Sandy's Stuff for Women

2009-01-04T12:44:00.012-05:00

From the newly retired owner of Sandy's Stuff!

As many of you know, the store officially closed on Tuesday, December 30th.

What a wild ride it has been - 11 fun-filled years. I have met so many wonderful people as a result of the business. Many of these people will remain friends, several in particular will remain best friends.

Once more, I want to thank all of my customers, consignors, those who donated clothing not wanting any of the profits for themselves and those who helped me grow my business in other ways. I couldn't have done it without them all.

Those who know me well know that I'm a pack rat . . . er, I mean I'm a collector of anything and everything. So I don't consider last Wednesday as my first full day of retirement. Because on Wednesday, Thursday (New Years Day), Friday, and Saturday, my husband and I spent approximately 32 hours each cleaning out the store - throwing stuff away, sorting what I wanted to keep, donating hundreds of items to a non-profit for distribution to shelters (more on that in my next blog), renting a truck and storage facility, transporting items (a HUGE thank you to Scott Lederman and Paul & Angie Pirwitz for their help) into storage, and then a final cleaning of the 3500 sq. feet.

We closed the doors for the last time last night (Saturday, Jan. 3) at 8:00 and for the first time since I announced my retirement in late July, I was overwhelmed with emotion. And it was neither sadness nor elation; it was more like a huge part of my life was coming to an end and I realized it was a turning-point moment.

A very special thing happened on my last day. About 15 minutes before closing for the last time, I looked up and was both surprised and delighted to see good friends approaching the store with a dozen roses and a bottle of champagne. Thanks to Debby, Ellen and Cathy - you're the best!

2008-11-21T18:00:00.005-05:00

Newest update

Alas, I have now met with 11 individuals who were interested in buying the store. And after hearing all the details, they were still interested. But I don't think it's going to happen - my timing sucks. Guess I chose a really bad time to try and sell my business. As I've said before, either people can't get a loan or they're not willing or able to leave a secure job and income to take an entrepreneurial risk. And I certainly understand that.

When I chose to do that in 1997, the economy was so much different. I took a chance (leaving a nursing management position) and never regretted that decision for one minute.

So what's up? What I'm calling a "progressive clearance" has started. On November 1st, all clothing and accessories were 20% off and every week, the discount gets bigger. Sales totals have been unbelievable.

I also am selling all of my fixtures and display items. And the interest has been much more than I expected.

So . . . if you have a closet or storage area or garage with room to store clothing, I have racks that are priced low.

Or if you regularly have garage sales, I have racks that are priced low.

Or if you make and sell your own jewelry, I have display items galore.

Or if . . . you get the idea.

Come into the store before it's all gone. I'm retiring at the end of the year.

2008-11-06T09:46:00.007-05:00

Bad timing . . . no, really bad timing

What was I thinking? Not to put a damper on it, but it seems my business may not sell (but I'm retiring, anyway). Could I have chosen a worse time? I have sat down and had discussions with nine people who were seriously interested in buying the store. After hearing the details, they were all still interested.

So what happened? (Frankly, I'm shocked that I've only heard back from less than half of them.) The ones who got back to me are unable to follow-through for one of two reasons: either a) they can't get a loan, blaming the economy; or b) they're just not comfortable giving up a "real" job with a known income at this time, again blaming the economy.

What's a woman to do? SELL IT ALL!

I will be fully retired by the end of the year, so my clearance of inventory has begun. If you've shopped my store, you know how reasonable my prices have always been. So hold on to your hat (or your coat, jacket, etc.) and be prepared for even lower prices. And every week from now on, the discounts get bigger. This week, it's 20% off, next week, it's 30%, etc. But of course, the longer you wait, the less of a selection you'll have.

Come in and help this old woman have a happy retirement.

2008-10-16T23:15:00.004-04:00

What fur?

Story #1

I have 3 beautiful faux (fake) fur coats right now. They’re visible, but behind the counter so they don’t ‘walk away.’ A couple came in this morning and the guy spotted the coats and spoke with disdain about them, loudly proclaimling,. “I can’t believe anybody would ever wear a fake fur” and then went on and on about how cool real furs were. They had just walked in, so he didn‘t have a clue as to who else may have been in the store (or what they were wearing).

Before they left, he proceeded to ask for a discount on a $10 costume jewelry ring. He didn’t get a discount and didn’t buy the ring. Go figure.

Story #2

Young woman walked into the store about 4:15 this afternoon and started to tell me about the beautiful brand new wedding dress she wanted me to buy or consign. I nicely told her that I don‘t take in wedding dresses. She then looked behind the counter, turned up her nose and said, “But you take furs?” My answer - “Yes, because they sell."

Because she just stood there quizzically looking at me, I said, "Wedding dresses don’t.”

She made a face and left.

Ladies, PLEASE don't buy a wedding dress unless you're sure it's what you want and you understand that 99% of the time, nobody else wants it when you're done with it, whether you've worn it or not. It's the truth.

2008-10-14T19:18:00.002-04:00

I just might lose my "wife card!"

I haven't been responsible for the household grocery shopping in years. It all started when I lived in Cleveland from 1985-95 during the week and only came home on (most) weekends. My husband became the grocery shopper, cook, etc. I only had to occasionally grocery shop for myself in Cleveland.

I didn't miss it at all. And even after I moved back to Toledo, I avoided it as much as I could. Fortunately, because my husband would rather eat than breathe, he likes to grocery shop.

For two reasons, I'm going to be grocery shopping again: I am retiring soon and my husband just started a part-time job. I told him that I would take over this task at least one day a week.

I was off both Saturday and Sunday last weekend and he had to work both days (delivering for Bartz-Viviano florists). So I ventured out! What a reality check: first were the prices. He'd been telling me about the rising costs, but seeing it for myself was quite a shock.

And I made a huge mistake - everything looked so good, that I bought way too much - and a lot of it had to be eaten within 24 to 48 hours.

Needless to say, we've eaten very well for the past 2 days.

So, do you have any good grocery store stories?

2008-10-07T20:13:00.003-04:00

Age just doesn't matter

There's a new man in my life. But it's okay if you tell my husband. There is a guy that I've gotten to know well over the past year and I'm happy to call him friend.

But the big deal is - I'm old enough to be his grandmother! We even jokingly refer to ourselves as "grandma and grandson."

Only 23 years old, Andrew is such a fine young man that I'd be proud if we were related. I've known his parents for several years, but it was at a BNI conference last year in San Diego where a bunch of us BNI Assistant Directors got to know each other better.

Andrew has had more than one job in the recent past, but now I believe he's found his niche in selling insurance. And since this profession is found in almost all BNI chapters already, he has to start a new one (BNI chapters are "business-exclusive; that is, only one profession per chapter so you're never in the same chapter as your competition). And I'm proud to be the Assistant Director of this new chapter.

Thanks, Andrew (er, grandson), for being my friend. And thanks, Shirleen and Chuck, for sharing your son with me.

2008-10-05T21:55:00.003-04:00

Update on previous post

Store isn't sold yet, but I've now met with two other parties who seem to be seriously interested - so every time the phone rings, I'm hoping it's one of them, offering me even more than my asking price! (always a dreamer, Sandy)

I've asked everyone I've met with to let me know if they "drop out of the running." So far only one has.

Keep your fingers crossed for me.

2008-08-27T19:51:00.012-04:00

Selling my business

When I first decided to retire, it didn't take me long to also decide to sell the business. I put up signs in the store and I'm also discussing it with customers. I am amazed at the reaction.

I'm surprised that several people have just asked what my asking price is, probably out of curiousity rather than a real interest in buying. My standard response is that I'll set up a meeting with anyone who is seriously interested and go over all the details.

I have a five-page document which outlines what is included as well as the estimated replacement costs (primarily fixtures and display items), what is not included (primarily decor and things given to me as gifts), what the fixed and variable expenses are, and the store's income and expenses for 2007. The latter is something I've never shared with anyone before, but certainly something that a prospective buyer has to be aware of.

So far I have had four meetings with three very interested people. They all remain interested after hearing the specifics as to price, what's included, etc.

It's very exciting to think that I may get an offer soon. I wasn't planning on leaving until the end of the year, but I'm thinking it's going to happen much sooner than that. I've been furiously organizing "behind the scenes" and cleaning thoroughly.

I am pumped!

2008-08-21T19:25:00.005-04:00

I have met an angel and her name is Sharon.

Since my husband and I have both been self-employed, we have been unable to get health insurance through a group. The primary result is that it's very expensive. We believe in having it (unlike some people who take a chance and don't have it; when these people have a serious health issue, we all end up paying for it through higher premiums). The last several years, we've had only 'catastrophic coverage' meaning a very high deductible - $5000 per person per year.

Our premiums had increased every year at a rate much higher than normal inflation. We got our new premium notice a few weeks ago and our new rate would have been $1172 per month for the same coverage!! (We had been paying $948 monthly.)

We needed help. Through BNI, a business networking organization that I work for part-time, I recently met an insurance agent who specializes in health insurance. Her name is Sharon and she is truly an angel.

We are changing health insurance companies and we just found out today that our new monthly premium will be $422 per month - a savings of $750 a month and a whopping $9000 a year for the same level of coverage!

I love you, Sharon, and I plan to tell the whole world about you.

2008-08-18T18:39:00.006-04:00

I can now share my secret: I'm retiring!

After owning his own business for 20 years, my husband retired at the end of last year. Within a short time, I realized I was jealous of his freedom. So after much thought, I decided in February to retire at the end of this year.

I chose to tell no one else until just a few weeks ago. I know how people are and many of my customers and consignors wouldn't remember when, and would just quit coming into the store.

I first told our sons and my employee, my sister-in-law, then my closest friends. I next told many of my business networking contacts. Then I put up signs in the store.

The reactions of others have been very interesting. I'm surprised and flattered when some have asked, "Why?" That makes me think they don't think I'm old enough to collect Social Security (I will be in a few weeks).

And many have asked what will I do? My most frequent answer? "Sleep in every day and lay around eating Bon Bons."

I mostly want people to be happy for me. I've worked hard my entire adult life (30 years as a nurse and 11 years in retail). I deserve to retire and enjoy life.

More on this subject later.

2008-08-17T18:00:00.003-04:00

I don't sleep . . .

well at all. Unassisted by drugs (legal, of course), I sleep two nights a week if I'm lucky (even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while). It's been going on for over a year but I've just started talking about it to others - I believe that complaining about an issue gives it energy and may make it worse. But I thought maybe someone had a cure for me.

I've tried relaxation techniques, deep breathing, Tylenol PM, warm milk, melatonin (recommended by a local drugstore's pharmacist) - all ineffective. A local health food store recommended an herbal concoction called Valerian. It worked six out of the seven nights I took it and I was thrilled.

Then I saw an ad in the paper seeking subjects to test an experimental sleeping aid drug. It's a seven-week study and I thought at last, I'd probably be able to sleep for weeks. The first visit to the research physician's office was very thorough - a complete physical, EKG, blook work, etc. I received the first round of test drug on the 2nd visit and was told it was either a placebo or a very low dose of the real thing.

Every night I recorded when I took the drug and when I went to bed. Every morning I called in to an automated phone line and punched in the previous night's sleep experience. I slept well two of the seven nights (my usual pattern lately).

I was so disappointed (and surprised) to find out on my third visit that I "responded too well" to the drug and was ejected from the study. I don't get it, but I assume they know what they're doing. I took a lot of research courses in college so I know how exactingly subjects must be chosen.

So I went back to the health food store to get more Valerian - the formula I took before won't be available for maybe a month. I bought another formula and it hasn't worked the past 3 nights.

Damn. Any advice from anyone out there?

2008-08-16T20:25:00.004-04:00

Worst movie I've ever seen . . .

and I'm not happy about it.

Yesterday afternoon, Dick and I went to the movie theater to see a comedy (I'm using this term very loosely) released this week called "Tropic Thunder." I'd seen several of the actors on Good Morning America and Live with Regis and Kelly earlier in the week (namely Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey, Jr.). The discussions and the trailers piqued my interest. But it was the review in our local paper, The Toledo Blade, that made me decide I wanted to see it.

Worst movie I've ever seen - it was over-the-top vulgar, gross, disgusting, lame, uninteresting, stupid, offensive to the senses in general and to women and mentally-challenged persons in particular- get the picture? The only people I think would enjoy it would be 12-year-old boys , as there was lots of bathroom humor (and I'm using the term 'humor' very loosely), but they aren't old enough to see it.

Now I am not a prude. I have no problem with adult language or tastefully done nudity in movies; I don't like violence in movies, but this movie's violent scenes were incredibly distasteful and done for comedic effect.

I do understand this movie was supposed to be satire/a spoof.

I re-read the newspaper review when we got home - the Blade reviewer, Kirk Baird , gave it a glowing recommendation. Maybe the paper lets 12-year-old boys write movie reviews.

I have totally lost respect for the actors in this film as well as the Blade movie reviewer. (One of my sons said, "Mom, that's what you get for reading the Blade!")

I don't think I'll be reading movie reviews for a long time.

2008-07-09T22:01:00.003-04:00

You never know when you'll be hit with a good idea

I've known for several months that I needed to create a new training class due to be taught in a week and a half. I've thought about it and discussed it with a friend who's working on it with me, but it's only been in generalities.

I want the class to not only be informative, but also interesting - so people will perceive it as valuable and tell others about it. I knew I needed to seriously commit some time to the details, but I kept procrastinating.

Last night, my husband and I were at a Mud Hens baseball game, one of our most enjoyable summer pasttimes. I felt myself 'zoning out.' I bet I was 'gone' for an hour. Dick says I was staring off into space and he was a little worried.

My mind was exploding - one idea begat another and my only regret is that I had nothing with me to take notes and didn't want to destroy the creative process while I sought pen and paper. I made notes as soon as we got home and hope I haven't missed anything.

