3 Girls Grove

Eating Outside, Space Aliens, Back Problems

2009-05-02T16:06:00.000-07:00

We had our first meal outside for the 2009 season a couple of weeks ago! It was a bit cool, but the kids wanted to do it. Some friends joined us and we all had a great evening. Our menu was pizza, salad and broccoli.

We had a stranger, alien I'm convinced, visit this afternoon. Scarlet embraced out new friend without hesitation. I on the other hand, am not sure about our visitor.

Blew my back out Thursday morning. On Friday, I went to a massage therapist and she worked me over. As I was leaving, she showed me an exercise that I can do to strengthen my weak muscle. It just so happens to be a stretching motion that I did one week ago, about 150 times over a 3 hour period when I was substituting for a PE teacher. I apparently strained it a week ago, and then it completely blew the other day. I stayed in bed all day Thursday, had the massage Friday, and am feeling much better today (Saturday). The last time I had a problem with my back was almost three years ago, back in September '06. That was a MASSIVE blow out that had me down for three days.

The weather was beautiful Thursday and Friday, even summer like. The grass was begging to be mowed, but I couldn't. It's rained all day today, Saturday, and is expected to rain for the next few days. The grass is going to be a mile high.

Later, Brad
Herbs of Grace, Inc.

April Fools!, Snow, UW Campus, April Sale

2009-04-01T21:35:00.000-07:00

Vanessa and I woke up this morning to “Hey Mom, there’s a rainbow outside!”, “Hey Dad, there’s a bat in the house!”, “Hey Mom, the rabbits and chickens are loose!”, “Hey Dad, there’s a crab in the bathtub” and all of them were followed by “April Fools!”. In the past, there have been bats in the house, the chickens and rabbits have been loose, and there are always rainbows in the yard with three kids in the family. Although I have not seen, nor have I heard any stories about, a crab in the bathtub.

It’s been snowing today. Finally around 2:30, it turned to rain. Begrudgingly, I took the studded snow tires off the car, only because Washington law says I have to. The kids and I were up at the pass yesterday playing in a blizzard. Compact snow and ice on the road starting at about 3000 feet. Seems to me that a two week exemption should be made this year. After I had the tires changed, I read an article in the paper that the state patrol has the authority to make decisions in the field as to whether the studs are needed or not.

We met some friends at the ski area and ended our day swimming in a 100 degree swimming pool, during the blizzard. We ran to the pool in our bathing suits and bare feet, with 6 inches of snow on the ground and snow swirling in the air. After we warmed up, we rolled in the snow and then jumped back into the pool. The girls had a great time. Experiencing a new definition of fun is a great thing!

We were in Seattle the other day for the Whole Foods Holiday show. The girls and I took some time to tour the UW campus.

Suzzallo Library, UW campus.

Fischer Fountain, UW Campus

We also cruised the Student Union and a couple of academic buildings. It was spring break so everything was quiet. We’ll have to visit again during a business day.

One of the kids has been taking pictures again.

March Sunset

Gravel and Grass Collage

All brushes are on sale this month. Check ‘em out. Coupon code is: Brush Sale.

Herbs of Grace Brushes

Later, Brad

Herbs of Grace, Inc.

SkiPig, Parties, Upcoming Events

2009-03-15T21:27:00.000-07:00

The license plate on my rig says SKIPIG. I went skiing today and last Sunday with a couple of buddies. The kids and I went skiing last Thursday. My buddies and I go when there is lots of new snow. We all have passes so we ski the morning and are home by 1:00. I take the kids skiing when it’s nice and sunny. They love it, I love it. It’s a win/win for everybody. Managed to go head over toes and post hole straight into a snow drift. Nothing to see but my butt, legs and skis. Got some great hoots from the chair. It was funny. Rolled out of the hole, covered in snow, giggling, laughing and shaking my head.

We went to a birthday party for Finn this afternoon. We all met a the local bowling alley. Everyone had a great time. We haven’t been bowling for years. The Kids thought bowling was “FUN!” and can’t wait to do it again.

We had a retirement party for Gramma Joyce a couple of weeks ago in Vancouver. The girls wrote a poem and read it to the crowd. Scarlet was a bit intimidated by the situation and held her hands over her eyes the entire reading.

Poem for Gramma

Poem, page 1

Poem, page 2

Herbs of Grace has a few events coming up:

March 25, 2009, 10:00-4:00, Whole Foods Holiday Show
Hotel Deca, 4705 Brooklyn Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98105, 888-818-1831

March 27, 2009, 4:00-6:00, Spring Fling
Country Lunch Box, Mossyrock, WA 98564, 888-818-1831

March 29, 2009, 11:00-2:00, In Store Product Demo and Makeovers
New Seasons Markets, Orenco Station, 1453 NE 61st Ave., Hillsboro, OR 97124, 503-648-6968 call for an appointment.

March 29, 2009, 3:00-6:00, In Store Product Demo and Makeovers
Food Front Southwest, 6344 SW Capitol Highway, Hillsdale Shopping Center, Portland, Oregon 97239, 503.546.6559

We are also keeping our fingers crossed in hopes that Whole Foods, Inc. accepts our product line for a holiday show coming up on March 18, 2009. We’ll keep you posted. - UPDATE: Got word from WF that we have been invited to attend the show! See above for details.

You can see more on our events page.

Later, Brad

Herbs of Grace

Early Morning, Spring and the Economy, Daylite Savings.

2009-03-04T21:28:00.000-08:00

Maleah used to get up with me in the morning to see me off to work. It was a nice start to my day. She and I would talk small and look at each other bleary eyed, while eating our oatmeal. After breakfast, she and Sheba our dog, would walk to the end of the driveway to give me a send off as I drove up the road. The other morning, Maleah grabbed the camera to take some early AM shots.

Early Morning I

Early Morning II

Early Morning III

After I leave, she gets some quality computer time before everyone else wakes up.

All the girls performed at their piano recital in early February. Here are some movies.

The economic news these days is not optimistic, which makes Springs job all the more important. We have appreciated the dry Winter and mild January and February, but are looking forward to a renewed and refreshing take on life. Had it been a cold, wet, dreary Winter, I think the economy would have overwhelmed us. As it is, thanks in part to the mild weather, I just put it out of my mind, there is nothing I can do about it anyway.

We had a 20% sale on all multi-purpose colors during February. Out next sale is during April; you’ll get 20% off all brush purchases. All of our specials are posted at the top of our home page.

Vanessa has been tending her green house all winter. We have a couple of heat lamps on a thermometer switch to keep the tiny starts happy. The lights come on at 38 degrees and kick off at 45 or so. She’s been harvesting greens for salads the past couple of weeks.

Green House, Winter '09

Daylight savings time is upon us. Set your clocks ahead one hour this Sunday.

Later, Brad
Herbs of Grace, Natural Look Mineral Makeup

Rain, Old Green House Goodbye, Beautiful Weather, Birthday Party.

2009-01-22T21:18:00.000-08:00

We had torrents of rain in late December. Check it out.

I got rid of the old green house today. This rickety old thing served us well until we got our new green house in the garden. You can see another picture of it in this panorama: May 22, 2007, Lawn repair, Other yard projects and Weather.

Old Green House.

Green house fully engulfed.

No more green house.

We roasted marshmallows after the flames died down. I’ll til the ground and plant grass seed and by May it will be completely gone. Actually, I’m going to build an arbor and the old green house needed to go.

