The New Order Of Business

Becoming a retailer in this challenging economy was certainly an interesting move on my part and one that I do not regret. I know that things have changed for the consumer drastically in the past few years and with that, the climate of shopping has changed too, forcing myself and other retailers to re-think how we market to the customer. There seems to be a new order of business out there and the name of the "game" is savings....

It used to be true that this was the time for retailers to "make their year", gouge the prices if the need be, and reap the benefits of a healthy holiday buying season. Such is no longer the case, as major retailers, little guys like me, and everyone in between have had to offer, unheard of at this time, discounts to get consumers into their retail establishments. Open up your mail box or your email box and you will see what I mean. There were no less than 15 offers of 20% or more off at major retailers like JCrew, Bloomingdales, Saks, Barneys New York, etc in my email box from the time I got dressed to go to work and the time I got to work, (no more than an hour) leaving me to wonder, how do I compete?

The facts are what they are and it's a fact that discounts bring in the shoppers. Which means I must offer the customer great customer service AND a substantial discount. Will this effect my bottom line? Yes, but it won't kill me and it certainly won't hurt to build that ever important customer relationship. Gone are the days of excessive shopping, as they are a thing of the past. Even the shoppers who CAN afford to binge, simply are not. They too, appreciate a discounted price for goods. Another sure sign that the climate has changed; Nieman Marcus offered 25% off everything in the COSMETICS department last week-this is unprecedented. It has always been a rule that any discount coupon from a major retailer did NOT apply to cosmetics. It was right there in the fine print, and any savvy shopper knew it. Hence the new order of the retail business.

While forecasts for retail over all show spending to be up, I wonder how up if the majority of goods were sold at a discounted price point. Take moment to think about the discounted offers you have received in the past week and post them in the comments section. I'm guessing there are more than you can even remember. Let me know if it motivated you to go to the store, buy more, or think about checking out that store because you hadn't been there in a while. Then let me know if you intend to be on a spending spree this holiday season.

Your fellow little guy would appreciate it.

Sunday Dinner

Whatever happened to Sunday dinner?

When I was a kid, we knew better than to stray too far from home on a Sunday afternoon, as Sunday dinner was served promptly at 2 or 3 pm. And we were expected to be there, no excuses. Sunday, for that matter, was family day and we could never really be too far from the sanctity of Sunday dinner.

What ever happened to Sunday dinner?

Maybe this is what's wrong with society today. Maybe a more than a few Sunday dinners could have prevented more than a few crimes. Maybe the power of a family sit down and disappointing mom was at one time much more powerful than the lure of the streets. Maybe that's naive.

What ever happened to Sunday dinner?

When did soccer games and hockey games become more important than family time? How did our seventh day of rest become the day that "works" for everyone to be at that tournament? When did a 6:30 am on Sunday morning game become the norm? Who has time to plan and cook Sunday dinner when Timmy has an all day lacrosse jamboree and Sally has 2 soccer games, one for town and one for her All-Star League in the western part of the state? The kids are lucky they get to experience the sanctity of their homework, never mind Sunday dinner.

What ever happened to Sunday dinner?

Where everyone can really talk about the things that are important to them and be part of something, no matter how young or old. It's nice to know that no matter where you are, you know that you can count on that Sunday dinner being family time. Because it's important to you, and it's important to them, and it's important to all of us. Your family.

What ever happened to Sunday dinner?

I can't say that I really know, but I do care enough to try to make Sunday dinner a priority in my own home. I do care enough to reach out to my extended family and find out "who's in on Sunday dinner"? My friends are also my family, and welcome at my table as much as my blood. I know that whatever is being served is a blessing, as much as the people who share it with me and that I can count on them, for anything.

And I know that I will make time for them every Sunday.

Lazy Boys

Hard day at the office, honey?

Happy Weekend Bloggers!!!

Need A Smile?

Some of these were so funny they even made me smile.

Really? No tobacco in Ontario??

Brilliant advertising I tell ya.

I had to think about this one for a while....I'm a little slow on the up take.

Because isn't that what every woman is thinking while riding a crowded bus?

As an ex-smoker, I concur...

Bwahahahaha!! The bi*ch got everything!!

This is by far my favorite.

It's like they crawled into my brain and pulled out my thoughts.

Falling Down

I fell down yesterday, but I got up.

I fell down hard yesterday; again, but I have to get up.

The strength to get up is innate and it protects me.

I pray it will see me through, for I have been walking on unsure footing for a while.

My trail has ended and I choose me.

I walk it alone and I will try not to stumble.

I have gotten up before and I will get up again. I have faith in me.

Ebay 101

My boy, Frack is a "bee in his bonnet" kind of guy. Which means that when he gets something in his head, there's no getting it out. Most days it annoys the shit out of me, because he will nag and pout and finagle and manipulate to try to get what he is after until he either gets it, or exhausts himself and everyone else in the process.

Sunday was no exception. Frack decides (after about 2000 youtube views) that he wants this "thing" called a handboard. A Teck Deck Handboard to be more specific, and for those of you NOT in the know when it comes to 13 year-old boys, read: ridiculous toy.

It's a skateboard for your HAND. Yes, for your hand, and my boy is now all properly obsessed and has to have one.

Last week Frack asks me to take him to Toys R Us to purchase one, to which I explain that I cannot, because I am at work. He then goes to My Guy and gets the same response. He then calls his Grandfather, who enthusiastically agrees to take him, thrilled at the prospect of spending some quality time with the boy. But what they find out is not at all thrilling. Long story short, Teck Deck Handboards are no longer being made or for sale in the US.

This only makes Frack's "bonnet bee" a huge hornet.

