Spring Blessings Cometh..

The Goddess and Saint Brigid

Tomorrow February 1st will mark several important things....it is the Feast of St Brigid, who is both a Celtic Goddess and was adopted by the Catholic Church. It is also the eve of Pagan spring or Imbolc (Feb 2).
On Imbolc eve leave buttered bread in a bowl indoors for the faeries who travel with Brighid.

  Place three ears of corn(or some wheat stalks as shown here), tied with red ribbon, over a door as a symbol of the triple Goddess, leave til Ostara (March 20th)

Maman Brigitte with her favorite offering...Rum and Red Peppers.

Brigid is also the same as the Voodoo lwa Maman Brigitte (when making an offering to Maman Brigitte she prefers rum and hot peppers).
However you choose to believe, take some time to light 3 candles tomorrow and set out a saucer of milk to honour Brigid and ask her blessings. It is a time of great healing both physically and mentally. Tonight a red ribbon on your doorstep will be blessed by Brighid as she passes. Keep that ribbon with you all year or place it on your altar.

A simple altar to honor Brigid, 3x candles, a dish of milk, a chalice of Holy Water and a corn dolly made with dried stalks.

Here is a spell chant for when you light those 3 candles and set out your offering.

                The snake comes up from its hole in the ground
                And the snake-neck bird, the swan, goes flying
                As the light flares higher and the dark is dying.
                Rise, rise, rise in my body and soul
                The Fire! Power! Life! The flame of desire!
                Let fire within be a healing spell.
                As the new light burns, all shall be well.

On Feb 2nd (Imbolc) Pour milk upon the earth and give thanks for the returning fertility and the sun....

I leave you with this beautiful photo of a snowdrop just emerging through the snow to symbolize the blessings of the coming Spring.

Love,

Brittany

We Aren't So Vastly Different.....

I get asked all the time why a  girl raised in the Episcopal (COE) faith, who later converted to Roman Catholic.......is now a card-carrying devoted follower of Paganism.....It was a long journey here. For too long I ignored the obvious and what spoke to me to be compliant with what everyone else thought/felt. So......in a manner of speaking....I came out!
I get tired of all the arguments and insinuations by those that seem to be so damned adamant that their 'way' is the best way. Okay, it's best for YOU....go live it and be happy....let me be happy in my own faith.

A few thoughts.....

We should educate people that 'Witch' is not evil but ancient and positive. The first time I called myself a 'Witch' was the most magical moment of my life.

If you take [a copy of] the Christian Bible and put it out in the wind and the rain, soon the paper on which the words are printed will disintegrate and the words will be gone. Our bible IS the wind and the rain.

When one defines oneself as Pagan, it means she or he follows an earth or nature religion, one that sees the divine manifest in all creation. The cycles of nature are our holy days, the earth is our temple, its plants and creatures our partners and teachers. We worship a deity that is both male and female, a mother Goddess and father God, who together created all that is, was, or will be. We respect life, cherish the free will of sentient beings, and accept the sacredness of all creation.

Oh and......You wonder what I *do* personally follow in the same way you follow your 10 Commandments..........
(This also existed Pre-Christianity btw)

I am a Pagan and I dedicate myself to channeling the Spiritual energy of my inner self to help and to heal others and myself.

I know that I am part of the Whole of nature. May I grow in understanding of the Unity of all Nature. May I always walk in balance.

May I always be mindful of the diversity of Nature as well as its Unity. May I always be tolerant of those whose race, appearance, culture and ways differ from my own.

May I use my psychic powers wisely and never use it for aggression or for malevolent purposes. (* I fail at this sometimes, as you know*)

May I never use it to curtail the free will of others. (*and this*)

May I always remember that I create my own reality and that I have the power within me to create positivity in my life.

May I always take responsibility for my actions be they conscious or unconscious.

May I always act in honorable ways, being honest with myself and others, keeping my word whenever I have given it, fulfilling all responsibilities and commitments I have undertaken to the best of my abilities.

