel by placing several tea lights behind a picture, or inside of a vase. Be careful to make sure that the tea light is in an appropriate candle holder

Ria Wallace's Expert Author Email Alerts

EzineArticles.com

Welcome Back Lisa - Dynamic Art House

noreply@blogger.com (Ria) — Wed, 05 May 2010 00:59:00 +0000

I am excited to share that Lisa from Dynamic Art House is back! YEAH- Ria is doing the happy dance.

I shared Lisa's story awhile back regarding her journey with cancer. You can read that post here. I hope you have gone and signed up for her blog posts and are following her, she is truly an inspiration that has blessed my life.

You can check out her latest paintings here, they are so full of vibrancy and color and if you look at them long enough, you can see something special in every one of them.

Lisa's paintings are on exhibit for the month of May at the Cheyenne Mountain Library in Colorado Springs, Colorado. If you have the opportunity that would be a great day trip.

Ria Wallace's Expert Author Email Alerts

EzineArticles.com

Faces of Cancer

noreply@blogger.com (Ria) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 01:12:00 +0000

Lisa Ann Bonfiglio

Dynamic Art House

2010 has already started to be one of those years that has un-defined true meaning.

As a cancer survivor, I can say with full conviction, Cancer changes your life in many ways. It does not matter what form of cancer you have, the very words of being diagnosed has an impact that only people with cancer experience.

I was blessed to be able to watch The Last Lecture by Randy Pauch. I must say, Diane Sawyer from Good Morning America did a fabulous job when she interviewed Randy. That was an interview that became, family TV time, as did her follow up interview. You can read her interview here.

He and his wife, Jai, showed those of us with cancer the true meaning of paying it forward, as they so un-selfishly shared their journey which truly was a journey of remarkable courage.

Randy once said, "When there’s an elephant in the room introduce him". You can find more quotes from Randy along with numerous videos here.

Today, I want to share a very dear friend of mines journey with this wonderful elephant. Lisa, you may remember, was one of Ria's Pay it Forward Recipients. You can view the post here.

With vibrant contagiousness, Lisa shares her elephant with all that will listen with the hope to touch just one person's life. Although Lisa and I live miles apart, she still to this day shares hope when days are just a little gloomy.

I encourage both men and women to visit Lisa's blog which you can find here. You might be wondering why I say both men and women. Cancer has no bounderies and it touches the lives of men, women, and children. So, why not visit Lisa as she shares so un-selfishly with all of us. While you are there, let her know you stopped by. I know you will make her day.

Ria Wallace is a Master Chandler and owner of Ria's Collectables-A Soy Candle Company. Her mission in life is "Touching people's lives one minute, one day, one flame at a time....."™ She is also the Author of Ria's Pay it Forward, and My-Our Old House where she shares real life stories and how the little people impact the everyday life of many

Creo Communico-Thank You

noreply@blogger.com (Ria) — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 18:24:00 +0000

A Special Thank You to Creo Communico

Far too often I become busy and over look the importance of stopping long enough to say Thank You.

You know how that is. Small business owners perform that great balancing act between, family, working full time, and our own business. Personally, I get caught up with customers and forget that my customers also include my support system that works hard behind the scenes to help me make it all happen.

Ria's Collectables will soon be opening a sister company and have decided to change all of our web hosting needs to Creo Communico.

What will be new:

We will be placing a special area in the store for special announcements.
Our shopping cart will automatically charge shipping.
Our blog will be there to help save our customer's time between going from several different web sites.
We will also be sporting new web pages with exciting new products.

Greatest Importance:

Because of the business values of Creo Communico and the strong work ethics that they have continued to prove, we have added them to our trusted list of resources. Ria's Collectables is an accredited business through the BBB. For the security of our customers, integrity of each business that we work with is our number one priority.

With the hard work that Creo Communico LLC has done for me behind the scenes, it is only appropriate to take this time to say "THANK YOU"

Until next time.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

How To Plan Your Candle Purchase So You Do Not Blow The Budget

noreply@blogger.com (Ria) — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 15:03:00 +0000

How to Plan Your Candle Purchases So You Do Not Blow the Budget

There are so many different candle options available today. Sorting through all of the information is overwhelming to say the least. How do customers sort through all of the information so that they can make a knowledgeable decision? With consumers being more conscience to the environment, now is the time to treat your candle purchases just as you would any other household purchase. Plan

Candles are like any other decorative accessory that you place within your home. Having a thought out plan helps to look at your candle as an accessory in your home or office instead of just something that smells good.

Have A Goal - Ask yourself these questions

1. Do you know what room you want to place your candles?

2. Do you want to create a relaxing atmosphere?

3. Do you want to create a romantic ambiance?

4. Do you like having candle light dinners?

5. What appearance you are looking for?

6. Do you want a different scent for each room that you have candles in?

7. Do you want natural wax candles or are paraffin candles OK?

8. Do you like giving candles as gifts?

By having a goal for where and how you are going to use your candles, you can actually create a custom, decorative atmosphere that is fragrant within your home.

