I'm lovin' in!

Another beautiful week in Vegas! I keep hearing this threat of obnoxiously hot weather and yet we're enjoying the coolest spring in history! The funny thing is, it's freaking out the locals! They're quite disappointed when I believe we should all embrace this gorgeous weather, get out and enjoy it!

Today I will work on finishing my office. I've completed decorating the rest of my apartment and have put off the office as long as I could! So this weekend I'll finish painting the office, putting everything in its place, tackle the paperwork that's piling up from all the spas I've had this month and hang the decorations I have stashed away for the office. And then, I'll take some pictures and share with all the world!

Everyday that I am here, I discover additional things I love about Vegas. So here's a continuation of that list:

The DMV - what an organized establishment! Yes, I spent 3 hours there but I was prepared. I had some work with me and a book. But compared to the Memphis DMV - it was a breath of fresh air.

The Henderson Area - I sense a great deal of competition between the Summerlin and Henderson residents. Each feel that their area is the best. I chose to live near Henderson and yes, I do conclude that it is the BEST! I've spent some time in Summerlin and the biggest thing I noticed - Henderson is greener. Sorry Summerlin - this Southern Girl enjoys the trees and grass. I didn't see too much of that in Summerlin. Summerlin is right on the edge of some mountains and unfortunately that area is just as brown as the mountains.

The People - I know I touched on this last week but I continue to meet amazing people every day. Everyone here is so welcoming and curious as to why I actually "chose" Las Vegas versus being moved here against my will. It's hilarious but I adore it! It allows me to show people that my life is blessed with choices that I get to make!

Signing off for now. I hope everyone enjoys their Memorial Day weekend and finds ways to honor those who have served our country.

Blessings to you all!

Welcome to Vegas

I've been in Vegas for 3 weeks now and thought I'd share with you an update to how life is here in Sin City! My journey began Friday, April 30th when I drove from Memphis to Amarillo, TX. After reaching Little Rock, AR, I was on a stretch of I-40 I'd never seen and so I enjoyed the drive thoroughly. The following day I completed my drive to Las Vegas and as excited I was to finally see Hoover Dam for the first time, I knew I was only 8 miles from my destination and so I was antsy about getting there! I'll have plenty of time to revisit Hoover Dam and other sites around the Vegas area once I'm more settled.

Within 2 days of arriving in Vegas, we were out doing School Spas. Two weeks before I left Memphis, I sent faxes to 36 schools in the Vegas area and 4 called me back within 2 hours of receiving the fax! How amazing I felt knowing that I would arrive in Vegas with work already scheduled for me. As fate would have it, a young lady from Michelle Jones's team also moved to Vegas the same day I did and so I had a business partner to help me work the 5 schools we had booked!

The first week was AWESOME! We completed 3 school spas and then I was blessed with having Michelle Jones and Brian Cook join me in Vegas. They were here to help me unpack, set up my internet and they even helped me paint! How blessed I am to have amazing friends. After a long week of moving, completing 3 school spas and also leading my first BeautiU training here in Vegas, Brian & Michelle took me out for a night on the town to celebrate my arrival!
Brian and Michelle headed back to LA that Sunday and so began week 2! Week two included two more school spas. Justine and I ended up selling $3417.33 among the 5 schools and booked over 15 spas! How amazing is that? Week two ended with my doing my first home spa in Vegas. The group was quite entertaining and I don't recall the last time I laughed so hard! I had 4 guests at the spa and I recruited 2 of them and booked spas for the other 2.

I am so excited to be in this amazing city! I've experienced 60mph winds that made me wonder if there would be an tornado. I've seen humid, overcast days that never resulted in rain. I think this will be my biggest obstacle - predicting the weather. Learning what happens here instead of reverting to what those weather conditions would equate to in Memphis!

I've met so many great people. And the funniest thing is, most of those people I've met tell me how hard it is to meet people in this city. I just laugh. I'm having a blast and looking forward to updating this blog more frequently to keep all of you updated.

I'm still working on the finishing touches of my apartment and will post photos soon I promise!

Until next time, Viva Las Vegas!

What I'll Miss Most About Memphis

It's hard to believe that in a few short weeks, I will leave the city that I have called home for most of my life. Memphis, TN - Home of the Blues, Birthplace of Rock n Roll, The Bluff City - it has a million names. This morning I was out and about, running errands, enjoying the gorgeous weather and I went into this nostalgic mode where I began thinking of all the things about this place that I will miss most. I will absolutely miss my friends and family but for different reason - each unique to the person I will miss. But what about Memphis? What is it about Memphis and the Midtown area where I live that I will miss most?

