Thank you to Adam Packard, a good friend who is reading a personal development book a day for 365 days! You can check out his video series and the review of "Thank Everybody for Everything."
I start every day by filling out my daily journal and recording three things in my Gratitude Expressions - Five year gratitude journal that I'm grateful for. I can always find something to be grateful for - and it improves my attitude. We have so much to be thankful for in our lives - family, friends, pets, loved ones, clients, team members, blue skies, rain for healthy grass and trees, even the unexpected things that we think are annoyances but turn out for the best. The list is endless. I like to believe that all things work together for good - that was my grandmother Peggy's favorite Bible quote.
What are you grateful for? Are you taking time each day to say your thanks and offer a big thank you for everything you have?
Thanks for everything!
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Aloha - from Hawaii
This is our last day in beautiful Hawaii. The trip was possible because of SendOutCards and our CardDivas team. We (Teresa and I) qualified for the VIP Incentive trip. This is our second opportunity to spend time with the SendOutCards leadership and we have appreciated every minute.
We arrived in Honolulu on Tuesday Feb 28 after a long flight from Atlanta. The flight was bearable though - we called it a three movie, two meal, one snack and two beer flight. It was great to get caught up on some recent movies I missed - Crazy Stupid Love, Dolphin Tale, and Moneyball.
Upon arrival we got our car and easily found our hotel - the Modern Honolulu. Turned out to be a excellent choice. The room was beautiful, the service impeccable, the wait staff handsome and helpful. We were very near the Hilton Lagoon and Village as well as the Mauna Loa Mall - a very high end shopping center. We "shopped" at Neiman Marcus but saved a lot of money by leaving our purchases for later.
The first evening we ate sushi at the hotel and caught up on our sleep after a 29 hour day. We awoke to overcast skies but didn't let that dim our spirits. When the sun came out you'd find us at the pool trying to get what few rays we could.
That evening we met friends George and Sandy, also with SOC, from Arizona. We enjoyed mai tais at the Royal Hawaiian. We made friends with Milton from Australia who was finishing a 25 day holiday. Then Teresa and I headed to the Chart House for stuffed mushrooms, nachos and martinis - not exactly island fare but just what we needed. We enjoyed the two man guitar band and made friends with Derrick, the lead singer.
Thursday morning we caught a few rays and then headed north to the famous North Shore and the Turtle Bay Resort. We stopped along the way for fresh pineapple, mango and coconut. We also scored a couple of native woven handbags to carry our "stuff".
The Resort setting is spectacular and every room has an ocean view. We upgraded to a suite and were glad we did for the extra space as well as a full on ocean view. We even saw some whales from our balcony! There was an SOC get together the first night. Time to say hello to both old and new friends. After the meeting everyone headed to Olas at the hotel for dinner. Good food but no idea we were coming (200 of us) so the service was very iffy.
Friday was a free day. We took a long walk along Turtle Bay but sadly saw no turtles. We visited the stables and I was able to get a few horse "kisses". Then we went into town for Garlic Shrimp at Titas roadside "cafe." Great food and we got to watch a young man try and eat a two pound hamburger - the Pounder! He actually did it. Then we were off to the Polynesian Cultural Center for a full day of immersion into the island cultures. We learned lots we didn't know including the Center is run by the LDS Church and allows the young people who work there to work their way through school before returning to their home islands. The weather got really rainy but we still had a good time. We attended a dinner luau - food was really excellent and then an evening show - Ha! The Breath of Life. The hula dancers, the singing and the fire baton twirlers were amazing!
Saturday morning dawned rainy but we had a great time with the SOC Leadership in a meeting where Kody, Jordan Adler and Eric Worre were the primary speakers. Always lots to learn. We love knowing that our company is definitely headed in the right direction and Kody is firmly committed to SendOutCards becoming a billion dollar household name! Nice to be a part of something so exciting with people we love!
The afternoon actually gave us some sunshine and the chance to watch some of our fellow SOC friends try their skill at surfing. For dinner we had an on-site luau - again, amazing food. Kody treated us to another performance by the young people from the Cultural Center including a very young man who performed the fire batons!
Sunday most of our SOC friends headed for other ports - either home or additional vacationing. We stayed and enjoyed the wild surf from the safety of our room where we stayed dry and caught up on all kinds of things. We were very satisfied with our entire trip and we were grateful with all of the new opportunities it presented. We enjoyed a great Italian dinner at the hotel and started the packing chore to head home.
Next year we hope many of you will be with us at the VIP Incentive Trip, wherever it is. However, you don't have to wait that long - join us on Monday March 19 at 6 p.m. at the Law Offices of Hoyt & Bryan Learning Center for a Basic Training and Opportunity Meeting. A regional Treat Em Right is scheduled for Saturday May 5, 2012 in Tampa and the National Convention begins June 6 in Las Vegas!