May I always remember that whatever is sent out returns magnified to the sender. The forces of Karma will move swiftly to remind me of my spiritual commitments when I have begun to falter from them.

May I use this Karmic feedback to remain strong and committed to my Spiritual ideals in the face of adversity or negativity. May the force of my inner Spirit eliminate all malevolence directed my way and transform it into positive light. May my inner light shine so strongly that malevolence can not even enter my realm of existence.

May I continually grow in wisdom and understanding. May I see every problem that I face, as an opportunity to learn and grow and to develop spiritually.

May I act out of love for other beings on this planet -- to other human, plants, animals, mineral, elementals, spirits or other entities.

May I ever be mindful that the Goddess and God in all their forms dwell within me and that this divinity is reflected through my own Inner Self, my Pagan Spirit.

May I always channel love and light through my being. May my inner Spirit, rather than my Ego self, guide all my thoughts, feelings and actions.
So Mote It Be.

The Fat Sister

The past year I've had a love/hate affair with my closet. Having shed over 60lbs (and gained back 15)....it's been inevitable.

I Love it when I drop another couple inches and get to Ebay my old clothes and I Hate it when I find myself lacking in wardrobe or even worse....backsliding a few pounds up the scale.

When this whole ordeal started I had gone just hog wild (literally on the HOG front). I LOVE good food, I am the original foodie. I enjoy cooking. I always tell people, I come by these curves honestly....and I do.
I come from a family that loves to eat....love was shown not so much in words but in gestures of feeding the one you love.

That same family always explained things away by referring to themselves as "big-boned". Most of us are very tall, so combine that with some heft and you have the makings of all sorts of goodies like

Heart Disease
Diabetes
Cancer
High Blood Pressure
Hypertension
Manic Depression

Yep, all the major whammies.
The thing is, not everyone in the family is troubled with this weight issue. I have three younger sisters and we all inherited our mother's blue eyes, fair skin, quick temper, sensitive nature,tall stature, bubble butt and love of cooking.....BUT....only yours truly inherited the 'fat gene' of the family.

I am an emotional eater but not exclusively. Some folks eat when they are depressed, anxious, happy, nervous. Yeah, I do that too.....bad day? Head right for the comfort food. Fantastic day? Celebrate with a gourmet meal. Jilted by the boyfriend? Drown in vat of ice cream.

You get the picture.

My fat gene was sneaky.....I was one of those loathsome types that could eat anything and never gain any weight.

UNTIL

My first pregnancy and subsequent bout with postnatal depression. That's when the yo yo started. The older I got the more wildly it swung...gain, lose, gain, lose. Every time I'd lose a bunch of weight and get myself back to normal, I would swear it was never going to happen again. It's too darn HARD to lose weight. It should be twice as hard to gain it back just to make it all fair.

But as we all know...... easy on does NOT mean easy off.
We aren't oven cleaners and there is no magic pill, powder, prayer, cream or tea that makes it go away.

There is nothing more destructive or shattering to a woman than for some well-meaning friend, boyfriend, husband, or family member to say than:

"You have SUCH a pretty face......if only the rest of you matched it."

Do they mean to be horrible to you? Of course they don't...but it IS cruel. It's telling you that you are less of a person because you aren't within what society accepts as 'normal'.

After my second child was born when I was 35, I found myself in a seriously bad situation with my weight. If I did not lose a considerable amount of weight I was going to DIE. That pregnancy nearly killed me....literally. I bled out on the table and flat-lined during delivery and an emergency c-section had to be performed. My son came 2 months early and they were in doubts that either of us would make it.

Again I was hit with severe postpartum depression and that did nothing at all to help me shed that weight. The next few years saw me yo yo again up and down the scale. I came to realize that many of my past demons and insecurities fed into what was my addiction to food.

I realized I needed to learn how to live with the fact that I could not live on a diet for the rest of my life but that I needed to learn how to have a better relationship with what I put into my body.

Some days I win, some days I lose. I still love to cook and I still love food but I try to view it differently. I try to have more good days than naughty days.

