*Picture's Worth A Thousand Words*

It was a place alive 

~with Christmas lights~ decorations~ customers~ and good times~

  

There were cookies and laughter, camaraderie, and

talk of future plans.  There were goals

to be met and each day promised new hope.

  

Now it sits silent and empty.

Beautiful faces of customers lined the walls 

and work was exciting, fun and productive back then.

Now faces are torn away leaving tattered empty gray walls without purpose. 

*Goodbye Sears*

I Come Broken to be Mended

This is a long ramble just to warn you ..  feel free to skip this post if you don’t have time for a rambling fool haha

You may be one of those people who look back on their lives and say, 

"I would not change a thing about my past because it made me who I am today"   

Well, I'm not one of those people, and let me tell you why...  

There is so much I'd change if there was a waving of a magic wand and  

~Pooffff~ 

a second chance 

Not that I don't love my life now, or who I am....  because I'm perfectly happy with my life. 

But all of who I am today is because of God's mercy and His grace. 

 Not anything I've done or deserved.  

I can trace every anxiety, stress, illness, poor situation or life fail 

back to a decision I have made at one time or another.  

Our local Sears is closing.  I guess most know that already.  It is sad to walk into where 

I once worked and spent so much of my time, and witness

the debris and destruction of what was once a thriving

business.  

I recall my first days of working there, how excited I was to be a 'secretary' (and later, Hearing Instrument Specialist) and out of the back-breaking job of sweat-shop work.

Dress you're best and be kind and friendly to customers.  That was my forward thinking and a really big change would take place in my personality as I left my introverted self behind and fought my inner shyness to become outgoing and personable.  I felt important and useful and like I was growing as a person.

This is a problem to satan.  When he knows God's people are thriving or growing for good, he will slither in unawares and steal your joy.  he did that with me.  he convinced my husband at the time that  my change was for the bad.  he worked with co-workers to entice me and to make me believe that my husband was bad for not trusting the extremely faithful me.  he worked with me to free me from the bondage of a jealous husband who had no foundation to believe the lies he was believing.

It was all a recipe for disaster.  A divorce followed.  A falling away from everything that I believed to be right and true and good followed.  

But a wonderful growth and closer relationship with God followed as well 

NOT because of anything that I did...  

but because of the MERCY and GRACE 

God gave me following my mistakes.  

I suffered.  I hurt.  I cried.  

I felt as though my world was crashing in on me.  I felt alone and afraid.  

I remember crying through Church on many an occasion.  

I was broken.  But I did not understand why.  So I prayed wholeheartedly

that God would help me through the loneliness and despair. 

I never gave up asking God to help me.   

I fell to my knees over and over again asking God to forgive me and change the direction of my life.  I talked to God about each of my bad decisions and was humble before Him, confessing and asking forgiveness.  I did this for years and years, saddened by the mess I made of my life and the many lives of those I loved.  To look at me, my life did not look like a mess at all.  It looked pretty great!

  But divorce is messy.  It hurts many and changes everything.

  But the mess was not an outward mess, it was inside - in my heart.  You see, when God's people make bad choices it grieves their hearts..  and if it doesn't ...  then His chastisement will lead to a grieving heart.  It's how God works.  I've read that he does chastise those He loves, and that's how I know He does love me.  Otherwise, He would have left me to continue in my self-destruction.  

Eventually, He led me to a much better place!  He gave me strength and wisdom to work hard to become more independent and strong as a working woman.  He provided me a much better position  and eventually gave me a business of my own.  I found love again and a future.  I cannot take credit for any of this, nor can I give the credit to anyone else.  It was God.  All things good come from Him.  

I am so very thankful that (even now) when things seem hopeless and life's choices seem to have brought me to a life questioned, I look to Him and He shows me how I need to act/react, change, respond, make decisions, etc.  He reminds me, feelings are not facts.  Sometimes I need to tuck my feelings deeply away and go through the motions of life.  Do what is right, even when it does not feel right.  One day at a time.

And when I have no one left who I can count on,  I have God.  

He's here now, and always has been.  Even when I veered away from him.  

He watched silently and sadly, allowing me to go through some storms

 and knowing exactly when to bring reprieve.