Here are some ideas to help

Do you know what room you want to place your candles?

Pillar candles grouped together make a nice touch on a dresser in your bedroom; You can place them on a fire place mantel, or on a coffee table in the living room or den.

Do you want to create a relaxing atmosphere?

Lavender is a favorite among candle lovers for creating relaxation. Put a Lavender scented candle in your bedroom and burn it for 1 hour per diameter of the candle before you go to bed. Make sure it is completely out before retiring for the night.

Do you want to create a romantic ambiance?

Tea lights are small and can be placed in various different containers to help create a soft, warm glow. Sprinkle several around and feel the magic of the soft light.

Do you like having candle light dinners?

Un-scented taper candles are perfect for the dinner table. Have some fun with the kids and teach them how special even peanut butter and jelly can be while eating them by candle light.

What appearance you are looking for?

You can easily create a one of a kind candle scape in minutes by placing several pillar candles mixed with votives and tea lights on a plate.

Do you want a different scent for each room that you have candles in?

With the hundreds of candle fragrances on the market today, you can literally have a fragrance theme in every room of your house. In the kitchen, you may want coffee, bakery, or herb scented candles; you might place wine candles in the living room, lavender in the bedroom, and lemon in the bathroom. The possibilities are endless.

Do you want natural wax candles or are paraffin candles OK?

Candles made from paraffin are widely available at most discount and craft stores. Natural wax candles are more readily available through online stores and at boutiques.

Do you like giving candles as gifts?

All candle lovers enjoy receiving candle gifts. You could always have some on hand to give as a gift, that way you will never have to worry about what to give.

By treating your candle purchases as a decorative household item, you can create a purchase plan. Your well thought out plan will help you budget your purchase so that you do not go overboard and ruin the monthly budget; it will also help you to create your decorative, custom fragrant home which will be truly one of a kind.

Sit down and think about how you would use candles to decorate your home. Make a list of every room you would like to place them in. Think about the aroma you would like that room to smell like. Write down your list and start pricing your candles so that you can put that on your budget.

Any purchase you make for your home should be carefully thought out, researched, and planned.

Living by the core business value of "Touching peoples lives one minute, one day, one flame at a time.....Ria Wallace is a successful Master Chandler who helps consumers nationwide have that "Rodeo Drive" natural wax candle experience through her on-line, Better Business Bureau Accredited Business, Ria's Collectables.

50th Morgan County Habitat for Humanity House Dedication

noreply@blogger.com (Ria) — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 23:55:00 +0000

50th Morgan County Habitat for Humanity House Dedication

If you have never been to a Habitat for Humanity House Dedication, you are truly missing a blessing.

Today was Morgan County Habitat for Humanity House Dedication. What a huge mile stone for the Morgan County Community.

The dedication was more than just a home being given to the Baker family, who are the recipient. This home was built in honor of Cindy Szinegh who had a great admiration for the Habitat for Humanity program.
What makes this such a wonderful story is, this is a story of how one family's tragedy, touched the lives of so many people.

The house design is named "Chantal", who is Cindy and her husband, Alex daughter. Chantal, in herself, is a marvelous miracle.

It truly was amazing to see how the power of a community can come together and build such a beautiful home.

Sponsor's for the home were Exit Realty and Eaton Corporation Decatur, Alabama.

Builds like these take the hard work and dedication from not only volunteers and the homeowners, but from money raised from the various donations just to make it happen. Stephen Baldwin was even on site to help.

Aaron and I had the opportunity to be at the house when it was still under construction and while Stephen Baldwin was there. The amount of wonderful people that we met was absolutely moving to say the least.

There is no doubt that Cindy, a much loved wife, mother, friend to many, and Realtor with Exit Realty, lost her battle with Breast Cancer in 2008.

I will be writing more about this house and continue the powerful story of these truly remarkable people, who selflessly give of themselves to touch another person's life.

In the mean time, you can visit your State's Habitat for Humanity web-site by doing a Google search. See how you can help your local community.

To read more of the story behind this house, visit Morgan County Habitat for Humanity.

Until next time....

Touching lives one minute, one day, one flame at a time.....

Ria Wallace is Master Chandler and owner of Ria's Collectables-A Soy Candle Company. Her mission in life is to Touch peoples lives one minute, one day, one flame at a time..... She is also the Author of Ria's Pay it Forward, and My-Our Old House where she shares real life stories and how the little people impact the every day life of many.

September 11, 2001 - Where Were You

noreply@blogger.com (Ria) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 19:09:00 +0000

September 11, 2001 - Where Were You

Alan Jackson sang the song, "Where Were You" as a tribute to the World Trade Center Tragedy. To this day, I still remember.