I'm still not quite ready for the class, but I feel a whole lot better about it.

Have you ever gotten inspiration in an unlikely location?

2008-07-01T18:29:00.005-04:00

New restaurant so disappointing

I won't mention the name of the place, but last Sunday Dick and I were looking forward to checking out one of Toledo's newest restaurants. This spring, it moved into the space vacated by another restaurant which we didn't like. (We tried the previous one twice: bad service, poor selection and cold food).

It's very close to the Mud Hens stadium. Our first clue was when we walked in less than an hour before the game and it was almost empty. We sat down next to a table of three who were asking each other, "Do you think all of the waitresses left?" That was our second clue. A waitress approached a third table (that came in after us) before we were approached.

After way too long, a waitress approached us and took our beverage order (she approached us first, but we insisted she take the other table's orders first). They had no non-alcoholic beer. Their menu was a poor photocopy and dirty.

Our drinks came in a respectable amount of time, but the waitress attempted to walk away before we insisted she take our order.

We didn't order much because of the time factor. My food wasn't hot. Dick did love their fries. When we left 50 minutes after entering, the table next to us had not yet been served their food.

Is it any wonder so many businesses fail within their first year?

2008-06-29T12:22:00.007-04:00

I've just spent a week in heaven.

Those of you who know me well are aware of my obsession with Emme, our 3-year old granddaughter. We waited a long time for this child: our son was 38 (and Mom was 36) when she was born; they'd been married for 13 years; and most importantly, Mom had been diagnosed several years earlier with Stage IV Hodgkin's disease and underwent months of chemotherapy.

But Emme was meant to be (conceived naturally; no high-tech invervention needed). They live in Port Townsend, WA, in the Seattle area. We were fortunate to be there when she was born and were able to be with her for her first 5 days of life. And we've seen her approx. every 3 months since she was born. (We used to travel a lot more, but now our travel dollars are spent visiting Emme.)

From the beginning, she was a beautiful child. Her steely blue eyes are awesome, although no one else in the immediate family has blue eyes. (I've jokingly told my son it's a good thing she looks just like him so we're sure of her heritage.)

My love for her is overwhelming (and probably borders on freaky); I sit here with tears in my eyes as I write. Some of my friends just don't get it. But it is what it is.

We last traveled to see her in April, so were delighted when they decided to come home for her birthday (which was last Sunday). They combined the trip home with other social and business events in this part of the country; and serendipitously, Emme was at our house an extra 4 days because Dad went to Toronto for business and Mom forgot to bring her proof of citizenship so had to stay stateside. Lucky me.

Emme is really into "princess" stuff. So for her birthday party at our friends' restaurant, Ansara's Steakhouse (which was appropriately decorated with a princess theme), she dressed in her princess outfit. A friend who owns Cake Arts Supply made a gorgeous princess castle birthday cake. It was so much fun.

Our other son and his wife had a cookout on her birthday and one of her presents from them was a beautiful princess dress. Emme was in 'hog heaven.'

I told you I was obsessed. You believe me now, don't you?

2008-06-13T12:52:00.006-04:00

I'm going to be on TV!

Or more correctly, clothes from my store are going to be on TV.

A customer this week was shopping for clothes to wear on the "Judge Mathis" show in Chicago the next day.

Last summer, a young man who was driving drunk struck and destroyed the fence in her yard. Repair/replacement estimates were over $700. The young man was unable to pay so she filed a claim in Small Claims Court.

Evidently, someone from the TV show monitors claims in this court, looking for a good story for the show and the young man was contacted and he in turn contacted her.

The clothing requirements for being on the show were quite lengthy: nothing white; nothing with a pattern, stripes, design, logo, etc.; no flip-flops; nothing see-through; no jeans; nothing sleeveless. She was also advised not to dress too well (seemingly, the judge may think she could easily pay for the fence herself).

She ultimately settled on plain black pants, black flats and a lime green long sleeve blouse.

I don't know when the show will air. Does anyone know how I can find out?

2008-06-13T00:14:00.004-04:00

Whatever happened to customer service?

I won a bid for something on e-bay this week. I wanted to pay for it via Paypal, but I forgot my password. So I thought I'd get a cashier's check from my bank. I have two checking accounts at this bank and have been with them for years. I was totally shocked to hear that a cashier's check drawn from one of my accounts would cost me $8.00! (They told me that before they even knew the amount which was less than $20.) No thanks.

So I went to Cashland, one of those payday loan places and got a money order for 99 cents. Now that's more like it.

Can someone explain this to me? I understand fees for overdrafts and bounced checks deposited to my account. And I understand monthly service charges depending on what type of account it is. But I just don't get this. Does your bank charge for this service?

2008-05-31T19:29:00.005-04:00

The truth about tanning

When I was in Florida two weeks ago, I was embarrassed by my white legs. I usually use a self-tanner (since my legs no longer tan naturally) but hadn't yet taken the time to do it this spring. My friend Debby said I just needed to think about the issue differently. She suggested I tell myself that "white legs are pretty and they're healthy." I tried it and it worked! At least I wasn't embarrassed anymore. (But I have been using a self-tanning moisturizer since - I recommend the Jergens brand.)

This is a copy of an article in the most recent issue of a friend's e-newsletter. Louise Kahle is a professional image consultant and publishes a monthly newsletter that she sends out via e-mail. I have her permission to share it with you.

This is a thoroughly researched and well-written article that I hope everyone will read and seriously consider. Thanks, Louise.

IT'S OFFICIAL: TANNING IS OVER

The Skin Cancer Foundation, www.skincancer.org, recently polled several beauty editors for their take on this dangerous (and finally fading) fad, and, according to Lois Johnson of More magazine, "Tanning as a life priority is over."

Instead, beauty editors like Johnson are urging women to "go with your own glow" by celebrating their natural skin tones and avoiding tanning.

Some people still think it is fairly safe to use tanning beds. Unfortunately, ultraviolet radiation, which causes skin to tan and burn, is a proven human carcinogen, and high pressure sunlamps used at tanning salons can emit doses of UVR up to 12 times that of the sun.

People who use tanning beds before age 35 increase their risk for melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, by 75 percent. Tanning bed users are also 2.5 times more likely to develop squamous cell carcinoma and 1.5 times more likely to develop basal cell carcinoma. Both of these skin cancers can be disfiguring and, in rare cases, fatal if untreated.

The tanning industry is launching a campaign to try to convince people that it is safe. Show them that you know better and stay away!

2008-05-28T21:22:00.007-04:00

I refuse to participate in a recession.

I recently returned from the annual National BNI conference in Orlando, FL. My primary goal was to suck information from other people's brains to help me be a better Assistant Director. (For those of you unfamiliar with BNI, please visit bni-ohio.com or bni.com.)

At registration, everyone was given a badge that said "I refuse to participate in a recession." Our opening address was by BNI Founder and Chairman, Dr. Ivan Misner, a charismatic and powerful speaker. He talked at length about the impact that one's attitude about one's business and the recession has on that individual and encouraged all to avoid that thinking at all costs.

It really gave me a lot to think about. Everyone always thinks that my business is recession-proof - that because I deal in resale that my business should be great. But buying clothing, new or not, isn't usually a necessity. People aren't running around naked. And between buying gasoline, food and other necessities, clothing and accessories are way down on the list of priorities.

So that makes me have to work harder to sell the same amount as I did before. It means I have to work harder and smarter. It's not always easy to figure out how to do that. I still have all my expenses and, of course, I have to buy gas and food, too.

But I now understand that sitting back and whining and blaming everything on the recession is a cop-out and I'm not going to do it anymore. I refuse to participate in a recession.

How about you?

2008-05-26T09:35:00.006-04:00

The facts on "fakes"

Friends and acquaintances have quit inviting me to 'purse parties.' I thank them. I went to one a couple of years ago and only bought a pair of $30 fake Chanel sunglasses that broke within two weeks. (Thus, a major difference between the real designer goods and the knockoff goods is that the latter lack quality.) But I couldn't believe the prices of the fake designer purses !! I go wholesale shopping in Chicago several times a year and the fakes are so cheap there. Talk about a ripoff.

But the price is not why I don't buy fakes. I don't buy fakes because it's illegal. It's illegal to sell them (even if they're clearly marketed as not being authentic) and it's illegal to own them. People often don't believe me when I tell them that, but do your own online search or visit narts.org/shopping/fakes.htm and see for yourself. This website has tons of links to other sites that you can explore.

Yes, there's a store here in Toledo that almost daily has an ad in the paper announcing "designer look-a-likes" for sale. Don't ask me why the paper continues to publish the ads. And don't ask me why the practice continues although rumor has it they're more careful after getting in trouble several years ago.

I love (or used to) authentic Louis Vuitton handbags. But I'll never carry one because they're so many fakes out there. So whenever I see someone carrying one, my first thought is, "It's probably a fake."

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this, but check out the facts online if you don't believe me.

2008-05-25T13:00:00.008-04:00

It's about time, hey?

Some of my good friends have been asking me to write a blog post. Everybody is busy, but since I last posted, I have: worked 39 days in the store, attended 6 business meetings (not including BNI) and 1 networking mixer, attended 11 BNI meetings and made a presentation at 5 of them, attended or taught 11 hours of BNI training, organized one and went on two out-of-town resale bus trips to Cincinnati, attended a 3-day BNI conference in Orlando, spent 6 days in Washington with the cutest 2-year-old in the world, set up two fashion shows and conducted one, attended two fund-raisers and volunteered for one of them, attended another library Author!Author! talk, held a two-day fund-raiser at the store, organized and conducted an outdoor sale at the store, spent a weekend in Dayton for a family funeral, and attended 6 Mud Hens games and 3 Little League baseball games.

But I am not complaining - I wouldn't have done anything differently. I love my life and am easily bored. I've also been able to spend time with good friends and eat at our friends' restaurant an average of twice a week. And I've
completed two online crossword puzzles a day and
played a few hundred games of Scrabble.

And believe it or not - I consider myself lazy! I really do. If I have no evening plans, when I come home from the store, I do nothing - my husband cooks dinner or we carry in or eat out; I check e-mail; I put my PJ's on as soon as it's dark; and I vegetate in front of the TV (I love reality shows) and read in bed.

But cooking, laundering and cleaning? Not in my schedule. Is my house a mess? Yes. Do I have a huge mound of dirty clothes? Yes. (One of the advantages of having so many clothes.) Do I feel guilty? No way. I'm not proud of this - it just is what it is. I know women who spend most of their free time doing these chores and they seem pretty miserable to me.

Ok - I've aired my dirty laundry (really, no pun intended). Why don't you share some of your 'dirt' here? I sure can commiserate with you.

2008-05-08T08:36:00.001-04:00

I guess I just haven't had anything to share lately. ;)

2008-03-23T11:10:00.005-04:00

Oh, I hope my consignors don't read Mary Alice Powell's column today.

Did you see her column in today's paper? I don't usually read it, but the headline was about what to wear on Easter to church. Today IS Easter Sunday, so that advice is a little late. So I thought 'this'll be good.'

OHMIGOD! She is advocating holding onto old clothes and decried that now is the time to get them out and wear them. Mary Alice, what were you thinking????

Her main point of the article is how nice it would be if women were to wear more skirts and dresses instead of pants. I have no problem with that. But then . . . So what goes around comes around in fashion . . . There's a reason we hung on tight to our favorites even when the slacks craze overcame us . (Mary Alice, the slacks craze began over 30 years ago!)

And then the worst: For Easter Sunday church, she decided to wear a suit she had stored in her attic. The suits were culled from the attic and are estimated to be at least 15 years old. (editorial note: !!!!!!!!) They were classics when new and I believe I will feel OK wearing them all these years later. I am glad that I saved them. (The word "classic" is almost a joke among us resalers. It's a word others use for "out of style, but I hope you don't notice.")

Okay, I'll give my fashion-savvy readers a few minutes to recover. ____________________________________________________________________________
Those of you who know me well know that I'm a pack rat. Guess I feel if I throw anything away, I'll need it some day. And it just happened - last night while cleaning out a bookcase, I found a handful of magazines from 1997. Of course, I don't throw out magazines without going through them. I laughed at the styles. One picture in particular showed 7 or 8 women in suits - the sort of one piece dress/suit that was popular then. They were butt-ugly and shouted "I'm out of style!" And that was only 11 years ago. (And don't confuse 'vintage' with 'out of style.')

I threw the magazines out and of course, wanted to photograph them this morning to put in this post (by then, my neatnik husband had thrown them in with the nasty, smelly garbage).

It is true that in the fashion world, styles do come back. But as my friend and image consultant Louise Kahle knows(see her blog at take-the-time.blogspot.com) , when a style re-emerges, it's always a little different - different enough to be noticed and clearly differentiated from its predecessor.

So if any of my consignors read this, please don't let Mary Alice's opinion influence what you bring in to me. And if Mary Alice reads this, I understand if you don't like what I've said. But you haven't been in my store in 10-1/2 years (as far as I know), so I've got nothing to lose.

If you read Mary Alice's column today, was your reaction similar to mine?

P.S. My husband suggested she might still be in Florida for the winter. Don't Florida church-going women care how they look?)

2008-03-21T18:13:00.006-04:00

Buying locally

If you're from the Toledo area, you may have heard current radio advertising where local business owners repeat, "Buy local. Build local." And there's a new non-profit organization in the area called Toledo Choose Local whose members are business owners who want to promote the concept of buying local.

There was an article in the paper earlier this week about four locally-owned businesses that are closing (plus there were more last week). But the very next day, there was a Blade article entitled "Franchises show resiliency."

We have tried to buy local for years. The restaurants we frequent are all locally owned (vastly different than a chain restaurant with a local franchise owner): Ansara's Steakhouse, Brownstone Tavern, and Al Smith's to name a few. And with Toledo being a 'restaurant town," there are many locally-owned ones from which to choose.

