After booking last minute to see Torville and Dean's Dancing on Ice Tour tonight with ones mother, who paid for tickets, I am so disappointed to find out in the last hour they have had to cancel due to a 'sick cast' Am I more disappointed at missing the show or just escaping for a few hours from my normal Sunday night routine?
I have spend the morning cleaning etc. etc. as one does while husband 'stoated about' trying to look busy. Decided there is no point in asking him to do anything as it will not be done to my standard and I'll end up doing it again anyway, much to his disgust. Going out of a Sunday evening requires preparation, such as ironing uniforms, polishing shoes and I find myself preparing all this to leave hubby with only 4 rules; don't have to many pints, feed children, bath children and put children to bed. Is it because I don't trust him to manage or am I just playing the dutiful wife, no it is due to the fact that I'd be soooo annoyed if I get up in the morning and it's not done right or perhaps forgotten! Perhaps I should lower my standards after all does it really matter? Decided to go and visit mum after dinner to discuss our disappointment, drink tea and perhaps indulge in a little cake.
Still trying to find little ways to bring in extra money, keep reading about this Google adsense so thought I'd give it a try and see what happens. See links at the side of the blog. I'll update as I go along, I'm sure there are marvellous other things that can be done, but have only read the basics so far.
Been 5 days since I posted bank charge/credit card letters. Obviously still nothing yet.
Sunday 29 April 2007
Friday 27 April 2007
Plain baby clothing
Having just read a blog from a fellow blogger who is frustrated about the inability to purchase plain t shirts for her baby I realised this is an area for me. Always on the look out for ways to suppliment my income I was unaware of the difficulty to obtain such products. Luckily when my son was a baby the local Mackays store was very good for plain tshirts.
I use many different suppliers for stock for NHP Embroidery Services and as most garments are to be embroidered the suppliers provide a variety of plain tops in plain colours, t shirts, polo shirts, layered tops, sweatshirts and fleeces. I already sell school wear on ebay and had sold many of my childrens second hand clothes there but had never thought about the baby market for plain tops.
So a little sales pitch: Available for sale for children all over the world;
3/6, 6/12, 12/18 months;
Baby T shirt - 100% cotton dusky blue, mint, powder pink, red & white £2.99
Organic baby T - 100% unbleached cotton T natural & red £3.99
3/6, 6/12, 12/18, 18/24, 24/36 months;
baby/toddler Tshirts - 100% cotton navy, red, white, pale blue, pink & yellow £2.49
baby/toddler polo's - 100% cotton navy, red, white, pale blue & pink £4.25
I could go on and on but I won't well not today. I can post world wide, I accept PAYPAL, cheques and postal orders and for further details can be contacted at nicola@nhpservices.co.uk
So to update the plan
I use many different suppliers for stock for NHP Embroidery Services and as most garments are to be embroidered the suppliers provide a variety of plain tops in plain colours, t shirts, polo shirts, layered tops, sweatshirts and fleeces. I already sell school wear on ebay and had sold many of my childrens second hand clothes there but had never thought about the baby market for plain tops.
So a little sales pitch: Available for sale for children all over the world;
3/6, 6/12, 12/18 months;
Baby T shirt - 100% cotton dusky blue, mint, powder pink, red & white £2.99
Organic baby T - 100% unbleached cotton T natural & red £3.99
3/6, 6/12, 12/18, 18/24, 24/36 months;
baby/toddler Tshirts - 100% cotton navy, red, white, pale blue, pink & yellow £2.49
baby/toddler polo's - 100% cotton navy, red, white, pale blue & pink £4.25
I could go on and on but I won't well not today. I can post world wide, I accept PAYPAL, cheques and postal orders and for further details can be contacted at nicola@nhpservices.co.uk
So to update the plan
- include plain babywear on ebay.
My friends son is very kindly going to deliver leaflets for me over the weekend so he has left armed with 300 or so leaflets advertising both NHP Embroidery Services and Alba Inflatables.
Stressful things today:
- a cutomers cheque bounced
- an order hasn't arrived yet and requires 4 hours embroidery work and it is now 1.35pm - eat my words just been delivered so will continue when my machine is running.......... machine running, however, hust worked out 6 hrs work so will have to come in tomorrow morning.
