I bristle at expectations

I wonder if it's a Sagittarius thing. Or maybe a first-born thing? Or maybe a personality trait from being mainly a blue on the Colors personality test. Or whatever...

Who knows really. I just find it interesting that I don't like people expecting things of me. Because I don't wanna, and you can't make me. That's seriously one of my favorite phrases and my general attitude.

Hmm family, was I always like this? I guess there is a reason my husband calls me contrary.

Current mood: amused :-p

Proof that I love my kids

I went camping. And not just camping--tent camping. If that's not proof to them that they are loved, I don't know what is.

The whole packing up a bunch of stuff to prepare for every eventuality and then doing my mommy job just, you know, outside without the comforts of home has never been appealing to me. BUT my kids have been asking to go camping. And my mom's club group was going, and they are experienced campers. So I sucked it up and went.

The most stressful part for me was all the preparation. We have a tent and sleeping bags because my son's in Scouts and camps. But we don't have a bunch of other camping-related stuff. Cue (or queue...I don't feel like looking it up) wonderful neighbor! Thanks Michelle for letting us borrow things Ethan wanted us to go out and buy and therefore guilt me into camping again since we'd have the "stuff."

Meal planning it's my favorite thing when we're home. But it's kinda necessary when camping. And then figuring out how to cook the meals when you cant just go into the kitchen. Ugh! Yeah just typing this up is stressing me out again, and we're back home.

So anyway, I went. Ethan took care of most of the set up. He managed to build a fire once. Lucky for us we were camping with knowledgeable friends with gear because we needed said gear to cook the hot dogs for lunch when he couldn't get a second fire going. Thanks Erin! And we needed to borrow a lighter when he used all the fluid in ours getting that first fire going. Thanks Laura! Oh and let's not forget the air pump we forgot and both bikes needed air in the tires. Thanks Laura! And it was so wonderful to have someone else make the coffee so I didn't have to remember how to use the percolator I borrowed. Thanks Janet!

Overall it was OK. We had running water and a clean bathroom nearby plus we were across from the playground. My kids had fun and that was the point. Don't know that I'll be doing it again any time soon though.

You know what's good?

Naps! Naps are good.

Music! Music is good. Especially when a certain 12-year-old is writing his own stuff and collaborating with other musicians. So cool!

Books! Books are good. Escapism is kinda my thing.

Friends! Friends are good especially when they keep you on task and cheer you on. I could use a bit more of that right now friends.

Summer! Summer is good. I am enjoying not having to set an alarm. It's a highlight of my day.

Girl Scout camp week

For the 3rd year, my kids and I are at Girl Scout day camp. This is the first year I haven't been totally stressed out about everything. My co-leader and I have 14 5th graders. They are a great group of girls and are having a great time together. All the same, I am counting down. 3 more days to go! I don't know what it is about camp that tires me out so much. We haven't even done our hike yet. That's tomorrow. But 9-3 is a long time with someone else's children, even sweet ones. I don't know how teachers do it! Oh and the outdoors...ugh! The first thing we do when we get home is wash the outdoors (and bug spray) off. Should be interesting when I take the kids overnight camping next month.

Speech making...

It didn't come out exactly like this...but this is the speech I wrote.

I don't know about you but after the awards ceremony last night I am more than a little star struck. And generally that has me fluctuating between two points of view. On the one hand, I think "oh yeah I want to have my name called as many times as Kathy Hughes." How cool would that be? But then the pendulum immediately swings to "what am I crazy, I could never do that!" So today, as I share a little of my story, I want y'all to think about taking things one step at a time with me no matter where you currently are in your Usborne business.

I started with Usborne at the end of October, 7 years ago. I came to my first convention that following June and saw all the sparkly tiaras and heard all the speakers and was equally excited and overwhelmed. And thought quite honestly that whole team leader thing was not for me. And executive leader or director...yeah right!

NancyAnn Wartman, Ruth Smith...Tom and Becky Dean, and the many, many others...just like celebrities and just like I though of Hollywood celebrities I thought that's so not me.