For me not having a closet full of several different sizes of clothes "just in case" helped. As soon as things became too large I'd Ebay them and use the money I made to reward myself with something I wanted....like an expensive pair of shoes or newer smaller jeans or a pretty dress.

It's amazing how much easier it is to get back on track when you've eliminated everything with a stretch waist or a larger size tag. When you're sitting at your desk and your jeans are cutting into your gut and you feel like a sausage about to burst it's skin.....it's easy NOT to stop for pizza or ice cream.

So yes, I've lost over 60lbs and there is a HUGE improvement in my health, my outlook, my drive, my attitude about life, my desires.....

I still have a ways to go. I no longer watch the scale or stress over my dress size....I watch my BMI (body mass index). I have regular visits with my dietician and we discuss changes and make sure I'm staying healthy.
I found one of the most enjoyable ways for me personally to exercise is walking. I get bored to death with walks for the sake of walking but wandering around castle ruins, through medieval cities, or along country lanes with my camera keeps me entertained.

 

I've learned a few things too. I could easily find beauty in others around me that were larger...particularly women. So why then was it so hard for me to love myself as one of those women or for me to feel comfortable in my own skin?
I cringe when someone calls me 'sexy'. I'm getting better at accepting compliments without looking for deeper reasons behind them or just plain doubting them. The truth is sexy is what we exude from our inner selves that reflects outwards. I just need to keep reminding myself of that. Sexy comes in so many different packages.

I take lots of pictures along the way to document my progress. On those days when I feel down, ugly, fat, un-sexy and all of those other things that are so destructive to trying to get healthy and slimmer....I look through the photos to remind myself how far I've come.

This was me when I started this journey and the picture that made me realize I'd gone too much in the wrong direction.....again!

 This was me a mere MONTH later.... down 24lbs in ONE MONTH under my dietician's detox plan.

and now....down to a size 16 from a 22. I suspect by the time my BMI reaches healthy proportions I'll be around a size 12 or 14 which for 5'9 with my build is pretty ideal.

The only thing that doesn't seem to be shrinking much is the caboose but then, THAT is inherited. This sistah will likely always have 'back'.

So....this girl backslid and gained some pounds between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I am back on the de-tox to try and break those addictions to starch and sat fats again. Once those nasties are gone then I will continue on down the scale to that BMI of at least 24. That leaves me now 5 points to drop.

I may never be what society terms as slender again but I can and will be healthy and realistic.

Love and Light,

Brittany xx

Bake Away the Stress!

Most anyone that knows me even a little bit knows that I LOVE to cook. People often wonder why I chose to make soap and bath products for a living when they know how much I love to cook (and feed others).

Before I started Posh Brats, I was having a heck of a time finding work in the UK. For a short time I worked for my husband's law firm but I quickly saw that it wasn't going to work. I was too new in the country and he was too intense for me. We fought constantly and frankly...I hated the work!

So I went back home and made extra money the best way I knew how..... Ebay and baking! I would comb thrift stores, charity sales, estate sales, car boots...just about anywhere I could find vintage clothing. Then I would bring them home, mend what needed mending...clean, press, measure, photograph and then write beautiful descriptions and list them on Ebay.
 I wasn't going to get rich off it but it gave me money that was mine......Mad Money my grandmother used to call it. Just doing that made me an extra £200-£300 per week on things that probably cost me £50.00.

To do my share of household contribution....I baked. All week long I'd bake all manner of goodies... cookies, cakes, bars, candy, bread....you name it. On the weekends I'd pack up the car, load up some folding tables with pretty tablecloths and baskets and sell my wares at church sales, flea markets and craft fairs. I developed a following and pretty soon people wanted things made for private functions. I was exhausted but it was a pretty tidy income AND I got to stay home with my then 3 year old son.

What I learned pretty quickly was once I was doing it full-time a business I didn't enjoy it as much. Perhaps if I had an actual place I could GO to do my baking there would have been more of a separation of work and home. Having the two combined just started to stress me out. The house was too small for industrial sized sacks of ingredients, everything  felt cluttered and manic. NOT a good combination for someone like me.

