Teacher Alphabet Bracelet: The Destiny of Things, Story LVII

Teacher Alphabet Bracelet:  The Destiny of Things, Story LVII

One of my all time favorite teacher accessories and it's gone to it's new life and home!

As a recovering hoarder, I thought this one was going to be difficult to let to go but it wasn't!  Maybe it was due to the insightful dedicated 37 year veteran teacher who ordered it.  Maybe it was due to her using the listing and giving me all the right information I needed to let it go!

Despite the hard bargaining, all I know is she worked with me until I was glad it was going to her for many reasons and at a price we could both agree on!  Plus the icing on the cake that swayed the deal to a close was an update picture of her wearing the alphabet bracelet while teaching her students upper case letter penmanship!!!!!

It was nice to fine out we had a lot in common even though she's a non hoarder and I'm a recovering one.  We both are/were elementary school teachers that come from a long line of teachers in the family.  She's a third generation teacher and in my family all five of my aunts, one uncle, three cousins and I are teachers.

We were both learning to change things in our lives that had to do with letting go and basically both learning non attachment to anything and everything!

Saying Good-bye:  Piece of cake!  Maybe after letting go of over 200 things, all that practice is paying off!  As of yesterday, 223 items to be exact!

As I was saying above, we were both letting go of things, but in her case, it was people and pets close to her, which allowed me to see a different perspective on letting go.  At least I have some choice and control over what I'm letting go, but she doesn't have any!  Which brought to my attention that it's best to have non attachment to as many things, including living ones as much as possible because one day we will all let go of everything!

What I Learned:  

1. For me, back in the day, it was love at first sight with this alphabet bracelet and had to have it and bought it to boost my energies towards teaching and used to inspire my students to learn the alphabet and also as a tactile tool for one on one help or just fun of reciting or singing the alphabet with this bracelet.

As a hoarder, I bought things to boost my energies a little too often, as in daily back in the late 80s and 90s for a period of 3-4 years!  It was good to learn that another teacher does the same, but with more restraint to boost her energies and I know now that's it's okay for "things" to boost our energies, once in awhile!

2.  She told and taught me that, perhaps the one of  biggest lessons in life is choosing to let go or get dragged along.  That nothing is permanent and always changing whether we like it or not.  She told me her secret to happiness is is to accept all that and try not to attach anything to things, situations or other people.

In her words and mine, "dare to take the path of least resistance to change, be aware and accept the impermanence of things and to see everything as neither good or bad, but as it is."

The expectation of not expecting anything will bring what it may and leaves no room for disappointment.

Thank you J for spending time to get to know one another as we negotiated, it was the most insightful fun negotiation ever in more ways than one!  I also look forward to an update of a picture of you wearing the alphabet bracelet in the classroom!  I don't think a deal could get any sweeter than that!

Thank you etsy for another connection to someone who as a non hoarder showed me so many ways to help me enjoy life as a recovering hoarder.

To all teacher out there, thank you for the many things you do, like making the countless split second decisions throughout the day to benefit the individual student, the class and the community!

Thank you US, Australia, Spain, Italy, France, Mexico and Malaysia for spending time here with me today and to all out there good luck on your journey's to your highest good!

Thank you for taking part in my Hoarder Rehab:  The Destiny of Things!

PHOTO UPDATE: Alphabet Bracelet in the Classroom! The Destiny of Things, Story LVII, part 2

Teacher Related Stories:

1.  Receipt Spike and Service Bell:  my inner city teacher challenges

2.  Rewards as Motivation : relates to my inner city teacher experiences

3.  Freddie the Frog Puppet:  happier teacher experiences and how to forgive

4.  Polaroid Camera Story:  inner city school challenges

5.  US Puzzle Maps:  kinda funny story of my teaching days

6.  Many other stories about toys or teacher tools under the category, The Destiny of Things

Update: Close Call with Anniversary Love Dice

Update:  Close Call with Anniversary Love Dice

This already has an update!  I don't know if this is going to be funny to anyone else, but it was to me and Cara and it definitely made my day!  It's one of those silly happenings that could fall into the wrong hands!

