Are you a quitter?

I've always been a quitter. I'm not proud of it. I hate it about myself. But I just always have been. When something got hard or didn't come easy anymore I'd quit.
So it's no surprise to myself or anyone around me that I almost quit selling Thirty One.
I would sit at home with my daughter and whine (in my head) about how it wasn't working for me. Doesn't that sound funny? Sitting around whining because something wasn't working? Rather than going out and making it work. I think I expected people to call me to book a party. Thankfully my lovely director who I hated then and adore now refused to let me quit. She gave me a little tough momma love and I got off my tuckus and got busy. And you know what? She was right. When you work this business like it's your job, it will pay you like one. When you work it like a hobby, it's going to pay you like a hobby. End of story.
So when I stopped whining and started working my business and life in general thrived!
I've never regretted NOT giving up. But I know I would have regretted giving up. 

Who doesn't love Target??

These accordion files from Target are AMAZING for hostess packets. They have a slot for everything including any money or orders taken by your hostess before her party. And best part? They're only $1! You have to catch the Target $1 spot on the right day but when you do stock up! I love finding these. Especially when they have the pink ones!
And my hostesses love having everything they need at their fingertips!

Do you hustle?

I have to remind myself of this. You have to hustle to succeed. It's just fact. I'm a bit of a dreamer. I have a lot of big ideas but I lack the follow through. Thirty One is the first thing that I've really worked for and I am so thankful for it! I found something I love and I can be passionate about! So that helps when it's time to hustle! Now off to work!!

Don't throw out your old catalogs!

How many of you direct sales consultants have tons of outdated catalogs? I know I do. I tend to buy too many so I don't run out. I'm then left with a big stack that can't be used. I decided to put them to use! Waste nothing! My wonderful friend over at Dear Madaline Designs taught me to make these cute envelopes last summer. My life was changed forever! I now use them for everything!! Christmas gifts, goodie bags, door prizes, so many choices!! Now I will spread the love and share with you! Normally I use a glue stick for these, but the catalog paper is so slick and it's going through the post office I thought it should be extra tight. Hot glue it is!
Here we go! Super cute envelopes in just ten steps!!

Step 1: Gather up your old catalogs. Open it to the middle and find the seam. Remove the staples. Don't use your fingernails! These guys are tough!!

Step 2: Look at all these beautiful future envelopes. Choose your favorite page!

Step 3: Fold the right side in, to meet the middle seam. Flatten the fold nice and thin.

Step 4: Repeat step 3 on the left side.
(you can fold these to make the envelope as small or large as you like)

Step 5: Glue the seam down, from the top all the way to the bottom. I use as thin a strip of glue as possible so it's not bulky.

Step 6: Glue the bottom of the envelope closed, as close to the bottom edge as possible. Remember, thin strips of glue if you're using hot glue. Bulky envelopes are no good.

Step 7: Fold over the bottom of the envelope and glue down. Flatten that fold down nice and tight.

Step 8: Fold down the top of the envelope. I like to make a bigger fold for the top. You will not be gluing this one down!

Step 9: Add your fillings for your happy mail! Your customers will be so excited!
I like to seal the envelope with my business information. Maybe someone will see something they like on my "envelope" and they'll know exactly who to contact!

Step 10: Add your labels and head off to the post office! I guarantee these envelopes will not soon be forgotten!
(I have not been to the post office yet, I don't know how much postage this will take but will update when I do. I can't imagine it will be much.)






I tried to explain it well but if you have questions, feel free to ask in the comments!

Side note, when using these for goodie bags I punch two holes in the top flap and tie it with a ribbon. The bow is usually MUCH bigger but I was toying with the idea of sending the bow through the post. I decided I'd rather use a sticker with all my info on it. 

Good quality is so refreshing!!

Man tested and approved for durability. 

The Thirty One thermal collection is water resistant, not water proof. Try telling "the man" that. This picnic thermal spent a day at the golf course full of ice and a night in the carport full of water. And no puddle! You can't beat a quality product! Especially when it's misused!! That man does not listen to me!!