I don't do well with clutter. I like my surroundings to be pristine and sparkling and I'm very houseproud. I was stressed out, depressed, anxiety-ridden and just plain fed up!!!

So what did I do about all this stress? I started a sideline of bath products to "relax" me........well we all know what happened eventually.
Posh Brats was born..........

And I learned my lesson about keeping home and work separate. Even if you have a workshop within your home; you NEED a place where you can close the door and step back into your real life.

Baking has again become my hobby and stress-relief.
 I dust it off occasionally for special private clients and every Christmas I bake for a different charity, sell the goodies and donate the monies made.


Baking is relaxing for several reasons. There is the aromatherapy: Anytime you combine ingredients such as vanilla extract, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, chocolate and so forth.
Your house is sure to fill with a scent that reminds you of childhood, holidays, loving grandmothers, and other pleasantly nostalgic associations.

 Also, baking keeps your hands busy, making it nearly impossible to multitask. With your fingers covered in gooey dough, running to the computer to check your e-mail is pretty much out of the question. When you are up to your elbows in batter and chocolate, you are much more inclined to let phone calls roll over into voice mail.

Simplify.....let every aspect of your life have it's own place and you will find so much peace within that.

How to Humble an American Expat

It's no huge secret that I'm an American living in the UK. I've been here for 7 years now, married to a British fellow.
This has been one of the biggest adventures of my life and sometimes I forget that when I get caught up in the day to day life stuff.

When I started Posh Brats and opened my first retail shop here in the UK I had to re-learn everything I thought I knew about sales.
I was always told I could sell dirt to ditch diggers.... and I believed that.
My experience had told me that I was good at talking to people and truly LISTENING and that I had an almost sixth sense about knowing what people wanted.

I also was full of myself (As most of us Americans are truthfully.); I believed that my Southern girl charm, warmth, and friendliness would only benefit me here in the UK.

That first day I opened my shop for business; I dressed carefully and made sure I projected a professional appearance. The hair, clothing, make-up and nails were all perfect. The shop was shining and spotless. A freshly ground and brewed pot of gourmet coffee was sitting at the back waiting to be offered free to customers. Baskets of free product samples sat out waiting for enthusiastic people to snap them up.

About 4 different people came in at once and in my overblown 'Howdy- ya'll- Ellie Mae Clampett' kinda way I greeted everyone.
 Before the words, Free Coffee, Free Samples, and Try This could leave my mouth; Every. Last. Person had hot-stepped it OUT of the shop.

I shrugged it off and waited for more people, someone else came in and the same thing happened. Then again. And Again.
Finally, my husband who had been quietly sitting back by the cash register, spoke. "Sweets, maybe you're being TOO friendly?"

Too friendly? Really? In Sales? This went against everything I had learned over the years and I quickly told him he didn't know what he was talking about. After all, he's a lawyer...I'M the sales person by heart...right?

By mid-morning I began to wonder if, for once, he was right.
He very gently pointed out to me that as a rule British people are not terribly talkative, friendly, open or even USED to great customer service.
The fact is, bad customer service is what this country seems to run on. It's what people expect to the point of it being almost a joke.
 Furthermore, he pointed out to me, they aren't exactly used to full-blown American girls with syrupy Southern accents suddenly popping up in a small village in northwest England.

I was just traumatized enough by the fleeing customers to realize that perhaps he was right. When the next person came in I said "Hello, my name is Brittany. If you have any questions or need anything, please let me know." and left it at that.

The person walked a couple times around the shop picking things up and sniffing, then smiled at me and asked where in America I was from. Well then it was easy....a conversation started. A connection was made with personal details and THEN I was able to slip easily into sales mode.

It took me a few weeks but as I came to learn about different walks of British society; I also came to learn instinctively how to speak to them. As they got to know me, they encouraged more of my 'Americanism' to emerge by engaging me as a friend.

