December 30, 2008

What's With These Kids?!

I have five children, two belong to my husband and three are mine from a previous marriage. The two he owns lived with their mother across the country so I had limited access to them over the years. My husband and I have raised the three I brought to the mix. We've tried to raise them up with morals, good self-esteem and a sense of personal responsibility. We've found that the concepts we pushed mostly became apparent when they reached their mid-twenties.

It seems my son, our youngest, and his friends are in their own generation category. Let's call it the "I want it and I want it now!" generation. These young adults (and I use the term loosely) seem to think that working for what you want is a ridiculous waste of time and energy. Why do that when you can just whine, bully and manipulate your way into getting your way? I'm not sure where this attitude came from, as at least in my son's case he was raised in the same household as his sisters who do not behave like that, but the sense of entitlement without reciprocation is definitely rampant in his group.

Our children worked part-time while in high school, especially during the summer break. We encouraged them to save their money. When my son started working just before he turned 16 as a bag-boy (can we still use this term?), all of his friends thought he was being punished. No really - they actually thought we made him work because we wanted to abuse him. It seemed to them that they should not have to work at that tender age, yet they wanted to be treated as adults. That translated to "give me what I want but don't make me do anything for it."

Our lessons to him would have been a lot easier if only more of his friend's parents would have jumped on the bandwagon. I know - believe me I do - that letting them do what they want is much easier for the time being. The problem is you eventually pay for your lack of perseverance. All you have to do is let up one time and they run with it. If they stick their hand out and you place currency in it you will be expected to do so for until the end of time. If you throw your hands up in despair and say, "Do whatever you want!" you're doomed for eternity. If a child remembers nothing else you've taught them they will remember what buttons to push the next time they want something.

We are still hoping these kids will grow out of this phase, some of them have, but it has lasted a long time. I believe that time and reality will be their teachers now and the lessons will be much harder than the ones we tried to teach them. When you are a youngster and you don't have any money to buy something you want it's frustrating. When you can't pay the rent or buy gas or food as an adult the lesson is a bit more harsh. Nevertheless you will eventually learn to do what you have to do to get what you want and hopefully that won't include robbing gas stations.

It's painful as a parent to see your kids go through these trying times. I just wish they would learn from our experience and skip the harder lessons of life when they can. I'm betting my mother felt the same way, and trust me when I tell you that I thought I knew what was best for me. Not so much. I only wish she were still here so I could apologize to her every day for driving her nuts when I was a kid. Nothing like the reality of life to put things in proper perspective.

December 19, 2008

The Cheerleader's Guide to Life or How to Motivate Yourself

It seems I spend a lot of time being a cheerleader. I was a cheerleader in high school, pom-poms and saddle shoes, the whole nine yards. I have a whole slew of motivational tidbits stored up in my brain. I've cheered my children on to help them attain excellence in sports, academics and reaching personal goals. I've pep-talked my siblings, rah-rahed co-workers and generally uplifted the spirits of those around me for years. It doesn't always work but I sure give it the old college try.

So why does this technique not work so well on me? I think it might be because I know the drill. If anyone tries to give me the old one-for-the-Gipper speech I just roll my eyes. I know a cheer when I hear one. In fact, I hear them rolling around in my head in the morning when I wake up, "Get up! Get moving!" When things are crazy and I'm running around in circles it's, "You can do it! You can do it! You can! You can!" No more pom-poms or back flips, but it's still the same idea.

I plan to work on ways to self-motivate this coming year. I want to employ techniques that will help me stay inspired, stay on task and generally moving forward in both my business and personal lives. There are so many things I want to accomplish and seemingly so little time to do it that keeping up my energy and focus is going to be a major priority. I believe that setting attainable goals will be key to my success.

I will promote my business. I will resume my exercise routine and I will write that book one blog post at a time as a mentor suggested. Go Team!!

December 12, 2008

Indie Shopping TV: Recap!

It was very exciting to be featured on the first ever IndieShopping.tv segment today! I was a little nervous as I've never been involved in this type of media before, but Donna Maria, the consummate professional that she is, breezed her way through any of the start up glitches we experienced with ease and took us along for the ride. All in all it was lots of fun, and that's what this is all about! I can't wait to see the next show and hope to be a part of many in the future.

