There’s one truth that people tell me almost every day: I have a lot on my plate.
A Lot on my Plate: Del Taco and Jamberry
The first reason I recently signed up as a Jamberry consultant was for the discount. Let’s be real: Who doesn’t love saving money for things you already do? I buy Jamberry, and the more I buy, the more I love. So saving money while doing so is one of my no-brainers. And we’re not talking just five percent, either. We’re talking a substantial reason to keep myself in business.
The more I enjoyed, the more it showed, the more friends became interested in having shows of their own (see what I did there?). So the second no-brainer is to pursue this venture for supplemental income.
My Mother’s Day Jamberry Nails
Okay. Let’s run down that list again:
Substantial discount
Time with friends
Making new friends
Feeling more confident (isn’t that what a great mani-pedi does for every woman?)
Extra income
Wearing Jamberry nail wraps and lacquer allows my creative side to flourish even more. The mix-and-match-ability are never ending. They even have NAS (Nail Art Studio) which allows you to design your own wraps by simply uploading your own art to the website (copyright images not allowed, all images subject to approval).
But back to too much on my plate. Jamberry wraps are quick to apply. The lacquer dries faster than other brands. And they last. Like, a long time. This Girl’s nails were always chipping and peeling what with the amount of paper shuffling, keyboard clacking and housework I do. I was lucky if I could get polish to stay on for three days.
Well, thanks to Jamberry, a tiny investment of money and time allows me to look pretty and feel confident for up to two weeks.
I’ve been asked what my favorite hand care essential is and I have to say, it’s the $10 Cuticle Oil. This little brush-on bottle works wonders in less than a minute. Don’t believe me? A photo (or two) is worth a thousand words.
Thirty seconds: Before and After Jamberry Cuticle Oil
(And check out how awesome my eight-day old lacquer and wraps are holding up!)
The cuticle oil has a light, uplifting fragrance. It doesn’t leave a residue on hands or fingers. It’s almost therapeutic to apply before a jam-packed day (ooh, see what I did there?) or when getting ready for bed.
Sure, $10 (retail) is two Starbucks. Or a dinner out. But it lasts longer than both. I will definitely keep this in my bag and in my nightstand. Because it takes just a small amount, the 0.4 ounce brush bottle lasts a long time. It’s recommended for twice-daily use, but can be used more frequently as the need arises.
If you’d like more information on ordering, hostessing, or joining the Jam With MoJo team, please visit my Jam With MoJo website.
“Once you leave the mountaintop,
there’s only one way to go ~
Into the valley.”
~Alton Gansky, Final Keynote Speaker,
BRMCWC 2015
We were told what we learned was to be shared. We were being sent out to be springs in the desert, which in my case is quite literal.
Life Can Be Prickly
As wonderful as the Blue Ridge experience was, as foundational as these new friendships have proven to be, coming home was hard. Reconnecting to the world I left behind was difficult.
I’ve been trying to make sense of the blender in my head, chopping and refining and mixing all the information and activity and life that continues. I’ve been trying to put all the new, and old, life into the same container.
Etc., etc., etc. . . .
Surprise ~ it doesn’t all fit.
I needed a way to better manage the new roads that are leading me to greater things.
In particular, I’ve been further developing my Social Media Management.
How To Do Social Media For People Who Are Antisocial
But I wasn’t working it as well as I could have. I was inundated with the thought that I had to learn more, prep more, explain more, before I had something worth sharing.
The immensity of all that lay before me was overwhelming.
Sounds like a “DUH” moment, right? You would think so.
The real “DUH” moment came when I realized because social media is always changing, it’s impossible for me to learn everything about it. My task is to share my current knowledge while growing. Not stop growing and then share stagnant information.
I don’t have to do everything all the time, as long as I do something when I can. My friend Tony put it this way:
“Consistency trumps intensity…better to work 20 minutes 6 days per week for 90 days than to work 40 hours per week for two weeks…it keeps you from burning out and the magic of your own biz is the ‘part time’ effort…imagine if someone went to the gym 8 hours in one day and called it good for the month…”
I’ve been asked to join several group blogs and share my social media knowledge. I don’t know as much as others, but I know more than some. That doesn’t mean I have to know or do everything all at once.
