Janette...ikz and Ezkiel
Really, there is nothing else that needs to be said. I love the way this was presented!
Showing posts with label consequences. Show all posts
Showing posts with label consequences. Show all posts
Monday, April 9, 2012
Thursday, December 15, 2011
December 15, 2011
Social Media Thursday
During the month of November, I participated in a campaign sponsored by American Express called “Small Business Saturday”. It occurred on the Saturday after Black Friday and before Cyber Monday. It was a push to draw the consumer to invest some of their holiday spending in small businesses. Part of the campaign included $100 (one hundred dollars) of Facebook Advertising. For FREE. I applied and my little ad was accepted and then, quite honestly, I forgot about that part of the push. I put up information on my Facebook fan page, business page and my personal page. Tweeted about Small Business Saturday and placed signage about it in my booth during the Christmas Wonderfest in Detroit.
I have had an increase in sales (slight, but still even one new sale is better than no sales, right?), but I still didn’t make any connections to AmEx and their campaign. Yesterday I received the following email (excerpted here) :
We are happy to report that with your $100 in free Facebook advertising, your campaign reached 134,036* potential customers. (*Reach is defined by the number of unique impressions delivered within your geo-targeted area.)
To keep the momentum going, American Express OPEN offers a variety of helpful resources on OPEN Forum®, including social media tips and tools for businesses like yours. It is all part of our ongoing commitment to the success of small, locally owned businesses.
Wow!!! The ad ran on Facebook for approximately 15 days (I got in on the deal late) which meant I was able to spend more per day than I ever would be able to afford (almost $7 per day)on a regular basis. At the same time, Facebook offered a 50% match of AmEx’s $100.00, again FREE, so that meant I was virtually spending $10.00 per day in Facebook Ads- YOWZA!
Of course, I am, indeed, a small business and so obviously could not keep those ads running. I cancelled my ads, but I have had an increase in my Facebook fans and more specifically, a request from an international company to possibly market one of my products!!! Double YOWZA!!
Check out the open forum and think about saving some of your advertising dollars for one or two times a year to invest in Facebook Ads. You never know how the results will pay out in the end!
See you tomorrow ^_^
Monday, October 10, 2011
October 11, 2011
Wow, what a week! I've been busy promoting the business, getting the kids to and from school, doing classes, cleaning, cooking, well, you get the picture. The highlight of my week, however, was Saturday afternoon and evening. It started at five o'clock when my adult and teen dance ministries presented two dances at a neighborhood church. It was so awesome to see my older two sons and two of the female teens present a piece that addresses useless teen violence and being ready for your time, no matter when that is. The music was "Chariots" by Brian McKnight (see below) and they truly touched some hearts during their presentation. The adults were equally inspiring as the danced to Angie Winans' version of "The Lord's Prayer". From there, my sons and I went to a friend's house to spend an evening playing "Michael Jackson" and "Just Dance 2" on the Wii. My friend's mother was in town visiting and so there was a house full of people, adults and kids, playing and laughing, scarfing pizza and sodas and just basically having a good time. It was so much fun and I felt truly blessed to be included as "one of the family" for the night.
There is nothing like friends and family. When my kids were younger and I wasn't so single, I used to have "dates" with my kids individually and as a family. Once a month, each child had a morning or afternoon or sometimes, we could only squeeze in a few hours, with just me. Walks, trips to the mall, breakfast, a movie - all my undivided attention on him or her and all his or hers on me. Those are moments I wouldn't trade for the world. Sometimes, it meant a work deadline was a little late or I didn't get that extra hour of sleep, but the joy of a smile, a laugh, a shared inside joke, a tear, a compromise.....to coin the phrase "priceless".
In this time of our rush-rush, hurry-hurry, microwave society, sometimes we forget to stop and see the people around us that we are "working for", "sacrificing for", "taking care of". Start small, take 5 minutes each week for the special ones in your life. Jot a sticky note of thanks, turn off the cell phone and tell a joke or listen to really bad one, share a cup of coffee, make a memory. When everything is said and done, over and gone, those are things that will carry on.
My friend told me that her doctor once asked her "If you had twenty-four hours left to live, what are the five things you would do in that time?" I know what I would do, what would you do?
There is nothing like friends and family. When my kids were younger and I wasn't so single, I used to have "dates" with my kids individually and as a family. Once a month, each child had a morning or afternoon or sometimes, we could only squeeze in a few hours, with just me. Walks, trips to the mall, breakfast, a movie - all my undivided attention on him or her and all his or hers on me. Those are moments I wouldn't trade for the world. Sometimes, it meant a work deadline was a little late or I didn't get that extra hour of sleep, but the joy of a smile, a laugh, a shared inside joke, a tear, a compromise.....to coin the phrase "priceless".
