Twin of "something blue" for you Native American bracelet : The Destiny of Things, Story XXXVII

Twin of "something blue" for you Native American bracelet:  The Destiny of Things, Story XXXVII

Yeah!!! I got another "Destiny of Things" story this morning and this one seems to be "destiny as infinity" too!

Note from Buyer Hi, I have a story about this bracelet. In the late '70's I was visiting relatives in Albuquerque. In "Old Town" and my uncle took my cousin & me to a furniture/misc store to buy turquoise jewelry. My cousin & I each picked this very style braclet. My uncle haggled with the old Native American woman behind the counter and got the price to $18.50 each! That bracelet was my favorite piece of jewelry until it was stolen 18 yrs ago. I have been searching for one just like it ever since. I am happy to have found one! ---Nancy

 Hi Nancy!

Thank you for your order and especially the story! It's such a nice surprise to get this am!

OH wow! What a story! I love it and thank you so much for it! It's been difficult letting go of my last few NA bracelets, which I'd keep them all, but I've waited 3 years to become unallergic to sterling.

Thank you for your story! I know, I can't thank you enough! I will write about it on my blog today! I'm going to use it how you wrote it because it's so heartfelt. Does your cousin still have her bracelet?

I used to have two of these, twins, I called them and I found them at different times. I figured that the odds of having both wasn't going to happen again and I wanted them to go to the same home, but oh well. I'm glad this one is going to replace a long lost treasure!

I hope you get to show this piece to your Uncle and cousin for a happy reunion event of that day!

Thank you so much for taking part in my HoarderREhab!
Best!
~Kennedy

PS. It will be shipped out Friday USPS flat rate priority with insurance

PSS. This is like a "destiny as infinity" story which is my theme quote as I dehoard my way to a minimalist organic home and a music art room, instead of storage! Thank you so much!

Thanks for the warm reply to my story.
The bracelet my cousin got lost a few of the stones. I don't know if she kept it but you can bet I will find out!
Excited to receive my "new" treasure. Glad I found your shop.
---Nancy
P.S. Thanks for sharing my story on your blog.

This is the twin to the twin! 

Sold on October 1, 2012 to Gretchen who just starting her turquoise bracelet collection.  I was hoping to get both stories behind the purchase and I did!  Thank you Nancy and Gretchen!

 The easiest way for me to tell these apart is by the inside marks on them.


Saying Good-bye:  I don't know if it's getting more difficult to say good-bye to my Native American bracelets because of the run off stress of my Meltdown or because out of the 20 or so Native American bracelets half of them are gone.  I think it's because I'm still recovering from my Meltdown.

Rationally, I can't even wear these bracelets anymore since I've waited over three years to become unallergic to sterling silver and it's not happening!  There I do feel better from writing that!  Phew! 

Plus the last twin is going to a "destiny as infinity" home!  There's nothing better than finding the lost sentimental item of the past and the feelings of satisfaction and contentment one simple item long gone can bring back.

And this time instead of me having this item with little sentimental memories in it, I am so excited to pass it on to someone who's memory of it is much bigger and detailed.  I am much happier to let go of this and to be part of an 18 year search for an "old/new" treasure that is now complete.

Thank you Nancy for letting me share your story on my blog, as it is, in it's true self!  Thank you Nancy and Gretchen for unburdening my soul and lifting my spirit today as I learn a more rational process of letting go of my hoard to accomplish my dream to a new life of at least a minimalist organic home with an extra room to be used for music and art, rather than storage!  And who knows what else!

Thank you etsy for providing a place for me to meet such generous people who support me with their time and stories towards ending my hoarding cycles!!! 

Thank you readers from US, Canada, UK, Germany, Romania, Russia and Ukraine for joining me in my HoarderRehab:  The Destiny of Things!


Parting Thoughts:Another twin story.  I seem to have a lot of doubles or twins of certain items.  I wonder what that means to me.  Maybe it's part of the mystery of one is not enough and two is too much?  Other twin cross story here.

I have twin snuff boxes made of 1925 and 1934 sterling Peruvian coins too, but they were gifts. Hmmm?  I wonder what other twin items I have out there?  Anyone have any clues for me?

Washi Tape Retail Therapy as Easy Happy Stress Release: Hoarder Inspiration or Desperation, Story #12, Part 2

Washi Tape Retail Therapy as Easy Happy Stress Release:  Hoarder Inspiration or Desperation, Story #12, Part 2

Craft Retail Therapy!  More Washi Tapes!  Yikes!  Less washi tape and more washi tape cards!

I need washi tape like I need another hole in my head, but I keep buying it anyway!  I thought if I bought the elusive "daisy masking tape" set and the "graffiti" sets, my washi tape insatiability would be over, but no!

Every time I finally decide to buy the daisy masking tape set, one of the colors gets bought out!  And for some reason I need to have all three colors!  Now it's just getting harder to find and does anyone know why this particular washi tape is so expensive compared to the others?

I have no idea what I'm going to do with all my graffiti washi tape, but it's going to be something fun and good!







The "grafitti tape" sets are from mechakucha808, who if you ask me has the best prices in town, including shipping and is very nice and helpful and also gives out discounts to repeat customers and the coolest cutest "thank you" gifts ever of  little kokeshi charms and/or mini spools of tape!  And shipping is quick- all the way from Hawaii. Oh, and of course she has the kawaii bomb packaging too!  Thank you Nancy!