- have to rush to bank before 3 to put money in account to cover bounced cheque.
Fingers crossed for abundance of money to flow my way x
Wednesday 25 April 2007
To much tea and bank charges
Yesterday I set the plan and by last night it had gone to pot, forgot about the issue of having 2 children who did not know the plan!
Rushed home from work at 2.15 to have quick tidy up before collecting children at school at 2.55 as son had doctors at 3.15 in next town. Managed to empty and refill dishwasher, wipe round kitchen, clear clothes horse, put more washing on and brush floors. These tasks make me a nicer person, keeps up the pretence to husband that the place 'is never that bad' and means when the kids come home I can spend a cup of tea time with them.
Got to doctors who confirmed son has geographical tongue (spots & coating) and it's nothing to worry about, apparently it will go of its own accord! 7 year old daughter decided to act like a baby during my discussion with doctor as she wanted to sit on bed. Was totally mortified and decided to ignore the behaviour, however, once outside did the 'if you ever.....' chat, feel on deaf ears and left me fuming.
Returned home and decided to watch Deal or no Deal and have a cup of tea as children didn't want to discuss their day with me as they had already spend 45 mins with me!
Husband returned home, so settled for another cup of tea. After dinner husband went to meeting about football team he coaches and I did homework with children. Took daughter to Brownies, son went for bath, I went for shower, hair was dried and almost completely straightened when 'delightful' daughter returned. Spoke to neighbour for 15 mins. Daughter to bed, hair completed, husband returns, son to bed - more tea and then The biggest loser came on so that was me til 10 at which point decided enough was enough and bed it was.
Today has gone better, managed to begin the ebay update that was on the plan for last night, so already realised have to make a weekly plan as a daily plan in this house won't work. Also realised I drink to much tea.
In a desperate attempt to obtain more money I have also applied to all my banks and credit card companies hopefully to get bank charges refunded. That would be nice! Posted letters yesterday and realised today I should have sent the letters recorded delivery and not 2nd class, fingers crossed. I have thought about this for a long time, but normally only act when I discover somebody I know has done it and got money back, so when I discovered my friend had done it that was all I needed to get me into action. Go my first holiday abroad for 5 years in 8 weeks exactly so a small cash injection wouldn't go wrong!
Rushed home from work at 2.15 to have quick tidy up before collecting children at school at 2.55 as son had doctors at 3.15 in next town. Managed to empty and refill dishwasher, wipe round kitchen, clear clothes horse, put more washing on and brush floors. These tasks make me a nicer person, keeps up the pretence to husband that the place 'is never that bad' and means when the kids come home I can spend a cup of tea time with them.
Got to doctors who confirmed son has geographical tongue (spots & coating) and it's nothing to worry about, apparently it will go of its own accord! 7 year old daughter decided to act like a baby during my discussion with doctor as she wanted to sit on bed. Was totally mortified and decided to ignore the behaviour, however, once outside did the 'if you ever.....' chat, feel on deaf ears and left me fuming.
Returned home and decided to watch Deal or no Deal and have a cup of tea as children didn't want to discuss their day with me as they had already spend 45 mins with me!
Husband returned home, so settled for another cup of tea. After dinner husband went to meeting about football team he coaches and I did homework with children. Took daughter to Brownies, son went for bath, I went for shower, hair was dried and almost completely straightened when 'delightful' daughter returned. Spoke to neighbour for 15 mins. Daughter to bed, hair completed, husband returns, son to bed - more tea and then The biggest loser came on so that was me til 10 at which point decided enough was enough and bed it was.
Today has gone better, managed to begin the ebay update that was on the plan for last night, so already realised have to make a weekly plan as a daily plan in this house won't work. Also realised I drink to much tea.
In a desperate attempt to obtain more money I have also applied to all my banks and credit card companies hopefully to get bank charges refunded. That would be nice! Posted letters yesterday and realised today I should have sent the letters recorded delivery and not 2nd class, fingers crossed. I have thought about this for a long time, but normally only act when I discover somebody I know has done it and got money back, so when I discovered my friend had done it that was all I needed to get me into action. Go my first holiday abroad for 5 years in 8 weeks exactly so a small cash injection wouldn't go wrong!
Tuesday 24 April 2007
Time to move on.
