As the Stomach Churns....

Does anyone remember Carol Burnett's "soap opera" on her show: As the Stomach Churns? Some people don't even remember Carol Burnett or her show, I guess. Boy, I am getting old! LOL!

While my stomach WAS churning last night, that has nothing to do with this post. I just thought I'd put something more exciting than, "This is what we've been doing lately" as the title.

Seems that life has been a whirlwind of activity, but nothing of huge significance. The girls & I had a Girl Scout sleepover on Sept. 19th (for Juniors, Natalie's group, but Bethany tagged along), then on Tuesday the 23rd, Bethany had a Cadette Sleepover while Natalie had a friend spend the night here, followed by spending the night with a friend on Friday night! They have been cranky, tired, irritable, and all that goes with lack of sleep & too much time away from a routine. It's taken several days to get things back to "normal."

I finally have started doing some Pampered Chef shows again. I had a fun show with a group of homeschool moms last week. These were moms from a different homeschool co-op than ours & it was delightful to meet more moms who understand this crazy life we lead! Actually, it turns out that one of the moms is a friend of the host, but not part of their co-op. When I saw her I told her she looked very familiar, she told me she was new to our co-op! Our co-op has grown so much that I don't know many of the new moms. Tonight our co-op is having a PC Mom's night out party. I'm looking forward to that!

Phil got the last part he needed to repair his bike (a new chain). So, he's repaired it and taken it out for a ride. He got to ride to work one day this week because he rode to Austin for the day with a co-worker to get a clinic ready to open. Well, they got the computers all set up, at least! He typically can't ride the bike to work because he has to carry equipment to the clinics, so needs the van.

We are into "Birthday Season" here. Fall is the busiest birthday time for us. It starts in September and goes through Natalie's birthday. This weekend, the girls will be celebrating with 2 parties in one day! Time for us to go bargain hunting for gifts.

One of my roles is about to change. I've been a Pampered Chef Director for a few years now. It's been fun to help people in their businesses and getting a bit of extra money was always nice. Unfortunately, I've really struggled to keep up the requirements in the last year with health & family issues to deal with. So, as of October 1st, unless I've misunderstood how things work, I will have "relinquished" my directorship. I have 3 mos. in which I could repromote and still keep the team that I have now. However, I really think the time it takes to do a good job as director just isn't something I can keep up. I LOVE Pampered Chef and will continue to be a consultant. Maybe when the girls are bigger & we figure out more about my health I can try again. Even though the girls are more independent now, they also are more active and have more away from home things, which require more time. Plus, their schooling needs more attention as they get older, so it really is important for me to be available here. I STILL believe that Pampered Chef is the best direct sales company if it something you enjoy. I love doing shows and I love teaching people. Plus, I can make $100 in one evening for a few hours of work. It's much better money than if I worked at a store bagging groceries or something, and I truly enjoy it.

There are a few ideas I'm toying with for some income. I need to put them into practice & see how it goes. I have decided I don't want to invest money to make money, but use up things I have here to make money. I've been selling things on ebay, which helps a little. I have quite a few patterns for doll clothes to fit the 18" dolls, like the Life of Faith or American Girl Dolls. I have a LOT of fabric. I want to teach the girls how to cut patterns. Natalie wants to learn to sew, and I think she could do some simple stitching, like straight seams. I mentioned this to a neighbor & she said she found American Girl clothes at a GARAGE SALE for $30.00! I told her I'd make them & sell them for $20! She was ready to buy some from me! It's something the girls & I could do together, and doesn't involve calling people. Also, since I make cards anyway, I'm going to see if I can sell some of them. I've actually sold some sets of cards on ebay already, but most were from "card fronts" (the front panel only) that I glued to a full card. It cost me nothing but the cost of the tape runner. I've seen cards go for as much as $90 a piece! That is ABSURD! However, if you are someone who wants to buy a card for $90, that is WONDERFUL and let me show you some samples! LOL!

Some of my other "pipe dreams" include having cooking classes in my home for kids/teens, but not in this house. It is really too small. Also, I'd love to teach Gluten Free cooking classes. I might check into community ed programs to see if that's feasible. Of course, I've always wanted to write books. I have no idea where to get started on that. The cost of everything has gone up so much, but salaries have not, so balancing the budget is getting tougher. Thus, I'm looking at a range of ideas for filling in the gap.

Now we need to go finish our school work & load up my bags for the show tonight.