"MechaKucha" is a Japanese word with many different meanings, mixed-up, all over the place, and wacky' or it could mean 'really really, or super duper'.  -Nancy's profile

 Nancy says "MechaKucha" is the perfect word to describe her store and for me it's a perfect word to to describe my HoarderRehab adventure!

And believe it or not, I still want more!  I'll wait til after this weekend because I'm going to take a pic of my washi tape hoard and count it.  That seems to help me stay conscious about this new/old found collection!

Here's the washi tape I've been eyeing next!  I love Mina Perhonen and her designs and probably the only thing I can afford of hers is her butterfly washi tape!

I'd like it in pink and blue for to make baby cards, but maybe I'll change my mind after all the pics and counting of my washi tape collection.  Although, I like it in red also.

The Mina pink butterfly is on ebay for 3.00 including shipping for 5 feet of it! or 32 feet for $7.50 including shipping for the red or the blue.  Maybe mechakucha808 will start sample spools of Mina Perhonen.  Hmm... she does have Shinzi Katoh sample spools, but I'd much rather have Mina.














Hoarder Inspiration:   I can't wait to see what I end up doing with all this washi tape!  Once I get started I keep on going!  Once I made over 800 "out of context" cards one summer back in the 80s.  They are lost in the hoard somewhere.  When I find them I'll include a pic of them here and/or sell them on etsy.

Some of my washi cards are on HoarderRehab here.  I've already made at least 100 "Abstract Love" cards and gave them out as "thank you" cards to etsy buyers before I started writing daily on the blog.

I use the washi tape scrap pieces from "Smiling Houses over Blue Sky" cards

to make these "Abstract Love" cards, until I ran out of the memo paper.  Also sometimes I'd include an origami jumping frog or origami crane hanging ornament, which I make when I have insomnia or am too tired to do anything during the day.

 I found some thick beige watercolor gummed paper and now they evolved and look like this:

The flower petal cards, which I call, "he loves me, he loves me not" are here with directions, if you'd like to DIY!  I got the idea from the etsy blog article:  How-Tuesday: Petal Card for Mother's Day, but used washi tape, instead of tissue paper.

Lastly as more HoarderRehab inspiration, I am hoping that this next weekend picture taking will provide some insightful clues as to why my washi tape is growing!  And if having a pic of the entire collection and counting it will change my washi tape hoarding ways!  Only time will tell!

Hoarder Desperation:  These cards don't use that much washi tape, so I've been thinking about how to use them on a larger scale.  Any ideas out there?

My washi tape collection began in a small cherry tomato container and already exceeds a box that's probably as big as 3-4 shoe boxes.  On top of that, I had forgotten about my first two stashes of washi tape, so once I started to dehoard I found more!

Even more astounding and mysterious is why I'm so attracted to washi tape and when is enough enough?

Thank you etsy for providing various blog articles that are so artistically inspirational and for helping me get my hoard out there via VintageToGoetsy, HoarderRehab and The Destiny of Things!

Thank you US, Germany, Lithuania, UK, India, Canada, Trinidad and Tobago for visiting as more mysteries than answers emerge!  Does this happen to anyone else? and if so, how do you stop it?

Finally a parting question to help clue me in just came, as I was about to click on the "publish" button:

When will making the washi tape cards become a better stress buster than buying the tape?

Retail Therapy as Easy Happy Stress Release: Hoarder Inspiration or Desperation, Story #11, Part 1

Retail Therapy as Easy Happy Stress Release:  Hoarder Inspiration or Desperation, Story #11, Part 1

How healthy is retail therapy to release stress?  It is so much easier and provides much more happiness in the short run then... let's see...when compared to exercise!  But in the long run, as a hoarder, where do I put all the things I've bought?  How do I keep them organized, so they don't end up boxed up and unused for the next 20-30 years as the next HoarderRehab cycle?

Until I have find answers....here is "some" of my retail therapy that helped to release the stress and sadness from my "Melt Down" ranging from  holiday angst to the straw that broke the camel's back:

1.  From New York Market Place, Thank you Marlene for the Vintage Woodblock puzzle and for being ever so kind to answer all my questions and requests due to my oddball allergies!

It's only 3" x 3" and hope to add it to my toy collection, which as a hoarder have no idea why I'm collecting them.  However, I'm sure in time I will have an epiphany or insightful clue about it!

I've learned that sometimes I need to move backwards to move forwards!

2.  Remember my "thank you" buyer packaging dream of 50 cents of at least 5 things, from my post, Destiny as Infinity?  The dream is coming together due to some help from AttysSproutVillage!  Thank you Atty Kim for the bundle of educational money tools from the 60s!

I love to use the word, "buck" instead of dollar and lookie here!  Tons of buck!  So literal and figurative!  Plus my packaging dream for buyers is now 8 items for about 50 cents!  And it's all stuff I want to keep!  So difficult to decide if  I should use these bucks to make origami hearts or send them as ephemera!

3.  I bought this to cheer me up due to Holiday Angst and the straw that broke the camel's back, but the kicker is I couldn't buy just one!  I had to---just had to---- buy TWO!  I think I get this from my Dad, now that I wrote about it.  He does the same thing with items he likes and buys in multiples, as... just in case... impromptu gifts!

