Very special heart felt story from Guatemala with photo updates! BEFORE:
She ordered the large round Infant of Prague made in West Germany. I think this one might be the one for her daughter's nightstand. The bird brooch with Infant of Prague dangle medal is available, here.
Photo via VintageToGoEasy
Actually, now that I think about it, she ordered three religious medals of Infant of Prague and St. Anthony!
Hi!! I was meaning to write you, I loved your note telling your story!!!
I want to share you mine!!!
I am from Guatemala City, Guatemala. It took me a while to get my package because it goes to my P.O. Box in Miami first and then it comes to Guatemala.
I saw the medals in your shop and I knew they would be special for me!!
I have a rosary from a long time ago, and each time I go some where or I see a medal that I love or feel something, I attach it to my rosary. I pray with this rosary every day.
When I was little my mom use to pray to Saint Anthony for me to find a good man with a good heart who loves me and respects me and I married the best one!!! The love of my life! That’s why I fell in love with that medal!
The two lower ones, #3 and #4 are still available, here. The top two have sold out.
Photo via VintageToGoEasy
And the Divine child me and my husband had a hard time with our first pregnancy and our first daughter came early because a health condition I have, I have systemic lupus and it’s very hard for me to get and keep pregnant. So we went to Medjugorje (where Virgen Mary has been showing to 6 persons) we went there the 3 of us, my husband daughter and I and pray to have an other baby, and there was an image of Jesus, divine child. We prayed there a lot and when we came back I got pregnant and I had my second and last daughter. She came very very early term and with some complications but she was able to go trough everything by Jesus in her hand!!! So I got one for my rosary and the big one for her night stand for her to be protected!!!
Thanks for giving us the opportunity to have them!!!
I am glad to hear you are doing great in your rehab!!!! Keep on going!!!! ;)
Keep safe!!! Ps. Attached is a picture of my rosary with the medals already attached
I can see the gold one above added to her rosary!
There is one silver tone, one copper color and the rest gold tone, she ordered a gold tone, all the rest are available here. Photo via VintageToGoEasy
She is so inspiring to me! And her words so motivating! Yes, I will keep going! And if she can make her dreams come true despite her health issues, so can I! Mine are way less threatening, just food allergies and insomnia, so I can do it, slowly but surely! Thank you so much for all your enthusiasm!
I just love her rosary and collection of religious medals! I am so thankful they went to a forever home with such a kind and thoughtful family!
Interesting too, there are really only two holy places I'd like to visit and one is Medjugorje, I don't really know why, it just must be calling me. And the other is Geel, Belgium because for over 700 years, residents of Geel have been accepting people with
mental disorders, often very severe mental disorders, into their homes
and caring for them. It isn't meant to be a treatment or
therapy. The people are not called patients, but guests or boarders.
They go to Geel and join households to share a life with people who can
watch over them. Today, there are about 250 boarders in Geel. You can read more about it here, an article from NPR. Thank you NPR!
As I said, I don't know why I want to go to Medjugorje, but I do know why I want to go to Geel, Belgium. It's because I can't imagine "one" community being part of the solution for 700 years! It just brings tears to my eyes! I'd just have to see how they do it! Anyways..... getting off topic....
Saying Goodbye: I have a huge religious medal collection! I must have at least 10-30 religious medals listed at each shop and I still have so much more to list. It's so nice to know that some of them are going to people who have such endearing meaning to them.
I'll have to list more Infant of Prague and St Anthony medals because this is the only one I could find that's listed. Available here via The Destiny of Things.
What I Learned:
1. There is kindness everywhere! And no matter, how ill I may feel, I can still be kind and as enthusiastic as possible. That is what I got out of Mrs. C's message. Thank you for motivating me with your inspirational story!
2. I learned that despite any health issues, one can still make your dreams come true! Each birthday, I dream and sometimes plan, but mostly dream about what I call a "food parade", which is basically a pre, post and sometimes pre pre and post post eat "whatever" I want, which consists of all my favorite foods, however these foods are not healthy because my favorite foods comprise of mostly fried and fatty red meat! For instance a pre pre food parade celebration might start of with a donut, than pre birthday meal, then my birthday celebration for breakfast, lunch and dinner and then a post birthday meal and then a post post birthday meal might consist of a fried buttery biscuit or a bacon hotdog. Yes, a food parade can last a week or so!
Some favorites in the fried department is crispy crunchy fried chicken, especially wings and especially if they are cooked with little bits of garlic and jalapenos, garlic french fries, organic salted Kettle chips and donuts. In the red meat department, I love a pound of prime rib, a juicy porterhouse steak or bone in rib eyes! So you can see why I only have a food parade a couple of times a year. The rest of the year I am more vegetarian based and juice and broth fast 3 times a week, except my age is catching up to me and I just can not eat like I used to, well, I can, but there are dire consequences, like fat accumulation!
