The ToiBocks Blog

Archive for February, 2010

Dawn’s tip of the day – Plan your menu in advance to save time and money; and reduce stress and waste.

So here’s a blog post on one of my favorite things… Saving Money! I feed my family of five for about $80/week in groceries – breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks… the works – often that includes laundry soap, dog food and other grocery type items too – not always, but often.

I teach a class on grocery shopping for low income folks – like women in transition at Haven Hills (domestic violence center – learn more about them here: http://havenhills.org I worked for them as a Facilities Manager for a year and did all their grocery shopping – please consider them if you’re looking to donate durable goods, new clothes, food or always welcome – cash); I also taught teens transitioning off onto their own at LA Youth Network (helps some of the more than 10,000 homeless teens on the streets of LA – learn more about them here www.layn.org – did you know you can feed a homeless teen for just $5 a day?); and The Promises Foundation’s Miriam’s House, an amazingly warm place where women battling addiction have a safe place to stay with their children – learn more about them here: Promises Foundation )

By the way, if you know of an organization close to West Hills who would benefit from my classes feel free to contact me or comment on this blog, I’m always looking for new people to help – which is why I decided, in this economy, that although my system of shopping is completely common sense, a lot of people (just like me) never thought about shopping this way so I’m sharing. One of my favorite quotes is “You don’t know what you don’t know until you know you don’t know it!”

In it’s simplest form, here it is – just implementing this one step from my class will put you on the path to saving a boat load of money. Plan your menu! Implement what works for you, replace or revise what doesn’t apply and let the savings begin!

So I sit down on a Saturday (or any other day) and I plan dinner for Sat night through Thursday night (we have take out every Friday). I take a look at what meat is on sale at 2 of the 3 stores I shop at (I shop at Costco, Vallarta and Vons). I have the family together choose what meals I’m going to make, example: I need a pork dish – they choose Hoisin Pork Noodles, Pork Chops, Pork Stir Fry or some other pork dish). Because the meat is on sale in the Value Pack we pick 2 nights of pork that week. This week’s menu plan is:

Sat – Wedding Day Soup (chicken, meatballs, lots of veggies, noodles)
Sun – Beef Fajitas (beef, tortillas, peppers/onions, beans, rice, tomato and sour cream)
Mon – Hoisin Pork Noodles (pork, red pepper, snow peas, bean sprouts, green onion, peanuts and sauce)
Tues – Crab Rangoon (egg roll wrapper, cream cheese, mock crab, Worcestershire, soy sauce and garlic) and Chicken stir fry (chicken, red pepper, green onion, carrot, broccoli, snow peas and rice)
Wed – Gyros (chicken, pita bread, red onion, spices, rice, tomato), Hummus (chick peas, tahini, olive oil, garlic) and Tzatsiki (cucumber, sour cream, garlic and sugar)
Thurs – Baked Shells with Chicken and Cheese (shells, chicken, Monterrey Jack cheese, garlic salt, garlic and parsley)

Once the menu plan is done I add all the ingredients I don’t already have to my grocery list, plus other stuff we might need like milk, bread, cereal, peanut butter and then I shop. I only buy what’s on my list (unless I see a super deal on something I can use for next week’s menu).

My groceries for this meal plan were $72 – keeping in mind that I already some of the stuff in the house from previous grocery shopping trips – noodles, rice, beans, sour cream, garlic, spices, pitas, soy/Worcestershire/hosin sauces and sugar. This is a regular thing – buy in bulk and you don’t have to buy as often and your weekly bill is lower. With the vegetables I only purchase enough to make the meals I needed to make, there is no waste and the cost is much lower. I was also able to purchase cereal, brownie mix and other things with this week’s stuff. Cereal is always on sale somewhere – I usually get it at Vons (safeway). The boxes go on sale 2 for $4 or 5 for $10 and I stock up. I’ve never purchased a box of cereal at regular price.

By implementing this common sense method of grocery shopping I not only save money and reduce waste but also reduce my stress levels.