We’ve had quite a stretch of un-winter like weather. Starting a couple of weeks back, the sun has been out, little to no wind, and hardly a cloud in the sky. Very un-western Washington for this time of year. This is a welcome reprieve from the 3 weeks of snow and torrential rain we had in late December and early January.

There is 5 year old in the house! Isabel had her party on Sunday. With perfect weather, we spent almost the entire day outside. We started out the day with hot chocolate at the picnic table, then had a treasure hunt. After the treasure hunt, we had lunch and cake, then presents. Everyone was relaxed and happy about the weather and company. It was a great “day off” for all.

Birthday Girl.

Later, Brad.

Back to Herbs of Grace.

Full Circle, Summer Projets, Fall Trade Show

2008-11-08T21:16:00.000-08:00

Fall temperatures, shorter days, great flora displays, messing with the clocks and the creek started flowing again, once again brings us full circle. We are getting ready to hunker down for the winter; piling in the wood, one last mow of the yard, putting the yard furniture away. V has been busy in the garden prepping the beds for winter planting. We found an old fiberglass green house back in May. V had it full of starts in the spring and now has different starts for the fall/winter. We have heat lamps for when it gets really cold, but I don’t know if they will be enough to ward off the super cold nights. We’ll see.

Greenhouse and garden.

Did a bit of landscaping this summer. I cleared some scrubby brush and was able to till and grade the area smooth. At least it’s mow-able now. For me, it’s better than trashy looking brush. I also took the tiller to our path system. I have measured a bunch of paths around the yard, but I haven’t done anything but till them. I need to get 6″ of sawdust, or bark chips on the paths to keep the weeds down. Also dressed up the driveway with some additional gravel. Sure looks nice with sharp edges and smooth, even surface. We’ll see how it looks after a couple of months of rain and driving.

New gravel on the driveway.

We have a 100′x150′ pasture area that we have never maintained, so the grass grows to darn near 8′ tall. I took a brush hog to it and made a maze system for M’s birthday party. It was great fun. The grass is tall enough so that the kids can’t see over it. They really enjoyed it.

Oh, and I suppose the highlight of the summer landscaping is the labyrinth.

Yard labyrinth.

There is only one entrance and one exit. The labyrinth is designed around 7 fruit trees. The paths are about mower width, the flower beds between the paths are about 18″ wide. We’ll plant mint, black-eyed Susans, rosemary and lavender. Should be neat next summer.

We returned from a trade show in Seattle on Sunday night. The show was good for us in that we get to talk with our sales reps and make sure they know how to sell our product line.

Later, Brad

Return to Herbs of Grace

New Display Holds Timeless Color Palette.

2008-11-01T21:15:00.000-07:00

PRESS RELEASE

Smaller footprint, lower price, same great quality.

MOSSYROCK, Washington — November 1, 2008 — Herbs of Grace, Inc. is proud to announce the addition of a new display to our line; the Madrone.

The Madrone is compact product display, with a well designed product layout. Its color palette is timeless and will outlast color swings caused by fads and fashion hype.

The Madrone includes: 2 each plus tester, of 16 multipurpose colors and 6 foundation shades. Also included are two different Kabuki brushes; a natural hair Kabuki and a vegan bristle Kabuki. These items are necessary for any person to maintain a serious makeup collection.

The Madrones tight dimensions measure out at 14.5” wide, by 16.5” deep and 14” tall. Also available is a floor stand that elevates the Madrone to a comfortable counter height.

The first 9 Madrone displays were placed in the New Seasons Markets, in Portland, OR.

The Madrone is ready for placement in all retail establishments. It wholesales for $299. Manufacturers suggested retail price is $545.

Madrone Display

– END –

Permission to Reprint: Journalists, newsletter publishers, bloggers and others: Reprint of any Herbs of Grace, Inc.® press release must include our URL; http://www.herbsofgrace.com. Thanks.

Contact: Brad Klein
301 Young Rd., Mossyrock, WA 98564
brad@herbsofgrace.com
www.herbsofgrace.com
888-817-1831

Mothering Magazine

2008-07-10T21:12:00.000-07:00

PRESS RELEASE

Article highlights Natural Look Mineral Makeup™

MOSSYROCK, Washington — July 10, 2008 — We are proud to be included in the current issue of Mothering Magazine. Mothering mag showcased our products as a “Stroke of Genius” item in the July/August issue, page 82. Mothering magazine can be found online at mothering.com.

Mothering Magazine

– END –

Permission to Reprint: Journalists, newsletter publishers, bloggers and others: Reprint of any Herbs of Grace, Inc.® press release must include our URL; http://www.herbsofgrace.com. Thanks.

Contact: Brad Klein
301 Young Rd., Mossyrock, WA 98564
brad@herbsofgrace.com
www.herbsofgrace.com
888-817-1831

Rabbits, Camping, New display

2008-06-22T21:10:00.000-07:00

That pesky wabbit! That big white rabbit I was writing about in my previous post, turned out to be a male and yup, you guessed it, knocked up the female he was frolicking with. Now we have 6 baby rabbits! Thankfully all of them are spoken for. V and the kids ended up catching him, so now at least he’s caged, but we do need to find a home for him. (insert favorite expletive here, and begin gnashing teeth)

Pesky Wabbit.

We went camping at our local camp ground early last week. It was a bit cool and windy, but the sun was out and the temperature eventually warmed up. We fished with the kids new fishing poles, played at the play area, hiked, enjoyed the camp fire, roasted marshmallows, stayed up late telling stories around the campfire and took campfire smoke baths. The kids really enjoyed living outside. Hopefully next time, it’ll be warmer and we can swim. All in all, a successful trip.

We received shipment of our new display. The Madrones color palette is timeless and will outlast color swings caused by fads and fashion hype. It includes: 12 basic colors and 6 foundations, that every person needs to maintain a serious makeup collection, and it has 4 extra slots for seasonal offerings. It is ready for placement in retail outlets now. (Press Release)

Madrone mineral makeup display.

Later, Brad

Return to Herbs of Grace

SNOW!, Rabbits, New Display

2008-04-19T21:09:00.000-07:00

April 19, 2008. Woke up to SNOW flurries this morning. Not too bad really, a slight dusting of snow across the yard. Although, as morning progressed, the snow has increased. At 11:00am there was an inch of snow on the picnic table outside the office window. Our breathable house is in need of a heat fix. The pass is reporting 18 degrees with 7″ of new over night. The girls wanted to ski today, but with 18 degrees, I vetoed. We were hoping for a sunny spring day. The ski area closes next Sunday, so we gotta do it next weekend.

Last ski day of the season.

1:00 Update: 3″ of snow on the picnic table, but now we see some blue sky.

We have two female rabbits. They live in their cages, quite happily, along the edge of the garden. Recently, there has been a large white rabbit that has been visiting. We don’t know where it comes from, nor where it goes to when it leaves. It used to arrive around dusk, although it has become quite bold over the past few weeks and makes appearances often, during the day, now. The other day, V came home from teaching her belly dance class, around 7:30. She noticed that Jessica, one of the females, and this new rabbit were frolicing in the yard together. Apparently, the large white rabbit has figured out how to open the latch on Jessicas cage. Anyway, V put Jessica back in the cage and all was safe at Three Girls Grove again. About 15 minutes later, I yells, “Hey, Jessica is in the yard with the white rabbit!” So with a flurry of activity, the three kids dash out the door, round up Jessica and put her back in the cage a second time. This time, adjusting the latch. A few days later, a good friend of ours tells us that rabbits ovulate ON DEMAND, UPON INSERTION! We don’t know if the visiting rabbit is male or female. Time will tell if Three Girls Grove is safe for rabbits. Stay tuned, we may have free bunnys available.

