min-myinnersoul

  **This Giveaway is Closed.** Whew, I am running slow today. Usually by this time of day, on a Wednesday, I am already on my way to the grocery store, then the gym, then swim lessons, but today I can't get my act together. I am siting here with my p.j.'s on, hair standing on end, and an empty cereal bowl sitting beside me, with no real motivation to get moving. We have been attending a marriage seminar at one of the local churches, and it is PHENOMENAL!! We have really enjoyed it, and they provide childcare...which is AWESOME:o) Anyway, we have been getting home late every night. It's wearing the babies out and us, but worth every minute. The kids are loving it too. So, I have been a little busy here lately and racking my brain, trying to come up with a cool giveaway that you would drool over. As I was perusing my blog list, I came across Tatertots and Jello . Love this blog! You guys definitely need to check it out, and become a follower to show your love. Jen made a ca

The news yesterday that two former executives of Bristol - Myers Squibb (a pharmaceutical giant) have had prosecution charges dropped against them , spurred this post. These two were top executives 5 years ago and apparently indulged in “channel stuffing” – the practice of dumping stocks into the wholesale or retail trade in order to show higher sales for a quarter or a period. As happens with such practices, if taken too far, one day they catch up with you. In the case of Bristol-Myers, it did and they had to publicly state this and their stock market value fell ; this was what led to the attempt at prosecuting these two executives. Every consumer goods company in the world does this, to some degree or the other. Consumer goods companies do not sell directly to the end consumer, which is you or me. They sell to a complex distribution chain – wholesalers, retailers, etc etc. What they show as sales in their books is what they sell to their first link in this distribution chain . Its q

Hello My Peeps!   I hope that you all are having a wondermous day:o) I am utterly exhausted, but completely in love...with my new wall color! I got the paint on the walls yesterday, and I feel comforted by the sweet "Comfort Gray." I can't wait to reveal my "new" living room. Not sure when it will be ready since I am rearranging furniture:o)  Anyway, today is Tuesday Tutorial Day, and I saw this tute on another blog called  U Create . Kari is featuring Stephanie Lynn from Under the Table Dreaming who shows us how to make a  Vacation Countdown Calendar . (sorry there isn't a picture) Definitely check it out! It's super cute!  ****** Tomorrow I will be announcing what the giveaway will be, so stay tuned!!! 

I am painting my living room today!!!! I am so excited about this. I have had two gallons of "Comfort Gray" just waiting to be rolled onto the walls(3 weeks sitting on my pantry floor):o)  I have never had paint sit that long, unopened... It's gonna be great! The yard sale didn't go as well as I had hoped. I sold almost all of the big stuff, but there were so many clothes, that it didn't look like I sold anything. We live out in the country now, so that may have had a little bit to do with the low turn out. We are going to try it again this weekend, but at a friend's home that has lots-o-traffic.  ******* We now have reached 75 followers!!!! Stay tuned for the next giveaway. I think I will announce it on Wed. or Thurs. ******* Also, remember that tomorrow is Tuesday Tutorials day. Hope to see you back here tomorrow!

Of all the travel “companions” I have had, there has been none more interesting than the cabbie. Just today, I was returning back from the airport, wondering if it would be the first Sunday post I would miss and what do I get ? – an amazing experience on the cab ride back home. There’s something about cabbies that makes them fascinating conversationalists. Maybe because they bump into all sorts of people every day. They see life in all sizes and shapes. Not all of them are great to be with , especially if they are mobile phone addicts, but most are and I’ve had some interesting experiences in different parts of the world that have stayed on with me. The guy in Jo’burg. He was a white who revealed that he was actually a qualified Chartered Accountant. But then there’s a sort of reverse apartheid in South Africa these days. He said jobs were hard to come by for whites and he was better of driving a cab ! The guy in Woking who drove me to Heathrow. He was from Muzzafarpur in the Pakistan

