Friday, August 17, 2007


Both of these are simple enough but are two of my favorites, nothing to flim flam :)




So I got to thinking today, and I realized that I am an overdoer. (If that's even a word) As I was surfing the net tonight looking for wonderful things to "scraplift" I realized that all of the layouts that I like and/or cards that I like are very simple, clean layouts. And when I went back over my own work I realized again that the cards of my own that are my favorite are the ones that required the least amount of work... or at least look like they did. But I ALWAYS forget that when I sit down to my craft table and get started!
I think I have to make these elaborate cards with all this bling and flim flam... (again is that a word)But I don't, I make cards for me, and I scrapbook for me. So my goal for today is not only to update my websites (all of them) , but to stop overdoing it! Wish me luck!




Monday, August 6, 2007

Is Direct Sales Difficult

IS DIRECT SALES DIFFICULT? Author Unknown
It is difficult when you must produce a report on a Sunday afternoon and cannot attend your son's football game.
It is difficult hearing the mobile phone ring on Christmas morning and you cannot see the excitement on your daughter's face as she feverishly tears into another box.
It is difficult knowing the rust bucket you call a car is eating you alive in maintenance but you cannot afford a new one.
It is difficult to go to your annual performance review, and even though you have worked hard for another year, you come away empty handed.
It is difficult knowing that you shop by sticker rather than whether the garment looks good on you.
It is difficult knowing that the house you are in is because prices just went up and your budget is to the bare bones.
It is difficult knowing that you married a wonderful person, and promised them the world, and for the next 30 years you look at balancing the budget and figuring out what sacrifices must be made.
It is difficult reciting "If we get this we cannot have that".
It is difficult always lowering your dreams to meet your means.
It is difficult knowing that you have spent 40 years of your life working for someone else only to realize that you will be retiring on 1/3 of what you cannot live on today.
It is difficult when your children move out and you cannot visit them because traveling costs too much.
It is difficult knowing that the fish are biting this week and you cannot drop what you are doing and take your Dad fishing.
It is difficult watching the spark in your partner's eyes fade because both of you realize the house you have been wanting is just a dream because someone else is controlling your finances.
It is difficult waking up one morning and realizing that your children, the most precious things imaginable, no longer need bottles, diapers, have tea parties, eat things found under the sofa, are shorter than the baseball bat they are trying to swing, but instead are grown and starting their own families and you missed all of that because you agreed to be locked in an office for twenty years by a boss who watched his children grow up.
It is difficult dropping your one year old at the nursery because you have to be at work by 9am to stand by the Xerox machine or handle irate phone calls and realize someone else is going to watch your daughter take her first step or have your son say "dada" to the playground teacher.
It is difficult knowing that you have diligently worked only to be given an early retirement.



