50 Things About Me You Probably Don't Need To Know...

I woke up this morning and it was freezing out, so as usual went to pour myself a cup of hot coffee to get myself moving except there was none. Frustrated and not even remotely excited about a run to the grocery store with my wrinkled jammies on and cookie crumbs stuck to the front of my shirt I make a mental list of a few things we need just in case....so this gets me thinking about lists in general. Lists are pretty helpful at work, the infamous grocery list (see above), don't forget the spelling lists in grade school so..why not a blog list about myself? Can't hurt..probably won't help...may make you laugh or see a little bit of yourself? I hope so! Well, here we go...
1. My hair color is naturally brown.

2. It is now whatever "natural color" is on the box on the shelf at Walmart.

3. I am a closet lover of Barry Manilow's music... (Remember Mandy?)

4. And, of course David Cassidy (I think I love you), Elton John and Neil Young (Harvest Moon)

5. I try to read as many books as I can.

6. I try to exercise, if you call racing through the grocery store, fighting through a herd of women at a JC Penney sale and running the sweeper on three household floors (including steps) exercise.

7. My first job was as a receptionist in a beauty shop.

8. I really need to spend more time in the beauty shop.

9. I once ran over a goose driving downtown near the ponds. Although I cried, I didn't report it...and years later I'm told it is a punishable crime...so I cried again and still don't think I've recovered.

10. My best friend dated my first boyfriend in high school.

11. We're still best friends, but neither of us is still dating him.

12. I annoy my friends with advice on medical issues/health, relationships, and the like. It helps to always have a listening ear and I get a lot of blog topic ideas.

13. A therapist would probably love me.

14. My father and step father died within two months of each other in 2005.

15. I will never completely recover nor will my life ever be the same. I am still coming to terms with this while everyone else has moved on.

16. I lost a piece of myself that year, forgot how to fall asleep without the television on because the feeling of being alone was as palpable as a pulse.

17. A therapist would probably love me.

18. Five years later and I am starting to heal. Healing feels good.

19. I love to take pictures.

20. I am horrible at taking pictures.

21. I love to crochet and sew. I figure I'm an old grannie at heart and yet I neither crochet or sew well. Case in point, my oldest took his varisty football jersey to the local cleaners who had a seamstress he paid to sew his nameplate on....lest I sew it crooked.

22. I am lucky enough to have a few really good friends.

23. One of them lives far away.

24. I miss her.

25. I love Victoria's Secret.

26. I only buy the Victoria's Secret perfume or wait to get it at Christmas or birthday as a gift.

27. I don't do justice to the "lingerie" as pictured in the catalog, even though after having four kids I finally can vouch for having boobs now.

28. My boobs sag and droop southward since I have had four kids. Thankful for the "push-ups" and I am not talking about the ice cream.

29. I love chocolate and wine.

30. Together or separate.

31. I once got so many parking tickets from the local university I was banned from parking on campus. Might have helped had I paid them.

32. I am a crybaby...cry on cue at movies, a good book, my daughter's essays, Mother's Day Cards, Father's Day Cards, birthday cards, weddings, funerals...well you get the idea.

33. I am not smarter than a 5th grader.. I've seen the show and I apparently am dumber every day.

34. We have over 300 channels on cable television. Can't get Internet unless you buy the "package".

35. I don't like television except for the occasional good movie...I'd rather read a book or sit outside in the sun and take a nap.

36. I can bake a really mean apple pie, can my own jelly, pickles, salsa, applesauce.

37. This usually indicates I have too much time on my hands.

38. My children are my happiness.

39. I would love to go to Italy.

40. I decided that after I saw Julia Roberts in the movie Eat, Pray, Love.

41. I can cook a turkey.

42. Would rather go to mom's and eat her turkey - it's always better when someone else cooks for you..not talking about Little Ceasars.

43. I do love to grow things...kids, flowers, shrubbery.

44. The kids are growing okay, flowers and shrubbery never made it.

45. We have three cats and a new puppy which we did not need since we are trying to sell our house; however, it was important to my daughter so I caved in.

46. Need my carpets cleaned BADLY (see 45).

47. I gave my oldest child the middle name "Patrick". He was born on St. Patrick's day and after 72 hours of grueling labor, a kind anesthesiologist put me out of my misery with this wonderful invention called an EPIDURAL....