I was working, on the phone with my counterpart from Pembroke, New Hampshire. Several of our sales team had just left our facility there and were on flights back to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Tony was barely a month old and in the hospital with Parafluenza, Aaron was just barely 18 months old.

I will always remember that time of silence - watching the second tower get hit. The fear that overwhelmed me as to where everyone was, where they OK? Was anyone on the flight headed towards the Pentagon? Or what about the flight to Pennsylvania?

Hours felt like days. Tears rolled like raging rivers coming from mountain tops and composure was out the window.
The memories of somberness hit as I remembered what we had all gone through during the Oklahoma City Murrah Bombing.

I will never forget the feeling of anger as the thoughts came to mind, not on American Soil, not again. The devastation that the town of New York felt was an all too familiar feeling - one which had taken years to heal and there it was, six years later only on a larger scale.

Today's remembrance is about Gratitude. A gentle reminder to never let the last words you speak to anyone be words of anger. Never leave your loved one without the words, "I love you" , always be grateful for the moment as it might be the last.

Here is a hug from me to all the people affected by the tragedies of both the Oklahoma City Bombing and the World Trade Center.

Swine Flu - Thoughts to Consider

noreply@blogger.com (Ria) — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 12:39:00 +0000

When the Swine Flu hit our area earlier this year we had schools shut down for a couple of days, with one school being closed for a week.

Recent news in our area has disclosed that the new Swine Flu Vaccine is now in place and school officials are happy due to the fact that they will not have to close if children are vaccinated.

As with any live virus, adults and children that have any form of PIDD (compromised immune systems), or heart conditions need to be cautious of the potential effect that this vaccine could have on their health.

Sam Adkins, is a professional Homeopathic and a member of the Australian Register of Homeopathic, who has written the following article to help us make an informed decision regarding the vaccine:

Feature Article: 6 Reasons to Say NO to the Swine Flu/H1N1 Vaccine

When we want to protect ourselves and our loved ones, sometimes it's hard to know which way to turn for information regarding important things like Swine Flu vaccination. I have been closely following all the hype and information regarding the Swine Flu vaccine that will be hitting all our shores in the next 4 weeks, and I want to share the information that our govenments and politicians are not being open about.

Firstly I have to put my stake in the ground regarding vaccination generally because Homeopaths world over are known to most often choose to NOT support general vaccine use. There are many reasons for this stance, but one of the most important, is that vaccines by-pass the immune system's normal defenses. When you catch measles for example, it is a droplet borne viral infection and the mucous membranes in your upper respiratory tract respond first. When we stick a vial of live or infectious agents (that have been rendered less potent) straight into the blood stream, we are asking the body to mobilise its immune system at its deepest level immediately, without all the natural immune pathways that come first.

It has not been proven at any stage that vaccines actually STOP people catching the infectious agent...rather it has been shown that vaccines stimulate antibody production in the blood. We know that our immune system is much more complicated than that and antiobodies are just one part of it.

Many of my patients vaccinate themselves and their children and many do not. I support whatever my patients want to do, but I find that I treat vaccinosis (chronic ill-health after vaccination) often. But this Swine Flu vaccine is crossing all kinds of health boundaries and so here are my Top 6 Reasons NOT to have this Vaccine.

1. Predictions of Pandemics are notoriously inaccurate
In the Uk for example, there have been 31 deaths so far attributed to the H1N1 virus compared with the normal 8000 people that die most years of 'normal' flu (source The Week Issue 726).
in 1976 another Swine flu pandemic was feared and never materialised. In the early 90s a measles epidemic was predicted and did not happen either. The most recent Bird Flu pandemic never occurred.
Almost all the deaths so far across the world from Swine flu have been due to complications such as pneumonia. As it is highly unlikley that you will die from the influenza, then the best way for a normally healthy person to protect themselves is to have a healthy immune system in the first place.

2. It is likely to contain highly toxic Mercury.
There are 3 main pharmaceutical companies manufacturing the vaccine: Baxter, Glaxosmithkline and Novartis. Thimerosol is the commonly used Mercury preservative that was removed from many of the standard children's vaccines in Australia (please note, it is still used in adult vaccines),and around the world due to the link with vaccine reactions and public outcry. It has been said that the Swine Flu/H1N1 vaccine will contain mercury. Read here for more mercury toxicity information.

3. Flu vaccines are highly ineffective.
In a review of 48 reports including more than 66,000 adults, "Vaccination of healthy adults only reduced risk of influenza by 6% and reduced the number of missed work days by less than one day (0.16) days. It did not change the number of people needing to go to hospital or take time off work." Reference: "Vaccines for preventing influenza in healthy adults." The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 1 (2006).

