Please Help

So I have decided to take the plunge being a huge Mary Kay product user and to start selling the products I absolutely love. So I am asking all of you guys for your help.

What could I possibly do that would help you? 

I am currently taking part in a fast start program that will help me jump start my Mary Kay business. I am looking for 24 people who can help me by spending at least $24 worth of product within the next 24 hours.

Below are some ideas on what would work to help me get to my goal. 

- ultimate mascara or lash love and eye makeup remover $30
- 2 glosses $28
- mineral powder foundation and brush $28
- velocity skincare $22
- 2 eye colors and liner $23
- lip liner and gloss $26
- satin hands $34
- firming eye cream $30
- blemish control toner and acne gel $20
- compact with pressed mineral powder and sponge $36

Be sure to visit the Mary Kay website to window shop and see if there is something else you are interested in. Please email me your order. The deadline for this is Friday.

Feel free to share this blog post and ask people to tell me that you sent them so you can receive $5 off your order.

Thank you in advance!

Because Today Matters

What you do today matters. Live in the now and appreciate what you are doing right this second.

How is it that some people are truly happy and others are absolutely miserable? Happy people make the decision to be happy all of the time and enjoy the moment they are living in at this moment. They live each day to the fullest with no regrets and they don't sweat the small stuff.

OK LORETTA ENOUGH CLICHES!

Sorry, but it is totally true! People make excuses as to not having enough time and that they are so busy in their lives. It is true that people are busy but they work hard and play hard.

Ok! I am done with the cliches!! Everything we do is a mindset and we need to break ourselves from the excuse driven "I am busier than you" mentality and stop trying to outdo people (unless it is for a good reason like pushing yourself to do better in your life). There is nothing worse than trying to outdo other people's problems.

Take time and stop to enjoy the moment you are in now. What are you thankful for? What are you doing today that makes a difference in your life? In the lives of others? Who did you help?

Why? What makes that something I need to do? I don't have the time.

MAKE THE TIME! Appreciate this moment as much as the next moment. Disconnect from distractions that make things our every day lives. When you are home with your family enjoying your time together, don't let another's call from work get in your way of sharing that specific moment. The drama of any work situation will wait until tomorrow. Do not enable them to distract you from your important family time!

Try it! I promise that it will make you feel so much better!

Wednesday Project Declutter

We are all inundated with stuff. Physical stuff, digital stuff, technology stuff, memory stuff - we all have all of it. I am working on myself right now to become de-cluttered. Living a de-cluttered lifestyle can lower your stress levels as it isn't really necessary to have the latest and greatest things all of the time. You are probably putting yourself in the poor house if that is your mentality.

What do I mean?

By accumulating stuff, you aren't taking time to share in and enjoy what you already have. There are so many people in this world that have nothing and we do take certain things for granted.

I challenge you to take charge now and take back your life from your clutter by doing these couple things now.

Step one is simple. Get rid of all of that junk mail and junk email. It is quicker to opt-out then waste time on reading or deleting mail and messages. If you subscribed to something (newsletter, magazine) and you find you don't read it, cancel it. There is no sense in it cluttering up your inbox or mail just to go in the trash or recycle bin. There are no hard feelings for not reading it and most paid subscriptions will give you a credit if you cancel in the middle of a subscription.

Step two. Opt-Out of junk mail. Everyone receives pre-qualified opportunities that they just throw away. Why not opt out of getting them. You can do that! You have two options of this step. You can opt out for 5 years or permanently. I chose permanently because I really don't need to be pre-qualified for credit cards. If I don't have the money, there is no need to spend it. This can be done by calling 1-800-680-7293

Step three. When you receive your bills, throw out the envelope it came in and last month's bill. There is no need to keep the bill in paper form when technology keeps us so connected and helps us maintain a paper free life. When the next bill comes, discard the old. It will totally lighten your load. You can look at payments posted by logging in to the company's website as well as your bank website.

Step four. Ask your bank to stop sending you your checks back. Again, technology allows us to view the checks online, so there is no need to have the paper trail as well.

Step five. Go through your mail as soon as you get it. Throw away unnecessary items and discard the items mentioned above. There is no need to allow paper to clutter your life.