I was needing a Dollar Tree fix the other day, so I packed up my babies, and off we went. I wanted to see if there was anything for E's birthday party (which is in 3 months). I like to plan ahead, don't hate;o) Anyway, I didn't find much for his party, just 2 horse shoe games, but I found some other great stuff. This will be one of the party games. I am doing a cowboy theme. I asked E the other day if he wanted a cowboy themed b-day party and he said YEAH! I think we have a winner. It may be that Toy Story 3 is on the brain:o) Speaking of that, they have a really good selection of TS3 stuff. I found some stocking stuffers. The sticker books in the back were actually advertised during the TS3 previews, and I couldn't pass up the canvas art. It comes with markers. These may be coming from Santa this year;o) I thought that this oven mitt was really cute, and I have needed one like this for about 3 years now. I have been too cheap to go out and get one...it's not like t

It's Tuesday Tutorial Time !!!   I have been looking forward to sharing this tute with you. A friend of mine from high school requested that I do a tutorial on how to make a pillow case dress, and thankfully she is a patient woman;o) It took me a couple of weeks, since things around here haven't been exactly slow:o)  I am always looking for an excuse to make S.R. a new dress, and I new that she would need something to wear for the 4th, so I thought this would be the perfect time to make the pillow case dress. And the great thing about it was that I already had everything on hand, so I can stick to my vow of not buying any new projects for the month of June:o) Aren't you proud?!?!?!?;o) Just a warning...There are TONS of pictures in this post. So without further adieu, I give you the tute:   I didn't want this to be a plain pillowcase dress that looked like I cut some holes in a pillowcase, strung some ribbon thru the neck and called it a day. I really wanted a little s

The financial markets have gone gaga over the Chinese central bank’s announcement over the weekend that they would allow the Yuan to rise gradually. There has been almost unanimous international pressure on Beijing to let this happen for sometime. But then Beijing does not like others telling it what to do (after all, who does ?). It will do what it wants, when it wants. But Chinese reluctance has little to do with foot dragging in international diplomacy. It is caught in an almighty quandary. If the Chinese central bank does not intervene as it does daily, the Yuan would have surely risen a fair bit by now. And probably suddenly. That would be disastrous for China. China is an export led economy. It’s export operating model is huge scale, low costs and wafer thin margins. Costs are under pressure as wage costs rise and general inflation bites. It can only be partly offset by moving factories to the interior where costs are lower than the coastal provinces. Firstly factories are not so

So glad to finally be back here again. I have been unbelievably busy, and have another week of it. There isn't much room to put anything else on my calendar:oP. Anywho, I am really excited about today's post. I have had this little treasure in my garage for a few weeks now, and FINALLY got around to doing something with it. In it's former life it was a very sad little vanity chair. I don't have before pictures to prove it, but trust me, it was sad:o) The frame was a bronze finish(with a hint of rust), and the seat was just a piece of wood covered in 80's mauve vinyl plastic-y stuff with a rip down the center....U.G.L.Y. It was screaming "Help Me!" So I answered it's call and came up with this: I love how it turned out. It's so girly. I used Krylon white spray paint with a matte finish on the frame. On the seat, I cut out some foam, and recovered it with some fabric that I purchased from Walmart. The button in the center of the cushion is fabric le

This blogger is prone to swings of a sartorial nature in the Sunday posts. Considering that he is a recipient of several "Worst Dressed" awards, this is a tad curious. But then you can hardly answer tags that ask “what are you wearing ?” (a matter of sublime importance to the fairer sex), in a non sartorial way. And if you have strong views on the necktie (aired here ) and on that horrible abomination that Indian ladies wear (aired here ), then perhaps it is inevitable that such a matter finds its way into this blog. This post is instigated by one of the most awful sights in the football World Cup in South Africa. No its not the vuvuzelas , awful though they are. No its not the utter depths that the England football team has descended to. It’s the sight of Diego Maradona in a suit ! I have long been intrigued by what is worn on the sports field. When you play, or coach, or do whatever, on a sports pitch, you ought to look elegant. But its amazing how many manage to dress in

Where I would like to be right now:o) Just wanted to let you guys know that I am really looking forward to sharing my posts with you next week. It looks like I am going to have another couple of hectic weeks, so I will post when I can:o) I am going to ATTEMPT something new. I am planning on starting a Tuesday Tutorials day where every Tuesday, I share with you how to make something that I have made. To start us off, I will be posting a tutorial on how to make a jazzed up Pillow Case Dress. There will be LOTS of pictures to guide you through. I hope that you all have a fabulous weekend, and a great Father's Day. I will share the gifts I made for the hubs next week. He's too nosy, and I don't want to spoil the surprise;o) Hugs to you! p.s. I feel another giveaway coming on.....we're almost to 75 followers....I think that's a good time to celebrate, don't you;o)

