My Baby Boy April 10, 2009

Where does time go?  I remember when Troy and I were dating (a long time ago!) I said once that time was dragging by.  I think it was because I wanted to hurry up, finish high school, finish college and get married!  I had goals to accomplish and a man to snag.  I also remember him telling me that time flew by and that one day I’d realize it.  Although I’m sometimes slow to admit it when I’m wrong, I will this one time – he was right.  It literally seems like just yesterday I went into labor and Troy was driving alongside me on the road to the hospital, talking to his parents while I walked through contractions.  The contraction would pass, I’d get back in, we’d drive another mile or so before I’d say “pull over” and I’d get out and walk towards the hospital some more.  I remember Will’s first birthday extravaganza!  We went with our very best friends and their 1 yr old daughter who was born on the same day as Will to celebrate their birthdays!  We spent their first night in a hotel (that was a cute scrapbook page!) and went to the Atlanta zoo.  The next day we had a huge (and I mean huge!) b’day party for them at our church, complete with Will and Audrey looking absolutely adorable in their matching outfits – we even had puppets to entertain the guests.  Other birthdays have been Bob the Builder, Tractors, Baseball, UGA etc. I’m so sad to say that I don’t remember specifics of them all – what kind of mother am I??  This year I missed his birthday.  I was in NJ training for a new job.  His birthday was on Thursday and I didn’t make it home until Friday.  I never want to miss another birthday – especially a monumental one.  This year my baby boy left single digits and turned 10 and I missed it.  It doesn’t matter that I called first thing that morning, woke up in the middle of the night thinking he was now 10, left a present and even set up a surprise b’day party for him at school.  I wasn’t there.  Luckily, there were some understanding people in NJ that hugged me and helped dry my tears and Will seemed okay too.  But the point is that when I got home, he had changed.  I look at Abby and she seems to be the same, but I promise that Will grew a foot while I was gone.  His face got a little sun too on the Sat. I was home after the trip during his baseball tournament and the combination of the two has turned him into a little man.  I looked at him tonight and was amazed at how absolutely handsome he is – he is soooo good-looking!  The blonde hair, dimples, sun-kissed cheeks, under armour shirt, athletic pants…. he is practically a teenager.  Oh and not to mention how cute the brown UGA bracelet is on his tan little arm.  He was at his papa’s sitting on the stool and I just marveled at how fast time has flown – where did all of the in-between time go?  He was just born!  And then, on the way home he drove.  He is quite the little driver – complete with blinkers, and looking both ways!  But what did me in was his singing to the iPod to ”Toes”…….. “a beer in my hand, ass in the sand (he didn’t say ass though!!)………tequila….senorita…..” He was truly my little man – so grown, so mature.  And now, even as he’s snuggled up on the sofa beside me watching TV his legs almost stretch out as far as mine.  He isn’t technically a baby, but he will ALWAYS be my baby – ever read the book “Love you Forever”?  There’s a repeat in the story that says “I’ll love you forever, I’ll like for always.  As long as I am living, my baby you’ll be” – It’s true.  Mama loves you Will!

New Coffee Maker! April 9, 2009

Howdy faithful readers a/k/a Libby!!  Here’s the latest in my quest to become a coffee drinker….I don’t remember if I blogged about it or not, but over the weekend I had coffee twice from McDonalds and was so proud of myself!  I was also proud when I walked up to the ball field and a friend of mine said “Hey - you look so smart drinking that coffee!”  She had read by blog and found it quite amusing.  I of course felt the need, probably much to her dismay, to tell her the whole long drawn out story just in case she missed something when she was reading about it!

So back to the present….  Tuesday night I was in Wal-Mart and decided to buy a coffee maker so I could complete the cycle – have the coffee brewing every morning when I get up.  So I meander over to the coffee maker aisle and boy are there a ton to choose from!  I was overwhelmed!  I didn’t want to spend too much b/c even though Troy may not believe it, I AM frugal!  And the other thing is that I didn’t see the need to buy a huge one for just me!  So many decisions to make for me so I did what I do best in regards to coffee – call Libby!  She walked me through selecting one just the right size and lucky for me that I called her b/c the one I had picked out by self didn’t have the timer!!  That would have been a disaster!  Having the smell of coffee awake me is part of my dream…..From there I go to select the coffee itself.  Who knew that would be such an ordeal!  But again, Lib pulled me through. 

