You have to!! Because Jesus said!! Out of the mouths of babes…

As an Educational Consultant for Usborne Books – I get to do LOTS of fun things with kids.  In fact, that is one of the reasons I became a part of the company 2 years ago.  I started college thinking I wanted to be a teacher – however – being a “teacher” in Texas isn’t all it is cracked up to be…  In my opinion, teachers in Texas do not have the ability to teach children the way that they need to be taught.  There are so many rules and regulations that as a parent it is often hard for me to help my children with their homework because it has to be done a specific way.  That doesn’t make sense to me…but I digress.  I could go on for hours and hours about that.

The point is that with Usborne, I get to go into schools, preschools, daycares, libraries and community centers and hang out with the coolest kids!!  They are always saying the funniest things that make me smile, make me laugh and always make my day.

Today I spent the day with over 50 kids ages 3 and up.  I read them the story of ‘Jonathan James and the Whatif Monster’, which is one of my absolute favorites.  The message it carries is one every child (and adult!) should hear and believe.

After the book reading I sat with each child and painted their face with something unique to their personality.  I spent the day painting smiley faced suns, flowers, butterflies, heart shaped ladybugs, snakes and Hello Kitty.  One little boy asked me to paint the yellow bird from Angry Birds!  I told him I had never done that one, but that I would try.  When I was finished I took a pic and showed him and he LOVED it…although I thought I had done a terrible job!  All of the kids told them how much they liked it and it made me so happy to know I put that smile on his face…and the angry bird… 😉

Another little boy sat down (after I had just finished a dinosaur on another little boys face) and asked if I could do a dinosaur for him.  I told him I could and showed him the picture of the one I had just done.  He said, “Well actually, my favorite dinosaur is the Brachiosaurus.”  I laughed and told him I wasn’t sure I could quite do that specific dinosaur justice.  He then spent a solid minute explaining to me what it looked like.  I finally got it across that it wasn’t an option.  Then he says, “Well, actually my favorite animal that is alive in the world we live in today is…is….is…the giant gorilla.  Can you paint the giant gorilla on my face?”  The only thing I could think to say while trying not to laugh was, “I’m not sure it would fit on your face.”  I tried to explain that since there were so many kids and only one of me that to make it fair to each of his friends that he would need to pick something from the list.  He finally picked the snake.  My example picture is a little green snake with brown triangle spots and a black tongue and eyes.  As I dipped my brush in the green paint he says, “Well actually, snakes are my very favorite animal in the world and I especially like the poison ones.  The ones in Texas aren’t poisonous and can’t bite you, but I like the ones that can.  Can you paint a really poisonous snake?”  This one scared me because I felt the need to explain to him the truth about Texas snakes!!  However, I wound up doing a green snake with black and red triangles and a red tongue.  This seemed to make him happy…finally.

After I painted their faces I stamped their little hands with our Usborne signature mascot – the duck!  They all loved that and a few even walked away saying quack quack. 🙂

The last class of the day was the school aged kids.  These are kids ages 5 and up that are in public school but are out for Summer vacation.  Because this room was more advanced, they had pop music playing on the radio while the kids were playing in various centers waiting on their turn to have their face painted.  There was this one little boy that really just made my whole day.  After listening to the local pop station, the teacher put in a Michael Jackson CD.  I wouldn’t have thought these kids knew who he was, much less enjoy his music.  This one little boy just absolutely made my day.  He stood in front of the stereo and danced to every single MJ song.  When I say he danced I mean he literally danced the dances MJ did in his videos for each song.  He had to have been about 7 years old and was just awesome.  He even did the crotch grab, which was funny, cute and awkward all at the same time.  I wasn’t quite sure how to feel about it, but his talent kept me entertained and in awe for sure.

I was finishing up my last face of the day (another Hello Kitty) when they started setting up for lunch.  Little Michael Jackson Jr. began to help set out the plastic ware and plates.  Just as I finished my last duck stamp and began to clean up my paint area, he walked up to the teacher as she was about to start dishing out food and said, “You have to serve me first, it says so in the Bible.”  I couldn’t help but come to a complete stop and watch the scene play out.  The teacher didn’t even know what to say and just looked at him, completely speechless.  He realized she was not on the same page as him so he continued, “The Bible says that the last person to get served should be the first person to get served and I got my plate after everyone else, so you have to give me food before anyone else.”  Now the teacher had caught up and without missing a beat says, “Didn’t you get a spoon before anyone else?”

The whole exchange just made me laugh and think about what his home life is like.  I envisioned his Sunday mornings started with Bible Study, then Church Service, followed by lunch and an afternoon of Michael Jackson dance moves training.  It’s so interesting to think about what types of lifestyles each child has.

I am lucky that the future I have planned for myself includes a company that puts me in front of children like this everyday.  The daycare was so impressed they decided they’d like for me to come back (possibly quarterly) and do book fairs for them that often as well. 🙂  I can’t wait until I get to go back.

Have you experienced a child doing or saying something hilarious (or in some cases embarrassing to you but funny to someone else)?  I would love to hear your stories below!!

As a final note I’ll leave you with a short (very embarrassing) story from when my Mini Me was 3.  It was mid October and we still had no idea what she was going to be for Halloween.  I was doing a little late night grocery shopping and thought I’d flip through the costume rack while I had the time.  The only people on the isle were me, my daughter and another woman.  Now the size or race of a person would NEVER make it in my blog unless it was relevant to the story – and this is totally relevant.  The other woman was an older, black woman that was fairly heavyset.  She was on one side of the isle and we were on the other – baskets side by side.  I kept pulling things from the rack and showing them to the Mini Me: “How about a fairy? A princess? A witch? A pumpkin fairy princess?”  She just kept shaking her head no and was becoming increasingly more irritated.  As I was about to give up, I sighed rather heavily and said, “Ok then, if you don’t want to be any of these costumes what do you want to be?”  I suppose she was irritated because I didn’t already I know what she wanted to be.  So she responds with a very exasperated and very loud comment, “I WANNA BE A TITTY!  A BIG BLACK TITTY!” Oh. My. Goodness.  I am a redhead so when I blush its pretty obvious.  I went red from head to toe and turned to apologize and that poor woman was about to pee herself because she was laughing so hard.  Thank goodness she had a sense of humor – I was mortified!  Now every Halloween the Mini Me waits until we are in the middle of Walmart and with an evil little grin says, “Hey mom, know what I want to be for Halloween this year?” :o)

 

 

 

I am my own worst enemy…tis true.

Dear #Procrastination.

I detest you. I am dying to see the new books I “ordered”. Oh wait…because of you I put it off and now I’ll have to wait until next week to finally see what the Secrets of the Apple Tree really are, not to mention all the other Usborne goodies in my shopping cart. The office is closed for inventory the next two days and you knew that!  I am officially done with you! I have big plans for my business this year and I just can’t make them happen with you lurking around. It’s over. It’s time for me to move on and start hanging out with my cool friends: #Believe, #Motivation, #Determination, and #Success. So, no more visits from you! Absolutely unacceptable! Got it? Good!

