My Lehman's YouTube Videos

Last year, I did several lighting videos that were published on the Lehman's YouTube channel. These videos have been doing really well in comparison to other videos on the channel. I was just informed that my video on general lighting has gone viral and was the most watched Lehman's video in 2024! As of 12/27/24 it has 78,720 views and counting!

Below are the three videos I did. I'm scheduled to do another Aladdin video in Jan. 2025.

My Aladdin YouTube Training Videos

Last year, I was asked by the VP of Crownplace Brands (Lehman's wholesale division, and new owner of the Aladdin brand) if they could video my Aladdin training that I do for our CSRs. They wanted to have some updated training and informational videos that could be posted on the Crownplace and Aladdin websites. I am not a huge fan of being on camera, but I agreed to do it. Being a perfectionist, I would LOVE to do these all over again because I know I could do them better, but they are what they are. They were happy with the results, so I guess I should be OK with them too. I was impressed that they were able to take my 2 hour class and condense it down to 11 different videos. They used parts of the actual slides that I used in the training, so this is pretty much all me.

The videos have been posted for exactly one year and have gotten quite a few views, which I guess is pretty cool. I hope people are finding them helpful. I thought since I've started documenting my Aladdin collecting adventures that I should post my contribution to Aladdin training and education.

So without further ado, here is a playlist of all 11 videos. Enjoy!

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Pure. Creepy Ironicness!

Back to web proofing at work today. I've moved on to the Kitchen category and the Butchering sub-category. I have pulled up my next product to proof and compare the new and old sites. That product is the Single Hamburger Press. Andi comes over to ask me a question. She said she knows someone who wants to order our hamburger press, but a large quantity and was wondering if he would be able to get a discount. I stop in my tracks and ask her if she saw on our Google doc that that was the product I was working on. She said "no." I pointed to my computer screen and showed her what item I was working on. Our mouths both dropped in awe. We have 3600+ products pages on our website. How incredibly freaky that she would come up and ask me a totally random, and somewhat un-work related about the exact item out of 3600 that I'm working on. So weird!

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My Aladdin Lamp Obsession, Pt. 2: Aladdins in Pop Culture

I have so much to say about Aladdins that I had to break my article into 2 parts! In case you missed Part 1, click here to check it out.

I've studied Aladdins so much, that now, whenever I'm watching TV and movies set in the past, I immediately look at the lighting just to see if I can tell what type of oil lamps are present. I am proud to say that I've now spotted Aladdin lamps twice! They don't seem to be that common in film, so it's always fun to spot them.

My first find was in the show Copper. It is one of my proudest Aladdin accomplishments to say that I found an anachronism! Someone in props didn't do their homework! The show is set in the 1860s. The first Aladdin was sold in 1909, so yeah, they are at least 40 years premature in featuring them in the show! Not only that, but these are clearly lox-on models (there are no raised prongs holding the chimney in place). Lox-on burners and chimneys were not introduced until 1928! Any prop directors wanting lamps for your set? Clearly I'm the one to ask :)

My next find was on Doctor Who. I was surprised to see the Doctor not only carrying the lamp around, but running with it! Those lamps are heavy, and fragile! It was dark, but the glow of the mantle and the up-close shots of the burner make the Aladdin super recognizable.

I wonder where they will turn up next, but I can't wait to find out!

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My Aladdin Lamp Obsession, Pt. 1

My amethyst Lincoln Drape

Hi, my name is Lori and I'm addicted to Aladdin lamps.

Working at Lehman's since I was 18 (14 years now, and counting...), I've learned A LOT! Things like: how businesses operate, marketing techniques, and more information about water pumps, grain mills, and so many other off-the-grid, self-sufficient products than I thought I would ever know. I enjoy learning, and some of our products are just down-right fascinating, not to mention practical.

Over the years, I've always found our oil lamps to be one of my favorite products...mainly for aesthetic reasons. As I've had to conduct training on the lamps (among lots of other things), I've really had to learn a lot about and understand how they work. I've always been drawn to one particular kind of oil lamp - the Aladdin. I've always known they were different than regular oil lamps, and that they have some different parts than regular oil lamps. However, over the past several years, I've learned so much about them, and the more I learn, the more I am simply fascinated with them.