My only lament about this fun book, otherwise I'd buy more, is that they put a large sticker on the back of it and if you try and take it off, it will leave sticker residue on the beautiful satin cover!  It's still a lot of bang for it's buck at $15 dollars including shipping or about 4 cents per fortune!  More good "thank you" packaging, if I can get myself to tear out the fortunes!

It's the cutest little pocket book too!  3" x 4 1/4"  Perfect for stashing in your bag and reading while waiting in line, offices or bus stops!  It's available at the Knock, Knock Stuff here.  Read the interesting backstory of how the book came about here!

INSERT PIC of BACk of the book with unremoveable sticker here.

Hoarder Inspiration:  Some things I buy without sense, like the vintage woodblocks.  Maybe they were just the right price at just the right time?  I just had to have theses woodblock puzzles or I was going to lose some sleep over them!  Another mystery to figure out. 

I'm learning to accept that some of my hoarding or buying is like stepping backwards to move forward.

I can't wait to have all my "thank you" packaging items for etsy buyers all bought and assembled!  Still buying stuff for it as I fret, decide and haggle over what and costs!  And some of the items are DIY!  So fun!

Hoarder Desperation:  The fortunes in the book are so cute and cool to me that I really don't want to be ripping them out for "thank you" packaging, so I'm looking for alternatives, but then what will I do with the books?  and where will I put them?  For now they are on display with my Chinese New Year honeycomb paper lanterns, at HoarderRehab.

Buying items in multiples because I can keep some around for an emergency gifts.  I do this sporadically and I can remember going shopping with my Dad on Father/Daughter days and him buying things in multiples of 10+ for gifts, which reminds me to write a post on "Hoarding as a Family Matter."

I'm still on a retail therapy buying spree too!  I can't seem to stop myself, it's like the momentum of a huge rolling stone gathering no moss!  Yep, without care, responsibilities or purposeful intentions. Yikes!  I certainly don't live in the stagnation of the idea or creativity department, but I must organize all this new stuff!

Especially even just sharing it here as I try to make sense of it!  Hopefully to help slow myself and wind down I've started a Retail Therapy Wish List

Retail Therapy Wish List:

1.  African Christmas Beads 

2.  Vintage Loteria Mexicana boxed version

More ReTail Therapy sharing tomorrow!  I wonder how many parts this is going to end up!  I'll try and organize all the retail therapy so I maybe I can see an emerging pattern to it.  Also I received another "Destiny of Things" story through snail mail!  How exciting is that?

And next weekend I hope there will be more time to take pics of the new retail therapy hoard, so I can see it all together and count it, as one big collection and I'll be more grounded and conscious about it!  We spent this weekend taking more pics for new listings for VintageToGoetsy, HoarderRehab and The Destiny of Things! 

Yes, I'm being more balanced and will list daily at the shops, blog, organize my hoard, take better care of my health and I'm incorporating my New Year's Resolutions too!  How are you doing?

Thank you US, Russia, Germany and Trinidad and Tobago for joining me today on my HoarderRehab: Destiny of Things adventures!  Thank you Carole Banks of Hoarder Decorating on Pinterest for pinning 1,764 Christmas Ornaments with a link to my blog and a  funny comment!

Hans Vilhelm Hansen's Version of St. Laboure's Miraculous Medal: The Destiny of Things, Story XXXVI

Hans Vilhelm Hansen's Version of  St. Laboure's Miraculous Medal:  The Destiny of Things, Story XXXVI
 
This is designed after the original "The Miraculous Medal" or the "Medal of the Immaculate Conception"by Saint Catherine Laboure who was guided by visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary herself!

 photo via Hoarder Rehab, see original listing here

This might seem like a common themed medal, only because it;s been in production for 183 years! It was first made by goldsmith  Adrien Vachette, in 1832, two years after Saint Catherine Laboure's visions.

Information I find Interesting About The Miraculous Medal:

1. Properly named, "The Miraculous Medal" or the "Medal of the Immaculate Conception" is a medal originally designed by Saint Catherine Labouré following her reported vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This vision returned to her every evening during meditation.

2. Ever wonder about the date of 1830?

The exact date of Saint Catherine Labouré vision was the night of July 18, 1830, she awoke upon hearing a voice of a child calling her to the sisters' chapel located in the Rue du Bac, Paris, France, where she heard the Blessed Virgin Mary say to her, "God wishes to charge you with a mission. You will be contradicted, but do not fear; you will have the grace to do what is necessary. Tell your spiritual director all that passes within you. Times are evil in France and in the world."

3. Four months later the vision returned to her every evening during her meditations. Her vision is as follows:

The Blessed Mother displayed herself inside an oval frame, standing upon a globe, wearing many "rings" of different colors, most of which shone rays of light over the globe.

Around the margin of the frame appeared the words Ô Marie, conçue sans péché, priez pour nous qui avons recours à vous ("O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee") starting from her right hand and ending at her left.

This is the traditional design of the Miraculous Medal in it's oval shape as St. Laboure envisioned with Mary standing on the globe, a sign to end evil in France and the rest of the world.  A tiny sterling version is available here at  The Destiny of Things.

