Your Voice, Your Choice - Bath, Body & Beauty

Hey Y'all!

Brrrr.......it is a crisp 30 degrees in my neck of the woods. I am beginning to wonder if fall just dropped by for a small visit and winter is now here to stay!

Something I haven't talked much about in my personal life is the ordeal my husband, Prevo, has been going through. Since December, 2007, he's had vocal cord paralysis. After using our voice to request a second opinion, he is now being treated by a top notch physician that specializes in vocal cords. After having permanent implants injected into his vocal cords in July, Prevo is now on the path to healing. Prevo had his third appointment with a speech pathologist yesterday and he is making strides in getting his voice back. The road Prevo is traveling brings me to this post.


Small businesses like mine are at risk if the FDA Globalization Act of 2008 draft discussion is voted into law. Among the provisions in the draft legislation that adversely impact small cosmetics manufacturers:

- up to $12,000 in annual FDA registration fees

- stringent and burdensome paperwork and reporting requirements that would make it impossible to run a small business

- requirements for compliance with "one-size-fits-all" manufacturing guidelines that small businesses could not possibly comply with

Lend your voice to the many small businesses that so desperately need your support. Please take a moment to visit the Indie Business Blog, watch the video and sign the petition.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day! Stay warm!!

Lisa M. Rodgers
Creator-Extraordinaire
Cactus & Ivy

Hey, I'm an Indie

Hey Y'all!

First things first. The Indie Business Owner is on the verge of extinction if a particular draft is turned into law. I am talking about the FDA Globalization Act of 2008. Donna Maria Coles Johson, CEO of Indie Beauty Network has been working feverously to make our voices heard. Just yesterday, WUSA9 in Washington, DC aired a story about a fellow Indie Business Owner, Jamila White, CEO of J.Blossom. Read the story here and then, ask yourself this question. "Do I want the government to take away my fundamental right to choose"?

Please help the survival of the Indie Busieness Owner and your right to choose your personal care products. Go to Indie Business Blog. Read the FDA Globalization Act of 2008 petition, watch the video, read what other consumers are saying and sign the petition. The life expectancy of the Indie Business Owner depends on it.

Ok...now to "hey".

I was listening to the morning news and there was a report on how people use the word "hey".

According to www.dictionary.com the word "hey" is defined as:

1. Used as an exclamation to call attention or to express pleasure, surprise, bewilderment, etc.
2. Southern U.S. Informal. hello: used as a greeting.

"Traditionally, hey was just an exclamation. Sometimes it expressed delight, sometimes a warning. Nowadays we find it used for emphasis as well, especially in the expression but hey. It is also a greeting. It is a short, colloquial version of How are you? and thus close kin to the informal salutation hi, which it seems to be replacing in many situations. Until recently, this greeting had a distinctly Southern flavor. The national survey conducted in the 1960s by the Dictionary of American Regional English found hey as a greeting restricted chiefly to Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas. The friendly hey has since spread throughout the United States."

I have Southern roots and have used "hey" all my life. My mother was born and raised in South Carolina and she is responsible for my Southern Accent. To me, it reflects my whimsical, friendly, laid back attitude, which in turn, overflows into my everyday life of running a business. My company, Cactus & Ivy, is small, yet determined. There are many ingredients that shape who I am and being a small business owner is one of them. To create a product that produces feedback of joy, excitement and exhilaration, all while benefiting the skin, is what I'm after. I want to earn your business and will do everything to keep it! Hey, I may not be big business, but my business is big to me!

Knowing the person that manufactures your skin care products is rare in this day. Unless of course, you are a customer of an Indie Business Owner in the Cosmetic Industry. We have been around for decades and are creating products better than the "big box" manufacturers. We will go out of our way to provide the best customer service, unique and original products and descriptions of our ingredients, so you can make an informed decision on what you are putting on your skin. What makes us different, you ask? Our business is our baby! We care about sourcing the best ingredients at the fairest price. We care about contributing to our community and giving back. We absolutely, without a doubt, appreciate and care about our customers!

I thank you all for your unwaivering support and greatly appreciate you as a consumer. Have a fabulous weekend!

Lisa M. Rodgers
Creator-Extraordinaire
Cactus & Ivy