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

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Ahhhh, the season is upon us. Even old Scrooge here is getting a little excited about the holidays. For the past few weeks Christmas cards have arrived from various friends and family. I love getting them, checking out how big the kids are getting and reading all the stories that are included with the cards. Makes me think - I should do that! Not everyone reads my blogs as you do. And my neighbor reminded me that when I don't update it frequently - no one will read it! :)

The festivities will begin this weekend with Donald's father's side of the family. Then next week will continue with my side and then end with my father's side of the family coming to town the day after Christmas. So our house will be filled with lots of noise and activities. I'm sure Hattie and Oliver will survive. They'll be freaked out momentarily by all the noise and then relish in all the attention they'll receive. I took a picture of them recently. My Aunt Lucie gave us a cushioned bench over the summer and the dogs have taken quite a liking to it. Especially when I have the fire going.... I apologize for the poor quality of the photo. This was taken with my phone and of course, first and foremost, it is a phone.

Donald just returned from The Bahamas. He turned 30 this past August and I (and many others) gave him scuba lessons for his birthday. Needless to say, he's enjoyed it thoroughly! They did their certification dive in The Bahamas and here's the link for some pics from that. He went on a shark dive!

I hope you all have a fantastic holiday and a prosperous New Year!

Elizabeth

Ruby Tuesday

Last week at 9:21am, Donald and I became an aunt and uncle again. Ruby Langston Brown was delivered on December 2nd to Donald's youngest brother Matt and his wife Rene. Ruby wasn't supposed to make her grand arrival until February 7, 2009 and she decided 2008 was a better year for her! She weighed 2lbs 5.8oz at birth and as of this afternoon when I went to visit her, she had gained a little over 3oz and was at 2lbs 9 oz. She has been on a ventilator this past week but today they took her off the vent and she simply has a nasal cannula. They are monitoring her lungs and gut a the moment. It will still be a few weeks before she'll be able to drink from a bottle (she's being fed breast milk from a feeding tube). Here are some pictures that I took with my phone today:

Rene put a bow in her hair!Here she is holding Rene's hand:

This is a little heater thing they put her on. They had to put some sunglasses on her eyes to protect her and I told Rene that Ruby was attending a rave!


Ruby needs our love and prayers. I will do my best to update everyone but Rene and Matt have established a page on Caringbridge. As soon as I have that web address, I'll post it on this site.

In utterly sad news, Donald and I lost two of our great friends to the battle with Muscular Dystrophy. My dear friend Harry Roberson passed away last Tuesday, the evening that Ruby made her grand entrance. Then today, we learned that another friend, Gary Hill passed away late last night. Within one week, we lost two friends. Sadly, both boys were only 19 years of age. They both attend camp this past year as their last time since MDA recently changed the age limits to 17 years of age. I know those two are up in heaven having a field day together. They're probably laughing and running - racing each other to see who is fastest.

Life and death - it's the circle of life. Needless to say, it's been quite a ride this past week. Donald left early this morning for the Bahamas to complete his scuba certification. So I am home alone tonight. Part of me was grateful for the quiet time, and another part felt so alone. We all must grieve and I prefer to do mine alone. Tonight was a night of reflection - reflection on the lives that were lost this week. The years I've spent with them at camp - the funny things they would say to make me laugh and how my heart filled with joy when they told me they loved me. I will miss Harry and Gary greatly. And I appreciate the joy they both brought to my life. And I thank God everyday that people like those boys touched my life. And I thank God for the blessing that is my niece Ruby.

Let the traveling begin!

Tomorrow morning I have a 7am flight to Dallas. I'll be in Dallas participating in our New Director's Training program. I'm extremely excited about this opportunity and look forward to learning new ideas and bringing home some excitement and momentum to my team! I'll be back late afternoon on Tuesday and then on Thursday will begin a retreat that Blair is hosting. So it'll be a busy week for me but I'll keep you all abreast of the developments. I'll take lots of pictures to share with you all!

Love, hugs and kisses,

Elizabeth

Brief Update

So I thought I'd take a moment to grant my loyal readers their wish - for me to update my blog. This past week has been a busy and productive week for me. In the month of November I will be doing quite a bit of traveling so I've spent a great deal of my time preparing to be away. I recently purchased an adorably cute new laptop computer so I hope to stay connected to Memphis even while I'm away.

The only saving grace of living in this city is the fact that I get to travel quite a bit. Memphis will always be home for me and as more nieces and nephews are brought into this world, it makes it harder and harder for me to move away. Plus, I adore my house so I know I'd really miss it.