Side Note:  I had originally contacted Cherokee Dreams to explain that although I was responsible for the way her package looked, it is not how I normally package them!

I went on to explain that the night before I had packaged the other three with thanks yous and left hers to wrap in the morning before shipping them off.  I woke up with the flu, so mr. oz was kind enough to wrap it for me, but when I saw it.... I had to giggle because it looked like a homemade nerf football that someone had tried to make with a roll of mailing tape!

A couple of days later I receive this pic and email from her:

"Hey, guess what? package arrived today and hubby got the mail...he hands me the package and says "your drugs have arrived" hahahahhahahaha Attached is a photo (I have not opened because it is for him - so I will open later.) HUGS"

Phew!  that was a close call!  Nothing suspected and with unsuspected humor fell back into the right hands!

I was a little concerned about what another etsy vendor might think about the odd plain wrap packaging, since etsy is known for it's more creative packaging styles, but now the Anniversary Love Dice has a story all it's own in it's new life, which could be titled, "aight dem bricks" or "Remember that anniversary present that came looking like street pharm?"

I guess I never know when or how a story is going to turn up and how funny dehoarding can get!  I wonder if there will be another update to this story to make a part 3?

Thank you Cara aka Cherokee Dreams of Flowering Earth for the update and laughs! 

Thank you US, Israel, Australia, Brazil, Costa Rica, France, Guatemala, S. Korea, UK, Japan, Poland, Russia and Ukraine for your visits this past weekend and today!

Other Anniversary Stories:

1.  First part of the story, Anniversary Love Dice 

2.  Must de Cartier Perfume :  39 Year Anniversary Story 

3.  Copper Sacred Heart Nicho Shadowboxes:  2 Coincidental Seven Year (Copper) Anniversary Stories

Anniversary Love Dice: The Destiny of Things, Story LVI

Anniversary Love Dice:  The Destiny of Things, Story LVI

An email story from the etsyian, Cherokee Dreams of Flowering Earth:

Here it is:

CherokeeDreams

1 day ago 

I purchased this set in the hopes that it would bring a smile to my husband. April will be our 24th wedding anniversary and these will be a humorous addition to his gift stash. How could they not be fun? If they bring a kiss or a hug my way during the year - well....that's a bonus. A smile, a giggle, a kiss and a hug!

Another endearing anniversary story with added playfulness!  Thank you Cherokee Dreams for some insight and inspiration of how to keep love strong for a quarter of a century!

Saying Good-bye:

1.  These were another unused gift and sat in a box with the rest of my Valentine hoard, which you can see here.   At one time, I did use them as props in a Valentine decor project.

2. If these didn't get ordered, I was going to upcycle them and  take them from a "G" rating to "Rated R" or higher and spice them up with some added choice embroidered words!  Read some of the ideas here!  Like when you spice up fortune cookie fortunes by adding "in bed" to the end of whatever fortune you get!  "Feed Me Often- In Bed!"  It can add such fun funny playfulness!

 What I Learned:

1.  There are so many kind etsyians out there taking the time out of their busy creative days with my Hoarder Rehab journey and making it much more meaningful, fun and filled with more joy than I ever expected.  And unexpectedly I received some support as a techless etsy newbie too!  Thank you!

2.  My etsy experience has been 100% pure fun and full of joy up until last week to my dismay, a little wrench was thrown into the mix!  Unfortunately for both of us, someone only looked at the photo and didn't read the listing information and so they did not get what they were expecting, leaving both us with a less than good etsy experience!  I am still shocked and devastated with the negativity and non response to reverse the issues through email!

3.  However due to the unexpected rescue and encouraging words and connections with other etsy vendors, I am moving forward more smoothly than I expected and chalking it up as part of any learning experience in the business world, even though for me it's more like therapy.

