fun times ahead!

Timing is everything.

Yesterday I popped over to facebook to see what updates had been posted since my last visit, and there at the top was a note from Nashville Paw Magazine that they had a vendor opening for their annual Barktoberfest event this fall. First one to get in touch would get the opening!

I emailed immediately and said I'd take the spot, and I'm in! I don't ordinarily enjoy booth opportunities at events as a way to conjure up customers for my Pampered Chef business, but I love the idea of being at this dog-friendly and -focused gathering. I can fuss over people's dogs, share the love, and say, "did you know that our Silicone Mat is the perfect tool for rolling out dough for dog biscuits?" Barktoberfest's theme this year is Vintage Halloween Carnival, and we're encouraged to decorate our booths (and ourselves) accordingly.

I'm not particularly inclined toward vintage or carnival themes most days of the week, but I have to say that after scoping out the ideas on Pinterest I am beyond excited about the possibilities. In fact, I have too many ideas to implement, and will have to work hard to restrain myself and narrow down my choices.

Since this is an outdoor event we (Ken has been alerted that I will need his help) will be using the EZ-Up "tent." Here are a few keepers:

These will be clustered inside the EZ-Up. Change the colors to black, orange and purple (and maybe that lovely neon lime-green), and decorate the balloons with paw print designs.

Pole curtains!  The curtains at the corners will cover the metal posts as well as the gizmos we employ as weights to keep the thing from getting upended by wind. Been there! The EZ-Up has only four poles, which will make life considerably easier for decorating purposes. Halloween fabric will be employed. Flowers will not. It may be possible to decorate the top of the EZ-Up somehow, although I'm thinking that may be taking this a bit too far.  We'll see. Ken's willingness and enthusiasm to make it happen may be a determining factor. I also need to be careful to avoid creating a "big top" look, since Nashville Paw is clear that we are not emulating circus themes (because of animal abuse issues).

A decorated pumpkin with "The Pampered Chef" written on it, and paw prints instead of dots. Not sure what I will put on top, but I'll think of something!

A cluster of pinwheels (in Halloween paper) displayed in a Pampered Chef product (not sure yet which one).

And so much more! Bunting, a ring-toss game (the prize will be a specially printed recipe of dog treats prepared using Pampered Chef products), bags of dog treats for sale, a guess-how-many-candy-corn-pieces-are-in-the-jar opportunity, soda bottles filled with Halloween-colored water...

My biggest challenge? Figuring out what my costume should be! I've got some time, and I will start working on putting together my pinwheels, getting fabric, balloons and what-not. But I'm psyched. Are you having fun with me?

Time to get out the new fall catalog and go through it to make some decisions about what products to have on display, and what I will offer as a give-away. This is going to be a blast!

are you a fashionista?

 

Once again it's time for a shameless Pampered Chef promotion. This month is Help Whip Cancer month with TPC, and as is true every year, we have a collection of exclusive products available to assist that effort. $1 from the purchase price of each item goes toward breast cancer awareness.

Let's start with our fashionista item: the pink and white tiger-striped pie and cake server. Is this a svelte little number or what? The sassy heel is attached by magnet, and can be removed for ease of use as a server. Not for you? Surely there's a fashionista in your life who would be over the moon to add this to her culinary collection!

Next we have the microfiber towel. Microfiber towels are a personal favorite: they are SO absorbent, and are the perfect accessory for the bathroom (cleaning those faucets have never been so easy--no streaks!), wiping spills in the car (who needs 28 napkins when one microfiber towel will do?), and of course, drying stemware without leaving spots or streaks. So many other uses, too! I use them to do a damp dust on furniture--so easy to rinse and wring before going back for another round of easy dusting!


The spreader is fun and entirely girly. It's perfect for all kinds of soft cheeses, hummus, and more! Great hostess gift! Add a bottle of our Raspberry Habanero Sauce (or any of our incredible sauces!) and you've got a one-of-a-kind thank you gift.

If you enjoy camping, picnicking, or even brown-bagging to work, the paring knife will be your new best friend! The color alone will help you locate it in a drawer full of black-handled utensils, but it also has a blade protector and cuts like a dream. (and pssst! the green color-coated tomato knife is a great companion item!).

And finally, our special coupon organizer, designed to wrap around the handle of your shopping cart for quick and easy access. This little goodie can be yours FREE when your purchase is $60 or more. If you purchase each of these Help Whip Cancer products and a bottle of sauce, you'll be eligible for this free item!

But wait! Father's Day is just around the corner, so we have a special opportunity to help tackle that occasion. Another exclusive gift is this apron (for any grill-master in your life!), $15 by itself, or bundled with our very popular BBQ Turner and new Chili-Lime Rub for $29 (a $10 savings!).

