Meet our Staff

MEET OUR STAFF

(L) to (R): Marissa, Chelsey, Kaylee, Denise, Kristen, Chelsea and Jen. Missing from photo is Jamie (our customer service advocate), Chris (our marketing guy), and Brie (packaging clerk).

We all had a great time at a local Mexican restaurant. It was our farewell dinner with Kaylee who is leaving us after nearly 5 years of service.

A Sad Farewell to Kaylee

Tonight we are hosting a farewell dinner for Kaylee. She has worked for me since she was a Junior in high school and this is a bitter-sweet parting. She is now in her senior year of college working toward a Respiratory Therapy and Nursing degree. Her upcoming classes have become so demanding that she will have little time for anything apart from her studies.

Losing Kaylee imparts many of the feelings associated with "empty-nest" syndrome. She is like a daughter to me and her loyalty to the company is something I wish my newer employees would embrace. I will miss K's beautiful blue eyes, her laughter, and the security of knowing that when I was away she could hold down the fort. It was such a relief to return from a trip knowing she had taken care of business.

Even though Kaylee is leaving us, she has agreed to fill in from time to time and help train our newest employee. I wish Kaylee the best in life. This gal is paying her own way through college while dealing with some very difficult family circumstances. I have every confidence she will rise above all the obstacles that life has thrown her way and will soon realize all her educational dreams.

Good luck, K. We love you!

The Gang at GoPlanetEarth.com

A Grandkids & Me Weekend... YES!!

My honey man and I had all 3 grandkids for an overnighter this weekend. I have blogged about taking "ME TIME". Well, this was a "me-time" weekend. Above is pictured the Fall leaves that the grandkids picked. We dipped them in melted wax and made placemats.

Our next project was to carve pumpkins. This was quite a feat considering we were working with a 3 and 6 year old. I must admit Poppy was a big help and NeeNee (that would be me) cleaned out most of the pumpkin "innards". I had to Google to be sure "innards" was even a word... it is!

Above is Carson's scary pumpkin and below is Olivia's skull pumpkin. I think the credit really should go to Poppy. Next year it will be foam stick-ons to decorate pumpkins. This whole pumpkin carving thing is waaaay tooo much work.

Finally, Poppy made a couple of pumpkin pies from scratch. Literally, from scratch. He and Olivia cut up a pumpkin, simmered it on the stovetop to make "real" pumpkin pie. We even froze some of the pumpkin pulp to make pumpkin pudding at Thanksgiving.

What a fabulous weekend!! We made a fire in the fireplace Saturday night, watched "All Dogs Go to Heaven" and popped popcorn (with lots of butter!). Life is good. The older I get, I realize more and more that it's the little things in life that bring the greatest joy. So.... if I didn't answer your emails this weekend, you know why. I was having a little "me time". Thanks for understanding.

New Soap Molds Arrive in Time for the Holidays

Our staff is busy today putting away 53 boxes of molds. Included in this shipment are the newest designs from Mold Market. You can check them out here. We hope to have all the "BUY NOW" links online by this afternoon.

Here are some of the newest molds from Mold Market. There are a total of 7 new mold designs including the opposing right flip flop to our Top Selling (Left) flip flop.

Helloooo Evergreen, Colorado!

I'm flying into Denver on Thursday for a family wedding in Evergreen, Colorado. With so many 16 hour days under my belt, this is a well deserved mini vacation. My honey and I are flying with a host of other family members for a weekend of festivities. The fact that so many family members are on the same flight is frightening! But, I love the craziness of big families and this extended weekend will prove to be a blast.

I have left my staff in charge while I'm away. I have complete confidence in their ability to keep the ship afloat. I will have portable devices and laptop at hand, but can't guarantee I will be available for immediate replies. Afterall, this is a family retreat and I want to make the most of it. Certainly, no one will suffer long-term damage if they don't receive an immediate reply to an email.

In addition to all the craziness of preparing for this trip, I'm having new carpet installed, wallpaper stripped and a number of rooms painted. Yes, I am certifiably crazy!!!!! All this while trying to pack, oh, and did I mention the cleaning service is cleaning during all this chaos.

Once I return, I have two new tutorials to share. The Christmas Curl soap (pictured above) and the Agate Soap Spheres previously posted here.

Melt & Pour Soap Making: Agate Soap Spheres

Check out the new tutorial on our web site.

A Shout Out to 2VirgosDesigns Esty Shop

These beautiful soaps were made by Esty shop owner 2 Virgo Designs using the Mold Market Holiday Wreath mold. If you're looking to purchase ready-made soap for holiday gifts, I encourage you to pay a visit to this Etsy store. At the time of this post, there were 6 in stock so you'll want to snatch them up before the holiday rush.

Does this soap inspire you to make your own? Then you will want to view the FREE tutorial offered at GoPlanetEarth.com. We provide step-by-step instructions on how to make a holiday wreath soap using the Mold Market soap mold.

There's Nothing Wrong with ME time

A day at the local Apple Orchard which included pony rides.

Since losing my Dad to cancer last year, I have become much more aware of how I need to have more ME time. This means getting away from work on a regular basis. No computers, no emails replies, no blogging, no tweets, limiting week-end work time and phone calls, and spending more time with family, friends and grandkids.

I sometimes find myself getting side-tracked and gravitating back to my old ways. But the past few weeks brought another awakening. I attended 4 funerals within 10 days. This was more than a gentle reminder. I believe it was my Dad shouting down from above, "LIFE IS SHORT. NO ONE IS GOING TO REMEMBER YOU FOR YOUR WORK". So in these past few weeks I have renewed my vow to commit more time to ME.

Apple Cider & Donuts... YUM!

As I watch my grandkids I am painfully aware of how fast they are growing. Before too long they will be at an age when they won't want to spend time with their NeeNee. I don't want to have regrets about missing out on these wonderful, joyful years when they still want to hug my neck, let me kiss them goodnight, and are visibly excited to spend the night.

Having said all that, here are a few photos of the fun things I've been doing with my ME time. I hope this will prompt YOU to commit to more ME time. Don't let yourself get caught up into reading what everyone else is doing, blogging about, making, creating, selling, tweeting, or promoting. If it's only one day out of the week, make it yours and yours alone. Make it your ME time!

Making Halloween cupcakes with my Grandson.

Decorating pumpkins with the grandkids.