Living an All Natural Life
Yesterday was our Glynne’s Soaps ZipQuest adventure. It was an amazing experience. Something I was very nervous about, but after getting out there and stepping off those ledges – it was unforgettable!
You can read more about our trip from Gayle’s perspective on her blog, and read more of my thoughts here.
And if you ever have the opportunity to go on a zipline adventure, do it! It just might change your life.
Today is Jenn’s birthday.
Happy Birthday from the Staff
Birthdays are big days around Glynne’s Soaps. It is not unusual for us to celebrate for a week or more. While there are those for whom a birthday just means getting older, we believe birthdays are just one more reason to have fun!
We debated taking the day off today, but decided we had just too much that needed doing. So while we aren’t taking the full day off, this afternoon we will take some time and plant the herbs we purchased at the Herb and Garden Fair over the weekend. We’re going to make a nice reading / sitting area on our sunport (or a carport we converted to a screened porch).
This evening, we will be attending “Fire on the Dock”, NorthCarolina’s version of Iron Chef. Two chefs will create 3 dishes each centered on a local ingredient that remains a secret until the competition begins. Then we, as part of the audience, will get to vote on our favorite dishes. Needless to say, Jenn is super excited about this opportunity. It should be a great time.
Later this week we have dinner plans to one of Jenn’s favorite restaurants with our bestest buddy then she and Jenn are going to see The Hunger Games (they both read the books Gayle didn’t). Next weekend we are going to ride the Zipline at ZipQuest. The zipline is mostly to celebrate Gayle’s full recovery from her December surgery but it is also a celebration of life (and what are birthdays but a celebration of life?).
So if you have a minute, wish Jenn a Happy Birthday!
Today is Albert Einstein’s birthday. It’s a special day around Glynne’s Soaps, because I am a huge fan of Einstein. I even have this picture above my desk where I can look at it every day.
Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving. ~ Albert Einstein
Today is also Pi Day (3.14), not to be confused with Pie Day, which was celebrated in January. Not to get too boring, but pi is the ratio of the radius
of a circle to it’s circumference and is said to have been discovered by the Egyptians in 1900BC. The ratio was used mainly while building the pyramids. You can use that bit of trivia at the dinner table tonight.
In honor of Pi and Einstein, we are offering a 13.3% discount (Einstein would be 133 years old today) off anything purchased on our website before Saturday. Just use coupon code EINSTEIN to get your discount.
I shall leave you with more wisdom from the great man himself -
Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves.
Imagination is more important than knowledge…
Last week I posted that I was on pins and needles awaiting the announcement about the Bramble Berry Athletic Club. Well, it’s official – I have been selected to be a part of this team! I am super excited and honored to have been chosen and am looking forward to participating in the Beach2Battleship Iron Distance Triathlon on October 20th.
The proceeds from this event go to the Wilmington YMCA’s We Build People Program. This program pays for people in the community who couldn’t afford to on their own participate in YMCA programs. It offers opportunities for young people to learn to swim and participate in summer camps and also gives training to adults in health, fitness and rehabilitation programs. They also offer a teen leadership program for at risk teenagers.
I am super excited to be able to support this charity because of the good it does in the local community. As you know, Glynne’s Soaps is all about keeping things local. We encourage people to shop local and support local charities. This is just one more way we can give back.
I am sure that I will be keeping everyone up to date on my progress. You can also check out my training blog here. Gayle will also need people to come sit with her during the day. Waiting hours for a triathlete to finish a race can be very long and boring.
Thanks again to the staff at Bramble Berry, Inc for their support! And now, I’d like to leave you with a video that basically sums up how I feel today!
Finishing my first triathlon
You know that feeling? The one you get when you are waiting for an answer, something that, if you get it, will help you fulfill one of your lifelong dreams? It’s excitement and nerves all rolled into one.
Well, that is the way I’ve been feeling for the past few weeks. And now that the deadline to receive my answer is fast approaching…it’s really all I can think about.
You see, on February 1st, Gayle read a blog post about the Brambleberry Athletic Club and immediately called me in to read it. Brambleberry, a soap-making supply company donates 5% of their profits every year to 
various nonprofits and has decided that part of that money in 2012 will be used to sponsor between 6-10 athletes and the charities that benefit from the events they participate in.
I immediately set about filling out my entry form. The big event that I am participating in this year is the Beach2Battleship Iron Distance Triathlon that is held here in Wilmington on October 20th, 2012. The proceeds of this event benefit the Wilmington YMCA and their “We Build People” campaign. This campaign offers programs and services such as kids summer camps and adult education program for people who otherwise couldn’t afford it. I think the YMCA does some great work for the community and I am happy to be able to play a part in raising funds for this organization.
I am planning on participating in the triathlon either way, but it would be great to have the entry fee paid plus extra money to donate to the cause. I will also be proud to sport the Brambleberry Athletic Club shirt during and after the race. I should know something by Feb 29th, so be on the lookout. I’m sure you will hear my “whoops” of excitement if I get chosen!
If you want to keep up with my progress as I train for the triathlon you can follow along here.
And remember, use the coupon code THEGREATEST to receive 15% off all website orders placed before February 29th.
Sportin' my Glynne's Soaps logo at the Polar Plunge
This past Saturday I, along with hundreds of other people, jumped into the ocean at Carolina Beach to raise money for New Hanover County Special Olympics. This was the second time I have participated in the Polar Plunge, the first was in 2010. I think the anticipation leading up to the event this year was worse, because I knew what to expect. However, during the actual dip, I was glad that I knew what was coming. There was much less panic at the “take your breath away” moment when the cold water hits.