4. Ever wonder about the exact number of 12 stars? the M cross? and the two different sacred hearts on the back?

In her vision, the frame seemed to rotate, showing a circle of twelve stars, a large letter M surmounted by a cross, and the stylized Sacred Heart of Jesus crowned with thorns and Immaculate Heart of Mary pierced with a sword.

5. This is the SUPER interesting!

Asked why some of her "rings" did not shed light, Mary reportedly replied, "Those are the graces for which people forget to ask."

Are you wondering about the rings now?

Did the rays of light come from the diamond rings Mary wore! Yes, three on each finger!

According to her own hand the medal should also have half a globe upon which Mary's feet rest, hands raised up to her waist, fingers filled with diamond rings of different sizes giving off rays of light, and a frame slightly oval with golden letters saying, "O Mary! conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!" She also added that some of the diamonds did not give off rays. Her fingers each had three rings and the largest stones emitted the most brilliant rays.

[Aladel, M. (1999). The Miraculous Medal. Albany, New York: Preserving Christian Publications, Inc.. pp. 49-51]

Photo via The Destiny of Things, back side of traditional version.  A tiny sterling version is available here at  The Destiny of Things.

More information I found interesting:

1. The back of the medallion has the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary pierced with a sword. The twelve stars are from her vision, but I've also read it symbolizes the 12 apostles.

2. Catherine then heard Mary ask her to take these images to her father confessor, telling him that they should be put on medallions, and saying "All who wear them will receive great graces."-Catholic Encyclopedia: Miraculous Medal

3. Catherine did so, and after two years' of investigation and observation of Catherine's normal daily behavior, the priest took the information to his archbishop without revealing Catherine's identity. The request was approved and medallions were designed and produced through goldsmith Adrien Vachette.

[McMenamin, M. 2010. Precisely dated early versions of the Miraculous Medal. Numismatics International Bulletin, v. 45, nos. 3/4, p. 43-48.]

[Mack, John (2003). The museum of the mind: art and memory in world cultures. British Museum.]

4. One of the most remarkable facts recorded in connection with the Miraculous Medal is the conversion of a Jew, Marie-Alphonse Ratisbonne of Strasburg, who had resisted the appeals of a friend to enter the Church. Alphonse Ratisbonne consented, somewhat reluctantly, to wear the medal, and being in Rome, he entered, by chance, the church of Sant'Andrea delle Fratte and beheld in a vision the Blessed Virgin Mary exactly as she is represented on the medal; his conversion speedily followed.

[Glass, Joseph, "Miraculous Medal". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913. Accessed 2011-05-20.]

Above variation, SOLD OUT, a different HVM version, here

5. Pope John Paul II used a slight variation of the reverse image as his coat of arms, the Marian Cross, a plain cross with an M underneath the right-hand bar (which signified the Blessed Virgin at the foot of the Cross when Jesus was being crucified).

6. The chapel in which Saint Catherine experienced her visions is located at the mother house of the Daughters of Charity in Paris. The incorrupt bodies of Saint Catherine Labouré and Saint Louise de Marillac, a co-founder of the Daughters of Charity, are interred in the chapel, which continues to receive daily visits from Catholic pilgrims today.

Incorrupt!!!!  The MOST interesting!!!! After 57 years of being buried in the ground, her body was exhumed and is said to have remained incorrupt and supple! Catherine Laboure is still lying in state at the right of the altar in the chapel Rue du Bac 140, in Paris and she still looks as though she only died yesterday! That's a Ripley's, "Believe it or not!"

See a pic and more info at Saint Catherine Laboure, Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal
Let me know what you think or if you've been to the chapel in Paris and seen her yourself!  I'm so curious about it!

 Another version of HansVilhelm Hansen, available here

Saying Good-bye:  The Hans Vilhelm Hansen or HVM Miraculous Medal was let go easily.  As I mentioned before, it's not the sterling religious medals I'm attracted to, but the aluminum and plastic ones, especially the blue plastic.  And the tiny blue enameled ones.  Also the aluminum ones I have in sets of 10 or more.

Back to the topic at hand, The HVH medal went to a collector who is making a spiritual necklace!  So far she has Madonna, Buddha, Crosses, lotus flowers and praying hands.  She may add a "namaste" and Miraculous Medal charm!

I hope she sends me a pic of her wearing the necklace when it's complete!  How "destiny as infinity" would that be?

UPDATE!!! Sat19Jan2013:  I am so thrilled, KV sent me pics of her spiritual charm necklace!  I love the diversity and colors!  Thank you for going over and beyond and sending me pis as well as letting me share your story!  I love it!

What I Learned:

1.  My religious medal collection is as extensive as my cross collection, which stems from my Mexican Folk Art collection (most of it sold last Oct for Day of the Dead holiday) to Religious Mexican Folk Art collection to Religious Folk Art from around the world.  Lastly, I made my own Religious Folk Art. (Some of it is at the link and the rest if still buried in the unknown boxes of hoard!)

Back then each of my art series lasted for about 2 years and then it changed to something else.  I did this unwittingly and unknowingly and just kept my destash in boxes!  My last two year art stint was quilting!  Yikes!  I have/had an ever growing textile collection!  Then I started moving every 2-3 years and lost track of everything!

