Extreme Makeover: ME Edition

Well I have been off track with doing this but week Amber had a focus I just did not want to miss! Thank you Amber for your blog and inspiration! I love it!

This week's question:

What's your favorite beauty secret?
I know this has nothing to do with losing weight, per se, but on the other hand, it has everything to do with feeling good about yourself. So, in a sense, they go hand in hand.

My favorite beauty secret is DRINK LOTS OF WATER! It works miracles for the skin!

Extreme Makeover--Me Edition

This week's question from Amber:

Show us your inspiration picture. Of yourself skinny, of yourself fat, of a celebrity that inspires you to keep going.

Firstly I joined a weight loss group at my church. The condition for joining is to start by paying $20. We weigh in weekly and if you gain you have to pay $2. If you MISS a weigh in, it is $5. The group meets for 12 weeks and at the end of that twelve weeks two people split the money in the pot. The one that has lost the most weight and the one that has lost the most inches. Before this group I actually lost a good amount of weight from August to December doing a HCG diet that my entire office was doing. It worked great and I plan to engage in it again. However it is EXCEPTIONALLY expensive i.e. $250 a month. I stopped when I got laid off from my job in December, started eating loads of

carbs and as a result gained all but 10 lbs back!

Not sure if any of you have ever heard of Dailplate.com but it is a great site that allows you to track your weight loss and is TOTALLY Free! It has the caloric count for just about any and everything you eat! It also has great support groups online too!

Now where I am today? I have not had a disciplined week at all. I have been eating only twice a day, only worked out ONE day last week. In spite of all of that, I lost 2 lbs – YIPPEE!!!. Now, I am deciding to be exceptionally open and share my weight. I want this journey to be open to all so you can share my victories and my defeats

. I weighed in at 230 lbs today during our weigh in.

This is a progress pic of me from when I was on HCG Weight Loss Program October of Last year!

Goals for this week:

Cook my lunch for the week on Sunday

Work out 4 days a week

Drink 100 oz of water a day

Log my progress on dailyplate.com

Extreme Makeover--Me Edition

I introduced my BFF Tecia to blogging and she has taken off with it! So proud of her! She met an online friend named Amber and I really like her blog so I am following to do the things below! Come join me!

Directions: Every week, you'll do a specific post on your blog in regards to Extreme Makeover--Me Edition.

----Pretty much, just update us on your progress. How did your week go? Did you struggle? How were you successful? Do you have any great tips? {I think it's also important to celebrate even little successes}

----Answer the specific question or topic that I pose each week.

After you've finished your post, view that specific post {either view your blog & click on the title of that post, or go 'edit posts' and 'view'}. Grab the url and post it into Mr. Linky. Simple as that!!

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This week's question...

"We're all here at EM:ME because we're unhappy with our bodies, or our health; there are things that we are trying to change.
But today you must share one thing with everybody that you absolutely love about yourself"

WHAT I LOVE ABOUT ME!

• MY SMILE
• MY ABILITY TO ENCOURAGE
• MY OPTIMISTIC SPIRIT
• MY CREATIVE SKILLS
• MY LOVE FOR PEOPLE

REFUSE to Entertain it!

Release the hurt.....

Release the fear.

Refuse to entertain your old pain.

The energy it takes to hang onto the past is holding you back from a new life!

Objections

Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome.

~Samuel Johnson~

Is your PRIMARY focus IPA’s (Income Producing Activities)?

Ok let’s face it, we all have a million things we feel we need to do or want to do in a day, week month, etc! Fact is though when our days are consumed by all the enormous list of things we are focused on getting done, the “true money maker” often times gets ignored or put on the back burner! Hey I know I am guilty because my 6 most important things to do list is about two pages long!! Not to mention that there have been days where I spent hours in the forums chatting, looking and admiring others new product posts and getting nothing done that as a result of doing it will produce income (that is the definition of IPA’s). I am talking tangible products or if you offer a service than something one can read, see or reach the service you offer through!