Our new display prototype will be arriving later this week. We have three displays. The Sequoia is our flagship display, that holds our entire product line. The Cedar holds half of our product line, and the new Madrone display will hold about a third of our product line. I’ll post some pictures when it arrives.

Later, Brad

Take me back to Herbs of Grace

The Big Trade Show, Grandparents, Bunk Beds

2008-03-17T21:08:00.000-07:00

This afternoon, we got back from ExpoWest 2008, the largest natural products trade show in the world. We visited with a many of our current customers and a LOT of potential new customers. Traveling to Los Angeles is not high on my list of things to do, but once we had the booth set up and folks started to cruise by, everything seemed to be all right. We gave out all of our paper information, and all but 25 sample cards. We took 1500 cards with us. I don’t know how many people we talked with, but our contact list contains about 4 times more names than last year. I’ll be swamped for the next two months following up. Luckily it slowed down on Sunday, my voice was giving out at the end.

The kids stayed with V’s parents while we were at the show. They also spent time with aunts and got their portrait photographs taken, did lots of crafts, took walks with Grandpa, and watched TV, which they don’t get to do at home. They were in heaven. Grandpa even drove us to the airport at 5:30am and then picked us up this afternoon. What a guy! He said grandma wasn’t as frazzled this year as she was last year. Either she has loosened up, or the kids were easier on her. Maybe a little of both.

When we got home, the kids wanted to set up the bunk beds. We now have three twin beds, of which two bunk. So we spent the evening yanking the king bed out of their room, vacuuming, and setting up the bunks and the single twin. The kids are digging the new setup. V and I now have a bedroom to ourselves. We’ve had a twin bed snuggled up to our bed in our room for the past eight years. For the past year, the twin has been there mostly as a safety net. They all slept in the king, in their room, then M wanted to sleep in a twin in the play room, but now, they all want their own sleeping space. They are growing up so fast. Too fast.

Later, Brad.

Back to Herbs of Grace

Herbs of Grace, Inc., 20% OFF During March Line Drive.

2008-02-15T21:07:00.000-08:00

PRESS RELEASE

Mineral makeup manufacturer to offer 20% off
entire product line during March 2008.

MOSSYROCK, Washington — February 15, 2008 — March is Mineral Makeup Month at Herbs of Grace, Inc. We are placing our entire line of products on 20% discount during the month of March 2008.

You will automtically receive a 20% discount on all Herbs of Grace, Inc. products invoiced from March 1, 2008 through March 31, 2008, including: Natural Look Mineral Makeup™, Vegan Lip Balm™, and Herbs of Grace Brushes.

We are also ready to place an ad in your March advertising flyer to promote the line drive. Please contact Brad at 360-635-8799 or brad@herbsofgrace.com before running ad.

If you need more time to prepare for a 20% off sale and ad placement, please let me know and we’ll run a line drive at your store when it fits your needs.

– END –

Permission to Reprint:
Journalists, newsletter publishers, bloggers and others: Reprint of any Herbs of Grace, Inc.® press release must include our URL; http://www.herbsofgrace.com. Thanks.

Contact: Brad Klein
301 Young Rd., Mossyrock, WA 98564
brad@herbsofgrace.com
www.herbsofgrace.com
888-817-1831

Herbs of Grace, Inc., Bag Stuffing Program

2008-02-15T21:03:00.000-08:00

PRESS RELEASE

Bag stuffing program will fetch 20% off for selected retailers.

MOSSYROCK, Washington — February 15, 2008 — Herbs of Grace, Inc. will kick-off our 20% off, Bag Stuffing Program, on March 1, 2008, for selected retailers. You may participate during any one week period during the month of March, 2008. If you receive this press release, you are eligible to participate.

To participate in the Bag Stuff program, you will receive a 20% discount on all Herbs of Grace, Inc. products invoiced from March 1, 2008 through March 31, 2008, including: Natural Look Mineral Makeup™, Vegan Lip Balm™, and Herbs of Grace Brushes. This discount is to be passed on to Herbs of Grace, Inc. customers.

Retailers must agree to:
* Contact Herbs of Grace, Inc. to tell us you want to participate in the Bag Stuff program. Call or email Brad Klein at 360-635-8799, brad@herbsofgrace.com.
* Let us know how many samples you will need for a one week period.
* Discount comsumer purchases on Herbs of Grace products by at least 20% during the Month of March 2008.
* At the cash register, stuff all FEMALE CUSTOMER bags with one, supplied sample for a one week period during the month of March 2008.

– END –

Permission to Reprint:
Journalists, newsletter publishers, bloggers and others: Reprint of any Herbs of Grace, Inc.® press release must include our URL; http://www.herbsofgrace.com. Thanks.

Contact: Brad Klein
301 Young Rd., Mossyrock, WA 98564
brad@herbsofgrace.com
www.herbsofgrace.com
888-817-1831

Life, Birthday Parties, Time

2008-01-12T21:02:00.000-08:00

Life has been busy, lately. Numerous times over the past couple of months, I have told myself… “I should blog about this moment”, and then proceed to carry on with dinner, reading to the kids, catching up with work, or taking the trash out. They are priceless moments, too. The kids are doing something really funny, or smart, I am with the kids in the yard and get a new idea for a yard toy, or I’m sitting with my arm around a kid. These moments are almost always associated with the kids and wife. Call me sentimental. Anyway… I get these great blog ideas, and like I said, I completely let them wash over me and I never get to the computer to put them down in words. I like the blog, it’s not like I dislike writing or reading the blog. As a matter of fact, I love reading old posts. It’s sort of like opening the old photograph drawer and grabbing a handful of old photos for a few minutes. But, alas, I’ve been delinquent in writing the past couple of months. Primarily because I am now working the day shift, and V is working nights, so I don’t have the quiet time to blog. As the kids get older they are more independent and I do have more time during the day if I were to take advantage of it. Of course it seems like yesterday that V and I were literally running through the day dealing with family issues.

Isabel turned four today. Actually she turns four on Tuesday, but we had a party for her today. Just before we brought out the cake, she stopped me and said “I want you to sing the birthday song like this, and then proceeded to sing “Happy birthday to you, you live in a zoo, you act like a monkey and you look like one to.” Somehow, even after this wonderful demonstration, this didn’t click on everyone and we sang it with the regular words. Poor I. She cried and cried. Wouldn’t blow her candles out. So we sang it again, her version. All the kids got wands from Olivanders.

Birthday girl.

V and I were talking this afternoon about an event that happened nine years ago, before kids! I can’t believe how fast time goes by. Is it an age thing, or is it the kids that change the speed of time? Einstein said that time is relative, yes? I wonder if this is what he meant?

Later, Brad

Return to Herbs of Grace

Day shift, hair cuts, the creek, hunkering down, and business

2007-10-22T21:00:00.000-07:00

Wow. It’s been awhile. V and I swapped shifts. She now is working the swing and I’m doing days. Swing is the “non-business” hours shift, meaning I did not need to fill my day with phone calls and ordering. Now that I’m on days, I spend more time marketing and dealing with customers, since “business hours” are when everyone else is open. On swing, I had more time to spend on the blog and the web site. Seems it has affected our Google rank. We were at 30 and now we are at 36 for a “mineral makeup” search.