I get home, wash my pot and read the directions……BTW, I LOVE to read directions!  I get it set, program the delay and felt such a sense of accomplishment; I was so proud of myself.  Now the disaster starts….  Oh - I totally almost forgot my blonde moment (my niece swears I should be blonde!)  I almost put the water into the pot instead of the coffeemaker.  I was so excited about getting everything set up that I evidently didn’t read the directions closely enough… I stood there and looked at it and couldn’t figure out how the water would get back up into the maker to go through the coffee so that was my clue to reread the directions….The next morning I get up to go to the gym (will blog about that later!!) all giddy about having my morning coffee – the plan was to have one cup on the way to the gym and then have another on my way to work.  I turned the clock off and noticed that the sweet aroma of coffee was not filling the house.  I rushed into the kitchen to see about two drops (literally) of coffee in the pot.  It was very slowly, but quite rythmically drip, drip, drip…..dripping into the pot.  So, maybe brew time means the time it starts, not the time it’s done.  I look through the directions (again) and don’t see anything about time to readiness!  No biggie – I’ll just brush my teeth, get ready for the gym and then pour up my brew!  WRONG!  There was not even one cup ready when I was about to go out the door.  CRAP!  I must have my coffee (in my monogrammed thermo cup!) on the way to the gym!!!  Ok, I’ll just snatch the pot out from under the maker, pour what’s in it into my cup – shouldn’t take long because there’s not enough in there to count!  WRONG!!!  Well, RIGHT about there not being much in the pot, but when I snatched the pot, the drip, drip, drip went to a GUSH and coffee went all over the counter and then the floor.  I’m totally thinking at this point coffee is not worth the trouble.  I clean it up (now I’m late picking up my friend to go to the gym!) and trying to maintain a good attitude (& my image as a coffee drinker) I pour my coffeemate into my barely there cup of coffee.  I know you’re dying to know how it was…..  horrible – it was way too watery.  Ok, whatever, I’ll just have that other cup after I get home and showered – it’ll probably be better!  (I always try to have a half full glass!)  Problem with that was that by the time I got home and got ready, it was cold!  The plate only remains hot for one hour!  UGHHHH!!!!  I definitely don’t want it cold!  I look inside the lid and there is still an aweful lot of coffee in there….  Is that normal?  Libby told me not to bother with buying filters just to dump them out and rinse out that “thing” but how much should still be in there?  What is wrong with me???  It CANNOT be that hard! 

Today I was going to experiment and time the whole ordeal but haven’t gotten around to it yet….  I will not be discouraged though!  Stay tuned to see what happens next!!

Ever Wonder….. (I do….) April 7, 2009

Ok, so this is totally random for sure, but I was just wondering………

1. Why I feel like I never get enough sleep? Could it be the dog gets me up 3-4 times every night?
2. Why won’t Sam (the dog) go out for Troy during the night and why does he only want the kids to let him out during the day?
3. Why am I always hungry but can never think of what I want unless it’s a honeybun or cereal?  Why can’t I like vegetables instead of carbs and starches?
4. Why can’t I get back into the running habit?  I remember how much I used to love it and live for my daily run but now can’t make myself do it even once!
5. Where did my time for free reading go?  I used to LOVE to read and now never have time….
6. Why do we (notice I changed it from “I” this time! hahaha!) always spend whatever money we make?  I make quite a bit more now than I did when I graduated, but still can’t have a cleaning lady?  I used to have one…..
7. Why do I often know what I need to do, but don’t do it?? 
8. Why is it so much easier to tell others what to do than take my own advice?
9. Why won’t my mind rest at night?  Do I really have to plan constantly?
10. Why in the world did I have to lose my planner Friday and why does everyone insist I go electronic with it?  If I lose a computer it sure does cost more…..
11. Why can’t I be artistic?  I have the ideas in my head but can only color by number!
12. Why do I still wonder what I want to be when I grow up?
13. Why won’t the kitchen clean itself and the clothes fold themselves and put themselves away?
14. Why does the day pass so quickly?
15. Why are my kids growing so fast?
16. Why can’t I just be satisfied?  I couldn’ wait to get home and now I miss my NJ friends terribly?
17. Why do people who are so young die?  A friend of a friend of mine had a heart attack Sat. night and died – he was 32!
18. Why can’t I wear my “lounge pants” to work? I’m sure if I wasn’t about to die from sucking in so a button doesn’t fly off my pants and kill the dr. I’m talking to – I’d be much more efficient in communicating with my physicians!
19. Why do I continue to ramble with this list as if people care???????????
20. Why am I so competitive?
21. Why do I like brown so much?  I even changed my blog background to a brown theme?
22. Why am I all of a sudden everyone’s t-shirt connection? A’s, Yellow Jackets, S. GA Dawgs, FA Field Day, MGA, Stay Tuned etc. etc.
23. Does Ben realize what a pain it is for me to take care of all of these?
24. Why not continue this list in my mind in my sleep????  I think I will……