~Sincerely, Cat.

GFTW – What we think, we become.

I use to think that procrastination was my biggest problem… I don’t think that anymore.  I’m pretty sure the problem is me!  I WANT so much.  I’m a pretty selfish gal when it gets right down to it.  I’ve come to realize that the things in life that I really “want”, the things that are truly important to me are just as important to my family, and the things in life that “I” really want are not as important.  Does that make sense?

For instance I want to more successful in my career.  That is a justifiable “want”.  My family want me to be successful so that we have a financial comfortable life.  I also want to have a massage every week (heck – everyday!), however this one isn’t up on the list of priorities when it comes to the family.  I’m sure they would appreciate clean laundry first.  So, I do believe it is time to re-evaluate my goals, make them more attainable and make 2014 uber special. 🙂

Here were the goals for last week and how I did on them:
This means that I did not get anywhere near my goal. 😦
This means that I did work on the goal but did not achieve exactly what I planned.
This means that I hit my goal – and basically that just proves that I am awesome. B-)
{This}… just extra bits of info.

(ALL OF THAT IS ACTUALLY IRRELEVENT SINCE I DIDN’T POST GOALS LAST WEEK…OR FOR SEVERAL WEEKS BEFORE THAT.) :

~ Habit of the Month :{January: Shining Your Sink} Super easy to do this. 🙂  And it makes waking up and walking in the kitchen so much nicer.  No matter how busy my life I can take 5 minutes to clean out the sink and wipe it down every night.  And this will make my family much happier.

~ Read daily :  Even if it is 5 minutes.  This is healthy and I should make it a priority.  I am going to set a timer for 3 times a day and if I don’t get the chance to read for 5 minutes the first 2 times – I’ll do it at the end of the night.

~ Blog weekly:  I would really like to blog every single day, and I will try to get something posted.  However, for now life is super busy and I should only commit to once a week.  That way if I get more up great, but once a week is definitely doable. 🙂

~ Health :  I have a hard time with this because of time.  It isn’t as simple as a quick “5 minute workout” a day.  You have to wear some time of forgiving fabric and then you have to shower afterwards.  I have a hard enough time finding time just to shower!  I do plan to try and figure out some type of workout schedule though.  Somehow.

~ Household :  I want to A.) try to get a load of laundry done and put away each day and B.) more importantly – I want to go through EVERYONE’S clothes and get rid of all the ones we don’t need.  For now I’ll focus on laundry and putting things that don’t fit anymore aside as I go.

~ Family :  Re-certify for the kids insurance.  Email Mini Me’s teacher and find out why she has a 3 on her progress report for Science. (No that is not a typo – it is a THREE! – I didn’t even know that was possible!)  Also, will be touching base with the mechanic to see exactly how much it is going to cost to have my cars (yes…cars 😦 ) fixed and when I can have one back to drive – because sharing with the Mister is no fun – and is putting a huge damper on my business plans!

~ Friends :  I have put a message in my phone that reminds me every day to simply “Bless some one”.  When that little ding goes off, I plan to send someone a text, FB message, etc. telling them how I awesome I think they are and why.  Hopefully, this will lift a few spirits.

~ Usborne :  BIG PLANS!!  This week I will call 20 schools and try to make appointments to mini book fairs for teachers only in the teachers lounge.  My goal is to get 4 schools to say yes.  Keep your fingers crossed for me!

~ Office :  Email my new contact to see if he can help me get my new website up and running.

~ School :  This week I will get myself back into the mode of going back to school.  Meeting new people, shaking more hands and looking forward to homework. 🙂

~ Self :  I plan to get my nails done this week – and maybe a pedicure – but definitely my nails. 🙂

“What we think, we become” ~Buddha

Well, I “think” I am a super star amazing success story.

And that is that. 🙂

Crap happens…. but you can always clean it up!

November 17th – November 23rd

So there is this weird thing that happens to me from time to time… it’s called crap.  Crap happens to me all the time!!  Does crap happen to you?!  By crap, I mean anything and everything that can hop in my way, get everything all messy and completely remove all sense of time from my mind while I try to figure out how to clean up the mess.  I hate crap – and crap hates me.  Crap stopped me from posting my goals for the week last week and crap did not allow me to finish all of the things I wanted to get done.

I’m done with this crap!!  It is almost the end of 2013 and how the heck can I start off on the right foot in 2014 if I keep stepping in crap with the wrong foot!! Ugh!!  So…looky looky at me – here it is Sunday night at 10:00pm and I am blogging my goals for the week!  Yippee!!!

Since crap got in my way last week I am going to take the goals I announced two weeks ago and just update them:
This means that I did not get anywhere near my goal. 😦
This means that I did work on the goal but did not achieve exactly what I planned.
This means that I hit my goal – and basically that just proves that I am awesome. B-)
{This}… just extra bits of info.

~ Habit of the Month :{November: Menu Planning} To make this a little more do-able I am going to commit to cooking twice this week.  It’s just so hard to coordinate our schedules, but I am going to make the crock pot my friend.

• Sunday – Everyone fends for themselves.  I go to work at 8:00 pm.
• Monday – Early dinner, eating out with kids after eye appt.’s and errands.
• Tuesday – Barbeque Meatloaf (in crock pot).
• Wednesday – Plans with friends.
• Thursday – To each their own tonight.  I work from 1:00 pm to 9:00 pm.
• Friday – To each their own tonight as well.  I work from Noon to 9:00 pm.
• Saturday – Smothered Pork Chops.
• And I might try this Cheesy Squash Casserole one night….maybe.

{My goal and the Flylady’s are two different ones.  It just isn’t an option to do a menu for my family all week really – not to her level of planning.  However, I was able to schedule it a little bit.  Tuesday was tough because it is Taco Tuesday at Rosa’s Café.  It is very economical and we eat there almost every Tuesday – so we stuck with what we know.  Saturday – I don’t even remember what happened (It’s been over a week – don’t judge me… I’ve slept at least once since then.) And the squash casserole I do still want to do – I just haven’t yet.  HOWEVER – in the week that I missed – the Mini Me and I made stuffed Bell Peppers AND recorded it so we can do a VLOG about it AND decided that we are going to cook something every Monday and upload it to YouTube to see how many followers we can get.  SUPER EXCITED about that!!…so there!  I feel super accomplished!  – And just wait till you see that cooking video!!)

~ Read daily :I am currently reading ‘The Read~Aloud Handbook‘ by Jim Trelease.  I will read this at least 15 minutes a day.  If I happen to finish it I’ll go back and re-read my highlighted sections. The book club thing sounds fun – but I think I am going to put that on the back burner for a bit.  {I did put the book club on the back burner – soooo NOT a priority.  I have to start thinking of my NEEDS and not WANTS or HEY I THINK THATS A GOOD IDEA’s.  As for reading don’t think I’ve read that book in 2 weeks.  I will try again this week.}

~ Blog daily :Even if it is just a thought of the day – I will blog every day in November.  Leaving this one the same.  Going to catch up since I am 4 days behind – and then I’ll blog once a day. 🙂  {So yeah….that whole “I’m going to…” thing – man, I have a hard time with that!!  I am going to change this to “I will try to…”  Hopefully, I’ll have more success with that!

