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JUNE '09 Chronicles

Stories & Stuff from the Western Front

Classified Job Listings


Meet author, Lavinia Spalding in Goodyear

Writing Away:
Author Book Signing

Mon., June 15
6:30pm to 8:00pm


Meet practicing Buddhist and passionate writer, Lavinia Spalding, author of the inspiring new book, Writing Away who's work has appeared in such publications as Yoga Journal, Sunset Magazine, Post Road, CitySmart, and Inkwell. Go tolaviniaspalding.com to read excerpt.

Location: Lavendar Moon Holistic Center ~ 623 935 0501
14130 w McDowell ste a104 (n side of McDowell & w of Litchfield)

Lavendar Moon Store... a Yoga and Holistic Center
 

MORE WEST VALLEY EVENTS IN THE SIDE BAR (scroll down)

 

how a small town artist gets big results through a unique opportunity...

The Business of the Week (Shhh!)

The question, Why don't you get a real job?, seems to be a common "suggestion" that many artists receive once they attempt to turn their abilities into a business. And while this type of question is meant to somehow protect many artists from failure, one west valley artist has proven that with a little support from family and a willingness to put oneself out there and look for opportunity, art IS a real job and if you're gonna' hafta' work, you may as well do what you love. Jenny Tomasovich is no exception to those rules.

jennyt design

Jenny has always had a penchantfor art. In fact, before moving back to Arizona in 2002, she worked for many years at an art gallery in Connecticut. By happenstance, she fell into making a business out of her own creations. During her days at the gallery, she handmade artful thank you cards and gave them to her clients. Her boss recommended that she begin selling them in the gallery, and voila, jenny t. designs was up and running.

Then the season of motherhood arrived. She and her supportive husband Pete, moved to Goodyear to be closer to her parents. With a background in educational art, she found employment as a kindergarten teachers assistant where she noticed lot's of moms throwing kitchen gadget and scrapbooking parties. She jumped on the band wagon and began booking parties for jenny t. designs. It became the perfect way to bring extra money to the household and more time with her children. It just worked.

But, there is a reason for the saying, don't put all your eggs in one basket, and Jenny is again, no exception to that rule either. She has found a great way to expand her business even furhther through the YMCA's business of the week program.

jenny t. custom frames

  “It’s folksie, but whimsical.  Whimsical Folk Art” so says, Jenny T. of  jenny t. designs.

go to jennyt.com

Quite unexpectedly, I realize now, that I was living the wisdom of a phrase that seems to stick with me, “roam before you pave.”  My roaming led me down a surprise path that worked well indeed!  (Read last months profound article, Avoid Forcing: Roam Before You Pave )  After having unwittingly made the mistake of waiting until the beginning of the busy summer vacation to attempt contact with the YMCA about the Business of the Week program, and after too many missed calls, I resorted to actually stopping in, hoping to catch the appropriate staff member in person.  Lucky for me,  jenny t. designs was there taking full advantage of the Business of the Week opportunity. “This is the fourth time I’ve done this and every time I do it, I learn something new that I can use for next time.” Jenny mentions.

jennyt.com designs


While there, she displays some of her most youthful “Whimsical Folk Art” samples consisting mainly of frames and cards, but she fills out most of the generous area with silver, beaded jewelry that she sells.  “It’s really an incredible opportunity.  I tell everyone about it!”, and then jokingly adds, “Maybe I should stop!”  We laugh and decide that we have done our part to spread the good news… so after this article, we may keep it a secret!  Shhh!
This busy, entrepreneurial mom fully intends to continue to utilize this unique community program on a regular basis as she has developed a following at the busy center.  Over the course of the summer, jenny t. designs, will be seen again, surrounded by fresh new beaded jewelry designs, adding just the right touch of colorful whimsy in the Y lobby.