“Good to Know” April 3, 2009

Unfortunately, for many of my blog readers (I act like there are so many of you!), much of the following may not make a whole lot of sense ~  it’s a lot of “guess you had to be there” moments but I am once again eternally thankful to Libby for ‘making me’ create this blog so I can store these memories forever.  My only regret is that I didn’t start trying to keep track of everything sooner and I know there are tons of phrases that I’ve forgotten.  Basically – what follows are phrases spoken by others (most come from MacKenzie! – you’ll get a better idea why we all adore her so much), some things I’ve said (which I don’t think are funny/unusual but other people (not from the south!) find hilarious) and some things I don’t remember who said them!  The point is that these are the phrases that kept us going!

• What time is it????? IT’S POWER BOOST TIME!!!! (when we’d start to look dead, our trainer (THE MOST AWESOME EVER!) Vicky, would stand up and yell (yes, really yell) this!)
• Somebody call the WaaaaaBulance! (what was said as the other team whined about not getting the answer right to a question)
• I could eat that off the bumper of a car! (Mac again as she was talking about how much she loves mayonnaise!)
• Make you sass your mama! (Mac! I think “sass” sounds so much better than “slap” which is what we’ve always said)
• E.L.M.O. (Enough Let’s Move On – I thought this a lot!!)
• Die – uh – bee- teez (everyone LOVED how I say this!)
• Someone is going to shoot a flaming arrow at her! ( talking about how someone in our group was eventually going to tire of “input” from a classmate!)
• I love your southern accent – it just makes me happy! (My Pakistani BFF Libby to me!)
• Bless her/his heart…. and/or   God love him/her (there were a lot of people in training from south of the Mason Dixon line – the “northerners” found these sayings very funny and also said their meanings are quite opposite of the words…. if you catch my drift!  We did start realizing that we do say those things a lot with the opposite intention so then when we used those phrases sincerely, we had to declare that we were being serious)
• This is like watching paint dry…. in a nursing home!!! (Mac!  I love your sayings! When I think of this I think of my sister being admin at a nursing home and how bored she must be every day!)
• If the camera was a little oily, it’d be a “w”D40! (Mac – the ironic thing is that later in the day WD came up as a bonus question!!)
• I TOOK a little rest (Mac’s way of saying she took a nap)
• These are not white men from Norway!!! (Mary describing patient population of a study!!)
• I’m the only person allowed to bring a guest to training (MacKenzie describing her pregnancy!!)
• Morrow-Borrow Lites (Vicky trying to pronounce Marlboro cigarettes!!  No one knew what she was saying!!)
• I’m going to take the kids home a PRIZE (my girls think it is so cute when I say this!)
• Let’s MAKE a picture (for some reason the girls think this is funny?!?!)
• It takes 3000 cows to…… supply the NFL w/ enough leather for a season’s footballs (one of Vicky’s power boost moments – Greg’s answer was “smoke a morrow-borrow!! – it was HILARIOUS! ~ guess you had to be there!)
• If they’re knocked up, they’re knocked out (another way to say black box warning for pregnancy!)
• Captain Obvious just pulled into port (well DUH!!!!)
• POWA-Bunga! (A/A has the POWA and so it went from there….)
• RoBUST (referring to population of studies, reductions in baselines and what hangs out of women’s shirts!)
• “So again” = ELMO!!  (our realization that the trainer kept saying “so again….” as he was trying politely to tell a classmate to shut up so we could go forward with our discussion!)
• What kills more people that car wrecks?????   ”Car ACCIDENTS!” (I think one of our classmates was asleep when she yelled this answer to Vicky’s power boost question!!!!)
• Patience Grasshopper (what Nicole kept telling me about waiting for my computer to work!  She got it from Mortal Combat the game!!)
• The good news is that diabetes is on the rise! (Jodie talking about how our jobs should be secure in the future!)
• Kankles are a result of edema! (upon examination of most ankles, fortunately very few among us have them)
