The Casual Perfectionist

I need your opinion! Please take this survey!

Published on Monday, February 8, 2010 in Blog Business. Closed Tags: I need your opinion. No really. For Real., MLM, Research.

I am working on a project involving opinions about MLM companies, and I need your help!

What is an MLM?

Wiki has a great definition of what an MLM is.

It also has a list of different types of MLM companies.

Basically, MLM stands for Multi-Level Marketing and refers to a company that manufactures and sells products to an Independent Sales Force. That Independent Sales Force then sells the products directly to their client base. Those sales force members are also able to recruit other people onto their teams, and then those people sell directly to their own clients, and so on.

I am interested in gathering information from people who have experience in an MLM as a sales person and/or recruiter (either currently or in the past) and from people who have never been in an MLM.

Either way, I think you qualify to give your opinion!

I had fun putting the survey together, but building it was a bit like writing a Choose-Your-Own-Ending Book…only without someone dying in the end.

All of the answers I gather will be kept confidential and anonymous. (I won’t know who is telling me what; I’m only interested in the what…not the who.) All the information will be used for research purposes only. The survey is short and will only take a couple minutes to complete.

Will you help me? Pretty please, with a maraschino cherry on top?

Please click here to take my MLM Survey. Thanks!

The Pretzel Necklace

Published on Friday, February 5, 2010 in Claire, Parenting 101 and Photos. 2 Comments Tags: neat idea.

I just came up with a fun little snack idea, and I just thought I’d share!

All you need is butcher string and a bag of pretzels.

What you do:

Cut the butcher string to the proper preschooler necklace length. (I chose butcher string since it is being used with a food product.)

String on the pretzels.

And, that’s it!

This is a great way to have an afternoon snack…

…and Claire seems to like it, too.

Yes, I’ve hidden the “good pair” of scissors. No, you may not use them to open whatever that is.

Published on Thursday, February 4, 2010 in Claire, Hair and Photos. 6 Comments Tags: No you may not use them to cut burlap or twine or chicken bones or paper or cardboard or plastic blister-packs.

Claire got her first haircut when she was 25-months old. I did it in the kitchen with absolutely no training and a rather dull pair of scissors.

It worked, but I vowed from then on to either get a new pair of scissors or just let the professionals handle it.

When it was time for a trim, we found a professional salon that specialized in cutting little girls’ hair, and it was right next door to the photo studio we’d frequent…so it was perfect!

Until they closed.

Then, I found a new salon, farther from the photo place, but closer to our house, and they were okay…but I just wasn’t satisfied. Her bangs would be crooked or not quite right, but it was better than putting myself through the stress of having to cut hair with a dull pair of scissors. Right?

Well, Claire has decided that she wants to grow her hair long in the back, and last night, she asked if she could get her bangs trimmed.

Today I got a wild idea. I’d buy a “real” pair of hair cutting scissors and give it a try. How hard can it be? Well, I was amazed. Cutting her bangs was nerve-wracking at first, but I did it! The more I do it, the easier it will be.

Hair Cutting Session Feb 2010

When we were done, she requested her hair be put in a bun, and she topped off the look with one of her crowns.

Bangs

My “real” pair of hair cutting scissors officially paid for themselves today.

And, yes, I’ve hidden them. If I don’t hide them, they won’t be the “good pair” for long, now will they?

The Big Bad Wolf was framed!

Published on Wednesday, February 3, 2010 in Featured Elsewhere, Mile High Mamas and Product Reviews. Closed

Claire and I had a chance to check out a new storytime at The Children’s Museum of Denver!

Pop on over to Mile High Mamas and check it out!

Click here to see the review and a chance to WIN TICKETS to the Children's Museum of Denver!

By “gone” I mean “here,” and by “fishing” I mean “writing.”

Published on Tuesday, February 2, 2010 in Blog Business. 0 Comments

Picture the sign hanging on my computer monitor today:
Gone Fishing.

Posting may be light today, and my online presence may be a bit fleeting.