~ Health :I will find 25 minutes at least 4 times this week to do my step aerobics video.  I burn 212 calories every time I do it!  I also plan to hit my goal weight this week to get closer to wining the DietBet I am doing for the Shayloss program!  I am only a pound and a half away!  There is still time to join the challenge if you are interested!  Just click on Shayloss and get started today! – As much of a joke as last week was I am going to try really hard to make this happen this week.  I am also going to visit the chiropractor this week.  I’ve been having headaches again and THAT is NOT an option.  {Ok…so I did not do the step aerobics hardly at all – but I was pretty active the last two weeks and I did eat pretty good and I DID hit my goal with the DietBet!!  I bet $30 that I could lose 4% of my body weight in 4 weeks.  I did hit my goal and for doing so I earned $43.12 – 1/2 of which is going to charity! 🙂  The friend that loaned me the step aerobics video and wave thingy wants it back so I am just going to buy a yoga mat and find another video to follow.  I hear there are some great free ones on YouTube. 🙂  I did go to the chiropractor that week and it felt great!!  I did not get to go last week though – and the headaches keep coming. :(}

~ Household : I am going to “Hard-Core” clean my bathroom this week.  I’ll probably pull a Fly-lady trick and just spend 15 minutes in it a day – but in the end it will be magazine worthy – which will make the Mister happy.  As much as men like the reason that bras exist, I know he can’t love seeing them hanging from the towel rack every morning…sigh. {Definitely did not happen.  I did do a 27 fling boogie one day (I am embarrassed to admit that even after picking 27 things and putting them where they go that my counter is still covered in CRAP!… There is that word AGAIN!! ugh.}

~ Family :I will make Little Man’s appointment for his 2 year check up and make appointments for all 3 kiddos to visit the dentist. {Not only did I actually make the appointments – I MADE the appointments!!  Instead of waking up late, finding some excuse not to go and rescheduling for weeks….I did it!!  And man was it tough. 😦  Turns out Little man was supposed to have an 18 month check up…. I thought it went from 1 year to 2 year.  So he had to get 6…yes 6…shots!!  3 in each thigh!  Even worse – they made me hold him down!  Even WORSE – when we thought we were all done they said that we had to have a “Lead test” done on his blood since he has Medicaid – and it had to be done intravenously.  So not only were they going to have to stick him with yet another needle (after I just got him to forgive me and give me kisses), they were going to make me hold him again AND it had to be an entire tube pulled from his vein. 😥  I just want to cry again just thinking about it.  It was horrible.

I’m really glad I didn’t miss out on the dentist appointments.  The Big Kid had 2 tiny cavities that they did quick fills on and cleaned his teeth.  The dentist said overall they looked good but he would need to make sure he was brushing better so he didn’t get more cavities. (Man, I suck.)  Then the Mini Me (who has a horrible fear of anyone touching her teeth) did really well with the initial appointment – but as it turns out one of her adult teeth grew on top of one of her baby teeth and split it in half. 😦  So…it was going to have to be extracted from 2 different places. 😦  I’m feeling like a super mom at this point. 😦   We took her back the next week so that she could have an oral sedation done to ease her anxiety.  It worked out so well!!!  She didn’t even know he had removed a tooth!  She thought she just went in for a cleaning.  Little Man’s teeth look good. 🙂  No cavities.  But we do need to make sure we are brushing really well – which he hates.  However there is some dark staining on his bottom teeth which the dentist said was from too much iron as a baby – but he wasn’t on any kind of supplements or anything – so I need to do some research on this.  However – I did get the task accomplished. :)}

~ Friends : I will absolutely choose a friend everyday to send an uplifting message to.  {I only did this once.  I did have a busy week, but crap kept creeping up on me…you know like crap does.  I really want to make this a priority.}

~ Usborne :I need to make a list of possible charities to benefit from my event in November.  I also need to contact 5 daycares every day.  I need to do 5 Customer Care Calls at least 3 times this week. I also need to do one YouTube video of the book I choose for the Book of the Week.  Keeping these goals and adding this one: Calling all of the surrounding cities and getting info on the Chambers of Commerce for each.  I have made the choice to move forward with this as my career – so I MUST make these things happen!  {Ok…so I did work on the list of charities and am still doing research on them.  I only contacted 1 daycare, didn’t do any customer care calls, no YouTube videos or calling about Chambers.  BUT – in the last few days I did contact someone about a possible partnership that could be BIG – and I do mean TEXAS BIG!!  I can’t say anymore now…don’t want to spoil the possible surprise. 😀  And I did post a Book of the Week and video tonight!! …although that won’t count until next week.  Also, this last week on Thursday morning I got up and went to a women’s networking group!  I had a ton of fun, made some new friends and was super proud that I got out of bed and went on a Thursday!  Since I bartend Thu & Fri – I usually don’t do anything but sleep in before I have to go to work.  I’m going to try and start getting up!}

~ Avon : I need to touch base with the 3 ladies above me in Avon to let them know my decision.  Then I need to begin building my long list of inventory so I can sell it and clean out the space in my living room that has been my Avon office for the last 3 years.  This is a good thing… {I did talk with my 3 uplines/friends personally to let them know about my decision to leave Avon.  My direct upline is going to allow me to be a helper for her so I can still get Avon to my family and friends (which will help her sales) and I will still get a discount on my personal products.  This is a total win/win.  I get to still be a tiny part of Avon – but focus all my attention on the other things in my life.  I have not cleaned out my inventory though – and I definitely need to get that done.}

~ Office :I will do a 27 Fling “Email” Boogie in each email account every day.  This means I will take the top 27 emails in my in-boxes and do with them what needs to be done.  (Delete, Move, Print, Follow-up, Reply, Unsubscribe)  I will also do a 27 Fling “Trash” Boogie on my desk every day.  This means I will throw 27 things on my desk in the garbage. 😀 {I worked on my email a little here and there but never once did I do the 27 Fling Boogie. 😦  I did do it to my desk once and it looks better – but is not clean.}

~ Self :I am going to check into the spa in Dallas that my friend told me about.  I plan to pick a painting to do in November – maybe 2.  I am also going to complete my FAFSA application and touch base with the TCC offices to see about what classes would be best for me to take when I enroll again next semester. (Yes, I realize I am just going to add something else to my plate by going back to school…however – I think I can make a difference in the world and I need to be educated to do that.)  {I did not have time to check into the spa…maybe I’ll “try” to do it this week.  However, I did pick a painting that I want to do this month.  It is beautiful – now I just have to try and fit it into my budget.  I also did complete my FAFSA and contact TCC about what course of action to take.  Now I just have to wait until Nov. 22nd to register. :)} 

And these are my goals for this week — and I am going to try super hard to do better.