M and S asked V to cut their hair the other day. M got tired of dealing with the knots. M had hair to her waist, S had hair to her mid back. Now M has a “Hermione Granger” hair cut, and Scarlet has a shoulder length bob. Both cuts are very sassy. Neither of them have had their hair cut since birth. Well, that’s not true. M cut S’s hair when she was about two. Butchered it. I has decided to keep her hair as is for the time being, can’t remember if she has been the recipient of any hair cutting experiments or not.

Our seasonal creek is flowing again. The ponds are full and refreshing as the new water displaces the old, down the creek. The lower pond is spring fed, which is really nice. It stayed full the entire summer. The upper pond, tho, is not spring fed, so it lost about half of it’s volume since the creek quit flowing in early July. Here’s a pic.

Seasonal creek.

With the early onset of cooler weather, we have fired up the wood burning stove. We started burning in early October, perhaps even late September, I can’t remember. I pulled the room heaters out of storage and set them up. They are controlled by timers, so they come on in the morning and go off in the evening by themselves. We are back to long sleeves and long pants. This summer was too short, and too cool.

We exhibited at the NorthWest Natural trade show in Seattle a couple of weeks ago. Trade shows give us a chance to meet some of our retailers. Most retailers contact us via phone or email, and business is transacted in a rather blind sort of way. I really enjoy visiting with customers. Perhaps I am commenting on my social life, lack of one really, but I like putting faces to names and a trade show is a great place to do that. Over all, the show was good. We came back with a list of new contacts, sold a couple of displays and had some great face time with our sales reps.

Later, Brad.

Back to Herbs of Grace

Industry Micronized Mineral Controversy

2007-09-24T20:46:00.000-07:00

PRESS RELEASE

Herbs of Grace, Inc.® Does Not Use Micronized Minerals.

MOSSYROCK, Washington — September 24, 2007 — There is a current industry controvesy concerning micronized minerals in mineral makeup and sunscreen formulas. Micronization generally refers to the process of using nano-technology to reduce the size of mineral pigments to nano-particles. Micronization of minerals is very controversial because it was never adequately studied before being made available to the industry. Currently it is being studied, with some disturbing results. It seems the particles become so small in the micronization process, that they can actually enter the tissues of the skin. Additionally, the micronization process changes Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide from physical UV blockers to UV absorbers, which means that if it does enter the skin, it is taking the absorbed UV rays with it.

Because there has been no general conclusion as to the safety of micronized minerals, Herbs of Grace, Inc.® does not use them, and never has used them, in any of our product lines.

The average size particles for our Titanium Dioxide is 1.5 microns.
In comparison, micronized Titanium Dioxide particles average 0.0015 microns.
We do not use Zinc Oxide in our formulations.

– END –
Permission to Reprint:

Journalists, newsletter publishers, bloggers and others: Reprint of any Herbs of Grace, Inc.® press release must include our URL; http://www.herbsofgrace.com. Thanks.

Contact: Brad Klein
301 Young Rd., Mossyrock, WA 98564
brad@herbsofgrace.com
www.herbsofgrace.com
888-817-1831

The simplest things…

2007-08-20T20:44:00.000-07:00

I put a clean towel next to the sink this evening. You remember our house, don’t you? It’s the one that breathes during the winter. Everything in it is also crooked. The windows don’t quite fit, the plumbing works and does not leak, but it looks like it belongs in a Mouse Trap game. Even with all that is wrong with the house, I’m amazed what clean counters and a new dish towel does for it. Maybe I’ve had one too many cocktails, call me simple, whatever, clean counters and a new dish towel makes my day.

House from back yard.

The summer is cruising along. It’s been unseasonably cool and wet this summer. It rained so hard early this morning, I thought the house would be washed off the foundation. I don’t mind, tho. I’m not a hot weather person, unless I can be out in the boat or swimming all afternoon. The kids love the cooler weather. I’m amazed with how much more they play outside, when it’s cool and slightly overcast, then when it’s clear and 85 degrees. When it’s hot, they come in saying “it’s too hot” and plop down on the sofa to watch a video or continue some ongoing project. If I can get them going in the deep shade of our friendly maple tree along the edge of the ravine, they sometime will play when it’s hot, but not often.

Business has really picked up during June, July and this first part of August. V and I really need to watch supplies and materials so we don’t run out. We need to start ordering higher volumes of ingredients, displays, containers, etc, and then order when we are about half-way through them so we can build in some time for shipping and the occasional mis-shipped, or lost items. What would be a fiasco for a large company is usually solved with a quick phone call to a customers about a back ordered item. It’s still a hassle when we don’t have the items to ship. We keep learning, thankfully.

Later, Brad

Back to Herbs of Grace

Summer Solstice, Allergies, Favorite Day

2007-06-21T20:39:00.000-07:00

The second best day of the year. June 21. It was a beauty in Mossyrock, today. 75 degrees, slight breeze, mostly clear sky with occasional clouds drifting by. A perfect NW day. The only way it could have been better is if we had been racing yachts on Bellingham bay. We stayed up late tonight and went out into the yard to look for faries. Didn’t see any, but the kids are sure they heard some. We had three excited kids when we got back inside.

Three fairies after a piano recital.

The allergy season is upon our household. I usually get hit in late May, and it lasts through June. This year, my watering eyes and sneezing didn’t start until June 16. It hit M, also. She gets to rubbing her eyes and they puff up and her poor little face turns red. We take a break and head to the bathroom to gently wash faces, necks, hands and arms in hopes of reducing the dreaded pollen load on our bodies. I really feel sorry for her. If any of you have a bullet proof solution, please let me know. I’ve tracked the tree/weed/grass/mold counts and I think our problem is mold/grass. I’ll keep tracking to see if I can confirm.

I’ll send a free lip balm to the first five folks to guess my most favorite day of the year.

Later, Brad

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Lawn repair, Other yard projects and Weather.

2007-05-22T22:05:00.000-07:00

We’ve been busy in the yard lately. The biggest chore, besides the constant attention the vegetable garden needs, is the front lawn. I say lawn, when actually, our yard has never been landscaped. The yard is covered with field grass that has been mowed, but it has never been weeded, fertilized, or had any attention payed to it. Before we bought the house, the front yard had been scraped of briers and weeds, and the offending debris and top soil, were pushed into the ravine. As a result, we have huge patch of clay where nothing will grow. When we excavated the ponds last fall, I had the silt dumped on the bare patch. The dirt sat there, all winter and early spring until it dried enough to til, spread, level, rake and seed. And now grass has sprouted! I’m hoping to mow for the first time before S’s birthday party in early June.

Backyard panorama.

We have planted two cherry, two apple, two peach, a pear and six quaking aspen trees. Also, hundreds of other odd flowers, bulbs, plants and shrubs that my sister gave us. I even trenched the middle of our well packed gravel driveway and filled it with topsoil so I can plant it. Not sure what I’ll plant. V has some nifty creeping thyme seed that should work well in that area. Something I won’t have to mow.

We had a nice stretch of weather over the past couple of weeks. The nice weather allowed me to get the “lawn” in shape. And luckily, it rained over the past three days, so the seed got some much needed water. I’m sure I’ll have to water for the next couple of weeks, tho. We even burned a fire to keep the chill off the house. We are due for some partly cloudy weather for the next week or so. That will help the lawn. Better than getting dried out with full sun.

I still need to do some tilling around the yard. We have many areas that are in need of weeding, smoothing and planting. Wildflowers here, clover there, anything that doesn’t need mowing. Let me know what works best for ground cover.