As a recovering hoarder, it's very difficult for me to not take business negativity personally and I feel shocked, devastated and sad, even though I know in my head that as an etsy newbie, it's just part of business and that no matter how hard I try, I may not be able to please everyone with every order.

But on the flip side of the coin, as an etsyian, I'm doing my best to understand and learn from this experience and  let it improve my lack of business savviness.  Maybe later this misunderstanding will turn into something amazing, just like when I sent the wrong cup measures here.

4.  This event has brought many things to my attention because I've never really thought it was important mainly because of all the emails and stories I get and document on here.  Many people have given me their story without feedback and I never thought about it til now.  Another supporter helped me when she reminded me that it can happen to the best of us.

5.  What to do? Focus on the good to eliminate the bad and many etsyians do that for me daily!  I've also have become more conscious that as a recovering hoarder, I do have feelings and actions that are not the norm! At least it's a revelation that sounds funny to me now and so obviously funny.

And instead of suppressing these feelings I'm not supposed to have and pretending like I don't have these feelings or act differently than the norm and trying to be more like the norm... I know now it is not my cup of tea and it's best for me to express my feelings and work them through in my own ways.  For me, the norm is  is not the path of least resistance nor will it benefit me in ways to overcome my hoarding issues.

Which brings me back to this quote from my Meltdown, which I now call, "not the norm" quote:

I also, got this message from aya of wafunoiro, which I think got a little lost in translation, but works perfectly for me too, like a poem:

It turns out well that you have told. 

And you regret feeling unpleasant by those who are parts

 and as for whom the heart is not. 

Thank you Aya of wafunoiro.for your heartfelt words.  I am so thankful that even though I never know where cheerful help, inspiration or support is going to come, I know that it does come and it may come from people passing by or joining me for a bit as I journey on in my HoarderRehab adventures of The Destiny of Things!

Thank you Cherokee Dreams of Flowering Earth for your story behind the Anniversary Love Dice and for taking the time to email me several letters of your negative experiences with such humor and cheerfulness that helped me get past mine so quickly.  I also learned from you that's okay to feel whatever feelings come to me, even if the norm says otherwise!

Thank you etsy once again for some unexpected amazing connections that have helped me in more ways than I can count now!

Thank you US, Australia, UK, Canada, France, South Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Germany, India, Italy, Poland, Singapore and Russia for joining me the past two days into the unknown adventures of Hoarder Rehab:  The Destiny of Things!

Other Anniversary Related Stories:

1.  Must de Cartier Perfume :  39 Year Anniversary Story

2.  Copper Sacred Heart Nicho Shadowboxes:  2 Coincidental Seven Year (Copper) Anniversary Stories

Top Stories:

1. This week's most read story:  UPDATE:  Mr. Happy with His Brothers in His New Home!  

2.  This month's and "all time" most read story:   My Louis Vuitton Collection, the end of my collection is the beginning for others

Graduation Watch Replacement: The Destiny of Things, Story LV

Graduation Watch Replacement:  The Destiny of Things, Story LV

This watch is getting a lot mileage with an infinite amount ahead of it!  This is a replacement story within another replacement story!

Here is the story I received:

Note from Buyer Thanks! My husband is trying to replace a watch given to him by his parents for graduation long ago. He found the band and casing (black, not like the one on this watch) a few years ago and has been trying to find a mechanical part to put into it. This one has the same parts. So the watch will actually be used only for the insides and the band will be scrapped.

Another amazing replacement story!  Imagine that my watch has the same mechanical parts needed to complete his graduation watch!  What a story!  And this watch is definetly going to live a "destiny as infinity" life and will most likely be another heirloom item for another family!  I couldn't be happier!  Another dream come true!

I would love to be a fly on the wall and see his face when he first puts on the final product of this long ago graduation watch originally from his parents.  What a patient re-creation feat that's taken a few years and is now coming to into it's final act!

Saying Good-bye:  a slight tinge of sadness, but not for this watch, but for the one this watch replaced for me too.  I was given a petite dainty all gold watch similar to the one in the picture, but very miniature with a more delicate style, as a special gift for a special occasion from my brother and after many years lost it down a sink!

