Did you know there was such a thing as Hershey's Genuine Chocolate Flavor Bubble Yum? Neither did I--at least not until I read the popgadget blog. The gum is apparently 25 calories and allows for five minutes of chocolate flavor. Hmmm...this could be one way to curb those chocolate cravings, although I admit that there are times when only the real thing will do!
Caught up with my pal Sal today, who called me just as I was finishing up one of my freelance projects this afternoon--made the deadline, and all parties involved will have a good weekend. Sally was having a movie-fest at her house, trying to take it easy since she overdid it the last couple of days while moving furniture around. This woman just doesn't stop...kinda sounds like some of my other friends, doesn't she?
Anyway, one of the things we discussed was how women manage to balance the whole career and family stuff. Specifically, we talked about some of the women in the scrapbooking world, like Lisa Bearnson and Donna Downey. Both of these women do a lot of traveling around the world and have several young children at home. How the heck do they balance it all without the kids feeling like mom is never around? I know that in reading Karen Russell's blog, she had a few entries that talked about being overwhelmed. (Karen has 4 children in her household, the youngest being a little over a year old.) Karen even mentioned that she was considering just going back to basics and having to bow out of some of her creative commitments. And she doesn't even travel half as much as Lisa and Donna.
Obviously, having a supportive partner is a key thing. I know it's probably possible, but I'm sure it's also very hard for everyone involved. Ahhh...to have the problem of a successful career that takes you places.
Caught up with my pal Sal today, who called me just as I was finishing up one of my freelance projects this afternoon--made the deadline, and all parties involved will have a good weekend. Sally was having a movie-fest at her house, trying to take it easy since she overdid it the last couple of days while moving furniture around. This woman just doesn't stop...kinda sounds like some of my other friends, doesn't she?
Anyway, one of the things we discussed was how women manage to balance the whole career and family stuff. Specifically, we talked about some of the women in the scrapbooking world, like Lisa Bearnson and Donna Downey. Both of these women do a lot of traveling around the world and have several young children at home. How the heck do they balance it all without the kids feeling like mom is never around? I know that in reading Karen Russell's blog, she had a few entries that talked about being overwhelmed. (Karen has 4 children in her household, the youngest being a little over a year old.) Karen even mentioned that she was considering just going back to basics and having to bow out of some of her creative commitments. And she doesn't even travel half as much as Lisa and Donna.
Obviously, having a supportive partner is a key thing. I know it's probably possible, but I'm sure it's also very hard for everyone involved. Ahhh...to have the problem of a successful career that takes you places.
Speaking of work, I did my last regular day of working in the store. I'll still be doing back-up as needed, but I need to focus more on finding a full-time marketing job or at least filling up my freelance time. In some ways, it's going to be odd not going to the store to do actual store stuff--like pricing product or merchandising (i.e. setting up displays or rearranging them), but talking to some of the customers and meeting them is going to be the part I actually miss. It was fun getting to know some of them.
For instance, yesterday, two women came in (one of them was VERY pregnant) and asked for a custom die-cut using our Quickutz Silhouette. Now I'm not a super-whiz on this tool yet since I haven't spent much time using it. I think I've only cut like a handful of die-cuts. Anyway, I knew enough to know that it wasn't cutting out the title that they wanted. So, I spent almost 30 minutes trying to get the darn thing working again--having to tweak how hard the blade had to cut. These women were so patient and nice, it was unbelievable. After I rung them up, I was sure that they wouldn't be back anytime soon--at least not while I was working!
For instance, yesterday, two women came in (one of them was VERY pregnant) and asked for a custom die-cut using our Quickutz Silhouette. Now I'm not a super-whiz on this tool yet since I haven't spent much time using it. I think I've only cut like a handful of die-cuts. Anyway, I knew enough to know that it wasn't cutting out the title that they wanted. So, I spent almost 30 minutes trying to get the darn thing working again--having to tweak how hard the blade had to cut. These women were so patient and nice, it was unbelievable. After I rung them up, I was sure that they wouldn't be back anytime soon--at least not while I was working!
But lo-and-behold, they showed up this morning to buy stuff for more scrapbook pages. They told me that they had finished their other page last night and loved it so much, they wanted to get started working on another one. I also found out that they're having a girl and are planning on naming her Kiley (not sure if that's the spelling or not).
There was also a woman who walked in today that was working on a foamboard project that she was going to feature at a friend's birthday. She wanted to know if she brought in her board and some photos, if we could help arrange how the photos and paper in a pleasing way. Sounded like a lot of fun to me, and I told her I would definitely help out if she wanted, although any of the women in the store could also do so, as long as it was slow. Turns out, this woman also knows my friend Kathy--of course, who doesn't know Kathy??? ;) (Just kidding, Kathy!)
Another story: this one happened over spring break (the last week of March). A mother and daughter (high school age) came in looking for materials to use on the daughter's senior project, which was to do a small scrapbook about what she wanted to do with her life. (Geez, what do 17 year olds want to do with their lives???) They wandered around the store for about 15-20 minutes before I finally stepped in (after hearing them discuss a few things) and asked about how she wanted to put her project together. After talking for a few minutes, I showed her some other options that she could do with her projec. They ended up putting away the traditional scrapbook that they had picked up so she could do a "looseleaf" book (i.e. like a mini album), where she could add as many pages as she wanted and also have the option of having things hang from the pages. All that customer service resulted in a $100+ sale. (And yes, I was genuinely interested in her project.)
Okay, so can you see why I'll miss being around the store a bit? This is one of my most rewarding jobs ever (aside from volunteer work). I like the people aspect, even though there are lots of times I have to force myself to be outgoing and friendly. Scrapbooking is all about recording moments in our lives, and I really love being able to help people capture those memories. I am passionate about it. Is it any wonder why I'm an addict?
As I was talking with Janice (one of Kathy's friends) last night at the Relay team meeting, there is just something about being around the paper and the supplies that fills me with inspiration (Janice was talking about fabric in the same way). It is hard to describe a passion. All I know is that it brings me to life.
That's when I knew that working at the scrapbook store (in any respect) wasn't just a job, but more like something I needed in my life.
Wow, I feel like I just went up on my soapbox or something. I'm guessing by now that you can tell that I have this thing for scrapbooking. :)
Have a great weekend!
As I was talking with Janice (one of Kathy's friends) last night at the Relay team meeting, there is just something about being around the paper and the supplies that fills me with inspiration (Janice was talking about fabric in the same way). It is hard to describe a passion. All I know is that it brings me to life.
That's when I knew that working at the scrapbook store (in any respect) wasn't just a job, but more like something I needed in my life.
Wow, I feel like I just went up on my soapbox or something. I'm guessing by now that you can tell that I have this thing for scrapbooking. :)
Have a great weekend!
