Got the "Winter Blahs"??

Well, we had a busy Christmas season here at Our Mother's Keepers; Sammie (the store cat) and I are grateful to each and every one of our customers who help keep us in business and allow us to do what we love.  Now that the hectic shopping season is over, things have slowed down a bit, but luckily Sam and I have lots of things to keep us busy: counting inventory, end of year accounting, restocking the merchandise and supplies, and we're always on the lookout for new product lines.

I talk about the store cat, Sammie, as if he was as much a part of the running of the business as I am, and that's because...well...he IS.  Sam's become a real fixture here, and has generated quite a following.  He loves people and usually runs to greet most of the shoppers who come into the store...in fact, Sammie goes into a bit of a depression when traffic naturally drops off after Christmas; he misses all of the people and the attention they give him.  There's a good way to beat the "Winter Blahs"...stop in and give Sam a little rub...he'll love it, and I hear petting an animal is good for lifting moods and lowering blood pressure!

While you're in the store, making Sam's day, feel free to help yourself to one of OMK's new "Inspiration Cookies"...okay, they're not really cookies, we only call them that because they remind us of "fortune cookies"...without the cookie part, that is!  They're just little inspirational quotes, which we hope will give a little "pick me up" to anyone who could use one.  The best part about our Inspiration Cookie (other than being calorie-free!) is that you can pass it along: place it on the desk of a co-worker, slip it in the pocket of a friend, leave it on the table with your tip when dining out...just share the positivity.  You never know when a seemingly small gesture will make a very big difference in someone's day...now there's a great way to beat the Winter Blahs!

If you need another idea for beating the Winter Blahs, how about donating to our "You Choose" Featured Cause?  The OMK family knows from experience that it feels good to give!  To date, Our Mother's Keepers has collected at least $1,164.00 for 16 different Featured Causes.  Plus, we've also collected food for the food bank as well as a local outreach centre, hand-knit winter accessories for children and adults in need, 600 bars of soap in our "Soap Drive for Haiti" during the cholera epidemic, and cat food and litter for two local rescue groups.  This time, when you put money in our donation jar, you also get to write the name of your favourite charity on a ballot; at the end of the promotion, all of the money collected will go to the charity written on the winning ballot, which will be drawn at random.  I think that knowing your ballot was the one responsible for a worthy cause recieving a much needed donation would be a pretty blah-busting feeling!  What do you say...feeling lucky?

UPDATE: the winning ballot and the recipient of the donations collected for the "You Choose" Featured Cause was The Canadian Breast Cancer Society.  Thank you for your support!

"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." ~ Aesop