In a review of 51 studies of the flu vaccine in children 6-24 months it was decided that it was not more effective then a placebo and asthmatic children who get the flu vaccine [Flumist in activated flu vaccine - Ed] are more at risk for hospitalization than children who do not get the vaccine." Reference: The American Thoracic Society's 105th International Conference, May 15-20, 2009. (Thanks to an excllent resport by Dr tenpenny.com for this data).

4. They contain highly dangerous substances such as adjuvants.
These are substances added to allow faster manufacturing of the vaccine and to 'boost' its action. If they work I ask myself...why do we need to 'boost' them? Novartis and Glaxosmithkline are both using an oil based adjuvant called Squalene in their H1N1/Swine flu vaccine. (ALL oil based adjuvants have been categorically shown to be toxic to rats).

Squalene is a substance present in our body in the nervous system but when we inject squalene into our bloodstream from an outside source, the body attacks it as something to resist and consequentially, attacks the squalene in our own body. This is why vaccinations appear to cause auto-immune diseases such as MS, lupus, Guillan-Barre syndrome and Rheumatoid Arthritis. See this excellent Mercola post for more information about squalene.

5. The last Swine flu vaccine in 1976 was a health disaster!
Swine flu broke out in a military base in 1976 and people were vaccinated with a hurriedly prepared "Swine Flu Vaccine". The result has been catalogued and reported as an unmitigated health disaster. People dropped dead soon after the vaccine was given and many suffered paralysis. The vaccine was withdrawn and there was no pandemic! More here.

6. Normal vaccine SAFETY procedures are being by-passed!
The US government has recently given the vaccine manufacturers leave to expediate the manufacture of this vaccine by by-passing normal safety tests and procedures that are in place to protect YOU. The adjuvant Squalene will not be tested in spite of knowing that in tests on rats it caused ALL rats to develop an MS-like disease that left them crippled, dragging their paralyzed hindquarters across their cages. The vaccine itself is currently being tested in several nations including Australia, the USA and the UK on our children. They will be given the vaccine and then follwed up with blood tests afterwards. This is too LATE for your child if they have a serious reaction. This is what a report 5 days ago in The Lancet said:"Many national regulatory agencies have set-up fast-track approval processes for the H1N1 vaccine, which means that a vaccine might be licensed without the usual safety and efficacy data requirements. Vaccine safety will therefore have to be monitored through post-marketing surveillance. But some fear a repeat of the 1976 H1N1 outbreak in the USA, where mass vaccination was associated with complications, which stopped the campaign and led to the withdrawal of the vaccine." (The Lancet, Volume 374, Issue 9687, Page 358, 1 Aug. 2009.)

This article was brought to you by Sam Adkins The Homeopathic Coach who teaches families about healthy living and natural remedies using homeopathic medicine. An internationally renowned expert, her helpful articles are regularly syndicated online. She publishes the ezine Homeopathy@Home to provide free Homeopathic tips, tools and resources to educate and inspire you to use Homeopathy at home. http://www.thehomeopathiccoach.com/

Please let me know what your feeling are regarding the Swine Flu Vaccine

School Has Started

noreply@blogger.com (Ria) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 03:15:00 +0000

With school starting all over the country, now is a good time to start organizing our thoughts and schedules.

You know, PTA meetings, parent teacher conferences, after school activities etc. Now is also the time to start thinking about your child's teacher's gifts for the upcoming holidays. I know, it's hard to think that the holidays will be here before we know it.

Some of that thinking ahead comes from our business and I have to admit, every time I start thinking that far in advance (two holiday season's), I can not help but think about my dear friend Marcia. You can read her blog here and you will understand what I am saying, if not, I will tell you why later.

Another friend of mine who is a "skipped generational" parent as I am found a web site that had all kinds of ideas for teacher gifts. As luck would have it, my friend attempted a comment to this site and actually saved it. I have replaced my friends name with "Anonymous"

The reason for sharing this is because it truly is good food for thought and I can see both sides of this fence, my friend was hurt and because I know her, I know why she was.

Let me know what you think.

Mom to Mom
Great Gifts for Teachers
http://parentzone.babyzone.com/momtomom/stories.asp?mcid=72&pg=2
"I am an elementary school teacher, and I have been teaching for 10 years.

The best gifts a parent can give a teacher are:1. Respect. We are highly trained individuals, not glorified baby sitters. Many of us have master's degrees and doctorate degrees. We each spend many hours outside of our work day involved with professional growth classes and other continuing education. Please don't second guess our every decision. We really do know what we're doing.
2. Be a supportive, involved parent. Spend quality time with your children. Read to them. Listen to them read. Turn off the TV, unplug the Game Cube, and send them outside to play. Teach them right from wrong and how to take responsibility for their actions. Help them when they struggle. Get them the help they need, whether that is medical, emotional, or academic help.

