Give a little bit each day

It's not easy to give anymore. I always thought that when one wanted to give, it meant that the recipient would be excited to be getting something. That is not the case anymore. For the most part, I've encountered some truly awesome people, mostly women. Why this industry is dominated by women, I have yet to determine. But basically, I have discovered either people are very excited to receive treats as a donation or they have a long process of applications and paperwork to accept a gift of treats. It is bizarre. I've offered donations of treats to organizations to benefit many animal welfare groups. I believe that all the non-profit groups have accepted the offer. The people that have the long process and the "cut-off" of donations are usually promoting their own businesses. So these small business owners are actually the ones that are putting up the wall, setting limits on whose products they will accept for their events. At first I was confused by it but now, after a nice long restful night of sleep, the answer is fairly clear. Businesses that are selling products must be very careful who goes into their "goodie bags." The reason why they have these events is to promote their own products or the products sold at their business so that they can sell more goods. This makes sense. Accepting products from an external source that they do not carry in their store would be counterintuitive because this would perhaps conceptually draw business away from their own. Ahhh...so that is the reason perhaps why the people have turned down a most generous offer of our delicious and fabulous dog treats for their parties. I was really a little confused when I was turned down. But now I understand the self-promotion aspect of the events. Okay. I guess the whole process of learning about business is a lot bigger than I had naively thought before. I was once told in order to be successful in anything you must think 3 steps ahead. That's actually a strategy used in chess. Think 3 moves ahead before you make a move with your pieces. This helps you to anticipate your opponents moves and allows you some freedom to move as well. Avoid getting locked in or "checkmated." So is that why chess is such an important game to learn for many so called intellectuals? Yes, perhaps true. If I had the time to learn chess, I would. But for now I'm back to reading about running a small business. I just finished "How to Run Your Business Like a Girl." There were a lot of great insights from women business owners. Mainly to be wise with your finances and to keep up the faith. I think that if these small business owners were truly thinking 3 steps ahead, they would have accepted the offers for treats. Why? First off, a donation is a gift, freebie, no cost, easy to just take and has no obligations associated with it. Why not just take it then? I think that if they had seen the treats, they would have immediately said they would accept them. The second thing that interested me about refusing a donation was that I was given the reason "conflict of interest/competition." Now in my case, I believe in healthy competition. I know how good my treats are for dogs and the quality of my product is really high. I have an extremely exceptional dog treat here. Not to brag too much but I use top quality ingredients and I make sure that everything is made so that it's okay for human consumption. I never know when someone is going to just eat one. Plus, I like many bakers, love to eat so eating a dog treat here or there...no problem. I'll admit that I do love the Peanut Butterfly treats the best. They are definitely snackable. I digress...so back to the topic of competition? Well, if you are going to be afraid of a small bakery like mine, what are you doing on the market? There are huge companies like Purina and Alpo out there. If you can't take a little heat...as they say, "Get out of the kitchen." I have to say that my product is nothing like the product that the person was referring to. I have met the owner of that treat/product and her goods are incredible in their own right, extremely different from my own treats. She doesn't even call them treats. They are really like "art." In my mind, she is an artist. I am more of a true baker in the sense that my treats are really baked goods. Biscuits. Her goods are decorated and much fancier than mine but then that is her background and that is her product. We have two completely different markets and yes, we do share the common ground that our goods are edibles for dogs, we differ in our philosophies and market groups. So my answer in rebuttal to that person who turned down my offer to share our treats for her party, (which I wish I had been able to say to her at the time that we were emailing...maybe I will) I wish that she had enough business sense to know that it would have been smarter to accept the offer.

Enough ranting
So I met with two of my former neighbors/dog owner friends for dinner. We had a nice chat and I actually donated a gift basket worth of goods for a good cause. Yes, I do that occasionally. I finally learned how to do gift certificates on my website. I'm fairly computer illiterate so this was a huge accomplishment for me. So we shared some dog information and talked about the funny things/habits of our dogs then moved onto more interesting topics like men, shopping, gossip and whatnot. All the topics shared by single women and well, women in general (let's not fool ourselves). I love a good girltalk. There is nothing like that happy little bond shared over good food and usually some rich chocolate dessert. The common bond of dating in New York or even Hudson County, NJ is just a fun topic. It's hard though. With the balance of my new baby business and dating. I feel like there just isn't enough time in the day or even the week. Every weekend is spent at events this month so when do I have time to go out and meet men? Good question. Plus I've been wanting to join a small business owners women's group and I really won't have much time left after that. I have to say though that we went to P.F. Chang's in NJ and the service was phenomenal. I really did like our waitress, very patient and attentive. Nice. The manager came over to chat with my friend with the garlic allergy, polite, didn't talk too long and expressed a genuine concern for her awareness of what she was eating. The setting is really great for a date. The bar was definitely hopping, great for singles I'm sure. They have a fantastic list of martinis/mixed drinks of interesting and exotic flavors. I'm definitely going back to try that wild asian pear drink. We had the crab wontons which were great. I've had crab wontons but these were delicately flavored and paired with a yummy sauce. Good stuff. My friends had the tuna appetizer, very nicely presented and the spring rolls, always a favorite. They had a wide selection of beers, the Kirin Light was great for the summer. I liked the 6 layer Great Wall of Chocolate dessert with the raspberry sauce. It's definitely something to share and with three of us, there was at least half left over. I'd say it's a good dessert to share with like 6 people maybe more.

Another great place to visit is...

Flemings Prime Steakhouse in Edgewater at The City Place. Right on the water, a never fail great date place. You can go for the steaks or just for drinks at the bar. Very cozy, welcoming and extremely attentive service. Our waiter was very pleasant and not intrusive. The setting isjust dark enough for romance and just light enough to be able to see what you are eating. The bar is calm and relaxing. I loved it like visiting a great home with modern decor. The open kitchen isn't a bad thing. You can enjoy the delicious aroma of sizzling steak. It's not just about the steak either. They have some good desserts and sides as well. The martinis are to die for. I asked for a chocolate martini (not on the menu) and it was perfect. As well, they make an awesome mojito (their own mix and you can ask them about it). If you love mojito and are in the Edgewater area, you must go to Flemings Prime Steakhouse at The City Place off River Road. The waiter told us what was in it and I'm going to try it at home but I am fairly certain that it will not be as good as how they make it there. Every time I go there the service is unbeatable and I've always commented on the great food and drinks. No fail. Just go.

Happy Father's Day

Dad's in a mood again. The DIY mood. He gets the bug every summer and then something gets demolished in the house and then replaced by something really different but oftentimes (not always, sorry dad!) very cool. He has recently decided to destroy the hall closet and open up the living room so that the entry way is more open. Fascinating. So he told my mother about this and then just emptied out the closets. That's a whole other story, what one finds in a closet. He got his tool buddy, the trusty ever useful sledge hammer and started demolition. Two days later and a whole lot of dust accumulated, the closet is almost completely gone. Amazing. Dad is happily continuing demolition today. I hear him ripping out beams and hammering at the little bits of sheetrock that once composed the closet. It's his gift to himself. I guess we will be having a nice BBQ later because it's a gorgeous day. Katie? She's totally confused and just into the backyard today. She comes in at intervals and drinks some water but she's on total playtime today.