Mother's Day Work

You won't hear from me for awhile. I found a seasonal job that will be taking up about 11 hours every day. When Grandma Leslie can watch the girls, I will just be concentrating on the job. However, on the days she can't help, I will have to do the work plus keep the girls happy. The only thing that keeps me going is that it is only for 1 month or so, and we need the money. It will be a hard month, but it will be worth it when the paycheck comes. It is customer service for Mother's Day flowers orders. I will blog again when the free time is there. Happy Mother's Day every one!

Little Entrepenuers

You have to stick your tongue out when you pour lemonade or you will spill it! LOL!

The girls wanted to have a lemonade stand... So, I decided it was time for a garage sale. I did the garage sale while they sold lemonade and muffins. They sold quite a bit of lemonade in the morning, but the afternoon was pretty empty. When people stopped buying lemonade, they got bored with the idea and went on to something else!

My Avatar

This is me- I have never had an avatar before. I was setting up an Etsy shop, and I noticed that several people used avatars for their profile picture. Since I am selling bead necklaces, and some of them remind me of hippie-wear, I decided to dress like that. I wish I was as cool as this avatar surely is :o) Now Jaden and Morgan want me to make them an avatar. Stay tuned for that, if I ever figure out how to make more than one.
Oh, and if you want to, check out my Etsy shop here:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/makeachange

My How-To Be a Book Seller Article

Here is the link to my latest article about becoming a used book seller. Lots more great articles are still yet to come, so stay tuned!!!


http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-29889-Dallas-Homebased-Business-Examiner~y2009m11d15-2nd-article

Freelance Writer

I did get a part-time job as a freelance writer with The Examiner, and will be looking for more work around that career. I am the Dallas Area writer for home-based business articles. Here is the link to my first article:
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-29889-Dallas-Homebased-Business-Examiner~y2009m11d14-Unemployed--Now-is-your-time-to-start-a-homebased-business
This company pays based on the interest my article generates, so the more people that view my article, etc, the more money I am paid. That means it is all up to YOU the reader if I get paid tons of cash, or only pennies... There are a lot more great articles to come, so keep checking out my articles.
Also, if you are interested in being a freelance writer with The Examiner, I will receive $50 referral bonus (if the referral practices are followed). Therefore, contact me if you want more info.

Get Rid of the Stuff you don't need (books)~ Money Saving Tip #21

Do you have books lying around your house that you will never read again? After having our garage sale this weekend, I still have thousands of books left! Now, LeCount found this cool site that will buy books! I will be busy this week seeing which ones will sell, and I will keep you posted. These are the kinds of books they buy:

Religion
History
Psychology
Textbooks
Business
Educational
Computers
Travel
Medical
Economics
Marketing
Art
Self-Help
Sociology
Politics
Law
Gardening
Sports
Foreign Lang.
Engineering
Mathematics
Science
Current Fiction
Biography



And here is the link to the web-site. Now go out and make some money!
CKY Books

Lots and Lots of Books for Sale!

We have THOUSANDS of books for sale, so if you are looking for something... feel free to stop by and take a gander. This weekend, we will be putting some (not all... because that would be totally exhausting) of the books out. There are hardcover & paperback and all kinds of genres. Every single book is going for 5 cents a piece!! If you miss out on the sale this weekend, I am sure we will still have thousands of books left to look through!! If you have a few hours to sort through buckets of books looking for treasures, just let me know and we can get together on a time.

Saying Good-bye to the Hospital

I sat in my office at the hospital on Sunday, and took this picture of the equiptment I used- as a final good-bye. I am anxiously waiting to start my new job, so that we can get some money saved up and get bills taken care of... I still do not have a start date with the new company, so that is driving me CRAZY!!! 3 weeks ago I was told I would probably be able to start within 1 month's time... But, I am still waiting. The company started in California, and then, decided to set up another office here in Texas. They have been open for 6 months, but do not yet have a single file to be worked!!! The reason for this is the legalities of the contracts, and the owner is spending practically all day and all night getting everything finalized. Once the contracts are set, I will be able to come on board...

In the meantime, I will just sit here and wait patiently (yeah, right!!!)

Change is Inevitable!