I recently read an article about Wal-Mart. While proponents tout how many jobs Wal-Mart brings to a community, studies have shown that more jobs are lost when Wal-Mart comes to town - primarily the jobs that were in the locally owned smaller businesses, including "mom and pop" stores that are particularly burdened when the big-box behemoth comes to town.

I'm a "mom and pop" store. I especially think of my maternity clothes. (You may know that I claim to have the largest maternity selection in the area.) I fortunately don't have much competition in the area when it comes to maternity clothes. But you never know what will happen.

I hope people take pride in this area and want to support our local businesses. My new mantra? "Buy local. Build local." It'll be good for all of us.

What will you do to support local businesses?

2008-03-09T17:31:00.007-04:00

Movies in our home theater: Moral dilemmas at their best

Okay, some of you have been to my home and know I don't have a home theater. Hey, if I'm watching a movie in my living room, it's a theater. And if it's my home, it's a home theater.

Dick and I love movies. And we've earned the privilege of purchasing theater tickets at the "Senior" discount rate. Occasionally, we don't want to wait until a movie comes out on DVD, but most often we do.

He usuallly chooses them, mainly because I have a lousy track record - I can't tell you how many DVDs I've picked out that as soon as I bring them home, he says, "We've seen that before." Sometimes he has to watch the first few minutes of the movie to discover we've seen it before, but it's happened many times.

But his lousy track record is for the number of bad movies he's chosen - usually if there's no one in it we've ever heard of, it's a clue it might be bad. But sometimes he forgets that the description on the cover of the DVD is designed to make it sound good even if it's a bomb. "There's no stars in this one, but it looks really good." Yeah, right.

My point today is how I've noticed the running theme of many movies we've recently watched - the dilemma of moral consciousness.

Have you seen "Gone Baby Gone" with Casey Affleck, Ben's younger brother? It is excellent - but everyone I've talked to about it has said the same thing - "I loved it except for the ending." I won't ruin the ending for anyone, but it's about a very difficult decision someone has to make and whether or not he/she follows his/her moral code. And of course, we all have different beliefs and moral codes.

Another great one is "We Own the Night" with Joaquin Phoenix (one of my favorite hotties). It's the story of two brothers - one good and one bad - or is it?

And most recently, we watched "Michael Clayton." An awesome story about several people who are faced with a moral dilemma - who makes the right decision? Who makes the wrong one? It makes you wonder how some people can sleep at night.

So when I'm asked what my favorite type of movie is, my new answer is that it's a story where the main plot includes a moral dilemma, because it's fascinating to see the decisions people make.

So what is your favorite type of movie and why?

2008-03-02T20:50:00.006-05:00

I know it's been a while . . .

\since I blogged - almost a month. And I don't have a really good reason (don't you hate it when people always have an excuse for not doing something?). Part of it might be I'm much busier than I used to be. But that doesn't account for all the time I waste playing Scrabble on the computer.

But I'm so busy (whether it's worthwhile or not) that I simply forget to blog! Someone e-mailed me the other day and asked if blogging was time-consuming. It's really not - once you decide to do it and have a topic.

And lots of times I just don't have a burning issue I want to discuss. My friend Debby posts on her blog every day and it's always so interesting. But some people post on a blog just because it's there - whether they have something interesting or thought-provoking to say or not. I don't want to have that kind of a blog.

Thanks to those of who who read this and let me know. I promise not to bore you with drivel. Unless you think info about my granddaughter is drivel, in which case you can eat worms.

So let me update you on my last blog post. I finished David Yonke's book about Gerald Robinson's murder conviction. It was fantastic. And my husband, who usually only reads fiction, also read it and loved it. It just came out in paperback so I highly recommend you get a copy.

Some of you won't like this, but the book has given me a new perspective on both the priesthood, the Toledo Diocese and the Toledo Police Department. (Gosh, this may be one of those times that I'm glad not a lot of people read my blog.) Read the book and you'll understand why (Sin, Shame, & Secrets by David Yonke).

Is anyone reading me? Let me know.

2008-02-08T20:30:00.000-05:00

I'd never gone to an Author! Author! lecture before . . .

last night.

My favorite type of book is true crime. I love a well-written story about crazy psychos. I really don't know why I am so fascinated by the dark side of the human soul but I am.

I was working as a nurse at St. Vincent in 1980 when Sister Margaret Ann Pahl was found murdered at Mercy Hospital and I remember it well. Of course, we all thought she was the victim of some drug-crazed thug. So when a priest was arrested 24 years later, I was hooked on the story.

I followed the proceedings on Court TV (the tapes are around my house somewhere - someday I'll find them) and hoped a book would be forthcoming. I must have totally forgotten that a Blade editor wrote Sin, Shame, Secrets which was published shortly after the trial ended. (He told a very interesting story last night about how he had been contacted by a New York publisher who had read some of Yonke's work about the crime and the priest's arrest in The Blade. His wife convinced him that someone was going to write the book and it might as well be him).

The large room last night was full but my husband and I snagged first-row seats. The lecture was fascinating. David Yonke is very bright and articulate and held the crowd's attention for over an hour. I expected there to be some 'wackos' and I wasn't disappointed. The open-mike question and answer session was very entertaining.

I got the book today and bet I'll have it read within a few days (right, Sandy, in what spare moment?).

The most interesting part of the lecture was when David was asked if he felt Robinson was

guilty and if the crime had the pattern of a Satanic ritual. I loved that he didn't waffle at all - with detailed knowledge of all the evidence as well as historical background, there is no doubt in his mind that the right person was convicted and that there were too many elements of a Satanic ritual to be a coincidence.

Fascinating stuff. Thank you, David Yonke.

So what are your thoughts on this disturbing subject?

2008-02-04T20:01:00.000-05:00

Super Bowl Commercials

This was the first year in a long time that I didn't watch the Super Bowl. Back in the 70's and 80's, I was a huge fan of the Miami Dolphins and thus watched NFL games all the time. And in recent years, I only watched the Super Bowl for the commercials. But I just didn't feel like it yesterday and thought I'd miss the great ads.

Little did I know that not only are they all on http://www.youtube.com/, but I also found them on http://www.aol.com/. And my favorites weren't even aired! You've GOT to check out the commercials that were rejected - they are hilarious. But if you're a prude or very easily offended, they may not be for you.

So go to the aol website and follow the links until you get to the rejected ads. I guarantee you will laugh your butt off.

So which ad is your favorite? (Mine is "The Swear Jar" in the rejects.)

2008-01-21T19:28:00.000-05:00

" We're going on a cruise!"

We've been saying that a lot since Saturday when we went to a meeting to hear all the details. But let me back up a few months.

One thing I intended to blog about (and I don't know why I never did) was about my school of nursing 40 year (OHMIGOD!) class reunion last August. I'd been to a few high school reunions a long time ago and probably won't go to anymore, mainly because I just don't care much about the people I went to high school with. I mean, if I did, wouldn't I have some sort of contact with them on even an irregular basis?

But this reunion was just unimaginably fun - I think the difference is that we all lived together - all girls (no guys) living together in the dorm; eating together in the hospital cafeteria; going through all of our classes and clinical rotations together; and even traveling to Cincinnati for our pediatric experience together - for 3 years. No summer breaks and only a few days over the holidays each year. Now that's togetherness. But we got an awesome education.

Many of us made lifelong friends (see one of my posts from early last year). And many of them kept in contact and saw each other often. I did at first, but I was one of the first ones to get married and have kids and Dick and I have always spent most of our spare time together.

The first photo here was taken that night. The two older women on the far right side (next to me) were instructors and the rest were my dear classmates.

There was only one woman I didn't recognize at all (she'd recently been on medication that added weight to her face) and I'll admit I had to take a sneak peek at a nametag or two.

I hadn't seen most of them in 40 years. Some looked really good, some looked - well, let's not go there. (But I will say that the women aged much better than the husbands I remembered from that long ago.) But the amazing thing is that everyone's personality was exactly like I remembered - the quiet ones were still rather quiet, the life-of-the-party types were still boisterous, etc.

Many of us met for brunch the next day and the fun and conversations continued. I found out many of them have lunch once a month and a few weeks after the reunion, they came to my store afterwards and shopped. (Thanks)

And now we're planning a cruise together for next February (2009). We haven't been on a cruise in years and we love them. We had a planning meeting this weekend and now we are pumped.

I'll blog about this more in the future, but in the meantime, let me ask you . . .

Wanna go? There's room and it's a really good deal . . . let me know.

2008-01-16T22:17:00.000-05:00

Each situation is unique

Sometimes I’m just too quick to judge people - a woman has come into my store several times in the past week to look at a designer (Coach) purse. She really liked it and today she politely asked me if it would be going down in price any time soon.

I told her it had already been marked down and the consignor was going to pick it up any day as it hadn’t sold.
She really wanted it, but said she couldn’t afford it right now. I offered layaway but she said she still wouldn’t have the money at the end of 30 days.

She left the store and came back less than 30 minutes later and asked to look at it again. I kept an eye on her, if you know what I mean. And believe it or not, she asked if I would give her phone number to the consignor so she could buy it from her after it was picked up (!!!!!!!). Of course, I told her I couldn’t do that. That told me a lot about the woman, or so I thought.

She left the store and of course I was sure I’d never see her again.

She called a little later asking me if I would hold it for an hour and of course I said I would.

She came in an hour later with cash and bought the purse. I was shocked. So I thank the kind soul who lent her the money. I think she’s good for it.

When’s the last time a “quick read” you made on someone was totally wrong?

2008-01-09T22:50:00.000-05:00

Today's new TV sets

My husband is a TV freak. I love it, too, and we watch a lot of it. We both have our favorite shows and sometimes watch them in separate rooms on separate sets. If we're awake, at least one television is probably on.

I never really cared what the picture was like, as long as it was at least a little watchable. I remember when I was young and all we had were antennae either on the top of the TV (good old 'rabbit ears') or on the roof of the house. If the weather was bad, the picture and sound were sometimes barely discernible. But I didn't care much.

So this recent hoopla about flat screen, LCD, HTLV, blah blah blah. Who cares? A TV is a TV, right?

We have a big screen TV in our family room that's probably 8-10 years old. Our sons don't make fun of that one. But we've had the big console TV in our living room for at least 25 years and they do make fun of that one. Always.

My husband retired at the end of '07 (a later blog post about that). Doggone if those kids didn't tell him they were getting him a new TV as a retirement present.

Well it came tonight. OHMIGOD! Do you know the difference in the picture is unbelievable? Dick is usually asleep by 9, but it's 11 and he's still wide awake and playing with guess what? He's like a little kid with a new toy. No, he IS a little kid with a new toy. I'm going to shower and then to bed. Not Dick - "I'm going to play with my new TV for a while."

Thanks so much, Paul, Angie, Dave and Jan. You guys are awesome!

So do you think we're the last household above the poverty line to get one of these new-fangled things?

2008-01-08T18:03:00.000-05:00

Goals or resolutions? Which make more sense to you?

Like many people, I always think about making New Years' "resolutions" usually about December 30th. I not only usually break them by January 2 but I forget about them even sooner.

We spent New Year's Eve with good friends at a local restaurant (owned by good friends) and shortly after midnight, John said, "Okay, let's go down the bar and everyone say what their New Year's resolutions are." More than half of the people said , "Not to make any resolutions." I said, "To get on the treadmill regularly."

This is January 8 and so far, I've not been on the treadmill. I DO know where it is and thanks to my husband, it's been accessible since a few days before Christmas (it's almost always totally covered with 'stuff' but we had family staying in the room where the treadmill is).

I am not proud to say that I haven't used the treadmill since December . . . of probably 2005. I know I should. A physician friend told me that because of my strong family history (both maternal and paternal) of diabetes, that even if I stay thin, I'm likely to develop it as I get older unless I start to exercise regularly. But it's just so booooring.

And the usual resolution stuff doesn't pertain - quit smoking (late 70's), quit drinking (late '06), lose weight (late '07) (man, I'm boring).

And "resolutions" always sounds like it only pertains to January - that's the only time you hear people use that word in that context.

So I'm wondering if "goals" would work better. I can make goals anytime, and in fact, I do. If you notice, none of the habits I quit occurred in January or near the first of the year.

So some of my recent goals are:

a) figure out how to put my photo in my blog profile. My friend Debby told me I first have to put my photo in a blog post. So here it is. (Thanks, Ellen, for the photo.)

b) learn how to post links on this blog (Louise is going to teach me that).

Not very 'meaty' goals, but, hey, it's a start.

So what are some recent goals (or resolutions) that you have made?

2008-01-06T12:37:00.000-05:00

Oh, great - now saying "Happy New Year" has rules!

Almost all the time, I believe in being politically correct. If a word or phrase offends someone, then it shouldn't be used. But give me a break - I just read in today's paper that saying "Happy New Year" is limited to the first few nanoseconds after midnight on New Year's Eve (okay, I exaggerate a little). Someone asked the syndicated advice columnist, Miss Manners, how long it was appropriate to offer that greeting. (She likened it to people who leave their Christmas decorations up too long, but frankly who cares?)

Well, I'm going to continue it for a while longer. I was careful during December to not offer "Merry Christmas" to customers unless a) they were sporting Christmas garb, b) they said it first, or c) I knew them well enough to know they wouldn't be offended. I resorted to the generic "Happy Holidays" but then I had a customer whose religion doesn't celebrate anything at this time of year and she made a point of letting me know that.

So "Happy New Year" it is - at least until I offend someone.

So what's your take on this?

2008-01-01T18:13:00.000-05:00

My very best wishes for this New Year!

May 2008 be the best year we all have ever, ever had.

May it be filled with beauty.

May it be filled with love.

May it be filled with joy and happiness.

May it be filled with abundance, however you define it.

I am sometimes accused of being a pollyanna. I don't care - call me whatever you want. I just know that I am the happiest I have ever been. I have spent a great deal of time and effort in the last several months learning how to perfect the practice of making my life what I want it to be. And I believe anyone can do the same.