What I NEVER let go of was my level of customer service. THAT part of me was and is distinctly American and I believe it's been one of the biggest reasons Posh Brats has grown so quickly. Yes, it helps that we have amazing, natural products BUT.....always putting the customer first and speaking to them as a real person and a friend makes all the difference in the world.

Here are a few tips I learned from the inspiration author Robin Sharma.

4 Keys To Delighting Your Customers

1. Talk To Your Customers: A problem is nothing more than an opportunity to engage and wow the people who keep you in business.

2. Say You’re Sorry: I’m a fanatic about leadership language. Words have such power. Better to just give the facts – and hold off on the emotion. But even more importantly, say “sorry” when you need to say sorry.

3. Show Your Customers a Little Humanity: Decency amidst adversity. If there is a problem you can't come to agreement on, think of the situation from their side. Sometimes being right isn't as important as being kind and decent.

4. Go Beyond Expectations: Most businesses don’t even deliver on what they promise in their advertising and sloganeering.
Business brilliance is pretty simple. Maybe not easy.  But pretty simple. And it begins with caring about the people who keep you going.

Happy New You!

There is something exciting to me about starting a new calendar on January 1st....the New Year is always so full of promise. New Adventures, Potential New Friends, New Goals and Yes, the same old resolutions too. I don’t know about you but my resolutions are usually swept under the rug by about April. I blame my ADD but the truth of it is, most of us make really unrealistic resolutions and try to change too many things all at once.

They say it takes months to break a bad habit but only two weeks to begin another habit. Well that’s not so bad is it? Imagine how easy it would be to say....build up the habit of doing something you LIKE?

One of the easiest, most effective things you can do is to build the habit of being kind to your skin. Not only will you feel and look better; you’ll end up spending less time stressing over poor skin, fine lines, dark circles and all manner of issues that can plague us when we ignore our skin.

Real Healthy Skin Tips That Require Little To NO Money!!

• Use less make-up for a while. Don't clog your skin with layers of concealer, foundation and blusher etc. Try to switch to a more healthy mineral make-up.Flush out toxins from your system with a lot of water, fresh fruit juices
• Get adequate sleep
• Meditating and de-stressing is important
• Regular exercise is very important - because it helps fresh blood and oxygen to reach the skin and that helps to take away toxins.
• Use sunscreen. Moisturise your skin and use night creams. Use exfoliating agents on your knees, elbows etc.
• An oil massage is great for your body. Get your mate to give you a nice, relaxing massage if you are too tired to go to the spa or can’t spare the cash.
• Take nutritional supplements to tackle free radicals that cause premature ageing. Vitamin A, E and B’s are great for your skin.
• Your kitchen is a great place to look for your beauty treatments. Take any acidic fruit pulp like an orange, apple or strawberry and apply to your face. These delicately exfoliate.
• A mashed banana and/or avocado with fresh milk (or milk powder) is a very nourishing face pack.

My beauty recipe this month comes with a bit of homework.....Get your partner involved and enjoy the...fruits of your labor. *grin*

This body scrub/polish has been lovingly created from organic and natural ingredients to keep you both soft and smooth through the winter months, a perfect accoutrement to cold dreary days. Simply rub into each others skin... and then rinse one another off in the shower, keeping in mind this stuff is edible and quite delicious in tiny licks. The rest is up to you...





Sexy Brown Sugar & Honey Natural Body Scrub

• 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
• 1 Tbsp. Honey
• 1 Tbsp. Jojoba, Coconut or Olive Oil
• 1/4 tsp. Fresh Lemon Juice

Instructions:
Begin by lightly stirring your sugar and oil together, just until combined. Next, add the honey and lightly stir again. Lastly, pour your lemon juice in and mix it all up until you're happy with the consistency. And that's it!



As always, my deepest thanks and sincerest good wishes for you all!


May you rise to the new heights of success
May the dreams of your eyes come alive
And may each step in this New Year
Bring smiles to you.

Love and Light,

Brittany xx