As hard as I try, I cannot say that I like chastisement.  So... yea...
If I had a second chance, I'd make better choices.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!  

lots of good memories there...  

me at my desk back then....

"I come broken to be mended

I come wounded to be healed

I come desparate to be rescued

I come empty to be filled

I come guilty to be pardoned

By the blood of Christ the Lamb

And I'm welcomed with open arms

Praise God, Just as I am."

Me at my...  wait... this is my office, but where's my desk?

Where's Gracie?

March looks busy.  I'm tired already.

Our appointment book is filling up fast and we

 made 2 sales already today.  

Next weekend we spring forward.  I love this time of year!  

We have a hearing Expo in Gettysburg Pa. 

to attend this month.

My daughter Lindsey (Rissi and Summer's mommy) is getting married on the 18th to Robby (Rissi and Summer's daddy).  It's about time!  

We have TV advertising that starts this month and several newspaper ads.  Gary has done interviews on talk radio that will air this month. 

In the hearing aid business, March usually proves to be a good month for sales.  But then again, our February was fantastic!

  

Today I worked on our web page.  I like to keep it up to date... because believe it or not, a lot of people go there.  What do you think of my newsletter for March?  

Gracie has been mysteriously disappearing at night.  She starts out sleeping with us in bed, but then she's gone.  I'll get up and look around to find her little white legs sticking out from underneath the bottom of the bed.  Then after a while, she'll try to get back up on the bed but she is afraid to jump up.  She'll whine and go out the door and try to get a running start.  But when she reaches the bed she stops and whines.  At first, I'd get up and pick her up and put her into bed with us.  But then it was happening 3 and 4 times a night and I'm thinking...  what is wrong with me?  Gary brought her a comfy doggie bed.  I laughed.  "A new toy box?" I said.  (That's what the others are used for).  But to our surprise, Gracie has been using her bed during the night.  She wanders at night.... and it makes me sad to think she's getting older and maybe isn't feeling quite as well as she used to...

Busy

We continue to be busy in our new business.  I'm loving my job and each day is a new challenge.  Word is getting out.  People know we're here... and that's half the battle.

 Today we attended a Senior Expo at the Mall.

In planing for our very first trade show/expo appearance, I ordered hundreds of pens with our business info on.  Unfortunately two weeks after I placed the order, the pens had still not arrived.  "We'll make do without them," I said.

But just as everything else has worked out in this whole business endeavor...  the UPS truck pulled up to our door yesterday and guess what?  

Yep, you got it....

We had pens!!  

Since we're just starting out, we didn't have a professional trade show set up, so we had to improvise.  We had our video otoscope to show peeps what the insides of their ears look like.    There was candy, business cards, magnets... well.. you get the picture.  And speaking of pictures...

In other news...  the ants have returned and they mean business!  Gary insisted I put ant traps in corners where they were coming in.  I hesitate...  because I'm afraid Gracie will find them.  But I was careful and put a chair in front of them.  

"Gracie," I said.  "I have to go back to work.  Now you stay away from the ant traps!!"  

We shook on it.

But when I came back over, she showed signs of being interested in where they were...  So I took them up, then I sprayed the parameter with lysol.  It used to work for me..  Don't ask.  

Afterwards I caught a stray ant lugging a chunk of poison back to its home.  It seemed disoriented and kept going in circles, so I ended its miserable life. 

Dear Diary,

Note to self:  Don't puke in front of mom just minutes before dinner.  There's nothing like hearing 'oh gracie...  you poor thing...  you're sick...  I'll not feed you tonight so your tummy will feel better.'  Yea.  That'll work, Mom.  I feel better already.  Gracie.

Rambling

The week's winding down, and I still have to pinch myself before I head out the door in the morning to go to work.  I'm heading next door and I'm my own boss.  Someone once said that owning your own business was a lot more work.  No truer words were ever spoken!  I'm exhausted at the end of a day.  But I've never been happier with a job!!  