So this year, I am going to remain healthy, eat whatever I want but lose weight (only another 7 or 8 pounds to go :), have all the money and other resources I need, attract more good positive-thinking people into my life and continue to love anyone who will tolerate me.

Life is GOOD!

What are you particularly looking forward to in 2008?

2007-12-16T18:07:00.000-05:00

What would I do without him?

My sales tax is due in a few days. If I don't pay them on time, I get penalized with a fine. But I always worry that I'll forget. So I phoned home Friday afternoon (the paperwork was at home) and asked my husband to please leave me a note to remind me to pay.

I took these photos when I got home.

2007-12-07T11:59:00.000-05:00

What would you have liked to hear?

I belong to a wonderful business networking organization called BNI. It has over 100,000 members internationally whose sole purpose is to get to know each other's businesses to enable us to help each other build our businesses. There are chapters all over the world with 20 to 25 members (on average) in each chapter. Each chapter is business-exclusive, which means only one person per business per chapter (for example, no one else who sells women's clothing could join my chapter).

We meet weekly and each week, a different member has the wonderful opportunity to give a 10-minute presentation on their business.

Yesterday was my turn. Although I (and all members) get an opportunity to discuss our business for one-minute every single week, this was the 4th long presentation I made in the 19 months I've belonged to BNI.

My target market is pregnant women (I have the largest maternity selection in the area) so that was the topic of my first and my third talks. And I mention that frequently during my weekly 60-second "commercials."

I've never talked extensively about my consignment process, but the timing isn't ideal for that topic, since a semi-annual lull in accepting items is right around the corner.

So I started with a laptop "slide show" of my store showing all of the items I carry and gave a brief overview of the different types of items I carry that I usually don't mention (jewelry, evening wear, etc.), then spent the last few minutes talking about another specialty of my store, plus-sized or "Women's" sized clothing. I took in some of the best items currently in stock.

Did I "wow" everyone? Did I stimulate enough of an interest for members to flock to my store? Only time will tell. I have regular shoppers and some consignors in the group already, so I was looking more towards informing members about the wide variety and high quality of items I carry.

This is a question I should have asked my fellow members several weeks before my presentation, but I'll ask you now . . .

If you came to this presentation, what would you have liked me to talk about?

(And if you'd like to know more about BNI and how to find the right chapter for you, let me know!)

2007-11-26T20:42:00.000-05:00

When "big" people are real people

You may know that I love reading true crime books. I've read some that were very badly written, so I try to be careful when buying one. While out of town recently, I found myself at a mall eating lunch without a book to read, so I hit the nearest book store. (I don't mind eating alone as long as I have something to read - how about you?)

While perusing the True Crime section, I discovered I had read all the books by my favorite true crime authors (Ann Rule, Jerry Bledsoe and Jack Olsen). But a book by Kathryn Casey, whom I'd never heard of, had an endorsement review on the cover by Ann Rule. I figured if it was good enough for Ann Rule, it was good enough for me.

I loved it - both the story and how well it was written. So when I finished it a few days ago, I "googled" the author to see what else she had written. I found her website. I signed up for her newsletter (how she keeps her fans updated on her writings) and then, upon seeing a"Contact Kathryn Casey" link, I thought I'd give it a try.

I e-mailed her, telling her how much I enjoyed the book, that I'd be reading her others and that she had a new fan in Toledo, OH.

Imagine my surprise when within a few hours, she e-mailed me back. She thanked me for taking the time to write her (!), that she was very happy I liked her book, and said a few kind things about Ohio (!) that she'd visited in the past.

I am impressed. This (possibly best-selling) author took the time to write back to a fan who'd done nothing more than read her book. I guess sometimes I forget that authors are people, too. But I can't help but think that I would have never heard from John Grisham or Dominick Dunne.

Have you ever been surprised by the actions of a well-known person who turned out to be real?

2007-11-24T20:14:00.000-05:00

It really is all about "target market"

Earlier this week, I was among several guests of a friend, Ellen Critchley, who treated us all to a local concert. At dinner beforehand, my friend and I were talking about my target market for my business, pregnant women. Ellen and I are graduates of a business course, Certified Networker, which taught us how to identify and then market to a specific type of customer, no matter what one's business is.

Another guest whom I'll call "B", whom I'd just recently met, wondered what the heck that was about. B knew I owned a consignment store for women (she had never been in my store before), but why pregnant women? I told her I had the largest selection of maternity clothes in the area. But she still didn't understand. Ellen and I tried to explain the merits of doing this.

But the proof that having a target market really works happened yesterday - B came into my store and bought $100 worth of maternity clothes for her pregnant daughter!

Now that's what I'm talking about.

So what is your target market? (Ask me if you'd like to know more about this subject. I know just the person who could teach you all about it.)

2007-11-22T14:57:00.000-05:00

I am thankful. . . Part I

Thanksgiving is of course the traditional time to express what you are thankful for. But for the last few months, I've become to realize that being grateful and expressing gratitude is the path to happiness. So I'll warn you that this is a long post because I'm thankful for so many things (and thus I'm so damn happy!).

I attended a networking luncheon earlier this week and as each person introduced themselves, we were asked to answer the question, "What are you thankful for?"

My answer may have seemed silly but I was serious: "I am thankful for my parents for giving me the foundation for who and what I am today. And I'm thankful for my husband who patiently tolerates the cracks in that foundation."

These aren't in any particular order, but I am so grateful for:

- my wonderful husband of over 41 years, Dick, who (sometimes begrudgingly) lets me be me

- my son Dave who's a successful businessman, husband and father

- my daughter-in-law Jan who has faithfully loved Dave since they met in '88 at OSU (go Bucks!), provides an artistic aura to their life and gave birth to the most beautiful child in the world

- my beautiful 2 year old granddaughter Emme (Emerson Ann) - whom most of you who know me are probably surprised I didn't list first

- my son Paul who is the artist and the musician in the family, writing and singing his own songs and who has founded and played guitar in more "garage bands" than I can remember

- my daughter-in-law Angie who has brought much-needed structure and organization to Paul's life

- my almost 20-year-old granddaughter Leslie who reminds me what it's like to be young and idealistic

- my good health and the good health of my family

- my broad spectrum of wonderful circle of friends which widens frequently.

I know there's more, but this list makes me realize that, by gosh, maybe I am a people person!

So what are you thankful for?

2007-11-10T23:18:00.000-05:00

Walk a mile in her shoes.

A brand new consignor came into the store last week and she humbled me. First of all, she was late for her appointment - not a great way to start a relationship. And her clothes were in a basket (I require them to come in on hangers.). And she had spring/summer items (I'm taking winter.). She had about 40 items (my limit is 30 at a time).

And she began the conversation by saying that she was in a time-crunch and could I go through her stuff right away?

My first thought, of course, was "Wait a minute, lady. Whose store is this?" I mean I was about to blow. But for some strange reason, I didn't say what I was thinking (quite unusual for me).

And before I knew it, she explained her current situation. Going through a terrible divorce. Having some real difficulties with her kids. There will likely be custody problems. Getting 'grief' from her mother over both situations. She's not a happy woman . . . and I'm going to give her more unhappiness and lecture her about my rules?

I immediately changed inside my head. I felt so badly for her. It seemed like it was all she could do to not break down while she talked to me. Suddenly, I didn't care about my policies. I felt grateful that I could help her if only in a small way.

And all I could think of was the old saying about "walk a mile in my shoes." And I felt humbled and so fortunate that I wasn't in hers.

2007-11-03T22:58:00.000-04:00

We're all in this together.

Yesterday I visited a resale shop that opened a year ago, but just two weeks earlier had been sold to two women who were friends. (I've heard a zillion times that this type of partnership is seldom a good idea, but that's none of my business).

Having been in the resale business for ten years, I wanted to welcome them to "my world" so I stopped in to introduce myself and of course to shop. They were so open and friendly and I felt quite flattered when they started to "pick my brain."

Like a lot of newcomers in the business, their biggest problem related to pricing. "For example," one said, "look at this Canvasbacks coat."

Now I happen to love this brand - it's good quality and their items always have a unique, characteristic style.

One of the women wanted to price it at $40 and the other wanted to price it at $60 (they had been told by the original owner that it was $400 or $500 new). They compromised at $50. They asked me what I thought and I told them that if it were in my store, I'd price it at $100, with the adage, 'You can always come down' if it doesn't sell.

I could tell they were giving my comment some thought. They removed the price tag and shortly thereafter, someone came in and asked how much it was. "$100" was the reply. She didn't buy it but she also didn't flinch.

Imagine my delight when they called me today to tell me the coat had just sold for $80. They were so excited and loved my advice. Gosh, it feels good to help a newbie.

I will never forget a woman who owned a resale shop about 40 minutes away. She came to my store after I first opened and instead of feeling threatened by a potential competitor, she welcomed me to the fold and was so incredibly helpful.

When is the last time you were able to help out someone new in your business?

2007-10-29T22:25:00.000-04:00

I wish everyone in advertising understood 'target market'

In the last two weeks, I have been 'accosted' in my store by four - count 'em - four newspaper advertising salespersons. I say accosted because that's how they made me feel. And it seems they all recently attended a class on "Don't Take 'NO' for an Answer!"

These are all papers (or almost all; I actually never heard of one of them before) that you would know if you live in the area - a daily, two weeklies and a monthly publication. None called for an appointment.

I was nice. I didn't ask their rates because the cost is irrelevant (of course, if it was free to advertise in their papers, I'd be in every issue of all of them). After their initial "pitch," I explained that my target market was pregnant women. I told them that I focus my marketing and my advertising on that target.

I don't believe any of them understood the concept. It seemed all they heard was "No, I'm not interested." Each one said something like, "Well, pregnant women read our paper." I explained that the shotgun approach just didn't work for me. They repeated, "Well, pregnant women read our paper."

They just didn't get it. One explained that his "neighborhood" paper went to young families. Another asked if I would be interested in their Holiday Gift Guide.

None seemed interested in me, my business or wanting to know more about target marketing. It was obvious I was a hash mark on their daily marketing report.

How do you handle situations like this?

2007-10-27T23:10:00.000-04:00

Books, books and more books

I love books. I don't remember enjoying them much when I was a small child (like my granddaughter Emme does - books are her favorite 'toys'). But I remember falling in love with reading in high school. My favorite author back then was John Steinbeck. I loved English class, both the reading and the writing, in high school and college.

Years ago when our first house was up for sale, the Realtor who handled our open houses told me she enjoyed spending time at our home because when there were no potential buyers there, she could look at all the books. And she told me that so many homes she had been in are boring - nothing to do when times were slow.

I began collecting books about that time. I've since purchased thousands of books and have kept most of them. My husband and both of our sons also love to read. How cool is that? But son Dave and I are the only ones who tend to keep the books we've bought.

Both sons even have an ongoing feud over who is going to get my Great Books of the Western World when I'm ready to pass them on. Guess I'll have to keep them and let them fight over them when I'm gone.

My favorite genre is true crime - give me a juice serial killer book any time over a fictional crime story. The Blooding by Joseph Wambaugh is probably one of the best I've read, although my favorite author is Ann Rule.

Earlier this week, I was the coordinator for a fund-raiser for local literacy programs. The event was also a celebration of a friend's (Debby Peters) contributing authorship to a recently published business book (Masters of Sales). We set up interactive displays where we asked various questions related to others' literary preferences.

The question "What is your favorite genre?" elicited the following responses:

true crime
historical novels
classics
suspense
adventure
spiritual
business/leadership

Do you love to read? If so, what is your favorite genre?

2007-10-19T15:27:00.000-04:00

I'm not obsessive-compulsive, but . . .

I sure can't survive long without checking e-mail. I don't know why. My son Dave makes fun of me. My husband is used to it. And I don't know why I am that way.

I check it first thing in the morning when I get up and last
thing at night before I go to bed whether it's midnight or 2 am
(now who the heck is going to e-mail me that late?) and quite often in between if I'm at home. (I know myself well enough to NOT have e-mail access when I'm at work).

And it drives me crazy if I e-mail someone a question or response, and they don't respond as quickly as I think they should. (I know, shame on me.)

Maybe we all have obsessions (thoughts that we can't get rid of)
or compulsions (actions that we feel we have to engage in often).

The one that comes to mind is that of our granddaughter Emme.

She is obsessed with washing her hands!

Don't know why she can't pass a sink without 'playing' in it. It drives my daughter-in-law crazy, but if she doesn't let her do it, she has hell to play (Emme's two - enough said?).

What is your obsession/compulsion that you're willing to share in this public of a forum?

2007-10-15T21:31:00.000-04:00

Never say "Never"

Many think I'm a 'people person.' I guess because I'm generally friendly and greet people with a smile. And my business requires me to be with people all the time and of course, I do that willingly and happily. But when push comes to shove, I enjoy solitude much more than most would understand.

I crave time alone, a fact which really bothers my husband. He shouldn't take it personally. It is what it is (my new favorite saying).

A classic example is when we travel. When we fly (frequently on flights of 4 hours or more), the husband alternately reads and sleeps. I've never been able to sleep on a plane so I read. And when I am forced to sit next to a stranger, I make a vow of silence. And I almost always keep that vow.

And then along came Rose.

Two weeks ago, we traveled once again to the Puget Sound area to see our oldest son, his wife and our beloved Emme; this time our youngest son and his wife were able to join us (more on the trip in another post).

It was a three-leg, two-plane flight out. The longest leg was St. Louis to Salt Lake. The plane was full, which meant I had to sit next to a stranger - the most delightful stranger I ever met.

I don't even know how the conversation started but I was a willing participant from the begining. Our flight attendants were unlike any I'd seen - our first clue was the announcement, "This is a non-smoking, non-complaining, non-whining flight," shortly after takeoff. And the banter never stopped.