I am almost at a milestone birthday, so I've started working out little by little, so next year I can still have a food parade, be healthy and fit into my clothes! I've made my way up to doing "Buns of Steel 3" by Tamilee Web. Remember good ol' Tamilee from the 80s or 90s? I have her CD now, but somewhere lost in my hoard is the classic VHS!
Anyways, it's a doozy workout! Even if it's only 30 min., I love how she explains which muscles your working out, how to coordinate your breathing and stomach muscles with each exercise and how to make the workout either easier or more difficult. It takes me at least 3 months to get the workout, breathing and stomach muscles all working together in harmony. I've been using the CD now for 2 weeks now, 6 days a week and it has really helped my balance, I feel stronger and even the skin around my knees seem tighter and more! The only cons I have is that after every workout I'm so tired. Today I had to take 4 breaks to get it done, but I do know I'll sleep very well tonight!
And the best part is I'm hoping to fit back into most of my clothes comfortably, instead of having to buy new ones! I do have several pairs of pants, shorts and a couple of dresses that I call my "eating pants" because I can eat all I want in them without feeling uncomfortable, but even some of them are getting kinda tight now! No way, am I going to let it get worse!
3. Plus I think some of my unflattering and unhealthy weight gain are COVID pounds! Yes, I am a stress eater. Comfort foods to the rescue! A favorite being a bag of chips! Okay, enough about pointing the blame and on to a solution! Buns of Steel daily and on days I'm sore, I walk/jog and if I can't muster enough energy for those, I do a 15 minute yoga workout! Sundays I rest.
4. I have been MIA in blogland because Etsyland has taken over my life! Sales have been crazy, but I am so grateful that so much of my hoard is finding new lives and homes! It's been this way for 3 months now and I need to start thinking about how to prioritize my life more efficiently because now I barely have time to new list, mend and stitch my textile art. I just feel like I'm catching up all the time! The only thing I can seem to change right now to have more time, is to new list less until more hoard sells out! I'll see what happens after the Labor Day weekend sale.
Gosh the only thing I could find with Infant of Prague is on the back of this medal I just listed today, available here at Hoarder Rehab. It has 7 Saints all together.
Thank you Mrs. C for sharing your story because it has really helped me with mine. I, especially love the story of your pilgrimage and your enthusiasm to travel despite your health has really encouraged me to think of the few places I'd like to visit! And you've really motivated me to do more to be in the most perfect health possible. I might even have to find an alternative celebration to food parades! It doesn't seem possible at the moment, but I hope I've planted a seed!
I hope your health improves also and your family thrives in body, mind, spirit and energy!
Here is the front of that medal, in case anyone is interested in scapular medals. This one is marked sterling and Creed, available here at Hoarder Rehab. It has 7 Saints all together and the back has the Marion symbol to match the Miraculous Mary on the left of the medal.
Sales
are crazy sky high! We were back to our regular average of 25 sales a
week, but it seems to have doubled with holding power! I used to package Tues. Wed. and Sun, to get ready for Mon, Wed and Fri shipments, but now I have to package everyday, just to keep up with all the orders!
Last
year, I tried Etsy's advice and changed almost all the listing to "free
shipping," so I think it might be that because I've been slowly changing
my shops
back to regular shipping and I think that's making a difference. Now the only items with free shipping are those over $35.
To prepare for Mother's day I changed
almost every listing $35 and under from "free" shipping to transparent
shipping, meaning you can see my shipping costs now and sales have more
than doubled from our usual average. So it still could be these
uncertain times and people ordering more due needing "isolation" and
home school activities or changing back to "regular" and transparent
shipping. Now Labor Day holiday weekend is soon and we'll be joining the rest of Etsyland with a celebration sale!
I
am adding new items weekly, but since sales are way up, some days I'm
too busy just packaging for our shipping days! We ship out every Mon,
Wed and Fri and get packages ready the day before, if payment has
cleared. I've been getting at least 16 packages ready to ship out 3x a week! I think
our record earlier last month was 25! And lately, I don't even bother counting! I don't have the time!
I just listed several new things at each shop today! It was nice to have the time to get it done!
Click on the shop names to visit my hoard: HoarderRehab with 177 items, The Destiny of Things- 172 items, VintageToGoEasy - 159 items and JunkDrawerAndMore - 173 items. And now, Mending Ways with 51 items! Many of my textile art patches have found new "forever" homes, so I need to make some more. I am so grateful, thank you all who are supporting my alternative to hoarding!
Maybe you'll find something and give it new life and a new home! All lookieloos are appreciated!
This double rose sterling silver Saint bracelet is the only other thing I could find with St Anthony. I'm going to need to go hoarding diving and find more St Anthony medals! It has 10 Saints and is stamped HVH, sterling. Available here. Photo via The Destiny of Things
"During
these uncertain times, there is one commitment everyone should make:
always be part of the solution, not part of the problem."
Stay safe, stay well, stay calm and stitch on! Thank you readers from all over the world who continue to support my Hoarder Rehab and The Destiny of Things by taking part with your visits!