And now for your viewing pleasure is the un-cut, un-edited version of our very first show!


dM experienced a few audio challenges out of the block, but if you fast forward through the first quarter or so of the video, the show begins! And don't forget, that my site at http://www.bidwellbotanicals.com is open 24/7 to serve you and products are still available for shipping in time for Christmas!

December 11, 2008

Indie Shopping TV!

Bidwell Botanicals is going to be on live TV tomorrow!! Indie Shopping TV, that is!

Indie Shopping TV is the first live video chat e-shopping portal designed especially for Indie products and the people who love them. And Bidwell Botanicals is the very first line to be featured!!

Join me and other Bidwell Botanicals product lovers LIVE at http://www.IndieShopping.TV at 12:15pm EST tomorrow, December 12, when we'll be demonstrating our fabulous holiday sugar scrubs and offering them at a special price just for you!

There will be live product demonstration by the show host, plus a live chat so you can talk with me!! We'll also be joined by other Bidwell Botanical product junkies live, from the convenience of your laptop!! It's going to be a blast!!

Special pricing will apply during the LIVE show so mark your calendar, set your alarm, auto-email yourself or whatever you have to do to catch this exciting show. I can't wait to see you there as Bidwell Botanicals helps bring you the best of the holiday season in a live show format. It's cutting edge, it's so easy and most of all, FUN!

Date: December 12, 2008
Time: 12:15pm EST
How to Join: Log onto http://www.IndieShopping.TV

We'll do the rest! See you then!

December 4, 2008

All I Want for Christmas...

I am a great gift buyer. Ask anyone who knows me, I'm all about the giving part but not so good at the getting. Every year my kids ask me what I want for Christmas and I tell them, "World peace, or at least in this house." It's not that I don't appreciate receiving gifts it's just much easier and more satisfying for me to bestow gifts upon someone else than to receive one myself.

This year my family asked me to make a wish list. It's harder than you might think! Oh, there are things I want and really some I need, but most of them would not be in their price range or they are intangible and pretty much unattainable. So to placate them I made a list and put it on the front of the fridge with all of theirs. Here it is:
  • Peace on Earth or one week of no fighting, bickering or other nastiness in this house.
  • A family member, not Mom, makes dinner at least one night a week, preferably Mondays. (I specify family member to rule out Ronald McDonald, The Colonel or Pop Eye.)
  • Snow in the month of December. Just a little to make it all Christmassy.
  • A heartfelt hug when I look like I need one.
  • Buy or make me a gift that you think I will like.
The last one would be the hardest for most people because you have to put some real effort into it, especially when you're on a tight budget like most of us this year. My mother, wise woman that she was, used to tell us to buy or make a gift that we would want to receive ourselves. This works well with most friends because you usually have a lot in common and you can sort of put yourself in their place. It's much harder to do this for your mother. I'm trying to instill thoughtfulness in my children by making them think about the person they're giving gifts to and not just picking up something sparkly from the store. Will it work? I'll let you know after Christmas!

December 1, 2008

Cyber Monday Super Sale!

Shop Bidwell Botanicals' Cyber Monday Super Sale and save time, money and your sanity. Unique pampering gifts for everyone on your list, great prices, complimentary gift wrapping and free shipping to your door. We'll even throw in a free gift for you on orders totaling $50.00 or more. It doesn't get any better than that!

Sale starts December 1st at Midnight and ends at 11:59 PM EST. That's 24 hours with 25% off all regularly priced merchandise! Plus amazing deals on exclusive gift sets and selected products that will not be offered at any other time this year! Just enter the discount code: CYBERMONDAY in the voucher section when you check out and your discount will be applied. It's that easy to wrap up all of your holiday shopping with the click of a button!

  • Cyber Monday SuperSale begins at 12:00 Midnight EST, December 1, 2008 and ends at 11:59 PM December 1, 2008 EST. *Free standard shipping within the USA on all merchandise purchased on December 1, 2008. International orders will incur shipping charges before processing.
  • Complimentary gift wrapping is optional and must be requested at checkout in our comments section.
  • The discount code: CYBERMONDAY should be entered in the voucher section upon checkout. If you do not enter the checkout code the discount will not be applied.
  • Free gift is added to orders totalling $50.00 before tax or shipping fees. Gift is our selection and is not refundable.
  • Discount code is good towards regulary priced products and will not be applied to the purchase of items on sale. Your order will be adjusted to reflect the correct amount before processing. Discount code is good on December 1, 2008 ONLY!