Allow Myself to Introduce....Myself.

I know…I probably should have started blogging with this entry but, hey… I get a little ahead of myself from time to time. I am easily excitable. I do everything over the top. And, I love to make big deals out of everything I get involved with. Blogging just helps keep me accountable. So… let’s get this started, shall we?

My name is Gidget. I am nearly middle aged, because I just know I will live to be at least 100. Well, that is my hope and reasoning for wanting to do something healthy NOW. I never believe it is ever too late to change; whether that’s a person, a dream job, a relationship, or a lifestyle.

I am a Christian first and foremost. I say that because it wasn’t always the case. I grew up going to church until given the opportunity to choose for myself. And, even then, I went to a church small group as a teen just because…you guessed it, the cool kids were doing it. But… I didn’t have a relationship with Christ. I am the epitome of the Prodigal Son (um… daughter). Even having five degrees, one of them being English, (yeah… getting a little ahead again), I thought prodigal meant “best.” Far from it. In Luke 15 (I’ll give the Readers Digest version) a son decides to leave the household and asks for his inheritance early. Dad gives it, son leaves to live the life he wanted. Fast forward…. Life not what he expected, pride gets in the way, enter pigs and mud, then the turning point. He goes home only to find a father waiting with open arms saying “Welcome Home.” The End.

Okay...there is a bit more to the story but you can read it later. My story was such that I grew up in a small town at the elbow of California. A town where my Native American grandmother is painted on the side of City Hall. Everyone knew who everyone was and no one thought twice about telling others your business. Yeah… you’d want to leave to. I did. I graduated high school early, went onto college and joined the Army. I wanted to be a TV journalist for the Armed Forces but that job left 6months later so I signed up and became an Airborne Combat Medic instead. Met husband number one…married. Had three amazing daughters. Got breast cancer. Divorced. Met a DJ…married again. Ten years later; you guessed it…divorced. Met husband number FINAL and nearly ALL of that was missed by my parents.

You see, I took a 12 year road trip; my Prodigal Journey, until things got to be just bad enough that I called home. I was not a Christian in that walk. I did everything I could to live the life I wanted without the fear of any consequences. But, there it was…the turning point that brought the conversation. My husband saying “Call your mom.” My stomach sank. It had been twelve years. No phone calls, no letters, no contact.

The phone rang and mom picked up after two. I was going to hang up after three. The conversation went a little something like this….

Me: “Hi, this is your daughter.”

Mom: “Oh…well, hello there.”

Me: “Are you sitting down? There are a few things I need to tell you.”

Mom: “I’m not…but I can.”

I told her everything I could think of. All that she missed and all that I was calling for. The weight of the world and lower than low…because that it what it took to make the call in the first place. There was silence for what seemed like forever, but in reality was less than thirty seconds.

Me: “Are you there?"

Mom: “Yes… Welcome Home.”

Me: “What??”

Mom: “I’ve been waiting for this call. Well, maybe not this exact call. But, I’ve been praying and waiting and even though you are 2,500 miles away, I wanted to welcome you home.”

Who does that?? My mom does that. Read Luke 15.

I don’t tell you this short story for any other reason than to assure you I am nobody. I am merely a girl born in the west, spent all of my adult life in the North, and now living the South that NOW has a relationship with Christ (I refer to him as my BFF Jesus) and someone that truly was given a second chance at life at the age of 41.

We call that chapter of my journal (journey), the PJ Era (Pre Jesus). I am proof that failure is never final and the transparency I have in telling about that journey is just “part of the deal” I made when becoming a Christian five years ago. One of my favorite scriptures is 1Peter 3:15 “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” I try to do that daily.

I never want to give people the impression that I think I am better than they are; quite the opposite really. In my PJ Era, I thought I was better than everyone. I judged people based on their weight (even though I tipped the scales at 270 myself), their hair color, their fake Coach bags, or anything else I could find I may be better than them for. Women were catty and competitive; I wanted nothing to do with them. Oh, the irony now that I’m a Christian and doing everything I can to empower other women and lift them up. “Although one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves, a cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” Ephesians 4:12.

