I used to wonder that.

Why did people buy a bunch of widgets from someone and then pretend there was "value added" when really we all knew they were just packing them up and shipping them on again.

It's the "just" that is key. I had an idea of all the steps involved but I didn't really!

Today, I only had one order to ship. Know how long that took me? Care to venture a guess? Two and one half hours. Well, okay, it does turn out that when I got to my car, it had a flat tire so I had to walk to the post office. And I did stop at Starbuck's. Well, I did need sustenance, no?

But, had said car not had a flat, it still would have been quite time consuming. I have to log in, print the invoice, dig through the bins to get the proper item, deduct it from inventory, record the sale, put the item in the package, address it and seal it. That all seams quite simple but in fact, it takes upwards of 20 minutes an item.

Plus, you kind of guess at all the work that goes in behind the scenes but in actual fact, it's like moving through molasses. Everything takes so long or needs so much money that you have to wait to do all the cool things you want to do. I can only buy so much inventory and advertising at once. I can only do so much work on my website. And the photos and videos are very time consuming to produce. It takes time to prepare for the shoot, loads of time to do the shoot, all the while keeping 2 kids happy, then massaging the photos or video is the biggest chunk. I haven't even begun doing instructional videos. I hope that process goes smoothly! Or everyone will be watching footage of me arguing with my older daughter or chasing the baby!

Well, anyway, it certainly is interesting and there are no end of new challenges so that makes a great change after 6 years of sitting around eating bon bons the way we stay at home moms do. Check out http://sobebabies.com to see what the efforts have produced!

You know how you always get a chuckle over the Darwin award winners. But do you ever think of your own near misses? We had one during the aftermath of Hurricane Wilma.

Now, you have to understand first that Florida Power and Light (FPL) was saying that it would be up to a month before power was restored. We were trying to get used to life with no power. So, after a few days of eating non-perishables gently warmed over a candle with the pan propped up on empty cans, I dug out my camp stove. We live in a condo but that wasn't gonna stop us. Oh, no.

Never mind I've had this stove for 20 years and never, not once, have I lit it. Never mind I had some vague recollection that there was something tricky about it. Or that I have 2 small kids living here who wouldn't want to lose their mama. I'm smart. I can do it!

I spent 25 minutes trying. Pump, light, pump some more, poof. Try again. Something like that. Finally, I ask Al to help out because it seems to require quickness and hands being in more  than one place at a time. The baby wakes up and I leave him to it. Ten minutes later he lights it.  One minute later, the screaming starts. In I run. He's holding the fire extinquisher and watching the stove which is blazing on our counter. He wants to throw water on it. No! I get him to stop just in time. I want to blow it out. He gets me to stop redirecting the flames into the strategically placed pile of paper plates which are just behind the stove on the counter. (No!) (YES! Darwin material, no?)

So, he asks, what do we do. SMOTHER it! With what? Never mind our place is about to catch fire and after having been left standing by Wilma, we're gonna burn the sucker down. Won't our neighbors love us. I don't want to sacrifice any of my precious belongings to smothering the thing. Finally I reach for a large pot and put it over the top.

Then I ask him why he didn't just use the fire extinguisher. It turns out he tried but it, like the stove, was one of those useful things we just had but that didn't actually WORK. He quickly read the instructions, pulled the pin, squeezed the handles, and....nothing. It's on the list to get that looked into. It makes a satisfying swish-swish when you shake it. Not sure what the problem there is. Nor where to get it serviced. Well anyway, we'll freecycle the stupid stove to someone who lives in a house and promises to use it outdoors during hurricanes or who actually GOES camping! And we'll put our names down for the Darwin Survivor's Award!



http://sobebabies.com

So yesterday, I spent half an hour on the phone with someone who wanted help deciding between the Ergo and the Patapum. In the end, she didn't seem any closer to a decision. So I offered her a deal; I suggested she buy both, try them on both herself and her husband, and whichever she returned, I'd just charge for actual shipping, so just a few dollars. She was thrilled and was going to go straight to her computer and order.

Alas, no such order ever appeared.

The day before, someone called to order over the phone. I explained I only took PayPal which you must do online. She woke me up and everything. I eagerly rushed to my computer an hour later so I could drop off the package on my morning run. Nope. No order.

Where do these orders go? How is it that people are on the point of pressing the button and then hesitate? What do I need to do to push them over that brink and get them to order? How many more am I never hearing from that are getting to this point?