New Year’s Resolutions

It’s beyond the middle of the year and I realize that I’ve in no way followed through on my New Year’s resolutions, have you?

Getting my finances in better shape.  Working on my health.  Building our business at the office….  Ok, I do work on our business, all the time, but aside from that…I’ve failed dramatically.  Does anyone ever accomplish what they set out to do in a year?  In 2016 I was working on losing weight and was doing quite well until the Christmas holidays rolled in.  I promised myself that in January I would begin again but that never manifested itself.  I used to be pretty good with my finances but then ‘real life’ set in with it’s myriad of problems and issues and my finances have never been the same  

In 10 years I’ll reach retirement age with little to show for it and when I really think about that I’m not sure how much it matters anyway.  I’m in no worse position than many people my age and better than some.  I have a wonderful husband, my family (for better and worse), an awesome cat who showers me with love and a puppy who, as obnoxious as she is at times, I truly love and enjoy.  I have my faith which sustains me throughout this life I’ve been gifted with.  I have a roof over my head, cool air in the summer and warmth in the winter.  I have a reliable 14 year old car that gets me where I need to be.  I have plenty of food to eat and fresh, clean water to drink.  I have energy to continue working and that’s a good thing since I’m sure I’ll end up being a Wal-Mart greeter when I’m 85, lol!  We struggle, like everyone else, but we have love and that is the greatest blessing of them all.

I will continue to make those New Year’s resolutions as long as I’m able because they help me to focus and I think, in some ways, that has to help at least work towards the goals I’ve set for myself.  What about you, do you accomplish your goals set at the beginning of the year?  Do you even set resolutions?  Everyone’s different but we’re still all so similar too, isn’t it cool?

Oh Wow.

Life with a puppy is one thing but when they hit their ‘juvenile’ time…totally a different time.  Molly is in this stage and still not house-broken  I was talking to a friend yesterday and she recommended we bring someone to our house to work with her.  I don’t know how much that’s going to cost but we need to invest in whatever will work.  She eats everything, she goes to the bathroom everywhere and she bites, in short, she’s a terror.  It’s hard to believe this is the same puppy we had a couple of weeks ago.  I’ve never had a puppy so this was a shock to me.  I can see why more parents say no to getting a puppy for their children and the ones who can’t say no end up bringing their pups to the shelter.  They’re very costly and a lot of work.  Mind you, we will not be bringing Molly to a shelter, but I can see why people do.  It’s an almost overnight change in behavior and not a welcome one.  We’re exceedingly grateful to be able to bring her to doggy day-care when we work now and it’s made life at the office much more palatable because we’re actually able to get things done!

We have 5 days off starting this Friday and I’m hoping to get my house put back in order and cleaned up again.  I bought like one of every cleaning product they had available at the store because I’m so desperate to have my home smell normal again 😉  I’m looking into outdoor kennel options that are easy to install in our backyard so she can go out at will between the porch and her run.

I share these things because they’re real.  No one should take getting a puppy lightly and it’s important to know what you’re getting into when you take that step.  I know all puppies are not the same but I’m imagining they all go through the same stages in one degree or another.  They count on you big-time, you’re their everything and you need to be prepared to do what it takes to help your puppy grow to be the companion you want to spend time with.

The Adventure Seems Endless

My last post was about our first trip with Molly.  We had a second weekend away, planned pre-Molly, and thankfully that went SO much better.  Molly still isn’t potty-trained, she seems hellbent against it in fact, but we were able to keep up with it and didn’t clog the hotel toilet this time

Molly had her 3rd and final puppy vaccines this past week and can you imagine she gained 10 lbs. in 2 weeks?!  She’s been to 2 puppy classes and we work on it at home when we have a chance.  We’ve been bringing her to the office with us since we first brought her home and it’s worked great until this past week.  We couldn’t get anything done at all because she was into everything.  Tomorrow, again thankfully, she will begin puppy day-care where we hope she can burn off some of that excess energy while we work.

Don’t get me wrong…she’s adorable and we love her very, very much but…this is not the fun part of the process and I’m looking forward to her learning better behavior.

Do you have any ideas to pass along???