My two part-time jobs are both pulling at me for their full-time attention. While I am not "on the clock", I am constanting solving problems for them, answering their calls & e-mails, and printing up documentation. It has all become too much. Not only are they low-paying jobs to begin with, but for the amount I am getting paid & the amount of time I am putting in, I may as well be living in a third world country!! (no kidding!!)
After a night full of prayer and asking God to please guide me and show me what I can do to make my situation better... I got a phone call the VERY next morning with an opportunity for my taking if I could prove that I deserved the job. After more prayer, and a long discussion with LeCount, we made our decision. My interview is set up for Monday. I will be getting rid of all of my jobs to go to just ONE, and LeCount will be able to stay at home with the girls. He will do some of the home-schooling, but I have already decided that I am still going to be a part of that. I will teach them at least 1/4 to 1/2 of their school work. It is just too exciting to miss out on, and it will bring a highlight to my day. I will keep everyone posted when I hear the results of the interview.

Letters from my Babies

Jaden drew this picture of our family in our home (above). I am not sure (and neither is Jaden) who she was drawing in the picture below.
(below) You can see the envelopes that Jaden's pictures came in, including one that says "Mommy". Morgan drew the other smaller picture of Daddy.
The girls gave me these "letters" to open at work. I was so busy with 30 babies all needing pictures, but when I stopped to open there letters, it cheered me up and reminded me why I do what I do.

It's official!

POP- the product that was shipped to my home to be put up on Tuesday when Race to Witch Mountain is released in stores.

This is an electronic devise called the "symbol". It is similar to a PDA or handheld computer. It has the capability to take pictures, scan bar codes, check e-mail, and enter reports.

This is my Walt Disney bag to carry around from store to store. The contents are not as exciting as the bag looks:

spray cleaner

wash cloths

duster

screw driver

screws

box cutter

mounting tape

packing tape

measuring tape

squeegee

I went to orientation earlier in the week. Then, today, I was in the stores training. I have officially started my new job! Monday I will go to more training at the home office, and then, Tuesday through Thursday will be on the job training again.

Exciting perks of the job are that sometimes we will get DVDs of the movies and based on our KPI's (Key Performance Indicators), we can earn other rewards. I am mostly excited that I will have a job that I will actually get paid for!!! Since the photography job has messed up my check for the 3rd time in a row, and the still owe me over $400, I have lost faith in getting a reliable check from them.

Though this new job is only part-time, I am excited to get the check for it.

My traveling workspace

For those of you who have never seen my job at the hospital, here it is! This cart has a computer, 2 cameras, catalogs, samples, and a printer. I take this cart from room to room to take the pictures. I use a Nikon D-60 for the photos. After I takes the photos of the baby/baby & siblings/baby & parents, I hook up the camera to the computer and can show the parents the pictures instantly. The parents choose from 8 poses what they want to order, and I place their order using the computer on the cart. Pretty exciting, huh?

Wearing down

I am quickly wearing down. I used to enjoy the challenge & the excitement of the photography/hospital job... BUT, after working every day (8 to 13 hours per day), I am tired of it. Since it is a sales position, I have to put on a happy face, be chipper, and friendly... All I want to do is close my eyes and go to sleep! I have to drag myself into each room, which of course is not good for sales...
I have been training some new people, but of the 3 of them, I don't know if any of them will be able to hold onto the job. These are my trainees:

1. Trainee number one worked for the company before. She did the house to house sales of the pictures. She said that she made approx. $1000 a week doing this. When asked why she isn't doing it any more, she said: "Well, I worked on my own going house to house all week. I had to show up every Wednesday to turn in my paperwork and sales. I was fired because I was late to work every Wednesday." (The only day she had to show up, and she was late every time?!?!?)

2. Trainee number two appears to be under-age, but she says that her oldest child is 8 Years old. She has been over an hour late to work every day, and when she gets here, she is ready for lunch. She doesn't pay attention to the training, she just talks about how she stayed out late the night before and the new items she has bought (cell phone, clothes, whatever). She, also, smokes and doesn't do well between cigarette breaks... So she is angry most of the time.

3. Trainee number 3 is always early to work and eager to learn. She would make a great employee, except... She may have TB??? (She told me this after I spent the whole week with her). Both of her TB tests came back positive, so she has to get an exray of her chest on Monday to see if she in contagious... In the meantime, she is still expected to work (I find this very strange, if not illegal). If it comes back showing she is contagious, it could be a law suit against the company I am thinking... For any of the babies and others she exposed to TB.

So, now you see why I am not so optomistic about the new employees. Who hired these people anyway?