The gorgeous view of the Mighty Mississippi when you're heading North on Riverside drive. You round that corner and then take in a deep breath when you see the view of the river and the "new" bridge.

Hearing fireworks for every home run the Redbirds hit at AutoZone park and for each touchdown made at Memphis State games played at the LiberyBowl.

Hearing folks still call it Memphis State even though the school officially changed the name to the University of Memphis almost 15 years ago.

The only time the city of Memphis rallies together is when Memphis basketball and football is in season. I love wearing out and about on game days and strangers yelling out "Go Tigers!" to everyone!

I'll miss the church bells from Idlewild Presbyterian. They sound so sweet. Especially on game day when they play the Memphis State fight song!

I love that I live close enough to walk to the grocery store, the bank and my favorite sushi restaurant Sekisui.

I'll miss my house. It's a bungalow house that was built in 1919. Original hardwood floors throughout the house except in the master bedroom that was added in the 70's. This house has been a home for me and all my family and friends. I know that I will leave behind a little piece of my heart in this home. I do hope that the next owners will love the house as much as I do.

I'll miss my incredible neighbors Carey & Carol. They welcomed me into their family with open arms. I will forever be grateful to them and know how blessed I am to have them in my life.

I'll miss the crazy homeless people in Midtown. I absolutely love that all of us Midtowners have nicknames for each of the residents of our streets. There's the "raggae" due with the braids that always leans on the mailbox in front of the Belvedere apartments. There's the guy who always wears a dress and sits on the bench outside of the firehouse on Union at McLean. There's the short woman with blonde hair that's always pulled back in a ponytail - she has got to be the angriest little woman I've ever seen! Doesn't she know that she would probably get more money out of folks if she didn't scream at everyone? And the tall guy whose pants are too short and he's always carrying a milk crate and a basketball. Oh I will miss you all.

I will miss the vinegar BBQ sauce and homemade potato chips at Central BBQ. I seriously need to find out if they ship...

Memphis In May - I love the excitement of Music Fest and BBQ Fest!

I'll miss those days when Dave Brown announces there is a "chance" of snow and the entire city shuts down! Well, they all head to the grocery store to buy milk and then they shut down!

I'll miss stories of how people survived "Hurricane Elvis" or the 1992 Ice Storm, the day Memphis State beat UT, and stories of proof that Elvis is dead or alive, whichever story you have.

I'll miss hearing the tornado sirens at every firestation in Memphis going off and me thinking "Oh! It's Wednesday at 3:30!"

I will miss the Japanese Magnolia trees. My absolute favorite!

There is so much more I will miss and this city will lure me back from time to time. Memphis will always be home to me.

Successful Trip to Vegas

Last week, I visited Las Vegas with two goals in mind - find a place to live and meet some new folks! Both goals were accomplished!

As you all know, I'm a planner. I had 8 apartments already scoped out online and went to visit those 8 first. Then I dropped in a few that I saw along the way to the others. I finally settled on an apartment complex just outside the Henderson border. It's absolutely fantastic! I'll have two bedrooms so that I have an office for my spa business. The only downfall - hardly any closets. There is a huge walk-in closet in each bedroom so I imagine the office closet will have to serve as storage space as well. But even though closet space is limited, I'm happy about it. It will allow me to declutter even more than I already have! The sales person at the complex gave me several floorplan printouts and of course, on my flight home, I began drawing in where each piece of furniture will be placed! I'm so excited! I can move in as early as May 3rd. I'm finalizing a few more details before I'll announce officially what date I'll make the drive across country!

Goal #2 was networking. Can I just say that I am in absolute awe of how well people in the Las Vegas area network? I guess they have to. I only met 3 people who were actually FROM Las Vegas while I was out there for 4 days! My dear friend Jennifer Lee invited me to stay with her and she had set us up with a different networking group each night I was there. The first night was the Busy Women's Group, next was the Girls Night Out Group and so forth. I bet you I came home with 50 business cards and I passed out every single one of mine. The last day I was there, I had to tear a sheet of paper to give a girl my contact information. It was insane and I loved every minute of it.

Being a Southern girl, I was a little leary of how accepting and friendly LV folks would be. Well it's a melting pot of folks from all over the world and I didn't meet a single unfriendly face! And you'd laugh to hear how many Tennesseans I met. Heck, the very first person I met was from Jackson, TN (65 miles from Memphis). So needless to say, I loved every minute of it and am so excited to move!

These next few weeks will be filled with work, finalizing details, selling some furniture and appliances, and most importantly - seeing friends before I leave. For those of you who I will be leaving behind here in Memphis - know that I will be back to visit! This is not the last time you'll ever see me. And to those of you who wish to visit Las Vegas - let me know when you're in town. I'd love to see you!

