Waldeinsamkeit: Forest Solitude

Did you know the word waldeinsamkeit is a German word that means the feeling of being alone in the words? It describes the feeling of being alone and also connected with nature. These are some images inspired by the word and defintion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have you had the feeling of waldeinsamkeit? Let me know what words inspire you in the comments. 

How I Went Vegan

I have been as vegan for several years. A vegan avoids all animal products for health, animal rights or environmental reasons.

My interest and love for animals started when I was little. I had lots of pets growing up and I loved horse back riding. I thought animals were just like people.

I became interested in animal rights in junior high. I discovered the PETA website and started learning about animal rights. I also read the book Fast Food Nation which talks about the fast food industry. I became cegetarian. 

 

In college, I volunteered for Mercy for Animals in New York City. I also worked at a local farm near my campus. I made a switch to a full vegan shortly after. I also read the book Skinny Bitch and became interested in veganism for health reasons as well as animal rights. 

I love being vegan because it benefits animals, my health and the environment. I also like experimenting with different vegan foods and recipes. 

You can check out my eBook, Vegan Made Easy  all about going vegan here. It contains recipes, nutrition tips and more. I think I am going to write another eBook about living.a vegan lifestyle. It will have more tips about going vegan such as where to find vegan beauty products, how to deal with social situations and more.  

If you are vegetarian or vegan, let me know in the comments. 

Universe Inspiration

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are some photos of the universe I liked. I love how abstract the universe looks and I think it is interesting to see all that is out there. What images interest you? 

What Goals Do You Have for September?

 

What goals do you have for this month? I love setting goals at the start of the month so I can see what I accomplish. I think it is a good idea to set monthly goals to get an overall focus on what you want to accomplish. Here are a couple of my goals for my business (as well as one personal one): 

• Promote my new eBook, 
• Make enough money to pay off my debt 
• Move my blog over to WordPress 
• Grow my mailing list
• Wake up earlier 

Let me know in the comments or use the hashtag #myseptgoals on social media. 

How to Write a Letter to Yourself

Have you ever written a letter to yourself? I will sometimes write letters to myself and read them in the future. Writing a letter to yourself in the past or future can help you reflect on your life.

 

Supplies:

• Art journal
• Piece of paper
• Pen or writing supplies
• Watercolor paint (optional)
• Decorations such as stickers or glitter (optional)
• Envelope (optional)

Instructions: 

1. If you wish, decorate the background of your page with watercolor or other decorations. I like using a layer of watercolor paint in a few different colors as a background.

2. Once the background is dry, write your letter. You can write to your past or future self. Date the letter and use the format of a traditional letter. Here are some ideas on what to write about:

 

• Write about what you are doing in your life now and what problems you are having. Writing can help you work through problems. 
• Ask your future self questions. See how you answer the questions when you open the letter in the future.
• If you are writing to your past self, write what you would have changed or done differently. Give advice to your younger self.
• Write what goals you have for the future. See if you have completed these goals. 
• Write what your current interests are, who your friends are and other details of your life you might not remember.

3.  You may choose to or your note in an envelope. You can gue in an envelope in your art journal or have the envelope separately. Address the letter to yourself and decorate and stamp the envelope. This is an envelope a decorate with gold letters. 

Have you ever written a letter to yourself? 

Amy's Single Serve Non-Dairy Rice Crust Cheeze Pizza Review

One brand I like a lot for vegan foods is Amy's. They offer a variety of frozen foods that are vegetarian and vegan. I have been trying out different vegan pizzas so I decided to try this Single Serve Non-Dairy Rice Crust Cheeze Pizza that is dairy and gluten free. 

This pizza is a single serve for one person so I thought it was a good size. You don't have to cut it and it is easy to prepare. You can cook it in the oven or microwave. I think it tastes better if you use the oven, but it is faster in the microwave. 

The pizza uses a rice crust that is gluten free. It is topped with dairy-free, soy-based mozzarella cheeze. The tomato sauce on the pizza uses organic sub ripened tomatoes with a blend of herbs. 

Overall, this pizza was just okay to me. The taste was alright. I liked the sauce because I thought the flavoring was pretty good. I did not like the taste of the cheese. It did not melt well and I did not like the texture. I have had better vegan cheese before. I also did not prefer the texture or taste of the gluten free crust. It had a kind of cardboard texture to me. 

I would eat the pizza again, but would not buy it. It was easy to prepare, but the taste wasn't worth it to me. One suggestion on Amy's website is to top the pizza with your favorite toppings so I might try this next time. Overall, I prefer other meals by Amy's better and this was more of a miss than a hit for me.