The glow of my Aladdin during a
recent power outage

Ever since the several-hour power outage last year, when I had a need to light my very own Aladdin lamp for not only light, but heat, I've been wanting to get another one. My lamp is an amethyst Lincoln Drape that I keep in my bedroom...because it's purple, obviously. It was a little inconvenient to carry it all the way downstairs to the living room. So, I have my eye on our most popular model, the Genie III. I'm waiting until the new and improved burners are available, and then I'm adding it to my collection!

To further add to my growing obsession, I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Clarksville, TN with 7 of my co-workers to the Aladdin headquarters last year! Lehman's wholesale division, Crownplace Brands, bought out Aladdin, so we would be moving the entire operation to little old Dalton, Ohio. My attendance was purely for work reasons - to learn as much about the lamps as possible from the experts, so I can better train our staff. However, it just so happens that I was super excited to go for personal reasons as well...win-win!

In preparation for the trip, I started studying up on Aladdins again, and began to update my training materials. I dug a little deeper into the history of the lamps. The origins of the company are very interesting, and it's fun to see how the lamps have evolved over time, yet keeping the same basic operating principles. We got to see how lamps are put together, tested, boxed for shipping, and more! We got to meet and talk with the people who are the absolute experts, and they shared so many wonderful tips and facts with us. It was a great 2-day trip. I learned so much, and had such a good time! I'm so fortunate that I was selected to go!

One of my favorite parts of our visit was scouring their warehouse filled with thousands of old lamps that were set out in preparation for their auction. It was so fun to see in person, so many old and unique styles. We made it our mission to find an original Model #1, that they said was there somewhere. It took us awhile, but we found it! It was so hard to believe that we were able to touch an original made in 1909! I think it's safe to say that I am an Aladdin geek.

Here are some of the really cool photos I took on the trip to the Aladdin headquarters in Clarksville, TN.

The elusive Model 1!!!

The bottom of the lamp showing the center draft tube

In part 2 of this post, My Aladdin Lamp Obsession, I talk about Aladdins in pop culture.

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It's the Little Things...

Anyone who knows me, knows that for the past 2 years or so at work, things have been....let's just say crazy and overwhelming at times. I've been pretty involved with the implementation of new software, that is affecting just about every area of business: direct sales, online sales, retail, etc. My job as Trainer, has required me to learn procedures for just about every job. And not only learn it, but create procedure documents and training materials. I have to know everything well enough so that I can train everyone else. There have been a lot of deadlines that have needed to be met for getting everything prepared. And that includes printing, collating and hole-punching hundreds of upon hundreds of documents to pass out to the employees.

It's been hard to get everything done, and lots of overtime hours have been put in. Things have been stressful, but thankfully after the big pushes to get things done, there has been some relief before the next round. I tried not to let the stress and frustration show, but some who know me well, knew I was under a lot of pressure during a timeframe of a couple weeks where we were conducting training with selected "Super Users". It was during this time, that I received some little unexpected pick-me-ups that were so thoughtful. These were given to me a couple months ago, but I'm just now getting around to posting about it.

Back To 3rd Grade...For The 3rd Time

It's funny how life works out sometimes. Most people only ever get to experience 3rd grade once in their lifetime. But me? I'm going back for my 3rd time! Each time has been for very different reasons. The first one isn't so special, it was as a student, obviously. However, the next 2 events make for a quite interesting story.

To get the full effect of this story, I need to start in the beginning, with my first experience in 3rd grade. That was way back in 1991, and my teacher is Mrs. Handwerk. Wow...that seems like forever ago!

