Some Favorite Products

As the days get closer to Mother's Day, our 2nd Anniversary and my birthday - all of which are in May; the big question is always what do you want for _________?  So, I thought I would share some my top favorite products and their websites..

1.  My NEW favorite clothing line is Quenchwear!  I mentioned it yesterday but I LOVE it.  I ordered a few pieces but I am thinking that I will need a few more to mix and match.  For those that know me - I love comfortable and am NOT a dress up kind of person.  This line is perfect

2.  I have become a new fan of Mary Kay makeup.  Annamarie has been GREAT helping me to find a color that I like.  I have switched from Bare Minerals to the Mary Kay minerals - AWESOME.  Try it for yourself.

3.  Over the winter my hands were rough and dry.  Hubby even complained which is something that he seldom does.  So with the help of Maggie at Beauticontrol, I now have soft hands.  I know that they have more skin care products but this is my first daily routine for my hands.  

4.  Names On the Jersey Shore has a few things that I have been looking at and thinking about. Check Susan out on Etsy.  I would load pictures but I have yet to figure out how to do this when I am blogging.  Susan's writings on the beach are done right here at the Jersey Shore.  I LOVE her sea glass necklaces and earrings too.  The fact that she has two of my favorites - an angel and my name with sea glass is also a plus.  

5.  Hungry Girl recipe books.....you can never have enough.  I use a lot of these recipes and tips as I continue on this Weight Watcher journey.  Simple and good - hubby even likes some of them so that is a true testimony about the tasty recipes.

6.  Toms - my daughter has been wearing these for awhile but I have just started checking them out.  I love the wedges but I am not sure how this "old lady" would do in 3 inch wedges.  I mean I wouldn't want to topple over while walking. I do like their classic styles too - they even have a PINK pair.  They might have to be on my list to pack when I head to National Conference in HOTLANTA.

I have more products/ companies that I love along with some wonderful friends who are in business that I will share as time goes on.  Have a ThityOne-derful day.

 

Saturday Morning......

This has been an AMAZING week filled with tears of joy and tears of sadness.  A chapter in my life (and my daughter, Belinda's) closed this week with the final payment being received on the mortgage that I held on our old home but many new chapters opened......  

The first as a proud Momma!  Belinda has been accepted into the University of New England's Masters Program for Social Work on the accelerated program.  She starts online in May and will be done in 18 months with her Masters in Macro Social Work.  All this while working a full-time and an on-call job with troubled kids.  

Next, Jennifer Jones, my only long distance recruit, added two more women to our Thirty One team - Rays of Hope.  I met Jennifer on my way to National Conference last year and was so excited when she signed up.  Our team is growing deep which is great news! 

I won a door prize at the Family Wellness and Beauty Day so yesterday I got to pick up my prize (and place an order) for Quenchwear clothing.  This is a line of clothing that is all about fit, style, versatility and sun protection.  I can't wait to show off my new interchangeable outfits.  These will definitely be making the trip to HOTLANTA in July for National Conference.

The greatest blessing came on Thursday at my Weight Watcher's meeting.  No, I didn't loose but actually gained .4 (a VERY minor setback).  I had TWO AHA moments though - 1) tracking is key to my success & my weight loss journey and 2) people actually helped by my blog.  Thank you AnnaMarie for sharing how my one blog post helped you.  Your kind words made my day and helped to reinforce what Vanessa Coppes (my blog mentor) told me.     

Time for family as hubby has off tomorrow.  Enjoy your weekend and have a ThirtyOne-derful day.

More Thoughts on Bullying

Last night while I was at my part-time job, I overhead a co-worker telling the story of an incident that happened in her daughter's pre-school.  Yes, I said PRE-SCHOOL.

It seems that her daughter has a favorite pair of boots, they are pink and she wears them a lot as well as a favorite blanket that she likes to take when she naps.  One of the boys at the school teases her, calls her names and torment her by trying to take her blanket.  When she cried, she was told to just "ignore him".  I listened to the mom talk about how she didn't want to cause a problem at the school or with the other child's parents since it was just pre-school.  She did talk to her daughter about how children can be mean at which point a child's favorite question "why?".  On the surface or in the past, as parents and/ or teachers, we would just brush it aside and say "kids will be kids" but this is bullying.  

I think back to a time in my life when my family moved from the first home I grew up in to a "new" bigger home.  I think I was in 5th grade, and I definitely did not want to move. I remember going on vacation with my grandparents and returning to a new home with new bedroom furniture - all kind of exciting. Then I had to go to school!  UGH!  A new neighborhood but the same school district.  Different bus, new kids a lot of whom were the "popular" kids or the "nerds".  I never really felt like I fit in.  The popular kids were mean - visions of the movie "Mean Girls" comes to mind.  I made friends with one girl in the neighborhood but all of my other friends were in other parts of the township.  As I think back, I was bullied - made to feel like I didn't belong, not invited to many of the parties in the neighborhood and just a general lack of confidence developed in me that has haunted me for years especially when needing to step out of my comfort zone.  A desire "to be liked" set in and created years of turmoil.  Did I think I was being bullied?  NO!  Did I tell anyone?  NO!  On the surface I was a normal child but on the inside there were many ghosts.

