A Day in the Life of a Sales Consultant

Chronicled bit by bit...for your reading pleasure. :) Four times a year (January, March, June and September) the company Pelican Bay hires my mom (a.k.a. my boss) to fly to Dallas, Texas to represent their gourmet food line. My mom has been doing this for the past ten years and it has really become such a wonderful release for her from everyday life. Anyway, myself and her best buddy Paulette accompany her to Dallas to help with the show. Pelican Bay has what's called a "permanent showroom" (meaning that it's always set up) in the World Trade Center in Dallas. In the showroom one of every product that they sell is represented. My job is to stand in the showroom to answer questions from buyers. Buyer's come to market from all over the country to purchase items for their stores and businesses. When they want to sell our products in their specialty stores they have us fill out the order forms and answer any questions they may have. "How much does it cost wholesale?" "So what would it be retail?" "What's the shelf life?" "How many products come in the case?" "How long does it take to ship?" By the end of the week we're saying the answers in our sleep.

I've been coming to market to help my mom since I was in college. Then it was a nice additional income. Then I started to do it while I was teaching. Then it was a nice income AND welcomed interaction with adults. Today? It's just nice to have the income again. :) There is really great shopping at the DMC...all of the "up and coming" things. I usually spend a nice chunk of my hard earned moolah on the up and coming flair...not so much this year. I saved every penny that I could. :)

Now...time for a quick photo filled timeline of my life as a Sales Consultant!

Every morning a shuttle (like this one) picks us up from our hotel to take us to the Market Center. The DMC (Dallas Market Center) does a very nice job of assigning each hotel in the Market area a color to which the shuttle service provides service. This market our hotel was designated red.



On this particular morning, our shuttle was a hit by a crazed taxi driver. Gotta love Dallas traffic. Just a little paint job. Very Bengal's Tiger, don't ya think?



When we walk into the Market Center this station greets us. Fresh Starbucks coffee and Krispie Kreme's...oh my!



So I grab a donut...



and turn right to head this way. To our show room.



Where I sneak a bite or two before the action begins. Mmm...fresh KK donuts.



I work on the bottom floor of the World Trade Center here in Dallas. It has 15 floors...I used to think it was 13 until my mom ever-so-kindly corrected me. :)



It's Christmas in Jun-ly here at the market. All of the buyers are buying products for their October through January lines.





This is what our showroom looks like from the inside of The Gourmet Market.



Here are some of our beautifully packaged products. We sell all dry mixes; meaning that you have to add all of the wet ingredients: eggs, milks, etc.

Great party drinks...



Hot cocoa's and other warm drinks for winter...



Fancy cupcakes and more...



Lemonade stand kits along with chocolate and strawberry milk powders...




This tasting center is also part of our responsibility. We sampled two of our dips each day. We have to keep if stocked full of tasty treats for the buyers walking through.



This is my favorite Pelican Bay dip...Country Vegetable...



Jardine's is to my right. Salsa and chips as far as the eye can see...yum! Do any of you buy this in your local stores? Charlotte friends - Harris Teeter actually private labels this salsa as their own! Hello - gourmet salsa at the Harris Teeter price - AMAZING!



They are known for their Peach Salsa that is delicious. We love the Salsa Bobos and the Ole Chipotle...so delicous!



This showroom is directly across from us. Do you know how hard it is to work across from this all the time? And to make matters worse (or better!) Diana has truly become a family friend so she's constantly sharing things with us!



Oh the sampling that happens...



On the Friday nights during the market there is always a big theme party in The Gourmet Market. This year was "Under the Big Top" featuring martini's, cotton candy and popcorn.



Life is rough. For realz.



After the market we wait for the red shuttle outside the DMC building. Doesn't my mom look so concerned? I think she was secretly hoping that there wouldn't be any shuttle accidents in our future. That morning was enough for EVER.



We freshened up and then mom's friend came and picked us up for dinner.



This is mom's buddy Brian. He's so sweet. He and his partner live in Florida. Lucky son-of-a-guns!



Don't they look so happy to be reunited in Dallas? Actually this photo captured a very special announcement that Brian had. I wish I could tell you, because it's amazing what he's been asked to do with his business. But. My lips are sealed. Until it becomes officially official and then you better darn believe that I'll be screaming "I knew him when..." from the rooftops.