In this time of our rush-rush, hurry-hurry, microwave society, sometimes we forget to stop and see the people around us that we are "working for", "sacrificing for", "taking care of". Start small, take 5 minutes each week for the special ones in your life. Jot a sticky note of thanks, turn off the cell phone and tell a joke or listen to really bad one, share a cup of coffee, make a memory. When everything is said and done, over and gone, those are things that will carry on.
My friend told me that her doctor once asked her "If you had twenty-four hours left to live, what are the five things you would do in that time?" I know what I would do, what would you do?
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Death of a Dear Friend - Repost
"Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:-Knowing when to come in out of the rain; - Why the early bird gets the worm;- Life isn't always fair; - And maybe it was my fault.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies, don't spend more than you can earn and adults, not children, are in charge. His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.
Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.
Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.
Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement. Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by his wife Discretion, his daughter Responsibility, and his son, Reason. He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights,I Want It Now,Someone Else Is To Blame,I'm A Victim.Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, do not"
This was posted today on by FB page by my cousin. While I don't usually re-post from FB, there is too much that is true here. WoW!!
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies, don't spend more than you can earn and adults, not children, are in charge. His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.
Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.
Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.
Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement. Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by his wife Discretion, his daughter Responsibility, and his son, Reason. He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights,I Want It Now,Someone Else Is To Blame,I'm A Victim.Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, do not"
This was posted today on by FB page by my cousin. While I don't usually re-post from FB, there is too much that is true here. WoW!!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
August 24, 2011
Day Three - I haven't wavered yet, so this is a good sign. I know there are sayings out there about how many times it takes to do something before it becomes a habit. Okay, so that number for me is probably 948. Especially if it's a good habit I'm trying to instill. Things like not biting my nails (accomplished during middle school, thank you), not eating large meals late (only took 55 days, amazing), making an item a day for my shop (okay, still working on that one, but its only been 93 days, I've got time). Of course, you know, bad habits take about 3 seconds to instill - eat the second brownie, use the styrofoam plates one more night (who really wants to wash the dishes?)
Began my new mode of operation with my boys last night. Not too bad, but definitely different. I had to breathe and choke back some things that I would have normally said and done. But it worked! They were confused, then angry, then confused again and then .... they did what was expected of them! I have to stick to my guns on this one.
Update: Huge blow up with middle son this afternoon. He had made plans for Thursday, but on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, he failed to follow the directions that were given to him. I did as I was directed to do - give the direction, turn and walk away, expect him to follow through. Sooo, this evening when he asked about his plans for tomorrow, I simply stated "You're not going." Wait three beats for the shock to pass through his body and then "Why not?!" I calmly replied that he had failed to do what was asked of him and then cited the two occasions where he dropped the ball. Twenty minutes of him trying, unsuccessfully, to argue why this was so totally unfair (this was a really hard time for me, middle son and I have yelling matches often) and my continuing to repeat that he had not done what was asked of him, calmly and quietly. I told him after 10 minutes (probably 9 minutes too long) that the conversation was closed and that I wasn't going to change my mind. Ninety minutes later, he came to me and apologized for yelling, said that he understood his consequences for his behavior and that he understood that I was simply working on trying to help him be more responsible. WOW!!!
We'll see what happens next. Onward and upward!
Began my new mode of operation with my boys last night. Not too bad, but definitely different. I had to breathe and choke back some things that I would have normally said and done. But it worked! They were confused, then angry, then confused again and then .... they did what was expected of them! I have to stick to my guns on this one.
Update: Huge blow up with middle son this afternoon. He had made plans for Thursday, but on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, he failed to follow the directions that were given to him. I did as I was directed to do - give the direction, turn and walk away, expect him to follow through. Sooo, this evening when he asked about his plans for tomorrow, I simply stated "You're not going." Wait three beats for the shock to pass through his body and then "Why not?!" I calmly replied that he had failed to do what was asked of him and then cited the two occasions where he dropped the ball. Twenty minutes of him trying, unsuccessfully, to argue why this was so totally unfair (this was a really hard time for me, middle son and I have yelling matches often) and my continuing to repeat that he had not done what was asked of him, calmly and quietly. I told him after 10 minutes (probably 9 minutes too long) that the conversation was closed and that I wasn't going to change my mind. Ninety minutes later, he came to me and apologized for yelling, said that he understood his consequences for his behavior and that he understood that I was simply working on trying to help him be more responsible. WOW!!!
We'll see what happens next. Onward and upward!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)