So for the next 5 years I worked what I would call my July to December fun job. I scheduled parties because I wanted a mom's night out. I worked the holiday season because I wanted to buy Christmas gifts. Did my upline tell me, you should think about becoming a team leader? Sure. But I still didn't think it was for me. I was happy with my July to December fun job thank you very much.

Then at that 5 year mark something started to change. The Connect 4 iPad challenge was the beginning of that. I DECIDED I wanted an iPad, and it was something that I never would buy for myself. So for the first time, I actually made an effort to schedule parties and events for January through May. For the first time I had a goal larger than making sure I had a few mom's nights out. And guess what? I earned the iPad. And it felt good.

I liked that feeling of accomplishment so much that I needed another goal. So I DECIDED that I wanted to have a 40th birthday celebration in Vegas using my Usborne earnings. And guess what? I did.

But here's the thing. I was happy just being a consultant. I was happy working when I wanted to. Not worrying about any numbers. Helping people who wanted to join but not really having any responsibility for them...after all that was my upline's job.

But then...and there's always a but then...my son wanted to attend School of Rock. He's 12, an excellent guitarist who loves to be on stage. And when your kid has a talent what else is there to do but support him. So THAT was my trigger. That extra $150 a month to send my kid to a performance program was what made me DECIDE to promote. And when I decide to do something, I do it. I have the iPad and 40th birthday memories to prove it!

And here's the kicker that one decision didn't just lead me to team leader. Working consistently and paying attention to my sales numbers and actually looking at all those cool little trackers on the back office also meant knowing that I was incredibly close to making President's Club during the previous round. Who knew? Well Tanya Sanchez knew since it was her post on Facebook that prompted me to look!

But as the saying goes knowledge is power. Once I realized how close I was to making President's Club. I figured why not try? With a little extra effort and a lot of help from my team, I earned it. So that brings us to November when I promoted to team leader and gave myself the raise I needed to pay for School of Rock (maybe I should send them a thank you note).

And trust me that felt wonderful. Even more so now that my oldest daughter, who's turning 8 next week, has been invited up to gymnastics team, which of course comes with a higher price tag and competition fees and competition Leo's, etc, etc.

But you know what other tracker I was watching during this time? The trip tracker! Making that decision to promote to team leader to pay this one additional bill now had me within shouting distance of the Atlantis trip. It would be nice to say I had this all planned out, but I didn't. At this point I just thought...hey my husband and I went to the Bahamas for our honeymoon 15 years ago. Wouldn't it be cool to take him back? Wouldn't it be cool to achieve a trifecta?

I was at ALR at NancyAnn's impromptu hallway session on ideas for quick sales for those close to earning the incentive trip. And someone mentioned book drives in general and Tabitha Roach's book drive for foster kids in particular. Brain wave! I can get closer to Atlantis while helping someone other than myself? I certainly wasn't going to say, "come on team you're slacking, send me to the Bahamas." But I had no problem saying "let's get non-fiction beginners into the hands of every Head Start student in our county. And besides the feel good factor, here's what's in it for you." In those two weeks in January, we collected enough funds to donate 424 books to Head Start. Talk about your feel good moments.

So to recap, I decided to promote to team leader after 7 years with the company and at least 5 years of my upline encouraging me to all because of a new kid activity. During this time I actually paid attention to all those cool trackers home office provides and made a little extra effort to earn President's Club. I decided to attend ALR, which spurred the book drive idea that helped me the rest of the way to the incentive trip. And yeah I got a pretty cool honorable mention last night!

What do I want you to take away from this? First, reevaluate your why on a regular basis. Has what you need from your business changed? Second, make a decision and make an action plan to achieve it. And be prepared for some happy coincidences along the way. Third, pay attention to trackers home office provides. It's harder to meet a goal if you're not paying attention to where you are. And finally keep up with your training and networking and apply the knowledge and ideas of those tiara-wearing super stars.

I still fluctuate between "oh my gosh, I want to walk across the stage a bunch of times" and "ugh, that so not me." But this weekend I am taking a deep breath and taking one step at a time. Because who knows what my 4-year-old daughter is going to be into!

So I ask you, what decisions are you making for your business? Because while a journey of a thousand miles may begin with a single step...first you need to decide to take a walk.