Having read so much about so many other people I decided it was time to try this for myself.
I am hoping by doing so I can clear away the clutter in my mind. The theory - to write my thoughts down and then they're out of my mind or at least filed to the back.
Brings me immediately to my first thought to clear. Having worked in an insurance company for 11 years, 7 of those years part time in the evening, my youngest was due to start school. I couldn't, well actually didn't want to continue working in the evening with both children at school all day. I had managed to spend all their baby/toddler/pre-school years with them both during the day with my husband taking over the roll in the evening, he of course had the easy job - bath & bed with the rest of the evening to watch the TV, coming from a family of 9, 6 of whom were big sisters, housework, ironing etc has never been on his agenda, quite frankly it never crosses his mind. We joke about the washing/ironing and tidying up fairy in our house!
In the August of 2003 I had a lightbulb moment one day while I frantically seached the local town for a school uniform to fit my then 6 year old son after being let down by the school supplier. I thought there has to be an easier way than this to get a school uniform and at that very moment I started planning my 'school uniform business' In July 2004 NHP Embroidery Services was born. Three years later and heading into my 4th summer I am ready to take this business to the next level. It has been hard, walking out of a reasonable well paid job and living on one wage while all the money goes back to grow the business and me deciding, on this one wage, that I needed a new fitted kitchen, a conservatory, an upstairs toilet (as our bathroom's downstairs) a combi boiler and a monoblocked drive or we would have to move! But praise to my husband he has worked long hours, nightshifts & weekends to give me this pleasure and last June our house benefited from all these great things. Of course nothing is finished, but that's another story!
I am so good at making plans, but hopeless at sticking to them so I'm hoping to shame myself into sticking to them as it will all be noted in black and white. Last year in an attempt to suppliment my income and because I deal with parents and children all summer I decided a bouncy castle would be a good investment. It hired well considering we didn't advertise, that is is bit like me have a business but don't tell anyone. So that has to change!
So the plan's in place and started already
I am hoping by doing so I can clear away the clutter in my mind. The theory - to write my thoughts down and then they're out of my mind or at least filed to the back.
Brings me immediately to my first thought to clear. Having worked in an insurance company for 11 years, 7 of those years part time in the evening, my youngest was due to start school. I couldn't, well actually didn't want to continue working in the evening with both children at school all day. I had managed to spend all their baby/toddler/pre-school years with them both during the day with my husband taking over the roll in the evening, he of course had the easy job - bath & bed with the rest of the evening to watch the TV, coming from a family of 9, 6 of whom were big sisters, housework, ironing etc has never been on his agenda, quite frankly it never crosses his mind. We joke about the washing/ironing and tidying up fairy in our house!
In the August of 2003 I had a lightbulb moment one day while I frantically seached the local town for a school uniform to fit my then 6 year old son after being let down by the school supplier. I thought there has to be an easier way than this to get a school uniform and at that very moment I started planning my 'school uniform business' In July 2004 NHP Embroidery Services was born. Three years later and heading into my 4th summer I am ready to take this business to the next level. It has been hard, walking out of a reasonable well paid job and living on one wage while all the money goes back to grow the business and me deciding, on this one wage, that I needed a new fitted kitchen, a conservatory, an upstairs toilet (as our bathroom's downstairs) a combi boiler and a monoblocked drive or we would have to move! But praise to my husband he has worked long hours, nightshifts & weekends to give me this pleasure and last June our house benefited from all these great things. Of course nothing is finished, but that's another story!
I am so good at making plans, but hopeless at sticking to them so I'm hoping to shame myself into sticking to them as it will all be noted in black and white. Last year in an attempt to suppliment my income and because I deal with parents and children all summer I decided a bouncy castle would be a good investment. It hired well considering we didn't advertise, that is is bit like me have a business but don't tell anyone. So that has to change!
So the plan's in place and started already
- Ebay site, up and running and in the process of being revamped
- yellow pages advert ordered for both businesses
- approx 300 leaflets delivered on Sunday with 7 year old daughter and 10 year old neighbour
- in process of arranging suppliers to take on all embroidery to allow me time to concentrate on shop and customers
- need to build the number of schools I can cater for
That's the plan so far. Oh yes and tell everyone I meet and have business cards on me!
Note to self: relax for 5 mins every day
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