I have shared on this blog before that I used to be a Mary Kay consultant and we had this AWESOME IPA’s weekly tracking sheet for consultants! I don't know how to attach excel files to blogger so I can't show you the sample file here but feel free to ask me and I will send it to you! We had to write out your goals for the week and the IPA’s you would do to make sure you reached those goals. Boy did my director stay on my back but it taught me discipline and how to focus on what a TRUE IPA was at least for Mary Kay!

I created my own variation of the MK worksheet and will gladly share it as well as well. How this can be used will be different for each person. Of course you also need to have a determined number of hours each week that you are committed to your business. For me it is 20 hours a week. I wrote what my weekly goals were and what I would do to reach those goals. I make sure that I spend a minimal amount of time doing NON IPA activities like administrative tasks i.e. inventory, abundance chatting whether it be on the phone or on forums, etc.

I also break down my goals/focus as follows:

DISCLAIMER: I am NOT consistent even remotely at following through on this thus the reason I felt compelled to write about it! I am working towards it though!

1. No more than 2.5 a week on NON IPA activities i.e. Admin work, inventory control, etc (sometimes this means either paying someone else to do these tasks or doing it during your non business hours)
2. No more than 4.0 hours a week on advertising and marketing ( I consider these to be indirect IPA’s as they promote the opportunity to create income as a result of doing them). Examples of advertising and marketing for me is blogging, EC Drops
3. Spend remaining 13.5 hours a week on direct IPA’s i.e. making jewelry, photographing, editing and posting items.

Using this worksheet I first wrote out what my IPA’s were for the week. An example of some IPA’s (both indirect and direct) in my current venue are:

1. Make 2 jewelry pieces a day (10 a week)

2. Blog on Unique Commodities Blog (6 days a week)

3. Blog on Indiscriminate musings blog (4 days a week)

4. Do 200 EC drops 5 days a week (1000 drops a week)

5. Photograph jewelry and edit photos

6. Post jewelry items made to Crobbies

7. Post jewelry items made to Etsy

8. Post jewelry items made to Bonanzle

At the end of the week, I evaluate my business! Did my activities support my goals for the week? Why or why not? Reassess , tweak where necessary and keep it moving!

Grateful for Thorns!

Long but well worth the read.......

Sandra felt as low as the heels of her shoes when she pulled open the florist shop door, against a November gust of wind. Her life had been as sweet as a spring breeze and then, in the fourth month of her second pregnancy, a 'minor' automobile accident stole her joy. This was Thanksgiving week and the time she should have delivered their infant son.

She grieved over their loss. Troubles had multiplied.

Her husband's company 'threatened' to transfer his job to a new location. Her sister had called to say that she could not come for her long awaited holiday visit. What's worse, Sandra's friend suggested that Sandra's grief was a God-given path to maturity that would allow her to empathize with others who suffer. 'She has no idea what I'm feeling,' thought Sandra with a shudder 'Thanksgiving? Thankful for what?' she wondered. 'For a careless driver whose truck was hardly scratched when he rear-ended her? For an airbag that saved her life, but took her Child's'?'

'Good afternoon, can I help you?' Sandra was startled by the approach of the shop clerk. 'I . . . I need an arrangement,' stammered Sandra.

'For Thanksgiving? I'm convinced that flowers tell stories, ' she continued.

'Are you looking for something that conveys 'gratitude' this Thanksgiving?'

'Not exactly!' Sandra blurted out. 'In the last five months, everything that could go wrong has gone wrong.' Sandra regretted her outburst, and was surprised when the clerk said, 'I have the perfect arrangement for you.'

Then the bell on the door rang, and the clerk greeted the new customer, 'Hi, Barbara, let me get your order.' She excused herself and walked back to a small workroom, then quickly reappeared, carrying an arrangement of greenery, bows, and what appeared to be long-stemmed thorny roses. Except the ends of the rose stems were neatly snipped: there were no flowers.

'Do you want these in a box?' asked the clerk. Sandra watched - was this a joke? Who would want rose stems with no flowers! She waited for laughter, but neither woman laughed. 'Yes, please,' Barbara replied with an appreciative smile. 'You'd think after three years of getting the special, I wouldn't be so moved by its significance, but I can feel it right here, all over again,' she said, as she gently tapped her chest.