So I changed my mind.
I’m no longer crushing through hours each night, trying to flood my laptop with links and posts and media connections and classes and learning and teaching.
I’m no longer waiting until I know it all. What I already know is worth sharing. What I already do is worth doing for others.
Instead of trying to do it all, I look at what needs to be done now.
I don’t always like To-Do Lists. Those never ending beasts are an evil necessity with their continuous trails and side paths that often lead you away from contentment. As soon as you mark off one item, there’s another five to be added.
I’m starting a new To-Do List. One that makes it easier to manage everything else. So far, I’ve got one task.
1. Don’t Overdo the To-Do List.
It really can be that simple. Today I have things that have to get done. Blogging, NOLA Chapter 2 third draft, laundry, housecleaning, dinner. I have social media clients I need to take care of. But I can do it, just for today. Just for this week. I don’t need to schedule posts that are a month out. Not yet.
Burnout is too easily achieved when we try too hard to ignore ourselves.
It’s okay to take things one puzzle piece at a time. It’s okay to not have all the answers. It’s okay to not be the best at everything.
Mewwo. Mom’s been busy so she hasn’t let me blog for a while. What’s up with that? She leaves in the morning and sometimes is gone until long after dark. She dances around singing things like “I’m Too Sexy For My Cat”. Excuse me? Should I take that personally?
And get this ~ she got the idea to let me blog . . . from a dog. A dog!Now, I’m all about making friends, and I’m sure Charlie Bear is nice and all that. I mean, he doesn’t look too big. In fact, he’s a little like the human sister’s owner at the grandparents’ house. But he’s still a dog. And I’m beginning to sense that Mom might be liking him. What’s a cat to do?
At least she still lets me cuddle up with her at night. When she was gone to her Writers Conference last month, the fur sisters decided we should all get along better. We thought maybe Mom had enough of our sqaubbling and toilet paper tantrums. She was gone for quite a while.
But she came back and we’re all good again. Don’t tell her, but I missed her. That’s why I lick her face each night. And bop her nose when she snores.
And to show that she missed us, she bought us new food. Not just new as in fresh, but new as in type.
She used to feed us the cat food with the four-letter word on the label. So it’s not the same four-letter word that humans use, but for me and my fur sisters it may as well have been. The four-letter-word food caused us upset stomachs and hairballs even though it was supposed to be for older, indoor cats.
Instead, she now gives us the Good Life.
Good Life vs. Four-Letter Word Food
She said something about real food, which is good because we’re Real Cats. Realy, we are. [Wait for it . . . There yah go. Realy.]
I’m going to tell Cousin Zoey about it. Maybe her people will spoil her. If not, well, that’s something to talk about at the next family reunion.
It tastes great. It fills us up faster, so we don’t each as much. Which means less upchuck and hairballs. Lots less. Which makes our mommy love us even more.
In upcoming posts, I’ll blog about my love for Jamberry Nail Wraps and post new design combinations. I hope you’ll join me.
After two months of buying product, I realized it’s more frugal for me to sell it and support my own habit. So I signed on. My online launch party starts tomorrow, and it’s going to be super fun.
It’s my goal to use this income boost to cover my future writing and travel needs. After all, all roads lead to writing, right?
Right now it’s well after midnight and I’m tired. My jammy nails and I are hitting the hay.
Would love for you to stop by my JamWithMojo page and check it out. And if you’re interested in ordering, how’s this for an incentive?
For Nathan and Pam and Naomi and Lori and Cindy and all my Marys and Beckies and everyone I’ve been talking to. I hope you know how each of you has helped me. I hope I’ve been able to return that help.
God – December 8, 2014
A few days ago, I posted a lengthy status on my personal Facebook page. Since then, people have commented, sent messages, and shared.
It’s no secret where I stand in my faith. I’m not a Bible thumper. I’m not perfect. In fact, I revel in my imperfectness. I’m just glad there’s a God who loves me the way I am, and who continues to help me be a better person for the world around me.
“Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”
~2 Corinthians 12:7b-9, NIV
Let’s face it. Life is hard. It’s hard when you know God. It’s hard when you don’t know God. This post isn’t about God. It’s about Christians and the disservice we do to one another in our own community by expecting only the Pretties to be seen, by submerging the imperfections, the thorns, the scars.