I will tell you what is difficult. It is real difficult realizing it is too late and that time flittered away can never be retrieved. It slips through our fingers one second at a time.
What are we doing with it? We have nasty habits about rationalizing, procrastinating and skirting important things rather than facing the issues. Too often we allow others who do not pay our bills, who do not share our dreams, to direct our future.
We have absolutely no freedom as a child.
We rebel in our teen years and scream for freedom.
We die for the right to be free.
We fight vicious wars to have the seemingly innocent ability to choose.
We reach adulthood and we relinquish freedom because we think it is too difficult.
We do not want to take responsibility.
We do not want to make a wrong decision so we obligingly give that awesome power to someone else.
We feel it will take too much time. Then, we have the audacity to complain when the decisions made were not what we wanted.
We wake up too late. Phrases like "I wished I had only", "If I could only have that time back" etc.
I believe the majority of people want to sing, but die with the music still inside. Face the music and shoulder some responsibility. You cannot have that time back. You have chosen your direction. If you have not spent your time wisely, too bad.
You have no one but yourself to blame. You had the chance. Perhaps the opportunity was presented many times and each time you elevated the trivial to a higher priority than yourself.
Is Direct Sales really difficult? Is it so traumatic to show someone an exciting product or idea? Is it so difficult to understand that if you work this marketing idea for several years you might not have to confront some nasty options?
Would you work real hard for 3 - 5 years so you could put your family in the home of their dreams? Would you work real hard for 3 - 5 years so you could send your children to college chosen by excellence rather than one chosen by price, the same criteria you used for clothes shopping?Would you turn off the idiot box, the soaps, the talk shows, sporting events or X Files for a year so you could take dream vacations several times a year?Would you apply yourself for 3 - 5 years so you would have the freedom of being able to roll over, yank the covers over your head and wake at the crack of noon because you wanted to?Would you work really hard for 5 years to mold a lifestyle of your choosing so your family could live a lifestyle of their dreams, rather than trying to live how someone else thinks you should live?
We really think we are important in our "jobs." The company we work for cannot survive without us. Everything would grind to a halt without our presence.
Think again. Corporations are not structured like that.
A corporation does not rely on people to remain viable. A corporation needs many properly arranged little squares, functioning in a preset order to survive. After many years as a manager in the corporate environment, here is an excellent visualization of your importance. Find a bucket and fill it about 3/4 full of warm water. Make a fist and push your left arm in the bucket up to your elbow. Now, quickly remove your arm. The resulting hole is your impact. Sobering, isn't it?
Can you identify the words" next time?? How many ?next times? will you have?
What will it take to get you off dead center?
Will it be knowing that people are mentally and physically deteriorating when you have a product that will help them but are afraid of someone thinking you are taking advantage of that person and are just out for the money?
Gosh, I hope not.
Will it be knowing that people are agonizing through bankruptcy, realizing they only needed a couple hundred more dollars per month, not $50,000 per month, but you procrastinated once again?
I hope not.
Realize the awesome power you have in your hands with Direct Sales. The business you have chosen has the ability to change lives.
IT cannot do anything. But YOU can change lives with IT.
You are the one with the life changing ability. What are you waiting for?
What will it take?
You will pay a price for your actions. Which one do you choose to pay?
There is pain in success and there is pain in failure! Pain in $uccess will last a short period of time....Pain in Failure lasts a LIFETIME! Which one is really more painful? You will decide....either way!