These are the things we would most like to have our parents give to us. However, those things aside, I know that kids and parents like to give tangible gifts to their teachers for special occassions and holidays. Here are some tips on what to avoid:
1. Not all teachers drink coffee. Most of us have boxes and boxes of "cute" mugs we will never use.
2. Candy might be a fantastic thought for those rail-thin teachers who burn off calories just looking at a piece of chocolate. Most of us would rather not have the temptation. It's hard enough to find time to go to the gym.
3. Please, no more lotions, soaps, and candles. While teachers do like to pamper themselves, most of us have a huge surplus of these items because the bath and body type stores push them as "great teacher gifts." My husband has put a moratorium on lotion and candle buying - I have too much of the stuff as it is. I will be well moisturized and freshly scented well into my next life.
4. "Apple" themed gifts should be outlawed! Oh sure, there are a few teachers (and I do mean "few") who enjoy the stereotypical apple/teacher ornament, but the majority of us would rather pass. Our homes are not decked out in apple motifs, and neither are our classrooms. This is one cliche that has outlived whatever usefulness it once had.
If you truly do want to show your teacher, in a tangible way, how much you appreciate him/her, find out what he/she really does enjoy. Maybe she's not a coffee drinker, but loves Diet Pepsi - buy her a 12 pack! Is he a workout fanatic - get him a free month at his gym. Find out what your teacher collects and add to their collection.
Some fail-safe ways to thank your child's teacher:
1. Everyone has to eat--get her a giftcard to a restaurant.
2. Teachers love books, and often spend their own money on books for their classrooms. Pick up a giftcard to a bookstore so the teacher can buy some books for herself for a change.
3. Most female teachers would love the gift of a manicure or pedicure. We like to look nice, too!4. We like to relax--get us movie tickets!
5. So you say you really love this teacher and want to get her something fabulous--a massage at a local spa would doubtfully be turned away!
My point is this: if what you're really trying to do is show your child's teacher how much you appreciate their hard work and dedication, take the time to actually make a thoughtful purchase. Teachers do not expect gifts. We'd rather have you be your child's best parent possible than to receive another Snoopy mug filled with candy. So, if you are inclined to buy a gift, keep these tips in mind, and your child's teacher will really feel special and appreciated."

Kimberly Massie

Here is my friends response that was never posted or I should say, the comment was not allowed by the moderator of the blog:

"Your comment about Candles and Bath Gifts from students I find to be amazing and actually thoughtless to the children who love their teachers.
More so, I find it very offensive. Parents spend quite a bit of money supplying school supplies for not only their children but for others as well.
Many parents see to it that every fund raiser the school has, they're children not only participate, but excel at sales also.
Yes, teachers have degrees, and many today have Master's Degrees. Parents also have these degrees.
Although your long list of what you would call an appropriate gift for a teacher is grand, I think you need to remember that many children today come from single parent homes, skipped generational homes, foster homes, and the list goes on. Most of these parents share in the joy their children have making their own choice as to what gift to give the teacher. The reason why is because it comes from the heart of that child.
Most importantly, most of these parents I am sure would love to be able to have that extra $25-$150.00 to put food on the table or clothes on children’s backs.
For any teacher to complain about a gift that comes from the heart of a child because it was not, what? good enough? Maybe you need to re-evaluate why you became a teacher to begin with.
I have been raising children for over 30 years and I must say, between my children and grandchildren alone, you are the first to have such an ungrateful attitude about what a child gives a teacher.
There are many teachers I have come to know in the past 25 plus years, not one of them ever complained. As a matter of fact, I know many teachers that love and keep all of the "treasures", regardless if it is something they would not use.
Most importantly, I would love to see the look on a child’s face when their parent says, "Johnny, I do not think you should buy that candle for your teacher, she wants a trip to the day spa instead and we simply can not afford it".
I would not want to be the parent with a child going to school on a special day without a gift for a teacher when that child only wanted to give from the heart.
This article provoked so much thought, I am going to distribute it to all of the family's that we know.
At the next PTA meeting, I will most certainly rally to find out how many teacher's within our community schools feel the same way you do and will also advocate for those students that want to purchase teacher's gifts, to place what ever penny's they have saved up to do so, in a bank account.
Then maybe, if children stopped giving to the teacher, and started putting that money away they will have a nice start on a college fund.
There is this new concept today, it is called re-gifting. There are many people in homeless shelter's, Battered Women's Shelter's. If you truly do not appreciate what children give to you from the bottom of their heart, why don't you take the gifts that are collecting dust in your home and give them to these shelter's. They would most definitely appreciate the thought, and kindness that someone else gave to you.
Most importantly, they would not care you did not like it, because they would be to grateful to have it.
Or, possibly you could have a garage sale and collect enough money to buy that trip to the Day Spa, or lunch wherever you would like, or that movie ticket.
Be grateful that you have a job; many children's parents do not. Be grateful that "Johnny" thought enough of you to want to buy you a present. Chances are, you came before his parents.
Regards,"
"Anonymous"

Looking forward to hearing your comments

Touching lives one minute, one day, one flame at a time.....

