Hi Friends! This is the video of Mason skiing from mid-mountain. We only did six or eight bunny-hill runs and he was ready to do the longer runs. I have to apologize for my winded commands but I was skiing with the camera holding both of my poles in the other hand trying to keep him from going over an edge. All in the day in the life of a mom! Enjoy

Not Much New Today!

Happy Monday!

This last week and weekend are simply a blur. I told you all about my initial sales, successes and the follow up has kept me busy, to say the least. Making things more difficult is a recurring computer issue I've had with my computer since the day I plugged it in for the very first time. It's been a maddening process, but more than one year later, HP has finally agreed to replace it with a new one. Who knows how long it will really take, but at least they've finally acknowledged that this one is defective!

Since I sent a Wednesday MM last week and my IW newsletter this morning, I'm going to just say make this week a productive one and make time to do something you really want to do! Also, please keep the votes coming at Startup Nation!

Truckee Work And Fun!

Oh my goodness, you would not believe the amazing week we had selling gloves in Truckee. UN-FLIPPING-BELIEVABLE! I have so much follow up to do in the coming weeks. I took a 72 piece (6-dozen pair) order at my first stop, Soda Springs, and it all snowballed from there. People are so excited, and only bummed that we didn't have stock to sell out of our car for the holiday weekend.

I put the new protos on Mason for a day of learning how to ski (he's a rock star, by the way!), and his hands stayed warm and dry all day. He wore them again the next day for sledding and they got wet inside due to the deep, new snow and the fact that he was in it, deep, for hours. When we got back to the house, I tossed them in the washer and dryer and they came out great. He put them back on (by himself at this point) and was back out in the snow for God knows how long. When he came in, we opened them up, left them on the table and within a few hours, they were dry (moist only from likely sweating)...unlike the rest of us with conventional gloves that were still wet inside from the day before.

All good news. I have so much work to do and the more I do, the more I realize I have to do! I want to take a moment to acknowledge my dear friend Tim who came through and secured our reservation for the big kids industry trade show in Las Vegas in September. The entrepreneurial adventure would not be happening if not for the love, support, and help of those who believe in us. Thank you! Off and running, again! But smiling really big!

Take a moment and look at some of our pictures from the weekend. Greg and Heather were fun, but their new baby Josh is just a happy little love-bug! Thanks for sharing your sweet boy with us!

Truckee Pictures

Mason's first ski lift ride

We went to the middle of the mountain after only 6 or 8 runs. Mason took to skiing very quickly and if I can figure out how to upload a video, I'll show you what he can do!

This was one of the 1/2 dozen bunny-hill runs.

Amie and Jose surprised us with a visit Friday night!

The best way to babysit a baby...sleeping! Or as Dave would say, "snoring."

One of many crashes!

Josh's first sledding trip.

Dave and I tubing

Mason entertaining Josh

Mason and Riley

Dave and Greg doing what Dave and Greg do!

Happy President's Day!

We are still in Truckee but planning to be home later today. I'll write another post this week with some pictures and an update on how our sales efforts went.

I hope you had a fun filled Valentines day and you have today off, too. Enjoy a long weekend doing whatever it is that makes you happy!

Happy Valentines Week!

Happy Winter!

Finally, it's raining and snowing. If Mother Nature is agreeable, we could see some snow here in Auburn today. If not, that's okay, it's raining and we sure need the water. We'll be heading to the Anderson's house in Truckee tomorrow and I can't tell you how excited we are. I'm always so grateful that I have friends who think enough of us to share their home away from home. This year I'm sure we'll make lots of time for snowballs, angels, and men but we'll also be working. Dave and I are planning to visit as many downtown and ski resort shops as we can to take glove orders. There's no time like the present and since the universe doesn't think I need a job working for someone else, I better get moving on building this business for myself!

Since we'll be in Truckee this week I'm planning to make our Valentines Day a fun filled day in the snow. We'll be making chocolate dipped marshmallows with the kids and after dinner, everyone will gather around a hot pot of melted chocolate to dip strawberries, pineapple, and bananas. Yum!

If you're not quite in the mood for love, check out my Intentional Winning blog for some quick, easy, inexpensive, and even free ideas to get you in the spirit. Wednesday I have a great little gift you can send family, friends, and coworkers right from your desk. Check it out, have fun and if you do, send me one! It's a new year and we're off to a great start! Let me be the first to send you my love! Happy Valentines Day!

What A Trip!

Before you forget, please click the "Vote For Us" button to your right. Thank you!

We went to Las Vegas and had more success than we could have ever imagined! Here is the picture of the ZipperBack Glove team to get this ball rolling. Alice, Mike, Mason, me, and Dave.

Our meeting with Saranac provided answers to our many questions and in a nutshell here is what we know. They love our product. They feel confident it will sell and believe in our ability to sell it. We made contacts with numerous buyers from all over the united states and the feedback was all amazing. Even a few who said they had no interest in a children's product, got excited when they saw the gloves. The quote that summed it all up for me was when Saranac said, "You have an amazing product. It's smart, innovative, and much needed. You have virtually no competition. There isn't a single reason why you shouldn't succeed."

Our fourth prototype is great. We will tweak it with finishing touches and be ready to go into production. We have orders with several retailers and will have inventory for sale via our website as early as September of this year! Pretty exciting, huh? Oh, and one of those orders is with Scheels in Sparks, NV. If you recall, Scheels was on my list of big retail stores I wanted to connect with from last Monday's motivator.

On another fun note, this is the tenth year I've been writing the Monday Motivator. Can you believe it's been that long? I'm sorry to say I don't have the original entries. I know I started writing the MM when Mike and I got our office space for Missing Link and that was March or April 1999. The early entries just might be on a backup disk somewhere, but I think they went away with my Missing Link e-mail and computer from the office. It's a happy anniversary nonetheless!

I hope you are feeling inspired and taking action on some of your great ideas and grand plans. It's amazing what you can do if you just do a little something everyday. Get to it, start!

More Pictures From Las Vegas

Mason was one of very few children in attendance at the show.

This alone made him the King of Swag!

The kind people of Zipfy gave him a mini luge.

Alice was the first to take the bull by the horns! Mike and I rode the bull as well but my hat's off to Alice for initiating the fun.

Look at mama's big Vegas hair! Yes, I am a child of the 80's!

Jimmy and Mary Ann drove up from Arizona to have dinner and spend a night out dancing with us. We had dinner at Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill. What fun!

I know this picture has a lighting issue, but I love the expression in my smile.
It really speaks to the fun we were having and how much I love my guy!

Yes, I love my guy, but what girl can resist a picture with a hunk-a hunk-a burnin' love like Toby Keith?