Memorial Day 2015

So grateful for all those that have served our country and deeply grieved for those that gave that gave their life in that service. 

Do not take your freedom lightly!

Thousands have paid highly for it!

Many served in times of danger, others during times of peace.

Many served in other countries, others were always state side.

ALL gave years of their life to be of service to thousands.

My héros - Lee Baines, Charlie Price, Larry Moore, Randy Tiner, Butch Humphrey, Sean Robinson, Kyle Robinson, Michael Woodruff, Donna Kunde, Gary Kunde, Lindsay Spencer and many more.  

I remember being a Senior in High School and being terrified that my classmates would have to go to Nam.  They started pulling the troops out that year. 

Lately, Mark has been watching lots of series on WW II.  It was horrible also.  So many men killed. And they didn't have R & R every 6 months.  When our oldest daughter was bemoaning the fact that once school was out in May, she wouldn't see her fiancé til August, at their wedding.  Mark's mom proceeded to tell her that her grandpa went off to war and she waited 3 whole years for him, she would survive the summer!

I can't think about 9/11 without becoming extremely emotional. Those horrific images are burned into my memory.  And then eventually, our troops began going to the Middle East.  And there were so many brave people that joined the service.  Their choice- there was no draft.  And as much as we watched the Nam war on TV, we saw way more of this war.  With the Internet and all the tv news stations, we were instantly aware of the tragedies as they happened.

I know the Bible tells us there will be wars and rumors of war.  Since the Fall, people have argued and fought.  Sometimes for a worthy cause, tho not always.  Just because it is a fact of life, doesn't mean it is pleasant.  

So, spend time thinking about those that you know that have served our country.  Pray for them.  Many of them still have struggles because of what they have seen. After Nam, we didn't know to call it PTSD, but there are many that are still suffering from it.  And Agent Orange - don't even get me started! If you are young enough you don't know what that is, goggle it.

I am blessed and grateful to live in a country where I am free.  And sincerely grateful to all who have made that possible.

First picture - Mark's Dad, Lee Baines, he served 3 years in WW II.  

A few years ago, he went on the Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. and really enjoyed it.

Second picture, my mom's brother, Bud Waite.  He served during the Korean Conflict.  Funny, they didn't call it war.  I'm certain that those that served and those that lived in that area felt like it was war!

Third picture, Larry Moore, my cousin, served in Viet Nam.  Just a few years older than me and I don't think he ever knew how much I looked up to him.  He survived the war, but it destroyed his faith in so much, he left the 'family' area when he returned from Nam and died some years later.  I miss him terribly.

Fourth picture, Charlie Price, my uncle.  His best friend died in Viet Nam and as soon as Charlie got the news, he immediately joined the Marines.    He was so tall, the younger ones in the family were somewhat afraid of him.  But he's always been a gentle giant.  I remind him that I'm his favorite niece!

Public Speaking

Well, after being encouraged multiple times from different people, I've taken on an additional vocation.  Public Speaking.

When I was working on editing my book, it was suggested to blog about it and the blogging information suggested speaking engagements about it.  I didn't feel I was ready to do that, irregardless of the fact that that's what I do for a living - public speaking.  I go into a room of people, frequently not knowing more than one or maybe two, and I give 'a 30 minute speech'.

In a training with my company, we had a conference call with someone who was extremely successful in the direct sales business and has become a motivational speaker/trainer for companies.  She suggested a way to promote our business is to offer to be a free speaker for groups that are looking for speakers, such as Lions Club, MOPS, Kiwanis, etc.  I had to ponder this one for a while to make sure I could come up with a 30 minute talk that wasn't a sales talk.

I took the plunge at my BNI meeting this week.  This is a networking group that focuses on helping each other promote their business.  With 30 second weekly introductions and twice or three times a year being the focused speaker at the group, we teach them what we do and how they can help us grow our business. For my 30 seconds, I said "I'm looking for groups and clubs that are in need of a speaker.  I will talk about being healthy, taking charge of that in your life and will not be just giving a sales talk.  And I'm free!"

One gentleman is in a Lion's Club and I'm going to be speaking at his club and he's going to get me into the other clubs in the community.  Who knew it would be so easy?  I'm pretty stoked about it.  It will help me get further into the community with my business with people I would never have had the chance to meet.

And I've been asked to be a speaker at my company's annual convention in July.  Crazy!  People must think I have something worthwhile to say.  Mind you, I've been trying to tell Mark and my kids that for years!

So, do you have a burning passion about something that matters in changing the world, even in a small way?  Do you want to get the word out?  Give it a try!   Make sure you can organize and articulate clearly what you want to say and contact clubs and groups in your area.  You may surprise yourself as well.