Fast forward to 2005, when I was a senior year at Malone, studying early childhood education. It's a requirement in the last semester to have a student teaching assignment. Because I commuted to Malone, they were nice enough to place me at a school close to home. All of my other field experiences were in Canton schools, so it was nice to be closer to home. I was shocked to find out that I was actually going back to my old elementary school. I was even more shocked to find out that I was going to be student teaching in the 3rd grade...yes...with Mrs. Handwerk! 14 years later, and I end up in the same classroom! An added coincidence occurred when I found out that the other 3rd grade teacher was Mrs. Clark. Mrs. Clark was my 2nd grade teacher! I worked very closely with both of them because their classes switched for certain subjects. I can't tell you how comforting it was to be in a familiar school, with familiar teachers. I really enjoyed my time student teaching, and I had some really great kids. As a side note: I just realized that my 3rd graders from my student teaching class are graduating this year! Oh my goodness!

I graduated in 2005 with a Bachelor's of Science in Early Childhood Education. While looking for a teaching job, I did some subbing. I also continued to work at Lehman's, where I'd been for 4 years as a CSR. Something had been telling me, for quite some time, that I was never going to actually ever be teaching in a school. It was just very hard to picture myself with my own classroom, even though I always really enjoyed my experiences working in classrooms. Other than working on the farm growing up, Lehman's is the only place I had ever worked (and that's still true!) I loved it at Lehman's (and still do), and it was hard to see myself leaving.

A year later, God opened up an amazing opportunity for me. Out of nowhere, a new position was created--"Trainer". It was perfect! Getting that promotion was the best thing that could have happened to me! I got to stay at the place I loved, and (sort of) do the job I went to school for. Perfect timing, and the perfect job...I have no doubt that this was God's master plan for me at work.

You might think that this is where the story ends...but, you'd be wrong. It's now 2014, and it's time again, to go back to 3rd grade...

I never knew this, but Glenda Lehman Ervin, (VP of Marketing and daughter of founder, Jay Lehman), had for years been a Junior Achievement volunteer. She decided that this year, she wanted to pass this on to someone else at Lehman's. Apparently, I was the first person she thought of, so she asked if I was interested. Strangely enough, I had actually volunteered for JA, in 2006 (I think), at Mt. Eaton Elementary School. So, this was actually something I had a little experience with, so I didn't hesitate to accept.

I got kind of excited when Glenda asked me to do it. And that was before I found out WHERE exactly Glenda volunteered. Yep, you guessed it...Dalton Elementary. I was going back "home", yet again. And to my surprise, guess which teachers are still teaching 3rd grade. Mrs. Handwerk and Mrs. Clark! Seriously...what are the odds?!?!

So, today, I went back to 3rd grade for the 3rd time. It's been 9 years since the last time I was there as a student teacher, and 23 years since my first time, as a student. Wow. I think it's truly amazing how all of these seemingly unconnected things have been miraculously interwoven! Don't you think?!

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Is That Me?

This strange piece of mail was brought to me at work today. It was addressed to, whom we can all only assume, is me. After laughing hysterically at "my name", I opened the letter to find that it had nothing to do with me. I have no idea why it came to me, or how my name got so horribly misspelled. Just another strange full moon occurrence today.

American Idol Bracket Party 2012

Today was so much fun...for several reasons:
(1) It's Friday
(2) It's the start of a long holiday weekend
(3) Today's the day I got treated to lunch because I won our American Idol bracket!  This was the most fun, but it does need some explaining, so I'll start at the beginning...

At Lehman's, there are plenty of us who watch American Idol religiously. So, this year, we decided that it might be fun to hold our own version of the March Madness Bracket.

The Rules:
Each week (beginning with the Top 10), we would choose who we think would end up in the bottom 3, and who we think was going to be voted off. For each correct bottom 3 guess, you earn 1 point, and for a correct "going home" guess, you earn 5 points. If you were good, you could earn a total of 8 points each week. (None of us achieved that mark...I came closest with 7, in the first week).

At the beginning, each person chose the person who they thought was going to win it all. This choice was locked in, and couldn't be changed. At the end of the competition, if this guess was right, you earned a 10 point bonus.