• PRNDL (pronounced “pernerndul” – What MacKenzie calls the gear shift in the car!)
• Hobo (the green trashcan that you roll to the road on trash day – everyone thought it was hilarious!!)
• Non-example of acceptable call note: “Gatekeeper has rear end the size of this van!” (crazy moment from drive in to training!)
• 3 People patients trust:  1. Paul Harvey 2. their Priest 3. their Dr. (Stan in one of his famous details!!)
• What were the demoCRATIC characteristics of the study? (oops – I meant demographic unless you are a democrat doc!!)
• The MacKenzie Rule (Another way of referring to the black box warning)
• Dr, would you sign this study? (how to get a doc to really think he/she’s something when meeting them as the study’s author)
• You can’t put it on a racecar if it has a blackbox warning! (this is a true fact – but Scott can’t put A/A on a racecar analogy!)
• Blow him up!  I mean BLOW HIM UP!! (spoken about Vicky’s son – wanting to blow up his pic on the computer to see him up close)
• He’s as hot as a blue flame in a campfire! (another reference to Vicky’s son)
• “Was it surgical?” (Randy’s innocent question in response to someone talking about downsizing!)
• Another one bites the dust! (sucker that is! – they kept MacKenzie awake for the past two weeks – she was putting them down!!)
• She’s about as dry as an armpit on a cold day! And I just made that up!And I just made that up!  (author unknown)
• That’s an oopsy! (Jason referring to a mess up in role play!)
• I’m looking for a moat and a castle….. I’m a dragon (draggin’) doc… (Stan talking about his need for some pep!)
• Dr., you got to wake up and listen to me! (Stan telling the doc to pay him attention!)
• Lanyap (This is spelled wrong but…. this means “A little something extra” in Louisiana)
• That guy that looks like Ernest and that girl that looks like a volleyball player (Stan explaining what he and I look like together!)
• Right out of the cow! (How Vicky likes her milk in her coffee – None of that skim mess!!)
• Do you like your coffee a latte?? (MacKenzie asking me if I like my coffee a lot)
• Stick it in your broadband! (This came from general session on call max….  it was said over and over which continued to make us laugh)
• I feel like I’m playing BINGO on a cruiseship! (Vicky describing us during review)
• Isolated Systolic Hypertension is like Dolly Parton syndrome – it’s “top heavy” (MacKenzie again!!)
• Make sure you cover your SASS (making sure you have the right number of calls – SAS- calls in Callmax)
• Peter denied Jesus 3 times – 3 times he said “No IDNT” (My trick for helping us remember there were 3 arms of the IDNT trial)
• It’s Irrediculous! (Rebecca as she’s describing how ridiculous and maybe irresponsible something was)
• Everybody deserves a birthday! (Lee responding to Vicky’s Happy B’day Viagina-Viagra story!)
• Proof is in the pudding (no comments!)
• Who will carry the cross?? (Vicky was confused – it was actually a movie!)
• Can I tell you something Leslie and I hope it doesn’t offend you???? You look like my best friend’s son!  (This was possibly the funniest thing ever and I laughed until I cried!  MacKenzie dubbed me Peter Pan after this!)

In the short rows now…. April 2, 2009

Bless my heart and those of my friends who have put up with me, but I am almost home!! Hip-Hip-Horray!!!!!  Honestly, the time has gone by pretty fast (after the first night’s pity party!) with the help of my awesome comrads both here in BMS training torture and at home.  Today as a whole has been bittersweet with quite a mixture of emotion…. I’m soooo happy b/c I’m going home tomorrow!!!  I’m sad b/c I’m missing my handsome buddy’s 10th b’day – that’s a hard one.  It’s gotten me several hugs today to help me through my tears over my first missed birthday.  I sure hope it’s the last one I miss EVER!  And I’m sad to leave my new friends – not just “my girls” but also the other BMS training groupies that I’ve role played with, played games with (the ASSprin kickers & ACEkickers!!) and I would ”be remiss if I didn’t say” WON the competitions with!!  I will miss Vicky’s POWER BOOSTS waking me up when I wanted to doze off so bad I was in pain. 