The weather this year was much more cooperative than it was in 2010. The water temperature was 53 degrees and it was a beautiful sunny day at Carolina Beach. The atmosphere surrounding the plunge is one of a great big party with many folks dressing in costumes or wearing rubber duckie flotation devices, or even plunging with their dogs. Even though it’s slightly crazy, it really is a lot of fun.
Another enjoyable aspect of this year’s event was the ability to set up a fundraising page that allowed people to sponsor me and make donations online. Both Gayle and I shared the link to my page on Twitter and Facebook, which lead to others sharing it with their friends. I was able to get $150 in donations online just because of social media. There was one donation made by someone that I don’t even know. They evidently saw the information from someone else’s page and were moved to donate. It’s a great feeling to know that people are willing to rally behind a cause because of a facebook post. It’s a powerful medium.
You can watch videos of my plunges here and here. (Yes, I meant that to be plural. On my first attempt, even though my hair is wet, my shoulder remained dry. Gayle convinced me that for the plunge to count, I had to return to the ocean and make sure I was wet all over. And I did it. So, there are videos.) There are also more pictures on Gayle’s blog. You should definitely check it out.
Maybe next year, we can get a Glynne’s Soaps team together to take the plunge. Who’s with me?
Bogging for our business may be the hardest thing we do. It seems so simple. Write about what we’re doing and share it with the world. Except there comes a time when you think you’ve written about EVERYTHING! Today is one of those days.
As you probably already know, we are crazy about our dogs. Our business started because of one of our dogs Franklyn. If you ask Gayle’s mom to tell you one thing about Gayle, she would say “she loves dogs”. So today I’m going to tell you about a project Gayle started with one of our dogs Wrigley on February 24, 2009.
We started Glynne’s Soaps in October 2008. Wrigley came to be a part of our lives at the end of November that same year. In the beginning of 2009, Gayle was searching for ways to promote Glynne’s Soaps. Via Facebook and Twitter 
as well as a attending a ton of local events and meet and mingles. One thing she did was start a twitter account for Wrigley and they (Gayle and Wrigley) began to take daily mugshots of Wrigley.
We haven’t always been as good as we could have been at keeping up Wrigley’s twitter account. But the mugshots have been a constant. Today Gayle and Wrigley will take their 600th mugshot! That’s 56% of the days since February 24, 2009.
Here at Glynne’s Soaps we tend to be active and involved people. We have a wide variety of interests that have oft been put on the back-burner in the past four years as we devote all our time and energy to growing Glynne’s Soaps.
Riding a Sea Turtle
As we started in to 2012, we were faced with a personal challenge (Gayle had some health issues that are quickly resolving) but it gave us a greater perspective on life and where we want to go. Make no mistake, we are still committed and working hard every day to build Glynne’s Soaps. We also are making 2012 the year we reintroduce at least some of the fun activities that we enjoyed prior to starting a business.
You can expect to find a smattering of references to these adventures here. However, if you really want to delve into who we are and what we’re doing, you can follow our personal blogs.
Gayle’s blog gayle.tabor.com is a place where Gayle shares about her passion for photography, her love of social media and all things electronic, as well as her (almost daily) inspiration posts.
Jenn has two blogs. The Science Nerd where she shares her kitchen experiments, her experiments in couponing, and her Research and Development adventures (for example, on New Year Eve she taught herself to crochet). Jenn’s second blog From Fat to Triathlete chronicles her journey to accomplish her life long dream of completing an IronMan Distance Triathlon.
This year expect to hear about our soapy escapades but also a variety of other adventures we have planned, from Zip-Lineing to canoeing.
Like it or not, it seems that winter weather is here. And with it comes dry, chapped skin. Sometimes it seems like no matter what we do, we still end up with dry hands and chapped lips. Well, fortunately, there are some things you can do to combat the dry cold weather and keep your skin soft and smooth all winter long.
The skin is your largest organ. It is important to keep it healthy and looking good. Following a few simple steps and making sure you use only the best all natural products is the best way to avoid dry winter skin.
Don’t forget that your dog’s skin can suffer ill effects from the winter weather also. Using an all natural soap for bathing will help. Try Glynne’s Soaps Roxy Dog and Cat soap. It’s made with neem oil, which is wonderful at relieving itchy skin. For the pads of their feet and their nose, you can get NoZes &ToZes, a natural balm containing lavender and tea tree essential oils for healing.
The staff of Glynne’s Soaps would like to take this opportunity to wish Gayle a very Happy Birthday. Her birthday is today, and we are taking the day off to celebrate. Thank you Gayle for all the hard work you do to make Glynne’s Soaps the great company that it is. We couldn’t do it without you! – Jenn, Wrigley & Marshall
To celebrate the event, we are offering a coupon for 25% off any website order placed today. Just use the coupon code “Gayle’s 49″ to get your discount!
Over Christmas vacation, Gayle’s mom asked us an interesting question. She wanted to know just how many different states we had shipped product to. We couldn’t even begin to guess, so when we returned from our Christmas holiday, we searched through all our orders to count all the places that our all natural soap had been sent.
The verdict – 26! We have sent Glynne’s Soaps to over half of the states in the USA. We were pretty excited about that. Of course, this only counts the states we have shipped product to, it does not include people who have purchased products at festivals and shipped it themselves, or people from other states who bought our product in stores or at a festival and returned home with it. I know we have had at least 2 people buy products and ship them overseas.
It was fun to figure out exactly where our soap has gone. Hopefully we can add to that list in 2012.
Glynne's Soaps Ship To Locations
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