These are some easy steps to keep your home clutter free! I love how freeing getting rid of unnecessary items are! I am on the road to a de-cluttered life!

And We're Back

Whew!

What a busy week it has been! And I am sorry about the lack of posting. I am finally back into the saddle and ready to rock your week!

What we have in store for this week:

Tomorrow is Wednesday! WEDNESDAY ALREADY!? Tomorrow we are going to focus on Warm Wednesday. What do you need to change in your life today that will make tomorrow better?

Thursday, I will be surprising you with one way that you can energize your life and make today great.

Feel Fab Friday is back! I will tell you about new - must have products that will make anyone's life just totally fab!

Stay posted and remember to live for today because we aren't sure what tomorrow brings and if we will get that chance. Make today count!

Why I love Empower Network

Here I am today sitting in my house totally snowed in. Getting ready to go babysit triplets for $70 for the day and I am sitting here thinking about how much of an awesome company Empower Network is. I am listening again to the Monday night training call and going over the key points. I am trying to figure out how I can drive from Florida to Chicago and be home on Sunday so I can get to the convention.

Empower Network is awesome and it is so easy to do!

Let me break it down for you:

Easy

I have never been a part of a company that makes it easy. How is it easy? Blog daily and make money in a blogging system that is already set up for you. Is that not easy? It is so easy. Now for technically advanced individuals, setting up a blog is easy, but for those who have no clue, Empower Network makes it easy for  anyone to make money.

Training

Weekly training and inspiration is readily available. The stories are true of those who have struggled. Those who have no clue about internet marketing and how they were able to do it is empowering to show you that even you can make it happen within Empower Network.

Conventions are common and are always a great way to learn about companies and the industry. The best of the best are given huge checks that are real genuine in seeing you get the same results.

Earning Potential

All I can say about the earning potential with Empower Network is holy crap! I cannot promise that you will make some of the sick commissions that people within the company are making. It is all based on performance but if you work it, the potential with Empower Network is endless.

Knowledge

Empower Network products can be applied to other businesses or any part of your life. They share how to become number one in the industry but constantly say that everything learned can be applied to many facets of your life and they couldn't be more right!

Empower Network has really changed the lives of many individuals. I have the passion to change my family life and the Empower Network program will help me do that. Check out the opportunity for yourself! You can do it! You are worth getting your finances on track and you owe it to your family to do it!

Let this be the last solution you are looking for! This is what you have been looking for!

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Don't be a wussy!

Sugar 'N Spice VoxBox 2013

As you may know by looking at my blog, I am a member of +Influenster. I totally love giving reviews about products I already use as well as being a subject to test other products and write about them.

Today, the mailman is my best friend and he delivered my very first VoxBox! I am so excited to receive it and am looking forward to trying the new products in the box.

Here is a photo of what I received:

Stay tuned for reviews of products I will be using over the next month! Just check for the posts that include the logo below!

Stay tuned!

School Budget Cuts

Schools everywhere are experiencing budget cuts and teacher layoffs to a certain extent. The state funding is becoming more difficult for a bunch of local schools in our area, specifically the one I graduated from, Eldred Central School.

Located in Sullivan County, NY, Eldred Central School has about 700 attendees between the high school and elementary school. My class had 59 kids that graduated in my class which adds a sense of belonging as the relationship with the teachers is exceptional and they really care to reach out and help you.

I recently read an article in The River Reporter, a local newspaper, regarding the budget cuts at Eldred and saw the sports program was in question again.

Why "again" do you ask?

When I attended, the sports program was on the chopping block. The budget cuts were close to not allowing us to have a sports program, which many in the high school participated in. Things were a lot different when I attended over 10 years ago.

What is the difference?

Eldred has undergone a huge face lift. There was an addition to the school that was added to accommodate more class rooms like a band and chorus room. This addition has increased the cost of fuel for the school. With having a mild, but cold winter, many residents have faced the same fate because of the rising costs of fuel. In the article, the suggestion of turning the furnace on later instead of 3am would save a little bit of money for the school.

When I attended, any additional college courses offered through Sullivan County Community College were paid by the parents of the students that participated. Currently, the school has that in their budget to offer those classes. This was the same for my siblings if they wanted to attend. It was great to get the classes at a discount and it enticed us to do a little better as we were paying for the credits to transfer to our further college plans.