I have a crush on the apostle Paul. It’s a long story but I can’t help it. Book #2 that I eluded to in a previous blog was called “Letters from Paul.” It has been a book in progress, not real active…for the last three years. He wrote nearly half of the New Testament; Romans through Hebrews. (I know they say Hebrews is “unknown author” but if you knew Paul the way I know Paul, you would totally know it was him. Besides, others must think that too because they put it right after the other 12 in a row that are his. Just sayin’). His books are all letters to other churches or people. I wrote just two “chapters.” They were letters to Paul. I wrote to him and his responses were taken directly from each book. Romans was my first. When reading my letter first; it literally sounds as if it could be him responding to me today. I wanted people to see that the bible IS relevant today and that his responses to me now could be responses to anyone else. My dad told me early on, after our relationship had begun again, that everything I needed to know was in the bible. Proof, affirmation, help, circumstances, advice. In fact, Romans is my “How To” for just about everything. It is THE place I turn to for business and relationship help when I don’t go to my mom; whom I now talk to everyday.

I own two businesses on Main Street in Collinsville, Oklahoma. One is a quaint little boutique measuring just 12ft x 40ft. 10ft of that is the checkout and project space. It is a small blueprint and we live in the 500sq ft flat above it. My husband and I live simply. We downsized from 2,700sq ft to 500sq ft. We have six kids between us and it seemed like people would come and go but it was always entirely too much space and too much “stuff.” My boutique is called “Simply Lyla’s” and no matter how many times a day I am asked if I am Lyla; I am not. LYLAS means Love Ya Like A Sister. We love to do things anonymously and we can sign Lyla to a card as if she is a person or to fellow Lylas, simply sign at the bottom of an email. It is a sisterhood and it is awesome. Imagine the Proverbs 31 Woman; she is impossible to emulate because there is no one that could muster all of those qualities; not just one anyway. It is my belief that if there are a few of us that could have different qualities…together we would be one amazing person. Lyla is simply that person. She is the best in each of us and when we are together, we bring out the best in each other.

I have another business just three doors down called “Simply Parties.” It is nearly the same blue print but slightly longer. It was a sad little building that we renovated, much like the boutique and tiny flat that we live in. We host baby showers and birthday parties, bridal showers and tea parties. I love that my real jobs are real fun. I get paid to wear tiaras and host tea parties. I live in a fairytale in a little community and I love that my husband makes it possible.

I am married to my third, and final husband. His name is Robbe and we met at a Starbucks. It wasn’t love at first sight but he was definitely the best friend I had met in a long time. I was wearing a sweatshirt inside out, no makeup and a baseball cap when we met. He sat around and finished his coffee with me anyway. We were married about five months after we met. How did that happen when it wasn’t love at first sight? Good question. J  We were living in Michigan when he was offered his dream job as an aerospace engineer in Oklahoma. He lived in a hotel in Oklahoma 7 months before I moved. Moving here wasn’t my first choice; in fact I called it Nineveh….and still do sometimes, since Jonah didn’t want to go there either. For those that say the bible isn’t relevant today, I think I could find just about anything in there to challenge that.

I thought I had everything I wanted in Michigan, there was no way that my BFF Jesus could top all that he was providing for us there; I was wrong. All that we had there has been given ten times over in Nineveh and He makes more opportunities for us every day. The churches we have visited and the friends we have made have not been by accident; each serving a purpose in his plan.

Even Heather. It’s eery really how many Heather’s I have met since moving to Oklahoma but for the sake of this story, this Heather is someone I met only recently. I’ve known her sister Heidi for years. In fact, she is the one who began her Plexus journey a year ago and has seen great success with it. She is a local photographer in town and in many of the same social circles I am in. I just met Heather a few months ago and we clicked. She, too has been doing Plexus for about a year but her success has been in how many medications she is no longer reliant on. (I will be sure she shares her story in the future too.) When I finally decided that I was tired of doing the bare minimum and wanted to do something for myself, I knew I was going to need an accountability partner. Who better than someone who was on the product, liked it, learned from it, and had resources to share? We have gotten closer since deciding we needed it and have agreed to help each other to reach our goals. They couldn’t be more different but we are going to get there via the same means; Plexus and the bevvy of products at our disposal, to use and to share with others.