So hopefully my trips next month will provide for some stories that are more interesting than just "the day in the life of Elizabeth." Until then, be well, live well and be happy.

Love to all!

Feeling nostalgic

I haven't a clue why but Facebook has seemed to really take off for my generation of web users. I'd always heard about Facebook but never really used it much. It seemed to be pretty hip with the High School and College kids but considering that was my "age group" 15 years ago, I wasn't in it. But this past summer I was reintroduced to Facebook from the counselors at MDA camp. (duh, most of them are high school and college age) And just in the past 2 months, I've been reintroduced to people I hadn't thought of in years! I'm loving it. Everyone pretty much looks the same, they're kids are beautiful and I've really enjoyed reconnecting with them. It all seems so surreal! I find myself digging through my boxes of old pictures and reliving memories from 20 years ago. It's pretty powerful.

Recently I was reconnected with the guy who I went to my Senior Prom with! I saw his stepmother in Dallas at our BeautiControl conference. She lives in New Jersey now and she's in our BC family. What a small world. My prom date, Matt, is still in the Air Force and currently stationed in Afghanistan. We've emailed each other a few times this week and it's been fun catching up with the past 15 years of our lives. Now, in 1993 when I last saw Matt, I never dreamed I'd be reconnected with him. It seemed odd to me that I probably would never hear from him again but I just accepted that. It was a chance meeting with his stepmom that reconnected us. But with the internet now, people will have friends for lifetimes and now have the means to stay in touch with people. It simply overwhelms me to think of this. What an amazing world of technology we live in.

So now I'm connecting with all my old friends, sharing in their joys and griefs. I hope that for those of you who read my blog every so often will feel as if you are still connected with me in that aspect. It's been a crazy few months and I've made some sacrifices to continue growing my business. Those sacrifices are small compared to the rewards I'll receive. Know that I think of all of you often and hope you are all doing well!

Love, hugs and kisses,

Elizabeth

Oprah says something inspirational!

"What I know for sure is that no matter where you stand right now- on a hilltop, in a gutter, at a crossroads, in a rut- you need to give yourself the best you have to offer at this moment. This is it. Rather than depleting yourself with judgments about what you haven't done, who you could have become, why you haven't moved faster, or what you should have changed, redirect that energy toward the next big push--the one that takes you from good enough to better. The one that takes you from adequate to extraordinary. The one that helps you rise up from a low moment and helps you reach for your personal best."

The mind is a powerful thing

Many of you know about my involvement with the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Having been involved with that organization for the past 17 years, I've lost many friends to this terrible disease. Recently, we lost a young man by the name of Bradley Butler. Bradley lived a short life, only 12 years. I am sad for him and his family but was given hope when I read is obituary. I want to share with all of you the first two sentences:

Bradley Aaron Butler
BRADLEY AARON BUTLER was called home by the Lord on Sunday, September 14, 2008. He has won his fight with Muscular Dystrophy!

How amazing that a family who has just experienced a painful loss can turn it around and create a positive message. He won his fight with Muscular Dystrophy! Sure, they're still hurting but they are making the choice to view it as an accomplishment.

The mind is a powerful thing. I truly do believe that we have the power to make the decision of how we will think and feel on any given day. We can choose to focus on the good or focus on the bad. What a miserable life it must be to constantly focus on the bad. I've heard a motivational speaker, Dale Smith Thomas, speak many times. I pulled a quote from her website:

"I once heard that it doesn't take hundreds of ideas to change your life, it only takes one that you put into action. I believe if you are seeking a better life, that it requires becoming a better person. If you will spend just 30 minutes a day on personal self improvement at the end of the year you will have dedicated 28, 8 hour days to changing your life. It is your decisions that determine your destiny. The key to your future is you!"

How powerful is it to know that we are in charge! So many people in life think they're at a dead end or can't do better for themselves. I'm here to tell you that there is a way out! We live in America - the land of opportunity! Come on! Any and all of us can have anything we want. Will it always be easy? No. But the only way we can fail is if we give up.

Are you ready to give up? I'm not! And I never will.

"Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win by fear of attempt."
- William Shakespeare

Another Brown gets married!

This past weekend, Donald's youngest brother, Matt got married! It was a fun weekend spent with family. Check out my pictures! So now, all of the Brown boys (Donald, Denis and Matt) are now married.

