according.to.kim

20/12/12

This happens every day about 5:15 am, except Sundays (and stat holidays). It wasn't much fun the first week when we didn't know the ropes, but now it's quick and easy to deliver the Leader-Post. (We started October 31.) I quite like doing it, actually! (Which is rather surprising because I would not go for a daily walk otherwise!) We don't even need our address lists any more. Neil and I split the route -- 24 for him and 22 for me, plus 2 more that we drop off on our way home. It only takes about 20-25 minutes for the actual walking delivery part -- and about the same amount of time to get up, get dressed, count the papers, fill our bags, gear up (iPods are essential), and get to our starting point.

Here goes nothing!

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that we were going to be starting a little business venture. Well, we've started! Sort of. Gosh I'm nervous about announcing this...

I've become an Independent Epicure Consultant. (And Neil is going to help in any way he can, which is why I used the term "we" above.) No idea what that means? Then please check out my personalized Epicure Selections(TM) web page. Products include pure spices, spice blends, dip mixes, rubs, popcorn seasonings, salad dressing mixes, sauce mixes, sea salts, peppers, salt-free seasonings, specialty jellies/sugars, tea, Belgian chocolate, seasonal/holiday items, cookware, knives, cookbooks, and more.

I love this stuff! So why am I nervous about revealing that I'm doing this? I guess it's because you might think I'm crazy. Or maybe I think I'm crazy (don't I have enough to do?). But those aren't the main reasons. It's because over the past couple of weeks since receiving the starter kit, all of my reservations about "selling" have surfaced. I just don't want anyone to buy anything they don't want. And I don't want to annoy people. I really don't want to annoy people. I know some people are not receptive to people trying to sell them things.

Perhaps I just want to be an order-taker, not a salesperson. Can this business work with that kind of attitude? I'm not sure, but I hope so. Maybe I don't need to "sell" Epicure Selections; they're such great products, they'll sell themselves, right?

But, having said all that, I realize I have to at least let people know I'm doing this or I certainly won't be taking any orders. So, here I am, telling you -- my closest personal blog-reading friends and family --that I'm an Epicure Consultant. (Feel free to tell others!)

I'm very curious to know if any of you have purchased Epicure products or if you haven't even heard of it. Also, I have a bunch of catalogs that I'd like to give to people who are interested in taking a look. Please let me know if you'd like to see one. If you don't, that's absolutely fine! And don't worry, I won't be stalking anyone at work or at the gym (my, wouldn't that be obvious?!).

You may be wondering, of all the home-based direct-sales type businesses out there, why I would choose this one? There are several reasons, but mostly because I like the products and I tend to reorder some of them fairly often -- and I'm sure other people do too. Plus, it's all about food... and I really like food. Who doesn't?

P.S. You can also view all of the products by clicking 'Browse Products' on my personalized Epicure Selections(TM) web page. (You can't view them on the regular ES website.)

Neil's many jobs (an essay)

And the reason I have time to do the things I do...

You may recall that Neil ended his short-lived career in real estate sales in June (thank goodness!). Since then, he's been neither employed nor self-employed, and he isn't looking for a job either. And you know what? It's okay. Sure, having only one modest income is challenging for a family of five, but at the same time, we're finding that it isn't that bad; in fact, Neil's freedom from traditional work obligations is actually very good for our family.

But let's get something straight: Neil isn't out of work -- he has a full-time job working at home. Unfortunately, it doesn't pay well, but there are certainly payoffs and we all reap the rewards. And the fact that he has time to do certain things actually helps us save money, so our expenses aren't as high as they would be otherwise. One area where we don't save any money is childcare. We continue taking the girls to their long-term babysitter for a multitude of reasons which simply boil down to: it's best for everyone. (And, let's face it, not having to take care of the kids all day means that Neil can get a lot more done. I know that I would find it very difficult to accomplish anything while successfully parenting three small children. I think it takes a gifted person to do that, and, unfortunately, neither Neil nor I are gifted in that area.)