48. I miss my father's voice every day.

49. Learning to live with loss is a part of my journey and has had a part in making me who I am today....Healing is a good thing and writing a blog has proven very therapeutic at times as well as a bit humorous.

50. A therapist would probably love me!


I wasn't sure if I had 50-things...probably could have kept going. The Internet is a vast sea of blogs and some are so well written and thought out they make me sit up and take stock. HOW do they share their experiences and write them with such clarity? I think you have to start within and build off of your own experiences....even a silly list like this one builds on the fact that I, like you, am an original and each of us as a story to tell....tell me yours?

Calcables News and Information for November 2010

Cal Manufacturing, Inc., or kindly referred to in the industry as "Calcables" decided to exhibit our cables at the Fabtech Expo in Atlanta, Georgia this November 2-4, 2010 among many others in the industry. I have spent the past couple of months reviewing the attendees and exhibitors which is wonderful. We are living in a tough economy and, as a small business in Vicksburg, Michigan, no one knows that better than Cal's. In every business, it becomes necessary to constantly "reinvent" the wheel, so to speak and evaluate products, services and how we present our business to potential clients.

We Look Forward to Seeing you at the Expo...please stop by our booth and meet with Brian Benson, our expert inside sales representative. Brian will have many cables and castings on hand for display as well as variable terminal ends and laminated shunts. We're also pleased to hand out some specialized key-chains with our 1-800 number, which is by the way, 1-888-272-5446 and our website URL...we're very excited to meet new faces, see some new technology and get to know many of you we already work with on a regular basis, a little bit better. Calcables values its clientele...we've been serving the same companies now for over 50-years...if you have weathered the many ups and downs of this economy with us...we're all here to stay!!!!

Speaking of the economy...something we all watch like the weather forecast and, like the weather forecast, when the economy calls for "rain", we're grimacing right along with you! Some thoughts from the Calcables perspective....

Striving to Thrive...Calcables working WITH you to ensure we both strive to thrive... We receive e-mails daily on SEO techniques (search engine optimization) and ways to improve the visibility of our business via our website. Big search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing are where we plaster our URL in the hopes that our ranking in the search engines climb. As we seek to do this for Calcables, why not also help those we build cables for? Bringing the spotlight onto your business is what keeps all of us working. I have always believed in "Reagonomics", but maybe that was just the era of the 1980's and endless hours of listening to my dad and grandfather debate about the state of affairs in our economical climates. My dad always liked Reagan and he made a good point which I have never forgotten and I think it should ring true in our times as well... Trickle Down Economics. Trickle down economics makes sense and I'm sure all of you are seasoned in economics to understand that what this means is that Blue Collar Jobs= Blue Collar Spending (i.e., automobiles, computers/electronics, clothing, entertainment...etc)=increase in supply and demand and then, like it says on the shampoo bottle, wash, rinse and repeat... when jobs are eliminated consumers halt spending or use credit (cash is king!) and in our current state of economy even businesses who have maintained good credit ratings have banks lowering their credit and diminishing our ability to purchase new tools and equipment for our businesses which drives the economy!!!

Well, I'm off my soapbox and back on theme here for this blog which is how we can help each other to strive to thrive in this economy...we are all in this together so small business needs to link hands and create one strong BIG voice for government and big business to make no mistake...small business is what drives the backbone of this economy!

That said...what can we do once our hands are linked? The resistance welding cable industry works with companies large and small, distributors and users alike. I am suggesting to many of the companies we work with to link our websites...driving traffic in an SEO fashion to all businesses in the resistance welding cable industry helps all of us thrive. At Calcables, we're not in business to "get rich", we simply wish to thrive which I define as very simply, making payroll every week, paying bills on time (keeping our loyal and steadfast suppliers in business), and socking a little in the savings account to spend on research and development of new technologies and practices to make welding cables State of the Art!

Keeping Our Promise... Cal Manufacturing, Inc., or Calcables as we are often called by industry insiders, delivers cables same day. We advertise to be the Red Cross of your resistance welding cable needs, delivering cables same day if needed and shipped to whatever location you request...we understand that keeping machines up and running is what drives this economy, keeps jobs stable and, if you're the distributor required to supply the cable, we're here to make you look good without exorbitant pricing.