We have a celebration dinner tonight and while a nice dinner will be enjoyable, I really would like to stay in and pack and hurry to bed – the sooner I go to bed, the sooner morning will come!  I really, really hope that flights are on time and not delayed tomorrow.  As my sister says, “I will nut up” if I’m later getting home than planned.  And of course, we can donate $5 to the American Cancer Society and wear jeans tomorrow to class but, problem is that I packed them up with my training materials (to help lighten my suitcase) and shipped them home!  Oh well, who cares?  I GO HOME TOMORROW!!!!

My Bucket List March 30, 2009

Ok, do you know what a bucket list is?  If you’ve not heard this term then you need to watch the Morgan Freeman, Jack Nicholson movie “Bucket List”.   Basically, a person’s bucket list is a list of things to accomplish before dying.  I’m still not finished with my list, but I’ll update as I think of things – the ones with * mean they are accomplished…….

1. Run a 1/2 marathon
2. Run a marathon
3. Sing karaoke
4. Get a tattoo*
5. Take a cruise*
6. Take a cruise with kids & Troy
7. Visit New York City*
8. Visit New York City w/ Troy & kids
9. Become a coffee drinker
10. Go to Hawaii
11. To be continued……..

Weekend Conclusion & a Tribute to Friends March 30, 2009

Well followers, the first, last and only weekend spent in NJ for this training is almost over.  Sometimes life is so ironic.  I just tried to capture my feelings on a facebook update, and as you know, I\’m rather wordy so I don\’t know that the one statement can do my thoughts justice.  Thanks again Libby for talking me into this blog.

So today I was hoping to sleep late and of course I woke up at 6, bright eyed and bushy tailed!  I got something to eat (of course!) and then fell back asleep around 6:30 and proceeded to toss and turn until around 9 when I couldn\’t stand it anymore.  I was rather upset with myself since I\’d rather take a beating than get up any other morning, but oh well.  Maybe subconsciously I was excited about my day\’s upcoming adventure with Mackenzie which did prove to be great.

She and I went to Marshall\’s and looked around (piddled as I call it) and then decided we\’d go into Princeton just to see what it was all about.  Oh my goodness, I definitely LOVE NYC, but today I FELL IN LOVE with Princeton.  It\’s the perfect combination of activity and peace.  That\’s really the only way to describe it – I feel to add more words would mess it up…..  it just felt so comfortable there.  I don\’t know why I can\’t seem to write more about it, I almost feel like I don\’t want to describe it in case that somehow makes me lose it myself.  All I can say is please forgive me for my selfishness.  If you ever have an opportunity to go – take it; you won\’t regret it.

The rest of the afternoon was filled with catching up on work and making my newly engaged friend Rebecca laugh!  It makes me laugh just to see her laugh at me!!  Now are the two of us a mess or what?!  It\’s a good thing we are just teammates instead of actual partners!!!   After working hard (or was it hardly working?!) we went to Staples with Libby (I absolutely love going to office supply stores- yes, I know that\’s weird!) and then got some Thai food (well, I ordered from Chili\’s!!! LOL!) and came back in where Mackenzie joined our fun and then Tara.  Our original plan was to watch Bride Wars on pay per view, but anytime you get 5 girls (yes, we think we are still girls!) together, there is way too much talking going on to watch a movie!!!!  We talked, told stories, laughed, and laughed, and laughed.  It was awesome.  That \”awesomeness\” is what brings me to my current mood and thoughts….. I am most definitely not a \”mushy\” person; in fact, I have been accused of being hard hearted even.  But reality is that it\’s funny that I\’m seen that way and apparently the screen play is viewed as real life.  I don\’t know if that\’s a good thing or not.  I really think it depends on what act we\’re in at the time?!?!  I have dreaded these two weeks ever since I got the job with BMS and the first two days here were absolutely dreadful.  Being a silent crier benefited noone.  But as time passed and I\’ve begun to bond with some new friends I really see that it was a perfect master plan that brought me here.  In my past job I had great friends, friends that I will cherish forever.  Yet, they are from a different time and place.  I was the oldest on the team, only team member with kids etc. etc.  While everyone was very sincere in their friendship and very supportive, I now realize it was just…… different.  Here, I am the norm, not the exception.  My friends love to sit around in our lounge pants, or even our outright pj\’s and just talk and laugh and share stories that you\’d think we\’d only tell our friends since childhood.  We are each very unique and individuals, but the bond we\’ve formed so quickly is uncanny.  There is literally a person for each step of life – Tara, married less than a year; Mackenzie, 5 months pregnant; Libby, mother of a 5 month old; Rebecca, newly engaged, mother of a 2 yr old; and me, married almost 12 years with 2 children.  Tara is the latest addition to our bond and when she left tonight she called out \”love you les\” and I just smiled b/c it was believable & I love her too.  We all come from such different backgrounds and places but we share soooo much in common.  I now cannot imagine life without them and I\’ve only known them one week!  And of course I can\’t leave out my awesome friends from home who are contantly sending me text messages, calling me, writing on my facebook page etc. etc. to let me know I\’m missed, but to also give me the encouragement I need to make it until Friday.  True friends are those friends, who love you no matter what, encourage you, listen to you, help you with your kids, even fold your clothes and do the unthinkable (just ask Heidi!) for you.  And it goes without being said that it is my entire support group of friends who help me until I am home and there with the ones I am counting the seconds to see – my husband who while I\’m gone, holds it together, deals with forgotten cheer shoes, sleep-overs gone bad, messy rooms, laundry, cancelled games and the frustration that goes with it, homework, lunch, the dog suffering from Alzheimers……..(He will probably need weeks away when I return) and my absolutely adorable, perfect, eat them up with a spoon – Will and Abby.  You may never ever understand why I had to go to training again, but one day I hope you realize, that the benefit was a lot greater than new product knowledge and sales skills………

