Honey Do's Do Distract
This time of year it is even more difficult to stay on task in growing your business. There are already many tasks on my personal list that I need to get done during the course of a day. But just as I think I am catching up and will be able to work on my WA training, I hear the sweet voice of my wife: "Honey, would you........", and my list of things to do just got longer.
But the house smells so wonderful from all her baking, how can I refuse!
The cooling rack pictured above contains just 6 of the 72 small fruit cakes she is making to give to friends and neighbors. Hopefully a few extras that I can sample. They are packed full of healthy nuts and dried fruits and she uses whole wheat flour and unrefined sugar as well. You can not buy a fruit cake this good anywhere, so her friends look forward to it each year. Another dozen ready to go in the picture below.
And in the following picture is the Angel busy at work bagging and decorating the gift bags.
So, how does all her productivity in the kitchen keep me from staying on task??
Well, we took a day off Tuesday to drive to Las Vegas and deliver about 14 of these cakes in person to friends there. We had pleasant visits but not something we do on a regular basis, so I lost a day of work there.
Another "honey do" is the making of boxes to ship another dozen or so cakes in. I have tried in the past to use the priority boxes at the post office for this but they are just not the right size. Either too big to add extra postage, or too small to keep from turning the cakes into a cookie shape. So, my job was to design boxes for single cakes as well as larger ones for the 2-cake recipients. That created the need for a pattern to start with.
Here are my pattern designs, with room to spare for bubble-wrap or other packing materials.
And, the resultant double cake boxes and single cake boxes, cut from larger boxes using the patterns, and hot glued on the corner tabs.
So, What else to distract from the WA work?? A half day lost going to Bullhead City, about a half hour drive each way, to get more cooking ingredients at Sam's Club. I actually prefer Costco for that but the closest one of those is an hour and a half drive, so we opted to go to Bullhead. A beautiful drive through Golden Valley, over the mountain, and down to the riverside (Colorado River). The reward was we got to stop on the way back for lunch at our favorite Pizza place in Golden Valley: Great American Pizza & Subs. A very patriotic place where we feel welcome and safe during all this chaos; and they always give free drinks to Veterans and company.
We had called ahead and placed our order so our lunch was ready and hot when we got there. I took a picture of just one of the walls in there, reminding us of what it used to be like in America before all the nonsense started.
The end result of my "honey do's" this week is this post, so it wasn't a total distraction from my work; just didn't get to my training.
The important thing to remember as you work through WA is that the training and the work will always be here. Friends and family will not. Make sure, especially at this time of year, that you don't neglect friends and family for the sake of accomplishing goals you have set. If you can do both then by all means do so, but don't get upset by taking a little time off to help and comfort others.
Enjoy your Holiday season as you move foreward with WA.
Archie
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Those do look delicious! Also looks like quite a lot of work goes into it all (both by you and your wife).
I am sure those who receive them are grateful for both the gift and even more so for the care you and her put into making them and getting them delivered.
The Honey Do's do add up...
My lovely wife loves them too. Sometimes I feel like when I get in the truck to run a load (and work) that is the only time I get a break!
Of course, I am joking ( in part ; )
That little restaurant looks like a wonderful place, and thankfully they are not alone. We have many businesses similar to that in this area including a barbershop that supports our military and police and has insignias, badges, and related stuff all over their walls - along with our flag.
Have a great day today, and hopefully get some rest and relaxation in too.
Best regards,
L.D. Sewell
Thank you, L.D. My wife looks as forward to making those every year as the recipients do to receiving them. The list, however, gets longer each time. She stopped at 108 fruit cakes this year and that only left 2 for us to eat.
So happy to know there are other patriotic businesses operating that believe in the values this country was founded upon.
Have an Awesome week leading up to a Merry Christmas.
Archie
Clever idea for creating the right size boxes for shipping your fruit cakes. My grandmother used to make fruit cakes for Christmas but no one in our immediate family liked them. We always wondered, who would want a fruit cake for Christmas? I'm sure your wife's are quite tasty though.
I will have to try that Pizza place in Bullhead City. I often take drives there to get away from Las Vegas. I also like going to Oatman to pet the burros and take photos.
Yes, Oatman is an interesting place, JarieLyn. I take fruit gummies for the burros and they love them.
The Great American Pizza is along Rte. 68 about half way through Golden Valley. Only open Thurs through Sun 11am - 7pm
You brought back memories of my childhood when my mother made fruit cakes every year. When hers were all baked, she made a heated sauce with fruit juices and rum, and poured it over the cakes. Then they had to set for a while. Seems like it might have been as long as two weeks! When the cakes were ready, though, they were unforgettable.
Yes, Fran, wrapped in cheesecloth that is soaked in rum is also a delicious way to preserve them.
Archie
That's the beauty of our business - we can take off when we need to and our sites just keep humming along on their own. Affiliate marketing can mean the freedom to take off and enjoy the holidays, spend time with your family, stop and smell the roses.
Savor those Honey Do moments. They can be special times of creating beautiful memories that touch not only your family but all the lucky recipients of those delicious fruitcakes! (My husband loves fruitcake.)
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Glad you were able to make the most of the Christmas season! My wife always makes a lot of treat boxes too although not delicious little cakes like that!
It's true that spousal obligations can cut into our time we would prefer to be working, my wife helps me with WA stuff now but that means that a lot of other things have to take a backseat, the good news is that people like working on WA and building their own businesses so much its hard to stop to do anything else. Unlike regular jobs where most people cannot wait to leave!
For sure, Jeremy, it is no fun working 8 hours a day at a job you don't like. Much better doing what you enjoy and on your own time schedule.
You are still a young family and can enjoy building something together with WA that will grow and support you for a lifetime. Then pass on to your children.
Don't let anyone talk you out of your dreams!
Archie