A suggestion obtained by the reporter for the newspaper was to decrease the bus route to only have one. Currently, Eldred has two bus runs, one for the high school and one for the elementary school. They say by cutting down to one, the bus driver's salary would decrease leaving them more money for the budget. This would, in turn, have all students attending one school again like it was when I attended.

The student body at Eldred has increased and I doubt the building would be able to withstand that many students at once. Then lunch periods would have to be added so the elementary students could eat. I believe that this solution would still add or maintain to the current budget for the additional food and time for lunch staff to prepare double the amount.

Teacher salary cuts were mentioned at the end as an alternative to the budget cuts. To me, this sounds to be more ideal as tenured teachers there are making anywhere from $40,000 to one teacher making over $100,000 a year. This would not be the favorite choice for the budget cuts because teachers do work hard to make sure the students learn, but getting over $100,000 seems to be a bit much for a teaching position.

Fundraising is an option. There are many service companies out there like photographers that work with schools to help them raise funds through portrait and yearbook programs. Having company that has a great fundraising program will help offset the cost of sports programs and will make it so the budget isn't cut.

Donations are a great way to get free money. Alumni are usually willing to help where they can. That is not to say that they are not being bombarded by college donation requests, but I am sure if the school got together a donation volunteer group that called and asked for donations (that are tax deductible) and are told what they are needed for, they would give what they could.

It wouldn't be a bad idea to ask what the Alumni think could help the school. Would they attend an auction where the proceeds would go to the school? Would they attend a ball or black tie affair where half of the ticket money would be donated back to the school? Is a silent auction more their cup of tea?

Another option for the school not to cut sports from the budget is to ask the parents to offset some of the cost of the program they are participating in. This is similar to what they do for youth sports programs and there would not need to be so much covered by the budget.

It is inevitable that jobs are being cut all over the place. The school budget only can allow for so much and if tenured teachers aren't willing to receive a pay cut, upcoming teachers suffer getting the necessary experience or are forced to teach at a school not in their town.

Sports allow for students to come out of their shell. A student who wouldn't normally shine through academics, has the opportunity to perform at his or her best. The incentive to play sports means they have to work harder to keep their grades up and then they become a wonderful all around student. Cutting them from the budget allows for much upsetting, but I believe there are ways to help with budget cuts if administration would just think outside the box a little.

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Please note, as always, these are strictly my own opinions and are not associated with any ideas from others. Just my interpretation.

Become a blogger and change your life

Is it Cheating?

I have often pondered this question. When you are in high school or college and you don't know how to do something (homework assignment) you have to wait until the next class in order to get answers and then you get penalized because it will be a late assignment. There are options for tutors to help you through your tasks but is that cheating?

Is our society getting lazier and are they willing to pay someone to just complete the task for you?

Tough situation...

While a tutor will show you the process on how to do the task at hand, paying someone to do it for you seems like cheating and not...

Hear me out here!

If you are in the workplace environment and you look to someone else to do a task for you because you don't know how, it is called using your resources. You don't get yelled at for using your resources as you were probably able to get the required task done much quicker because you outsourced and it was done correctly the first time, without having to go back and redo any work.

In high school or college, this is considered cheating. You haven't done the work yourself so if you do get caught doing it, it normally results in a failure and you will receive an F for the grade.

Why are these situations different? What makes them both wrong? Why is it you are praised for one and penalized for the other?

Many business owners find themselves paying others to do things they just can't do. They are called employees. Why would you waste your time as a business owner being bogged down, spending hours on something that can be done quickly by someone who knows what they are talking about? It is simply using your resources or having better time management and productivity. You wouldn't be able to do everything by yourself and be balanced...

So the big question is, do we penalize those with an entrepreneurial mindset? The future business owners of the world look at menial tasks as just that and are paying others to complete them for them.

School does not teach you how to be an entrepreneur - they teach you how to be an employee for the rest of your life and how to maintain that status. Many individuals are foregoing the completion of school as many successful business owners barely have a high school diploma.

Your thoughts?
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As always these are my thoughts and opinions and are not necessarily those of others. 



