3 posts tagged “home business”
We've now set up a shopping blog that focuses on our home business. Most websites now have blogs so, we thought it was a good idea. The blog is called, OurShoppingBlog.com and you can learn about products that we like from our website. Of course, I plan to talk about useful things and not junk that no one needs or wants. There may be an occasion when I talk about something I like such as a handbag or a piece of jewelry. You can be assured that most of my features will likely be bargains. We really want to serve a purpose to the online shopping community and not just sell them something.
I hope everyone has a great holiday weekend!
I wonder what it would be like to live in a world where oneself and one’s stuff weren’t the subject of every conversation. As my husband, Dave, has often expressed, “What would it be like to sit down and share ideas, difficulties, and triumphs and not just surface-y subjects and events?”
It’s not too often that I cross paths with someone who is content with where they are at and living for what is right in front of them. It seems a lot of people are living for something unnamed—a fleeting happiness that, unlike the dust that coats their things, never settles. Many choose to spend their days running to and from, stressing, and wondering how they’ll manage the next payment for this thing or that thing. The short-lived euphoria of materialism always seems to get in the way of everlasting peace. There is a perpetual compulsion toward what we think we deserve and as a result, living in peace with each other is lost to an insufficient and un-manageable life. One’s desires and objects control them rather than satisfy them, causing fret, worry, and unsettlement that follows them throughout most of their lives.
By frankly expressing my viewpoint, I am not suggesting that I am without weakness and that I hold the almighty answers to long-life happiness. As of late, I’ve been stumbling down a hill of difficulties that have snowballed and left me hanging in mid-air. Like anyone else who succumbs to feelings of deserving more or better, I’ve been strumming the strings of discontentment. I sometimes become vulnerable to some other standard than my own that suggests I should not be content with where I am. I don’t think I should get or deserve more than what I have, but I often feel panicked by something other than what I value in life.
Not many people in my or Dave’s shoes would be happy, I’m sure. We currently have no steady income coming in. We are facing an uncertain future with a home business we have not yet launched. Not many people would take the risk that we’re taking to begin with. We’re 35. Unfortunately, for our age, we’ve not been in the best health. We live in a one-bedroom apartment in Chicago, and would like children but have not yet been able to conceive. We drive a ’91 Volkswagon Jetta, when we need to. Though what we have isn’t always reliable, the best, or most beautiful in comparison to what a lot of young people our age and younger have, we own what we have and what we have serves us as we need it. Perhaps our philosophy is too idealistic—at one time, we could have afforded more. However, we mutually agree that if we don’t need it or can’t afford it, then we aren’t getting it. Of course, for the average person that’s is impossible, ridiculous, and easier said than done.
The truth is that as long as we are alive and on this planet, there will be a never-ending stream of things to want. But where and when does it stop? The idea of getting more to most people gives one something to look forward to. Buying and getting things makes life more fun and exciting, and it helps gloss over an often bummer reality. Material things seem to give so many lives meaning with or without the means to obtain them.
If there was one thing I could have right now, if we could afford it, it would be a nice relaxing vacation where it’s warm!!! More than money I value both my health and Dave’s because it hasn’t been good for either of us for quite some time. I’d like to have at least one child. My mom has been saving a ton of clothes for the day when I will be a mother. I don’t care about where Dave and I live as long as we are together. I enjoy every moment that Dave and I have together. This is my contentment.
I’m not sure if I’m suffering from some sort of burnout or what, but I’ve been under the weather lately. My vertigo is off and my neck is full of knots. I hate that because I’ve got writing I want to be doing and research to do for the home business and I’m just not feelin’ up to par. Anyway, Dave stopped by the grocery yesterday to get me some Tylenol and these:
You can IMAGINE my elation! Dave knows how much I like rabbits. I have such a thoughtful husband and he always knows what will cheer me up when I’m not feeling so good.
Anyway, my body and my motivation are in a dual right now. Mentally, I’m very motivated, but my body is protesting. Those of you who may wonder about my background should know that I am mainly a writer at heart. But more than that I enjoy listening and responding to people. I like to be helpful when I can. I spent a lot of time in college on track for a PhD in literature but got so disgusted by the ‘other world’ everyone in my field seemed to live in, that I finished my M.A. and said the hell with the rest. After graduating from college, I spent a little time trying to figure out what I was supposed to do back in pig country (southeastern Indiana) with an advanced degree in English. At a loss for an answer I went to South Korea for a year and taught English. Yes, I knew no Korean but I taught conversational English to children and adults.
After my year in Korea I returned to the U.S. and was once again uncertain. I figured I wanted another cultural experience and so I took a job in Istanbul, Turkey. My first job there was working in a global logistics company. The company owner figured he needed to improve his English speaking skills. So, he wanted a tutor. The problem was that clients from all over were perpetually entering and exiting the company’s doors, and there was virtually no time for learning English. Unfortunately, after three months and still no work visa, that position flopped and I took a job at a local university. My main responsibility there was to help high school graduates pass English competency exams. Many of them could speak excellent English, but they couldn’t pass the exams.
There are a lot of details within those experiences—including the death of my grandparents while I was in Korea, 9/11 and two piggish Turkish boyfriends while in Istanbul. However, I will spare everyone the long heart-wrenching details. Both experiences with all their difficulties were life changing and I’m glad I did it. I’ve always thought other cultures to be fascinating. I learned a lot about myself and how really we’re all very similar no matter where we live.
Currently, I am at home and helping Dave build our home business. It’s a leap of faith. Once things are ready to roll, I’ll fill everyone in on the details.
