Glitter, Tutu’s, and Soccer Shoes

I would have to say if there is one thing I wish I could do is “Turn back Time.” And now we are all singing this song (you’re welcome).  Oh man....another song you’re probably singing.  Ok, I’m going to stop now. One of the many skills I learned later in life is how to properly cook.  Don’t get me wrong, my mom tried to teach me how to cook, but I couldn’t have been less interested.  Even after getting married, we would either eat out or my husband would cook (he’s quite good too).  It wasn’t until after having children and being able to stay home that I really delved in and learned how to cook.  Mainly because we were on a single income and I had to learn to budget (which I’m still learning).  But, I had to learn how to make a lot of food from scratch, such as, pizza crust.  A family can save a lot of money just from learning to cook from scratch. The reason I wish I could go back is because I would have taken pictures of the first pizza cru...

Not gonna lie, I got this next post idea is from Facebook - I mean it’s where most people spend the majority of their time, right? I saw this meme that talked about having daughters and to check in on moms of daughters because we are not ok.  I have 3 daughters, and I get it because having daughters is completely different stress level.  However, that should not negate the fact that having boys is just as stressful as having girls. Each gender comes with its own uniqueness. Boys have problems and so do girls (it’s called being a kid). Somewhere along the way between facebook and people wanting to go viral with their creative memes I feel as though people have learned to believe what they see and in turn create a competition between being a boy mom or a girl mom.  But, it doesn’t stop there. It continues with “well, my kid jumped off the couch.” To, “Oh, well my kid jumped off a 3 story building” (exaggerating, of course).  I write this to show the ridiculousn...

We all have friends, and if you’re like most people you have at least 1 friend who is in direct sales, also known as, mlm, or my personal favorite, pyramid scheme.  I’m not writing about pyramid schemes, because they don’t really exist anymore, proper direct sales companies are heavily monitored by the federal government and if they happen to get through the loopholes, they are quickly shut down. So, what I am writing about today is what to do when your friend in one of the thousands of direct sales companies approaches you. 1.  Ignore your friend, whether it’s via text, voicemail, email, Snapchat, instagram, no matter what media platform or how excited your friend is, just ignore him/her.  After all, they just found a way to possibly make an income and possibly found a product that you would like as well.  But, I get it, you’re bombarded with ads from multi million dollar companies daily.  You’re tired of being “marketed” too.  So, just ignore them. ...

We can deny it all we want, but Christmas is coming, and if we’re going by weather, it’s already here in Wisconsin!  Just about every morning the kids ask if it’s Christmas! We received toy catalogues weeks ago and they already circled EVERYTHING (well, it certainly feels that way) in the catalogue. They know they won’t get everything and I always ask them what is the one thing they want the most.  Keep in mind, we don’t have cable, and we stay out of the stores, if we can help it, during the holiday season so my kids then aren’t bombarded by all the toys they see in the stores. Lately, I’ve seen so many people posting and talking about asking family members to get experiences for their children instead of toys.  Don’t get me wrong, I think those are great, and I certainly wouldn’t turn it down.  But, I’m also not one to ask this because I know how much joy grandparents get from giving a wrapped gift and seeing their grandchildren’s eyes light up with excitement....

In business (especially sales) we encounter all kinds of people.  It’s just the nature of the beast.   In the past I would get insulted when people told me “no.”   Why is she telling me no? What did I do wrong? It’s not me, she just doesn’t know what’s good for her. Am I right?  These are things we tend to think when someone tells us “No, I’m not interested at this time.”  Over the years, I’ve learned to let a lot of this go, and when someone does say no, to just be kind and still move on.  A key thing to remember is that when someone says no at the moment, that doesn’t mean it’s no forever.  I also like remember times I’ve said no.  We all have, we all have boundaries.   Just recently I was told no by another mom to do an interview.  And at first I seriously didn’t understand because it’s an interview, I’m not asking for any money, but I was asking for her time.  Time is priceless - it’s something we don’t hav...

You know when you’re sitting down with your kids and you have random thoughts and questions? Well, this was one of them...Are there still skincare and makeup companies that test on animals? The shocking answer is yes.  I was quite shocked when I learned just how many still do test on animals. When I googled my question, peta.org was the first link to appear, and they are pretty reputable.  So, here is there list of companies that still test on animals. I have used pretty much all of these products in the past.  Clinique was my go to in high school throughout college.  I’m glad I stopped using it though.  I don’t share this to scare you or even force a belief on anyone, but why use products that are tested on animals?  I started using L’Bri 5 years ago and being tested on animals wasn’t really on my radar, but after learning these companies still do test on animals, I’m glad I don’t use them anymore and that I made the switch to an animal fri...

Somewhere along the way between childhood and adulthood we learn to compete.  It’s a part of life.  I love healthy completion, it builds character, strength.  It makes you want to work harder and be better.  Those are all amazing qualities to have. My kids (all 5 and under) even compete - who can run faster, pick up the toys faster, build their tower faster.  Yes, to a child - these are very important skills!  And as they grow they will get better and competitions will get harder. This past week I focused on people who own their own business (primarily network marketing). To me, that’s one of the biggest and almost fiercest competition out there.  I could be wrong, I imagine med school, law school, and other demanding careers are just as competitive - if not more. Personally, I’m a writer and I own my business, do you know how many writers and sales people there are out there?  A LOT!  Everywhere I look someone is selling a product or a...