The Adventure Begins #4

Last weekend we were in Franconia, New Hampshire and, thankfully, the visit went so much smoother than a couple of weeks prior when we were in Rockland, Maine.  That was Molly’s first ‘big’ trip and we all learned so much that weekend 😉

When you travel with a puppy…it’s adventurous for sure, lol.  We took Molly to Maine with us after we’d had her a couple of weeks since it had already been scheduled, she was 11 weeks old at the time.  Not potty trained.  I thought I had prepared for everything:  pee pads, cleaning solution, food, toys, travel crate, her bed, extra towels, etc.  What I hadn’t thought through was the fact that she would need to come everywhere we went because we couldn’t have her disturbing the other guests by barking.  Did I mention that she wasn’t quite used to the car yet??  Eating out…seriously?!  We had our first meal in the room, a pizza  We cleaned carpets, we played with her, we took walks with her and when it was bedtime we put her in her crate bed where she would whine until she fell to sleep.

After the first day I felt that we’d made a mistake by going on this weekend trip.  The next morning the B&B we were staying in provided an amazing breakfast and rather than leave her in the room we decided to go separately to the dining room for it.  When our hostess heard our plans she, angelically, told us that she would bring breakfast to us in the room so we could eat together!  What a blessing she was to us!  That was the first time during the trip I didn’t wonder why we’d bothered.

Later that same day we brought Molly to the marina park so she could run and play which she did enjoy but she still wouldn’t do her business outdoors, she waited for us to get back to the room before unloading her bladder and colon.  Thankful to have brought plenty of paper towels and cleaner we cleaned up after each mess as soon as they were made because I can appreciate the owner’s perspective towards people traveling with their pets.  We found a restaurant where the chef told us we could bring Molly inside as long as she behaved and that really made our day 🙂  Molly was delightful and everyone who saw her just lavished her with so much attention.  During our meal she played down under the table and didn’t beg or disturb any of the other diners.  We ended up eating there twice over the weekend because we were so thankful to find somewhere we could bring her in with us–not to mention that the food was excellent.

It was only a weekend trip so the night before we were going to leave I made sure to go around the room again, cleaning up anything that didn’t look pristine so we could get an early start the next day.  While I was doing this Molly was playing around under the bed. Later, as we were watching television, I could smell a stench but didn’t see where it might be to clean it up…David finally found it-under the bed.  Two distinct BIG poops under the bed  Of course they weren’t reachable without moving the bed and when we did move it my husband had to crawl the rest of the way under to reach the spots.  I was holding Molly back because she tries to ‘help’ whenever we’re cleaning.  Mu husband brought the dirty paper towels into the bathroom and, I thought, put them in the wastebasket.  We went to bed right after that since that had taken a fair amount of time and it was already later than we normally tuck in.

Sometime during the night I had to get up to use the facilities and when I walked into the bathroom I nearly choked to death–the smell was horrible!  Without turning on the light I did my business and went back to sleep.  The next morning when I went in to use the bathroom I could see that rather than putting the dirty paper towels into the wastebasket my husband had put them all in the toilet!  The toilet was completely clogged and un-flushable.  How do we explain this to the B&B?  I went in search of a plunger and David cleaned it out but the whole room just stunk, AC on, fan going full blast and all the windows opened didn’t even seem to touch the stench of the room.  I was mortified when the manager came by to bring us something but she was so sweet about it and told me that she knew the drill because she too, had raised her dog from a pup.  That made me feel better but still…I’m sure they wouldn’t look forward to seeing us again anytime soon 😉

I don’t know who was more thankful to be home after that trip, lol.

A New View — Vision Boards

Yesterday my SIL, Elane,  mentioned that she was working on her “vision board” for the year.  Elane is pretty wise and her ideas intrigue me.  I’d heard of vision boards before but never really imagined myself doing one.  I did a search online to see what was involved and what other people had to say about them and was impressed so I looked into free online versions.  There are a few and I did start one.  I was surprised to find that it wasn’t as “easy” as I’d imagined!  Of course I have goals, everyone does right?!  That didn’t stop me from coming up blank-like a deer facing headlights.  Maybe that’s part of the reason vision boards work?

I’d never really spent much time focusing on what my goals were before, why would they be so hard to articulate?!  It occurred to me that I spend a great deal of my time responding to life as it happens, like a rat on a wheel.  Putting out small fires around me all the while not realizing I’m dying of smoke inhalation.  All of the sudden a vision board makes sense. Why just put out fires?  Be like Smokey the Bear, prevent them from happening in the first place!