But don’t worry…I’ll be back in time to see the beginning of the end of LOST. I mean, a girl’s gotta have priorities.

I can totally see this on the dust-jacket of my book.

Published on Monday, February 1, 2010 in Blog Business, Books, Mile High Mamas and Photos. 5 Comments

A couple weeks ago, I got together with the Mile High Mamas gang for a night of pampering. It was an awesome Girls’ Night Out, and amidst the massages, facials, makeup, and hairstyling, our very own Mile High Mama, Aimee took headshots of us.

This is one where they were trying to get me "to smile for real this time." I smile for real when I see this one.

I love this one, too! And, I'm using it right now as my personal Facebook Photo.

…until I switch it again. I’m funny that way.

And, this one is my favorite. I put this one on the About Page, too. It looks like it could be on the dust-jacket of my book.

Have I mentioned I’m writing a book? Well, I am…and I’ll share more about that later. Seeing this photo inspires me to keep writing. Who knows where this photo will end up?

Not proper construction attire, but I love it.

Published on Sunday, January 31, 2010 in Claire and Photos. 5 Comments

On Sunday, I posted this status on Facebook and Twitter:

Claire is rockin’ a ballet bun and a princess dress while she’s constructing intricately designed Lego buildings & vehicles. I LOVE it!

And, I was asked for photos. Please don’t use these in your formal report to OSHA.

A close-up so we can see Princess Marion. Yes, Marion is a princess. Didn't you know?

A close-up so we can see Princess Marion. Yes, Marion (of Indiana Jones fame) is a princess. Didn't you know?

Backseat Drivers: A Self-Portrait

Published on Friday, January 29, 2010 in Claire, Fun and Photos. 0 Comments Tags: I'll never trust what I see in a photo again.

Wanna know what I love?

Taking random photos with Glenda.
Finding random photos on Glenda.
Making changes to those photos by making them look like water-color paintings.

A picture is worth 1,000 words, but these days, odds are some words were added or changed in the processing.

We have started a new chapter…literally.

Published on Thursday, January 28, 2010 in Featured Elsewhere and Mile High Mamas. Closed Tags: Featured Elsewhere, Mile High Mamas.

We’ve started a new chapter with Claire…literally.

Go read about it at Mile High Mamas today!

Click here to read about it at Mile High Mamas today!

Comments are closed here, but I’d love to hear from you over there! Go! Comment!

How do you say “nickel and dime” in French?

Published on Wednesday, January 27, 2010 in Ballet. 2 Comments

For the record, we love Claire’s Ballet School. We do. We also knew that when you choose an “extracurricular activity,” there will be some costs not presented (or fully itemized) up front. We also feel these costs are worth it.

Whether it be sports equipment or uniforms or whatnot, the benefit of the activity far outweighs the cost.

(And it’s the whatnot that will get you every time…)

She loves her school.
She really does.

And, that’s a good thing, because there are times when I feel like we’re being nickel & dimed.

Again, I mean no disrespect to the school.

Still…why tiptoe around some of these fees? We’d still participate in the school; I promise.

Case in point…

We picked up her packet for her participation in the End of Year Gala Celebration. Participation in this event is free. “There is no fee to be in this show.” I’m quoting a sentence out of the packet.

However, everyone needs a costume to participate in the Gala, and those are NOT free. Those, in fact, are far from free. (Granted, they are cheaper than other schools charge, but anything greater than ZERO is indeed a “fee.”)

Again, I love this school. In an effort to help the parents justify the cost of costumes, part of the costumes used in the Gala can be used in her regular classes. That’s awesome. That’s a good use of fundage. Those are nickels and dimes we would have been paying eventually anyway.

But, to say there is “no fee” on one page of the packet and then turn around and tell me the price I need to pay for the costume, in order for her to participate in the Gala, on another page leaves me a little bewildered.

I hate to break it to them, but if one of the requirements costs something, participation in the overall activity is not free.

Why not just say that? Or say it in French, at least. It would sound so pretty then.