We Are Changing

noreply@blogger.com (Ria) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 02:51:00 +0000

Over the next several weeks I will be making some changes on the blogs.

Ria's Collectables Blog will be our main focus by sharing with you many events that affect our every day life.
Here you will find links to blogs that I find of interest mainly because they also affect every day life. You will also find an area that will focus on Reviews of products and just about anything else.
So, if you are looking for help with decorating, cooking, organizing, new candle fragrances, or just want to say hi, I am glad that you took the time to stop.

Touching lives one minute, one day, one flame at a time.....
Ria

Where do Affiliate Responsiblity's End?

noreply@blogger.com (Ria) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 00:54:00 +0000

I am like many people, I enjoy reading, being responsible, and try to stay up on the legislation that may effect small business owners.

In a recent blog article by Brian Clark, a Pro-Blogger, he had a very interesting post regarding bloggers disclosing their affiliate relationships and how the FTC is going to regulate this.

Within this post Brian does have affiliate links and he does disclose that he is an affiliate. Where things can get hairy for anyone who blogs or endorses a product, is if the product is not delivered. Worse yet, what would happen if the contact information, if the product does not deliver, does not work? Case in point is a link that this blogger actually re-blogged about for a product.

In addition to his post, I would add the following:

Before publishing, or "re-publishing" any Affiliate Link as the "Desperate Buyers Only", that you make sure that the link is good. Make sure that your affiliate that is compensating you regardless of the "pennies" is producing the product as they state. Most importantly, make sure that the contact information is correct so that anyone who would possibly click that link could take care of anything that may arise from a product not being delivered.

As in the "Desperate Buyers Only", if purchased, you pay your money, the link is not delivered to you to down load the product, you are referred to an email account, you send an email and no one responds. My opinion only, this reflects negatively on anyone who actually has an association with any affiliate link where product is not delivered as "promised". I am not sure I would want to be tangled with that.

Very good lesson however and it would be very interesting to learn how much of an impact this actually has on anyone who is supporting an affiliate that does not deliver the product, whether they actually know about it or not.

I personally do have affiliate relationships, Google runs adds on my blog, I do link to my business, I do share links that I feel are of interest or may be helpful to others, the links I share may or maynot have items for sale by the people who are affiliated with them, and I do try to take responsibility when it comes to making sure things work properly, after all if I do not, it is my reputation on the line.

For the record, no, Brian did not pay me to say this, nor do I have an affiliate relationship with him; these are my opinions and I welcome other's opinions as well, just as long as I do not have to be responsible for them.

What do you think?

Pregnant, Organized, and Loving it

noreply@blogger.com (Ria) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 04:02:00 +0000

Marcia is one of our Ria's Pay it Forward recipients and also is a very special friend. Well guess what? She is about to embark on one of life's many blessings, she is pregnant with twins!
See how she actually practices her own methods of organizing by using her own advise to stay organized while getting everything ready for the babies.
I love her encouragement!

Credit Card News

noreply@blogger.com (Ria) — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 13:14:00 +0000

For year’s credit card Company’s have dangled the old "you can have what the Jones have", in front of people; and for the most part it worked and they have profited from it.
It is a tragedy to say the least to have any consumer pay in excess of reasonable interest rates. I knew of a family that missed one payment, (first ever) and their interest rate went from 8.99% to almost 23%. The only way to totally put an end to the abuse from the lending institutions is to do as Dave Ramsey does and take the credit cards and cut them up.
Go a head and close the credit card. Yes, you will have to repay it but you were paying it anyway. Put extra money, or find extra money each month to totally pay it off. In the long run, you will be the one coming out on top.
In this week’s newsletter from The Budget Stretcher there is a great link to another website called Credit Card Law regarding recent changes within the credit card industry that is worth reading.
I will admit that I am quite biased regarding the use of any credit cards but that is because I no longer use them which is a personal financial choice and one I have not regretted in 6 years since I cut mine up.
With today’s economic situation finding value for your dollar and making it stretch just a little farther is what we are all striving for.

Creating Empty Bottle Moments

noreply@blogger.com (Ria) — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 16:37:00 +0000

Creating Empty Bottle Moments has finally hit the store shelves.

This recipe is from the Cooking with Clive Blog, this is very easy to make and is absolutely wonderful!