So there you have it. Not necessarily a nutshell but a much shorter version of all the things that led me to where I am now. I don’t know where this chapter will take us but I do know that it will go just as far as I make it. I have a support system in many people, near and far, and I am inviting you to follow along and see just what happens. It won’t always be a journey full of medical facts and benefits but a journey of someone JUST like you doing something that should have been done a long time ago. Failure is never final and I DO know that I am worth more than I am living and I am absolutely certain that I am not the only one.

Proof Is In The Pounds

It isn’t my intent to blog daily because, let’s face it, I know I couldn’t maintain it and the disappointment would be too much to bear.

OR...it could simply be because I own TWO brick and mortar businesses on Main Street in Collinsville, Oklahoma. In fact, maybe I’ll blog tomorrow (again….not going to be a daily thing but hey, it’s early yet) about who I am and why I think people might want to read what I might want to write.

I couldn’t help thinking about “Curvy Kim” from yesterday when I awoke this morning. I think I may have even giggled when the image of her popping pills that she was so proud of, snuck into my mind. People tell me often that I should write a book because things like that happen to me all the time. But I think writing a blog is better than writing a book. Blogging to me, is for people that have lots of stuff to say and some of it is even pretty awesome, BUT don’t necessarily have the attention span or the devotion to write something as long as a book. I’ve written a book. It was only about 150 pages but it was a book. I actually have book number 2 in the works. (Um…define “in the works” you say?) I started it and think it could even be relevant. Completely different from my first “book” but this time I only finished 2 very short chapters of my envisioned 15.

Note to self: Chat a little about the books in my “Who are you and why are you writing this blog?” tomorrow.

Sorry…. Remember; you’re reading a blog written by someone with A.D.O.S. (Attention Deficit....Oooh Shiny!) Stuff like this is bound to happen.

Oh yes… “Curvy Kim” and her pill popping pride. I thought of her this morning because when I was telling Heather about her (you'll meet her on tomorrow's blog), I couldn’t remember the name of the coffee colored pill that wasn't coffee BUT when reading a magazine last night, the name jumped off the pages.

 

I was reading Success from Home Magazine that featured Plexus on the cover. The title (you guessed it) PROOF IS IN THE POUNDS. (I’m witty but not that witty). I just liked it so much that I “borrowed” it for myself. It was a great article. Complete with pictures, as any article that talks about weight loss products would be. Actually the title of the article was “The Power of Products That Work” Effective products plus a rewarding compensation plan equal impressive growth at Plexus Worldwide – and an outstanding income for you.” (I would share the link to read online, however, after looking for the last FORTY minutes…. I got nothin’.) The magazine is pictured above. Pick it up at your local checkout and READ IT. J

Anyway… the entire point of me wanting to blog about “Curvy Kim” again today was because the pills she was so excitedly swallowing were called Garcinia Cambogia and Green Coffee Bean. She felt like she was really onto something because she was “doubling up” by taking them both at the same time. A little trick she learned from her new 50year old role weight loss guru on YouTube.

 

When reading the article (that you’re going to find and read for yourself because there is waaay more in it than this), I recognized the names of her pills as just a couple of the ingredients already a part of Plexus Slim.