It's been a busy month for me. I'm still working on the Bahamas promotion and having a great time doing so! Once life slows down a little, I'll return to my usual updates for this blog.

Until then, I hope you all have a great week!

Much love!

Elizabeth

And now - what you've all been waiting for!

Ahhhhh. Life has finally slowed down for me to finally update my blog. I hope that I can explain with words the amazing feeling I have right now. As I've said before, promoting myself to Director was one of my proudest moments in my life. I absolutely love what I do! And now I get paid even better for doing it! Last week, I met this amazing woman who was looking for a way to make $444 to pay for her daughters' car insurance bills. When I met with her we went over the opportunity and she asked a lot of great questions and she looked at me and said "Elizabeth, I've been praying to God that He would show me a way to make this additional income. And now I've found you and He answered my prayers!" Then I looked at her and said, "Karen, I've been praying to God that He'd help me find some more wonderful people like you! So He put us together for a reason!" How amazing is that? Everyday I get to touch people's lives and help them either develop new careers or teach them how to take care of themselves with stress reduction exercises and great skincare! I'm loving this job!

So let me tell you about our conference at Dallas! First of all, let me just tell you that it's always fun to be around 5,000 positive people. If that don't help you, I don't know what will! Our conference began with a Directors Only meeting that I was able to attend for the first time. That was pretty fun. They gave us gifts there (BC tends to do that, they give us gifts all the time!). Here's a pic of me with Michelle and Blair at my first Directors meeting:


The conference kicked off the first night with a bang! They showed us all the new products (and of course gave us some!) and they announced that our next trip would be on a cruise to the Bahamas! The room of 5,000 people went NUTS! It was awesome. They also announced that they were going to giveaway $10,000 worth of cash while we were at the conference. They would call up 5 people several times during the sessions and would give them either $250, $350, $500, $750 or $1000 CASH! Well, during one of our sessions they CALLED MY NAME! So I ran up onstage, picked the bag of my choice and I got $350! I was so excited! Here's a picture of me onstage telling 5,000 people what I got! The young lady to the right of me got $1000!


They also told us that out of all the new consultants who were attending Celebration for the first time, they were going to choose 10 people to receive makeovers. I know what you're thinking - but no, this was not my first Celebration conference so I didn't get chosen. But one of my girls did! Her name is Cheryl Kurzawa and she lives here in Memphis. Here's a picture of her onstage with the others who received makeovers. Cheryl is the third from the right, she's turned to the side.


And here's the picture of all of them with their makeovers and new clothes! Cheryl is in the sexy black dress with a smile you just cannot fake!


Needless to say, we had an amazing time. There's so much more I could share with you but really, you need to check out my pictures from the weekend. There are captions with each photo for you to see what all is going on. It was awesome and I cannot wait to see what BeautiControl does next! Click here to check out my pictures!

A Quick Note

Dallas was a blast and it's been crazy ever since I got home. I promise to update my blog and share some pics later this week. I've got some great stories to tell.

Love to you all. Check back later.

Elizabeth

It's Official

Many of you know that for the past 6 months I've been on the path to promote myself to Director in BeautiControl. As of about an hour ago, my numbers and all requirements are in and on August 1st, I will promote to Director. This moment is such a huge one for me. I don't know whether to laugh, cry or scream in excitement. I'm so incredibly proud of myself and I could not have done it without the love and support from all of you. Thank you to all of you for your words of encouragement. This is a moment I will remember for the rest of my life. One of my proudest moments.

This Wednesday I leave for our annual Celebration conference in Dallas, TX. I've got 4 women coming with me and I'm excited to share this event with them. We'll also learn where our next trip will be and I'm sure you guys will hear all about it on my blog.

Love and Peace to you all!

E

A Weekend of Memories

Ahhhh family. Nothing like getting the family together to remind you how wonderful and crazy they are! And seeing that, you get a glimpse of what the future holds for you. Our family is particularly unique because not only are we crazy, we love to sing about it! You see, I grew up in a home filled with music. I remember dancing around the living room in my mother's high heels singing Amiee Stewart's version of "Knock on Wood". We listened to every Beatles album ever released and I still remember Don McLean's album cover with his thumb painted as an American flag. I knew every verse to American Pie and Vincent before I knew who and what those songs were about. My mom was a huge fan of music as is my entire family. Rarely was there ever a gathering at our dear Aunt Margaret's house without someone busting out a guitar and all of us laughing and singing together. In the early 80's, my mother's sister, Debbie, sang in a band called "Beauty and The Beats." They frequently played at a bar called The Daily Planet which is now known as Reedmeister's. I remember spending many Friday and Saturday nights at the bar watching the band play. Remember, I told you it was the early 80's and being that I was born in 1975, that means I was hanging out in bars as a child. It sounds horrible but that environment of friends and family created many wonderful memories for me. Aunt Debbie would greet us at the door with a roll of quarters and my brother and I would play video games (they had Frogger and Ms PacMan), table shuffle board and sip cokes all night. We loved it. And then I would beg one of her bandmates, Michael Cervetti, to sing "Puff the Magic Dragon" for me during their set breaks.