~ Habit of the Month :{November: Menu Planning} To make this a little more do-able I am going to “try” to cook twice this week.

• Sunday – Everyone fends for themselves…mainly because I’ve had a long day!
• Monday – Momma Cat & Mini Me’s Cooking Show (stay tuned!)
• Tuesday – Taco Tuesday…let’s be honest – it’s going to happen…lol.
• Wednesday – Smothered Pork Chops in the Crock Pot.  I’ll try to blog about it….no promises.
• Thursday – To each their own tonight.  I work from 1:00 pm to 9:00 pm.
• Friday – To each their own tonight as well.  I work from Noon to 9:00 pm.
• Saturday – Depends on the weather.  If it is getting cold again I will probably do Chicken and Dumplings…if not – I’ll probably still do something with chicken – just not sure what.
• And I might try this Cheesy Squash Casserole one night….maybe.

~ Read daily :I am currently reading ‘The Read~Aloud Handbook‘ by Jim Trelease.  I will read this at least 15 minutes a day.  If I happen to finish it I’ll go back and re-read my highlighted sections. Going to keep this on the list.  15 minutes isn’t too much to ask!!

~ Blog daily :Even if it is just a thought of the day – I will blog every day this week.  Leaving this one the same.  I won’t be catching up….too far behind now.  However – I am also going to commit to leaving at least 5 comments on someone else’s blog this week!  And if I find it needs to be shared – I’ll Press it – which will count for my blog for the day. 🙂

~ Health :I have downloaded a new app that is supposed to make me 5K ready in 8 weeks.  I really, really, really want to do the Zombie Run next year which I hear is going to be in February – although dates aren’t listed on their website yet.  I also want to do the Run or Dye but their website isn’t really that updated for all locations yet either.  So I am going to try really hard to use this app daily.  Every day it tells you what the challenge is.  I want to get up and go running in the mornings but the problem with that is that A. It’s about to get really cold and B. I’m not sure what my schedule is going to be once school starts.  So I’m going to check into a gym membership so I can do the challenge there on the treadmill.  Also, I have a really old treadmill that I could use if I could just get the garage cleaned out enough to lay it down and use it…hmmm…

~ Household : I am going to “Hard-Core” clean my bathroom this week.  I’ll probably pull a Fly-lady trick and just spend 15 minutes in it a day – but in the end it will be magazine worthy.  I am going to try this again.  This week I am going to put this on my calendar.  I find that when my phone says, “Hey dummy – you need to go do this right now!” I tend to get up and do it.

~ Family :  I am going to try really hard to keep up the “Momma Cat & Mini Me Cooking Show”.  We plan to cook something every Monday and then post it by Wednesday.  This means that I am going to have to be diligent about editing the videos so I can get them uploaded.  I did purchase Thank You cards today so I am going to try really hard to get them filled out from Liam’s birthday present, let him “sign” them and get them sent out.

~ Friends : I will absolutely choose a friend everyday to send an uplifting message to.  I am going to add this to my calendar too. 🙂

~ Usborne : This is really important to me so I am going to make it a bulleted list.

• November Charity – Finalize details with Cooks Children’s Hospital
• Daycares/Preschools – Call at least 5 this week
• Customer Care Calls – Try to connect with 1 customer every day
• Book of the Week – Try to make a YouTube video or at the very least post a picture of it on my FB pages and Pinterest with a link to my website.
• Community – Contact local Chambers of Commerce and Community centers for activities I can be a part of – I will contact at least 1 this week.
• Place orders for all “Christmas All Year Long” customers.
• Go to the women’s networking group I went to last Thursday.
• I’m doing an event Friday from 7 to 9 pm and all day Saturday to benefit the American Cancer Society.

~ Avon : Must work on getting this inventory out of my house!

~ Office :I will try do a 27 Fling “Email” Boogie in at least 1 email account every day until I’m caught up.  I will also try do a 27 Fling “Trash” Boogie on my desk every day. 😀

~ School : Adding this category because it is now a daily thing.  This week I need to pick my tentative classes and then try to get them first thing Friday morning (the 22nd) when open registration starts.  In the mean time I need to call and find out if I can go to 2 different campuses in the same semester.

~ Self : This category is the easiest (because I know what I want to do) and the hardest (because it makes me feel selfish.)

• I am going to look into gym memberships – although I need to be careful because they should be offering killer deals soon to accommodate everyone’s New Years Resolutions.
• Possibly pay for the painting class that is on the 24th…if I can squeeze it in.
• Picked up a new hobby (crocheting) and I’d like to commit to doing that at least 1 day this week for 15-20 minutes before bed.  I KNOW I have a million things to do – here is my justification.  Crocheting is relaxing.  I can make gifts for other people.  Heck – if I get good enough – I can sell stuff on Etsy!!  This isn’t a priority – and I won’t even mark it red if I don’t get to do it – but I’d like to try and fit it in.

Let’s be honest – we all step in crap from time to time.  Nothing can change that… however – we can try to look out for it, avoid it if we can and clean it up if we didn’t see it coming!!  It’s not the crap that is the problem really…it’s how we choose to deal with it that really counts.  And that is that. 🙂

Goals for the week!! (Nov. 3 – Nov.9’13)

Well, well, well…we meet again – Mr. Procrastination and Mr. Crappy Time Management!!  I’m pretty sure I caught a glimpse of Mr. Crazy For Thinking I Could Do It All, too. Ambitious is one thing – psycho….completely different definition.  I know!  It surprised me too!!  I do think I want to keep it going though. (Psycho kind of defines me from time to time.)  So I’m going to keep it going to the end of November and if I haven’t gotten a wrangle on things (is wrangle even a word – maybe just in Texas?!) – then I’ll slow it down a bit.

Here were the goals for last week and how I did on them:
This means that I did not get anywhere near my goal. 😦
This means that I did work on the goal but did not achieve exactly what I planned.
This means that I hit my goal – and basically that just proves that I am awesome. B-)
{This}… just extra bits of info.