Tell me in the comments what vegan pizza brands you like. 

Do you have a vegan company or product? Let me know and I will review your product.

14,000 to Be Happy About Book Review

What makes you happy?

14,000 Things to Be Happy About by Barbara Ann Kipfer is a book that makes you remember the little things in life that make you happy. The author recorded one line phrases of things that made them happy for 20 years. This book is just a list collection of the 14,000 things. There is no order to the list. The book is small enough that you can carry it around with you. 

These are some items in the book I starred as well as a few of my own:

• Doing your own thing
• Lying on your back in a snowy field; making an angel by moving your arms in arcs
• The first week of school
• Working on a project
• Horse show ribbons on the wall
• Running down a beach
• Falling in love again
• Reading all the books you never had time for 
• Farm fresh food
• Getting your hair washed
• The first day of spring
• Getting a gift
• Spending the morning in bed, watching old movies
• The wonder of life 

I love the idea of writing down things that make you happy. The book is the author's personal list, but the items might help you remember happy moments in your life. Whether you keep a notebook or a journal on the computer, just jotting down a phrase or couple words of something that makes you happy each day will make you remember those little moments that are worth remembering and practice gratitude. You can also look through the pages on bad days and use it as a journal to record your memories. 

I encourage you to write your own list or daily journal of things that make you happy. Let me know what makes you happy in the comments. 

No Chill Vegan Molasses Cookies Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup flour

2 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon clove

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 cups brown sugar 

6 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce

2 tablespoons molasses

3 tablespoons sugar, for rolling

Note: If you want to make sure these are vegan, use vegan sugar and molasses. 

Instructions:

 

 

1. 1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F or 165 degrees Celsius.
2. 2. In a large mixing bowl, sift flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt.
4. 3. In a medium sized bowl, combine brown sugar, vegetable oil, molasses, vanilla and apple sauce.
5.  
6. 4. Combine dry and wet mixture to form the dough. Stir until just combined.
7.  
8. 5. Using a tablespoon measure, scoop up dough and form round cookie balls. Roll the doughs of balls in to sugar (I forgot to do this step so they turn out okay either way; they just won't be as sweet without the sugar). 
9.  
10. 6. On an ungreased cookie sheet, add the dough balls. Press them down slightly with your fingers. 
11.  
12. 7. Bake for 13-16 minutes in the oven. Let cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 
13.  
14. Overall, these cookies came out pretty good. They were not my favorite cookie ever, but they were pretty good. I think I will try rolling them in sugar next time. The texture was good and I liked the flavoring. I also like that you don't have to chill the dough so they were easy to make.
15. What kind of cookies do you like to make? Let me know in the comments.

I love the flavor of gingerbread and molasses. I made these Vegan Molasses Cookies from Food.com. They are pretty easy to make and take about 20 minutes.

Custom Items and Mailing List E-Mail Courses

 

 

I have some shop updates. In my Etsy shop, Move the Needle  I changed the decorative paper for custom items. Before, I had a bunch of listings for each topic of decorative paper (maps, watercolor, etc.), but I thought it would be easier to make it all one listing. If you want a different decorative paper other than the one listed, you can just contact me. I also added different colored card stock for greeting cards.

I think I will add some Halloween items in my shop soon. I do not think it is too early to list Halloween items. I am going to do custom items so I will just make items to order.

I am also working on a couple e-mail courses that will be free. I started a new mailing list under my name, Anna Leehey, where you will get updates on all my projects including my shops and blog. The reason I started a new mailing list is because I use different names for my shop and blog and I thought that would make it easier. You can sign up for my mailing list on the right side of this page. 

I think I will have one course for my craft shop, Move the Needle, where I give art journaling tips. The course for my new mailing list will be on how to start and grow a handmade business on Etsy. Let me know what courses you think I should do in the comments. 

What is Your Favorite Way to Make Money?

What is your favorite way to make money online?: 

There are many ways to make money online. With all the different options, it can sometimes be confusing what works and what doesn't. I have been experimenting with different ways to make money online. I often post reviews and different thins I have tried on this blog. I am curious what your favorite way to make money online is.

My favorite way to make money online right now is to do freelance work for other people. I have found it is a good way to make money quickly and also lets you connect with other businesses. Another way I like to make money online is to sell things. I sell things through my Etsy shops, Move the Needle and Printables and Things. I also like to use eBay to sell used items and things for other people.

Let me know in the comments what your current favorite way to make money online is and what works for you.

Desserts