So I guess my new art series for the next two years is "The Art of Hoarding Without Hoarding!"  I did start a post with that title on 1/7/2013, so let's see if I can turn hoarding into art! Silly funny, ha-ha-ha

Thank you KV for sharing your story with me and for surprising me with some pic updates of your spiritual necklace. You made my day!  and your/my/our HVH medal looks like it's in good company with other one of a kind uniqueness.  I like how you used a spring clasp, so it can be easily rearranged! 

Thank you for making my "destiny as infinity" come true!

Thank you readers from US, Germany, Cypress, South Korea, Canada, UK, Italy, Trinidad and Tobago!  Welcome readers from Lithuania and Philippines!  Thank you for taking part in HoarderRehab:  The Destiny of Things!


Parting Thoughts:  I finally got some "crash" sleep, but it's like I was awake today, but not really awake!  It seems to happen to me a lot.  It's like a 50/50 chance that "crash" sleep isn't really doing me any good!  I didn't get anything done today, except kinda write this, la-dee-da around the net, and cruise around etsy.  It felt like driving around in circles and being too zoned out to care about it.  As a matter of fact, I feel like I'm just starting to wake up  now, which is 5:53 pm California time.  Any other insomniacs feel like that when they finally get some "crash" sleep?

1nov2012: Two Steps Backwards, One Step Forward: Relapse! HoarderRehab Inspiration or Desperation, Story #10

1nov2012:  Two Steps Backwards, One Step Forward:  Relapse!  HoarderRehab Inspiration or Desperation, Story #10

What to Do When One is Not Enough and Two is Too Many?  HoarderRehab Inspiration or Desperation, Story #10  {written on 1nov2012 and found on 16jan2013, added pics and proofread}

I've been fighting  the flu for over a week now and today I was finally well enough to have some coffee, but one cup wasn't enough and well, two cups was much too much!  Which reminds me.....

I had a relapse over the weekend!  Two Steps Backwards, One Step Forward!

This story was written on November 1, 2012, but it got lost in my hoard of backdrafts waiting for a weekend to take the pics of the books, which are now listed on The Destiny of Things.  

It's listed under "HR Mishap Books."  This book I just had to have because it explains my allergies in simple terms with pictures!  Just like how I like it!

mr oz. and I have been celebrating financial landmarks from each etsy shop, VintageToGoetsy and HoarderRehab by watching "The Dark Knight Rises" at an IMAX theater two weekends in a row before it leaves.  The kind with a really big huge screen, like about three to six stories high!

Last weekend while we were celebrating, both shops hit another goal!  We have found good homes for over 100 hoarded items!  There are 100 less items in our home!  It's hard to tell, but at least I can say the hoard is more organized and there is hope at the end of the tunnel, instead of a head on collision!

BOOTS or BOOKS?

The IMAX is in an outdoor indoor mall with a Nordstrom Rack!  Nordstrom Rack is about the only place I have a decent chance of finding a shoe that fits me!  I know I'm banned from shopping, but it was a celebration and I don't know how it is for you, but for me, finding size 5 shoes that fit and are comfortable is like finding a needle in a haystack!

Forget about stylish, I'm lucky just to find my size, but not at Nordstrom Rack!  They always have at least one row of size 5 shoes, so off we went to see what I could find!  My heard was racing and my eyes popped when I saw that they had  -two- rows of size 5 shoes!  Long story, short--- I turned down the cutest black chunky black boots in size 5 that seemed to fit and were even stylish!

On to the bookstore, my niece's birthday is around the corner and I have the 1992 version of Lily's Purple Plastic Purse plush doll, but not the book!

I was going to sell it, but my niece loves capes and it's such a good story, especially for how to behave in class!  I saw another 90s Lilly Doll online and it was priced at $95.  Hard to believe!  Anyways...

Unfortunately, I have the book somewhere lost in my hoard, but I can't find it, so..... there was this used bookstore across from the IMAX and we went in to look for the book!  What a mistake!  I mean, challenge and learning experience!

The bookstore was huge, perhaps a retired, Borders.  The children's section was disarray and not in any kind of order I could figure out.  I was doing fine looking around and rummaging through books looking for Lilly's Plastic Purple Purse book, until mr. oz found a double sided book from the 60s and put it in my hands and that was the end of that!

You know one of those kinds of books that has a story and when it ends you turn it around and it has another story!  One side has "Petunia, I Love You" and the other side has "Trubloff".  It has classic 60's illustration, graffics and colors!  I won't be parting with that book any time soon!  chuckle-chuckle

After that, my attention strayed and although I went looking for my neice's particular book, I kept finding other books, until I had a pile of seven!

This reminded me my Richard Scarry word books I had as a kid and used in the classroonand I actually thought I would brush up on my Spanish!  Which I did, but only for the first two days!

This Word Book also had an organized format that I couldn't pass up!  Very silly, illogical and ironic, but true!  I buy things for how well they are organized.  See the alphabet at the bottom of each page?  It corresponds to the word group in alphabetical order! Neat!

Yes, it was all over for me.  I threw in the towel and let defeat set in, as I found I could not let go of the books!  I felt like I could not walk away from the books without some devastating damage!