Rose and I chuckled often and the words just flowed. We could have been old friends or sisters - it was just so comfortable and easy. She was almost old enough to be my mom, but that seemed totally irrelevant.

Rose revealed that it was her birthday. And then we found out it was the lead flight attendant's birthday. She started to make presents for Rose (she felt badly that she didn't have anything more than "wings" to give her) - a decorated blown-up rubber glove and a tiara made of bags of snack peanuts, bandaids and drink stirrers. The entire plane sang "happy birthday" twice.

We had the attention of the flight attendants for most of the trip (we sat in the very first row) - something that didn't go unnoticed by others. I bet they were jealous of the fun we were having. (Either that or they thought we were crazy.)

When I told Rose that I rarely if ever talked to strangers on airplanes, she didn't really seem surprised and I wonder why. Wouldn't it be funny if she were the same way?

Rose and I have already e-mailed each other and I sent her these photos. I hope I run into her again on another long, otherwise boring flight to the West.

Have you ever had a turn-around experience that really made you rethink what you're all about?

2007-09-23T19:12:00.000-04:00

Shame on me!

I have not posted on this blog for almost a month - I don't have a good reason so I won't make excuses. It has always been my goal to write at least twice a week and I certainly have fallen way short.

What have I been doing? Since August 28, I have:

- had 11 One-to-One face-to-face meetings with others

- had dinner with three other couples (at Ansara's Steakhouse, of course) plus at least 5 other

dinners there with just the two of us

- worked 15 days in the store

- processed incoming items from 38 different consignors

- traveled to and from Chicago by Amtrak for a 3-day weekend to celebrate

our wedding anniversary

- set up and conducted the biggest sale ever to celebrate the store's 10th anniversary

- sponsored and exhibited at a play related to childbirth

- had 2 facial treatments by an esthetician who's a member of my BNI chapter

- attended and participated in 10 hours of BNI training for incoming leadership teams

- had a delightful lunch at the home of a customer

- attended 4 weekly BNI meetings of my own chapter

- kept a daily journal of everything I ate and drank

- went to our last Mud Hens game of the season

- volunteered as a server at a fund-raising "Rib-Off" event

- partied at friends' house

- had Sunday brunch at son's house

- celebrated Labor Day by doing absolutely nothing

- completed at least 63 online crossword puzzles (yeah, I know)

- presided at a committee meeting for an event in late October

- created an audiovisual for and attended a evening networking mixer

-finished two books

- attended a business board meeting

- attended a Master Mind meeting

- kept a dental appointment

- planned a Mystery Resale Bus Trip with my BFF

- rented a truck and picked up some new store fixtures in Birmingham, MI

- rearranged the front part of the store

and last but not least, made innumerable phone calls and sent at least 170 separate e-mails related to either the store or the aforementioned event. And, of course, I spent a little bit of quality time with my husband and talked to my Emme on the web cam at least once a week.

I'm not complaining - I absolutely love everything I did and would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

So do you forgive me?

2007-08-28T14:25:00.000-04:00

Things I learned while researching something else. . .

I'm sure many of you have done that - found something cool when you were looking for something else. There's a word for it - serendipity.

Yesterday I made a very short presentation on blogs at a networking luncheon. Although I all too often put off my research to the very last minute, I spent a significant amount of time over the weekend on this. I did a similar presentation several months ago to another group and I wanted new info for yesterday's.

One of the most interesting things I discovered is how powerful blogs can be - there are lots of employers who now check the blogosphere (cool word, huh?) for information on prospective employees - people really need to be careful what they say - you never know who may someday read it.

It's probably much more difficult to fire somebody because of what they may have posted on a blog site, but I'm sure it's possible and probably been done.

Just this past Sunday, it was reported that a blogger, of all people, discovered a mistake that NASA had made on the most recent space journey.

And the most interesting blog site I stumbled upon is http://www.isawyournanny.blogspot.com/.

Anyone who's witnessed a nanny at work who has done or said something that a parent may want to know about can post all of the details. I'm sure that there are watchful parents who check this out regularly.

Think twice, Miss Nanny, before swearing or swatting at that kid.

You're reading this, so you have internet access. Search out an interesting blog and then tell me here what you've found. It'll be fun.

2007-08-25T12:58:00.000-04:00

Does this woman look familiar ?

That's because I already introduced you to her a few blog posts back. I promised to highlight her most unusual business.

Meet Margie Sparks

Got great old stuff? Found a great buy at an estate or garage sale? Do you just love to buy stuff as an investment? Inherited some ugly old stuff that doesn't sync with your tastes?

Margie Sparks of www.bornagainvintageclothing.com may be able to help you. Her expertise is selling valuable items on e-bay for other people, particularly antiques, collectibles, vintage clothing and sporting equipment. She is both an ebay Power Seller and a Registered Trading Assistant so naturally has a "store" on ebay.

Margie and her husband started their business in 2003 and were featured in a Toledo Blade article last September. If you follow the links on the website above, you can view the huge amount of items she sold and what they sold for. And they have an excellent feedback rating, which means a lot to potential bidders or buyers.

Margie is also always in need of packing/mailing material - plastic peanuts, bubble wrap, sturdy boxes, etc. Please contact her if you have items you'd like to give her.

And I love Margie's tagline or memory hook:

"Empty your attic and fill your wallet."

2007-08-15T20:47:00.000-04:00

See the comments under my blog post about last weekend.

Emme on her birthday shopping spree funded by Uncle Uncle.

Emme and Uncle Uncle at the Mud Hens game.

Emme helping Uncle Uncle with his birthday desert at dinner at Ansara's.

2007-08-15T19:50:00.000-04:00

A lesson learned from a new friend

I recently had a one-to-one meeting with a woman who has so many admirable traits. I like to think of myself as a “good” person, but every once in a while, I get my comeuppance.

I don’t know how the conversation started, but Margie and I were talking about gossip. I told her I love a good juicy story. She said she hated gossip and refuses to not only repeat it, but she also won’t listen to it.

Then I said, “…unless it’s true.” Her immediate reply, “No, especially if it’s true,” really made me think. When I asked her why, I so admired her moral code.

She said, “Just think if there was something (true) about you that you really didn’t want other people talking about. How awful it would be to have that story being repeated to other people.”

I had never thought about it in that way - I guess I used to think if a story was true, that it was okay to repeat it.

Thanks, Margie, for a lesson learned. I will highlight your business in my next blog post as another way to say “thank you.”

What lesson have you learned lately from a surprising source?

2007-08-12T23:49:00.000-04:00

What a weekend!

Mommy, Daddy, Me, Aunt Angie, Uncle Uncle, Mimi & Papa

Those of you who know me well know how much I adore my 2-year-old granddaughter Emme. She is the light of my and my husband's life. We waited a long time for her - her daddy is 40 and has been married 15 years.

She is so worth the wait. They live northwest of Seattle so we don't get to see her as often as we'd like. So we try to make the most of every minute we have with her.

She may be in the throes of the 'terrible twos' but most of the time, she is a loving, hugging, kissing machine. She is so happy that you can't help but smile when you're with her. And we did just that for four days - plus the zoo, a Mud Hens game, a family reunion, a shopping spree at Toys 'R Us ( a birthday present from her "uncle uncle." (Don't ask.)

So there's no message here - other than I'm

a happy grandma right now. Let me show

you a few reasons why . . .

2007-08-10T15:15:00.000-04:00

Networking really does work!

I recently had the opportunity to help someone in need of making some connections in the medical community. I was able to personally introduce two area physicians to a woman producing a play about childbirth. The four of us met for a relaxing breakfast just to get acquainted. I know the pediatrician because of my store and I know the OB/GYN because she's a member of my Toledo Maternity Network.

I had another meeting to attend so after about 30 minutes, I had to move on, confident that the three of them would do what needed to be done. I'm happy to report that every thing went as planned. After the play (being presented on September 15th), there will be a "talkback" session where audience members can ask questions and get more information. Both physicians agreed to be part of this panel. And one of the physicians is going to lend financial support to the production.

It feels so good to be able to do this - it cost me nothing and it didn't require any real "work," just a few phone calls and some of my time. Did it make me look good? I hope so. Is that why I did it? Of course not. I did it because I could and because I know people. To me, that's what networking is all about. If I didn't take the time to get to know so many people, I wouldn't have known how to help in this particular instance. It's not something I would have been comfortable asking my own physician because I don't know her on the same level as I do these others.

When was the last time you were able to hook up people simply because you knew the right people?

2007-07-30T22:06:00.000-04:00

Taking a short sabbatical . . .

I know I haven't been consistent lately regarding posting comments in a timely fashion, but this time I'm issuing a warning.

Tomorrow morning I am embarking on a new adventure. I will be in training in Los Angeles for a new position and I'm very excited about it. I'm taking my laptop, and I know the hotel has WiFi in the room for a charge, but it all depends what the charge is as to whether I'll be on line and blogging.

Wish me luck!

2007-07-28T11:49:00.000-04:00

Networking 101 in traffic

I spent 15 (yes, 15) hours Friday (6am to 9 pm) with three good friends. Oh, what fun we had. We drove to Chicago to attend a wholesale jewelry & accessories show. On the way back, we took the Skyway, thinking it would be quicker than our normal route. Boy, were we wrong.

There's is MAJOR construction on the Skyway which of course we didn't know about. It took us 2-1/2 hours to get from O'Hare Airport area to the Indiana state line. But there wasn't a dull moment.

I know all of these women because of my consignment store:

Kate, who is a shopaholic, wandered into my first store almost 10 years ago and we became friends quickly. She makes her own jewelry (exotic, one-of-a-kind, not the simple bead stuff). She goes to the show to buy high-end fine jewelry for herself and to buy beads and other findings for her business.

Betty owns a wonderful consignment store in Perrysburg and we've been good friends for at least 6 years (see a previous post about how unusual - and delightful - it is to have a competitor for a friend). She goes to the show primarily to buy designer fragrances and gifts for friends.

Sandee and her sisters used to own consignment stores and I met her through Betty. She goes to the show to buy for herself and her friends and large family.

We all are talkers - and laughers. Oh, how we laughed - quick wits and funny stories (no jokes, just true stuff that's happened to us) abounded.

None of these women belong to any of the formal networking organizations that I do. (Of course, any group is an informal network.) I was asked why networking has worked so well for me. Why do I belong to so many (4 at last count) and why does it help my business?

My answer was about the value of developing relationships and the concept of "Givers Gain." How you just give and give and give and you are bound at some point to benefit.

The example I gave was a woman who is producing a maternity project in September. I met with her (she indeed was wondering, "Why in the world does this stranger want to take me to lunch?"), found out what she needed, and subsequently sent out e-mails to over 350 people who might be able to help her, offered to help financially support her project, took her to a networking event and introduced her to people who also have committed to help her on the day of the project.

So one of my friends asked if she's been to my store yet. I said, "Not yet. And she might never. But she'll remember how I helped her. She knows that I'm someone who walks the walk and the talk."

I think it was hard for my friends to understand this concept. How I 'gave' but didn't yet 'get.'

How could I explain this better to people who are not networkers in the traditional business sense?

2007-07-19T21:49:00.000-04:00

Let me tell you about our friends, the Ansaras

Two of our best friends are Marlene Ansara-Lederman and her husband Scott. We first met Marlene while hanging out at our favorite "watering hole" where she was the service manager. Over time, a bunch of us - at least a dozen - developed relationships that included lots of parties, weddings and other fun events.

Over the years, we developed even closer friendships with not only Marlene and her son Samuel, but also with several of her siblings and their spouses and kids. We'd heard about her brother Kameel who with his wife Jackie owned Ansara's Boardroom, a popular downtown Toledo restaurant, but we never went there.

Kameel suffered a severe work-related injury and was forced to close the Boardroom. He vowed to never go into the restaurant business again. (Aside: Restaurants have always been the lifeblood of this Ansara family - from the Bungalow to Joey's Supper Club and others.)

But in October of 2004, Kameel and Jackie opened Ansara's Steakhouse on Laskey Road near Douglas in the old "Adam's Place/Adam's Ribs" building.

And thus another relationship began - one with not only Kameel and Jackie, but with their food. You will find us at Ansara's Steakhouse one to three nights a week. Sure we love the people, but, man, do we love the food.

There's always people we know - some of the old gang have fallen by the wayside, but even more great folks joined the fold. We take other people there frequently, both singles and couples. If the restaurant was open at lunch, they would see even more of us. But, alas, they're not.

So how can I convince everyone who reads this blog to give them a try? Their food is fantastic - some traditional American fare, Lebanese favorites, homemade desserts to die for . . . you get the idea. Special features every week (http://www.ansarassteakhouse.com/) always including an $8.95 "comfort food" special.

Marlene is manager and bartends every night of the week except one (they're open Mon-Sat). She's been voted "best bartender in town" in the Toledo City Paper poll. Wait staff is attentive and friendly (one of them, Bonnie, works for me part-time in the store). Kameel is the cook - he humbly says he is "not a chef, just the cook." But you will always find him out in the restaurant whenever he gets a spare minute - mingling with the patrons, making sure everything is okay and everyone's having a good time.

When you check them out, look for us in the bar.

So what is your favorite hangout and what makes it special?

2007-07-14T11:17:00.000-04:00

What was she thinking?

Yesterday she came in dressed in raggedy jeans and a bar t-shirt. Which was better than last time a few weeks ago when she came in wearing flip-flops and what looked like pajamas.

I’m not talking about a customer or consignor (and frankly, I don’t care how they dress when they come in). I’m not even talking about the same woman. I’m talking about women who have come in to apply for a job!!!!

And it’s not an age thing - the first time she was probably in her 20’s and yesterday she was probably in her 40’s.

I don’t get it. You come into a business establishment that you’ve never been in before (I knew they hadn't) and that you know nothing about and you look like either

1) you just got out of bed or

2) you’re on your way to the closest biker bar or

3) both of the above.