To all my friends – new, old, the ones I talk to daily, the ones I only get to talk w/ on facebook,  & those I think about almost every day but never actually make contact with – I love you!!!  As the song from Golden Girls goes….Thank you for being a friend

Country Goes to Town – NYC that is!! March 29, 2009

First of all let me say that this was not my first trip to the Big Apple, but it was just as much fun and thrilling as the first.  So, I guess I’m a pro now since I’ve been twice!!!!  This time was unique in that we drove in and I was able to see more of the outskirts going into the city and it was beautiful and amazing!!  It was so neat to experience it with someone who was giddy and excited like me even though she (Libby) lives in New York, she doesn’t go to “the city” as it’s referred to, very often at all.  We got a little misplaced as we were going in, but it turned out to be a good thing b/c we were able to take the scenic route of which I took full advantage, hanging out of the open window taking pictures like a crazy person!  Our first stop (after running over the orange cone in the road, honking the horn at the mother of two trying to find $ to pay the cab driver etc. etc.) was Libby’s younger sister’s apartment, Caroline, who became our tour guide.  She works at a fashion/design agency of sorts (I think) in downtown NYC and had just been on the morning show Friday.  She has clients of all sorts and gave us free make-up “stuff” (some of which I don’t even know what is for!!) that a client of hers is creating – pretty cool!  Anyway, Caroline, who was not feeling so great (due to reasons that are thankfully age & energy related!!) but graciously led us into our quest for “cheap, knock-off purses, sunglasses, and anything saying I love NY”!!  So,  we headed into the city and drove a bit looking for a place to park – Caroline advised us to find a parking deck but we didn’t see one, but Libby was able to park the car (actually her rented mini-van!) or actually, let me give the girl some credit – she actually parallel parked the mini van on the street!!  I was most impressed!  We got out, walked away, and yes, it was the country girl who said, “Don’t we need to put money in the meter?”  Of course we do!!  So Libby and I feed $1 into it before I notice it’s out of order.  Dilemma.  Do we move the van or leave it with a broken meter?  I suggested we write a note and leave it on the windshield in case a cop wants to write us a ticket which the two of them found very amusing.  Libby said, “Darling, we’re not in GA!”.  THAT much was very evident in the fact that we were 100% surrounded by Chinese people as we were in china town.  The consensus was that we risk it and leave it.  So we started walking, all the while I’m totally engrossed in the people, the markets etc. etc…..  I loved it!!!!!  Oh, I was also engrossed in (and then pulled away from) watching a not so friendly ‘encounter’ between two chinese guys that involved a lot of yelling (probably cursing but it was in Chinese so I wasn’t sure!), kicking (which looked a lot like Karate Kid) and the like.  It was pretty soon obvious we were not in the area we needed to be  so Caroline ran into the street which seemed normal for her, and flagged down a cab.  We headed somewhere I don’t know, but it had a lot of neat boutiques as she called them and vintage stores.  I again showed my southern style as I walked around the first vintage store and informed them I could get that same stuff out my grandma’s closet for zero money and certainly wasn’t paying the ridiculous price on what I considered to be clothes and shoes that are not so stylish anyway!  We left that area, which even though wasn’t exactly where I’d normally shop, I will say that I enjoyed window shopping and probably could have found some things I’d like, but we had our specifics in mind so we set off for canal street.  Another cab ride later we were there and the memories of my first canal street experience came to life.  Immediately after we stepped onto the sidewalk, a woman ran up to us and in a very hushed voice said “Lou? Chanel? Prada? You want purse? Follow me!”  So we took off – the lady leading us, speaking very rapidly in Chinese (I guess?!) into her cellular phone and calling to people on the streets.  It’s all somewhat surreal with the lady acting like she was CIA or something!  Libby was quite afraid which I found to be quite funny b/c I’ve always assumed that being from New York means that you’re experienced in the whole city life routine.   Next thing we know, the door of a black van opens and there are purses everywhere and they are yelling at us to get in.  Libby continued to crack me up! I had done this before (not that it was a good idea nonetheless, but I had done it just the same) and wasn’t as hesitant as Libby and Caroline about diving right in.  The purses were okay, but when you are crammed in the back of a dark van with no light (even after light was added as she pulled up her sleeve to reveal shiny watches!) you really couldn’t tell what you were looking out.  We got out, all three of us relieved somewhat to be back in broad daylight and decided we would not do that again – only stores!!  From that point on, it was an adventure walking around looking at purses, bags, sunglasses, and people – everywhere.  I could spend days in one spot just watching the people.  It is soooo cool.  The stores are small and very crowded with tourists like us wanting something cheap – in fact when Libby told one guy she was just looking, he told her it was Saturday and they were too crowded for her to just look!!!!  She says all of those people should be in pharmaceutical sales!  She is totally right!  One guy tried to get me to agree to sell Rolex watches in GA!  Oh – I almost forgot the woman who asked me if I wanted to see some watches!  I said yes and she pulled me over to a hotdog stand where she opened her coat and pulled up her sleeves revealing Rolex watches everywhere!  Well, let me take that back, the watches said ‘Rolex’ but I’m thinking that’s probably misleading…….But it was just like something you see on TV!  I thought it was just neat to be there and see it with my own eyes.  With our “hard purchases” behind us (BTW, Libby didn’t like the Prada tag on a purse she was thinking of buying and somehow they were able to find one just like it without the Prada tag……..hmmmmm……), it was time to get another VERY important item on our list – NY style pizza.  It was the BEST!!!!!  You definitely cannot get anything like it in GA for sure.