Sandra stammered, 'Ah, that lady just left with . . . Uh . . . She left with no flowers!'

'That's right,' said the clerk. 'I cut off the flowers. That's the 'Special'.

I call it the Thanksgiving Thorns Bouquet. Barbara came into the shop three years ago, feeling much as you do today,' explained the clerk. 'She thought she had very little to be thankful for. She had just lost her father to cancer; the family business was failing; her son had gotten into drugs; and she was facing major surgery. That same year I had lost my husband,' continued the clerk. 'For the first time in my life, I had to spend the holidays alone. I had no children, no husband, no family nearby, and too much debt to allow any travel.' 'So what did you do?' asked Sandra.

'I learned to be thankful for thorns,' answered the clerk quietly. 'I've always thanked God for the good things in my life and I never questioned Him why those good things happened to me, but when the bad stuff hit, I cried out, 'Why? Why me?!' It took time for me to learn that the dark times are important to our faith! I have always enjoyed the 'flowers' of my life, but it took the thorns to show me the beauty of God's comfort!

You know, the Bible says that God comforts us when we're afflicted, and from His consolation we learn to comfort others.'

Sandra sucked in her breath, as she thought about what her friend had tried to tell her. 'I guess the truth is I don't want comfort. I've lost a baby and I'm angry with God.'

Just then someone else walked in the shop.

'Hey, Phil!' the clerk greeted the balding, rotund man.

'My wife sent me in to get our usual Thanksgiving arrangement . . Twelve thorny, long-stemmed stems!' laughed Phil as the clerk handed him a tissue wrapped arrangement from the refrigerator.

'Those are for your wife?' asked Sandra incredulously. 'Do you mind telling me why she wants a bouquet that looks like that?'

'Four years ago, my wife and I nearly divorced,' Phil replied. 'After forty years, we were in a real mess, but with the Lord's grace and guidance, we trudged through problem after problem, the Lord rescued our marriage. Jenny here (the clerk) told me she kept a vase of rose stems to remind her of what she had learned from 'thorny' times. That was good enough for me. I took home some of those stems. My wife and I decided to label each one for a specific 'problem' and give thanks for what that problem taught us.'

As Phil paid the clerk, he said to Sandra, 'I highly recommend the Special!'

'I don't know if I can be thankful for the thorns in my life' Sandra said to the clerk.

'It's all too . . fresh.'

'Well,' the clerk replied carefully, 'my experience has shown me that the thorns make the roses more precious. We treasure God's providential care more during trouble than at any other time. Remember that it was a crown of thorns that Jesus wore so we might know His love. Don't resent the thorns.'

Tears rolled down Sandra's cheeks. For the first time since the accident, she loosened her grip on her resentment.

'I'll take those twelve long-stemmed thorns, please,' she managed to choke out.

'I hoped you would,' said the clerk gently. 'I'll have them ready in a minute.'

'Thank you. What do I owe you?'

'Nothing. Nothing but a promise to allow God to heal your heart The first year's arrangement is always on me.'

The clerk smiled and handed a card to Sandra. 'I'll attach this card to your arrangement, but maybe you would like to read it first.'

It read:

'My God, I have never thanked You for my thorns. I have thanked You a thousand times for my roses, but never once for my thorns. Teach me the glory of the cross I bear; teach me the value of my thorns. Show me that I have climbed closer to You along the path of pain. Show me that, through my tears, the colors of Your rainbow look much more brilliant.'

Praise Him for the roses; thank Him for the thorns.

God Bless all of you. Be thankful for all that the Lord does for you.

'Live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly, and leave the rest to God.'

We often try to fix problems with WD-40 and Duct tape. God did it with nails.

I'm the world's worst at not thanking God for my thorns, only for the roses. My prayer today is to start being thankful for the thorns I know they will help me grow. I pray this for you also.