What are you waiting for? Get your order in now and stock up on great gifts, must-haves for camping or around the house. The first three orders will also get a free gift from me, just to say thank you for joining us in our efforts to Help Whip Cancer. I'll also put all names of persons who place an order into a drawing to receive the host benefits: half-price free shipping, free products and discounted additional products, and a year of purchases at 10% off.

Click on the picture at the top of this post to start your shopping. Remembers brides and grads, too!

I heart you

It was a great Friday and Saturday in Louisville learning about Pampered Chef's new spring products, receiving fabulous training, and getting motivated to shift some attitude to help me help my business!  And then out of nowhere, BAM! Sunday morning I woke up miserably sick, and slept fourteen+ hours after heading to bed Saturday night. I'm not sure what was wrong, but through the day I lay low, and by bedtime the misery had worn off substantially, although not altogether. What a relief, because....

It's another dash this morning, this time to get downtown to the cathedral for the next installment of Icon Writing! Once again I am honored to serve as chaplain for this week-long adventure. This is my third workshop, and I covet the immersion in holy silence and community as we pray and write with our brushes. The angel Gabriel is this week's icon. I had been hoping for The Good Shepherd (you know, sheep!), but maybe next time. It is all good, and I look forward to learning more from our amazing instructor, Teresa Harrison. It will also be fun to see familiar faces from past workshops, and meet some new friends. Whatever residual crud I carry with me will be helped by the stillness and prayer of the day.

In the meantime, I wish you all a glorious Valentine's Day.  The cards I had hoped to make last week and send out would have said this:

How sweet it is...

to be friends with you.

xoxo!

marching toward a goal

My friend Cathy is a Band Mom. More than that, she's a great Band Mom. In fact, she's a great Mom, period. I have the pleasure of working with her right now to help raise some money for her daughter's band expenses, and we're doing that--surprise, surprise--through The Pampered Chef.

Cathy hosted a party last night that was lots of fun, but poorly attended. Within 24-hours before her party she lost guests to: an out-of-town funeral, stomach flu, a child's sports injury that necessitated same-day surgery, and a run to the airport to pick up a husband whose flight was delayed by a multitude of hours. The prize for cancellations, however, goes to the last minute text saying "I'm at the hospital with a co-worker who is in labor." I know the person who sent that text: it's genuine.

For those of you who might take pity on a beleaguered Band Mom, I invite you to support her fund-raising efforts with a purchase. Incentives are outlined below. You can also help by choosing to host your own party (catalogs can be put in the mail today)! Bookings from Cathy's party add dollars to the fund. I really want to help her reach her goal.

Some details:
The guest special this month is your choice of a loaf or square baking pan FREE when you purchase $60 or more. (I apologize for this poor layout--these images would not appear in picasa to manipulate them)

I'm sweetening the pot with TWO incentives: 

1) EVERYONE who orders will receive a gift.
2) Guests who qualify for the free pan will be eligible to receive this month's host special at 60% off AND get ten percent off your order. That pretty much covers shipping costs. The rectangular baking pans pictured here are the January host special as long as you have $150 in sales.

Click on the marching band photo to order.

If you're interested in hosting your own catalog party, contact me for details on the host specials for January and February. They are both FABULOUS!.

Please share this opportunity with others! And regardless of whether or not you choose to help out with this fundraiser, hug a Mom today. All Moms are beleaguered in one way or another. Step-Moms, too!

on the tenth day of christmas

I went to the gym as planned, and have an appointment this morning with Marcia, the Wonder Trainer. Together we will put together a plan to strengthen and tone my various muscle groups, and improve my cardiovascular function.  Bring it on!

Yesterday I did my 30 minutes on the treadmill and discovered that my feet were dreadfully out of shape. Yes, my feet. In spite of the therapy that they receive (and which has made them better), the muscles in my feet are tight. This is the result of injuries to both feet at different times, compensatory changes to my gait as a result, and the subsequent impairment caused by that compensation. This has been going on for more than ten years. Well, actually it's been going on most of my life, but that's another story.

Last night Pampered Chef held a special meeting to announce the incentive trips for this year. For the first time they've put together a mini trip for underlings like myself. Two nights in New Orleans with all sorts of fun stuff.  The top prize is a Mediterranean cruise. Oh. My. God. does it look fabulous! Sadly, that one is out of reach unless I undergo a radical personality type makeover.

But I'm going to shoot for New Orleans, and if I make that one, then the next level trip, a Caribbean cruise, is within reach.

Two goals (well, three, but I'm happy with two). Better health habits, and better business habits. They are both a challenge. Who wants to be on my cheering squad?

And, you can always help by hosting a show. Catalogs are readily available, and the incentives are always good, if not great.