They were too busy chatting to realize I was downing rolls and cornbread like a mad woman. Oh BEP...how I love your comfort food. Makes me miss my southern roots even more...the grits, the sweet potatoes, the...grease!



Fried pickles. Sounds crazy, right? Not so, my friends, not so. A friend from Charlotte introduced mom and I to these many moons ago when she flew up during market. We haven't been able to resist them since.

sidenote: the making of fried pickles in your own home is NOT a good idea. Just wanted to let you know that. Not that mom or I have ever tried or anything.



Hello meatloaf. Hello sweet corn. Hello blackeyed peas. I miss you.



And what comfort meal is complete without a key lime pie? Heaven.



After dinner we hit up Kroger for some chips for tasting the next day. Then Brian took us home so we could pass out in bed in order to hit the ground running the next morning.

I heart market time.

I love to pearrrrrrrrl

While we were at the market our friend, Sally, who owns another gourmet food line was quite entertaining. Sally is from Beaumont, Texas which seems lovely like she is. Last market mom taught her how to knit "German style" and Sally was so excited. Well, the minute she got to market this time she asked mom to teach her how to "pearl." I have no idea what the difference is exactly, but I do know that its like knitting from the back instead of the front, but it's still "german style" knitting. Make sense? Close enough, I guess. Sally really got into it...continuing to stand at her own booth "pearling" away. She even sang a little song while she worked "I love to pearrrrrl."

Happy Berfday

Today was my mom's birthday. What better way to spend the day then at the Dallas Market Center...NOT. We tried our best to make her day bright! She arrived in the morning to this cake from Carmie and JR which we cut later this afternoon.





Then she received THIS cake from the Williams with candles and singing before all of the cake was cut. She's popular, right?





Then Dave and April drove down this afternoon from Norman OK just to take her out to dinner at Matitos here in Dallas. It was delicious and the birthday girl drank her dessert first!



Not the best lighting...but had to capture the nice 6 hour drive to Dallas for a special birthday dinner.



We love you, Mom! Happy Birthday!!!!

Pelican Bay Goes Green...

WWW

Over the next four weeks Nate and I are going to be traveling quite a bit. Together and apart. I wanted to research some fast food options to know what challenges I had ahead of me, I didn’t realize this would result in me wanting to bring apples and bananas with me everywhere I go as to avoid 25 point meals. Alas, sticking to my 21 points a day may be possible, but will certainly not be easy. Here is a list of items that we would normally be drawn to ordering and it does NOT include all of the items. However, each of the points I found by researching the calories/fiber/fat content directly from the companies website then using the handy-dandy food slide to figure out the points from there. I hope you find this useful…otherwise feel free to mock it or just ignore it altogether.

Mickie D’s

A large fry comes in at 11 points while the medium fry is 8 and the small fry comes in at 5.



A 6 piece nugget is 6 points while the 4 piece is 5 points. Each of the sauces are 1 point per container.



Surprisingly, the 3 piece chicken select is TEN POINTS!



The fruit parfait is 3 points, whether you have granola or not!



My favorite, the vanilla cone is 3 points…unless you get the kiddie cone which is 1. I don’t know why the cone is now 3 instead of 2, but the nutrition info changed since a month ago when I first looked it up. Sorry if you’ve been looking forward to a 2 point cone…just have 2 kiddies!



Oh Lord, the oreo McFlurry? 12 points.



The chocolate shake? 9 points.



Now for some coffee comparisons…all are based on a 12 oz serving size
Small Whole Milk Mocha McCafe is 11 points while the Skim version is only 5 points. However, Nate had the whole and skim version…he doesn’t recommend the latter from Mickie D’s. That speaks volumes if you know anything about his allegiance to Mickie D’s.

Wendy’s

I used to belong to the “I heart Wendy’s way more than any other fast-food place and will beg my parents to pull over here instead of anywhere else on family roadtrips club.” I am no longer in that club. At least, not since ChickfilA entered my life and we stopped taking family road trips. But I know some of you probably still belong to the club…so here’s some info for you. As an aside, I found Wendy’s sight to be horribly difficult to navigate. Just horrible.



Small frosty? 7 points. Ouch.



Twisted Toffee Frosty…(Amy, you’re going to die)…13 points for the little guy!