I spent the better part of the day yesterday working on my vision board.  It really took me that long because the process of creating one helps you to see what it is you really want to accomplish on multiple levels as well as the steps needed to make them happen.  Finances are important but, believe it or not, it wasn’t the first thing on my list.  One of the top things I truly crave is the time to focus on creativity.  I’m always “too busy” and then when I come home at night…too tired.  The program I went with ended up being one I paid for because it had more bells and whistles, one of them being a calendar that reminds me of the steps needed to achieve my goals in a timely fashion.  I’m very excited to see this in action, that I had the time to write this post is proof that I took advantage of making time for being creative this morning 🙂

Are you doing a vision board?  What’s your experience been with them?

Wishing you a wonderful day!

 

The above image was taken from an image search, it’s not my board, mine is online 😉

A New Year, A New Book Recommendation!

I’m currently reading When Heaven & Earth Change Places by Le Ly Hayslip.  The description begins “…the haunting memoir of a girl on the verge of womanhood in a world turned upside down. The youngest of six children in a close-knit Buddhist family, Le Ly Hayslip was twelve years old when U.S. helicopters langed in Ky La, her tiny village in central Vietnam.”  Although I’m only about 10% of the way into it I can already tell it’s going to be one of those books that I’ll always remember.  I tend to read non-fiction books like this because I like to learn.  In my office we deal with a lot of Asian people and, although some of them are great friends, they can be difficult to deal with.  This book has already taught me a great deal about their culture and what they’ve had to endure before moving to the United States.  You can “know” the history of a place but until you’ve experienced it through their eyes, their memories, you can’t imagine what it was like to live through what they have.  If you decide to read this book I’d love it if you shared your impressions with me!  The above is an affiliate link but that isn’t why I’m sharing it here, I really think it’s an important book to read and whether you decide to buy online through me or by some other method all that I feel is important is that you read it.

2017–New Beginnings

Welcome to the New Year!  2017.  We always seem to be so full of hope at the beginning of the year don’t we?  I think, I believe, that this year will be exceptional and in a good way 😉  I’m not making a whole lot of resolutions because they don’t seem to hold much weight with me longer than a couple of weeks.  I know what I need to do this year, I need to work hard and I can do that!

I’m still working on my sideline businesses and hoping that one of these days something will take off.  True story 😀  Our office is getting back to where it should be and that’s a blessing but it’s my husband’s business.  I want to see something of mine thrive.  I’ve already posted a couple of new images on my FAA website today and will try to be more faithful, as time allows, to getting images online.  Here is my website if you want to have a look:  REH Fine Art Photography  You will quickly see that there are some not so great pieces there 😉  There are some that are very nice too.  I’ve had this website since 2012 and have grown in it so I hope you will see progression.  My point:  don’t feel like you have to be perfect to get out there and try something you’re passionate about, just get out there and try.

This past Christmas I had a blast creating some gifts.  I may try to work on more creativity-type projects over the coming year, I hope I do anyway.  One thing I rediscovered is how much of a stress reducer working on something with your hands can be.  If you don’t currently create I’d highly suggest you give it a go. You don’t need to be Rembrandt, your creations are unique and personal.  Create because YOU enjoy doing it!!!  I hope you’ll feel comfortable to share some of your work, I’d love to see them and I’ll share some of mine in here over the course of the year.

Best wishes to you and your family this New Year!

The End of Chapter 2016

It’s an odd time of year isn’t it?  We’re getting ready to, in theory, put the old behind and look forward to the new.  It’s like ending a chapter in a book.  I don’t feel “nostalgic” for 2016, I’m glad it’s almost behind me, but I have spent a good part of this week thinking through it.

Much like any other year there were highs and lows.  The highlights, for me, were our travels.  We were able to go to Florida at the end of January, Maine in late spring, to the Midwest to visit my family during the summer, another long weekend in Maine this past fall and then Pennsylvania over Thanksgiving.  We also had two visits from David’s youngest daughter, Jila.  I became an aunt (again) in early December which always makes me smile.

The lows…mostly all work-related.  Our office lost a small fortune when our billers decided they didn’t want to do the work required.  We didn’t catch on to what was happening for a few months and when we finally did we had to really scramble or close our doors after 40+ years.  Since my husband is an optometrist and the billing was medical we weren’t able to recoup all of it.  In medical billing you have timelines and if you don’t get your claims in by a certain time after the exams your claims are rejected and you aren’t paid.  It took us a few months to discover because even when a claim is filed on time we may not be paid until 45 days later so the finances are always kind of precarious and we’re used to that.  I had to learn medical billing in about two weeks!  It was a scary year for us as we struggled to catch up financially, we’re still struggling but at least now we can see a light at the end of the tunnel.