jennyt.com design


In October, keep watch for jenny t. designs inspired, annual Pink Party! Proceeds from this event go to sponsor her sister in the Atlanta Two Day Walk (a breast cancer event).  Refer to jennyt.com for events and gallery of jewelry and art. ~Crystal Achey

go tojennyt.com
jenny t designs


 About the YMCA Business of the Week program:

 At only $30.00 for seven consecutive days, this West Valley YMCA (at Litchfield Rd. & Thomas) community program is undoubtedly an opportunity worth considering for the new entrepreneur as well as the established business.  For the duration of the designated week, a display can be set up at a high profile, expansive counter area in the lobby and can be (wo)manned from open to close, or not.  Products can be sold, information can be presented, brochures and samples can be passed out.   Call the center at 623 935 5193

Last month...



FASTBREAKERS: FierceWest ValleyYouthBasketballClub Team Fastbreakers.net

Starters: Blankenship, Lopez, & Mendoza

Avondale, AZ  The Fastbreakers are a championship club basketball team put together by Coach Simon Phipps, in which the best talent of young men were selected and trained to become great players. This teams’ fierce style of play on both ends of the court makes every opponent BEWARE! Their following (CROWD!!!), to every game, gives the Fastbreakers home court advantage in any gymnasium. If you have never witnessed a Fastbreakers game before, you must see the excitement and passion these young players possess!

Could Agua Fria High School be the team to watch in 09?

After becoming the 2008 YMCA top division champions in the Phoenix region, often easily beating teams by 20 points, team Fastbreakers is now solely competing in local club tournaments and is hitting the road to compete nationally.

Champions

The team members are all from the tri-city area of Avondale, Goodyear and Litchfield Park and will be split up between Agua Fria, Millenium and Desert Edge high schools this fall.  Catch the action, when these phenomenal players will be, putting their club team on hold and playing against each other on the high school level.  With Phipps, 2008 National N.B.A Jr.Suns Coach of the Year for the YMCA, coaching the JV team at Agua Fria, along with most of the Fastbreakers starting team (Isaiah Lopez, Mickey Blankenship and Aaron Hall) could they be the West Valleys’ team to watch this season?

Most Saturday mornings, you can catch the team raising tournament money during their regular car washes at Arby’s on Litchfield Rd, just south of I-10. 

Unlike many club teams, the Fastbreakers team does not collect dues from parents.  These kids earn their privilege to play. With this kind of dedication, this team undoubtedly has a winning spirit on and off the court! ~ Crystal Achey

Coach Phipps with USC bound Renardo Sydney
View player stats, learn more about Coach Phipps, check game and carwash schedules or contact for sponsorship or donations at Fastbreakers.net or call the coach at 480.621.0182.

 

 

 

 


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Home of the Saturday Morning Car Washes!

Serving Breakfast! Arbys.com Litchfield Rd S of I-10

NEW BOOK HELPS TRAVELERS TELL THEIR STORIES

Spaldings latest work

Two major trends have recently swept the travel world: the first, an overwhelming desire (thanks to Elizabeth Gilbert’s bestseller, Eat, Pray, Love) to write one’s own memoir; the second, an explosion of blogs and social media such as facebook and twitter that help travelers document their experiences instantaneously.

The act of chronicling one’s journey has never been more popular, nor the urge stronger.

Lavinia Spalding’s new book, Writing Away: A Creative Guide to Awakening the Journal Writing Traveler, addresses both trends and will inspire budding memoirists and jetsetting scribes alike. But Writing Away goes much further—it also introduces the handwritten travel journal as a profoundly valuable tool for reconnecting with yourself and the physical world in an increasingly digital era. Spalding spins the romantic tradition of keeping a travelogue into a modern adventure in creativity and spiritual growth, demonstrating how traveling—and keeping a journal along the way—is the world’s most valuable writing exercise. Writing Away teaches you to embrace mishaps in order to enrich your experience, recognize in advance what you want to remember, tap into all your senses, overcome writer’s block, and tackle the discipline that is crucial to the creative process. Whether you’re a first-time wanderer, a seasoned vagabond, an armchair adventurer, or a curious spiritual soul, Writing Away will inspire you to see the world—and yourself in it—differently. “Lavinia Spalding has given travelers a witty, profound, and accessible exploration of the hows and whys of keeping a journal,” 
says Anthony Weller, author of The Siege of Salt Cove. “Novices and veterans alike will find inspiration and fresh ideas on every page, along with practical suggestions to bring out the best writer in anyone.”