I wasn't a hoarder at that moment, but instead a thrill seeking bargain hunter!  In hindsight, I should have tried to walk away and later returned to them, but at the time I could not let them go!  And maybe enough time has not passed, but I am still glad I bought them, but am now more conflicted about it!

I bought this because I think it might be a letterpress book or something I can use in my paper collage art.  It's not enough that I already have boxes and boxes of collage paper to organize!

Learning Curve:

1.  I need to have celebration and/or reward items chosen ahead of time, so I don't buy random items on impulsive compulsively.  I probably should stick to online shopping unless I've had a fair amount of sleep!

2.  I need to remember to pass on a good deal.  Just practice looking so I don't add to my hoard!  Stay on course with goals, do not let the thrill of a bargain derail my goal of a Minimalist Organic home!

Remind myself that my bargain hunting skills coincide too well with my hoarding and should not mix, until I have my hoarded life in a more manageable existence!

3.  Don't put things in my hand or keep them there!  Put them down and return to them.  Even if the thought of someone else buying them, instead of me, keeps rolling in my head like a repeated warning!

Then later practice having things in my hands that I want to keep and see what happens.

4.  As a hoarder, celebrations are a challenge for me.  I passed up all the shops at that mall a week before and I did make plans to go buy my neices' book, but didn't make them.  So did I use the celebration and my niece's book as "EXCUSES" to add more to my hoard?

This isn't as easy as I thought it was going to be.  It's going to take a lot more practice than I thought to control myself.

5.  What to do when one isn't enough and two is too much?

6.  Should I wait to practice until my hoard is gone? or should I practice as I go along?  What happens to spontaneity?  Are stores always going to be like taking an alcoholic to a bar and placing a drink in their hand?  Am I always going to feel like "all or nothing?"  Will there be a time when I'll be coherent enough to think beyond my hoard?

Did I find the book for my neice?  I did not and ended up walking out of the bookstore with 5  books.  Even though the books were bargains in the end, it cost me more due to it's hard knock to my head and adding to my hoard!  The thrill wasn't  nearly as good as when I got home and tried to find a place for them!  I felt as if I had lost the race I had been winning.  I felt confused as to how I could not stop myself.  I felt grateful that mr. oz didn't stop me and let me work this out for myself.

I have a lot of unanswered questions about my hoarding ways and how to solve them, but it's more questions than I ever asked of myself when I used to relentlessly purge my hoard without thinking about it, so I feel as though I'm making progress, even if they look like set backs.

So in the end, I am hoping these two step backwards will later prepare me for my next steps forward in my challenge into my unknown hoarding adventure!

Post Thoughts:  (Added 16jan2013)  Do I see a pattern here?  Do I add to my hoard about every two months?  This weekend we'll be taking pics of my HoarderRehab Meltdown!  Again, now that all the packages are arriving from my buying spree, it's way more than I thought!

At least now I have my built in coping mechanisms, like theme songs, quotes and planned rewards to practice and the BIG question to ask myself over and over, "Is this going to bring me closer or further away from my goals?"

Thank you US, Germany, Japan, Canada, Cypress, South Korea, Malaysia, Trinidad and Tobago for your time and company at  the HoarderRehab Blog:  The Destiny of Things!

Rewards as Motivation:  Hoarder Inspiration or Desperation #9

What Motivates You?

 This is my $25 reward, including shipping that didn't work, so I added the angels below to include with it.

As a teacher, one of my goals was to help my students find their hidden talents, potential and gifts in the time I had with them.  Each year they all knew this was one of my goals for each and every one of them.  And as each one was found we'd have a silent celebration of acknowledgement and at the end of the year we'd all celebrate for ourselves and individuals and as a classroom.

No matter how silly, destructive, angry, shy, fearful or behind they were, they knew it didn't matter because no one's hidden talents and gifts relied on anything but who they were deep down inside their hearts!  And by mid year most of us could openly talk about these talents, differences and gifts each one of us had and for those that were still looking seek out possibilities and help guide them towards finding them from each other.

We all knew that providing a safe haven was one of the keys to help explore areas of potential, which wasn't as easy as it sounds for an inner city teacher.  I found that it was just important to provide for their basic needs:  like breakfast snacks for those who didn't have any, naps for those who couldn't sleep because it was too cold or loud, someone to watch over them just when they are playing, doing something new or practicing, someone to look them over and notice and tend to health issues, someone to talk to freely for just five minutes, and even just some simple human contact, etc.

Every morning we'd start the day with four corners!  One corner was for a business hand shake, another for a high five, a third one for a papa, mama or baby bear hug and the last one was for our secret class hand shake that was about ten moves!  I would move from one corner to the next until everyone that wanted one had their time of day!  One could participate in as many of the corners one felt like that day or none at all.  If I tried to skip our ritual of four corners there were plenty of complaints! Moans and groans.

Those days are long gone!

I realize I'm on my own to follow my dreams, stay on this adventure and change my ways.  It's not like being in an ever evolving classroom, going to work or paying a mortgage.  I'm not always in an environment were I feel safe and even though I am an adult and can take care of my own basic needs, I don't often get sleep!

So what am I trying to say?  My main motivating factors would be other people!  I like working in teams, support groups or at least with a partner, but I don't have that, at least not to the extent I need.  I do have mr. oz, but he has a full time job and I have mine!