Friday, July 6, 2007

Inspired by a Con

A friend of mine once said
That he lives not by religion but by a standard instead
And it made me sit back and take a look at me
Take a look at my life where I am and where I thought I’d be
I do not consider myself at all to be religious person
However I do know the holy one and we’re here for a reason
But what is the difference between religion and spirituality
What is difference between the old and the saved me
Are my thought patterns changed , are my behaviors the same
Do I carry myself different since I have called on the Saviors’ name
I would like to believe that I am but I really don’t know
Cause when no one is looking how far would I go
God knows I been tempted, and some test I have failed
But because I know the Lord loves me the Christ in me will prevail
I mean isn’t that the point of this life that we live
To spend our time here on earth knowing we are His
I know people who would chose to argue with me
“We will all get to heaven if we are just as good we can possibly be”
Well I am here to tell you that I know that is not true
And if you don’t believe me have I got a story for you
I know you’ve heard it before about this man that came here to die
They cursed him, mocked him, nailed his hands, feet and pierced his side
However do you know the promise of his life and the purpose of his death
The freedom there is in knowing that you can choose to be different than the rest
I can already see you rolling your eyes saying here we go again
But know that this is different this is where a true freedom begins
The difference between having a religion and a relationship
Is knowing that you can face all things fully and adequately equipped
I know you are thinking yeah okay this sounds exactly the same
But you have no idea where I was when I heard my Saviors name
Pain and agony tormented me, a step away from suicide
On the outside I looked okay but inwardly I already died
I had this gaping hole that I constantly tried to make full
From drugs to sex to anything, to make the pain dull
I even tried religion, went to church every Sunday or two
I mean that is what I was taught what else was I supposed to do
But I knew church people, religious people and I wanted no part of that
I knew how they dressed up on Sundays, best clothes and their special hats
Is this all there was, it couldn’t be, I needed something more
I even tried to read the bible but didn’t know what I was looking for
I can almost remember as if it was yesterday
The pain was so overwhelming , so I began to pray
And I don’t mean a pretty prayer full of language I don’t understand
I prayed a prayer of pain and need like I was speaking to any woman or man
I had no hope I had no plans I had no one to turn to
I has fallen deeper than I ever had, am I making any sense to you?
I cried until I couldn’t anymore, until my well was completely dry
Then I heard a voice say to me “Now you know why I sent him to die”
The voice I heard was the voice of God, it was as clear as you reading this
I understood his pain as he watched his son die so that I may eternally live
It was for me he hung on that cross that he suffered every stripe
He took every curse and every pain so that I could tell you about his life
So what the difference you say, do you still not know
When you hit the point of no return , you have no where else to go
He is waiting for you standing with his arms open wide
The same God that has forgiven me pushes all your sins aside
The bible says that we are sinners we all fall short of his glory
That means me too and every one that will come after and before me
Nothing that you have said and nothing that you can do
Can take you away from his love and he is just waiting to show you
Don’t get me wrong I still mess up almost on a daily basis
But I have a promise of eternal life in the heavenly oasis
The freedom comes in knowing that no matter what has been done
I no longer have to run and hide I just call on the name of his son
So I think I have chosen to live my life by a standard as my friend has said
Not with religion no not at all, but with a relationship with Christ instead
If something that I have said today has touched you anywhere in your soul
Then now’s the time my friend don’t be afraid it’s time to let it go
Repeat after me open your heart to let him in and pray
And I promise you with my everything you will never be the same
Say Father forgive me I know now what I have done
I understand now with my heart and soul that I truly need your Son
Right now at this moment I give to you my all
I will try with my everything to run to you if I fall
I ask right now Father God that you forgive me of all my sins
That you give me the life you promised me, that I can start again
Thank God for giving me you Son so graciously
For loving me giving me your grace, and life eternally
Now if you said these words I want to tell you congratulations and welcome
You now have the promise of eternal life and hearing our Lord say well done
If from this point on you find yourself in trouble or in pain
Our Lord will welcome you back as long as you repent time and time again
So I guess I owe my friend a thank you for making me take this self examination
And a thank you God for blessing me and honoring with me with not a religion but a relation

Thursday, July 5, 2007

To My Husband

So many times I have prayed and cried
That you could see yourself threw my eyes
It hurts me so deep inside to know
That I am the only person intent on helping you grow
All the crap that you have been handed isn't you
All the crap that you have been told it isn't true
You are a gift to me given straight from above
And I am doing all that I can to give you nothing but love
There was a time just not too long ago
When I wasn't sure where this was going to go
I spent nights crying tossing and turning
Praying to the Lord that this was just another lesson we were learning
Please God I screamed bring him back to me
I will do what ever it takes just to make him happy
I screamed at Him "you made me a promise, we had a deal"
Little did I know what was happening was the real
The real part of life not just the crap that people pretend
The kind of stuff that will make or break you in the end
I am proud, not just proud but honored to say
That I have a real man and you showed me yourself that day
Things that I prayed for in my quiet place
Were brought to light right in front of my face
Sometimes I know you wish that you could do more
Understand though that is what I was given to you for
You are more than enough for me just continue to grow
Seek God in prayer and everything you need He'll show
I know that times are hard and it get's a little tough
But with God's love and hard work we will have more than enough
Even when you can't believe in your self just know that I do
And with God on our side we'll always be able to get threw
Thank you for loving me even with all of my mess
Thank you for fighting for me when our love was put to the test
I know there are times when it would be easier to walk away
I know that there were times when I wasn't sure if you'd stay
So many people said it was over before it began
But I knew that there was nothing coming between me and my man
There will be times of pain and sadness, times of anger bordering rage
Times when I will have to remind you to grow up and to act your age
Times when you will wonder if this is it, is it really all worth it
Times when you will love me unconditional even when I don't deserve it
I know that you are my hearts every desire, my dream come true
And I pray with my everything that I am all of that for you
I know that God put me on this earth to be for you to be your wife
And that I will do with my all for the rest of my life!

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

What is the world coming to?