From the Beginning:
I chose Phillip Phillips as the winner, as did Linda. Nancy chose Jessica Sanchez; Becky chose Skylar Laine; and Diane chose Colton Dixon. The first week of "our" competition, I got a great start by being the only person to choose Erika to go home, and I was correct! After that, it was pretty much downhill for all of us. America was not voting the way we all predicted, and time after time, our choices were, for the most part, incorrect. Near the end, Nancy pulled ahead of me by some risky choices, and it looked like she was going to win. At the finale, we all believed it was pretty clear that Phillip was going to win, and we all chose him as the winner. On Wednesday, May 23, Phillip was declared the winner over Jessica Sanchez! With the 10 point bonus, I was able to overcome Nancy by 2 points, to become the 2012 bracket winner. Linda also made a nice showing in third place, due to her 10 point bonus.

However, I must also give credit where credit is due. On the very first audition episode of the season, Shelley came to work and declared that Phillip Phillips would win it all. Who knew, that after hundreds of other auditions, and a dozen or so rounds later, that he in fact, would be the winner!  That's just outrageous! I don't think anyone will ever come close to predicting another one like that.

The Reward:

My sweet, personalized t-shirt
from Linda

The winner of the bracket was to be treated to lunch of her choice. And so, today, the lunch took place. However, I got so much more than just lunch! Nancy, Linda and Shonda went so above and beyond, and I was totally shocked by their creativity (although, really I shouldn't have been, because I know them both pretty well).  Not only did I get pizza from Gionino's, but I also got a crown (purple of course), a boa (purple of course), and a personalized t-shirt with my name on it and everything!!!! Then, to top it all off, Linda whips out her phone and starts playing Phillip's winning song "Home"...just perfect!!!

This is just another reason I love the people I work with! They are so thoughtful, and they know me so well...hello PURPLE everything! Loved it!!! I couldn't ask for better co-workers and friends. I am so blessed!

Our awesome HR Team: Nancy, Shonda, me, Linda

Why I Love My Job: Part 1

For anyone who doesn't know, I am the Trainer at Lehman's.  May 7, 2011, will mark my 10th year at Lehman's.  It's hard to believe that it's been that long!  I've been really thankful for a lot of things lately, and one of those things is my job.  I know that not a lot of people can say that they love their job, but I can definitely say that!  I thought I would take some time to think about why I love it so much. Note: this is written only from my personal experiences.

A Little Background Info

Mural that I painted in the CSR Dept.

I started out as a CSR (Customer Service Representative) at Lehman's.  All I can say about being a CSR is: it's HARD!  Unless you are or have ever been a Lehman's CSR, you have no idea just how hard it is.  You are pretty much expected to know everything about everything, whether it's "Lehman's-related" or not.  You have to be a customer service rep (obviously), but also other things not necessarily in the title like: product specialist, order taker, phone operator, salesperson, problem investigator, therapist (weird but true...some customers just want someone to listen to their problems), GPS, travel agent, phone book, and not to mention doing many of these things at the same time!  It's so many jobs rolled into one.  During the busiest times of the year, there isn't even time to breathe between calls...they just keep coming!

Why I Love My Job: Part 2

...Continued from "Why I Love My Job: Part 1"

So, let's get to it.  Here are 10 reasons why I love my job (in no particular order).
Note: this is written from only my own personal experiences.

1. Teaching!  I get to teach, and even have my own "classroom"!

I went to school to be a teacher, but I never dreamt I would be able to combine my love of teaching and my love of working at Lehman's.  I used to love the look on a child's face when they learn something new.  Teaching adults is a little different, but it still gives me a good feeling to teach them new things.  All the things that I help them learn, helps them to do their jobs better, and that's a good feeling.

I teach employees new software programs, new procedures, and much more.  I also teach new employees how to use Lehman's voice mail and email.  But the thing closest to being a school teacher is the product training that I do.  I have designed the entire "curriculum" which includes a lesson and a test.  Just like a teacher, I then get to grade the tests. Right now, our current certifications include: Food Preservation, Grain Mills, Lighting, Water Filters and Water Pumps.  10 years ago, I never imagined that I would know enough about any of these things to be able to teach other people about them!

I also have my own "classroom", or Training Room as I call it.  This is where I do a lot of my training that takes places at our Dalton location.  We have 4 computers, so it also functions as a computer lab for web-based training.