Providing Excellent Customer Service

I was looking at a stream of communication among some Etsians to discuss what is good customer service. Is it important to quickly respond when a buyer makes a purchase from your shop? How much follow up? When? To be honest I was a bit alarmed by some of the responses. Some said "Well customers on Etsy understand that most Etsians work full time jobs and do this on a part time basis so its ok to not send a quick follow up to say. "Got your order and will get it shipped by xxx date" NOT!

Communication is a major KEY to excellent customer service! It really bothers me when I get no communication acknowledging my order and then a week later I get my item in the mail and no follow up whatsoever afterward. All I want to say on the feed back is "Thanks" or "Item as described". I state very specifically in my shop policies my standards for Customer service and my goal to the customer. Below is the process I follow when someone buys from me.

1. When someone orders from me, I respond with the below standard statement within 48 hours of the order (usually it is the same day) My subject is "Your Order" I am not specific in stating the item ordered. Use the customers real first name! It is more personal and shows your customer you have taken time to at least review the details of their Invoice/order:
**************Order Received Acknowledgment and statement of process!**************
Hi ______,
Your item will be shipped within 5 days. Once you receive your item, please leave positive feed back. I pride myself in having great customer service and a feedback rating that shows it! If for some reason you are not satisfied with your purchase, please contact me before leaving neutral or negative feedback so I may rectify the problem. And hey–thanks for choosing to shop with Uniquecommodities! :)

****When I ship the item I put "Tracking number - 9101 XX XX XXXXX in the subject line****
Hi______
Your item has been shipped! Once you receive your item, please leave positive feed back. I pride myself in having great customer service and a feedback rating that shows it! If for some reason you are not satisfied with your purchase, please contact me before leaving neutral or negative feedback so I may rectify the problem. And hey–thanks again for choosing to shop with Uniquecommodities! :)

**********Follow up if no feed back is left within 7 days of verified receipt of item**********
Hi ____I see that you received your item on _____! I hope it was to your satisfaction. If so, please leave positive feed back. If for some reason you are not satisfied with your purchase, please contact me before leaving neutral or negative feedback so I may rectify the problem. Take care!

After this I leave it alone and Notice that I have feed back for almost EVERY item I have sold (about 98%)..because I follow up and not in a nagging way. I have never had a complaint and I believe it is because I state my focus and intent from the start and follow through accordingly!


REMEMBER...EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE BREEDS REPEAT CUSTOMERS AND REFERRALS!

Signed,
Indiscriminate and Random Musings

Tagged – I feel loved!

The totally sweet and encouraging Tiltcreations tagged me! Now I get to share 7 things to tell you about myself.

Tag Rules:

~ Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
~ Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
~ Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their name as well as links to their blog.
~ Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

...and I am adding one more :) Given the Holiday season & the busyness of so many, I grant you absolution from having to pass it on...but it'd be great if you'd still give up some fun things about yourself (or your work) and direct us towards some of your favorite blogs

So here are my Seven:
1. My first online business was selling on Ebay! I used to go to yard sales, find neat items and sell them! The items I sold and made the most money from was a large box of college medical books that I paid $5 for (yes the whole box of about 15 books was only $5) and I made about $1,000 off of all of those books I sold! Oh the days of profit on Ebay!

2. My favorite color is Red. I generally love all bright colors but red is my absolute favorite because it is bright, bold and vibrant and representative of my personality.

3. I was born breech. BUTT first in fact with my right leg flipped up and over my left shoulder and my arms wrapped around that leg. My mom has over 100 stitches giving birth to me! Poor mommy!

4. I am the single mother of two young adults ages 21 and 19 and the grandmother of a beautiful granddaughter 13 months old!

5. I love to play games – Spades, Phase 10, Monopoly (my all time favorite)!

6. My dream was to graduate high school, become a Broad Cast Journalist and move to California! Never happened but I dreamed anyway..LOL

7. My favorite shows are CSI, Forensic Files, Dr. G Medical Examiner and HGTV with HGTV being my all time favorite!

Tag YOU are it

HuckleberryArts

CeeJaysBags

Dorsethillbeads

Fluttering Designs

DogonWear

TheChainmailleLady

SewHappyDesigns

Chance

Simply a random musing........

