Sister Wives

Don't forget all in-stock calendars are now 25% off.

Visit my shop to check it out.

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Interested in getting a FREE calendar AND earning some extra holiday cash?  Find out more about our Calendar Ambassador program here.

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Wanna get a sneak peek at the new line?  You're invited.

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I am obsessed with reality TV.  Those of you that have been reading for any length of time already know this.  For those of you just joining, see here and here for more evidence.

I have a new favorite reality show.  Sister Wives.

{photo credit: TLC}

Have any of you been watching???  It is reality TV at its finest.  Fascinating.

It kind of makes me want some sister wives.

Except for the fact that I believe polygamy is not God's plan... it sounds like a great idea {at first glance}.

I don't know how many times I have said I need a laundry fairy and someone to buy my groceries.  Maybe if I had a sister wife, she would be really into laundry and grocery shopping.

And let's be honest ladies... having a sister wife to share your "wifely duties" wouldn't be the worst thing ever.

But then I am reminded of what it was like having female roommates in college,

and it makes me never ever want to have a sister wife.

Don't get me wrong.  I loved my college roommates {well, most of them... I had a total of 18 in four years}, but it is hard to live with women.  We are temperamental, emotional, jealous and hormonal.

I love my employees.  Love them.  But there are days when I am ready for all the estrogen to go home for the day.

The first episode of this show made everything seem like daisies and roses in the world of polygamy.  The wives all talked about how wonderful it is having help raising their children, and how fantastic it is that they have such great relationships with each other... blah, blah, blah.

Cut to episode two.  Enter wife number 4.  True feelings are coming out.  Women are crying.

This is going to be a great season.

{Does that make me sound horrible???  It kind of does, doesn't it?  Shoot.  I just really like this show.}

Holy Printer!

I am fighting the urge to throw a complete fit today.

{I will explain why in a minute, but the title of this posting should give you a clue.}

My nature is to throw a tantrum.

I am a hot-headed Italian woman, and I sometimes lose self-control.

When I was younger, this was a real problem.

In Junior High, it reached its bowling point, and I was on the verge of losing some friends {Brooke included}.

One day my mom told me that  I needed to start praying for self-control, because I had to get a handle on my emotions.  I had never really considered that I could change this about myself.  I figured it was just a character flaw that I had to live with.

I think too often we excuse bad behavior with a oh, I'm just sensitive... or I'm just emotional... or I'm just this or that, instead of seeing them as the character flaws that they are, and trying to make ourselves better.

 So I started praying for self-control.  I started praying that God would help me resist the urge to lash out when I was frustrated.  I started praying for moments of sanity before the breaking point.

And you know what?  God answered my prayers.

If you knew me back in Junior High, I'm sorry.  I swear, I have changed.

Of course, there are still days that I scream and stomp my feet, but those days are now few and far between.

Today could have been one of those days.

Today my printer is broken.

Yes, my brand new printer.

No, not the one that replaced my other broken printer last month.

The one I got this morning to replace that one because that one broke last week.

My brand new, one-hour-out-of-the-box printer is broken.

They are sending me a new one tomorrow.

{Please pray that it works... for Dell's Customer Service Operator's sake.}

But I am maintaining my composure.

No feet stomping yet.

I am counting down in my head, and practicing my Lamaze breathing, but I am not stomping my feet.

Yet.

Jomestic Doi

Don't forget all in-stock calendars are now 25% off.

Visit my shop to check it out.

...............................................................................................................

Interested in getting a FREE calendar AND earning some extra holiday cash?  Find out more about our Calendar Ambassador program here.

...............................................................................................................

 

Wanna get a sneak peek at the new line?  You're invited.

...............................................................................................................

I know I don't usually post on the weekends, but this morning I sat down to quickly catch up on some of my favorite blogs before I run off to Beau's football game and I came across this beautiful posting from my friend Lisa on her blog Jomestic Doi {which I love the name of, btw}.

I am going to paste her posting here {because I can't figure out how to link to that particular posting on her blog... what's up with no titles Lisa???}, but please go check out her blog for yourself.  She is a wise girl who loves Jesus and honestly shares her heart.  Become a follower... you will be entertained and enlightened.

scars.

we all have them. they shape us ... some in good ways, some in bad.

i was pondering my legs the other day. yes ladies, thinking about my legs. i HATE them. i have for a very long time ...

WHY????

well, because hers didn't touch above the knee ...

let me explain.

i have always been on the "thin" side. for a long time i could hear the whispers of the women at church telling my mom they needed to have the doctors look at me ... i HAD TO be anorexic. my mom would tell them "she eats like a HORSE" ... well then OF COURSE it had to be bulimia.

they were so smart.

truth is i have never had an eating disorder. i was 5'6" and weighed about 95 pounds at my heaviest. (in high school ... certainly not now ... )

but ... my legs (above the knee) have always touched. it has never made sense to me. how can you weigh UNDER 100 pounds and have chunky legs? why can't they look like Giselle's?

flash back to the high school locker room ( ... i know you are used to the men's version of this story ... but there is a womens version too ... ) and she was talking. she was beautiful. she had features like a real woman ... ughhm, if you now what i mean ... she had these HUGE brown yes and beautiful LONG lashes. and she had "acceptable" legs.

she was looking in the mirror, admiring herself ... and said ...

"do your legs touch?" ...

"well ... yes." ...

"mine don't, they never have" ...