Do you remember the post I did on my middle son, Justin?  Well, Justin is working in the movie theatre now, selling popcorn and movie tickets.  He's proud to be working... but even more proud that he was able to get his family in to see Cars 2 Free!  He treated Rissa and Jake with free popcorn, huge soda's and candy of their choice.  Little noses were pressed against the candy counter and Justin kept saying, 'pick out whatever you want.. anything at all.  I'm buying'.  There were a few mishaps...  like when Jackie (son #1) handed Lindsey (daughter) the huge coke and the lid wasn't on tight - coke spilled out all over Lindsey and Rissa who was standing right beneath the coke.  Ick.  The kids were a little restless in the movie..  It was hard for them to follow... not as good as the first Cars.  But we didn't tell Justin - I don't think I've seen him that happy in a long time.  Then Rissa and Jake were running and playing after the movie outside of the theatre and Rissa fell and skinned her knee.  She screamed a blood curdling scream and  Justin came running out to make sure she was ok.  She was.  She just needed a band aid.  

Jess (DIL) and Justin (#2 son)

Rissa and Jake

Jake was so worried about her.  He kept asking her if she was ok - she screamed 'no!  get away!!!'  and he said, 'Rissi, let me blow it for you...'  So cute!!

Dear Diary,

I sniffed out Mom's Peanut M&M stash... they were hidden in a basket right by her chair.  I barked.  I nudged.  I barked some more.  Dad said, 'What is she barking at?'  Mom said, 'I don't know.'  (but she did)  Then Mom took me aside, put my face in her hands and got real close.  'Thanks for getting me in trouble,' she said.  (She's supposed to be on a diet)  And so I'M to blame that she is sneaking M&M's???   No surprise there.  Gracie.

Winding Down

This week I'm winding down.  Cleaning out my offices.  

The Testing Room

I'm slowly pulling down photos, special signs, all things that say 'bobbi and gary work here'...

The reception area

  When I first worked here, this was my desk (above).

The repair / work room

  This (above) is where I did a lot of my own 

marketing and paperwork.  

When I tell people I'm leaving Miracle Ear to open my own business, many of my friends are saying "I thought Miracle Ear was your business."  LOL.  No, it wasn't.. though sometimes I felt like it was.  

Thursday is my last day.  It will be sad.  A little scary...  But a new beginning.

Here's To June the 1st

Okay, faithful readers.  Yes, I'm talking about those of you who followed my boring job history through the years and up to this point in "Women and Work".

 You might remember that my dream of the perfect life was that I not have to work, but that I could be a stay at home housewife and mom.  Well...  that didn't happen so I just had to make the best of it.

One of the most valuable lessons my mom and dad taught me,  was to work hard and never burn bridges.  Dad was  an electrician at a brick yard.  He helped our neighbors and friends out by doing their electrical work for free when he wasn't working at his real job and yes, we were always poor.  Mom had seven kids and worked in a sewing factory.  The cereal we had for supper some nights wasn't only because we were poor...  but because she was dog tired at the end of the day as well.

 It doesn't matter what you do in life...  whether you flip burgers or are president of a country...  there's a place for everyone...  and everyone is needed.  

Ecclesiastes 9:10  Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.  

I've been unhappy in my job for quite some time now... for   several reasons. (yes, you can read about my ranting there...)

Finally In September of last year I decided to do something about it.   I mentioned it in this blog remember?

Amidst the doubt that crept in on occasion, (I am 56 years old - I should be thinking of retiring, not starting a business), God reminded me of Sarah who conceived and gave birth though she was up in years...  glad I'm not Sarah **Yikes!**  but what I'm getting at is - Age is just a number.  

So without further ado, I'd like to introduce to you....

All About Hearing, LLC

It's not been easy, holding down one job while working on starting a home based business.  There's been a lot of red tape,  licenses, tax stuff, creating accounts with suppliers, getting inventory into the office, and just plain hard work.  But since Gary has been feeling  much better, we've been able to work as a team on this and our plan has finally came to fruition.

The hardest part:  Telling my boss I was leaving.  He offered me complete control of Miracle Ear - advertising, pricing etc.  if I stayed.    He even said he'd reimburse me the money I have already put into my new business.  Basically, he offered me the world.  I hated being faced with this decision.  I was hoping he'd show me the door immediately, the way he does with most other specialists when they decide to venture out on their own as his competitor.

Should I stay at a safe job where I'm pretty much my own boss and guaranteed to make $50,000 + a year OR should I continue with plans for my own business with no guarantees?

To make a long story short...  I decided to take the leap of faith.  But I did tell my boss I'd stay on at Miracle Ear for another month yet, to give him more time to decide what he wants to do with the store.