How do we do this? We have a simple formula at Calcables...low overhead, a staff with a combination of over 50-years in the resistance welding cable industry and a management staff willing to roll up its sleeves whenever the need arises.

October 2010 was Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Calcables proudly stood in support of this cause. Calcables is woman-owned and woman-run and all of our staff (men and women alike) participated in education and awareness about breast cancer, The Susan G. Komen Foundation and research and preventative care to keep breast cancer statistics a thing of the past.

Writing a blog for Resistance Welding Cables is usually technical, but the economy is in the forefront of all of us... It is for this reason I felt it was important to reach out to all of you who view our website of products and services either as a new business considering our services or as a returning customer. Calcables is committed to not only its own survival in this economy but to those we work with or potentially could work with. We believe that our products and services all MADE IN THE USA and hand-made to meet the specifics of each order will guarantee that the businesses who order from us will be 100% satisfied or we'll give you your money back!! That's my promise and you can bank on it.

Social Media...No matter what business you are in these days, the social media is out there within your grasp! Calcables can be found on Facebook, Linked In, Twitter as well as Hub Pages and Google Blogger...yes, we're out there with you trying to get to know our global friends with a "virtual handshake" as it may be, yet nonetheless, we appreciate getting to know others better and meeting new people as well.

Have you met our newest staff member? Cheryl Benson is the step-daughter of the late Bill Morren for those of you who remember him. Bill had asked Cheryl back in 2005 prior to his death to step into his shoes and keep his dream alive and running..his dream was to see his small business employ 10-15 employees full time, offer benefits and pursue his ultimate goal of researching and developing new products and services. Bill was an optimist at heart, his glass always "half-full" and known for his warmth and straight forward personality. While he is missed to this day, nearly five years later. Cheryl is committed to her loyal staff at Cal Manufacturing, Inc., to creating new jobs and venturing into new products and services in the future.

Get to know Cheryl better...if you haven't done so already, create your profile and business profile on Facebook, Linked In and others...if you're unsure how to find me, my e-mail is calcables@aol.com and I'd be more than happy to assist you. Cheryl is also writing a blog for Working Mother Magazine...on how to manage and balance family and work, something we all do, I just have to make some time to talk about it!!

STOP IN AT THE EXPO...CAL MANUFACTURING IS BOOTH 7939...GRAB A KEY CHAIN, CHECK OUT OUR CABLES AND DON'T FORGET TO GRAB A BROCHURE AND TALK WITH BRIAN ABOUT ANY TECHNICAL QUESTIONS...

Signing off for November 2010...wishing all of you continued success and looking forward to getting to know you better.

Cheryl Benson
Cal Manufacturing, Inc
PO Box 180
5500 East "V" Avenue
Vicksburg, MI 49097
www.calmfginc.com




Now that you know our guarantee on quality, what about pricing and delivery? Pricing in the resistance welding cable industry is always challenging. As many in the industry know, we work with copper and copper is either way up or down....this volatility depends on the market and we are always at the mercy of the market. Calcables steadies itself and braces it's feet solidly in the ground to hold prices steady...we try to be the one "constant" thing you can count on in the marketplace. This is not the case in many materials, as these materials fluctuate in the marketplace price-wise, so do the price graphs that accompany many of our invoices. We want businesses to be able to count on us...so for now anyway, you have my word that our prices stay the same, we just try to work a little smarter, a little harder and our management rolls up its sleeves on a regular basis to push it's little small business whenever necessary. Back to the basics I believe they call this theory!!

Emily Dickinson - She Was Way Ahead of Her Time

In my opinion, Emily Dickinson was way ahead of her time. Born in 1830, she lead a relatively normal life until her 20's when a series of events forced her into seclusion where she wrote poetry most of which were never published until after her death. She wrote her poetry from a broken heart which was a catalyst to an outpouring of emotion whereby she penned what is said to be over 1,800 poems including this one:

I Shall Not Live In Vain....

If I can stop one heart from breaking,

I shall not live in vain;

If I can ease one life of the aching,

Or cool one pain,

Or help one fainting robin

Unto his nest again,

I shall not live in vain

Emily Dickinson (1830-1866)