I used to ask my class what motivates them and we'd make a list:

1. competition 
2. dare
3. fear 
4. positive thinking
5. lots of praise
6. lots of practice
7. theme quotes
8. them songs
9. help from friends
10. starting small
11. deadlines
12. team work, at least in the beginning
13. affirmations
14. goals of the day or to do lists
15. promising yourself a reward
16. creating your own world
17. pain driven
18. scolding, nagging
19. spirituality
20. guilt, shaming
21. lecturing
22. yelling
23. revenge

Then we'd put the list in order from most helpful to least helpful.  Whenever we needed some motivation we'd check our lists and do something about it!

High on my list is REWARDS!  and it used to be foods and things to buy and it still is, no matter how many times I've tried to change it.  Although my main motivator factor is me is going about my work with someone around, like mr. oz, unfortunately I don't always have that luxury.  As a matter of fact, I haven't had it most of my life so I've always turned to rewards!

And I know when a reward will work or not work very quickly because what ever behavior I'm trying to change will stop or continue!  It's that simple!  Sometimes the hard part is finding thee appropriate reward!

This is the added $20 reward I added to the flower die cuts at the top, but it didn't work either.  The third reward I added I can't right now!  It's buried in one of my three shops fav's!  Also, sorry I ran out of time to add links today- will do another time.

Like right now, I'm having a terrible time trying to find a reward to stop picking at the peeling skin on my thumbs from the gluten I ate from the Pizza Hut Pizza!  Yes, gluten makes my skin peel on my fingers and my heels (plus other allergic reactions quite common with gluten allergies and celiacs) and then I peel or pick at it!  I know gross!  It's like the bad habit of biting nails, ewww.  Okay, back to my non judgmental aura.

I've tried for about a week to find something.  Usually I choose a reward and give myself a day and at the end of the day buy whatever reward I've planned, but this time the reward is just getting bigger and bigger, which means, "more$" and "more$"!

Before it was like $10-20 reward for day 1 and then $20 for the next three days and $40 for the next week and $100 for a month.  I can't get past one day of $40-$50 worth of reward for one day!  So now I'm trying a half a day.

I think part of my will power is diminished due to lack of sleep for a week now.  I haven't even had any "crash" sleep.  ("Crash" sleep is sleep I usually get from staying up for about three days straight with about three hours of sleep a night)

Also, we went out last weekend and even though we took organic snacks with us it wasn't enough and we had conventional foods and I got so sick!  Like food poisoning violent sick, like keep my head near the toilet sick and I think all the antihistamines from the allergic reactions in my body have been working in overdrive and I am what I call "hyper tired", which is immense lethargy mixed with an endless supply of nervous energy!  Now that's got to be a combination for a lethal disaster!  Do not operate heavy machinery or moving vehicles!

Hoarder Inspiration:  I'll keep trying with the rewards til something works, but this might be an expensive doozey one!  The good news is I get a whole lot done because I'm not spending it sleeping.

I'm thankful that I have some outlined motivating factors that I can rely on when I need it!  And even though, as a hoarder, it may not always work constructively towards my goals, at least they work most of the time, if not to improve myself at least to improve my life and health!

Hoarder Desperation:  Although I spend a lot time awake, it's not always productive since I second guess myself due to lack of sleep, which kicks in my impulsiveness, hence the buying without thinking and hoarding without dealing with it!

Thank you US, Germany, UK, United Arab Emirates, Canada, China, France, Romania, Japan, Trinidad and Tobago

I ran out of time again and will put my motivating factors in order,  add links, more pics and revise more another time. Again, please overlook the off topic messiness, spelling, bad grammar, etc!  Thank you.

Until then, what is on your list of motivating factors and how many could you add to the above list and which ones do you rely on most?

Organic NuttZo and HoarderRehab Diet: HoarderRehab Review #2

Organic NuttZo:  HoarderRehab Review #2
13dec2012:  9:55amCAlifTime, revised mon14jan2013

Organic NuttZo!

photo from Eat, Drink and Be Aware:  Read for details about each nut and seed health benefit here

It's delicious and tastes like chunky peanut butter without the peanuts.  I just opened the bottle and ate 1/4 to 1/3 the jar already!  I've tried many organic nut butters and this one tastes the closest to peanut butter from what I remember!

Long story short, I don't eat peanuts due to mold and Dr's have concluded from testing that I'm allergic to them, but that's another story!

It's more sweet than other nutbutters I've tried, so maybe some or all of the nuts are roasted. I went to the site, but it doesn't say how they are made, except they blend it in a special way for it's consistency.  Other nut butters I eat are raw and sprouted.

I like the RED Nuttzo without peanuts in it, but I did try the BLUE or one with peanuts because Whole Foods didn't have the Red one, but I didn't like it with peanuts.  I haven't tried the chocolate one and probably won't unless Whole Foods is out of Red Nuttzo.

The NuttZo story, as well as her product is very inspiring, uplifting and heart felt!  If you go to the site, watch the pop up video.  It's well worth it and if you know how I feel about skimming through videos that I usually just skip, this one is worth watching and then just go and buy some Nuttzo!