Speaking of those details that need to be finalized, I must return to crossing off items on my list. More updates to come.

A New Flavor of Koolaid

I just looked at this blog and noticed that it's been over a year since I updated this blog. With the popularity of Facebook, I'd taken to write more "notes" than blogging. Lately I've felt such a pull to begin journaling again and the best way to do so is on this blog. The past few weeks I've heard comments regarding how the new structure of BeautiControl is so amazing that it's almost as if we're drinking some koolaid together. I kept hearing this reference over and over in the past weeks and I believe it was the higher powers letting me know it was time to begin blogging again. It was that very comment that lead me to create this blog a few years ago.

So what's been going on since February 11th of last year? Lots of traveling last year. As you all know, I'm a travel fanatic and plan to do much more of it in the future. Last year I traveled to the Bahamas twice, Hawaii, Dallas a few times, Vegas, Mayan Riviera Mexico and probably a few more that I'm forgetting. Literally, every other month I was traveling and I couldn't have been more happy! BeautiControl provides me with the flexibility of controling my schedule. They even paid for many of the trips I just mentioned! :)

Many of you are aware that after 11 years of being together, Donald and I have decided to split. It was a tough decision that was not taken lightly. We exhausted all options and in the end, has led us to our current state. The house is on the market and my goal is to move out of Memphis by June 1st of this year. For me, moving is not a means to escape as some may think. My family and friends are here. And everyone knows how incredibly blessed I am to have so many amazing people in my life. But those same people all know how I have dreamed of living away from Memphis for many years now. I have a desire to meet new people, experience new climates and cultures! I want an adventure!

For the past two years, I set the goal of moving to the Las Vegas area. I've visited Las Vegas several times but it was 3 years ago that I was there attending a wedding when I had the opportunity to spend several days there. I absolutely fell in love with the town and 2 years ago when I began exploring the areas to which I'd move, Vegas popped back up. So I've been working towards that goal for so long now, the time has come and I feel the need to embrace this huge change in my life and go for it!

Yes, I will miss my family and friends dearly. But with technology now, I will be able to chat with them online and do video blogs to them, etc. I will miss the hugs my nephew gives me but that just means that the few hugs I will receive from him each year will be even more sweeter! I know I'll return to Memphis frequently due to the connections I have here. So when you're reading this, fight off the urge to be sad. Feel excited for me! Know that my adventure is about to begin and that I'm going to take all of you along with me! I will continue to post photos on FB and update this blog. And know that anytime you're in the Vegas area, I'd love to see you!

My adventure is about to begin. At the end of this month, I will turn 35. I've seen so many changes in myself as a woman and I see more opportunities to stretch myself further outside my comfort zone. The best part, you all have front row seats to watch it all unfold. Where will I be in 5 years? Who knows? It's gonna be one hell of a ride!

It's been a year of changes

It was a year ago today that I walked into my boss's office and he told me that they'd have to let me go. I can distinctly remember the feelings I had a year ago. I'm sure you can take a few guesses at some of the emotions I expressed that day. Here it is, a year later. Last August, I promoted to Director, received a ton of amazing gifts for accomplishing that task! We have over 100 people on our BC team now and growing. My life has changed drastically in the past year and absolutely every bit of it was for the better. I couldn't be happier. I have a feeling this year will be even better! Watch out world!

Yikes!

It is January 19th and I am just now getting around to my first blog post of the year. Let me tell you, I've been a busy girl. So many wonderful things are going on right now. As you know, I recently became an aunt again. My dearest neice Ruby is doing great. She's still in the NICU and most likely will remain there until her original due date which was February 7th. But she's getting bigger each day and when her oxygen levels begin to gain some consistency, we should be able to welcome her home. Donald and I went to visit Ruby last Friday. Here's a picture of me holding her (sorry, I was also the photographer).Isn't she adorable? I know I'm a little biased, but she is a cutie! So business is strong. I'm going on a cruise to the Bahamas on the 29th. Donald and I are taking our trip to Hawaii in May. Caleb is doing great and is fabulous! Here's a picture of him from when we saw him at Christmas:

In the picture is my sister Amanda (top left), my father's sister Lucie sitting next to her and then in front is my little man Caleb and me! We had a great Christmas with my Aunt Lucie and cousin Clark visiting from Milwaukee.





I hope all of you had a fabulous holiday. Please look for more updates coming soon. I'll write much more when it's not so late and I have something inspiring to say!

Love, hugs and kisses.

Elizabeth