Junior Bacon Cheeseburger is 7 points.



The shocker of all shockers – French fries are EIGHTEEN POINTS. I must sya that the size is not disclosed…so let’s all hope this was the nutritional information for the Biggie size, not the small fry.

Jimmy John’s



Turkey Tom with mayo? 13 points
Without? 6 points.
Hold the mayo please. My friend, Katelyn, told me that she watched the JJ employee put mayo on her sandwich WITH AN ICE CREAM SCOOP! Barf. I haven’t had mayo on my sandwich since. And that was even before I decided I was fat. Ugh. The thought of an ice cream scoop on mayo on my sandwich still makes me nauseous. Do you think that’s why you can never actually see them making the sandwiches? They don’t want you to know the amount of mayo they are sneaking into your system while you ooh and ahh over how tasty it is.



Nate’s favorite
Beach club with mayo 18 point-a-roo’s
Same sandwich, no mayo – 12
Keep in mind that this sammich has avocado spread on it which hightens the points significantly.



Vito is NOT for me-oh at 14 points.



BLT – 16 points
BLT no mayo is 9 points.

Eating fresh at Subway

All of these points are based on a 6 inch wheat sub with lettuce, tomato, onion, green peppers, pickles and olives.



Turkey breast – 5 points



Veggie Sub – 3 points



Club Sub – 6 points

Keep in mind none of these include cheese which is surprisingly a point per serving no matter what flavor you choose.

ChickfilA
What you are about to read might disturb you. That, or you might stop reading this blog altogether. I am about to show you just how bad the goodness of ChickfilA is for a person. Oh how I wish it weren’t true.



Original Chicken “love of my life” sandwich is 9 points. That’s almost half my dailay points and it doesn’t even include the beautiful, wonderful delicious fries. I’m dying on the inside.



Grilled Chicken Sandwich comes in at a respectable 5 points. But it just doesn’t mean the same to me as the original.



Small waffle fries are 6 points while a medium is 8 points.



One of my other favorites and the item I choose when I was trying to be “healthy” at ChickfilA is the Spicy Cool Wrap. It’s 12 points. Oh. My. Goodness. Keep in mind that assuming you use all of the sauce. The sandwich alone is 8…so much for being “healthy”…should have just spent the extra point on what I really wanted.



Here’s the kicker. The Killer. The end of my days strolling into ChickfilA without a second thought. I think.

Peach milkshake – 16 points



Strawberry milkshake (also known as my favorite) – 14 points



Looks like I’ll be going for this 4 point option when I need an ice cream fix ala ChickfilA. Thank goodness for the icedream cup.

On to some better news…

Starbucks

Some of these items will hopefully surprise you as much as they surprised us. Again, all of these are based on the 12 oz serving size.



Regular mocha whipped cream and all is 7 points. (compared to 11pts from Mickie D’s) and the non-fat mocha WITH WHIPPED CREAM is 5 points. Umm hello…How awesome is that? Not only does it taste WAY better than Mickie D’s non-fate version but the points include the whipped cream on top that you wouldn’t get from the other store!



One of my summer favorites is iced coffee. Makes me think of my friend Carm who I MISS LIKE CRAZY. Okay. Onto the points.

A regular iced coffee is 2 points. A skim milk iced coffee is also 2 points. Do I even need to tell you which one is the better “point-deal?” Yeah, I didn’t think so. By the way, this doesn’t include adding sugar. It’s just the ice, coffee and cream/milk so keep that in mind when you add in 22 sugar packets. 



Lord help us. I used to love these and now I’m starting to think the Frappuccino is single-handedly responsible for me gaining 30 pounds. It was either that or those damn milkshakes from ChickfilA. On with the points, right?

A regular Frappuccino is 11 points.

The light version? 2 points. The disappointing factor of all? The light version comes sans whipped cream. Darn. But it does come with 2 whole grams of fiber…almost the same…no?

And for the shocker of all shockers for those of us needing come caffeine for the next 10 hours of travel…

Double shot on ice with WHOLE MILK – 1 point. 1 point people…ONE POINT! I’ve already converted to the world of the double-shot. Hence why I’m able to write 32 page long blog entries at 2 in the morning…drink these in moderation peeps.

All photos are from the companies websites.

P.S. Next Wednesday I have all kinds of gas station foods point value for you! :)