Genesis of NuttZo

Fitness and nutrition have always been an integral part of my life. After adopting two boys from the Ukraine who were vitamin deficient, I became even more focused on preparing creative, flavorful, super-nutritious foods. NuttZo is an Omega-3 powerhouse of nutrition blended into a delectable butter. I'm honored to share it with you and your family.
Adoption was a life changing event for my husband and me. After meeting so many of the beautiful orphaned children while adopting our two sons, we founded Project Left Behind, a 501c3 non-profit organization focused on providing education and living essential to orphans.   I am so pleased to announce that NuttZo is a proud supporter of Project Left Behind.
Enjoy!
Danielle LiVolsi
President/Founder


WARNING:  Keep in mind, I haven't eaten most conventional foods in 3-4 years and 8-10 years of small amounts of bread, soy and cheese and cream.  So some of my taste buds might be more enhanced or dehanced due to relying on mere memories of past loved foods.  Also, when I stop writing organic, it just means I got tired of writing it in, so everything is organic, unless I note that it's not organic. lol

I am allergic to so many things, it's easier to say that I only eat organic gluten free, soy free, dairy free foods, until my hoard of backdrafts are posted and I can concentrate on how I think hoarding effects my health.

One of them is my mental health, which has many categories and sections, so right now I'll just call them, MOODS.  I eat and drink many things to balance my moods or take some moods away, mainly raw, if I can find it, like organic cashew and brazil nuts.  Those two work the best for me and I can tell the difference when I forget to eat them.

Whole Foods stopped carrying Essential Living raw organic brazil nuts and bulk bin ones, which I don't usually buy because of mold and I haven't made a trip to Erwhon for their brazil nuts and powder and I'm on my last couple handfuls in the freezer.  I only need three a day.

Anyways, WF used to have brazil nut butter but it it was tons more expensive then cashew butter and in half the size, but since I'm getting kinda desperate I started looking again, but found Nuttzo butter instead!


Information: I found most interesting about Nuttzo:

1.  its high in ALA Omega 3 and personally I prefer chia over flax anyday!  So I am quite happy with it's chia choice.  I like chia because it doesn't go rancid as quickly as flax and you don't have to grind it to get the Omega 3 benefits.  It's the food of Native Americans and I like the fact that I could live off one Tablspoon of chia or so I've read.

When they went hunting or took long trips and took very little, one of the foods they did take was chia.  I always wondered why they never show Native Americans in Westerns stopping to build campfires and cook food, they just stopped to rest and rest their horse and ate chia from a pouch on their waist.

2.  The reason why it's upside down is because you only have to mix it once because all of the oils will be at the bottom instead of the top!  Very common sense neat trick, so cool!  I'll use it for my cashew butter, which I never bother mixing I just spoon a tunnel.

It has the cashews, first ingred listed and brazil nuts, third ingred. listed which I need for my mood and is reasonably priced, since you ony need one serving a day and it's about $1 a serving.  And that also qualifies as a serving of complete amino acids intake as a protein!

3.  I like that they come with plastic tops now, which are probably less toxic than the metal ones.  My only wild wish would be if they came in wide mouthed squat bottles, so I could reach in there and get every last bit with a spoon! 

4.  Eating 2 tsp-tablespoon of cashew butter or a handful of cashews daily and three brazil nuts works best for me to keep my moods balanced.

Most morning I enjoy what I call a "Choco Latte"  Organic, gluten free, soy free and dairy free.  Here is the recipe if you'd like to taste it:

My Morning CHOCO LATTE Recipe: good for my depression, my mood balance, my thyroid, my diabetes and my low blood pressure prevention.  This is what works for me and if you try it, I hope it tastes good to you!

2-3 teaspoon or tablespoon of organic cashew butter, good to prevent my depression information from the movie, Food Matters

2-3 teaspoon of raw organic cacao powder from Mountain Rose Herbs or organic chocolate baking powder, my good mood enhancer

1 tablespoon raw organic brazil nut powder from Essential Living or raw brazil nut butter from Blue Mountain Organics as my mood stabilizer

1/4 - 1/3 cup canned coconut milk full fat, adds creaminess, but not needed

1/2- 1 teaspoon Essential Living organic raw maca for my thyroid health, it's an adaptogen, so it may help hypo or hyper

1/2- 1 teaspoon organic cinnamon for my diabetes prevention info. from Bernando laPallo, who's 111 years old!  He's also on youtube and has videos on his blog.

dash to 1/2 teaspoon of oraganic cayenne powder or 1-2 dropper full of organic cayenne liquid, good for my brain circulation-Dr. Schulze, plus I love how it tastes with the cacao powder!

pinch of sea salt for my low blood pressure

1.  While I am waiting for some filtered water to almost come to a boil, I add all the above ingredients to a mug.

2.  Add some hot water and mix with hand blender.

3.  Top with nutmeg, cinnamon or pumpkin spice.  I used to add vanilla to it, but can't really tell the difference, so I just leave it out now.

This is not medical advice, but my own experimental HoarderRehab diet for the fun and taste of it!

Thank you China, US, UK, Chile, Germany, Russia, Spain, Mexico, Australia, France, Finland, United Arab Emirates, Trinidad and Tobago for joining me the past three days!  Thank you for joining me with my second HoarderRehab Review and my first introduction to my HoarderRehab diet!

I would like to work on this post more after I get some sleep and get over my stomach issues.