Looking forward

Did I mention that I will have a new job shortly? I am looking forward to it. I was given the job offer on Tuesday. Now, I am going through all of the new hire stuff while, also, working 7 days a week at the hospital job.
The new job is a contract merchandising position for Disney. It comes with perks for those employees that produce. Maybe I can get some cool DVD's for the girls :0)
I will be merchandising their DVD's, as well as some of Sony's DVD's in 10 stores in my area. Travel time, mileage, and work time is compensated. I am not sure when I will start because the new hire process is a lengthy one. Tomorrow I get to do the drug screen, and over the weekend, I will fill out all of the paperwork. Hopefully, I will be able to start next week... Now, if I can just get some people trained at the hospital, so I can have some days off... so I can work at the new job!!
Thank you for your prayers, as it was a week of waiting to find out if I would even be offered the position!!

Sooooo tired

I am wearing myself out. I am working EVERY day of the week right now. I am so blessed to have a mother that is willing to watch my girls while I put in these hours!!! I am ready for the break in the work, but I have to take advantage of the extra work while I can... Change is coming... Hold on :0)

Anti-social

I feel so run-down & anti-social right now. I went to an interview on Monday for a new job. I am praying hard that I get it. I can't do this photography job much longer. I have been working every day, and when I get my pay check, there is hardly anything to show for it. The job was supposed to be a great commissioned job, but now, with the economy, not so much. It is hard to get people to buy pictures now. Almost everyone is saying they can't even afford our smallest package of $29.95, which incidentally, I would get a commission of $7 for!!! Now, since everyone in the district's sales our down, all of our checks are down. If the hourly rate is higher than the commissioned rate, it reverts to hourly... The hourly rate is the minimum wage for the state!!!

Because of all of this, I am not feeling my best. I am worn down & broke. Looking for a better part-time job to have more time with my kids and more money to pay the bills.

It's all me...

I have enjoyed being with my kids more than I was back when I was in the mortgage field. That was long hours, and the girls had to stay with a sitter. Now, I have taken on the hospital on the weekends and audits during the week (only 4 audits per month). As you can imagine, that has given me a lot of quality time with my two favorite people (Jaden & Morgan).
Now, I am back to missing them. I have been working more lately. Then, today, I found out that my last coworker has quit. Which means, it's all me... Sunday through Saturday. I am taking one day off on Wednesday, but that might hurt me more than it helps me (since I will have more work waiting for me when I get back on Thursday).
So, the bright side to this... Maybe I will get a nice check out of it! Is anyone looking for a job? I could use some help :0)

Still no word on my missing money

I still do not know when I will see the money that was missing from my pay check. I sent off the discrepancies to my supervisor, but she does not have any information for me. In fact, she doesn't even respond to my calls!! So, that's great... Now, I have to go into work tomorrow for this place... I sure do not have the energy to bust my behind for them!!! Do I have to go in? :0(

Pay Check Woes

Commission-based jobs can be hard to live off of. I do know this, but I still had hope for my job with Our365. My hopes fizzled out today.
This is what happened. Every day I work, I set goals for myself on how much I think I can do in sales. A few weeks ago, I decided to shoot for a record $1000 in sales in one day. I walked out that day with sales of $982!! (the usual sales for a photographer at the hospital is any where from nothing to about $400, so that was a big feat). After that day, I just knew I could do the same the next day. The next day, I hit $650 in sales, but since it was a holiday, I, also, got hourly pay (so it came out to the same amount I had made the day before).
At this point, I was pumped, and excited to get my first BIG check. So, imagine my surprise when instead of getting a bigger check than normal, I got the same kind of check I always get!!! I was shorted over $500 on my check!!!
Of course, the check is not right, and it will have to be corrected by pay roll, but who knows how long that will take!!!
They have been asking me to pick up extra days, but I don't want to do that until I know I will get paid for them!!
It should make me feel better to know that I wasn't the only one whose check they messed up. The other 3 girls that work at my hospital were shorted, too. It doesn't make me feel better, though... I feel bad for all of us!!!

My "days off"

Back to my post from a few days ago regarding what I do for a living:
http://ilovemykids08.blogspot.com/2009/05/what-do-you-do.html
Today is one of my "days off", but it is always one of my busiest days ever. This is what I have to do today:

1. pack up and ship Ebay items & list as many new items as time allows (4 hours)
2. complete data entry for 2 of the "shop" jobs I did yesterday (1 hour)
3. complete data entry for audit job that I did yesterday (4 hours)
4. do laundry (1 hour)
5. preparing meals & general mommy duties ( 1 1/2 hours)
6. home school work (1 hour)
7. spend time with the kids to make up for the time that I had to work all day (2 hours)

It is so easy to go to a job and do my work. It really is. I just go, and focus on getting my work done all day. I can even take a break every few hours (if I decide to stop,which I usually don't). Here at the house, the girls don't understand why I can't play with them all day long. I can be very stressful, but I would rather be here with them than away in an office while they are at day care.