          “Focus on Health”

The story started with Plexus Slim, an innovative product that helps people manage their blood sugar levels and promotes healthy blood pressure and cholesterol levels; increases willpower over food and reduces binge eating; the bottom line – helps them lose weight. With its proprietary blend of ingredients such as chromium, chlorogenic acid extract from green coffee, Garcinia cambogia fruit extract, and alpha lipoic acid, Plexus Slim set the body on a course to drop excess weight. And using it is simple. Just mix the powder with water and drink it 15 to 30 minutes before a meal. No meal replacements. No shakes. You get to eat real, nutritious foods and watch the pounds melt away.”                   SUCCESS FROM HOME – JULY 2014

“With its proprietary blend of ingredients…..” that included two of the “dream team” that "Curvy Kim" so quickly swallowed. I think she swallowed more than those two pills when it came to her decision to lose weight. She ingested a whole lot of “who knows what” by finding her friend on the internet. She claimed that her stomach was twisted after just three days on Plexus Slim and her doctor told her to get off of it because there was no other explanation. She then got on her soap box and told me that she was immediately better after stopping it. Hmmmm….  If it really was, as she very animatedly shared with me, “not the way to go” and she wished me luck; how in the world could she so easily be gulping down and praising these two pills that she took twice daily and are found IN our product?

Make informed decisions for yourself ladies. Don’t seek out the next big thing from someone you know nothing about. Yes, I creeped the internet long and hard. They don’t call me Nancy Drew for nothin’… but, I asked around. I talked with friends whose opinions I trust. I did more research both on the products and the business opportunity as a whole. MLM (Multi-level marketing) companies get a bad rap. Some make promises they can’t keep. Others say their products can cure just about anything. But we are responsible for our own well-being. My BFF Jesus wants more for me than I think I deserve. (You’ll learn more about him in tomorrow’s blog). I'm certain that He wants more for ALL of us than we think we deserve!

Last summer, I had an opportunity to join a different Health and Wellness company, who shall remain nameless. My hubby, Robbe (you’ll meet him tomorrow too), and I went into it with eyes wide open…together. We finally went to a meeting with a friend that had asked us for months and were genuinely interested....surprising us both. In fact, we were so interested that we went to another meeting the following day presented by someone pretty high up in the company (high up enough that his story was in the literature we held in our hands the day before). When we talked about it, we both convinced each other that it wasn’t for us. We were the “Nay Sayers” I give attention to at the bottom of the blog. We decided that the only people that were doing well in the company were gym owners and personal trainers. Physical therapists and nutritionists. What I didn’t realize… until just this morning in fact, was that we had it all wrong. Perhaps the reason that they did as well as they did in that company had nothing to do with their occupation and everything to do with their relationship with the people they shared with.

I don’t own a gym. I have never been accused of being a personal trainer. No one has ever mistaken me for a nutritionist BUT…I have a lot of people that trust me. I even have a few that think I may inspire them a little bit. I am excited about this opportunity because I am taking back my contagious joy that I feel has been riding in the backseat a little while. I want to do something for myself that could easily benefit others and I think that I have learned enough about this product and this company to make the decision to become an Ambassador. (Yeah… it still has a nice ring to it)

I’m not going to be that girl that posts this fact or that fact on my Facebook page. I will, however, be that girl that is curvy and wants to change it. I will be that girl that thinks I’m worth more than I’m living. I will be that girl that realizes her BFF Jesus has a plan for her and it has NOTHING to do with being chunky, tired and pretending to be okay wearing denim jackets in 100degree weather. (Yes...that actually happens)

Proof is in the pounds? YES!  I’ve proven that too many pounds have been there for too long and no one is going to do anything about it but me.

 

More Than Just a Water Bottle

I’m new to a lot of things but not new to writing. I’ve written one blog or another about one thing or another since before it was called blogging. Sometimes I have things to say that hit home with many. Other times, at the end of the blog, I realize it was spoken from my BFF Jesus’ heart for only me… but to share with others as “icing.” And who doesn’t like icing? (Actually, I know someone that doesn’t like icing but prefers only naked confetti cake…but I digress).

 

I recently decided, after chatting with friends and a little bit of Nancy Drew action, aka…googling like a Mad Woman, that I was going to give Plexus a go. I have had a few friends that have had great success with the product and been approached by a few others to become an Ambassador. I do love that the name alone has a little flair to it; compared to “Representative” or “Independent Consultant” and I won’t lie by pretending that their levels being precious stones wasn’t also appealing. Reaching level of Diamond being the pinnacle of their organization. But, again… I’m practicing my A.D.O.S; a condition my husband so appropriately diagnosed me with years ago. Attention Deficit…. OH SHINY! I get animated about one topic but then get easily distracted by another bauble or thought that wanders into the room. 