Thank you Clive for your talents

Chicken CARIBBEAN

Ingredients	Serves: 8
1/2 c chopped onion 1 clove garlic, minced 1-tablespoon veg oil to sauté onion and garlic, plus oil to brown chicken later, quant. 2 Hot Peppers, minced, seeds and stems removed 1 c fresh orange juice 1/2 c fresh pineapple juice 1 c chicken broth 1 tbl white vinegar 1 tbls dark rum (optional--..) 1 tbls sugar 1 tbls orange zest 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 1 fryer chicken, about 3 pounds, cut into serving size pieces 1/2 c diced pineapple, preferably fresh
Method Sauté onion and garlic in 1 tbls oil until soft. Add the chilies, orange and pineapple juices, broth, vinegar, rum, sugar, orange zest, cinnamon and cloves. Stir well and simmer this sauce 20-30 minutes until slightly thickened. Dredge chicken pieces in flour and brown well in vegetable oil. Transfer browned chicken to a baking dish. Pour the sauce over the chicken and add the diced pineapple. Bake uncovered until the chicken is done (about an hour, maybe a little less). Baste chicken occasionally with the sauce as it cooks.

Touching lives

noreply@blogger.com (Ria) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 14:08:00 +0000

The Time Has Come

noreply@blogger.com (Ria) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 01:07:00 +0000

2008 is hours away from being at a close. This has been a very large year for many people. Some of us have experienced some very tragic times and some of us have skipped through yet another year without tragedy.

I would like to take this brief moment and say thank you to all of you. You have blessed my life in more ways than any of you can imagine. Through your blessings there has been much heart felt love and gratitude, along with this has come some very special lessons learned.

In reflecting over 2008, there are some special people that have made a tremendous impact on my life and I would like to take this time and thank you personally.

Alvada, I am so thankful for you coming into my life and the moments we have shared. Thank you for helping move toward my life long goal and helping me make it a reality. You and your family have blessed my family and I enormously. Congratulations on your new addition to the family.

Lisa, there are not enough words to explain the gratitude I have for you and your glowing personality. I am so thankful for our friendship and I look forward to many more years. May 2009 be full of love and prosperity for you and my it be a year for more of your beautiful paintings.

Marcia, you are such a special person to me. Your drive is contagious and I thank you for sharing it with all that will listen. You are truly an inspiration.

Etienne, today is your birthday and I hope your day was full of love and happiness. Thank you so much for your friendship and compassion for helping people be safe on line.

Mike, I hope 2009 is full of nothing but the best for you, Robin, and your family. Just by your willingness to share, I have learned so much.

Paul, "Roses on the Windshield" is so beautiful. I wish your family, most importantly, both you and Brenda a very special love filled 2009. I look forward to working with you in the months to come.

Harry, I have faith that you will obtain your goal of helping 1 million people. You have touched the lives of so many already. Thank you so much for your help with Jesse's Blanket of Love.

Jesse's Blanket, a special thank you to Anna and Johnathan Maxwell for the remarkable courage that you have. You have had a tough year and we have all shared in that. 2009 is going to be a very special year for you!

Chef Clive Berkman, "Creating Empty Bottle Moments", is truly a book that every family should own. You have blessed all that have read it and I feel very honored to have reviewed your book. 2009 is going to be a big year for you with your book going public in March. I look forward to "Creating Empty Bottle Moments Revisited".

Last but not least, a very special I Love You to my family, thank you so much for your love and support. I love you all, have a Happy New Year!

Touching lives one minute, one day, one flame at a time.....
Ria

Jesse's Blanket of Love

noreply@blogger.com (Ria) — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 05:05:00 +0000

noreply@blogger.com (Ria) — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 05:03:00 +0000

ICE

noreply@blogger.com (Ria) — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 22:25:00 +0000

I C E- IN CASE OF EMERGENCY

It is not very often I share emails, however, with New Year's right around the corner and many people getting ready for their festive social gatherings, I felt this information was valuable and was very thankful that my friend Pam from Atlanta, Georgia, thought of me when she forwarded it to me.

I would like to take this time and thank the un-named Paramedic who thought of this and cared enough to start to spread the word. Hopefully, we can all do our part in making his/her dream come true.

"We all carry our mobile phones with names & numbers stored in its memory but nobody, other than ourselves, knows which of these numbers belong to our closest family or friends".

"If we were to be involved in an accident or were taken ill, the people attending us would have our mobile phone but wouldn't know who to call. Yes, there are hundreds of numbers stored but which one is the contact person in case of an emergency? Hence; that is how 'ICE' (In Case of Emergency) Campaign came to be."

The concept of 'ICE' is catching on quickly. It is a method of contact during emergency situations. As cell (mobile) phones are carried by the majority of the population, all you need to do is store the number of a contact person or persons who should be contacted during emergency under the name 'ICE' (In Case Of Emergency).

The idea was thought up by a paramedic who found that when he went to the scenes of accidents, there were always mobile phones with patients, but they didn't know which number to call. He therefore thought that it would be a good idea if there was a nationally recognized name for this purpose e. In an emergency situation, Emergency Service personnel and hospital Staff would be able to quickly contact the right person by simply dialing the number you have stored as 'ICE.'

