Our business

Clearview Cleaning and Lawns has been in business for 6 months now and we have seen our share of things.

Like I mentioned earlier, we slowed down big time, but as soon as we both went back to work, the phone hasn't stopped ringing.

We have a nice customer base and we keep getting referrals from our customers. Word of mouth is the cheapest form of advertisement.

I think we have really seen all that we possibly can see. When we first got the magnets for the truck, a lady pulled beside us and asked for a card. We hadn't heard anything from her for months and then all of the sudden, I am there every Saturday helping her clean her house. Lovely lady, but she is a hoarder and there is a lot to clean. She pays well and is a blessing to be around. So, I can't complain.

We have picked up a few house keeping jobs too. I prefer the house cleaning jobs. And if we get 10 more cleaning jobs, I can quit Duracell! So, anyone locally, if you know of anyone at all, let them know about us. We start at $65 - $75 for cleaning houses, we do it all, wipe the top of the doors to the top of the showers, change sheets and make beds too. Clean windows and stoves if need be. Vacuum, mop and dust everything too.

There was one week that we were double booked several days. Chuck would be one place and I would have to be at another. Not bad, a little hard, but it pays off in the long run.

So, while I have been at work with Duracell, Chuck has been taking over the business part of it. He had to hire someone 2 days last week because it was work that he couldn't do alone. That is fine with me, he needed the help and I couldn't be there. However, when it came to Scott's Furniture store windows, he had to do that alone. And that is a huge job, 48 windows, 84x63, inside and out!

We are hoping that next year we grow more. We reached a goal this year that we didn't expect to reach.

Finding work

Finding a job has been very hard on me. Considering that I have applied to about 100 places, and no one wants me makes it even harder. I was getting very depressed for a period there, life was getting to me.

Our business slowed down considerably during the summer. We didn't take into consideration the vacation time. So, that is when we came to a halt! But it has picked up and picked up nicely. And, of course, when Chuck went back to Pizza Hut part time in Dalton, and I found a job, the phone hasn't stopped ringing.

I have found a job, I started at Duracell, through a Staffing Agency, last week. In a nutshell, I hate it. I hate factory work, I hate the work, I hate the job. What else can I say? I don't see the glamour in the job. People look at me and tell me how lucky I am that I got on at Duracell. I don't see it. I was hired through an agency and I don't get the starting pay that Duracell offers for the entry level position, not even close. But it is a job and it will help with the bills.

I have found that if I make a list of prayer requests and needs, I stand there in front of the conveyor belt and I pray. On my break, I go over my list, I see who I have already prayed for and who is left. It makes my day go by faster and it makes it a little more tolerable. Not much, but some.

I had an interview with Jones Mgmt last week. I will find something out Tuesday if I have this job or not. Pay is a bit better, but they bonus every month, that is nice. It is an internet lending job. Basically it is a pay day advance over the computer.

Chuck put it nicely today, Jones Mgmt job take advantage of people in bad circumstances, CFA staffing, the people that put me with Duracell, takes advantage of people in bad circumstances.

The Jones Mgmt job has crummy hours, 11-8 and every other Saturday 10-2. I don't like the hours, I would miss my family, but it gives me the chance to get into interviews in the morning and not after 4pm.

The Duracell hours are 7 -3:30, I can't complain, I am up anyways. But by the time I get home, my body hurts. I get up every morning thanking God for a job to go to, for something that He has provided for the time being. But it is something that I just am not cut out for.

School Starting

School started Aug 12th for the boys. WOW! Summer flew by and before I knew it, I was buying school clothes and supplies again.

Taking Eric to 8th grade orientation was just a shock to my old system. Where has the time gone to? What happened to my sweet little boy that would grab the step stool to help make brownies? Well, he is now taller than me, and it seems that I am the one that needs the step stool more than he does.

PJ walked to his last first day of elementary school with his best friend, Leo. So, I missed out on that too. Once again, time flew by. It seems like just yesterday that I was putting him in Kindergarten. But after 9 years of elementary school, we are ready for the next step. Check with me next year, when I am putting one in high school and the other in middle school.

So far, so good with school. Eric still remains on medicine to help with his ADD/ADHD. Thank goodness for a Dr that knew what to do and for a medicine to help him succeed in school.

Eric is very much interested in Forensics and is looking forward to the Crimnal Justice classes at the high school. He is leaning more and more towards UT in Knoxville to work at that Body Farm. You look it up!

PJ is doing better in school. Of course all of that comes after a very long and very nice talk with his teacher about PJ's talking and lack of effort. And then the teacher had to have his gall bladder removed and has been out for 2 1/2 weeks. School just started! HA HA HA !

Our day starts when Eric's alarm goes off at 5:45 and ends somewhere around 11. It makes for a very long day, but such is life.

I am so behind

Gosh, I don't even know where to start. I have to blog because I have left you all out of the loop on life itself. Plus, I have been without my computer for weeks and I forgot my password!

So, bit by bit I will catch you all up on life and how it has been going. So, hold on, I will blog today.