All About Hearing's Grand opening will have to wait another month.  But... of course I couldn't leave you hanging.  So I thought I'd share what we've done so far.  Enjoy!

Rissie sits on what used to be a doorway to the  kitchen, bedroom, bath and laundry room in our adjoining apartment... the one we turned into our office.

This is that same doorway... now shelves and a wall that separates the other part of the apartment from the reception area.

The reception area.  Don't mind the junk piled on the left.  Still working on it.  These chairs we got at a church closing sale.  The flowers, a yard sale.  The table, Gary made in shop when he was in high school.

My desk and work area.  Once again, we're still working on things.  Excuse any mess.

Testing Room.  The audiometer was purchased on Ebay for just $2,300.  It was only used 2X. It's Like new!!  

Lab Coat

Is the ear too tacky?  

Our house is a double house.  This was once an apartment and we rented it to a sweet elderly lady.  When she moved out, we kept it for visiting relatives.  We turned 1/2 of this apartment into our office and the other half is an efficiency apartment which can be entered through the adjoined garage and through the laundry room.  I'll show you that another time.

Some of our inventory

Important signage

The ad that will run in the phone book.

Business Card

Now all we need are customers!






We're looking at a July 6 Grand Opening.  We'll be selling mostly Siemens Hearing aids since Siemens is the same manufacturer of the hearing aids I sell now.

Thank you, my friends... you've made this venture even more exciting for me and I appreciate all of your kindness, love, prayers, and positive thoughts. 

Double Stuff Cookies for Dogs

When my kids were young each one of them had  chicken pox at different times.  Each of them were given a chicken pox party, complete with cake, ice cream and gifts as well.  It's the least I could do to lift their spirits at an itchy, scratchy, difficult time.   Gracie's flea trauma was no different.  

Her package arrived yesterday from Three Dog Bakery.  She keeps dragging her peanut butter chew bone from room to room hiding it, then digging it out from under pillows and hiding it again.  I'm not sure if she likes it, or if she's just trying to get rid of it.

Double stuff cookies for dogs. Gracie likes!

Today it was up early for a business meeting in Hagerstown.  My boss and me think so differently about how my office should be run.  Errrrrrr.  

 But he's my boss.     

I wish this guy was my boss.  He'd listen to my ideas.  He'd probably even give me a huge raise.  He'd never argue with me or put me in my place.  He'd just sit there and quietly agree.  

Oh well.  Enough of my bellyaching... 

Went to see 'Unstoppable', a real nail-biter.  I liked it, and gave it a 7 on a scale of 1 to 10.  That's pretty good for me, and especially since I took a 5 minute catnap before the action started. 

Other than that... not much to report.

Anybody Else Doodle?

Before I worked at my present job, I was a CNA/GNA in a nursing home.  Many see this as a dirty and disgusting job. For me it was an opportunity to help older people in their last days.    This was by far one of the most rewarding jobs I've ever had.  I wasn't there too long... but oh, how I was blessed.  

  One night when I came in for my 6PM - 7AM shift, I was advised by one of the nurses 

'jim won't eat unless you feed him....  we can't be doing this here... there's too many residents and blah, blah, blah etc.'  I got the picture.  

I love old people.  Or at least I did.  Until I became burned out.  

The Old Geezer talks about burnout on his blog and I realized that I SURE AM>

Anybody else doodle?  Oh, this is nothing.  Doodle pad's are a big part of my office expense.  

It's not the nice people that have caused my burnout.  And it's not the honest ones.  It's the ones who come in after ten years and complain 'these hearing aids have never worked'> yet they did not come in for the entire ten years to have their free checkup, or 'i just took it out of my ear and it fell apart... it's junk' when obviously it was stepped on.

Doodling has become a nervous habit for me.  

When I talk to the disgruntled customers (the burn-out causers)  , I refer them to the many happy ones.  The ones who I love... who have become my friends.

I don't only fit hearing aids.  I listen to stories, talk about hip replacements, laugh at silly jokes, and wipe away tears.  

I don't like burnout, but I'm praying about it. 

Dear Diary,

No bugs but itchy skin.  Mom vacuums every single night and I hate the sound.  She yells at me if I lay down in the grass.  Whatever.  

Gracie.