I have never been a “seller.” Sure, I have signed up for the occasional MLM in my day and even did quite well in one or two, but I was never one to push products on people. I tend to favor being part of a company and taking products I believe in enough, to have others ask me about opportunities and then just share what I love and why.

I made my first opportunity to “name drop” Plexus today and, let’s just say if I hadn’t already done my due diligence and severe creeping of the internet, I may have had second thoughts on my decision to give Plexus a go. No, I’m not fickle by nature but “Curvy Kim” was so convicted about her opinion that I wanted to sit and stay a while. But, as so often is the case with those of us afflicted by A.D.O.S., I’m getting ahead of myself a little bit. Let me start at the beginning of this “name dropping” scenario…again. 

I went the bank today in the midst of my errands. It wasn’t my usual bank location so I recognized absolutely no one. When I was called to a window, things seemed usual enough; pleasantries and facts then the awkward minutes in between our transaction beginning and end. To break the silence I decided, instead to comment on her water bottle sitting beside her Tupperware container of fruit; a telltale sign of some form of weight loss in progress. I said: “I love your water bottle. Where did you get it?” It was just a standard bottle purchased across the street at the Wal-Mart but I still went forward with my plan to introduce Plexus into the short conversation. “Oh… well, I love it and I think it is just the container I need. My friend and I are going to start selling Plexus and I need something that I can keep my daily pink drink in.” She needed no further conversation to offer her opinion. It was almost like she had it planned out, just waiting for someone like me to utter the “P” word in her presence.  

I learned that “Curvy Kim” was on the pink drink for just three days. She said her insides were twisted and she didn’t feel well. Knowing what had to be the culprit, she went to the doctor for her Web MD confirmation. Whether it was the ingredients or the method in which she took them, no one will know but she simply went on and on and began her infomercial on several pills that sat beside her water bottle that I had somehow missed. “Curvy Kim” proceeded to tell me of her own research via YouTube. She said “Women our age can’t lose weight like those 20somethings and I had to really look for some success in someone closer to 50. I think I found it in this woman.” Firstly…I didn’t like that she said “Women our age….” Could we really be the same age? She looked quite a bit different than I imagined myself looking in the mirror today but, who am I kidding, my next birthday puts me closer to 50 than 40; turning 46 in another month.  And secondly…I like to think that my research was a little more balanced and knowledge seeking than cruising YouTube for the “next great fix.” But, maybe we aren’t as different as I would like to think.   

She went on about the two different colored pills she was taking and rambled about four kids and a cruise holiday just a few weeks away.  As if it had just occurred to her in the middle of a chat with a friend, she said “Oh my… I take these pills twice a day and I should have taken them already.” In front of me, she reached over for one set of the pills and proceeded to take them. I almost thought she was going to offer me the others along with a drink from her container but she simply put it back to the side and went back to her “regularly scheduled programming” of her fifteen minute infomercial. She told me the names of the pills and where to get them. She even told me how much they were at…you guessed it; Wal-Mart. But it didn’t end there. She walked to the file cabinet just behind her, reached into the bottom drawer for her purse and SHOWED me the bottle she had taken these pills from just this morning as if to prove she was telling the truth. 

Needless to say, I wanted the conversation to be done as quickly as possible and scolded myself under my breath; vowing never to do that again. I wished my new friend well and only barely escaped because my daughter came in to save me. 22 year olds wanting to hang out with their moms is a great thing but waiting in the car for twenty minutes can get even the best of them a bit more than irritated and ready to go.  

Note to self: Stop at Starbucks before going into banks when daughter is in tow.

P.S…..No matter how cute the water container, never ask where they got it

 

Curvy Kim = 1               Plexus = 0