Being the spawn of my loins, Frack does not take no for an answer. He hits the internets which inevitably leads him to Ebay. His first search produces LOTS of handboards for sale, by collectors at redonk prices. When the handboards were available, they sold for about $10 to $20 bucks, retail. $79.99 was the cheapest he found on ebay, and Frack saw no issue with this, as it seemed to him he had solved his problem. But I, not going to school to major in lunch, had a life lesson ready and waiting for my boy.

"Not a chance, pal."

I gotta give it to him. He was pissed, but he sat on it all weekend. Frack being Frack, he forged ahead and did his due diligence. When he came to me on Sunday night, with a $20.00 bill in one hand and his computer in the other, open to an ebay auction he had found for a handboard going for $5 bucks, what could I say? Since had shown some moxie, some responsibility, and some patience, I decided to let him go with this.

We placed the next highest bid at $5.50 and plotted our course of action. $15.00 would be his max bid, saving the remaining $5.00 for shipping costs. Frack then waited. He enthusiastically monitored the situation on his own, continuously refreshing the auction page, placing a winning bid every now and again. He even got into a mini-bidding war with some guy, "a_**" but staying within his budget, and winning the auction in the end for $10.50.

In the end, I think Frack learned a few valuable life lesson in his crash course with Ebay 101.

• $20 bucks in the hand does not make anything a certainty.


• In life, we try to live within the boundaries we set.


• Patience really is a virtue.


• Due diligence is key to any decision making process.

AND...that he has just about the coolest mom on the planet.

Today, anyway.

Boob Jenner, er um, I mean, Bruce Jenner

I had planned on writing different post this morning, but I've got my tail feathers in a cluster over last night's "Keeping Up With The Kardashians"/The Wedding, 2 hour special, which I just so happened to catch on TV, and I'm ready for a good rant.

I want to begin my rant by acknowledging the fact that that this Kardashian/Jenner family are the largest assembly of despicable, selfish, self centered, mean spirited people I have ever seen on TV. This, of course, is the sole reason they are a ratings bonanza for Ryan Seacrest Productions. Not usually a fan of the show, I will admit to catching their antics on occasion and have even posted here about my disdain for this TV debacle, in the beginnings of my blogger career. And, like a good hypocrite should, I find myself watching this train wreck every now and again. I also can't get away from the recent tabloid fodder that is the Klohe Kardashian/Lamar Odom wedding that took place super speedy last month. Which was, interestingly, paid and filmed, by and for, the Kardashian's reality TV show.

But the wedding crap is not what I'm upset about.

I'm pissed about Bruce Jenner and why he has allowed THIS to happen to him. I'm talking about how this one time American Hero is treated by this gaggle of vile women who are his so-called family. Truth be told, Bruce Jenner jumped shark when he became the recipient of the worst plastic surgery job ever, but I can't say Bruce's Olympic glory was lost on my inner sports fan. His 1976 gold medal decathlon victory solidified his status as an American sports icon forever.

But a gold medal does not make him a rocket scientist.

I'm saying that Brucey needs to be responsible for letting these hags walk all over him and make him look like the complete boob that he is. I got a little insight to Bruce Jenner last night and he gained, almost but not really, my admiration, and most certainly, my pity.

I'm not sure if it's a gag for the TV cameras, or the way things have always been, but Bruce, it seems, is always odd man out. They are constantly scheming behind his back and doing those outrageous things that they do, only to get foiled in the end by Bruce. Kinda, because they make it clear that they really don't care what Bruce thinks. It's as if he is their moral compass, but these ladies would rather be lost in the world of immorality.

Last night was "the wedding" show. Probably a ratings scheme, the wedding had to be planned in 10 days and the entire family was in on the planning except Bruce....As a matter of fact, Klohe didn't even want to tell Bruce, until she got her ring. Which happened to be two days before the wedding. Meanwhile Captain Oblivious, and his bad hair, is walking around the house while his wife and children are plotting, I mean, planning a huge wedding he knows nothing about. Then, while watching TV with his step-son Robert, he hears ON THE NEWS, that Klohe is engaged to Lamar Odom, a guy he has yet to meet. Bruce is, understandably upset.

There is not one ounce of respect shown to Bruce by this family. Klohe hardly introduces Lamar to Bruce at a dinner before the wedding rehearsal, and she lets him know how she really feels about him when she chooses her brother Rob instead of him to walk her down the aisle. Of course, the drama is played out during the rehearsal dinner, when Bruce stands to speak, uninvited, before everyone. He begins by talking about Klohe's dad, Robert, and what does he do? He cries. So does everyone else (except Klohe). But, one can tell he speaks from the heart, and here's where Bruce does the most honorable thing. After years of being walked on by these little bitches, he tells them that he promised their dad he would take care of his girls, and he ask Lamar to promise to take care of Klohe. Unbelievable.

I have to say, the dude must really love his wife and kids despite the way they treat him, because the Kardashians are not worthy of the love and devotion of Bruce. After the rehearsal dinner, a few hours before the scheduled wedding, Klohe finally asks Bruce to walk her down the aisle. He, of course, accepts because why would he want to ruin his sucker streak now? And we are supposed to be touched by this. I can't help thinking that it was planned for Bruce to walk her down the aisle all along. In fact, I'm thinking the whole Bruce in the dark thing has to be a ratings ploy. No self-respecting man would endure the treatment Bruce gets from his family for nothing. There has to be some zeros attached to his portrayal in this show.

The upside of all of this is that thanks to "Keeping up with the Kardashians" an entire new generation of people know him by name again.

The down side is they know him as Boob Jenner.