~ Habit of the Month :{October: Paper Clutter} {November: Menu Planning} So this week there are only 2 days left of October. So I plan to spend at least 15 minutes both days on clearing the clutter out of my office area – starting with my desk. {Didn’t do even 5 minutes either day!  I started and then got side-tracked.} Friday will start the new month with Menu Planning. That is tough for me because all of my family members are on a completely different schedule – so I’m excited about making this challenge. I plan to spend 15 minutes on both Friday and Saturday planning a menu. First stop – Breakfast.  {Menu-shmenu….phthbpht (that is how I think you spell the sound that your tongue makes when you stick it out and blow), I didn’t do this either.  It is going to be a real challenge!!}

~ Read daily :I am currently reading ‘The Read~Aloud Handbook‘ by Jim Trelease. I will read this at least 15 minutes a day. If I happen to finish it I’ll go back and re-read my highlighted sections. And I am going to look more into starting up a book club with my girlfriends. {I did read my book one night and set the timer for 15 minutes.  I enjoyed what I was reading so much I actually re-started the timer 2 more times!  So I read for a total of 45 minutes – plus I finished the page and a half of the chapter I was on after the timer went off the last time.  So technically…I got 3 days worth of reading goals in! 🙂  I did not have time to look into the whole book club thing though.}

~ Blog daily :Even if it is just a thought of the day – I will blog every day in November. {Yeah – so no.  However, today is the 4th and I am going to post 4 blogs tonight to play catch up. I am going to mark it red since I didn’t do it last week though.}

~ Health :I will find 25 minutes at least 4 times this week to do my step aerobics video. I burn 212 calories every time I do it! I also plan to hit my goal weight this week to get closer to wining the DietBet I am doing for the Shayloss program! I am only a pound and a half away! There is still time to join the challenge if you are interested! Just click on Shayloss and get started today! {I just burned several calories laughing my butt off at the thought of me actually exercising everyday for 25 minutes.  What the hell was I thinking?! (says the completely lazy bum in me!)}

~ Household :I would like to do a load of laundry every day. Wash, Dry, Fold & Put Away. I am currently working on getting the Big Kid and the Mini Me to do their own laundry. So on their days I won’t do the laundry but I’ll make sure they do. {Ok…so I did “some” laundry.  I washed three loads, 2 of them are sitting on the table in the laundry room to be folded and put away – which means I’ll have to re-fluff them to get the wrinkles out (because the one thing I do not do… is iron.  Ever.  Period.), 2 load is in the dryer and I’ve tossed a few things in the washer today.  I will get this laundry 3 step system down one day.  Or win the lottery and hire a house-keeper. 🙂}

~ Family :I need to make Little Man’s appointment for his 2 year check up and I need to make an appointment for the Big Kid and the Mini Me for their annual eye exams. {Eye exams – check! Have not made little man’s appt. yet.  I honestly was waiting for my new insurance packet to come in so I can switch Pediatrician’s.  It came today.}

~ Friends :I want to text or PM on FB a different friend everyday that I haven’t talked to in over a month – just to say Hi and wish them a great day! I also want to send someone a card in the mail this week. {I did call 1 friend for no reason and 1 friend to vent but didn’t send any “Have a great day” messages or cards. 😦 }

~ Usborne :I need to make a list of possible charities to benefit from my event in November. I also need to contact 5 daycares every day. I need to do 5 Customer Care Calls at least 3 times this week. I also need to do one YouTube video of the book I choose for the Book of the Week. {Big. Epic. Fail. I thought about charities – I did not make a list.  I thought about which daycares I should call – I did not call.  I did 1 Customer Call – sort of – I happened to see a customer out and about and talked to her and her husband about how their son enjoyed the books he got from the book fair – but that doesn’t really count.  You Tube?! Ha! I viewed someone else’s video and it gave me motivation – but that wasn’t until tonight, and I never even picked a book of the week. Ugh.}

~ Avon :I need to make a final decision if I am going to continue on this journey or let it go and focus on other priorities. {I believe I have come to my final decision – just need to do the final bit of business to make it final.}

~ Office :I will do some email cleanup on each account I have for 5 minutes each every day. That means reading, deleting, responding, etc. {Nope, not even a little bit.}

~ Self :I am going to contact the massage parlor in my town and ask about the 1 hr massage for $30 special I heard about. I will do a painting class this Sunday. {I did not contact the massage parlor – however, a friend of mine told me about another in Dallas.  I looked at their website and I think it might be too good to be true.  I will be blogging about it soon, hopefully!  I DID do the painting class.  (I will do a blog about that later tonight.)

This past week my schedule was way off.  I normally only bartend on Thursday and Friday – but I covered for another bartender so he could fly his girlfriend to California for the weekend for her birthday (must be nice! lol).  So I also worked Saturday and Sunday from 8:00 pm to about 4:30 am both nights – which really threw off my Sunday and Monday mornings – since you know sleep is kind of a big deal.

All in all I didn’t get 1/2 of what I wanted to checked off my to-do list and the 1 thing I did actually accomplish was in my “Self” category!  Can you say selfish?!!.  I got started late and had so many things going on I just didn’t get all my ducks in a row. 😦  Now that I’ve seen all the red on my list above – I am so much more motivated to get my little quackers ready to quack this week.

And these are my goals for this week — and I am going to try super hard to do better.

~ Habit of the Month :{November: Menu Planning} To make this a little more do-able I am going to commit to cooking twice this week.  It’s just so hard to coordinate our schedules, but I am going to make the crock pot my friend.

• Sunday – Everyone fends for themselves.  I go to work at 8:00 pm.
• Monday – Early dinner, eating out with kids after eye appt.’s and errands.
• Tuesday – Barbeque Meatloaf (in crock pot).
• Wednesday – Plans with friends.
• Thursday – To each their own tonight.  I work from 1:00 pm to 9:00 pm.
• Friday – To each their own tonight as well.  I work from Noon to 9:00 pm.
• Saturday – Smothered Pork Chops.
• And I might try this Cheesy Squash Casserole one night….maybe.

~ Read daily :I am currently reading ‘The Read~Aloud Handbook‘ by Jim Trelease.  I will read this at least 15 minutes a day.  If I happen to finish it I’ll go back and re-read my highlighted sections. The book club thing sounds fun – but I think I am going to put that on the back burner for a bit.

~ Blog daily :Even if it is just a thought of the day – I will blog every day in November.  Leaving this one the same.  Going to catch up since I am 4 days behind – and then I’ll blog once a day. 🙂

~ Health :I will find 25 minutes at least 4 times this week to do my step aerobics video.  I burn 212 calories every time I do it!  I also plan to hit my goal weight this week to get closer to wining the DietBet I am doing for the Shayloss program!  I am only a pound and a half away!  There is still time to join the challenge if you are interested!  Just click on Shayloss and get started today! – As much of a joke as last week was I am going to try really hard to make this happen this week.  I am also going to visit the chiropractor this week.  I’ve been having headaches again and THAT is NOT an option.

~ Household : I am going to “Hard-Core” clean my bathroom this week.  I’ll probably pull a Fly-lady trick and just spend 15 minutes in it a day – but in the end it will be magazine worthy – which will make the Mister happy.  As much as men like the reason that bras exist, I know he can’t love seeing them hanging from the towel rack every morning…sigh.

~ Family :I will make Little Man’s appointment for his 2 year check up and make appointments for all 3 kiddos to visit the dentist.

~ Friends : I will absolutely choose a friend everyday to send an uplifting message to.

~ Usborne :I need to make a list of possible charities to benefit from my event in November.  I also need to contact 5 daycares every day.  I need to do 5 Customer Care Calls at least 3 times this week. I also need to do one YouTube video of the book I choose for the Book of the Week.  Keeping these goals and adding this one: Calling all of the surrounding cities and getting info on the Chambers of Commerce for each.  I have made the choice to move forward with this as my career – so I MUST make these things happen!