Life in the New Decade

I've been thinking for some weeks now that I need to talk about the journey in this next decade.  The 60's.  Not 1960. Me being 60.  Funny, I've heard several times on tv the past couple of weeks that 'they' (whoever they are) are saying that 60 is the new 40.  Well that's a relief!  I loved my 40's!

I did struggle with being 60 at first.  After discussing it with friends that are near my age, we decided it's a mental issue.  The generation before us acted older at 60 than we do.  I could probably muse for many pages about what all the contributing factors are, but clearly we live a different life style than our parents did.   And when I was whining about being old, I was reminded I get to have a birthday.  Oh yeah, there's that.  I survived cancer, I get to live.

It's the first of May and as my first year in this journey comes to a close, I am reflecting  on what I accomplished so far and what are my future plans.

I alluded to a couple items on my bucket list in my last post.  One is swimming. The first opportunity I had to take swimming lessons was the summer after my 6th grade when we lived in Nashville, Illinois.  It didn't go so well.  My mother signed me up for beginner lessons and when I arrived at the community pool, all of the other students were 1st graders.  I stood 2 heads above everyone. I was so embarrassed and refused to go back the second day.  

So that summer and following summers spent in Nashville, my friends and I would go to the pool frequently.  But they were such true friends!  They could all swim, but they would stay in the shallow end with me the whole time we were in the pool.  

I watch the Groupon posts and could not believe it when I saw one for private swimming lessons.  I took 2 lessons a week for a month in an indoor pool at an apartment complex.  The teacher was a college student who assured me that she could teach me to float.  I wasn't convinced but I did learn that and more.  It was very exhilarating!  Now mind you, I'm not ready to be on a swim team, but I not afraid of the water.  That's a major accomplishment.

Again, unpleasant and unnecessary facts would explain why I'm intimidated by the dance floor and dance lessons have been on my list for some time.  When we were driving around Reno looking for something soon after we arrived, I saw a building with a large sign in the window that advertised dance lessons.  But at that time Mark traveled all the time for his job and never knew in advance when he'd be home, so taking dance lessons together was not really an option.  Mind you, Mark did need lessons.  It came to him naturally and he'd been dancing for years.  But I wasn't interested in learning with someone else.

Just a few days after I saw the Groupon for the swimming lessons, there was one for dance lessons!  I couldn't believe it and of course, I bought it.  It was for 2 private lessons and then you can attend as many classes as you'd like in a month.  And I didn't have to pay for Mark to come, which was a relief.  

I was pretty nervous on the way to the first lesson.  It wasn't a huge room and there were a few other couples with a teacher on the floor at the same time.  He taught us some basic steps, nothing complicated.  I was relaxed by the time we finished.  We scheduled the second lesson on a night when there was a class immediately afterwards and we could stay for it.  

The second lesson was on a few more types of steps and we stayed for the group lesson, but it  was not helpful.  They tried to teach us steps that were quite involved, tried to learn them in 3 or 4 sets and then put them all together.  Next we would do it with our partner, then the next person, the next and so on.  I wasn't really comfortable with that, even though none of them were experts at it.   We agreed we weren't interested in doing any more group lessons, but I was grateful for the experience.  

A couple weeks after the last dance lesson, we went on our second Jordan Essentials cruise.  We flew into LA and neither of us had ever been there before, but there was no time for any sight seeing.  Ports of call were  Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas.  We'd never been to Mexico, wouldn't really say it was on my list of places to go, but we had a blast.  And I was on the dance floor with Mark on the cruise.  It was pretty exciting!

My 60th year celebration started with a birthday party in Reno with all our children and grandchildren and some of our friends. When I went to Springfield, Missouri for Jordanvention in July, my sister threw a birthday party with my family that lives there and a few of my Jordan friends.  Add to that swimming lessons, dancing lessons and a cruise to Mexico, it's been a year of celebrations.  

The past Saturday we hosted our annual Derby Party (Kentucky Derby), our annual Hawaiian party with be in late July and in August we'll have Mark's 60th birthday party.  So the celebrations will continue. 

As far as bucket list items, I have a few that are extravagant - month long trip in Europe, take Mark to Australia.  

When I was in study before we left Illinois, we were to write down a wish list.  That was 11 years ago, I wasn't 50 yet, so I really didn't consider it a bucket list.  Several of those have already been reached.  

We've moved to Reno.  I have a baby grand piano.  We've been on a cruise.  Now most of the items on my list are more about my business.  And I've reached some of those goals.  Some time ago, based on personal sales, recruiting and sales of my downline, I reached the title of Director.  A little more than year ago, thanks to Jessica Maxwell making it to Director, I'm now a Diamond Director.  My goals now are to help my team grow their teams which will increase their paychecks.  Helping others reach their dreams really melts my butter.  

I truly believe you need to have goals and dreams.  If you don't, you'll not be challenged to step outside of your box and experience new and fascinating things.  Shoot for the moon and if you miss and you will land on the stars!