One day while I was washing my hands, it just fell off and slipped through the sink guard.  In one fateful swoop it was gone! I immediatly took a part the u pipe, but didn't find it.  Even with many many rescue attempts by others it was never found again!

My dear brother gave me the watch pictured above, as a replacement.  A sweet large gesture, but it ended up in a drawer and I never saw it or thought about it again, until now.  Thank you etsyian for bringing back the memories!

Note to self:  Write about the house I lost that watch in, since it wa so unique and probably the longest house I've lived in since my childhood house.

What I Learned:

1.  I seem to keep any old thing!  even for it's distant second grade memories!  In this case, I'm glad I did because it's going to a new life to become something even more special and I think so cherished it's going to become an heirloom item for generations to come!

2.  Do I replace memories with replacement items? besides placing my worries and dreams in them too?  Definetly need to replace some less loveabe memories with new improved experiences, instead of more things!

3.  Finally I think I see light at the end of the tunnel, instead of another train coming my way!  Lately I've been visualizing waking up and seeing an ever evolving person in the mirror that isn't listing one thing after another on any three shops, but creating art and seeing different ways of life.

4.  Wow, I have 10 replacement stories so far!  I wonder how many more unknown stories are out there from my hoard and how many more are to become known?

Thank you etsyian and husband for finding my Seiko watch replacement for a replacement for your long ago graduation watch from your parents!

Thank you etsy for another connection with  someone who supports me as a recovering hoarder!

Thank you US, UK, Germany, Netherlands, Ukraine, Columbia, and Singapore for your continuing support as I make my way through my HoarderRehab: The Destiny of Things!


Other Replacement Stories:

1.  Twin of "Something Blue" for You:  bracelet from a childhood trip

2.  Continuous Miraculous Mary Ring:   a  lost ring I've never seen before or later - replaced!

3.  Waechtersbach Red "You Are Special" Plate: heart felt replacement for an 8 year old and my first story

4. "Happy Birthday" Hostess Hellerware Pastry Stand:  for a Godmother and my second story

5.  Pig "Oink" Glass:  surprise replacement gift from Santa

6.  US Puzzle Maps:  old school puzzles for granchildren, just like grandma had!

7.  Freddie the Frog Puppet:  heartfelt childhood replacement many times over

8.  Must de Cartier Perfume:  Discontinued scent and formula replacement for a traveling couple

9.  Large Refrigerator Dish:  2nd generation holiday dish replaced by third generation daughter in law

UPDATE: Mr. Happy with His Brothers in His New Home! The Destiny of Things, Story LIV, part 2

UPDATE:  Mr. Happy with His Brothers in His New Home!  The Destiny of Things, Story LIV, part 2

This was a gift from one brother to another.  I was so ecstatic to get this pic and email last night that said, his brother opened it and absolutely loved it!

They have had the other three Mr. Happy toys since they were 6 or 7 years old!  How cool is that?  Now my/their/our Mr. Happy gets to join a bigger family of Mr. Happys!  He must be so happy to be out of that box!

I can tell by looking at all the other Mr. Happys that mine is going to be happy in their family for a very long time and will most likely end up as a "destiny as infinity" heirloom item!

My new favorite part of etsy packaging is writing the message that people request and I got to write the inside joke message of "the old one was getting kind of crabby..." for the two brothers!

Hmm... Can you tell which Mr. Happy might be the one getting kind of crabby?  I just love the smallest Mr. Happy!  He's been so loved he's missing some of his plush fuzz!  Maybe he's smaller because he was a "Happy Meal" toy?  That would be funny... Mr. Happy from a Happy Meal!

Stories like this makes my hoarding an exciting adventure as I figure out the mysteries of my hoarding ways!

Thank you two brothers from Oregon for collecting Mr. Happys to give to each other!  Thank you for sending the photo, it makes me laugh!  Thank you for taking the time to take the pic and email me a thank you!  I wish you knew how appreciative I am for all your support in making my HoarderRehab easier, fun and funny!