2016 was intense.

January 1, 2017 we move on to the next chapter and we’re hopeful.

Being Grateful

Last weekend I was exhausted.  I barely moved off the couch and when I did it was to go take a nap, lol.

I know this is a blog about Avon but that isn’t my only job and lately the full-time one has been requiring all my focus and attention.  My little Avon business It’s All About Avon is still a work in progress but today I’m going to share about the other work I do.

Our business recently went through a very trying time.  My husband is an optometrist and I run the office.  We had hired a professional billing company to do all of our billing since it’s become so complex the past few years.  (I’ve often wondered how many people would work without knowing whether or not they’d be paid for their efforts…it’s not uncommon in our business since we’re at the mercy of insurance companies and their wide, wide range of rules regarding payment.)  Several months ago I noticed that we weren’t getting many payments and they were coming in slower and slower.  I called our billing service and they told me that they were looking into it.  Weeks went by and checks were trickling in slowly so I thought it was just a matter of them catching up.  Another couple of months went by and we were getting into serious problems since the money just wasn’t coming in.  I called them again, they didn’t return my calls.  I emailed them…they didn’t return any of my emails.  I did this for a few weeks until I decided we wouldn’t be able to sustain our business much longer at the rate we were going.  We were floating our bills on credit cards, never a great idea.  To make a long story (a little) shorter I fired them.  They still didn’t respond!  I turned them in to the BBB and they also were unable to get a response  What a strange way to do business and yes, they’re still in business!  I had to learn how to bill in about 2 weeks time and then try to catch up on the claims that hadn’t been done by the billing company.  It’s been an ongoing battle and a steep learning curve for me but I’m finally beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  I’m not saying that all of the sudden everything is as it should be.  No. We lost a LOT of money as a result of poor billing and have been told that it would cost us an arm and a leg to bring them to court.  Our attorney tells us to just start again…at square one.  I now have access to all the accounting reports I didn’t have before and I’m appalled to see what they were (and weren’t) doing.  I’m still working to clean up their mess so we can get our slate cleaned and there are some days I just want to pull my hair out but we’re getting there 🙂

I titled this post “Being Grateful” because, in spite of all the drama, I truly am.  We’re still in business.  I was able to learn billing.  My husband has been very supportive and understanding when I get frustrated.  We are truly blessed and I am so thankful to God for his amazing love even when we least deserve it.

Thank you for letting me share this with you!

When Worlds Collide

This week was just plain tough.  There’s no other way to describe it.  I worry sometimes about my little Avon business’s longevity.  I work full-time in my husband’s optometry office and recently we had to let go of our billing service because they were doing a terrible job.  I had to learn medical billing (and coding) in about 2 weeks so that I could take it over  That was in August.  I’m finally caught up but now I need to go back over and see what they didn’t do and see if I can recoup any of what they didn’t do properly…or at all.  I spend countless hours in front of a computer or on a telephone and by the end of the day I’m totally wiped out.  This new responsibility doesn’t change my old ones, it only adds to them.  I shouldn’t complain but I do get tired.  I do get frustrated.

I was supposed to get the rest of my Halloween bags out to potential customers before today, before Halloween.  After the first day of delivering them with my hubby the rest of them have taken up residence in the backseat of my car.  I haven’t had time the past few weeks to work on Avon at all and I know that it’s critical to be consistent.  Thus the frustration!  I have brochures from the past two campaigns that are still in my living room in the box.  Most of these things are going to wind up in the recycle bin.

This past week I hosted an online Halloween party.  It ran Tuesday through last night, every night for an hour and a half.  There was very little interest after the first night so a couple of the nights were cut short due to lack of attendance.  That was frustrating also because I’d spent hours preparing for them.

I know things aren’t always so crazy but it’s really been tough and I resent not having the time I need to work on my own little business.

That being said…I’m not giving up!  Thursday is my half-day at the office and I’m thinking that I may take the whole day off so I can at least spend one day working on Avon.  Even thinking about that makes me happy 😀  Do you have a side business?  How do YOU do it, how do you find the time??

I will do another online event but it’s going to be a one night event next time.  It will also be a sales event.  Christmas shoppers rejoice 😀

Thanks for listening and please feel free to share any tips you have for finding more time in the day, I’d love to hear them!