~ Avon : I need to touch base with the 3 ladies above me in Avon to let them know my decision.  Then I need to begin building my long list of inventory so I can sell it and clean out the space in my living room that has been my Avon office for the last 3 years.  This is a good thing…

~ Office :I will do a 27 Fling “Email” Boogie in each email account every day.  This means I will take the top 27 emails in my in-boxes and do with them what needs to be done.  (Delete, Move, Print, Follow-up, Reply, Unsubscribe)  I will also do a 27 Fling “Trash” Boogie on my desk every day.  This means I will throw 27 things on my desk in the garbage. 😀

~ Self :I am going to check into the spa in Dallas that my friend told me about.  I plan to pick a painting to do in November – maybe 2.  I am also going to complete my FAFSA application and touch base with the TCC offices to see about what classes would be best for me to take when I enroll again next semester. (Yes, I realize I am just going to add something else to my plate by going back to school…however – I think I can make a difference in the world and I need to be educated to do that.

And that is that. 🙂 (It is official.  I have decided that this is my new self-motivating tag line.)

Goals for the week!! (I know it’s Wednesday… it’s also Anti-Procrastination Day!)

So one of my favorite things to do now is read other peoples blogs.  It makes me feel like I am actually still attached to the world and that there are other real people that feel just as un-attached from the world as I do!!  So a few weeks ago I happened on to a blog called “Happily a Homemaker“.  What a great find!!  She is so super down to earth and reminds me a lot of ME – the ME I want to be!!  So I talked with her a bit and then decided (because it isn’t creepy at all) to literally copy and paste her blog and then re-word it to fit me – from the logo down.  She really motivated me to start putting my goals online so I am held accountable!!  Just thinking about how silly I will look if I say I’m going to do a bunch of stuff and then only getting one or two things done…ugh!  Besides, it is Anti-Procrastination Day and if I put this off to wait until Sunday – it is inevitable that something will come up Sunday and I won’t get started then either!  Story. Of. My. Life.  So here it is – my goals for the week – starting on Wednesday. 🙂 Go me!

Here were the goals for last week and how I did on them: (Ok – so since this is my first Weekly Goals post – clearly this section will be a tiny bit lacking.

~ Habit of the Month {October: Paper Clutter} {November: Menu Planning} :

~ Read daily :

~ Blog :

~ Health :

~ Household :

~ Family :

~ Friends :.

~ Usborne :

~ Avon :

~ Office :

~ Self :

And these are my goals for this week — I’m going to start with 11 and see where that takes me.

~ Habit of the Month :{October: Paper Clutter} {November: Menu Planning} So this week there are only 2 days left of October.  So I plan to spend at least 15 minutes both days on clearing the clutter out of my office area – starting with my desk.  Friday will start the new month with Menu Planning.  That is tough for me because all of my family members are on a completely different schedule – so I’m excited about making this challenge.  I plan to spend 15 minutes on both Friday and Saturday planning a menu.  First stop – Breakfast.

~ Read daily :I am currently reading ‘The Read~Aloud Handbook‘ by Jim Trelease.  I will read this at least 15 minutes a day.  If I happen to finish it I’ll go back and re-read my highlighted sections. And I am going to look more into starting up a book club with my girlfriends.

~ Blog daily :Even if it is just a thought of the day – I will blog every day in November.

~ Health :I will find 25 minutes at least 4 times this week to do my step aerobics video.  I burn 212 calories every time I do it!  I also plan to hit my goal weight this week to get closer to wining the DietBet I am doing for the Shayloss program!  I am only a pound and a half away!  There is still time to join the challenge if you are interested!  Just click on Shayloss and get started today!

~ Household :I would like to do a load of laundry every day.  Wash, Dry, Fold & Put Away.  I am currently working on getting the Big Kid and the Mini Me to do their own laundry.  So on their days I won’t do the laundry but I’ll make sure they do.

~ Family :I need to make Little Man’s appointment for his 2 year check up and I need to make an appointment for the Big Kid and the Mini Me for their annual eye exams.

~ Friends :I want to text or PM on FB a different friend everyday that I haven’t talked to in over a month – just to say Hi and wish them a great day!  I also want to send someone a card in the mail this week.

~ Usborne :I need to make a list of possible charities to benefit from my event in November.  I also need to contact 5 daycares every day.  I need to do 5 Customer Care Calls at least 3 times this week. I also need to do one YouTube video of the book I choose for the Book of the Week.

~ Avon :I need to make a final decision if I am going to continue on this journey or let it go and focus on other priorities.

~ Office :I will do some email cleanup on each account I have for 5 minutes each every day.  That means reading, deleting, responding, etc.

~ Self :I am going to contact the massage parlor in my town and ask about the 1 hr massage for $30 special I heard about.  I will do a painting class this Sunday.

And that is that. 🙂

More of the Story – Day 1 of 3

Ok…so hopefully you read the first part of this story.  If not you should go check it out first!  Click HERE to read that and then come back!

No…really!  If you don’t read that first – this will totally not make sense!

So…after my inventory arrived and Tiffany and I brainstormed I decided late one night (Monday night) to read through the entire Show Guidelines.  It all seems pretty normal – UNTIL I realize that it says that our booth has to be COMPLETELY set up by 6:00 pm on Friday night!!  Oh yeah – and that we can only do set up on Thursday or Friday.  Oh! yeah – and that any vendor that doesn’t follow the guidelines could lose their booth!! Eeeek!!! 

BIG.  And I mean BIG PROBLEM!!  I am a Full Time Usborne Consultant – but I do bartend 2 days a week for a billiards club.  I have been there for almost 7 years and honestly the 2 days a week that I “get” to work – they are like my days off!  I get to go to the bar and hang out with the friends I’ve made over the last 6 (and something) years – not feel pressured to drink (since I’m working) and not have to change dirty diapers, save a toddler from certain injury because he’s crawling up his dresser…again, or stop arguing teen/pre-teens!!!  And I only get to do this on Thursdays and Fridays!  What the heck am I going to do?  Ok. Breathe dummy.  You can fix this.  But first – it is now 4 am on Tuesday morning.  How about you get some sleep and you can figure it out tomorrow.

Tuesday morning I called and asked one of the other day bartenders to swap me her Wednesday shift for my Friday shift….which is actually kind of crazy.  Friday is payday for most everyone – so that is the best day to work.  And if I work Wednesday that means I have 1 day less to prepare for the show this weekend.  But…I will have Friday off to set up the event so we don’t miss out on being able to do this for the Shriner Hospital.  So, I make the call.  She says yes – which actually helps both of us out!  I’ll make less money but not totally miss out because I’m not just taking the day off – I’m swapping  and she’ll make more money! 🙂 Win/Win.

So the booth is saved.  Now, I’ll just read the rest of the these guidelines – WHAT?!  We have to provide our own tables?!  For 40 feet of booth space! POOP!!!!  I do events so I have a table.  A table.  A tiny little 4 foot table.  Tiffany says she has a table or two and she’ll see what she can come up with.  Tiffany’s upline Kayla says she may have a friend that can loan us tables.