She asked if I’m hiring and/or if I have an application she can fill out. (For those of you who may find this blog by accident, I sell women’s clothing and accessories, new and resale.)

What I did each time: Smile and nicely say, “No, sorry I’m not.”

What I wanted to do each time: Smile and nicely say, “No, but even if I was, I would be interested in someone who knew enough to dress nicely to even come in and ask.” or

“Didn’t your mother teach you any better?” or

“You don’t know anything about this store. You need to learn about a place before applying for a job and you certainly need to dress better.”

W hat I’m going to do next time: Smile and nicely say, “No, I’m not right now. But if you have a job interview in the future, I’d love to help you find some great yet inexpensive interview clothes. You only get one chance to make a good first impression and we can help you do that.”

Do you have any "inappropriately dressed" stories?

2007-07-11T18:52:00.000-04:00

Hindsight is always 20/20, or is it?

I need to get this out of my system - I believe in positive attitude, that your thoughts control your mood, and that negative attracts negative. But I want to share this and ask for your opinion. And then I'm going to 'let it go.'

Today I went to a community event with a friend. She seemed to know just about every other person we ran into. She gracefully introduced me to those whose name she could remember. As we joined three friends of hers at a table, she introduced me by name and then told them that I owned Sandy's Stuff.

The man at the table couldn't have cared less. I knew one of the women who used to (very rarely) come in to the store. The other woman (64-year-old professional woman) said, "What's that?"

I told her it's a woman's consignment store.

Then, and you've got to believe me here, she immediately turned up
her nose and said (quite loudly), "A big g -- d--- garage sale!"

I was speechless. I'm sure my jaw dropped open. I said nothing. I couldn't think quick enough. My friend simply said something like, "Well, Sandy has nice things in her store." And their conversation proceeded on to another topic.

I still said nothing. After another minute (at the most), I got up and walked away. When my friend caught up with me several minutes later, I asked her how she knew the woman. She responded that she was one of her best friends.

But the things I later thought of to say:

"Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?"

"Do you know you said that out loud?"

"How rude!"

But I said nothing. My friend Debby is probably proud of me thinking that I took the higher ground - that I didn't stoop to her level (from which I would have had better leverage to kick her in the a--) - but I actually said nothing because I was so shocked, that no words came to me.

What would you have done? What would you have said? Would you think a little differently about the friend who introduced you?

2007-07-08T18:42:00.000-04:00

Random questions (or why is my mind so screwy?)

I recently took up the challenge from a friend to disclose 8 random things about myself. I did it and in turn, challenged four friends to do the same. Thanks to friends Terry and Merri for rising to the challenge. Haven't heard from the other two.

I was quickly able to formulate 8 things - but not without thinking of some other, more personal items. I ended up not writing about those things mainly because it would disclose information about other people that they probably wouldn't appreciate.

As I try to think of random thoughts in general, I came up with many that are questions. So sue me . . .

1. Do you know that Oregon the city and Oregon the state are pronounced differently?

2. What is the purpose of a "soul patch" and why the heck is it called that?

3. Why do I prefer e-mailing most people rather than calling them on the phone?

4. I do not know my next-door neighbor. I do know the people on one side of us but we don't speak to each other. We put up a privacy fence about six years ago because they weren't cleaning up after their large dogs and the "O deau canine" was quite unpleasant but they claimed the fence blocks sun and some of their grass died. We continue to try to be friendly to no avail. If you know them, could you tell them we're nice people?

But I know nothing about people who live on the other side. I don't know if they're young or old, black or white, or how many of them there are. Isn't that strange? By the way, we've lived here for almost 32 years.

I don't do yard work; we don't have small children; our block doesn't have block parties (that I know of); I've always worked full-time; I lived in Cleveland for 10 years from 1985-95; we don't have a front porch; because of how the houses are situated, we can't see their house from ours - do these things exonerate me from being a bad neighbor?

So what are some of the strange things about you that you're willing to share?

2007-07-05T23:29:00.000-04:00

I felt just like a kid again . . .

and I had a smile on my face the whole time.

I'm talking about fireworks - good, old-fashioned (well, maybe not) Fourth of July fireworks.

We had a wonderful holiday. We spent most of the day with good friends - eating great food, soaking up the sun, watching the kids (both big ones and little ones) playing in the swimming pool - and then we all went down to watch the Mud Hens (Toledo's minor league baseball team who play in what "Newsweek" magazine has called "The best ball park in the minor leagues.")

My husband and I have season tickets and on many nights, there are fireworks after the game. But we never stay. 'The husband' never wants to - "It's always the same. If you've seen them once, etc., etc., etc. And we haven't gone Downtown for the city's firework display in at least 15 to 20 years because 'there are too many people. It takes forever to get out after the fireworks are over.'

But last night, he actually enjoyed them. He jokingly said, "Gosh, Sandy, I don't know why we don't stay for the fireworks every time." I smacked him.

When I told him that I thought I had a smile on my face the entire time (total of at least 25 minutes of the stadium's and the city's shows), he said, "So did I."

I don't consider myself very patriotic. But last night, I couldn't help but think about what the celebration is all about and I was proud to be an American.

So how did you spend the 4th?

2007-06-29T22:37:00.000-04:00

Eight random thoughts about me . . .

I have accepted a challenge from my friend Angie (see her blog at http://www.iorganizeyou.blogspot.com/). I am listing 8 random thoughts about me and will then challenge four friends listed below to comment here on 3 random thoughts about themselves:

a. Terry W.
b. Merri
c. Laura
d. Karen

1. I had the worst complexion in the world from my pre-teen through high school years. I was popular before that but after that I was called "pimples." This was incredibly painful to my psyche and self-image. Makes me sick to even relate this now.

2. I always wanted to see the Great Pyramids of Giza (Egypt) before I died. We were there 11 years ago - although I'm glad I went, it was rather disappointing. Have no desire to go back.

3. From 1964 -1984, I had a best friend. Twenty years of a wonderful, close friendship even though she moved to the West Coast. Then something happened - I'm not sure either of us will ever understand what - but we then had NO CONTACT for the next 20 years. She reached out to me 3 years ago and we're now back in each others' lives. I wish I talked to her more and let her know how much I value our relationship. 4. I don't do housework. And I don't cook except by prior appointment and special request.

5. I always wanted to visit the Greek Isles. Did that also 11 years ago. They are heaven. I want to go back.

6. The best trip I ever took was to Italy (you know you're getting old when you can't remember when you went somewhere) - 9 days with a group of 29 friends on a wine and gourmet food excursion - Rome and south - the Amalfi coast is to die for - hope I get to go back.

7. Two things I always wanted to do - have never done them and probably never will:
i) sky diving

ii) snow skiing

8. All of the above exciting trips I've taken were when I was in health care management. I now own my own business. The current budget does not allow for such extravagance - glad I did it when I could.

Now I hope to hear from each of you that I've e-mailed . . . tag. You're it.

2007-06-28T22:08:00.000-04:00

I love a good movie, don't you?

Did you happen to watch the American Film Institute’s “100 Best Movies” last week? I disagreewith so many of them and there were some that I’d never even heard of.

AFI and I do share some favorites (notably GONE WITH THE WIND, PSYCHO, NORTH BY NORTHWEST, REAR WINDOW, BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID, WIZARD OF OZ, SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, PSYCHO, SOPHIE’S CHOICE, JAWS, ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEXT, THE SIXTH SENSE, ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN).

I was surprised that some other well-known movies among my favorites didn’t make the grade (notably THE STING, THE BIG CHILL, DEAD POETS SOCIETY, CHICAGO, MAGNOLIA, WITNESS, THE ACCUSED, THE SHINING, DIAL M FOR MURDER and the remake A PERFECT MURDER).

But I wasn’t surprised that some of my other favorites among well-known movies were not on the list: FATAL ATTRACTION, BODY HEAT, THE OMEN, POLTERGEIST, MOMMIE DEAREST, PRIMAL FEAR, THE GAME - movies I love but I admit they aren’t the best of the lot to the movie “experts.”

While watching the AFI show, I naturally was in front of my ever-present laptop so I created another list - my favorite all-time movies that I bet most people have never heard of or seen. I highly recommend each and every one of them:

A SUMMER STORY - a 1986 movie about the power of societal class in early 20th century rural England. With British film star Imogen Stubbs. I would LOVE to find this on either VHS or DVD (preferred) as it’s just about my #1 all-time favorite movie.

SHIRLEY VALENTINE - a story of a married middle-aged woman seeking to find herself. I have this on VHS if anyone would like to borrow it.
ENOUGH - a Jennifer Lopez movie that critics hated but I loved mainly because my son and daughter-in-law were “extras.” The ferry scenes were supposed to be Lake Michigan in the movie, but were actually filmed in Port Townsend, Washington. We’ve taken this ferry from Pt. Townsend to both Whidbey Island and Victoria, British Columbia. I have this on DVD if anyone would like to borrow it. (Ask me sometime why I no longer like J Lo as a result of my kids’ experience.)

ONE POTATO, TWO POTATO - from the mid-60’s with Barbara Barrie about the struggle a white divorced woman has choosing between her black husband and her daughter.

PENNY SERENADE - from the early 40s with Cary Grant and Irene Dunn; guaranteed to make you cry. I first watched this back in the late 50’s while staying home “sick” from school one day. I have this on VHS if anyone would like to borrow it.

SOMEWHERE IN TIME - a sappy time-warp love story with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour set at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. We spent our 25th anniversary at the hotel - an experience everyone should have (the hotel, not the anniversary - but then, why not?) I have this on VHS if anyone would like to borrow it.

SCHOOL OF ROCK - a Jack Black comedy about a rogue “teacher” who brings out the best in kids with the use of good old rock ‘n roll.
3 DAYS OF THE CONDOR - an old Robert Redford cloak and dagger thriller. I don’t even understand all of it, but I love it.
RETURN TO PARADISE - a sleeper with Joaquin Phoenix (one of my favorites!!!) and Anne Heche, similar to Midnight Express.
REVERSAL OF FORTUNE - a true story about the trials of Claus von Bulow (played by Jeremy Irons who won both the Oscar & Golden Globe for Best Actor) who was tried twice for the attempted murder of his multi-millionaire wife Sunny (Glenn Close). In fact, one of my favorite movie lines is from this movie: After being told he was a strange man, Jeremy Irons’ reply is so cool - “You have no idea.” I guess you have to see/hear it. It's how he said it, now what he said.

COMING HOME - a very sexy post-Vietnam War movie with Jane Fonda and Jon Voigt. Just thinking about one of the scenes makes me . . . oh, never mind.

Now them're some good movies.

What are some of your favorite movies that most people may not have seen or even heard of?

2007-06-25T15:05:00.000-04:00

Signs, signs, everywhere a sign....

I don't know what it is about signs - I guess it's the weirdness, or the oxymoronic, or the unusual, or the play on words - I don't know, but some signs just speak to me. A few recent signs that I just couldn't help but photograph:

1. Can you hear yourself asking for a glass of Effen vodka?

2. An off-beat "open" sign in a tobacco shop window in Wrigleyville (Chicago):

3. A sign in train tunnel on the way to a Cubs game: (In case you can't read it, it says, "Please don't come to the ballpark with a cold - I'll catch it.")

4. Seen on an off-limits building at a lavendar farm/petting zoo where we held part of (my 2-year-old granddaughter's (Emme) birthday party:

5. An isn't this sad: Outside the gift shop in the above-mentioned zoo/farm, there's a bunch of farm animals including these unusual Swiss Highland cattle. Inside is the picture telling of their fate.

2007-06-17T20:57:00.000-04:00

I just don't get the motion picture rating system.

We saw a movie, "Mr. Brooks," over the weekend. Most of the critics didn't like it, calling it "silly" and "preposterous." But it had sufficient scariness and enough plot twists to keep us interested. I especially liked it because one of my favorites, William Hurt, was in it. Just don't see enough of him anymore.

The movie was rated "R" for very good reasons - lots of profanity, tons of explicit, gratuitous violence, explicit sex and nudity - but I'm an adult and I can handle it.

My problem? It wasn't with the movie, it was with the theater. Sitting in the row immediately in front of us was a family - mom, dad, and two little girls - one approximately 9 years old and one approximately 3 years old!!!!! And their son who was maybe 14 or 15 sat in another row, but immediately after the film finished, he walked up to them and excitedly (of course) said, "Wow - that was the greatest movie I've ever seen. I want to get it as soon as it's out on DVD and I'm gonna watch it every day!"

What is wrong with these parents? What is wrong with the rating system that allows parents to subject young children to these adult themes and images?

My husband and I deliberately tried to block out our disgust so we could enjoy the film, but it wasn't easy. I couldn't help but watch the parents during certain scenes to see if they were uncomfortable - but nothing - just eating their popcorn and watching the screen.

What's your take on this? Is it child abuse? Is it child endangering? Is it bad parenting?

2007-06-07T19:50:00.000-04:00

Meet my friend Angie Weid

I have a great "new friend" (a future blog posting on this subject) who can help so many of you out there in blogland.

Angie Weid is: a mom, a rocket scientist (really, she is), an engineer with 3 patents in her name, and a woman who loves life. Angie left the corporate world a few years ago and is owner of an organizing service called Organized Solutions.

The things that I think are the coolest about what she does are organizing spaces and "clean up" of files after a "technical" employee has left a company. I encourage you to read her blog (www.iorganizeyou.blogspot.com) to see her "before" and "after" photos of offices, garages, etc., that she has transformed. (I probably need that service more than anyone in the world, but more about that later, too).

Garage "before" Same garage "after"

Is that cool, or what?

Please read the blog of another friend, Deb Peters, at www.cnpofohio.blogspot.com, to read about how Angie helped a company expunge files and organize software of a recently departed employee.

Is that cool, or what?

Please check out Angie's website, www.iOrganizeYou.com, or call her at 734-890-1276 or email her at angie@iOrganizeYou.com to find out what she can do for you.