Do you plan?

Getting ready to grocery shop. Trying out a weekly trip. I usually buy for two or three weeks at a time. We'll see how this works. How often do you go? Do you meal plan? I love the #Cozi app for keeping up with my recipes and shopping list. And #flylady helps me keep my house clean and happy!

Happy President's Day!!

A great gift for any occasion! It has the presidential seal of approval!

















background graphic thanks to http://www.freevector.com/

How to organize your car with just three products!

My car is always kind of a wreck. I can never find anything. I finally decided to take control!! I bought three organizers from Thirty One, the Hang Up Activity Organizer, the Flip Top Organizing Bin, and the Pack and Pull Caddy. I honestly wasn't expecting to love it this much. But it makes my OCD heart skip a beat.
The proof is in the pictures. #glorious!

Getting in the holiday spirit!

I'm trying to make my house more festive without breaking the bank. So being a huge crafter I have oodles of scraps at my disposal. So I did a little crafting today. I love the results! I took old planters that I'd long since killed the plants inside, and made a B with hot glue, and then spray painted them black. I threw a scrap bow together, cut some limbs from the christmas tree on our property and VOILA!

I don't know what kind of tree it is. I know it's some kind of "Christmas" tree. But oh my, those tree branches were not kind to my fingers! Apparently they have stickers. But it's totally worth it because my house smells like heaven!! If heaven were in a pine tree.

Hopefully when The Man gets home he won't be upset that I "pruned" our tree a little bit. And also he won't notice that I first attempted to cut the branches with something that I think is used to work on cars.

A little outdoor fun!!

T and I went down to our local park to run off some energy. I'm pretty sure she had the best time of her life. It was pretty cute. She played in the dirt, tried to eat rocks, chased Mommy around, went through a hay fort. It was a blast. I love having somewhere so close to go play. It's literally right down the road. Saves on gas and we still feel like we did something active for the day. It's hard to break up the monotony of the day sometimes. A friend of mine over at thepartyoffour.blogspot.com shared a great post about living each day with intention. It really hit home for me, I try so hard to do that with Princess T but it doesn't always happen.

Stay at home mom's do not get sick days..

Mommy feels like poo.  There's the old adage that "when Momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy", Well it's true to a certain extent. Kids and husbands please be kind to mommy and keep her happy, because she will in turn make you happy. BUT I try very very hard not to let my bad mood, or my feeling bad affect T and her daily life. Yes there are sometimes it can't be helped, but she's just a kid. She won't understand that I'm not really mad at her, I'm just feeling really bad or ticked off at Daddy.
Today I have a migraine that is going from my right temple all the way into my right shoulder blade. My shoulder, ear, head, neck all hurt. You name it, it hurts. And then to top it off, as I'm laying my head on the heating pad trying to ease the pain I stab myself in the RIGHT eye with the plastic corner. So needless to say that felt awesome. So now my entire right upper body hurts in some way.
T is asleep and I'm really trying to get my game face on before she wakes up. It's tough. I wonder how some of the other mommy's do it. I know that my mom had very bad migraines when we were kids. Like bad to the point she couldn't get out of bed some days. We turned out ok, and worship our mom. So a few sick days here and there aren't going to kill me. Or T. But I want to be a fun, loving, and playful Mom always and you can't do that  (as well) when you are sick. So this mess needs to back off!! I don't have time to be less than my best for my precious little girl.
How do you other Mommy's handle "sick days"?

Guide to being a good wife..

If you will notice the link directly to your right, it is a guide to being a SAHM. The feminist in you will probably hate it. But if you really think about it, you will realize these are things you should be doing. I consider the house and my child to be my JOB. But you don't get paid you say, uh, yes, I do get paid. R goes out and works and provides for this family so that I can stay home and raise our daughter, he gives us anything we need, and takes great care of us. And that is my payment. Plus every once in a while T slips me a bonus check, kisses, hugs, drool, something slimy down my shirt. She's always generous.
So take a look at the link, and try to implement some of those things in your daily life.