I share all of this because "bullying" comes in many forms and effects everyone differently.  For some, it creates low self-esteem or the need to be accepted.  For others, they withdraw and become depressed.  While for others, they hide their feelings and learn to cope with the bully and the situation.  Maybe if we started talking to our children when they are younger (pre-school age) about being nice to one another - you know "treat others like you would want to be treated"  we could effect a positive change in the lives of our children.

Check out We're Kickin' It - AntiBullying Program.  Kickin' It® is created to empower & inspire childrens’ creativity, imagination, self expression, passion, dreams and aspirations, positively impacting them to overcome negative obstacles that would inhibit them from developing into strong, independent, healthy functioning members of society.   

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!

A Chapter Ends

 A bittersweet moment on Tuesday... for the last 6 years, I have been holding the mortgage on our old home (a double wide trailer in Atlantic County).  The buyer was a single mom with 4 kids who has struggled with growing up over the last 6 years.  A milestone for both of us, the mortgage has been paid in full.  WOW!  Who would have thought it would have been such an emotional day!

When I look back on the 22 years that I have owned the trailer, I can't help but think of the memories - good and bad.  As my daughter Belinda Heldreth said, it was the only home she ever knew.  My hubby, Rob, shared about how we became a couple and struggled to become a family.  As for me, I can't even begin to share all of the memories that are wrapped up in our old home.  The remodeling that was done by us - Belinda & I along with my aunts Edythe & Elsie.  The Christmases spent decorating the house and setting up Belinda's Department 56 village.  The family dinners.  The tears as we came to terms with my grandmother's Alzheimers and the need to place her in a nursing home.  The years that Elsie lived down the street so "her buddy" Belinda got to visit daily.  The week-end home that Edythe had around the corner so that we could all help take care of Grams as she got sick.  The list goes on, and the tears are again flowing.  I never thought that it would hit me this hard.

That chapter of my life is closed, worn like a good book that will be opened and revisited through pictures and stories for years to come.  It is a new chapter for Julie and her family.  A single mom who I have seen grow into a women who is working towards opening her own business.  Someone who actually thanked me for the tough love and the support along the way.  In her own way, she was a blessing to me.  A reminder of where I was, how far I have come  and the importance of giving back in some small way to others who may be struggling.  Something that I have tried to do since I got into recovery those 22 years ago.  

As a chapter ends, a new one begins.  Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!

Random thoughts

Good Morning Everyone - today is one of those mornings when I don't have much to say.  AMAZING, right?  LOL.  Just some random thoughts to clear my head.  

Words can't describe the emotions that I had on Monday when I heard about the bombing in Boston at the marathon.  My thoughts quickly reverted to that dreadful morning on 9-11.  The day of the dreadful shooting on the Virginia Tech campus.  The days were similar.  No one was expecting anything this horrific to happen. Lives lost and lives changed forever.  These days brought me to tears of gratitude for the safety of my family and friends.  911 and the VT shootings could have had different impacts on my life as family and close friends were "too close for comfort" to the events of those days.

During times like these, I reflect on all of the blessings in my life.  Whether those blessings have come through trials or whether we see them as precious gifts - we have all been given them.  My blessings include my family - although we don't see each other as often as I would like (life always gets in the way) they are always in my thoughts and prayers.  The people that God has placed in my life for sometimes just a moment, for a season or for a lifetime are a precious gift. The trials of my life include my battle with drugs, my bulimia, cancer that struck and took my grandfather, my Aunts - Edythe & Elsie and Alzheimer's that took my grandmother all helped to shape me into the person that I am today.  The greatest blessing of all is my daughter, Belinda Heldreth and of course my hubby, Rob.  

What are your blessings?  Think about all of the things - good or bad - in your life that have helped to shape and guide you to where you are.  Hug the ones that you love and tell them that you love them.  Reach out to old friends when you are thinking about them instead of waiting for the "perfect moment".  Life is short.  God has a plan for all of us and although we don't know what it is, we need to savor every moment.  Take the good with the bad.  Turn it over to God and he will get you through it.

Thanks for listening to my ramblings... Have a ThirtyOne-derful day.

Budgets and Budgeting

For many people the word "budget" brings mixed emotions and I am one of them.  As a grant writer & program person for over 25 years, budgets were my friend.  They kept me on track so that my spending did not get out of hand and they allowed our funders to know exactly where their money went as far as costs.