2007-05-31T20:21:00.000-04:00

Never spend money on greeting cards again!

When I started my blog last year, I wanted to highlight friends in business and I realized I hadn’t done that recently. My next three posts are going to be about just that.

My friend Karen Kiemnec has two careers - she teaches dance to cancer survivors and she is a demonstrator for a rubber stamp and scrapbooking company.

Karen loves to help women have fun creating attractive, easy-to-make cards, gifts and scrapbook pages with rubber stamps through a company called Stampin’ Up. She does workshops in people's homes, but also hosts many events in her own home . She holds a scrapbook club that meets once a month in her Sylvania home and also regularly hosts stamping events.

Karen and I both started rubber stamping at about the same time, but she took the "hobby" to a whole different level. She has a very successful career in this field and I love that I helped her get started (the first workshop she attended was in my store!). Stampin' Up's items are high quality and very reasonably priced.

Not only have I bought tons of stamps and supplies from Karen with which I make my own greeting cards, but I learned so many creative techniques from her. I can't encourage people enough to give her a call and start having fun.

For details, please contact her at karen@stampingwithkaren.com or by phone at 419 345-3986.

2007-05-28T11:27:00.000-04:00

Warning to guys: I know I have several male friends who read my blog. You won't want to read this post. It's so woman-oriented, your voice will change if you read it. You've been warned.

Have you heard about the new 'pill?'

For those of you living in a cave, you may not have heard about the new birth control pill. It's taken every day and the majority of users don't have any menstrual periods!! Alleluia - there is a God!

I swear it was created by women. What incentive would men have? (Oh, yeah, that incentive.)

I'm blogging about this today because of an editorial in our local paper, The (Toledo) Blade. The editor claims "An ethical and moral debate is warranted." (Yes, a letter to the editor is being formed in my head at this moment.)

Granted a medical debate may be warranted as this drug, although it's undergone rigorous FDA testing, is too new to know its adverse long-term effects). I am concerned about that, but not because I'm a nurse, but because I'm a woman.

But an ethical and moral debate because it eliminates menstrual periods???? The article quotes one researcher as questioning "medicating away 'a normal life event.' " Give me a break! Is there any doubt about the gender of that researcher?

Headaches, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea - are among many other "normal life events." Isn't it great that we can (often) medicate them away? How about male impotence? Can you imagine a drug researcher hesitant to medicate that 'normal life event' away?

Women who still have menstrual periods long for the day when they're gone - especially after they've finished having children.

Do I miss the cramps, bloating, inconveniece, unpreparedness, worry, etc.?

I know menstrual periods are viewed differently in different cultures, but that's not what I'm addressing here.

While reading this to my husband (who couldn't agree with me more), he asked, "Isn't The Blade pro-women's rights? Isn't this another woman's right?" That's why I love the guy so much.

On second thought, maybe guys should read this - I'd love to hear their views, too.

2007-05-20T15:42:00.000-04:00

Word-of-mouth IS all it's cracked up to be . . .

Curt Miller, of Millers Cleaning, was just sworn in as a member of my BNI chapter. The discussion he and I had last week is the perfect example of word-of-mouth marketing at work.

A week or two before, Curt came to our chapter meeting as a visitor. He told me he and his wife were expecting and he was going to talk to her about my store and my maternity selection. Cool.

But this last week Curt told me that when he started to tell her about my store, she already knew - not only had one friend of hers told her, but a second one had also.

Word-of-mouth business is great on so many levels: first of all, it's free. Secondly, if it's working, it's all positive.

But the two best things about it are that one, people believe in you and your business enough to tell other people about it - thus giving you credibility. And most importantly, it lasts - the effects of it keep the "buzz" going. I was fortunate enough last fall to have two feature articles written about me in local newspapers. Lots of people saw those articles and business increased because of it.

But those articles were only "out there" for a very limited time. If all they did was generate business from people who directly read them, that business would be very short-lived. But people who read it told others who told others who told others - well, you get the idea.

Have you recently had a good experience business-wise from word-of-mouth 'advertising?'

2007-05-17T23:21:00.000-04:00

I was born in the morning . . . but not this morning . . .

I swear customers think I must be pretty stupid about my own business. It happened again today - a woman brought in maternity clothes for me to buy. She had called previously (a good thing one would presume) and was told what we tell everyone - items have to be in style and in excellent condition.

I started going through her huge box of items and was only interested in about 25% of them. I made and she accepted my cash offer - a little reluctantly. Then she asked why couldn't I use the other ones?

Truthfully, they were old - not just a year or two, but more like 4 to 8 years old. And in the maternity fashion world, that's a long time. There were labels and brands that haven't been sold in years. Not withstanding the fact that there were rips and stains and animal hair. UGH!

But the politically-correct answer I gave her was, "Well, they're just not styles that my customers are looking for right now."

"Well, that's crazy, " she said rather sarcastically. "These are only about a year old." Now, does she actually think I believe that?

The same thing actually happens fairly often with my regular (non-maternity) consignors. They'll tell me their clothes were purchased within the "last year or two." Then I find brands like Passport from Pier One (who stopped selling clothes oh, about 10 years ago) or Gantos (who went out of business oh, about 6 or 7 years ago).

What in the world makes people think I believe their stories? Do I really look that stupid?

What stories do you have about customers that made you think they thought you were dumb as dirt?

2007-05-15T08:13:00.000-04:00

When a one-to-one meeting isn't going to work . . .

Several months ago, I made a card to give to people with whom I've scheduled a one-to-one. My regular business card has my work number and e-mail address, but the new card has my home and cell phone numbers on it. BUT, I almost always forget to give it to the person. Duh!

I had a one-to-one scheduled this morning with Joy McLeod of Artistic Memorials. She is ill this morning and lo and behold, I had not given her my 'extra' contact info. She had called the store to leave a message, but I didn't have the answering machine on (note to self: turn on the machine and update the message).

BUT fortunately, I always check my e-mail before I leave the house in the morning. Both Joy and her boss Jeff Pettit had left me an e-mail message explaining what was going on. Another meeting will be rescheduled soon.

Now I have two extra hours to do stuff that I should have done last night! I knew there was a reason why all I did last night was watch "24" and play on the computer.

Do you usually give 'extra' contact information to someone you're going to meet with?

2007-05-13T14:51:00.000-04:00

Happy Mother's Day. . .

Certainly, this post was inspired greatly by my previous post of today.

But it is also is inspired by my experiences as a mother.

Several weeks ago, I posted about wanting to be remembered as a great mother. My life is my family. My family is my life. I love my two sons more than anyone could ever imagine. They're both healthy, happy, educated, have great jobs and are happily married. I argue with both of them. I disagree with both of them frequently on gun control, politics, TV shows and discipline practices. They both treat their wives with respect and they treat their parents with respect. They're not afraid to hug, kiss, and tell their momma they love her. What more could I ask for?

When my husband of forty + years and I first talked about marriage, we wanted six kids (!!!). (Of course, at that time, I also thought I would be a stay-at-home mom forever.) We even picked out names - 3 boys' and 3 girls'.

Then I baby-sat one summer for his young niece and nephew and decided only four kids would be just fine.

Then I had one. Until you have a baby, you just don't realize the work and the
responsibility. . . and the time . . . and the money.

After a couple of years, we decided we'd have another one - this time it would be a girl. Son #2 was a dilly - took me a year to get pregnant, morning sickness for 4 months, hottest summer on record, he weighed 10 pounds (delivered the regular way),

needed surgery twice before he was a year old, temper tantrums until he was at least four . . . but we let him live anyway.

But THERE WAS NOT GOING TO BE ANY MORE.

Like many young couples, we struggled, especially financially. But with the help of both sets of parents, we made it. We were able to put both boys through school without financial aid (we tried, but couldn't get it - thanks to politics 1980s style.).

Hubby and I agreed on the important things - they were never forced to eat (or even try) any foods they didn't like; we never spanked them (well, almost never - there was one incident that we both remember with regret); when they were adults, we forced them to be responsible for themselves - our form of 'tough love.' (I will admit many of the teenage years were very, very tough.)

It was the right choice for us. We had our kids very young - I was 20 and 23 when they were born. By the time we hit our early 40s, they were both adults and we've had the past 20 years to enjoy by ourselves while enjoying our relationship with them and their families. They're not just our family, they're our friends.

I know that everyone hasn't made these choices or been so fortunate. One of my best friends, for example, has been married about 30 years and she and her husband decided from the beginning that they did not want children. As far as I know, they have no regrets. They are incredibly happy and live a full, rich life.

We have other good friends, also married a long time, who were unable to have children but who opted not to adopt. They also have an exciting, fun-filled life.

And of course, we know people who have children whose lives have been troubled with tragedy and unhappiness.

But today, I want to celebrate the happy stories - I have so many good friends who love being a mom and who would be lost without their kids.

So to the moms of the world - I SALUTE YOU AND SAY HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! WE DONE GOOD!

2007-05-13T14:12:00.000-04:00

Stereotyping be damned!

I am promising myself to stop stereotyping - it's so easy to do, but oh, so wrong.

I recently had a one-to-one with an accountant (hereafter referred to as 'The A'). Fairly early in the conversation, The A said, "I'm creative."

Who, me surprised? So I asked what exactly she/he meant.

The A said, "I love to write. Some years ago, I wrote about myself - explaining what I was all about."

I was fascinated and told The A I would love to see what was written. Several days later after sending an e-mail reminder, I received his/her opus.

I won't include all of it here, especially those things that might identify The A, but s,here's some of the most interesting and self-revealing bits . . .

( NOTE from Sandy: I have had one-to-ones with no less than 4 accountants in the past few months, so don't even try to guess who this is.)

The One and Only

Who Am I? I am many things: I am strong, yet weak; kind, yet cruel; happy, yet sad.

I am smart, yet ignorant; intense, yet relaxed; friendly, yet shy.

I like long walks and short answers.

I like big thoughts and small words. I like hard truths and soft hearts. I believe in Faith, Hope and Love. I believe the glass is half full. I like talking to kids more than I do adults because they are more interesting.

I respond better when asked than when told. I am patient with others when they make mistakes, because I have made them all. I am still too hard on myself. I still dream.

I like small towns better than big cities. I like light rock better than heavy metal. I like a genuine tear better than a fake laugh.

I believe that the family is the cornerstone to all society, and that you should care for those who grow old, as they cared for you when you were young. I believe the most important thing you can do to make the world a better place is to love and discipline your children. I believe that education is the key to getting a good job and a healthy economy. I try to give to those who cannot give back to me.

I try to pick people up when they are down. I try to knock them down a notch when they are too proud. I don’t smoke, I don’t get drunk, and I don’t swear. I am honest because my father is; loyal because my true friends are; naïve because I believe others always tell me the truth.

I believe that children aren’t happy with what they have because they don’t know what it is to want. I believe that adults aren’t happy because they want what they don’t have. I believe that the elderly are happy when all they have is their families.

I fear being old more than growing old. I fear dying more than death. I fear what might come after death if I am too afraid to live my life. I believe that the right hand should not know what the left hand is doing.

I believe that the best things in life are free. I like my job. I like my parents. I like living in the United States, with or without the politicians.

I used to think love was easy and then I failed at it. I used to think I could be a pro athlete and then reality struck.

I used to think Bugs Bunny was funny and I still do. I never count calories. I never budget my expenses. I never forget where I came from. Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth: Use it or lose it.

Billy Joel is my favorite musician because he is a musician.

Sometimes life knocks you down, and you will get up, because after a while, you realize you have no other choice. I would rather spend money on someone else rather than on myself, especially if they don’t ask. I would rather eat at McDonalds than a fancy restaurant and give the extra money to charity.

I would rather have true happiness than all the money in the world. I believe a broken heart can mend. I believe when you find true love, you will know it. I believe that when you are in love, nothing else matters. I believe the good old days weren’t always good and tomorrow ain’t as bad as it seems.

I believe that grass isn’t always greener on the other side. I believe that home is where the heart is. I write better than I speak. I listen better than I hear. I sing better than I dance.

I like the days sunny and 75. I like the nights cool with stars in the sky. I like the breeze in my face. I run because I’m good at it and it makes me feel good. I read because it exercises my brain. I work because it makes me feel productive and gives me discipline. I am a product of my past. I am a product of my parents. I am a product of generations of ancestors who never knew me, but who have passed their name on to me, and I must do them honor.

I can be shy around a group of strange people. I can be unsympathetic to others’ problems. I can do anything I put my mind to. I admire policemen and veterans, for doing what I never could. I admire teachers whose biggest thrill is to see a child learn. I admire parents who have the most important and complicated job of all.

I will not ask someone to do something that I am not willing to do myself. I will not sleep in just because it is the weekend. I will not be a yes person at the expense of my conscience. I give people the benefit of the doubt. I give to those more needy than I. I give a damn.

I do not like when people always talk about doing things but never do them. I do not like when people always complain, but never do anything to fix the problem. I do not like when people can’t take responsibility for their actions and blame their problems on somebody else.

I wish everyone could just get along. I wish everyday was Christmas. I wish people would tell others how much they appreciate them. I’ve been lucky. I’ve been smart. I’ve been blessed. I think that men can live in peace with one another. I think that violence doesn’t solve anything. I think that love conquers all. I have been so high, celebrating great victories. I have been so low, suffering in lonely despair. I have been touched with deepest emotions of hope, fear, surprise, anger, joy, sorrow and love, and it is of these strands which the fabric of life is woven. . I remember some days when I felt indestructible. I remember some days I’d rather forget.

I remember the wonder of youth. I know that life can be unfair. I hope people laugh and sing at my funeral. I know that life must be lived to the fullest. I know that life is good. Who am I? I am an original.

This was written as one big paragraph, so the editing into smaller ones was all mine. I highlighted in black the things that really stood out to me. If The A reads this, please forgive me for the editing.