How many times have you stared into the abyss of your fridge wondering what to make for dinner? How many times have you had to answer the question “What’s for dinner mom?” How many times have you heard “I don’t like _____.” How many times have you started making something only to discover you were out of one of the ingredients, were too far into it to scrap it and had to run to the store? How many “extra” trips do you make to the grocery store? This plan can eliminate all of that for you.

Try it out. I think you’ll see the difference almost right away – if you do, please share your experiences here in the comments for those who come after you.

Happy Shopping!
Dawn

I am a regular contributor to the Home Pleasure Party Plan Association’s magazine for their members. Thought I’d share this month’s article with you all. Note this is written for people who are party plan people, but the heart of the message is for everyone.

Valentine’s Day is all about the love
By Dawn Tulman

There are two ways to look at Valentine’s Day. One is as a special day set aside to acknowledge your love to your “Valentine.” The other is as a day to do what you should be doing all year long.

I used to not celebrate Valentine’s Day. I always made it a point to be romantic on a regular basis, to do sweet things for my beau, to be adventurous in the boudoir. Then I had three kids and sometimes… I don’t even remember to shower, much less invite him in with me! Now Valentine’s Day is having more meaning to me, is becoming more special because I know it will be OUR day. Yes, it’s ideal to have a day without your children on a regular basis but it’s not always possible, so I know I can count on this one day and plan for extras along the way.

I got an email from a customer who wrote to tell me that she’s using her ToiBocks to spice up her love life. When she first got it she hid some fuzzy handcuffs, a blind fold, a massage candle and a feather inside and handed the box to her mate. Once he figured out how to get inside (she had to help him) he used those items with her. She made little game out of it. The ToiBocks on her nightstand holds her favorite, regularly used toys and the one on his is their “game” box. They take turns putting different things inside and then he “unpacks” it like a little love kit for their intimate time together. Consider doing this for your customers. Making a little “list” of things that go well together for a romantic, intimate evening.

To me, intimate time is as important as privacy. What have you done lately for your mate? Maybe in your business you could make up a little card with some “love tips” to hand out at your parties. You are probably exposed to a great many ideas in your line of work and you can share those to enhance the experiences of those you’re selling to. Call it your “Top Ten Ideas for a Romantic Interlude” or something enticing. List out a few scenarios, print it on pink paper and see how many relationships you enhance with your ideas.

Encourage your customers to learn how to make more time for intimacy. For parents with children at home, suggest starting an “evening out” exchange with someone who has children their age. Every other week one set takes the others children and then you switch. Use that time alone to really spend some quality time with your partner, not cleaning the house! For customers who have no children talk about the “why” intimacy is so important. Women are all about the advice, considering copying some articles on intimacy and having them on the table for your customers to read during down times in your presentation. Encourage the women in the room to share how they make time for intimacy.

Make it a point to stand out from other people who do what you do. Develop your brand as someone who cares more about the customer than how much they purchase and the purchases will increase before you know it!

Dawn Tulman is the president of ToiBocks Inc.; she’s been married for 13 years and has three children. ToiBocks is a jewelry box with a hidden lock mechanism that enables you to keep your intimate items on the nightstand for easy access while keeping out sticky fingers and prying eyes. The idea for ToiBocks was inspired when Dawn’s oldest daughter “discovered” one of her novelties in the nightstand and she could not find a product that met her need to keep her toys handy and secure right out in the open. For more information visit www.toibocks.com or call 818.392.8558.

Hello All!

So excited that celebrity blogger Joshua Estrin loved the ToiBocks so much he added it to his Valentine’s Day gift list! Just because it vibrates doesn’t mean its dirty – A Valentines Day gift guide

ToiBocks is making it’s way through the mainstream world with as much success as it has garnered in the adult novelty and smoke shop markets. We were recently at the Atlanta, LA and NY gift shows with much success.

Although ToiBocks is a completely mainstream product, it is most unique in the adult novelty industry as there are no other products designed to keep private items discreetly on your nightstand where you can have easy access to them and your kids (or others) do not!

So, thanks for all your support! Would love for you to take a moment and read Joshua’s piece linked above and perhaps share it with your friends!