Home was an entirely different story.  Why is it that something that made perfect sense at work NEVER worked at home? Am I the only one?  LOL.  Creating a list of expenses and knowing what to pay was the easy part, living within the budget was the tough part.  I made lots of excuses - single mom, didn't make enough and the list goes on.  In reality, I never learned (until recently) how to live within my means.  Credit cards were my friend and I used them a lot while I was a single mom trying to provide for my daughter.  Fast forward - daughter grown, credit card debt still there (not as bad as before, paid a lot off and closed the account) and I am just NOW learning to live within my budget.  See you can teach an old "dog", new tricks.  I mean at age 55, you would think I would know this.  I took Dave Ramsey's financial university class and it was AWESOME when I was working full-time getting a regular paycheck.  I am now adjusting to receiving a commission check from my business instead of the bi-weekly checks.  Not an easy adjustment but this "old dog" is re-learning a new trick!  Mind you, I have a hubby who is debt-free and LIVES by budgets.  We have only been married for 2 years (on May 21st) so I have decided to be solely responsible for any past debt.

As for my business, I am learning how to take the skills that I learned in program budgeting and apply it to my direct sales business.  Here are some tips from Direct Sales Education Foundation on creating a budget for your small business:

• Know your averages: It’s important that you know what the average income you can earn is for each activity in your business, as well as average expenses. 
• Know your fixed and variable costs: Are there things you pay for each month, quarter, or year? 
• Write it all down: It is essential that you keep track of the money coming in and going out from your business. 
• Be conservative in your estimates: It’s important to have some extra income set aside for unanticipated expenses, so you have some flexibility in your business. 

Check out the complete article at: Direct Sales Education Foundation. Don't be afraid to ask for help. There are lots of tools out there that can help you to overcome this hurdle which is one of the top causes for businesses failing.

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day.

Is it a Successful Vendor Event?

The age old question of what makes for a successful vendor event differs depending on what hat I am wearing - Thirty One consultant or crafter.

I have been attending craft/vendor shows for over 20 years.  In the beginning, I did doll clothes along with my sister, Kathy Gourley.  Both of us spent hours sewing, I did the leg work for the shows and she did all of the crocheting.  We sold American Girl Doll clothes and accessories.  Success at a craft/vendor show then was to make not only the cost of our space but to have 3 times the amount of the cost in sales.  As a crafter, you never really get paid for the true cost of an item - supplies plus time - but the 3 times rule seems to have worked for man including us.  We gave up doll clothes about 6 years ago when the demand started to die and shows were not as successful as they once were.  In the last 3 years, I have begun making small inspirational angels which are GREAT sellers during the fall.  I believe that they are wonderful year round but the demand has really only been in the fall/ winter so I have started only doing shows during the fall/ winter as a crafter.  Knowing your market and your target audience for your product is the key when selling crafts.

As a direct sales consultant, my view of a vendor show takes on a whole new meaning.  I have learned over time that it is not all about the sales the day of the show.  Of course, I want to make back the money that I spent for "renting" the space but if I don't, does it mean that it wasn't a success?  As a DS consultant, my business is based on building relationships - with customers, with potential hostesses, potential corporate clients and anyone else who may be interested in our products.  My goal is to help them find a solution for their particular dilemma - organizing a space like their home, car or purse or getting gifts for family, friends or customers. Connecting with people takes time so the less than 5 minutes they may look at your product and talk to you may not be the time for them to make a decision about something. I share a catalog, my information and some suggestions  in the hopes that if not today, one day when they are looking for that special item - they will call me.  If they see me at enough local events, then we start to build a relationship of trust which can lead to more business.  Two summers ago, I did a VERY large outdoor event and had sales the day of the event and gathered lots of contact information.  Over the next several months, orders trickled in as a result of those contacts.  One evening I received a call from a woman who was trying to place an order online.  In the midst of talking, I found out that she had been at that event and over the last YEAR had received my monthly newsletter.  That night she placed her own PARTY order for over $300.  Since, she has referred customers to me because I was able to turn her "order" into a "party" that got her additional FREE product.  An "AHA" moment for me.  It is all about the customer service and not about what I need or want.

So, if there isn't a lot of foot traffic (customers) at your next vendor event - make the most of it.  Don't be "negative nelly" and just complain - network with the other vendors, make the most of the people who do come through the doors.  Take an extra 5 minutes to talk to a customer or someone who is interested in your products.  Practice the 10 second rule - ask everyone who stops by your table a question - then LISTEN!  Who knows they may hold the key to LOTS more people who may want your product.  

Tip for today - decide what is going to be your definition of a "successful vendor event" BEFORE you go.  Remember though the sales are great they may be short lived - wouldn't it be nice to also network with people who could help you to grow your business.  I am going to talk more about opportunities to grow your business in the next few days...

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!