From there we decided we were ready to head back home (to the hotel!) and settle in for the night.  Caroline ran into the street again, got us another cab and we were off.  Thankfully the van was still there, boot and ticket free and we started back to NJ.  The ride home was not without drama as we witnessed an 18 wheeler hit a car and drive off, Libby learned how to be a VERY aggressive (& sometimes scary!) driver in order to survive the streets of downtown, and I got carsick (but thankfully never actually ….) on the way back.

Those are just the highlights, but there were many “in-betweens” that were fun and interesting too.  We had a ton of fun and Libby and Caroline made me feel so comfortable hanging out with them!  They are both very sweet girls.  I have decided that Troy, Will & Abby absolutely MUST go there.  There was so much I saw that I wanted to experience with them!  There were running paths everywhere with people walking, running, riding bikes etc. etc.  Riding along beside the river was so beautiful and the boats would so impress the kids.  It was neat to see the playgrounds and parks everywhere and the families playing and laughing.  Dogs!  They are EVERYWHERE!  I think people in NYC must have them instead of cars!  There were big dogs, little dogs, cute dogs, ugly dogs and all in between.  Then there were the dogs with the shortest little legs that I felt so sorry for as they worked soooo hard to keep up with their owners!!  Then there are the sites – the empire state building, museum of natural history, times square, broadway……..  Troy won’t like the crowds, but the experience will be soooo worth it!  I had told the kids that we’d try to make their (& Troy’s) first plane ride to Washington, DC b/c Will really likes history and had mentioned he’d like to go there, but I think I’ve changed my mind.  There is no much negativity sometimes in the media about NYC but honestly, you encounter that everywhere.  It’s what you make of it and I want our first big family travel experience to be bigger than life – Lion King on broadway, etc. etc. and what better place than the Big Apple??

