Results matching “bubblegum machine”

My daughter is a little closer to her vending machine dynasty! Since receiving her first bubblegum at Christmas, she has made enough money to purchase her second machine and fill it with M and Ms. Today we placed it at the Campbell County Extension Office! Watch out Donald Trump, Katrina is on her way!

Yesterday was a Red Letter day for Katrina. But first let me back up a bit.

For years, my daughter has been hounding me with ideas for her own business. She wanted to build a lemonade stand here in the neighborhood (understand, we have only a few neighbors, not really enough to make that endeavor worthwhile.)

She gives concerts and sells us tickets to come see them. She offers to do extra chores for cash. She will make handmade items and then try to sell them to us. She has talked about setting up a website and selling stuff through it. The problem with her selling us stuff is that...well, we aren't repeat customers. We each buy one of her items, but then we don't want to buy anymore and then she is left with unsold stock.

Last spring we suggested she try a bubblegum machine. I owned 8 vending machines back in the mid 90s. I made some money off of them, but once I had children, the time and money spent seemed less worth it. Places went out of business and I was looking to make way more money than what I was making. But what I was making would be more than enough for a 9 year old girl.

So, Katrina asked our hairdresser if she could put a bubblegum machine in her shop. Mandy gave her permission, but then the whole idea was put on hold. For those of you who are here with any regularity, you know we have been traveling a lot this year. We didn't want to be gone and abandon her machine for weeks on end. So we waited.

She didn't say anymore about it, but when I was thinking about what to get her for Christmas, I thought the bubblegum machine would be a perfect gift. It would get her started on her first real business adventure and it was a way better gift than the same amount of money spent on Littlest Pet Shop. I was thrilled with The Gumball Machine Factory. Their prices were good, their product (once it arrived) is well made and I was able to have them put a decal on the front of her bubblegum machine. She was so excited to get this gift. And for the few days it was in our house, she did a good business from visitors!

So, back to yesterday. We took the vending machine to Lakestyles and she watched with pride as Mandy was her first non-family customer. Here is a photo of Katrina and Mandy with the bubblegum machine in place.

The end of the year is always a time for introspecition and retrospection. When I was a teenager growing up, I would read through all of my previous diaries and remind myself of events that had come and gone. I would also sit and look through photo albums. I don't do that anymore, mainly because it would take days to go through 42 years of memories like that. And because my life always seems so full, I would rather be looking forward than backward. But as I was visiting bloggy friends last week, I stopped by Israeli Mom and that led to the post that I am also posting today, the last day of 2008. That was a list of 100 things I want to do in my lifetime. I used her hubby's list to get started with. She had also used that list and had marked through things she had already done. I decided to create two lists. One of things I have done and one of things I still would like to do.

In 42 1/2 years of life, I have been very blessed and have done a lot of things. This list is of the things I have already done. Just in case someday, my kids are interested in knowing.

1. Visited Paris and other parts of France


2. Spent my 30th birthday in Las Vegas


3. Have flown in a private plane


4. Been to the top of the Eiffel tower


5. Been to the top of the Champs D'lysees


6. Been to the top of the Sears Tower


7. Been to the top of the St. Louis Arch


8. Visited Hilton Head Island


9. Visited Mrytle Beach


10. Visited Charleston, SC


11. Visited Savannah, GA


12. Been to Bush Gardens, Williamsburg


13. Been to Kings Dominion


14. Been to Cypress Gardens (both old and new) in Florida


15. Held a baby crocodile


16. Visited Bangor, Maine and Acadia National Park


17. Visited Winnipeg, Canada


18. Visited Washington, DC


19. Explored Colonial Williamsburg


20. Explored Jamestown and Yorktown, VA


21. Saw the Chincoteague, VA pony swim


22. Saw the Lippizaner Stallions perform


23. Attended and graduated from The College of William and Mary
    
24. Visited Tallahasee, Daytona, Fort Lauderdale, and Bowling Green, FL


25. Spent a weekend in Orlando, FL at the Swan hotel at a conference


26. Visited Alburquerque, New Mexico


27. Visited Boulder, Durango, Estes Park, and Denver, Colarado


28. Visited the Grand Canyon


29. Visited Flagstaff, AZ


30. Visited the Lowell Observatory


31. Have visited every cavern in the state of Virginia


32. Visited Lake Tahoe, Sacramento, San Francisco, and Napa Valley, CA


33. Visited Lake Powell


34. Visited Monument Valley


35. Visited Crater Lake


36. Visited Sunset Crater


37. Visited the Painted Desert


38. Visited the Petrified Forest


39. Visited Chicago


40. Visited St. Louis


41. Spent a week on the shores of Lake Michigan


42. Visited Springfield, IL and the Abraham Lincoln Museum


43. Lived in Connecticut


44. Saw the Rockettes perform the Christmas Spectacular at Radio Music Hall


45. Visited the World Trade Center


46. Toured New York City


47. Visited Boston, MA


48. Visited Newport, Rhode Island


49. Visited Ben and Jerry factory


50. Rode the tram to Sandea Peak, NM


51. Visited Ocean City, MD


52. Visited Cape Canaveral, FL


53. Rode across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel


54. Got married - twice


55. Gave birth to a son and daughter


56. Have seen two feet of snow at once


57. Been flying in a single engine plane - with my hubby as pilot


58. Have visited numerous zoos and aquariums


59. Have had articles I have written published


60. Have ridden a ferry


61. Have had my own business (everything from selling tupperware to having bubblegum machines to selling on ebay


62. Met Mike Huckabee


63. Met Glenn Close


64. Met Jerry Baliles


65. Met Kenny Rogers' cousin


66. Met Mark Warner


67. Have owned my own home


68. Have received a speeding ticket


69. Have had to testify in court


70. Have seen CATS performed live


71. Have seen Les Miserables performed live


72. Have owned a Monte Carlo SS


73. Have been robbed


74. Have been in a car accident


75. Have seen Billy Idol, Chicago, Lionel Richie, Kenny Rogers, John Mellancamp, Shaun Cassidy, Charlie Rich, and Journey in concert


76. Have owned a brand new car: 1989 Mitsubishi Precis


77. Wild Side Tour in Cave of the Winds in Colorado


78. Got married in the Wren Building


79. Got married in a little church on the side of the Peaks of Otter


80. Have climbed Sharp Top and watched the sun come up


81. Have walked the the beach at sunrise and sunset


82. Have hiked along the Appalachain trail


83. Have been to the top of Pikes Peak


84. Have sang in talent shows


85. Have had my picture in the newspaper


86. Have had my picture (along with Jack and Katrina) in a museum brochure


87. Have been quoted in the newspaper


88. Started a Freecycle List


89. Planned a surprise birthday party


90. Have had broken bones (finger and two toes)


91. Have had surgery


92. Have gone to a drive-in theater


93. Have stayed at a Bed and Breakfast (more than one, actually)


94. Have eaten in a 5 star restaurant (Inn at Little Washington)


95. Have eaten escargot, ostrich, and bison


96. Have cut down my own Christmas tree


97. Have worked as a telemarketer


98. Have worked as a manager


99. Have worked as a Child Development Instructor


100. Have driven a boat on a local lake