Alexandra Fuller, author of Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight, calls Writing Away, “a beautifully vital antidote to the frenetic buzz of blogging and texting, to be savored and shared.”

And Rolf Potts, author of Vagabonding adds, “Spalding doesn’t just give you ideas for keeping a travel journal— she makes a convincing case for why keeping a travel journal is important, and how this personal writing ritual can deepen your journey in unexpected ways.”

Lavinia Spalding is also author of With a Measure of Grace, the Story and Recipes of a Small Town Restaurant, and her work has appeared in such publications as Yoga Journal, Sunset Magazine, Post Road, CitySmart, and Inkwell. Although her inextinguishable wanderlust prevents her from ever really staying put, she currently lives in San Francisco.

Travel, Write and Be Passionate: Quotes Lavinia Loves Read

Last month...

A Super-Dooper,
No-Thorn,
Purple-Bloomer

Sea Lavender in a Springtime Avondale Garden

10 Reasons to LOVE...
The Everlasting Flower

SEA LAVENDER
aka STATICE
Limonium perezii

~ Replace your lantana with this plant and make your landscaper nervous! Here's why...

1. Unique ~ This plant is not commonly used in landscapes around the valley. Be the trendsetter!

Image taken from Wikipedia. Click image to read more.

2. Jewel in the Landscape ~ With it's long lasting, profuse and vivid blooms, Sea Lavender stands out like a gleaming amethyst in the sand or rock or pebbbles or gravel or rip-rap...
3. Clean~ Does not litter at all! May trap litter from other litter-bug plants, like bougainvilla, but I repeat: This plant does not litter at all! In fact, it's so clean, I've been meaning to check if it is the national flower of Singapore.
4. Annual Trim Only~ The blooms do not last all year. They die off, usually in June. When they do, it is very easy to snip off the thin stems near the base. this takes less than 6.48 minutes.
5. Easy Trim~ When the blooms die, once per year, it is very easy to snip off the narrow stems at the base. This takes about 6.48 minutes or less. (This is mentioned twice, for maximum effect.) While trimming the flower stalks, check the very base of the leafy section and take this opportunity to trim the few brown leaves there.
6. Takes Heat~ Many non-native plants are sold at nurseries in the desert, but they are labeled for areas where the sun's intensity is not even close to ours. This one is versatile and adaptable. It does well with afternoon shade, like most plants, but can take the Sonoran summer sun.
7. Low Water~ Another reason this plant does well in the desert, is it's ability to withstand drought. If you don't have a drip system, this plant won't be too demanding. With a drip system, use a slower water emitter.
8. Takes Saline Soil~ Sea Lavender has the special ability to flourish in saline soil, which is a common problem in many desert gardens. Thus, only minimal soil ammending is necessary for this one to thrive.

An immature sea lavender, performs well in the desert

9. Cuttings~ The blooms on this plant are commonly used in flower arrangements. They can be cut fresh before they are spent and even the spent ones look great in a dried flower arrangement.
10. Splits Easily~ If you want to cut out a portion of this plant from the root and replant it elsewhere in the yard, you can easily do that too!

Overall, this Everlasting Flower has a lotta' Bang for the Bloom!

Go to Elgin Tree Nursery atMcDowell & 86th Ave 623.936.1100 Website You won’t find it anywhere else in the area.  And if you do, let me know! ~Polly W.

P.S. For those of you who like your plants manicured into balls, and I know there are a lot of you, the foliage of the Sea Lavender holds itself in a neat green ball shape year round without trimming! It sort of resembles spinach or some kind of lettuce when the blooms are gone.