June 19 10:45pm CT

I should be out of my room socializing and networking. But I think I am done for the day and ready to sit and read my book. I went to a team lunch and was social and got to walk across the stage for a couple of reasons (new team leader and convention speaker). So that was enough "on" time I think. Next up was a trip to the bargain bookstore where I bought some books for my kiddos at 75% off. There are SO MANY books in that room that I couldn't even think. I did get new catalogs though so I am excited about that!

June 19 10:30 CT

I slept in. Nice! No little people climbed in bed with me and woke me up. That's one of the great things about convention. A little me time. A little cuddle up with my roomie in the middle of the night time. LOL I don't think I did that really. I guess is should ask to make sure. I have had my morning coffee and officially registered for convention. Which leaves 2 hours before I have to be at the leader luncheon. So yeah let's share the fabulous books that came in my bag. The cool thing about this is that I paid what about $180 to come to convention. And $74 of that came back to me in new titles to bring home. And that would be awesome in itself. But I also earned the Connect 4 consistency award which means my convention registration was already refunded to me...plus some other goodies. Yay! I think I am coming out ahead. So oh yeah wanna see the books? You can see them in person at Becky's party next week and/or at my ice cream social the week after. Everything should be officially available to order on July 1.

June 18 5pm Central

The last time I flew out for an Usborne conference we got a flat tire on the way to the airport, and I just barely made my flight. I am happy to say that this trip was way less eventful! I am in Tulsa, Oklahoma. "Paradise" as Randall White, the Usborne Books & More President and CEO calls it. Well I don't know about that. I might reserve the term for that Bahamas incentive trip I recently went on. Anyway, I am here. I am still kinda sad that I didn't make President's Club this time around. So I won't be going with my Uzzie buddies to see Wicked tonight. But at the same time I am super excited that my teammate Deb Weidman has landed and is on her way to the hotel as I type. After checking in, the first thing I did of course was check out the new title display. Here are some pictures. I wonder what freebies we'll get to bring home.

Aliyah's Rain Poem

Rain
Rain looks like water from a shower spout
Rain smells like a chilly morning breeze
Rain tastes like salt from the ocean
Rain feels like lots of taps on your body
Rain sounds like beads falling on the ground
Rain is the heavens crying
Their tears make life

What happens in 6 months

In the 6 months since I forgot I had a blog and was supposed to be writing and housework avoiding, some things have happened. I have still managed to avoid housework, that much hasn't changed. And I have continued on with the raising of my children, that's a given. Here are some highlights to catch us up.

1. We drove to California and saw the Redwoods. Those TREES! Just thinking of them still brings tears to my eyes. So beautiful and so full of the glory of God. Just overwhelmingly amazing.

2. The hubster and I celebrated 15 years of marriage with a couple of days away from the kiddos in San Diego. We did nothing really touristy, so I feel like we need to go back. The sun and the surf are calling me.

3. My kids started 6th and 2nd grades and pre-K. I have been feeling very sentimental so far this school year about my oldest two being in the same school for the last time. And just the thought of the years ahead for middle school and high school is enough to give me a panic attack. I have no idea how I am going to get through this. Pray for me Saints!

4. My parents left this coast and moved to New York. We are back to being alone in the West. Sad, sad, sad.

5. I turned 41.

6. I had a busy Usborne fall. I'd set a goal to promote to team leader and give myself an 11% raise, which happened in November. Yay! In the midst of that, I happened to look at the President's Club tracker (thanks to a Facebook post from fellow Uzzie Tanya Sanchez) and saw that I was really close to making President's Club (an incentive program designed to encourage, promote and recognize group growth). I decided "oh maybe I should try." Yes that was exactly my attitude "Oh MAYBE I should TRY." So I did a little pushing in October with the help of my teammates and made the President's Club. Yay! And then in December I realized I was pretty close to earning the incentive trip to the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas. Wouldn't it be really cool, a trifecta even, to earn the trip, too?  And with LOTS OF HELP from my TEAMMATES, FRIENDS, CUSTOMERS, HOSTESSES and EVERYONE who has ever known me and supported my Usborne business, I made it! YAY!

So THANK YOU! I think this deserves a Bahama Mamma party!

What will the next 6 months bring?