Later, Brad
Herbs of Grace, Inc.

Winter wrap-up, Goldfish, New Seasons Markets

2007-04-24T21:59:00.000-07:00

I think Spring has finally arrived. We no longer use the wood stove everyday, the rain isn’t quite a persistent, (as a result, the water flow in the creek has diminished a bit) and the most sad of all, the local ski area, White Pass, is open only weekends until the end of April, then it will close for the season. The kids really enjoyed skiing this year. We hope to hit it one more time this coming weekend. Fingers are crossed for clear weather.

The kids got 100 goldfish the other day and put them in the lower pond. I didn’t realize goldfish school, so now when we go to the pond, we make a game of seeing who can find the school of goldfish first. They are often in two schools, lately. So now we have twice the fun. I’d like to get some trout for the upper pond, since it is always in the shade, but I think I’ll watch the upper pond this summer to see what type of temperature fluctuations it goes through, and how much evaporation occurs during the hot weather. If any one has “fish in pond” experience, please send my a note or leave a comment.

Casting practice.

We did a staff training the other day, at our newest retail customer New Seasons Markets, in Portland, OR. We visited with the Health and Beauty Aids managers. We discussed the product line, our company history, application tips, display options, did a couple of makeovers, and had a great lunch. Natural Look Mineral Makeup™ is officially available in the New Seasons Markets on May 1, but we are in 3 of their stores now and the rest of the displays will be delivered this Friday. We got an exciting phone call from our rep in the SW region (AZ, NM, UT, CO, NV, WY). More about that later, if/when it pans out.

Later, Brad
Herbs of Grace, Inc.

New Sample Display Board available for Natural Look Mineral Makeup.

2007-04-20T21:56:00.000-07:00

PRESS RELEASE

New display allows Herbs of Grace product placement in as little as 5.5” (width) of shelf space.

MOSSYROCK, Washington — April 20, 2007 — Herbs of Grace, Inc. is pleased to present out newest retail display option; the Sample Display board(s). The Sample Display is comprised of four sections. The three smallest sections are 5.5” wide each. The one large section is 10.75” wide. The full Sample Display measures 27.25”.

Rhododendron display together.

Rhododendron display separated.

The individual pieces can display part of our product line, or the boards can be ? t together to display the entire product line of 66 skus. The display can be layed ? at, angled at ~22 degrees or ~40 degrees. At 22 degrees, it is 5.25” tall at the back. At 40 degrees, it is 9” tall at the back. The front is always .75” tall. The boards are 16” long.
This display does not hold inventory, only samples.

– END –
Permission to Reprint: Journalists, newsletter publishers, bloggers and others: You may reprint any Herbs of Grace, Inc. press release as long as you include a hot URL to our website, http://www.herbsofgrace.com

Contact: Brad Klein
301 Young Rd., Mossyrock, WA 98564
brad@herbsofgrace.com
www.herbsofgrace.com
888-817-1831

Snow?, Old Maple Tree, Follow up

2007-04-02T21:39:00.000-07:00

Snow on April 2.

It’s been so cold here the past few days, I’m ready to go back to full winter clothing. Although, we had a nice stretch of weather over the past couple of weeks, spring definitely had sprung. We had begun to dress lighter, the girls are in spring dresses, I even wore shorts a week ago.

And then this. Snow. 0 centigrade over night. Cold house in the morning. I’m ready for warmer weather.

I cut a big maple tree in the yard the other day. It had not fully leafed for the past two summers. 30% of the branches had leaves on it last summer. A friend dropped in the other day, looked at the maple and said, “it’s dead”. Lots of maples are dying in eastern Lewis county. No one knows why. Could be warming, could be pollution encroachment from the valley, could be anything. When I made the last cut and the tree hit the lawn, it shattered into thousands of pieces. Much of the wood was past dead, and had dried on the limb. The bark fell off main branches, the limbs shattered, there were all sorts of bugs in the canopy. I cut the tree about 15′ up in hopes of sprouting new shoots. My friend says it won’t sprout. We’ll see.

I did the last of the follow up from the trade show last night. A few days after the show I sent everyone a quick email “thank you” and yesterday, I sent a post card. I love visiting with customers to answer questions, send samples or brochures, zap email back and forth, etc. Don’t hesitate to write.

Later, Brad
Herbs of Grace, Inc.

Spring skiing, ExpoWest2007, New look for website

2007-03-15T21:13:00.000-07:00

Some friends went skiing with us today. I think it was the closest thing to a perfect ski day that we could have asked for. We had a great trip up and back. While we were there, ALL four of us rode the platter pull. It’s the next step up from the magic carpet in the lift system at White Pass. The older girls are all over it. There is a subtle challenge between them to see who can get to the bottom first. The youngest is a bit uncertain about the bigger hill. At three years old, she’s doing great so I don’t want to scare her off. But I have to tell you, I had a tear in my eye this afternoon. All of us were at the bottom of the lift, and one by one, they got on the lift, and off they went. I brought up the rear watching my three kids ahead of me, on the platter pull! It was super cool. Here's a pic of the trip home.

We got back from ExpoWest2007 Natural Products trade show in LA, on Monday afternoon. We had a great show. Met LOTS of retailers interested in mineral makeup. We came home to a bunch of back orders, which we have just now gotten on top of. Tomorrow we will start the follow-up on the leads from the show. Hopefully some of them will pan out so that we can get more retail stores carrying our line. Perhaps one of them will be near you.

We will be overhauling our website soon, hopefully by this weekend. Nothing drastic, but the homepage will have a new look and finding products will be a bit easier. We are still the same company, with the same great products, that you have come to know and we hope you like our new look.

Later, Brad
Herbs of Grace, Inc. website

Snow, Spring, Big Business News

2007-03-01T21:11:00.000-08:00

It’s been snowing here the past couple of days. The girls are diggin’ it. They recruited me to build a snow castle this afternoon. The local ski area has a snow castle as part of their Winter Carnival every year. The kids remember the carnival from last year so they want a snow castle in our yard, “like the one at White Pass”. We’ll be heading to the pass this weekend to check it out.

Even though it’s snowing, the spring buds are popping out everywhere! Spring is in the air. You can see it, smell it, feel it. Maybe it’s just me, but I swear, it’s too warm to be snowing. Maybe our “breathing” house has me used to the cooler temps.

When the sky is clear, the daylight lasts until darn near 6:30. I’m one of those who loves winter temps and snow, but I hate the short days. November, December and January are gloomy for me. Finally in February, I can start detecting the longer days, especially with the clear sky.

The business received a great boost the other day. A local chain of eight natural food stores in Portland, OR, New Seasons Markets, has told us that they want our products in ALL of their stores. This is our first chain! This is big news and we’re all buzzed about it, have been for about a week now. Keep asking your local natural food store if they carry Natural Look Mineral Makeup(TM). If they don’t, have them contact us at 888-817-1831. We’d be happy to set them up.

House Guests, Library, The Big Trade Show

2007-02-12T21:51:00.000-08:00

Thank the High Spirits! We're having house guests tomorrow and we had to clean the house. Seems like the only time the house gets cleaned is when someone outside the immediate family is visiting. We not only shoveled the piles but we hosed out the interior as well. Don't know why we wait until the last minute, but it seems to be the thing to do around here. Even the kids pitched in to help. Sorry no pictures, wouldn't have posted them if there were.