Updates will be forthcoming.

going for it

I have been very fortunate this week to be able to participate in some excellent Pampered Chef training. One of those sessions was an all day seminar called "Director Express," jam-packed coaching on how to intensify efforts to promote to the director level in 90 days. The seminar was full of information, how-tos, and motivational encouragement (as opposed to motivational platitudes).

Several days prior to attending the seminar I was reading a book recommended to me by my PC director, Stephanie. It's called The Aladdin Factor, by Jack Canfield of various forms of soup-for-the-soul fame. It's about asking for what you want, and is full of testimonials from people whose life-changing experiences support the notion that asking for what you want can lead to getting what you want out of life. Sounds all very self-help, I know, but I found myself highly motivated by what I was reading, and inspired to make some decisions.

One of the things Stephanie emphasizes in our training is that visualizing our goals helps to achieve them. Until a few days ago I had no specific goal to which I could attach an image. Yes, I want to make more money to ease our financial burdens, but paying bills is an existing reality. Being debt free? What, exactly does that look like, other than a more peaceful expression on my face? And yes, I want to improve some habits that get in my way in virtually every corner of my life. Conjuring an image for that also falls into the category of vagueness.

At our team meeting a month ago Stephanie told us that it is likely that she will promote in the coming year to the highest level in the company: National Executive Director. At the recent PC National Conference when the newest national directors received recognition, their team of directors joined them on-stage, a sign and symbol that it is team work that makes such achievements possible. When Stephanie talked about her own promotion to the highest level, I knew that I wanted to be one of the people standing on stage with her. I want to be there not for my own recognition, but as a way of saying thank you to her for the many ways that she has helped me grow and learn, not only as a consultant, but as a person. Finally, something to visualize to help reach for a goal.

I had not, previously, made a determination to work toward becoming a director. I knew that my own flaws and bad habits would interfere with working toward that type of achievement. But in the last year+ as I have struggled to maintain equilibrium in the face of daunting challenges, disappointments and hardships, the evidence began to emerge that I had the capacity to move past being stuck, and into a new way of life that I believed to be out of my grasp. This is due in no small part to Pampered Chef, and the team of people with whom I work in that arena.

In light of all of the above, I have made the decision to go for it, to promote to director. I have seen improvements in habits that make it possible for me to believe that I can do this, a quantum leap from the belief that it just wouldn't happen. I am dedicating myself to the discipline necessary to make some adjustments to personal routines (and we're not just talking breakfast here!), and to keep the prize in front of me. It's good for me.

Toward that end I am asking for your help. If you're the praying sort, would you please hold me in your prayers during these next few months as I work toward making these changes in my life? A prayer as you read this is, of course, appreciated. But if you would, I'm asking for regular prayer through this transition, which I believe will be the most challenging for me. Whether daily or weekly, the support of those who care about me is coveted.

I will keep you posted. I will try not to bore you with the shop talk of the process involved in this, but sharing achievements and accomplishments feels like fair blogging fare. And if you know of someone who would benefit from the kinds of blessings that this is in my life, please let me know so that I can share this opportunity with them. Ultimately that is the greatest gift we have to offer.

Blessings to each of you. Thank you for being along with me on this journey.

big biscuit day here!

I just love this biscuit picture

I was in my (home) office yesterday when Ken calls from the other room, "there's a package here for you!" "Thanks," I called back, and continued on with what I was doing. A few minutes later he came into the room and put two packages on my desk. I recognized one of them as the mail-ordered prescription refills that I was expecting. The other? I saw the name of my friend Kim on the return address and immediately stopped what I was doing, grabbing for the package.

I knew what was inside the large envelope, but I had no idea what was really inside, if you know what I mean. And then I pulled this out.

My eyes could hardly behold what I was seeing. You see, I sent Kim the icon I wrote. She had written me about how it affected her and Jesus and I both concurred that she should have it. How she transferred the image of the icon to fabric so effectively I don't know. But there he is, adorning an outside pocket on this exquisite tote. But wait, there's more. Inside the tote are two pockets, one of them the full length image of the icon. She has taken my breath away (click on the image to see a larger view an ooh and aah over the details!).

The next thing I know Ken is back in my office placing a small box in front of me. I recognize it immediately as the new Pampered Chef trivet that I earned for free. And he's muttering something about how heavy the box is. He's clearly not talking about the trivet. What box? I'm thinking. He's back in the other room and still carrying on about the heavy box, finally imploring me to come open it.

It turns out to be the box of catalogs for the new PC season that starts in September. Since I wasn't able to attend the national conference a few weeks ago I am eager to look through it. Some great new stuff coming out! I'm excited. 

Here is my bounty for the day. And I'm a happy camper. 

Thanks, Kim!

Thanks, Pampered Chef!