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I truly believe in New Beginnings...everytime I post on my blog, it is a new beginning. That sounds so much better than playing catch-up all the time. My story here is first of all, it seems that there is nothing exciting in my life to post about so everything seems so mundane. Second, I was using my Pampered Chef website for all of my recipes. Hence, have not touched this blog for awhile.
To backtrack a little (okay maybe a lot):
I am so grateful to so many wonderful people who have helped support my business endevor with the Pampered Chef. Because of you, I have been able to make a mortgage payment for 2 years. This business not only has fulfilled that financial obligation, but it has also satisfied a part of me I didn't know existed.
I have met so many people and acquired so many friends. I absolutely love my junior high kids, but there is also a lot to be said for adult friends. I have friendships that have continued beyond hosting a show.
TRAVELING
So my WHY for beginning my Pampered Chef business has evolved. My first reason was to get all the FREE product I could. Then my second became the financial rewards. NOW it is all about traveling. Wow!!! This girl has only been to Jackson Hole Wyoming and Cody Wyoming with her cowboy husband. I have also been to Arizona about 8 years ago, to take a friend home. Colby went with me on that one and boy oh boy was he going stir crazy. He didn't realize that missing school meant sitting in a car with his wonderful Mom for 8 hours (both ways). If you know my son, you know he does not sit well for very long periods of time. I am talking more than 20 minutes.
So I have been to Chicago (twice), Denver, New Orleans and the Bahamas. That is all in just one year. I think I am now a traveling addict. I love it. I went to Chicago for the main PC Convention and one time for some training because I was able to become a director. I reaped so much valuable information from that. Denver was so fun, we went to see all of the new Fall products.
NEW ORLEANS
I earned the all-expense trip to New Orleans for two people. When Pampered Chef says all-expense that is exactly what they mean. I was able to take my daughter Angie with me. We had a fabulous time. PC sponsored a parade down Bourbon Street for our group. There were about 300 of us. They had a jazz band lead us. I can only imagine what it is like during Mardi Gras.
Angie is pretty weird when it comes to history stuff (just like her father). She wanted to go see a cemetary. So we went on a tour. Do you know how many dead people there are in New Orleans? Well let me tell you, in this one cemetary alone there were at least 4 hours worth. Oh my BORING! Call me shallow, I can take it. I think the first hour would have covered it. Oh and did I mention, that was just one cemetary. It was okay because Angie loved it.
We also were able to take a tour of the Katrina devastation and also traveled around New Orleans. That was a taste of reality. There are the families that were displaced and killed and now are either trying to rebuild their lives or have just dissapeared. We had a wonderful tour guide who told us a lot of history and current events. AND may I add, we were able to see ANOTHER cemetary.
Another adventure Angie and I were able to go on was a RiverBoat. Now that is my kind of fun! I was right up front on the bow with the wind whipping my face and my hair a mess (oh wait that is normal). I totally thrived on that. I should have known that it was only the beginning of my love of boats on big water.
I think though, the most fun we had was when we got really brave. We walked out of the hotel, stepped on a trolly car that was going down St. Charles. That was out of our comfort zone, however we did it and it was fun...until...we got to the end of the tracks, people started getting off, and our driver had disappeared. So, we followed the crowd to a trolly car facing the opposite direction. We had to pay again because this unexpected occurence, we had not gotten a transfer token. So we rode this car back up to our hotel. We giggled the whole way back.
I have to say, my favorite and most painful part of this trip was experiencing Angie's first airplane flight. She always was extremely dramatic growing up. If she had to have a shot it was a MAJOR ordeal. So was this ride, my fingers are permanently crooked. She did however, relax right into it and I think she actually loved it.
BAHAMAS CRUISE
The next all-expense trip was April of 2012. Yes just last month. A 3-day cruise to the Bahamas. This is the trip I worked to earn in 2011. This is also the trip I came home in January 2011 filled with total exhilaration to tell Mike that we could go on a cruise. After I told him all about it, he looked at me and said, "I think I'd rather have a new horse". So I very lovingly told him he was no longer invited.