Story time at the Library tomorrow morning. We are big fans of the library on Tuesdays. The librarians are the greatest folks, and the kids especially love the librarian who reads to them. They read for 20-30 minutes, then do an activity for 15 minutes or so. After that it's off to the stacks for some books. It's a great time all around.

The BIG trade show, ExpoWest 2007 is coming up March 9-11 in Anaheim, CA. I think I've mentioned it before. This is a huge deal for us. There are over 3000 natural product vendors displaying goods, and ~50k people are expected to walk the floor. We are working on our display, getting samples put together, buying airline tickets, etc. I'm excited about it, but I also will be very happy when it is over. If you are going to the show, swing by booth #4704 and say "Hi". Tell me you read the blog and I'll give you a tube of Lip Balm of your choice.

Later, Brad
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Skiing

2007-01-27T21:51:00.000-08:00

I took the girls skiing yesterday. The sun was out, the sky was blue, we got an 11:00 start, it was a wonderful day. We have tried early starts in the past, but the mornings seem so hectic. Since we only ski for a couple of hours, it doesn't matter if we get to the slopes by 9:00 or 12:00. We pulled into the parking lot, put on our gear, ate lunch and then off we went. It was great! I am now a firm believer in sunny days and late starts for small childeren.

We got lucky with ski gear. A college buddy has kids about 8 years older then mine. He still had some gear in his basement that he was looking for an excuse to give away. It pays to tell your friends what you are up to.

White Pass has a beginning skier lift called "The Magic Carpet". It is a large conveyor belt that the kids can ski onto at the bottom, and it spits them out at the top. It's only about 75 feet long, but the girls absolutely love it. AND, it's free. I love it, too. Nothing but sunny smiles all around. I loaded my pockets with a water bottle, bag of carrots and crackers. The kids would ski past me, hold out their hand or open their mouth for a quick treat, without hardly stopping. Maybe one of them will become a racer after all.

Later, Brad
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Winter Break, Frozen Pipe, Lost Acquaintance, Refrigerators

2007-01-15T21:44:00.000-08:00

Where have I been? I noticed that my last post was December 17. Life gets in the way sometimes. We took two trips for the business, had lots of friends and family over for the holidays, then it snowed and we've been in a freezing weather pattern for the past week so I've been busy keeping the house warm.

A pipe froze over night so we didn't have any hot water for a few hours. Luckily, the pipe didn't burst. I was able to thaw the pipe and then reinsulate so, hopefully, it won't happen again. I got to looking around the pipe, it's in the pantry, and noticed that daylight was coming though the corner of the room. Upon closer inspection, I noticed the the critters pulled all the insulation from a crack in the wall and a nice stream of cold air had been blasting the pipe all night. Turns out, the pantry has pulled away from the house so there is a seam that has opened in the siding about an inch wide. Got it reinsulated and sealed up from the outside. Now I have one more "to do" on the list for this summer. I should post the list sometime and get your input. This old house, I tell you....

Got a nice note from a friend whom we met in Japan. He and his wife and kids stayed the following school year (05-06) and then came back to the states this past June. His note was the perfect mid-winter lift. Not only was it a real correspondence, but it was from someone I thought I would probably never see again. One of those past acquaintences that are helpful, outgoing, and truly friendly. We were beginning to know this family, and our kids were similar ages, so our relationship could have blossomed into something more than casual. Then we came back to the states and this family, along with all of the folks we met in Japan, are suddenly part of our past. Well, Brian crossed that bridge and wrote a great note and let us know what they are up to and how they are settling into life back in the USA. It was really nice. Thanks, Brian.

A shelf in our refrigerator broke this evening, just at dinner time. #^*%! refer. It fits this old house too well. It seems to run ok, but the interior is shot. I'll see what I can do about repairing the shelf tomorrow and let you know if I succeed.

As mentioned above, we've been traveling a bit for the business. We like to touch bases with the local stores that carry our products. We got as far north as Bellingham, WA, and we've been as far south as Portland, OR. We often will do an event, or simply swing in to ask how things are going and if there is anything we can do for the retailer. If the retailer is far away, we find a makeup artist in the area and hire them to make an appearance and do a demo. If you are interested in doing this, please let us know. You might check the store locations link to see if we have a store in your area.

Later, Brad
Herbs of Grace

Careful What You Wish For

2006-12-16T21:42:00.000-08:00

OK. The COLD weather has arrived. As much as I’d like the ponds to freeze, I would prefer to be able to keep the house warm. The sub freezing weather makes if very difficult to keep our “breathing” house warm. The stove is cranking and we are wearing extra layers, indoors. It’s not as bad as I’m making it sound, but it’s different than our old house in Vancouver.

V did a demo at the Poulsbo Central Market on Saturday. We stayed with my folks Saturday night. Half the island was without power for over 48 hours. Yes, my folks were on the outage side of the island. Dad kept the wood stove burning and also has a generator that helps keep the furnace and refridgerator running. Inconvenient, yes, but I think still better than trying to heat our drafty old house with only a wood stove. Actually, we have some in-wall heat units, but I hate running them. They are so inefficient and the give me the creeps regarding fire hazard. Although we did run them tonight, when we got home the interior temperature was 44F. =8^O

Picked up some ski gear from a college buddy of mine this afternoon. Now each of the girls have skis, and two of them have boots. We’re almost ready to hit the slopes. The girls really enjoyed skiing last year, and they have been talking about it this year. Hopefully, we’ll ski this week. One more pair of boots....

No matter how many times I do the math, it just seems like the business isn’t growing fast enough. Some of the vetern business owners, at the last trade show we attended, said that we need to be able to hang in there for about three years. We’re keeping our fingers crossed, and hustle alot. I used to be the wage earner and it’s definitely a different mind set for me, staying home with the kids and all. Maybe my mind set will change once I get the kids geared up for skiing and we start skiing once a week. If any of you have any thoughts on this, I’d love to hear them.

Later, Brad
Herbs of Grace, Inc. website

Holiday Spirit, Nice Weather, Kid Links

2006-12-11T21:41:00.000-08:00

Hello Explorers! (yes, I’ve been watching Nemo.)

It’s been awhile since my last post. We went to Portland so V could do an in store demo, see press release, this past weekend. We also visited friends and I attended the VLSC Lightning christmas party. Actually, we’ve been a bit too busy. I’ve also been busting my rear trying to get our 2007 family calendar finished. But, the calendar is now finished so I should be able to post a bit more regularly.

We had a nice stretch of weather the past 10 days or so, but now the rain has returned. The rain keeps snow in the mountains, the ponds full and the trees green. We like it that way and wouldn’t want it any other way. Actually, I’d like to see some wicked cold weather that would freeze up the ponds so we can go ice skating.

For those of you who venture to the links I provide, here's one of Maleahs piano recital from a week ago. What a champ. I’m so proud of her! She’s been taking lessons for 12 weeks now. She gets a bit of a winter break and then will start up again in January.

The Yule tree went up today. The girls had a great time picking it out, helping haul it into the house and then decorating it. Why is it that kid decorated trees are always the nicest trees? Their decorating scheme fits the holiday season so well. We need a taller stool for them, though. Outside lights go up tomorrow.

We are looking for people to do in-store demos. V can do the demos that are a half day drive for us, but if we have to stay overnight in a distant town, it’s more convenient for us to hire someone to help us out. If you know of anyone looking for a bit of work, (west of the Rocky mountains), applying mineral makeup and talking-up Herbs of Grace Herbs of Grace, Inc. Natural Look Mineral Makeup please turn them on to our web site and have them contact us?