Zoegetics Update March 29, 2009

Okay, if you’ve read the original post about our Zoegetics business then you now know a little about the company and how Troy and I got involved.  If you’re still a little curious, then first of all let me say I am very excited you are keeping an open mind and then next – keep reading!

You can go to my zoe website which is www.zoelifestyle.com/lesliemashburn and get more information.  Just let me say that we put the intial $397 investment on a credit card b/c we didn’t want to take it from our savings (which is sadly “sad”!) and we made our first $1000 before the bill was due.  How’s that?!  AND, the best part is the work to get the return on our investment was NOT difficult or time consuming.  Plus, since we are essentially running our own business, it will be positive for us in terms of tax deductions next year when we file our return.

Just think – you still have NOTHING to lose by calling and finding out more.  The information on the website is nice, but somewhat unclear without someone to explain it to you.  One thing I’ve heard many people say is “Yeah, these things are great if you get in early” and you know what?!  They are exactly right.  BUT, do you want to know what else?????  NOW, is EARLY.  It’s growing by leaps and bounds every week and is projected to have over a million distributors in the near future.    Get in, try it, make you initial investment back plus more, and more, and more, and if you ever decide to get “out” – all it takes is an email.  And BTW, did I mention I mention that it’s working for us?!?! 

If you decide to join, I’ll work with you, beside you, for you etc. to make sure it works for you too!

How to make money w/ Zoegetics March 29, 2009

For those of you who may read this and not know what Zoegetics is about or wonder why in the world Troy and I got involved, this is it.  I know there are skeptics about the business and I am a firm believer in every person has a right to their own attitude and feelings.  Nonetheless, I also believe wholeheartedly that you have NOTHING to lose by listening to me tell you about it and how it is working for us, b/c IT IS WORKING!!    This is the message I’ve sent to some people I thought may be interested in becoming involved -

First of all, understand that I have said no so many times to things like this – network marketing…BUT – here’s the deal – honestly there are two reasons to participate:  Health and Money.  For health  b/c the actual product is a health supplement.  It gives you fruits and vegts that you don’t get normally – I am THRILLED with this part b/c Will & Abby don’t get near enough!  I don’t either, but I’m more worried about them than myself.  Dr. Tom Jones (from big endocrinology practice in Macon) spoke on the benefit of the supplement this week.  He is actually selling it in his practice.  He is also seeing great results medically in the patients he has taking it and is going to do his own medical study on the benefits of taking it.  “It” is a powder that you put in water like those little crystal light packets. 

 

Now, I must also say that the money issue is also VERY appealing.  (VERY, VERY appealing) This is the “pyramidie” part or network aspect.  The more people who sign up under you – the more money you make.  What are signing up to do?  Nothing.  There’s the initial fee – $397 and then you are required to order I think w/shipping it’s like $65 of Zoe life each month.  That may sound like a lot, but if you replace one starbucks or the couple of cokes you drink a day with the supplement, it equals out plus you’re healthier.  The company is also about to come out with other stuff you can buy like washing powder etc. that’s approved by the EPA as environmentally friendly.  I was very impressed with the informality of everyone involved.  The meeting was not stuffy, high pressured etc.  The founder is also a Christian and a good % of the profit immediately goes to charities several of which are Christian based.  He spoke of how he had prayed about the health of his children etc. and how when he came up with this idea he knew it came from God.  That was very impressive to me.  

When a pharmaceutical rep I know got up to talk he talked about what most of the people there wanted to know about which is the real kicker for me….the money I must admit.  What made me do this when I’ve always hated other “schemes” is the people I know personally who are involved.  I don’t know of any of the pastors he named, but he said he had several to sign up b/c they wanted to build the benevolence for the church b/c tithing was down with the economy.  Several of the doctors I call on have joined, I don’t call on Dr. Jones, but I know him and his reputation and his endorsement is huge.  Those plus I know at least 5 people personally who are making really good money…..one of which is making almost $15K PER MONTH………That was enough for me.  And I may be crazy – but I have been praying so hard that Troy and I would be able to find a way to improve our financial situation – as it causes so much stress and strain on all aspects of our family and our daily life it’s sad.  So maybe this is truly God’s answer.  If it’s not, I know I can make the initial investment back easy and then I can get out if I want.  But if it is His plan, the possibilities are endless.  Another positive is that the company is only 90 days old so the quicker you join the better off you are b/c everyone else will then be under you and making money for you.