Nope.  He switched jobs.  Poop again. 😦  But he did suggest a few churches that may loan us tables.  I called a left a message with one and then hopped on Facebook with a plea to all of my FB buddies.  Several of them offered up their tables!  (Thanks guys!)  The only problem is most of them didn’t fold down – so they weren’t going to fit into my mom’s Ford Focus – which I’m using until my little put-put is out of the shop and all better (Damn timing chain.  or belt…or what the heck ever.)  And all of my friends offering tables are doing it from all over the metroplex!!  Unfortunately, I just don’t have the time to go pick them all up – or find someone with a truck to do it all for me.  Especially now that I have to work Wednesday. Poop. Poop. Poop.  Oh!  And the church called and left a message saying they don’t “loan” tables and chairs out and she’s not sure where I got my information…sheesh.  A simple, “Sorry, no.” would have been fine.

Oh! Wait – what is this?  Our fellow Uzzie Alyssa that is loaning us the banners has 3 tables we can use?  Score!  That’s a start! 

Wednesday: Off to work from noon to nine!  And a friend brought her card table to me at the billiards club. Sweet!  Ok…  Tiffany was able to score a few tables herself from friends/family.  I think we can do this.  I think this will all work out…. maybe.

Thursday: Off to work again! 🙂  Last day before we start the big show!!

Friday:
6:30 am – Wake up!  Gotta get kiddos up for school.  Yes, they are 11 and 13 and both have several alarm clocks.  But on a day like this I have a lot to do and do not want any problems.

7:20 am – Big Kid #1 Out the door walking to school – only 6 houses away so I can watch the whole way! 🙂

7:25 am – Calling my mom.  “Can you please come watch Little Man so Daddio can get some kind of sleep?  He wasn’t feeling well all night and couldn’t sleep.”  Nope.  Not possible – she and my dad have plans.  Bummer.  Daddio is gonna have to get up. 😦

7:30 am – Still trying to wake Big Kid #2 up.  Finally (with minor threats having something to do with ice water), success! Big Kid #2 up.

7:40 am – Checking email and going over To Do List for the day…again.

7:48 am – Big kid #2 out the door.  Walks to the bus that goes to middle school.

7:55 – Hop on computer (and ignore Daddio – who is finally sleeping and snoring happily – and whom I would much rather be snuggled up to then stressing – but this is all for a good cause!  I can’t wait to visit the Shriner’s Hospital to deliver those Free Books.)  Work on all of the “printables” we will need for the booth.

• “Bob is a Unicorn” Coloring Sheets, Word Finds & Mad Libs
• “The Cuddle Bear” Coloring Sheets
• Flyer for “Cards for a Cause” Fund-Raising Display
• Flyer for “Reach for the Stars” Pledge Based Reading Incentive Display (my fave!)
• Flyer for recruiting table – Someone will think Usborne is as fabulous as I do!
• Gift Basket Giveaway drawing slips
• A couple of other printables that I find under the “Files” section in our Facebook Group Page.

9:20 am – Get up to load my 6 boxes of books in the car so that I can leave by 10:00 am to meet Alyssa to pick up banners and tables.

9:50 am – Finally figure out how all of them are going to fit – along with the tote I’m taking and my rolling suitcase with business supplies and the card table and my folding table…..breathe.  Ok that isn’t going to work I can’t see over the card table.  No biggie.  I’ll just throw it into the trunk.  CRAP!!!! My mom has tons of stuff in here!  I don’t want to unload it all just to have to re-load it later – I’ll have to take it to her.

10:00 am – Go in house and get purse and keys.  Kiss Daddio bye.  Kiss little man a tiny kiss on his head (as lightly as I possibly can, so he doesn’t wake up right now and maybe Daddio can get some sleep – even though I really wanna wake him up, feed him breakfast and get smooches before I leave). sigh. 😦

10:13 am – Text Alyssa that I am running late and that I’ll have to go by my moms.  I’m always late.  It is always something. Ugh! Paaaaooooop!

10: 40 am – Drop moms stuff at her house and high tail it to Alyssa’s.

11:15 am – Get to Alyssa’s (who has to leave at 11:30 for a RFTS (Reach for the Stars) appointment.  She is absolutely, positively, without a shadow of a doubt – awesome. I totally should have capitalized, bolded, italicized and underlined that!! I meant Awesome!  Not only does she let me borrow 3 tables and 3 banners – she let me borrow 3 book racks!! 😀  2 table racks and a floor rack!! My poopy day is starting to look a whole lot better! 🙂

11:40 am – (Yep – I made her leave late. 😦 )  Stop at QT to fuel up the car and get some ice to munch on. (No I’m not anemic – I just like ice – chill out (no pun intended). 😉 Stop at Dollar Tree for some cheap (and yes I do mean cheap not just inexpensive!) table cloths to cover our tables and our inventory that we have to leave over night.  I also buy a couple of bags of candy (Be a Smarty Book a Party – lol…that one always gets me.  And who doesn’t like Smarties?!) and a bowl to put them in, some pens and a pen holder.

12:05 pm – Quick stop at Walmart to go potty – I’ve been on this whole “Nothing but water and 2% milk since September 1st.)  Waste of time – apparently everyone in the Burleson Walmart had to potty at the same time.

12:15 pm – Back in car – driving through Taco Bueno’s drive thru.  2 party burritos (with onions) and a beef taco roll up.  And a glass of water.  (Yeah – cause that matters after I consume this artery clogging lunch I am about to inhale. – Don’t judge me – I have no time to stop for a salad…lol)  Inhale lunch and drip grease on my shirt – AAUUGGHH! SHIT!!  Grab an ice cube and rub that spot like a mad woman.  I’m sure the dude in that big truck next to me was wondering what the heck I was doing…

12:30 pm – Finally. On my way to Dallas Market Hall.  I think the grease is gone mostly.  Not real sure since my entire right boob is still soaking wet from the stupid ice cube I rubbed on my shirt until it slipped out of my fingers under the seat. Sigh.  Text Tiffany – by voice – I was not texting and driving.  She will be on her way soon Siri tells me.

1:31 pm – Finally arrive.  I really have no idea where to go.  I check in on Facebook and Four Square (yep I’m a social media junkie).  I walk in, talk to a couple of people and they point me in the direction of our booth.  I round the corner and….Wow!  40 feet is a lot of feet!  Deep breath.  Ok.  We can do this.  So one table at a time I start taking stuff in.

1:53 pm – Tiffany is here!! Yay!  And her (brilliant) husband told her to bring their kids wagon since we couldn’t get a dolly!  Genius!  We rolled our inventory right on in the door – with a few (ahem.) trips.