If we as Christians portray only a perfect example of God, how can draw people closer to Him? If we tell seekers “It’s okay that you’re broken” then why do we expect completeness of ourselves?
The Christian Community can send out false messages. Not intentionally, mind you. I believe our desire is to attract others to Christ, and we feel we can’t do that if we’re shattered or chipped.
I disagree.
We are all damaged. One way or another, we are all broken.
I’m okay with that.
“Stop forcing a catastrophe where there’s not even a storm.”
Because God is the True Healer. He can, has, and will continue to heal my brokenness whether it is caused by others or myself. Whether my brokenness is physical, spiritual, emotional, mental, financial, or any-other-al, He continues to seek me out and heal me.
The healing may not come in the way I want, or as fast as I think I need. But His timing is perfect. And I’m okay with waiting on Him.
Cuz Father knows best.
The following is the Facebook post from a few days ago. I hope it starts a dialogue of honesty and openness. I hope everyone has a friend who accepts them unconditionally. And if you want to know more about my God, I hope you ask.
Please read, comment, share. And watch the video at the end.
Life is hard. But God is always good.
I promise.
You Matter.
~#~
June 7, 2015
So an interesting thing happened. Late last night I posted a status (now removed) of how it’s okay that I’m angry with God. I received some comments and messages that others are praying for me, that others understand, and a few that cautioned me about being so public about it.
Here’s the thing, and I’m not upset, just puzzled . . . but here’s the thing.
Not one person asked WHY. Not one person asked, “How can I help?”
And it saddens me. Not because I need attention (although we all do, right?). Not because I feel alone (I mostly don’t). But because the impression or attitude seems to imply that as a Christian I’m not allowed to have bad days, that I should share only joy and keep the rest to myself.
And it makes me wonder, if the people I know are Christian (myself included), if we are sending out these vibes that it’s not okay to be NOT okay, how are we being authentic? How are we letting others know we’re there for them?
Do we as Christians stifle the outreach and community of those who need us? Is it possible by saying “This isn’t the time or place” that what they hear is “You’re not worth my time or energy”?
I have a lot going on. So do you. So does everyone. I don’t air my “dirty laundry” for everyone. In fact, there is not one single person who knows everything. There are some who know most, some who get headlines without details, and some who get only one story or prayer request instead of the whole basket.
I’m not advocating spilling your entire life on Facebook or other public forum. I’m not agreeing with those people who are “virtue suckers” and complain just to get attention.
But do the people who need us know we’re here for them? Do they really know?
Or have we made it too hard for them to reach out? Have we made them fearful that we won’t reach back?
Or worse, do we assume because we already know them that we know what the current moment is about? Do we pray for them, consider them, reach out to them based on past experiences?
Or do we say “I’m still praying . . .” for whatever issue WE think needs prayer.
When was the last time you came up to a friend and said, “Tell me what’s really going on.”? And didn’t fill your head with presumptions of who you think they are and what you think they’re going through?
So many of us are really going through our own hell on earth, yet we’re expected to live daily as if we’re not. So many of us are so skewed by our own hells that we can’t see someone else’s is different. We can’t see that we’re sometimes hurting instead of helping.
So I apologize, here, publicly, to all my family and friends. I’m sorry that I’ve not reached out to see where you’re at or how I can help you. I’m sorry that I put myself first — my own thoughts and ideas of how life should be, of how you’re doing it wrong, of how you’re not there for me. I’m sorry for not being there for you in the capacity I should be.
I’m sorry.
But hear this: You’re important to me. In many different ways.
Our lives are silk webs that criss-cross and intertwine and pull others into and out of the design and I want to strengthen your thread.
I want to be here for you.
I’ve ignored you, I’m sorry. I’ve made you feel less important, I’m sorry. I’ve made my own hells more important than yours, and that is farce. Everyone’s hell is important. Everyone needs a helping hand to get out and rise above the crud that tries to buries us.
This is me. Being as authentic as I’m allowed to be.
I let you down, and I’m sorry.
I’m here for you now. All of you.
All I’m asking is that you be here for me, too.
And the rest of your people.
Make sure they know.