We have sales reps in all of the states west of the Rocky mountains. New Frontier Marketinghandles WA, OR, ID, MT and AK. Sunshine Specialties, N. Cal handles N Cal. NaturallyTCL! handles NM, AZ, UT, NV, CO and WY. At this point, we don’t have product placement in every town across the west, but we are working on it.

Later, Brad
Herbs of Grace, Inc.

Kids, A House that Breathes, Snow

2006-11-29T21:39:00.000-08:00

Isabel, our two year old, spent the day in her pajamas. V tried to get her dressed this morning, gave up, and turned it over to me. I got two of each item of clothes, so she could have her choice of what to wear, but as soon as I headed toward her, she went screaming in the opposite direction, yelling that she wanted to wear here pajamas today. I started the knock down drag out, and then caught myself and let her be. Her pajamas are the full body type, with footies. They are pile and have a high neck, so I realized that she was dressed warmly. I did manage to get a parka and boots on her. So off we went, to the coffee shop and grocery store, with I in her pajamas. Did I mention that she’s two? This all makes sense now, right?

The kids are getting excited for christmas. M, age 7, keeps asking ”how many more days?”. S, age 5, keeps telling us what she wants from Santa, and I, wants a nutcracker.

It has snowed here over the past few days/nights and the kids are really enjoying it. We didn’t get much snow last year so this is extra “cool” this year. Bought the kids a sled and even though the snow is very sparse, they were out there on the hill pushing each other around.

Our 110 year old house is not what you would call, air tight. Living here reminds me of the year we spent in Japan. The Japanese build houses that “breathe”. They are cold in the winter and hot in the summer. During my bicycle commute in Japan, I watched the daily progress of a house being torn down. After the siding was removed, there was building paper, but there was no insulation, and only a thin wall covering on the inside. When I talk to folks about our old house, I tell them that it “breathes”. Anyway, I woke up this morning and the temperature outside was 26F and, remembering that the house breathed all night, was 46F inside. It took the old wood stove an hour to warm the house up to 54F and another hour to get to 60F. Needless to say, we wear sweaters all the time. V has a heater in the office which keeps it toasty all the time.

V is very busy with Herbs of Grace. We have demos to line up and present, product and samples to ship, marketing and sales firms to keep organized and motivated, product to manufacture and package, office supplies to order, displays to design and manufacture, press releases to write and publish, a website to maintain and a zillion other things to do. I’m sure it’s going to get busier and busier. I don’t know if V realized this when she signed on, but she’s hanging in there. She has always had her own business, but this is the first time that she has sold to the mass market. It’s quite different than puttering along doing Saturday markets and an occasional gift show.

White Pass has a ton of snow, hope it stays cold this winter.

Later, Brad
Herbs of Grace, Inc. website

Web Site, Web Master, Lipstick

2006-11-24T21:38:00.000-08:00

Couldn’t sleep this morning, so I got up at 5 and banged away on a piece of software that does an automatic backup of part of our website. It took me about 3 hours. Should have taken 30 minutes. I was lucky if I did a manual backup every 2-3 months, which is way to infrequent. Now I don’t have to think about it anymore. The zipped files land in my mailbox every morning.

Got a note the other day from our “now snowboarding web developer”. She says our shopping cart software is outdated, so I am organizing myself to do the update. It should be a simple point and click affair, but of course, it isn’t. Somewhere along the way our shopping cart software lost itself. It still works, but it doesn’t know which version it is, and if it doesn’t know which version it is, then I have to do a manual install of the latest version, and then do a bunch of coding to switch to the new version. If I had built the site, from the bottom up, I’d be familiar with all the bells and whistles that need to be connected to the new version. But since I’m taking over for our ”now snowboarding web developer”, I get to figure it all out. And I hate it. 10 years ago, heck even 5 years ago, I would have attacked this with gusto. But for some reason, in the past 5 years, I have gotten so that I can’t stand the tedious aspect of installing and debugging software. It takes me forever, and in this case, if I get it wrong, our cart won’t work. I feel like I’m flying a 747 and the tower won’t answer. =8-0.

Vanessa got her lipstick mold today. She is in the final R&D stages of putting together a line of all natural, vegan lip sticks. We’ll have a big annoucement when they hit the market. Blog readers and newsletter subscribers will be the first to hear the news. Subscribe now. The sign-up is at the lower left of the page. We issue newsletters 4-5 times a year. There is usually a ”coupon special” that Vanessa offers with each newsletter, so it can be worth you time if you are an Herbs of Grace shopper.

We had a great Thanksgiving with some friends down the road. We were home about an hour when daughter S started complaining about an ear ache. Poor kid. She was really feeling it. V and I did a quick web search for ear ache remedies and came up with onion juice. We squeezed about a 1/4 t of onion juice, mixed it with a 1/2 t of olive oil, and dropped about 4 drops into her ear. Wasn’t sure how it would go, but apparently onion is a great treatment for this type of thing. And it was. She slept the night and woke up this morning without comment. V tells me she got up around 2 for a homeopathic remedy which also helped.

White Pass picked up 36” over the past 24 hours! YOW!

Later, Brad
Herbs of Grace, Inc. website

Trade Shows, Working Late, Surgery

2006-11-19T21:31:00.000-08:00

It's 11:50PM. I've been cleaning up some mail and researching the Natural Products Association (formerly the NNFA). We have to be members of this association if we want to exhibit at their trade show next July in Las Vegas. Can you believe it, a conference in Las Vegas, IN JULY! Go figure. We'll be at ExpoWest in Anaheim, CA, March 8-11, 2007, and are planning to exhibit at the NPA show in Vegas, July 20-22, 2007. Trade shows are a great way for us to get out there and meet our customers and show our product line. If any of you will be attending these shows, we would love to meet you, so swing by and say "hi".

Anyway, I often work late because the kids and V are in bed. Since V works all day, this is my time to get a bit done. I suppose, between the two of us, we put in from 12-16 hours per day on the business. When one of us is in the office, the other is with the kids. The kids are tended to, but V and I rarely get one-to-one time. At times I don't know if this is a recipe for success or disaster, for either the business or our relationship. Like so many parents and grandparents have said, "I wish I spent more time with my kids" or "I spent too much time at the office." V and I can say we spend time with the kids, and at the office, we just don't get time with each other. I suppose we'll be saying "I wish I spent more time with my spouse." Since we are both committed to the business and the kids, we are ok with our arrangement for now.

Daughter M has bounced back from surgery, last Wednesday. As a parent, it sure is uncomfortable to watch your child go through surgery. It was an out patient issue, so we were back home in one day, but even tho, M sure was feeling low for a couple of days. V and I found it discomforting to not be allowed into the recovery room, so that one of us could have been there when M awoke. M was very shaken up when she was being wheeled out of recovery. When she saw us, she busted into tears. It was sad. Short lived, thankfully, but sad none the less. We're keeping our fingers crossed that we all stay healthy, and in no need of surgery in the future.

Later, Brad
Herbs of Grace, Inc. website

A Fall Reprieve.

2006-11-16T21:16:00.000-08:00

The sun came out this afternoon. It was one of those fall days that are an absolute blast to be outside in. The temperature was moderate, the ground was dry, no wind, and of course the sun was shinning. How perfect.

