The Good Life

The Good Life. It conjures up images of fancy cars, big homes, glitzy jewels and piles of money. 

Let me tell you about what The Good Life means to me. 

In 2001, I was living in Wausau. I was pregnant with Emerson, my oldest son. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with my life; yes, I was 31 years old and still hadn't figured it out. Previous to getting pregnant with Emerson, I had tried college, gone to beauty school, worked in my parents' salon, become a widow, thought about college again, met my now husband (Jim), and started a day care. I was running the day care when I found out I was pregnant. 

I have always had terrible rough pregnancies. This one was no different. I was sick constantly. I knew I could not continue running the day care. I told Jim that I wanted to stay home with the baby. He knew it was something that was really important to me, so he agreed. I know that, deep down, he had no idea how we were going to afford it, but he never said that out loud. 

Emerson came into the world via C-section on January 17, 2002. 

After Emerson was born, I spent my days at home, trips to the park, grocery shopping, enjoying the new baby. We couldn't afford a high chair. We couldn't afford a changing table. We couldn't afford a night out. We couldn't afford Christmas. But I was home with that baby, so none of that mattered. 

In 2003, I has a miscarriage. Followed by another in 2004.

In 2005, I got pregnant with Miss Finley. I was sick as a dog. Emerson did his best to help me during the day while Jim was at work. He would run my bath, make sure I drank water, bring me fruit to eat, rub my back, snuggle up and nap with me, and give Jim updates. Once I hit 20 weeks, the sickness dissipated and I was able to function. 

Emerson was elated that we could, once again, go to the park and take walks in the neighborhood. 

Finley Robin, named after the doctor who delivered Emerson, came into the world via C-section on July 31, 2006. 

By this time, we had a nice house. We could afford things. Christmas was good. 

In 2007, my grandma was dying. Breast cancer. I took her to all of her appointments. I did her shopping. I cleaned her house. With the two kiddos in tow. Finley is too young to remember, but Emerson and my grandma got really close during those months. 

My grandma, who taught me how to preserve all kinds of food, including salsa, died on September 7, 2007. Jim, Emerson and Finley were right there. It was good and it was terrible. 

Things had become extremely rocky with Jim's employer and right after my grandma died,  he left his job to pursue better things. Insurance. He worked in Wausau for a while, but then this amazing opportunity came up. We packed up our house and moved the family to La Crosse. We were there for three months before Jim's new employer was indicted. We packed up and moved back to Wausau. Thank goodness our house had not sold. 

In August of 2008, I was pregnant with Gibson Wrigley.

Jim had decided to open his own agency and work from home. After all, I was pregnant again, and with two little ones running around, I needed the help. How hard could it be? He could work from home, help out with the kids and empty my puke bucket. That was a big disaster. We were broke. We barely had money for food. We considered letting our home go into foreclosure. 

Gibby came into the world, you guessed it, by C-section, on April 15, 2009.

In June 2009 Jim got a call from someone who said that a car dealership in Eau Claire needed a finance guy. Finance in the car business? Well, now. That is Jim's forte. There was nothing more that Jim loved than the car business. Why had he ever left?

I did not want to move again. The last move had not gone well.

Jim went to the interview. He told me to make a list of my "move requirements". I did. I made it ridiculous.  Pay for a moving company to pack up our house. Pay the security deposit on our new place in Eau Claire. Pay our rent for the first 90 days that we are in Eau Claire. Give Jim a bonus to pay for new work clothes. Finance a car for Jim to drive, because all we had was a mini-van and a car that wasn't making it through the next winter. I laughed to myself at how smart I was. No one in their right mind was going to agree to these terms. 

In July 2009, Jim started commuting to Eau Claire. 

In August 2009, the rest of the family followed. 

We lived on the south side for a year. It was a really nice place, brand spankin' new, but the neighbors were not very, shall we say, desirable. Late night parties, missing bikes, and drunken brawls led us to find a beautiful home on the northwest side of Eau Claire. It was the biggest home we had ever lived in. It was new. It was big enough for ALL of us. No more sharing bedrooms. No more cramming. 

Jim was making great money. Things were good. The kids were good. But he suggested, that since we had moved to a much larger, and more expensive home, I should contribute to the finances. I should find a way to get some "spending money". I was devastated. The thought of working outside the home terrified me. I loved my life the way it was. I spent every day with my kids. I did not want that to change. I thought long and hard about a solution. 

November 25, 2010. Thanksgiving. My birthday.

I woke Jim up and told him I wanted to make salsa and sell it. 

"That is the dumbest idea I have ever heard."

"Have you even thought this through?"

"Where are you going to sell it?"

I stewed for the rest of the day. 

I quietly looked into my options. I gathered info on licensing for what I wanted to do. I found out that Wisconsin has a Pickle Bill. Simply put, this bill allows people to make things like jams, jellies, pickles and salsa, in their home and sell it at outdoor markets. 

There was one thing that stood in my way. I needed an acidified foods class to make it legal. I called the state and found out that there was a class in Altoona. Tomorrow. 

April 2011 I took the acidified foods class which would allow me to make acidified foods, salsa, pickles, etc., out of my home and sell them at outdoor markets. 

June 28, 2011 I did my first outdoor market in the parking lot of CVTC. I brought 24 jars and left with none. 

The following week, I brought 48 jars and left with six. 

The following week, I started with 72 jars and left with 12; which I drove over to the dealership where Jim was because he had sold them. It was at this moment I realized that he was on board. From then on, he helped me. I made salsa all day, he labeled it at night. He packed the van for markets. He worked markets on his day off. 

By August we were doing three markets a week and developing quite a following. Thoughts of actual licensing were dancing around in our heads. 

We rented a place and did a ton of remodeling. It was perfect. It was a duplex zoned commercial We could have the kitchen on one side and, since the separating wall had been knocked out, the kids could be there with me. We were almost there. Enter the city. Since we were cooking, we needed to be zoned industrial. We could be a fire hazard. Whatever. 

We lost over $10k of our own money on that. This was harder than I thought it was going to be. I was bummed and almost ready to quit. 

December 2011 brought excitement. We were finalists in the Eau Claire Idea Challenge. We made it to the top five. The judges for the top five told us that there was no market for our product. Told us we were pretty much "never going to make it." That lit my fire. I had a great product and I knew it. I couldn't help it that these five judges had absolutely no vision. 

Enter Jack Kaiser. He gave us a space in building two of Banbury Place. He helped us remodel it. I can't say enough good about him.

April 2012, I found Nick Chenoweth. He was my first nanny. No one else had really ever watched my kids. Where is he today? Well, today, he is in the hospital, because he just had his appendix removed, but today, in general? He is my lead salesman. Love that guy. 

June 6, 2012 we were officially licensed by the Department of Agriculture. 

The rest, as they say, is history.

We are now in over 170 stores. We employ more than 25 people. And I work from home so I can still be with my kids every day. 

For me the Good Life is my life. Kids, a supportive husband, and a successful business. It was not easy getting here, but it was always good. And it just keeps getting better. 

I am living the Good Life, folks.