I put my friend Debby on the invitation. She very kindly said, yes. Now, Debby has traveled all arond the world, yet she had never been on a cruise. So this was an adventure for both of us. We flew out of SLC on April 19th and spent the night in Miami, then boarded the Majesty of the Seas on Friday. This is the smallest ship in the fleet and it was pretty large in my eyes.
We were out on the bow as we pulled out of the harbor. Again, the wind in my face and the messy hair thing again. I LOVE THE WATER! I LOVE THE OCEAN! I LOVE CRUISING! Every time Debby and I would go back to the room I would go out one door to the rail and then walk along the deck and go in another door that was by our room. Debby was very patient with me on this trip.
We watched a couple stage shows, comedians, and people. There was always food, entertainment, and freedom. We went on to the island of Cococay. It rained part of the time, but we sat on the beach, I slept, I don't know what Debby did. They served us food on the island.
We went to the island of Nassau, now this is a big commercial tourist place. There were 4 cruise ships tethered with us. As I said, ours was the smallest. Debby and I went touristing. I tried to find a tie for Mike, they didn't have any at all. I guess in the tropics they don't suit up. We got a few souviners and ate lunch. We didn't do any excursions and we forgot to find the Pink Flamingoes. We went back on the ship and laid in the sun. Again, I slept, I think Debby read. The sun and the wind was such a powerful combination. I loved it.
So now for the "Paul Harvey" part of the trip. Mike did get the new horse. The horse is not quite totally trained yet. So Mike being the (old man) cowboy that he is, decided to take the horse out of the corral and up the rode to see how she did. Well, many stitches later, a lot of very raw skin, a major bruised ego, and very sore muscles I believe he now knows how the horse will do. He is lucky to be alive. He is lucky he didn't get his face crushed. The horse started to freak out and Mike's boot got stuck in the stirrup, which means hanging on upside down with head bouncing on the ground. Then I believe he didn't let go of the reins because you know the horse would get away, which explains all of the bruises and road rash.
He had to be taken for emergency stitches and checked out. This of course happened on Friday which means he did not get to enjoy any freedom with me gone. Then on top of that his dog got into rat poisoning and died. I think I should go away more often.
This year I am working toward Los Cobos. I think I need to kick it into high gear. I want it!
To backtrack a little (okay maybe a lot):
I am so grateful to so many wonderful people who have helped support my business endevor with the Pampered Chef. Because of you, I have been able to make a mortgage payment for 2 years. This business not only has fulfilled that financial obligation, but it has also satisfied a part of me I didn't know existed.
I have met so many people and acquired so many friends. I absolutely love my junior high kids, but there is also a lot to be said for adult friends. I have friendships that have continued beyond hosting a show.
TRAVELING
So my WHY for beginning my Pampered Chef business has evolved. My first reason was to get all the FREE product I could. Then my second became the financial rewards. NOW it is all about traveling. Wow!!! This girl has only been to Jackson Hole Wyoming and Cody Wyoming with her cowboy husband. I have also been to Arizona about 8 years ago, to take a friend home. Colby went with me on that one and boy oh boy was he going stir crazy. He didn't realize that missing school meant sitting in a car with his wonderful Mom for 8 hours (both ways). If you know my son, you know he does not sit well for very long periods of time. I am talking more than 20 minutes.
So I have been to Chicago (twice), Denver, New Orleans and the Bahamas. That is all in just one year. I think I am now a traveling addict. I love it. I went to Chicago for the main PC Convention and one time for some training because I was able to become a director. I reaped so much valuable information from that. Denver was so fun, we went to see all of the new Fall products.
NEW ORLEANS
I earned the all-expense trip to New Orleans for two people. When Pampered Chef says all-expense that is exactly what they mean. I was able to take my daughter Angie with me. We had a fabulous time. PC sponsored a parade down Bourbon Street for our group. There were about 300 of us. They had a jazz band lead us. I can only imagine what it is like during Mardi Gras.
Angie is pretty weird when it comes to history stuff (just like her father). She wanted to go see a cemetary. So we went on a tour. Do you know how many dead people there are in New Orleans? Well let me tell you, in this one cemetary alone there were at least 4 hours worth. Oh my BORING! Call me shallow, I can take it. I think the first hour would have covered it. Oh and did I mention, that was just one cemetary. It was okay because Angie loved it.