Thank you etsy for another happy connection with others helping me and encouraging me to keep moving forward and make my dream of a Minimalist organic home with a music art room come true!  See  how it looks here!

Thank you readers from US, UK, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Columbia, Germany, Israel, Italy and Mexico for supporting me in my HoarderRehab:  The Destiny of Things!

Related Stories:

1. "Good-bye Mr. Happy" part 1, last weeks most visited story

2.  Precious Moments BFFs under Umbrella:  another inside joke Valentine story, but from friend to friend

3.  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle:  Sibling Valentine story

4.  Freddie the Frog : Sentimental Nostalgic Childhood Memories from etsyian

5.  Christmas Memories from Santa: from Apartment Therapy where the comments tell more funny sentimental stories!

6.  Toothy Tooth Locket Story:  a story with an updated part 2 story from an etsyian Mother with a daughter and her loose tooth!

ME and My HOARD!: HoarderRehab Epiphany #8

ME and My HOARD!:  HoarderRehab Epiphany #8

I'm finally brave enough  and safe enough to show a pic of my hoard!

Yep, that's it---taking up an entire bedroom and guess what?  In "real life" this room doesn't look THAT bad to me and I go in there everyday, but it looks "B - A - D" to me in this photo!  So as a hoarder, what does that say about my perception?

Plus about once a month it gets semi-organized and by the end of the month, it ends up like the photo!

On the bright side, it's my soon-to-be music art room!  It's going to be organized by the end of this month, at least enough so to get some shelving in there by April.  And by May have at least two tables in there- one for mr. oz's music and one for my art.

Quickly moving on to my shipping area.....

  Yikes!  That's my shipping area?  Pictures do speak a thousand more words, more than seeing it daily in my real life!

I pass by this area at least 10 times a day and it again certainly looks much worse in the picture than when I see it daily.  Why is that?

This is the nook and cranny next to the Stairway tansu, it's 7 1/2 feet by 45 inches and is twice the space of my clothes closet.  It's full from the floor to the ceiling with unbreakables that are boxed and ready to be freed into their new homes and lives!

All the breakables are housed in the stairway tansu.  Side note:  take a pic of the stairway tansu this weekend.

What I Learned:

1.  As a hoarder, there is definitely something amiss with my perception of space and how my hoard looks to me!  Looking and working in that room doesn't effect me, but seeing it as a photo has an affect on me!  I'm not sure if the word, I want is "effect" or "affect" in this case, but either way "something needs" to change!

I can't imagine how the room must have looked in May, when it had two rows of boxes lined up against that one wall to the ceiling!  As of today, there are 211 less items in that room gone to new homes and better lives!

It certainly doesn't look like much progress has been going on!  But I know I've made some progress, since there's less chances of snagging on a box or two from front forward movement, instead of side stepping around!  Also, there's enough room to vacuum in there now!

2.  What an eye opener to being more diligent about spending at least 15 min. a day organizing the music art room!  I think I'll take a pic of it every week and post it weekly or so as a motivating factor to spend more time in there!

3.  It's the coldest room in the house, as cold as a meat locker and I've haven't been in there much lately.  It'll be some incentive to find a plug and be able to fit a heater in there to spend more time organizing!  Let's see how much better that room will look next week!  Only time will tell!

4.  I found this Test for Hoarding, at the International OCD Foundation here

So I'm not too confident with my perception as a hoarder, but I'd say that my hoarded - soon-to-be music art room is between a level 6 or 7, leaning heavily towards a level 7.

At one time, it was close to level 9, but I had it all stacked in a "U" shape, so there has always been some side stepping mobility, but finding and knowing where things were was not possible, however now it is possible, but time consuming.

Now there is no danger of shifting objects smothering and only slight safety risks of something falling, it is still not a suitable living space, so I am in the serious to severe hoard range!  Yikes!