I was walking around in a store. I saw a cashier hand this little boy his money back saying"I'm sorry, but you don't have enough money to buy this doll."Then the little boy turned to the old woman next to him: ''Granny, are you sure I don't have enough money?''The old lady replied: ''You know that you don't have enough money to buy this doll, my dear.''Then she asked him to stay there for 5minutes while she went to look around. She left quickly.The little boy was still holding the doll in his hand.Finally, I walked toward him and I asked him who he wished to give this doll to."It's the doll that my sister loved most and wanted so much for this Christmas.She was so sure that Santa Claus would bring it to her."I replied to him that maybe Santa Claus will bring it to her after all, and not to worry.But he replied to me sadly. "No, Santa Claus can't bring it to her where she is now. I have to give the doll to my mommy so that she can give it to my sister when she goes there."His eyes were so sad while saying this. "My sister has gone to be with God. Daddy says that Mommy is going to see God very soon too, so I thought that she could take the doll with her to give it to my sister.''My heart nearly stopped.The little boy looked up at me and said: "I told daddy to tell mommy not to go yet. I need her to wait until I come back from the mall."Then he showed me a very nice photo of him where he was laughing. He then told me"I want mommy to take my picture with her so she won't forget me.""I love my mommy and I wish she doesn't have to leave me, but daddy says that she has to go to be with my little sister."Then he looked again at the doll with sad eyes, very quietly.I quickly reached for my wallet and said to the boy. "What if we checked again, just in case you do have enough money?''"OK" he said "I hope that I have enough." I added some of my money to his without him seeing and we started to count it. There was enough for the doll and even some spare money.The little boy said: "Thank you God forgiving me enough money!"Then he looked at me and added "I asked yesterday before I slept for God to make sure I have enough money to buy this doll so that mommy can give it to my sister. He heard me!''"I also wanted to have enough money to buy a white rose for my mommy, but I didn't dare to ask God for too much. But He gave me enough to buy the doll and a white rose.''"My mommy loves white roses."A few minutes later, the old lady came again and I left with my basket.I finished my shopping in a totally different state from when I started. I couldn't get the little boy out of my mind.Then I remembered a local newspaper article2 days ago, which mentioned of a drunk man in a truck, who hit a car, where there was one young lady and a little girl.The little girl died right away, and the mother was left in a critical state. The family had to decide whether to pull the plug on the life-assisting machine, because the young lady would not be able to recover from the coma.Was this the family of the little boy?Two days after this encounter with the little boy, I read in the newspaper that the young lady had passed away.I couldn't stop myself as I bought a bunch of white roses and I went to the funeral home where the body of the young woman was exposed for people to see and make last wishes before burial.She was there, in her coffin, holding a beautiful white rose in her hand with the photo of the little boy and the doll placed over her chest.I left the place, teary-eyed, feeling that my life had been changed forever. The love that this little boy had for his mother and his sister is still, to this day, hard to imagine. And in a fraction of a second,a drunk driver had taken all this away from him.


I got this story off of myspace, it was too good not to share here, if people every where would just take minute to think, to share, to love what kind of world would we live in? If this story left you untouched then I am sorry for you, but if it did touch you even a little then do something about it.... choose to be different, you can change the world even if it is only a little bit at a time.

Sunday, June 24, 2007

What Now?

How do you keep the faith when you feel like your whole world is crashing down?

What do you do when you feel like someones only intent has ever been to break what you have worked so hard to build?

How do you pray when you have run out of words?

How do you cry when you run out of tears?

How are you supposed to feel when you wake up and realize that all of this crap has been just that... crap?

How do you protect you heart with out becoming bitter?

At what level are you supposed to get passed all the bull and get down to the real?

Why is this so hard?

How could you tell me that I am your everything and then treat me like I am less than garbage?

Should I keep smiling when inside I feel like I am dying?

What kind of person does it make me to still feel bad for you even though you did this to me?

The angry woman in me wants to hate you...

The wife in me wants to love you still...

The survivor in me knows that I will be okay...

Crushed but not broken, battered but not abused, all in all I am still standing and stand I will with you either by my side or watching me walk away...

Friday, June 22, 2007

Leaderboard
I created this for myspace but I thought I would try it here too! Good Luck!
Create your own Friend Test here

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