Yesterday was a theatre that has now become a regular feature of US political life. A self righteous and pompous Committee of the US House or Senate “summons” a CEO of some company and harangues him. Political windbags fall over themselves to misbehave with a foreign national. Yesterday was the turn of BP’s CEO Tony Hayward. It got so bad, that one of the Representatives in the Committee, Joe Barton, actually apologised to Hayward and then the howls from the lynch mob made him recant the apology. The White House and the US Senate and Congress has forced BP to fund a $20 bn escrow account for “damages” with regard to the oil spill and for it to be administered by an “independent” third party and pay out claims. What they have essentially done is to ask BP to write a blank cheque. BP has no choice really; and it duly has written a blank cheque. Make no mistake. BP is at fault. For taking safety too lightly. For not having a backup plan at all – in the companies I have worked in, you get

Readers of this blog may be forgiven for not being familiar with the late Dr Datta Samant. He was a fiery trade unionist in Bombay in the 1980s who changed the industrial relations scene in India. His style was extremely confrontational ; he specialized in making demands of 700% wage increases, going on strikes invariably and was prepared for an agreement only upwards of a 100% wage hike. The textile industry in Mumbai was virtually destroyed by him . A few workers benefited when managements caved in to his demands ; but on the whole most, and especially Bombay, lost. Not as dramatic, but something on those lines is happening in China. There has been a coordinated strike in Honda’s manufacturing plants in southern China demanding wage hikes. Honda increased wages by 24%. Foxconn, the company at the heart of the unfortunate suicides in its plant in Shenzhen , has increased wages by upwards of 30% to reportedly 100% for some. Guangdong Province, the factory to the world, increased its m

Just wanted to let all my lovelies know that I am still here:o) We have been busy...insanely busy. I have been working on a few projects between outings, but can't really post anything b/c I don't have pictures yet, and there are a few of which need some finishing touches. I'm going to be working on some Father's Day crafts as well. Here's a pic of something I have worked on in the past and just made one for S.R. Waiting on it to be monogrammed. The lining of hers is a different color, but the main fabric is the same. I have a few other sewing projects I have been working on and I will fill you in on those once I get them back from the lady who is monogramming them for me. Hope you guys are enjoying your summer. I am having a blast, but I am ready for things to slooooooow down:o)

Of all the places in the world, there’s none so unique and none so disturbing as Jerusalem. This Sunday its a sport free post – while sport is indeed a passion of mine, I appreciate that many fair ladies who visit this space are not exactly enamoured by macho displays of tribalism (which, in one sense, is what sport is). So I turn to the another of my interests, travel, to provide food for this morning’s ramblings. Yet another of my passions instigated this post. I am a self confessed ardent admirer of BBC Radio. In that hallowed place, one of the most enjoyable of broadcasts is “From Your Own Correspondent” , where BBC correspondents around the world take a break from chronicling the world’s miseries and instead talk about life as they see it. Wonderful wonderful series that I heartily recommend. Two days ago I listened to Matt Fry talk about Jewishness and Jerusalem in a brilliant piece that is ringing in my ears; hence this post. I have been there and Jerusalem is like no other p

I am so pleased about this bench. You have no idea how happy I am with the results. The hubs really came thru on this project. I told you that I found this bench during my fabulous yard sale weekend . You can see the before pic in that posting. I believe that I deleted the picture from my computer...oops:o) Anyway, when I made this purchase, I knew the exact location that it would reside...at my breakfast table. Isn't she a beaut? Before, it was covered in a not so attractive chippy paint and had been used as a place to put on shoes on a back porch. I am a big fan of chippy paint IF it's the right color, and in this case, it wasn't. So the hubs pulled it apart, stripped and sanded for hours on this puppy. He was near the point of hating this piece. He actually put it back together, and thought it looked like junk, so he pulled it apart again, finagled a little bit and put it back together again. He is so proud of it...now:o) You can actually see the beautiful wood grain now