CHANCE

Feeling a tear at my spirit and not sure how to deal with it.

No doubt pulled by the emotions of the chance at devotion.

Yet at the same time I see that it very well might be no chance for us to be a pair unless one of us dare sacrifice our strongest reluctance or desire.

What makes one sacrifice – surrender one desire for another? Giving up one thing to get the other. Is it the compelling draw? the sheer magnetism of having the chance to be devoted to one in which you find encouragement and attraction? How is it that fate would have you find - someone you are uniquely drawn to even though by doing so you feel like you have crossed some imaginary line?

Then what do you do with the excitement and fear? The intrigue and panic. All these thoughts and emotions enough to make one manic. So you let go and wait. If it returns it is yours. If it doesn’t then stop trying to walk through closed doors. Pray for wisdom and insight, know that with surrender God just might - give you what you pray for…a chance.

Written by me!

Continued sharing of Mission Statements - Day 3

Remember if you like feel free to go the extra mile and take a look at their shop/Website/Blog and see how their mission statement lines up with or is reflected in what is represented in their shop/Website/Blog. Maybe even ask yourself what picture does this mission statement paint to me about the entity? Is it clear to me and or well represented? Does it make me want to come back or even learn from them?

Geekdetails shared “The goal when opening my store was to make geeky items for a home and make money while doing so. My husband is in the military and we move a lot. It makes it difficult to get a job and it makes it difficult to decorate my home. So I started doing my own thing and found I had a knack for it.”

Liz Plummer shared "My motivation is best taken from my profile. Rushing hither and thither in our daily lives, there are so many little details we miss. The glistening raindrop on a branch, the way a leaf hangs, sparkling streets after rain. I try and capture some of those moments in my artwork: the wonder of the beautiful world all around us, little vignettes into eternity."

Signed,

Indiscriminate and Random Musings

Continued sharing of Mission Statements - Day 2

Continued sharing of mission statements....

Remember if you like feel free to go the extra mile and take a look at their shop/Website/Blog and see how their mission statement lines up with or is reflected in what is represented in their shop/Website/Blog. Maybe even ask yourself what picture does this mission statement paint to me about the entity? Is it clear to me and or well represented? Does it make me want to come back or even learn from them?

Sassalynne shared "My mission is to get totally unique, one of a kind yarns out to the world! They can then be used to create totally unique, one of a kind items. I've already seen some that have been created, and it's a bit like being a proud mother!"

Check Out Sassalynne's two blogs!

Nuvofelt

Blog

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The Lone Beader shared "My mission is to employ the power of beadwork to educate, inspire, and unify people across the globe=:)"

Check out The Lone Beader's additional sites:

Blog

Blog 2

Facebook

MySpace

Twitter

Signed,
Indiscriminate and Random Musings

Mission Statements – To be (utilized) or not to be that is the question

I posted in the forums to ask Etsy sellers what the focus of their blog or Etsy business was. In all honesty, I was a little surprised as I did not get as much feed back as I thought I would and some of the responses I did receive was along the lines of “hmmm… never thought about it maybe I should consider it”. So let’s be honest here. If we don’t know where we are trying to go, how will we ever get there? And if by some chance we do arrive i.e. have success (or get somewhere positive or lucrative if you will), then how do we measure it so we can maintain it or repeat it if we had no Mission statement or planned goals in place? No doubt success is relative and subjective but either way it is measurable at least partly based on the mission and goals set by the individual. Remember too that the Mission Statement not only reflects why you started your business/blog but it helps others to know exactly what you and your business stand for and what it is all about. What would people/potential customers say about you?

So I decided, for those that did share their mission statements, I would post some of them on Random Musings for the next few days and let you look see what some of them had to say. And hey if you like feel free to go the extra mile and take a look at their shop/Website/Blog and see how their mission statement lines up with or is reflected in what is represented in their shop/Website/Blog. Maybe even ask yourself what picture does this mission statement paint to me about the entity? Is it clear to me and or well represented? Does it make me want to come back or even learn from them?