My knowledge of who the The A really is, though I admit it was limited to begin with, has been fertilized and has grown immensely. The A's writing has made me feel more creative myself; it has made me want to write about the same things only inserting "me" into the equation.

This is creative writing with meaning. This is fascinating. I can't thank The A enough for sharing this with me and blowing my stereotype of accountants - I think I'm on my way to changing my preconceived notions about lots of things and lots of people.

Thanks, A, for being and for sharing with me.

When has getting to know someone else totally blown away a previously held belief?

2007-05-05T16:55:00.000-04:00

What's in a name? (a band's name, I mean)

Several times in the past few months, I've mentioned one of my favorite bands, Canada's Bare Naked Ladies. It's four guys whose songs I love and whose personality and sense of humor are quite off-beat - I mean really - a song about getting postcards from monkeys?

On a talk show several years ago, they were asked by the interviewer about the origin of the band's name (a question I'm sure they get quite often). The band's leader answered, "One thing that most Americans probably don't know is that when Canadians are born, they're automatically given band names." Funny, huh?

Band names are getting weirder and weirder - but some in the late 1980’s/early 90's really were bizarre - my musician son Paul was a big fan of groups like The Dead Kennedys (honest, that was their name) and The Dead Milkmen. But the funniest name involves my buying concert tickets for him and his friends.

The concert was in Cleveland and I was living in Cleveland at the time. He asked me to get him four tickets for this particular show. I lived about a block from a big department store, The May Company, and they had a TicketMaster outlet.

Entertainment tickets were sold in the same area as layaway, charge account payments and gift wrapping and the day I went there was only one person working all of the areas so there was a long line. Before long, another employee came to help and shouted out, “Who is in line just to buy concert tickets?”

I said that I was and he asked for what concert. There I am in my early 40’s, dressed in a conservative business suit, in a long line of strangers, announcing . . . “I need four concert tickets for “The Butt Hole Surfers.”

So my question to you is . . . What’s the weirdest band name you’ve ever heard?

2007-05-01T20:16:00.000-04:00

Better living through chemistry . . .

My husband would kill me if he knew I was blogging about this, so I'm not going to tell him.

He was in the hospital for three days in March for a possibly coronary. We spent a lot of time with his doctor (who I went to high school with so we've known him a looooong time) and many medical issues were discussed.

Fast forward a week and a half later and we're out in Port Townswend, WA, visiting with our granddaughter Emme (okay, her parents, too).

One night we were all sitting around talking about "dad's" hospitalization and my husband says, "Well, one problem I've had for years has been solved. I now take one Cialis every day."

Daughter-in-law Jan chuckled and son Dave sort of incredulously said, "WHAT???"

Husband says, "I now take a Cialis every day and it really helps."

Working hard to keep myself from busting a gut, I interrupted and said, "Honey, it does start with a "C," but you now take a Claritin every day."

The four of us laughed so hard we almost wet our pants.

Now, can any of you top that?

2007-04-30T19:35:00.000-04:00

Interesting customers, Part II

So last week, I had a few interesting customers on the same day. Yesterday's post was about the shoulder tattoo - today's post is about another body part - or should I say "parts?"

Three sisters were shopping together. The sister from Toledo is a regular. She was joined by her two sisters from Florida. All three were attractive so what they told me was quite a surprise.

Florida sister #1 had a facelift while up here. She was only a few days post-op and looked pretty darn good.

Florida sister #2 had other parts of her body augmented. She'd had it done many years ago and there was a problem so this was a partial "re-do" so to speak.

This sister seemed rather modest. While shopping she bought what she liked regardless of what her sisters thought (I like that). She was in no way "showy" or attention-seeking. But attention she got . . .

They were flying home the next day. Sister number #2 bought a shirt to wear home with a jacket over it.

What her husband will see first as she gets off the plane:

This is what he'll see next:

Now, can any of you top that?

2007-04-29T16:59:00.000-04:00

I have the most interesting customers . . .

Last week, in one workday, I had two of the most interesting customers I've ever had. Good thing I keep my camera with me.

Early in the day, a woman came in to see if I would buy her maternity clothes. Last summer, she had extremely premature twins, both under two pounds, who only lived a few minutes.

She memorialized her babies with a tattoo - a permanent visible memory of the babies she lost. I'm not big on tattoos, but this one is different.

On her right shoulder blade is a sitting angel with the babies names and birthdate above and the actual size of their tiny feet below. She was proud to show it to me and didn't mind at all when I asked if I could photograph it. She'd been asked before.

What is the most interesting tattoo you've ever seen?

I'm going to save the other customer's story for my next blog. The story (and photo!) is quite different - you won't want to miss it.

2007-04-23T19:33:00.000-04:00

I'm so tired I could cry.

Have you ever felt that way? Like you could lie down on a bed of nails and sleep for a day without moving a muscle? That's where I am right now. But I can account for how I

got here . . .

I worked in my store Saturday until 5 and it was very busy (that's a good thing). I spent the rest of the night (until early morning, actually) getting ready for Sunday. Sunday found us leaving the house at 7 am enroute to Perrysburg and Lima where my friend Betty (who also owns a resale shop) and I loaded up a bus full of 50 women and we headed for Cincinnati.

There we visited 7 resale shops owned by our friend Donna Speigel. Half of the bus were veteran "bus trippers" (this was our 12th or 13th trip) and half were newbees. We provide breakfast, lunch and snacks and beverages all day long. In addition, Donna and her staff provided goodies all day - from champagne mimosas in the morning to ice cream cakes and wine at our last stop. (Hey, we're not driving.)

On the way down, we play games (with prizes, of course) and on the way home, we figure out how much we all spent and reward those who spent the most and bought the most unusual item. One woman even bought a huge sofa with matching chair! (It's amazing how much fits into the bottom compartments of these buses).

The day wrapped up with a movie on the bus (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with Liz Taylor and Paul Newman - we usually watch a new release, but we loved this old 0ne). I got home about 9:00.

By the time I showed my husband everything I bought for myself and Emme, our granddaughter, it again was after midnight and I fell into bed.

Was out of the house again this morning at 7 am to attend a meeting and then at the store until after 6 pm. Once again, the store was busy. And how could I forget I also attended a business luncheon.

But you know what? Writing this blog post has reminded me of how much fun I had yesterday, how much I learned today, how many delightful people I encountered in the past two days, and how great sales have been. You know what? I feel pretty great. Life is goooood.

Have you ever felt guilty complaining about things that actually were wonderful?

2007-04-20T22:38:00.000-04:00

Have you ever had a 3 hour one-to-one?

Well believe it or not, I did today. I met this morning with Lindsey Ruiz of Arbonne International. Louise Kahle of Take the Time: Image Matters, an image consulting business, brought the two of us together because we have the same target market - pregnant women or women with infants or small children.

Most of the time was spent talking about personal things as we have met before. One of Lindsey's best friends is the daughter of good friends of ours. I'm almost old enough to be Lindsey's grandmother, but we really connected on several levels.

We met at 10 am and after a while, I looked at my watch and thought it said 11:30 - a second look and I realized it was 12:30! Neither of us could believe it. I guess the old saying is still true - "Time flies when you're having fun."

We finally got around to talking about our businesses - I'll admit it wasn't as much fun but I think we'll be able to help each other a lot. I'd say mixing business and pleasure isn't always a bad thing.

What's the longest one-to-one meeting you've ever had?

2007-04-14T00:23:00.000-04:00

There is one question I always used to ask people . . .

I recently updated my blog profile (why didn't it come out in separate paragraphs?) and mentioned that there is a question that I used to ask people.

But I rarely ask anyone anymore. Why? Because no one, not one person, that I've asked has ever been able to answer it. Maybe it's just a question that you have to give a lot of thought to and maybe you shouldn't be able to answer it on the spot.

Maybe it's just not a good question and I'm just interested in it because I like my answers.

The question: What three things do you want to be remembered for after you're gone?

My answers?

1. "Sandy was a really good mother."

2. "Sandy was really smart."

3. "Sandy was the healthiest and sexiest 110-year old I've ever met."

So how would you answer my question?

2007-04-10T19:32:00.000-04:00

. . . and the bad book . . .

Brag! The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn without Blowing It.

Well, it's not really a bad book. I just didn't like it. It reminded me of the author of The Scarsdale Diet. He had one simple idea but was convinced by a publisher to add a bunch of stuff to it and make it long enough to be published as a book.

I understand and firmly believe in the book's focus - that one needs to boast about one's accomplishments. I also agree with the author that to be done appropriately, how it is done depends on the setting and audience. But I think she is way too "over the top." Every single point is illustrated with an example, supposedly from the author's experience. I just didn't buy it.

But I bought the book (rather than borrowed) so I read it to the end (I hate wasting money that's already been spent). And one of the last chapters is the worst. It has a section entitled "Schmooze!" What does she mean by this? She means "networking!!"

From the book:
Good schmoozers . . . seem (emphasis mine) genuinely interested in what others have to say. And then, when the timing is right, they take the opportunity to seamlessly plant positive seeds about themselves - their background, accomplishments, interests, passions, and projects they are working on - in a meaningful and measured way."

Give me a break - this is not what I believe "Givers gain" means at all. Seem interested in others so you can jump in with what's great about you? I don't think so.

Now that I've dissed the book, I'm sure no one wants to buy it from me. But I'm genuinely interested in giving you a good deal on it.

I know some of you who may read this have read the book. What do you think?

2007-04-06T11:45:00.000-04:00

The good book . . .

We just went out west to see our granddaughter (okay, her parents, too). Flights to and from Seattle are long so I finished two books that I had started. They both had been recommended by friends.

One was brilliant - Blink - The Power of Thinking without Thinking. It's about how people sometimes make snap decisions - decisions made quickly about other people without much information (and sometimes with almost no perceivable information).

The author, Malcolm Gladwell, calls this phenonmenon "thin-slicing," coming to a conclusion with only a small slice of information/observation.

The most interesting example to me was about a tennis expert who discovered he was able at professional tennis matches to predict with incredible accuracy when a player was going to double fault. But despite studying tapes, videos, etc., he has been unable to figure out how he's able to do this.

There are so many fascinating stories in the book and I highly recommend it.

As I was reading, I thought about how I can predict (with a fair amount of accuracy) that a woman who enters the store for the very first time won't buy anything. And I think I base that prediction on her behavior and lack of social interaction with me.

I can almost always tell when someone is in the store for the first time. The "buyers" will often say so right away. Others will have this blank look on their face like "What's going on here?" or they'll ask if I carry a certain category that they would know about if they'd been there before.

One of our "rules of conduct" is that every person is greeted within 5-10 seconds after entering.

The predicted non-buyers either don't respond at all or respond with no eye contact. It's strange - they may even say "hello" with their back turned.

I will usually talk a little more to try to warm them up. But when I still can't get any interaction, I think to myself, "She won't buy anything." Maybe it's a self-fulfilling prophecy or maybe something in my behavior makes her not want to buy. I don't know. But my predictions are usually right.

Are you aware of any thin-slicing that you do? What decisions/conclusions/predictions do you make with little or no information?

2007-03-31T12:53:00.000-04:00

Song lyrics sometimes just don’t make sense.

Our youngest son Paul is a singer, songwriter and guitar player. He’s had many bands over the years and has written some great songs (a future blog posting will be about the song he wrote for his dad’s surprise 60th birthday party).

While I think I’ve understood all of his lyrics in the past, I remember one time when he was in a cover band (a band that plays someone else’s music, not original) and they sang “Take a load off, Fannie (Which I always thought was "Annie” and wondered if there was a comma before ‘Annie’) .

I told him I always wondered what that meant. His reply was, “I don’t know, Mom. Songwriters often don’t know what their lyrics mean.”

I thought that quite strange until I heard David Bowie say the same thing in an interview. “Come on now, what the hell did you think I meant by ‘Ground Control to Major Tom?’

Paul, you’re in pretty good company!

Other than “Louie, Louie,” what song lyrics have you always wondered about?

2007-03-27T21:57:00.000-04:00

Gosh, setting goals really does work!

Last Sunday, I participated in the bizzy bee baby and toddler show (arranged by the owners of "the birds and the bees baby and bridal boutiques" seen in the top photo). I not only had a booth from which I sold maternity clothes and other related items, but I staged a fashion show with some of my pregnant customers as models (more about that in a future post).

I knew to set goals for myself for the day.

One goal (which I thought at first wasn't measurable) was to create visibility and possibly credibility (in relation to selling maternity clothes). And I did! The expo started at noon and before the fashion show started at 2 pm, the only thing I had sold (and the only people I talked to) was a pregnancy cookbook to an expectant couple.

But the fashion show gave me the visibility/credibility - there was lots of traffic, many people inquiring about the store and I sold tons of stuff!

My second goal was to meet someone from the local March of Dimes. One of my regular customers was there and I found out she's on the board of the organization! And she introduced me to the Executive Director and we're having a breakfast meeting soon.

In addition to achieving both of my goals, I had fun. I met other people who have the same target market as I do and I started some new relationships which will help me build my business.

When has setting specific goals before an event yielded great results?

2007-03-23T16:59:00.000-04:00

Sometimes you just need a wakeup call!

My last post was six days ago - the day Dick was admitted to the hospital - a very scary day for both of us. (He's told his story so many times to so many people now that I don't think he'll care if I share it here.)

Fortunately, he "dodged the bullet" and a cardiac cath showed minimal coronary artery disease. But it was enough of a scare that things are going to change - primarily his diet and his activity level. He's so excited - he's already lost almost 10 pounds. Change will come slow, but I think we're both committed to do this together for our health' s sake.

This is actually the second time that a medical crisis has changed him. Over 30 years ago, he had two surgeries for a brain tumor. Before the surgery, he was too much of a homebody - rarely wanted to do anything or go out just to have fun. But being so sick made him realize how short life is and as a result, he came out of his shell big-time.

Have you, or someone you know, had a much needed wakeup call?