For more than one contact name simply enter ICE1, ICE2 and ICE3 etc. A great idea that will make a difference!

Let's spread the concept of ICE by storing an ICE number in our Mobile phones today!
Please help spread this information by sharing this blog with your friends and family. This is a small task that we all can do to help Emergency Workers do their job.

It really could save your life, or put a loved one's mind at rest. ICE will speak for you when you are not able to.

I am one of the world's worst about the thought process of, "that won't happen to me." I think we have all been there. The truth is however, "it could be me". Forget the concept of what your mother always told you about having clean underwear on, or in today's world, make sure you have some on. Let's make sure that we make just one simple change in our mobile phone address books, you just never know.

I am so passionate about this that if you email me at Ria's Collectables with the number of people (not names), that you share this blog with, than you will receive a 20% discount on your next purchase. Our way of saying thank you for helping spread the word. For more information regarding this project, please visit our Specials Page for more information

Have a safe and wonderful New Year's.

Ria

Help! I've Been Tagged

noreply@blogger.com (Ria) — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 00:35:00 +0000

I have a very dear friend who is the "Organising Queen", I mean she is serious about it. As a matter of fact, I wish I knew how she did it. More importantly, I wish I was as talented as she is and it has given me the incentive to strive harder for 2009.

In August, there was a group of us who took a month long challenge to De-clutter every day for 30 days. At the end of those 30 days, I was amazed at how relieved I started feeling. We all know how that is, things pile up, we get overwhelmed, and life then becomes total chaos.

It appears that those of us who work full time and operate our own business after 5 and juggle a family, seem to know just how fast everything can become cluttered, overwhelming, and quite frankly, TOTALLY OUT OF CONTROL.

Marcia hosts a Friday De-clutter Challenge every week, unfortunately, she tagged me when I was not looking. Therefore, I am over a week late to accepting her challenge but I gladly do.

On a personal note, Marcia, although I have been busy and not keeping up with my weekly reading of the blog, I am proud to share that I have de-cluttered the following over the last several weeks. You see, I have gone back and reviewed all of my material from your ECourses and I am very glad that I took your Course, it is more than worth it's weight in gold to me.

Now for the drum roll........

3,251 emails - DELETED
Computer is now being backed up once a week to a separate drive - OH YEAH
Pictures are being ORGANIZED so that I can find them and I have started to take them to get them printed.
I have un-subscribed to MANY newsletters some successfully, others may have to be reported.
Plus, I have made room for 3 additional household members.

So, my dear friend, I am late to the game but I am working away very hard at all of it thanks to you and all of the support and encouragement you give me.

Now, I get to tag 3 people.....or should I tag more????

So, I am going to tag some people who are very dear to me and have also challenged me in ways that I am grateful for.

Etienne A. Gibbs
Lisa Ann Bonfiglio
Mike Malachefski
Paul Flood
Chef Clive Berkman

May everyone have a wonder Christmas and a great start to the new year!

Touching lives, one minute, one day, one flame at a time.....

Ria

Salvation Army Red Kettle

noreply@blogger.com (Ria) — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 20:47:00 +0000

Have you ever wondered just how the tradition of the Salvation Army's Red Kettle came about?

courtesy of TSA - DFW Metroplex

In 1891, Salvation Army Captain Joseph McFee was distraught because so many poor individuals in San Francisco were going hungry. During the holiday season, he resolved to provide a free Christmas dinner for the destitute and poverty-stricken. He only had one major hurdle to overcome -- funding the project.
Where would the money come from, he wondered. He lay awake nights, worrying, thinking, praying about how he could find the funds to fulfill his commitment of feeding 1,000 of the city's poorest individuals on Christmas Day. As he pondered the issue, his thoughts drifted back to his sailor days in Liverpool, England. He remembered how at Stage Landing, where the boats came in, there was a large, iron kettle called "Simpson's Pot" into which passers-by tossed a coin or two to help the poor.
The next day Captain McFee placed a similar pot at the Oakland Ferry Landing at the foot of Market Street. Beside the pot, he placed a sign that read, "Keep the Pot Boiling." He soon had the money to see that the needy people were properly fed at Christmas.
Six years later, the kettle idea spread from the west coast to the Boston area. That year, the combined effort nationwide resulted in 150,000 Christmas dinners for the needy. In 1901, kettle contributions in New York City provided funds for the first mammoth sit-down dinner in Madison Square Garden, a custom that continued for many years. Today in the U.S., The Salvation Army assists more than four-and-a-half million people during the Thanksgiving and Christmas time periods.
Everywhere, public contributions to Salvation Army kettles enable the organization to continue its year-round efforts at helping those who would otherwise be forgotten.

Bookmark this on Delicious