Perfect Touch shared “I'm all about having purpose and a mission statement. The mission of my store is to introduce people to the lovely world of vintage and antiques. I’m passionate about this uber chic way to recycle, and enjoy sharing my passions with others. My purpose is to brighten someone's day, whether it's a luminously colored piece of vintage glassware, or a sparkling brooch from a bygone era; I'm here to help :)”

Signed,
Indiscriminate and Random Musings

Mission – Why do you do what you do?

Firstly lets define what a mission statement is and why it is important.

“A general statement of a vision in word form. It is important to have a rich representation of the vision in all the senses. Then the mission statement can be written in language which allows all parties to it to derive meaning from it, yet be precise enough to guide them towards achieving it.”
~Merriam Webster~

I have always been a dreamer and entrepreneur at heart. All of my most impactful mentors always advised me that is was critical to have a mission statement or a focused goal or series of goals. Whether that goal is associated with blogging, professional life or personal life, it is important to know your goals and your Why! What is the reason you ask? Your mission/goals help you to as I like to say it to “keep the main thing - the main thing”! Your why keeps you motivated when you don’t see the result or hope of your goal(s) in sight.

When I used to sell Mary Kay, my director had us to write out our mission statement and to write out our “WHY” i.e the reason we are selling Mary Kay products. Initially I did not understand why and thought it was a waste of time and paper. Just let me sell I thought. Then when things got tough and I slacked off and wasn’t consistent in my daily activity, my director would pull out my mission statement and my why and say to me “Terronda have you reached your mission, your goal?” I would say “no but…..” She would let me whine and when I finished she brought me right back to my why and then helped me to refocus on my mission/goal sometimes revamping those goals into smaller bite sized chunks so that I could see progress. After all of that she would have me to read aloud my mission statement and my WHY. She reminded me to keep the main thing the main thing i.e. consistent daily mission/goal oriented activity (that is another blog….. perhaps I will talk on that another time) and to keep repeating my why. I even had my mission and why posted around my house to keep me moving!

So know that whether your goal is small or large, it is crucial to 1) have a mission/goal and 2) to have a “work out partner/Mentor” to help keep you on track, to encourage you and to keep you moving in the direction of your goals.

I encourage and urge you to take the time to determine what your goals are. If it is all about blogging, then great. What is the goal of your blog? Venting, make money, making friends…whatever it may be. Then write out your mission statement.

Below is the mission statement I wrote about 4 years ago! Guess what? I am MUCH CLOSER to my goal! I am $2,000 away from being DEBT free! It has taken me 4 years to get here but I am indeed reaching my goals! By next year this time, I will be debt free! So go ahead…take the next step and write that mission statement and your why!

Feel free to share thoughts, ask questions and even share your mission statement if you have one. If you post your mission statement on your blog, let me know and I will link to it to my blog.

MISSION STATEMENT:So much of my life I have struggled financially and emotionally as a result. I see so many others I love deeply with the same struggles and financial and emotional strife. My mom at retirement age is still feverishly working and trying to “just keep her head above water”. It aches my heart that after raising us and working hard to meet our needs that she still does not have even some of her most basic needs met. God made me to be a dreamer, a visionary, a goal setter, a woman of unyielding determination. I want to use the strengths and talents he gave me to get out of debt, live with financial abundance and to motivate and teach as many that are willing how to do it for themselves. “Give a man a fish – feed him for a day! Teach a man to fish and feed him for a LIFETIME!”. I am about helping myself first and through my experiences (good and bad) share with those who desire - how to reach their business, personal and financial goals.

Note: I also have another blog called Unique Commodities that is all about my Etsy shop and other Etsy Artist!

Start of my Musings.....

Well based on feed back from other individuals, reading other blogs and Blog Catalog, I decided it was best to have a separate blog for all my writings not associated specifically with my Unique Commodities blog! I conveniently titled it Random Musings because that is exactly what they will be! I may post a poem, tips, vents and rantings, free downloads...WHO KNOWS? and YOU NAME IT! So here is to the start of Random Musings...

Signed,

Indiscriminate and Random Musings.......