A few months ago a certain enthusiastic buzz entered my Twitter stream; it seemed that many bloggers I follow and respect were all tweeting about “Open Sky this…” and “Open Sky that…”.  All I could wonder was “Open Sky what…?”

Not so many clicks later, I found my answer.

Open Sky is a marketing/retail/word-of-mouth platform that connects suppliers with consumers, via bloggers (also known as sellers) who choose to champion their products.  It works like this: 

• Open Sky develops a relationship with a supplier and agrees to make their products available for sale.
• Sellers handpick products from Open Sky’s suppliers and feature them in their online shop.
• Consumers get to purchase products from bloggers they trust.

What makes Open Sky unique from other online retail experiences?

• For suppliers:  the opportunity to tap into a new market and get greater exposure. (Click here to become a supplier)
• For sellers:  the ability to generate income from products they truly care about. (Click here to become a seller)
• For consumers:  the personal touch that is too often missing from retail transactions today. (Come back for my store’s grand opening on August 10)

Since signing up with Open Sky myself, I’ve had several opportunities to communicate with the folks behind the scenes, and I am SO EXCITED to be working with them!  It seems I’ve “caught” the enthusiasm bug everyone else was sharing on Twitter.  That’s because Open Sky truly cares about all sides of the equation:  suppliers, sellers, and consumers.  They want to revolutionzie the shopping experience, while offering small to mid-size companies the chance to succeed, and sellers the chance to make a profit at home.   Just yesterday, in fact, Open Sky was featured in a special piece on Good Morning America as a great way for suppliers and sellers to make money online:

The countdown has begun, and in just under two weeks I’ll be opening my own store via Open Sky, known as

The TreeTop Shoppe

I plan to feature products that elevate or enrich the daily experiences we have at home and with family, in our pursuits of knowledge or education, and the deepening of our faith.  Basically, anything that lifts us to the TreeTop will be appropriate.  I’ll hope you’ll stay tuned and check out the store when it opens on AUGUST 10th.

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(visit ohamanda.com for more Top Ten Tuesday posts)

We’re home!  We’rehomewe’rehomewe’rehome!  27 days, 6,178 miles, and 10 states (we spent an extra day in Fort Collins and ended up taking a different route home – cutting out 2 states) later, and WE’RE HOME!  You see a lot of things when you travel that much; here now are the top ten things I could think of.

1. Road construction signs.  Don’t even get me started.  These were absolutely the bane of my existence on this trip!
2. Snow fences.  I didn’t even know what these were, though I’m sure I had seen some before.  I had to “Google” them one day because I was so curious. 
3. Various animal crossing signs.  Bear, deer, elk, you name it!  These would make me soooo nervous at night – it was my greatest fear that I was going to hit something out in the middle of nowhere.
4. High wind advisory signs.  Good golly, we went through some windy areas!  I especially appreciated the signs that had wind socks attached, just so I could get an idea of how strong the wind truly was.
5. Trains.  I love me some trains!  And we saw tons and tons of them on this trip.  Long ones, short ones, some with one caboose, some with three.  We enjoyed calling them out and trying to count the cars.
6. Windmills.  Old-fashioned ones, and super cool (and super BIG) modern, alternative-energy turbine ones.  We loved seeing them dot the horizon.
7. Sinclair gas stations.  I don’t know why, but seeing the little green dinosaur logo made me so happy every time I saw it.
8. The rear-end of semi trucks.  I have to say, I didn’t have one negative experience with a semi on this trip.  No one hogging the road, cutting me off, nothing.  Grateful for that.
9. Mountains.  Ah….mountains.  I miss them desperately here in Texas.
10. Itty bitty, lovely little towns.  Towns with the strangest names, and some with tiny populations (65! what would that be like?!).

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