We also were able to take a tour of the Katrina devastation and also traveled around New Orleans. That was a taste of reality. There are the families that were displaced and killed and now are either trying to rebuild their lives or have just dissapeared. We had a wonderful tour guide who told us a lot of history and current events. AND may I add, we were able to see ANOTHER cemetary.
Another adventure Angie and I were able to go on was a RiverBoat. Now that is my kind of fun! I was right up front on the bow with the wind whipping my face and my hair a mess (oh wait that is normal). I totally thrived on that. I should have known that it was only the beginning of my love of boats on big water.
I think though, the most fun we had was when we got really brave. We walked out of the hotel, stepped on a trolly car that was going down St. Charles. That was out of our comfort zone, however we did it and it was fun...until...we got to the end of the tracks, people started getting off, and our driver had disappeared. So, we followed the crowd to a trolly car facing the opposite direction. We had to pay again because this unexpected occurence, we had not gotten a transfer token. So we rode this car back up to our hotel. We giggled the whole way back.
I have to say, my favorite and most painful part of this trip was experiencing Angie's first airplane flight. She always was extremely dramatic growing up. If she had to have a shot it was a MAJOR ordeal. So was this ride, my fingers are permanently crooked. She did however, relax right into it and I think she actually loved it.
BAHAMAS CRUISE
The next all-expense trip was April of 2012. Yes just last month. A 3-day cruise to the Bahamas. This is the trip I worked to earn in 2011. This is also the trip I came home in January 2011 filled with total exhilaration to tell Mike that we could go on a cruise. After I told him all about it, he looked at me and said, "I think I'd rather have a new horse". So I very lovingly told him he was no longer invited.
I put my friend Debby on the invitation. She very kindly said, yes. Now, Debby has traveled all arond the world, yet she had never been on a cruise. So this was an adventure for both of us. We flew out of SLC on April 19th and spent the night in Miami, then boarded the Majesty of the Seas on Friday. This is the smallest ship in the fleet and it was pretty large in my eyes.
We were out on the bow as we pulled out of the harbor. Again, the wind in my face and the messy hair thing again. I LOVE THE WATER! I LOVE THE OCEAN! I LOVE CRUISING! Every time Debby and I would go back to the room I would go out one door to the rail and then walk along the deck and go in another door that was by our room. Debby was very patient with me on this trip.
We watched a couple stage shows, comedians, and people. There was always food, entertainment, and freedom. We went on to the island of Cococay. It rained part of the time, but we sat on the beach, I slept, I don't know what Debby did. They served us food on the island.
We went to the island of Nassau, now this is a big commercial tourist place. There were 4 cruise ships tethered with us. As I said, ours was the smallest. Debby and I went touristing. I tried to find a tie for Mike, they didn't have any at all. I guess in the tropics they don't suit up. We got a few souviners and ate lunch. We didn't do any excursions and we forgot to find the Pink Flamingoes. We went back on the ship and laid in the sun. Again, I slept, I think Debby read. The sun and the wind was such a powerful combination. I loved it.
So now for the "Paul Harvey" part of the trip. Mike did get the new horse. The horse is not quite totally trained yet. So Mike being the (old man) cowboy that he is, decided to take the horse out of the corral and up the rode to see how she did. Well, many stitches later, a lot of very raw skin, a major bruised ego, and very sore muscles I believe he now knows how the horse will do. He is lucky to be alive. He is lucky he didn't get his face crushed. The horse started to freak out and Mike's boot got stuck in the stirrup, which means hanging on upside down with head bouncing on the ground. Then I believe he didn't let go of the reins because you know the horse would get away, which explains all of the bruises and road rash.
He had to be taken for emergency stitches and checked out. This of course happened on Friday which means he did not get to enjoy any freedom with me gone. Then on top of that his dog got into rat poisoning and died. I think I should go away more often.
This year I am working toward Los Cobos. I think I need to kick it into high gear. I want it!
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