It takes extreme effort on my part to keep the rest of the house a level 0-1, as shown in the picture from my "Welcome" page.

5.  How do I feel about posting a picture of my hoard?  I feel ambivalent at the moment, but since it seems that posting my words helps me to keep them, I will try it and see if it helps me to end my hoarding ways!

Lastly, my goal is to end my hoarding ways once and for all.  Hoarding for me is like dieting, I lose it eventually, but in the end gain it all back, sometimes ten fold!  Is it possible to end my hoarding cycles?  or will I forever be like an alcoholic just keeping it at bay, one day at a time?

Whatever it takes, I'm game this time!  Be it, "one day at a time" or a battle to the death of one of us! ha!

On that note, I will go sit quietly and rejuvenate my batteries for tomorrow's path of least resistance for my HoarderRehab adventure of The Destiny of Things!

Thank you US, UK, Germany, Montenegro, Australia, New Zealand and Philippines for stopping by and supporting my mysterious, yet eye opening adventure today!  I feel safe in this non judgmental hoarding arena!  Thank you for that!

Post Thoughts:  What's the difference between hoarding and collecting to me? Collecting is pleasurable and will bring me joy even when cleaning and maintaining it.  To me, hoarding is an ongoing huge obstacle keeping me from doing what I really love to do and is a related health problem to my body, mind and spirit.

What is the difference between hoarding and collecting to you?

Gluten Free Organic Amy's No Cheese Pizza Hoarder Rehab Review #4

Gluten Free Organic Amy's No Cheese Pizza Hoarder Rehab Review #4

For those of you with food allergies, ranging from gluten to dairy and feel deprived of pizza, this may be an answer for you!  My search for gluten free and organic foods is becoming somewhat easier these days!

Out of the the 23 ingredients 13 are organic.  It contains no gluten, but those of you who are super sensitive it is made in a facility that processes wheat.

It is a sweet tasting pizza and I did miss the cheese!  Overall, it's a good alternative when I'm feeling pizza deprived or are having intense pizza cravings.

I will continue to experiment with this pizza by adding on different organic cheeses on it and see if I can find one that my body will tolerate and enjoy!

If you are allergic to gluten and dairy and feel deprived of pizza, try this!  It's mostly organic too.  It has other mushrooms in it, but only the shitake are organic.  I try to avoid soy also and it does have soy lecithin.

List of NOT organic ingredients:  artichokes, extra virgin olive oil, mushrooms, balsamic vinegar, sea salt, expeller pressed high oleic safflower and/or sunflower oil, yeast, soy lecithin, black pepper and spices.

More Gluten free and Organic on my list of Amy's Kitchen to try are Cheese Tamale Verde, Roasted Vegetable Tamale, Enchilada Verde Whole Meal, Asian Noodle Stir Fry, Mexican Tamale Pie, Indian Paneer Tikka and Indian Palak Paneer.

It's so nice to have some alternatives when I need a break from cooking or something easy to warm up and eat after a long busy day or have a craving ranging from either pizza, to Mexican to Asian!

Side Notes:  I'm also trying an experiment to see if changing my diet will help my HoarderRehab, since many other conditions are linked to gluten, it can't hurt mine!  Most of my allergies dictate what I eat now, but I'm hoping my allergies will improve as I improve other areas of my life too!

Has anyone else out there found any foods that are gluten free, mostly soy free and organic?

Thank you Rachel and Andy of Amy's Kitchen for being sensitive to the needs of your customers and giving me a break from cooking from scratch by providing gluten free organic meals!  Thank you for continuing to add new delicious products!

Thank you US, Germany, UK, Kazakhstan, United Arab Emirates, Argentina, France, Indonesia, Malaysia. Portugal and Pakistan for joining me in my HoarderRehab:  The Destiny of Things!

Related posts:

1.  Amy's Gluten Free Pizza with Cheese, 74% Organic Review

2.  Nuttzo Review:  Gluten free Organic Nut butter

3.  Miswak Review:  Organic Toothbrush Stick, No Toothpaste Needed