2:00 pm – 10:00 pm – We set up our booth.  We analyzed.  We discussed.  We moved this here and that there.  Table by table.  Book by book.  We set it all up – and it looked good.  And then we took 1/2 of it down and covered the rest with the extra table cloths.  Then we left.  We stopped at Chili’s on the way home to grab a bit (because we were both hungry) and to strategize and go over any questions that either of us had.  We also talked about what charity we wanted to work on for the Fort Worth Home & Garden Show that we get to do in February!  I think I want to do St. Jude’s and she agrees.  I’ll start working on that next week!! 🙂  We finally said our good byes – recited what we both needed to bring the next day – and headed our separate ways.  I called 2 people – First – the Ex to see if we could swap weekends.  Turns out Tiffany is bringing 2 of her girls to the show tomorrow to help us out and my little mini-me would love that.  He says yes – I’m shocked.  Second, I call my upline Kim – just to go over a few questions.  She answered all my questions – and then said the nicest thing!  She said that I have a personality that makes people want to talk to me and that she knows I’m just going to draw people in to our booth! (I feel a bit better now!  She totally believes in me!!)  Off the phone – I stop at McD’s to bring everyone home some super yummy, nourishing dinner – yep at 10:00pm – cause I’m an awesome mom like that.

12:30 am – 2:30 am – (Technically this is Saturday) Everyone is asleep and I have just about everything I need for tomorrow – except for 2 bins which we are going to grab on the way tomorrow.  I wanted to get my blogs out before I lose all my info.  Now I’m going to take one last potty break and hit the sheets.  I have to be up at 6:30 so we can leave at 7:30 so we can be in Dallas at 8:30.

Day 2 of 3 coming soon…  We are nervous and excited and hope we make the Shriner’s Hospital and Usborne…and most importantly ourselves – proud.  (still holding breath)

….stay tune for the REST of the story. (see what I did there?) tee hee – I crack me up.  Man I need sleep.

Holy cow – Are you for serious?!

So I have been given an amazing opportunity…..and I am so stinkin excited!!

A quick little history – For those of you that don’t know, I am an Independent Educational Consultant for Usborne Books & More (EDC Publishing).  Usborne is a company that provides amazing educational books for children of all ages – from newborn to teen….and then some.  I joined about 2 years ago because I wanted to buy a few books for my kiddos and their friends for upcoming birthdays.  When I found out that I could get 25 books for $129 – I was sold.  I told the woman (my now friend Kim) that I signed up under that this would NEVER be a business – I was only using this as a discount for my kids books – she said that was fine and she was glad she could get me these books at such a great deal.  I found out that there were no monthly minimums!  As long as I make a purchase every year – I was still active!!  Even if it was just one $5 book!!  So that was 2 years ago – but I found that I was always talking about them – and people wanted to buy them! So I began to think about the bigger picture.  If my kids enjoyed them, surely other kids would too!  Ok… I’ll call a couple of people and maybe a few schools and libraries – and then I was hooked!  I loved seeing those tiny little hands grasp the books and WANT to look at them!  I really do make a difference in the lives of children every day…one book at a time – and I love it. ❤

Obviously, you can see my passion…  Anyway, as an Educational Consultant I get the opportunity to touch children’s lives every day in so many different ways. Now – back to my awesome story!!

Usborne offers a ton of different programs because every organization or group has different needs.  One of my favorites is a Book Fair that benefits a charity.  Those are a total win/win for everyone! 

So last week I was online checking out my Facebook page and I saw an interesting post.  I live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area (No, we don’t all ride horses or wear boots – just incase you were wondering.).  This post was from a fellow Uzzie (that’s what we call other Consultants with Usborne.) 🙂  She had just covered a booth at the Austin Home & Garden Show and the Home & Garden Show contact was wondering if there was anyone in the D/FW area that would be available to do the Dallas Home & Garden Show in September.  Another local Uzzie and I were definitely interested, but the problem is that booth space can be E.X.P.E.N.S.I.V.E. – so we needed the details.

That is when the Heavens opened up, Angels began to sing and I could hardly believe it.  The contact for the show has a personal connection to the Shriner Hospital – so all she asked in return for the booth is for us to give some free books to the Shriner Hospital!!  Um…..what? No, seriously – what else do we need to do? Just share Usborne books with everyone at the show because you think they are awesome?  Ok – Sold!

Within 24 hours the contract was signed and we began to brainstorm.  Instead of just giving them “some free books”, we decided to run the show as a book fair.  Why, you ask?  Because with an Usborne Book Fair – the school/organization/group/church – or in this case, the charity gets 50% of all sales back in FREE BOOKS!!! 

They expect over 8,000 people to come to this event and walk past our booth.  If only 5% of those people stop at our booth and buy 1 book at $4.99 – that is $1,996 in sales – which means the kids at Shriners Hospital will get $998 in FREE BOOKS!!!!

So – what was next?  Well, Tiffany (my local Uzzie friend that is sharing the booth with me) and I began to brainstorm because we got a CRAZY bit of news.  Apparently, because this is essentially a charity booth (because the charity is the whole reason the booth is going up to begin with) we don’t get a booth space assigned to us until last minute.  That way once they have everyone set, they pick the space that is left and give it to us.  They were so excited to find an Usborne Consultant (or two) that could do the show they gave us a 10 X 40!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Holy crap…that is 40 feet!!!!  For those of you that have ever done a booth space – you know the typical booth is 10 X 10 or maybe 10 X 20.  But 10 X 40?! Oh my! 

Ok…so now you are wondering how some little ol’ Texas Gal has a random inventory of over a few thousand dollars available – enough to fill up 40 feet of space.  I don’t – well…I didn’t.  Usborne is so AWESOME that they basically said, “Hey – you’ve been a Consultant for over 2 years and you’ve done such a great job, and we are so excited that you have the opportunity to benefit such a great cause, we are going to let you pick out $2,000 worth of books to sell at this event.”  Shut. Your. Mouth. –  No – this is not my joking face!  Totally serious!

So what do you think I did?  Well I hopped my little Texas hiney online and picked out a selection of books that I thought would most benefit the little gardeners that would would be tagging along behind mom & dad/grandma & grandpa – bored out of their minds – at this show.  And then I hit “Submit” just incase the last two zero’s on that $2000 were typos!

And wouldn’t you know it – a slick 4 days later (including the weekend and a National Holiday) I had six big boxes of books on my doorstep!!  I opened them all up one by one and marveled at all of the books I had not gotten to actually see yet.  (We have over 2,000 titles to choose from and new ones come out all the time.)

Oh the fun.  Now, my 11 year old was none too happy that these weren’t going on her bookshelf (how awesome is that?!) – but she got to add a few things to her wishlist for Christmas!!

Ok.  Booth – check.  Inventory – check. 

Oh yeah – and did I mention that we have a week and half before show time?  Yes.  Yes, we are crazy!!  We got this!! (holding breath)

Stay tuned….for the rest of the story…

P.S.  Yes I was sort of quoting Paul Harvey at the end there.  hee hee.

P.S.S. You don’t know who Paul Harvey is?! Gosh – I am old…