So what does Neil do? Well, for one thing, he does all of our laundry start to finish. And I mean all of it! He not only ensures we always have clean clothes, sheets, and towels, he also ensures we have the right clothes for all occasions (e.g., work clothes for work, Sparks t-shirts for Sparks meetings, Rider apparel for game days...). He even knows how to get tough stains out -- very important in our house. Plus, he almost always reads the labels, so our clothes are probably better off in his hands than in mine! The five of us produce quite a bit of laundry, so this is a pretty big job.

In other news

Laurel and I managed to get our webcams working yesterday, so we could talk AND see each other. That was cool. The girls really liked it too. Sophia did not want to stop seeing Bronwyn. I think Laurel and I were both a little challenged in figuring out how to get our video connection going, but we'll get the hang of it. (Honestly, I'm still not exactly sure what to do!) It was really easy to do the instant messaging thing though. I had never tried that before.

***

Over the past couple of weeks, I've enjoyed "chatting" via email with my half third cousin who lives in LA. He's a descendant of my Great Great Grandfather, A.J. Byrns. He has a bunch of Byrns info and stories that I don't have, and likewise, I have information that he didn't. I get such a kick out of exploring my family history and meeting distant relatives through the internet (his sister came across my genealogy site and let him know about it). Wish I had more time for this hobby!

***

Just want to say... it pays to pay attention to your credit card bills and to retail prices when you're shopping! Just in the past week, I saved a bunch of money by paying attention to these things. Neil received a credit card bill with a pretty big charge on it from a local business he deals with regularly. I asked him what it was for and he didn't know so I insisted he call the business and find out. Well, the charge was a mistake! It was someone else's charge, so they reversed it on Neil's card. The other thing was at Walmart. I was purchasing a couple of things that had "Boxing week blowout" prices, but the regular price came up when they scanned it. The cashier had to do a price check on those things and I was right. It took a few extra minutes, but I saved several dollars.

Tax refund

Got my tax refund today! $5800 smackeroos. Cha-ching! Oh ya, it was always my money and the government was just holding it for me. Thanks. Off to the Line of Credit... bye bye (sniff sniff). Even so, it feels good to get that done; not that the LoC will stay at $0 for long--probably not even for a whole day. I know there's an uncashed cheque out there.

Goodbye, farewell & toodaloo!

Tonight was the last episode of Friends. The media sure have been making a big deal of it! Of course, I haven't seen the finale yet. I taped it, but who knows when I'll have a chance to see it. Perhaps I'll make a point of watching it tomorrow night while sorting through a big crappy pile of paper (that's another story). I'm sure I'll hear all about it at work tomorrow, so it'll be just fantastic to see the show afterwards (ha!). I do like Friends, but I can't even remember the last time I saw it. January maybe?

The last episode of Frasier is airing next week too. That was a good show, but again, have I even seen it this year? I guess television just isn't that important to me anymore--except for kids' shows! Yes, I let Sophia spend a fair amount of time in front of the boob-tube. Tell me, how is it possible not to allow it?!? I still can't seem to get anything done around here! At least spring is here, and with our new patio, I can finally let the girls play in the back yard. They absolutely love the Little Tikes Sand & Water Table! That should cut down on TV time. Actually, it already has, and the weather hasn't even been very nice yet.

Speaking of farewells, this is the first month in nine and a half years that I did not have to make a student loan payment!!! Yup, my student loan is paid in full! The Government of Canada had better send me a thank-you note, at the very least. Ya right!

What else could I say goodbye to this month? I would love to get rid of the ton of crap that's been living in our garage for over two years now! Okay, I'm sure some of it isn't crap, but I probably wouldn't miss most of it if I never saw it again.

Toodaloo, mental stability... almost lost my mind tonight when Sophia would not stay in her room and still was not asleep at 10:00 p.m. (This is frustrating enough when there are two of us trying to get her to go to bed, but when it's just me dealing with it, it's just painful.)

Intaxication

I was briefly intaxicated* this week when I learned what my tax refund will be... just enough to cover my line of credit. Hmmm, there wouldn't be an outstanding balance (or a tax refund) if it wasn't for the severe lack of income last year. I'd rather pay income tax!

I went out for supper with my volleyball team this evening for our year-end wind up. Nice group of ladies!

BTW, I love the van!

*See the definition of intaxication from the Washington Post's Style Invitational -- this is great!