Vanessa came out to work in the garden after work. She raked leaves to put on the garden beds. She tried to convince me that I needed to help, but I was working on my own project. She tends to the chickens and is organizing an old, decrepit shed, for their winter home. The other day, I nailed up a couple of laying boxes and a perch, put a piece of glass from an old window in a hole in the wall, fixed the door latch, ran to the feed store for a bale of hay, and poof, instant chicken coop. We put the chickens in their new home this evening. Will keep you abreast on the "winter with chickens" in later posts.

It's dessert time. I'm forehead to forehead, nose to nose with Isabel, being convinced that I need to share a third bite of ice cream with her. Of course, this is after she has finished her entire bowl and is now hitting me up for mine. Giggling girl does win a few bites. But I make her work for them. An Eskimo kiss here, a teasing flyby spoonful, you know the drill. See a short video of her in the snow here dated March 9, 2006.

Later, Brad
Herbs of Grace, Inc. website

Being flexible. Monday

2006-11-13T19:20:00.000-08:00

Today, I was on the phone scheduling a drs. appointment for sometime later this week, or next week. The receptionist said there was an opening at 3:00 today! V and I scampered around to re-arrange our schedule so I could get to the appointment on time. Barely made it, but made it I did. Definitely bit into V’s work day, me leaving unplanned and all, but sometimes we have to flex. Neither of us like it. I feel like I’m holding back our business, and V has to put off things she is working on today, for tomorrow. Just like your household, I’m sure. We all deal with things as they arise.

We picked up a new customer in Eureka, CA. If you are in the area, check out the North Coast Coop, 25 4th Street, Eureka, CA 95501. There web site says they have been in business since 1973! Herbs of Grace salutes community co-ops. We love them.

The local ski area, White Pass Ski Resort is reporting 22″ at the base. They say the will open with 24″-30″. I’m guessing they’ll be open this weekend!

Think snow!

Later, Brad
Herbs of Grace, Inc. website

Wednesday Schedule

2006-11-10T11:21:00.000-08:00

The sun came out this morning. The rain has finally let up. The rain this weekend has been wicked. The sun today, along with the election being over yesterday, made today a smashing success.

It was grocery day today. The kids and I go to the next town over stop at the Bean Tree coffee house for a hot chocolate and cookie break, then to the grocers, maybe run a few other errands and then back home for a late lunch. Although today, we lived it up and had a light lunch at the Bean Tree.

Vanessa and I play tag team to keep the business moving, and we’re getting pretty good at it. Sometimes I sneak into the office in the morning for a few minutes, then Vanessa is usually busy in the office until dinner and then a bit after, then I take over and pack up a few orders. While I’m in the office in the evening, she is reading to the kids and putting them to bed.

In one way our days are the same, every day. Rise, breakfast, chores, lunch, afternoon activity, dinner, reading, bath and bed. But then again, they are also very different. Interacting with the kids really makes each day unique. Ahh.. family life. I’ll never be the same.

Later, Brad
Herbs of Grace, Inc. website

Northwest Natural Trade Show

2006-11-06T20:33:00.000-08:00

We just wrapped up the NW Natural trade show at the Seattle Trade Center. It was our first trade show. We wrote four orders so you can now find our line of Natural Look Mineral Makeup at Okanogan Coop, in Okanogan WA, (our first WA customer), Thyme for Health in Monroe WA, Terra Organica in Bellingham WA, and Central Market in Poulsbo, WA. For more locations, see our locations page on our web site.

We were quite busy talking up our product line with retailers from all across WA, OR and MT. Everyone was so nice, and very interested in our product line. We have lots of follow up to do over the next couple of weeks.

The kids stayed with "Grammi and Grampi" during the day, while we were at the show. M tells me they got new shoes, visited friends and ate ice cream, but weren't able to play at the park, due to heavy rain. Overall, everyone seemed in good spirits when we got back home.

We'll be heading back to Mossyrock tomorrow, (Monday) morning, with a couple of new customer stops to make on the way.

Later, Brad
Herbs of Grace, Inc. website

The Herbs of Grace Blog

2006-11-03T20:11:00.000-08:00

Thanks for visiting Herbs of Grace.

We are a family of 5, living on 5 acres along the Cowlitz river, in the foothills of the Cascade mountains, in western Washington state. It’s green in the summer, wet in the winter, a bit wild, and clean. We can get to Chehalis, WA within 30 minutes (office and building supplies, large grocery runs), Portland, OR or Seattle, WA in about 90 minutes (international airports, family), and one hour to the White Pass ski area (need I say more). We really like it here.

We incorporated Herbs of Grace, Inc. on January 24, 2006. Vanessa has been involved with natural products for about 10 years. She originally started with handmade soaps and skin care products and evolved into mineral makeup. We incorporated Herbs of Grace so that we could present our Natural Look Mineral Makeup line to consumers as a natural choice for cosemetics. Too much of the cosmetic world is full of un-natural ingredients. We offer a 100% natural, cruelty free, vegan product line as an alternative for the healthy conscious among us.

You will find posts on family issues, fun, interesting and challenging items, in hopes of letting you learn about who we are and what we stand for. We encourage your input and feedback.

We love to read your comments. Please keep your posts and comments upbeat and positive. Posts and comments will be reviewed and those that include derogatory, negative statements, or cursing, will be deleted. (I don’t mean to stiffle criticism, I just would like to see criticism done in a polite, reasonable way.) Herbs of Grace wants a blog that anyone can feel comfortable reading.

Later, Brad
Herbs of Grace, Inc. website

3 Girls Grove

Eating Outside, Space Aliens, Back Problems

April Fools!, Snow, UW Campus, April Sale

SkiPig, Parties, Upcoming Events

Early Morning, Spring and the Economy, Daylite Savings.

Rain, Old Green House Goodbye, Beautiful Weather, Birthday Party.

Full Circle, Summer Projets, Fall Trade Show

New Display Holds Timeless Color Palette.

PRESS RELEASE

Smaller footprint, lower price, same great quality.

Mothering Magazine

PRESS RELEASE

Article highlights Natural Look Mineral Makeup™

Rabbits, Camping, New display

SNOW!, Rabbits, New Display

The Big Trade Show, Grandparents, Bunk Beds

Herbs of Grace, Inc., 20% OFF During March Line Drive.

PRESS RELEASE

Mineral makeup manufacturer to offer 20% offentire product line during March 2008.

Herbs of Grace, Inc., Bag Stuffing Program

PRESS RELEASE

Bag stuffing program will fetch 20% off for selected retailers.

Life, Birthday Parties, Time

Day shift, hair cuts, the creek, hunkering down, and business

Industry Micronized Mineral Controversy

PRESS RELEASE

Herbs of Grace, Inc.® Does Not Use Micronized Minerals.

The simplest things…

Summer Solstice, Allergies, Favorite Day

Lawn repair, Other yard projects and Weather.

Winter wrap-up, Goldfish, New Seasons Markets

New Sample Display Board available for Natural Look Mineral Makeup.

Snow?, Old Maple Tree, Follow up

Spring skiing, ExpoWest2007, New look for website

Snow, Spring, Big Business News

House Guests, Library, The Big Trade Show

Skiing

Winter Break, Frozen Pipe, Lost Acquaintance, Refrigerators

Careful What You Wish For

Holiday Spirit, Nice Weather, Kid Links

Kids, A House that Breathes, Snow

Web Site, Web Master, Lipstick

Trade Shows, Working Late, Surgery

A Fall Reprieve.

Being flexible. Monday

Wednesday Schedule

Northwest Natural Trade Show

The Herbs of Grace Blog

Mineral makeup manufacturer to offer 20% off
entire product line during March 2008.