"oh." ...

now. that moment OBVIOUSLY made an impact ... because the other day ... the day i was pondering my legs ... i thought of THAT MOMENT. the moment i decided her legs were better than mine. the day i decided something was really wrong with my legs. and that was 15 years ago.

a wound was cut into the eyes of my self perception.

to this day. i still look in the mirror and think of how much i hate my legs.

and that is pathetic.

to this day. i still look at magazines and covet "non touching" legs like the models have.

and that is pathetic.

to this day. i still want to "loose 5 pounds" in hopes that my legs won't touch.

and that is pathetic.

i want so desperately to grow out of this. i want the guilt and shame i feel over "touching legs" to go away. i want to truly believe that i can be loved with touching legs.

why, oh WHY am i talking about my thoughts and my legs?

first because ladies, i know you have something in there that you obsess over that isn't healthy. i am hoping the sharing of my "touching leg" issue will get you started thinking about taking the fist step ... identifying the problem ... and continuing on the journey of letting it go!

second, because talking about things, exposing them to the world, is cathartic for me.

third, because if you have little girls (which i don't) remember that words ... yours, their siblings and their friends ... cut like a knife and leave scars.

and lastly, i believe that my vulnerability helps others feel more comfortable in theirs.

what is your "touching leg" issue that is weighing you down? my hope is that you have a friend you can talk to and let it go. carrying this around for 15 years is ... yes, pathetic.

Holy Tabs!

This is what Jen and I are doing {and have been doing for what feels like a lifetime} today.

What are you doing?

Smelly Towels

Don't forget all in-stock calendars are now 25% off.

Visit my shop to check it out.

...............................................................................................................

Interested in getting a FREE calendar AND earning some extra holiday cash?  Find out more about our Calendar Ambassador program here.

...............................................................................................................

 

Wanna get a sneak peek at the new line?  You're invited.

...............................................................................................................

 

My bath towels have been smelling lately.  Like mildew.

It's disgusting, and a total bummer to rub stinky, smelly towels all over your freshly cleaned body.

I want my towels to smell like this:

{photo credit}

Not this:

{photo credit}

Brooke told me to put baking soda in my wash.  Lots of it.

So I did.  Lots of it.

Now my towels smell like mildewed cookies.

Anyone have any suggestions, or is it time for a trip to Bed, Bath and Beyond?

Much Ado About the Holidays

Don't forget all in-stock calendars are now 25% off.

Visit my shop to check it out.

...............................................................................................................

Interested in getting a FREE calendar AND earning some extra holiday cash?  Find out more about our Calendar Ambassador program here.

...............................................................................................................

We are just about two weeks away from introducing the new line!

I am so super excited for you all to see it.

24 beautiful new designs will be up in the shop on October 15th.

Wanna get a sneak peek the night before?

If you live in the South Orange County area {or if you just want a good excuse to visit here},

you are invited to join us at our 2nd Annual:

 Much Ado About the Holidays

Now Accepting Applications

Nathan and I have these friends... we'll call them Beth and Corey {because those are their actual names}.  They are two of our favorite people on the planet.  Pretty much every weekend we try to talk them into driving down from their house {which is 40 minutes away and which we are not allowed in... something about renovations and heart palpitations}.  

This weekend we got to spend almost the entire Saturday with them {and Brooke's family, which I would mention if I thought she would ever bother to read my blog}.  It was super terrific.

On top of being super fun and funny, Beth and Corey happen to really dig my business.  They are constantly coming up with ideas for me, and trying to help figure out how we are going to take Much Ado About You to the next level so that I can hire both of them and we can all move to the beach in North Carolina. 

{Photos from the best week ever... spent in Wrightsville Beach, NC}

So our Saturday fun-day-in-the-sun turned into a business strategy meeting.  

We came up with a lot of great ideas... and one of them

may involve you.

Today I am introducing

Much Ado About You's

Calendar Ambassador Program

We are looking for a handful of women from across the country that would like to help spread the word about Much Ado About You, and get some great benefits in return.

Here's how the program will work:

*We will send each Calendar Ambassador {let's just call them CA's from here on out so that I can stop typing Calendar Ambassador} a sample kit, including three calendars {one of each size} and a handmade catalog of the 2011 line.

*The CA will use this kit to share Much Ado About You with their friends, family, neighbors, the lady in front of them in the DMV line... anyone they think may be interested in purchasing a super adorable planner.

*Each CA will be given a special code to share with their "customers" that will allow us to track the orders placed through their promotion.

Okay, now for the super fun part:

In exchange for helping us grow the Much Ado About You Calendar Empire,

each CA will get the following benefits:

1. One of the three sample calendars will be their pick from the new line, and will be personalized for them to keep... absolutely FREE.

2. For every order placed through the end of January 2011 using their special code, they will get $10!

{What a fun and easy way to make a little extra Christmas cash, huh?}

3. At a time of their choosing, they can give the other two samples away to friends or their own blog followers, and we will send the lucky winners the personalization they need to complete their calendar.

4. The special code will allow their friends to receive a discount on their purchases!

It's a win-win-win.

Are you ready to join the movement and become a CA?

If you think you have what it takes {which, let's be honest, is just a little calendar enthusiasm} then take advantage of this great opportunity to get yourself a free calendar and a little spending cash to boot!
To apply, please fill out the

Calendar Ambassador Application 

by October 5th.

Hurry... this program is in the beta testing phase, and we are only going to hire a very limited number of CA's... so you gotta convince us that you are really excited and going to take your position seriously.

{Do I sound official and boss-like?}

Did you think that I forgot about the giveaway?  I did not.  Congratulations to Brandi!

Random.org chose you as the winner of the How to Pray Cards giveaway.
Molly will contact you later to let you know how to claim your prize.

If you didn't win... get on over to Molly's shop.  She has updated her card sets to be spiral bound, and is clearing out all her sets with a single punch ring.  Buy 3 get one FREE, which makes them just $11 a set.  Stock up now for Christmas!