Make money blogging on a website of your own.

Are We Setting Up Our Children For Failure?

Nowadays kids are inundated with learning programs. Disney Junior, Nick Junior, Baby Learning channel. They are overwhelmed with learning from a very young age. Parents place their children in front of TV as a mean of child care but are the TV programs geared towards the rigorous school curriculum?

As the education requirements for students have increased intensity, kids are becoming more overwhelmed with the school system. They spend hours a day after school doing homework problems and get frustrated because they don't know it.

There are children I babysit for that get so frustrated they don't want to continue with their homework after they are picked up from daycare. One child is in Kindergarten and has three assignments a day as school homework from Monday through Thursday. They have to read a book and do a book report on it as well.

The question is are we setting up our children for failure? Are we overwhelming them too much while they are young and in school and have we lost the value of childhood and what is really important for children?

Yes, yes and yes!

 By having such overwhelming school curriculum, kids are being forced to grow up sooner. They are given these learning lessons where they aren't open to understanding the questions.

Kindergarteners are learning about rhyming and phonics which are normally taught at the first and second grade levels. Kids days are getting longer and longer. Most parents need to be to work earlier and are commuting longer for jobs. This leaves children in before school care starting at 6am. Their babysitter picks them up from after school care around 5 and then the parents get home around 7:30 pm. The children are going to bed later and getting up earlier, making them mentally exhausted and difficult to absorb new material. Lost are the days of kids learning through play.

Kindergarten used to be a time of learning numbers, letters, being read to, learning colors, animals, shapes, etc. Now they almost have to know that before going in. It seems like Kindergarten screening should be a test of what the parents (or if the parents are well off and can afford daycare, the daycare) has taught them. More pressure has been put on parents to ensure the kids are learning what they need to know. They need to know as much as possible to not be left behind or hate school at a young age.

Teachers are held accountable for the "No Child Left Behind" but at the same time, are putting more pressure on the parents that the kids learn the lesson work. What is the education system coming to? Is it homeschooling?

Food for thought.
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As always, these are my opinions and are no way affiliated with anyone or any programming mentioned.

A Card For All Occasions

Did you forget someone's birthday or anniversary and didn't send them a card? Did you forget who you sent your holiday cards to last year? Are you looking for a solution that can help you with both?

You are in the right place! I swear!

With how much people have going on in their lives, it is difficult to remember those important dates for each of your family, friends, business associates, their families - the list could go on! Why should you have to try to remember everything when you could literally schedule your card sending once a month and not have to be the only person who forgot.

There is such a program out there! It is called SendOutCards. The company allows you to send a card for you. They print, stamp and send the card for you so the only work you have to do is create the card. The company does allow you to create your own handwriting font so the card will look like it is more from you specifically.

They have hundreds of premade cards that would cost you only $0.61 for the card and then the cost of postage to send the card. Their occasions are vast including all holidays and occasions. They also have business building cards that I will share with you in a moment. You can add text and a special message or a photo (for an extra $0.31). If you are looking to create your own from scratch, you could do that as well and include your own photos for that special customized look.

As a business, SendOutCards can help you promote and help with prospecting. I know many photographers, realtors, car salespeople and other service driven companies that use SendOutCards as a service to help with customer retention. They send thank you cards, birthday cards, anniversary cards, thinking of you cards and holiday cards. It is important as a business to be able to have your name and information in front of your customers at all times. SendOutCards is able to help with that.

You can also create campaigns throughout the year and assign the contacts you have to certain campaigns. Say you have a holiday card you have already selected, your contact can already be chosen to receive that campaign and everything can be set and ready to go much further in advance than you had expected.

And now for the best part - the reminders! SendOutCards offers a reminder service where you can import or input your customers, family, friends and their families information and you will receive a reminder before their important date arrives. This is the best part because as I stated earlier, we are too busy to remember everything 100% of the time. You will receive a reminder email a couple weeks before when you need to send the card and you can schedule it to automatically send to them without having to remember again.

Facebook helps with this because it tells you when people's birthday's are. This makes it easy to get certain information instead of coming out and saying, "when is your birthday?" All you have to do is find out addresses and other important dates.