I'm sharing all of this to "set the stage" for you to understand what I experienced this weekend. My dearest Aunt Debbie came home for a visit this weekend. Her first night back in Memphis was spent with our family. We wanted to make sure we were all gathered together to see and celebrate each other. Then the "family" that I spent many weekends with at the Planet, all gathered together for somewhat of a reunion. We spent the weekend visiting old friends and listening to their new bands. Last night we watched our friend Alan Collier play with his new band, Java. Knowing that I was going to see Alan that night, I sang "Love's Fool" to myself all day. If he's reading this now, he's probably wondering how in the heck I remember that song. Silly, Alan - I know the words to all the songs on the "Beauty and the Beats" album! As soon as I saw Alan, my heart leap. Alan was always so sweet and still is. He is a genuinely happy man and a gifted singer/musician. Just the kind of person you want to be around! I was also blessed to be reunited with Michael Cervetti who I mentioned in the last paragraph. How silly I felt thinking of how I used to always beg him to play that song when I was 8. But he told me this weekend that he always loved playing it, especially for me. What a beautiful person Michael is.

This afternoon, we gathered at Reedmeisters (forever known to all of us as The Planet) for an Open Mic event. I haven't set foot in that bar since the early 90's when the bartender called me and told me to come pickup my step-father who'd had too much to drink. As I entered the bar this afternoon, it was like coming home. It was all so familiar to me. I saw people I had not seen in 25 years. None of them had a clue who I was until I introduced myself! Come on, I was 8 the last time most of them saw me! We spent the afternoon catching up on the past 25 years and listened to each other sing. It was as if only a week had passed instead of 25 years! I felt so at home and surrounded by love. I felt as if I was in a room with all my aunts and uncles. I got to hear my aunt's band play again and they were awesome. I even got to hear "Puff the Magic Dragon." Unfortunately for me, it was not Michael who sang it but it was still beautiful to hear.

Donald tagged along with me to several of this weekend's events. Last night as we were driving home he said to me, "You know, thinking about you in a bar at 8 used to be scary for me. Now that I've met everyone, I realize what an amazing and loving environment that was for you." It was awesome to share that experience with my husband. The more time he spends with my mother and aunt, the more he understands why I sing all the time and dance around the house while making up songs about either him or my dogs. It's in my blood! It's in my spirit! It's that silliness that makes my husband laugh! And I wouldn't change it for anything in the world.

You're all welcome to visit my web album that features pictures from this weekend. There are even some video clips included. My Aunt Debbie sang my favorite song "Beauty" which is a song she wrote. She's written many songs over the years but this one is probably my favorite. I used to beg her to sing me to sleep with that song. And of course, she would. Thank you for that Aunt Debbie. I love you.

It was a week of Fame!

As you blog readers know, the Montel Williams show that I was an audience member of aired last week. What luck we had. We had some nasty storms roll through Memphis that afternoon so about 25 minutes of the program was cut out due to weather reports. But what I was able to watch was a blast! I saw most of my BC friends in the audience and even saw myself a few times. I was sitting by one of the audience members who won a diamond necklace and so you saw me when they honed in on that person. It was hilarious. Then I submitted a picture of myself to Snorg Tees. They have silly t-shirts and if you submit a photo of yourself wearing one of their shirts, they post it online and also include pics in their monthly e-newsletter. So last week I received my e-newsletter and there I was! Twice in one week I had national exposure. Too funny!

This week will be a busy one for me. I have several BC events to attend, some spas and then I found out that my dear Aunt Debbie, who lives in Southern California, is coming in town this week. So we'll be busy with that as well. I'm excited because I'm having all of our family come over for dinner Thursday night. As crazy as family is at times, it's always good to get together with them.

I hope you all have a wonderful week and I'll update soon!

Elizabeth