Not only can you send a card for an occasion, but you are also able to send a gift along with the card. Gifts range from gourmet foods and drinks, to toys for the kids, to books, to gift cards. By using SendOutCards, you are able to fulfill all of your giving needs in one step instead of having to go to the store and get something, buy a card, buy a stamp or go to the post office to send the package, be sure to make it so it arrives on time for the special occasion and all of that other stuff you really don't have time for.

This system has worked for me as I am able to view the occasions far enough in advance and only need to do it once. It doesn't take long to choose a card or even create one from scratch. The modules are easy to use and make card sending fun from the comfort of your own home. Try it out by sending one today!
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Create your own blog and make money doing so working from home for just a couple hours a day. Visit the link here to find out how to make 100% commissions on creating posts like this.

Restaurant Review - Apple Valley - Milford, PA

For my birthday, Adam decided to take me out to dinner. We were going to go to Red Lobster but it was getting late and we are so far away from everything. I decided a better idea would be to go to something a little closer, so I chose Apple Valley. I had been there before so I knew the food was going to be good.

When we arrived, the hostess was taking an order and asked us to wait a moment. A second hostess showed up almost to get tangled in the phone cord from passing it over and under herself. We were seated in the dining room where there were a few couples and, oddly enough, well behaved children.

We ordered drinks and were looking over the menu when a large party entered with kids that ask why to everything. We placed our order of Cajun calamari and filet mignon. Our calamari arrived and it was delicious. The spice was just right, although to Adam, he would have had it hotter. Our salad and soup arrived shortly after that.

Then, it seemed like everyone in the room we were in got their food first. We did have an appetizer so some couples were scheduled to eat before us, but the monstrous table all got appetizers after we did...so something was off with the timing. Our steaks came out and our waitress checked on us once. The food was absolutely delicious!

And then midnight happened...

And I was up sick all night and most of that day. Afraid to eat anything because of food poisoning. Now, Adam had the same thing as I did so the only variables could have been the margarita, the wine, the ranch dressing or the horseradish for my steak. Not sure what it was, but I am finally back on my feet 100%.
The food was delicious and the service was great. Overall, the experience at Apple Valley was enjoyable, except the last part.
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Statements made are of my opinion and experience only. This is not the case for all who visit.

The Taste & Influenster! So fun!

So I am totally rocking this +Influenster thing right now with a live Q&A with +Nigella Lawson on Twitter from the hit show +The Taste. I am totally loving this Q&A!!! So Fun and I just got the secret to a delicious chocolate cake recipe from her!!

Take a peek a one of the shows! The Taste is on ABC Tuesdays at 9|8c

Website Review: InboxDollars.com

I have been a member of InboxDollars.com for a long time. What is the site and what does it do? It is a PTC (pay to click) website where you get paid to click on emails, do web searches, shop, do surveys and play games.

Is the website worth the sign up? Absolutely! Why would something that is free not be worth the investment? It is so easy to use and the couple emails a day are worth reading for the few cents you make for each one. The check does not bounce when you do receive one from InboxDollars.com!

The interface is much friendlier than when I started and I received a $5 sign-up bonus to allow a quicker payout. There is a toolbar to do searches that you can download if you wanted to expand your earnings. InboxDollars.com allows a simple way to make a little side money from clicking on an email while you are doing what you are already doing during the day.

In today's busy world, there is a way to make a couple of those minutes making money. Why not try InboxDollars.com today?

*Please note that this is not a get rich quick schemed business. This is a way to make additional income based on how many people you refer but also on your efforts.

Feel Fab Friday: Zensufu

Bless You! What is that you ask? It is the most fabulous item I have ever purchased. I have been told by Jenny from California Sun that I have poor circulation. So my friend Danielle, who you may remember from my last Vendor Review, recommended the Zensufu mat to help me with stress and increase circulation in my body.

I received it and wanted to use it for a week to see the benefits (or lack) depending on if it really worked. The first day I used it, I was like, "holy crap this hurts." Then I just had to try it again. The next day, I fell asleep on it but it felt more like I had reached my subconscious (like when I am hypnotized).

After a week, I have been able to sleep better and not be so exhausted. I totally love it and would recommend it for everyone. It can be purchased at Amazon.com