SendOutCards is a great product and a great opportunity. For less than $10 a month you can become a customer for life and start changing lives by sending a card a day! For anyone interested in a business opportunity where you can surround yourself with really awesome people, this is it! Hope to see you soon! Aloha!
The first evening we ate sushi at the hotel and caught up on our sleep after a 29 hour day. We awoke to overcast skies but didn't let that dim our spirits. When the sun came out you'd find us at the pool trying to get what few rays we could.
That evening we met friends George and Sandy, also with SOC, from Arizona. We enjoyed mai tais at the Royal Hawaiian. We made friends with Milton from Australia who was finishing a 25 day holiday. Then Teresa and I headed to the Chart House for stuffed mushrooms, nachos and martinis - not exactly island fare but just what we needed. We enjoyed the two man guitar band and made friends with Derrick, the lead singer.
The Resort setting is spectacular and every room has an ocean view. We upgraded to a suite and were glad we did for the extra space as well as a full on ocean view. We even saw some whales from our balcony! There was an SOC get together the first night. Time to say hello to both old and new friends. After the meeting everyone headed to Olas at the hotel for dinner. Good food but no idea we were coming (200 of us) so the service was very iffy.
Friday was a free day. We took a long walk along Turtle Bay but sadly saw no turtles. We visited the stables and I was able to get a few horse "kisses". Then we went into town for Garlic Shrimp at Titas roadside "cafe." Great food and we got to watch a young man try and eat a two pound hamburger - the Pounder! He actually did it. Then we were off to the Polynesian Cultural Center for a full day of immersion into the island cultures. We learned lots we didn't know including the Center is run by the LDS Church and allows the young people who work there to work their way through school before returning to their home islands. The weather got really rainy but we still had a good time. We attended a dinner luau - food was really excellent and then an evening show - Ha! The Breath of Life. The hula dancers, the singing and the fire baton twirlers were amazing!
Saturday morning dawned rainy but we had a great time with the SOC Leadership in a meeting where Kody, Jordan Adler and Eric Worre were the primary speakers. Always lots to learn. We love knowing that our company is definitely headed in the right direction and Kody is firmly committed to SendOutCards becoming a billion dollar household name! Nice to be a part of something so exciting with people we love!
Sunday most of our SOC friends headed for other ports - either home or additional vacationing. We stayed and enjoyed the wild surf from the safety of our room where we stayed dry and caught up on all kinds of things. We were very satisfied with our entire trip and we were grateful with all of the new opportunities it presented. We enjoyed a great Italian dinner at the hotel and started the packing chore to head home.
Next year we hope many of you will be with us at the VIP Incentive Trip, wherever it is. However, you don't have to wait that long - join us on Monday March 19 at 6 p.m. at the Law Offices of Hoyt & Bryan Learning Center for a Basic Training and Opportunity Meeting. A regional Treat Em Right is scheduled for Saturday May 5, 2012 in Tampa and the National Convention begins June 6 in Las Vegas!
SendOutCards is a great product and a great opportunity. For less than $10 a month you can become a customer for life and start changing lives by sending a card a day! For anyone interested in a business opportunity where you can surround yourself with really awesome people, this is it! Hope to see you soon! Aloha!
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
National Random Acts of Kindness Day - February 17
I was having a conversation with my good friend and co-author Debbie Roser when she mentioned it would be nice if we could more often think of others than think of ourselves. This prompted me to say, yeah, like random acts of kindness. She agreed and since she was at her computer decided to see if there was a national celebration of random acts of kindness. Well, here's what we discovered on Wikipedia:
Random Acts of Kindness Day is the name of an unofficial holiday increasingly celebrated around the world by localities or organizations, or nationwide, in order to encourage acts of kindness. The original founder of Random Acts of Kindness Day is unknown.[citation needed].
The holiday is celebrated annually in the United States on February 17 and in New Zealand on September 1.[1] In New Zealand, RAK day began at a national level in 2005[2] by Josh de Jong, Marshall Gray, Megan Singleton and Reuben Gwyn. It is not a holiday, rather a national day where the entire country is challenged to do something kind to a friend or stranger for no reason at all.
We really were tickled that here we were talking about this and it is this Friday February 17th - just two days away. This gives everyone plenty of time to prepare for this awesome opportunity - to do something kind for someone without expecting anything in return. What a novel concept! The idea of giving to give - just for the sheer joy of it.
Join us in celebrating National Random Acts of Kindness day this Friday!!!!
- Myspace Layouts,Graphics, and Comments!
Random Acts of Kindness Day is the name of an unofficial holiday increasingly celebrated around the world by localities or organizations, or nationwide, in order to encourage acts of kindness. The original founder of Random Acts of Kindness Day is unknown.[citation needed].
The holiday is celebrated annually in the United States on February 17 and in New Zealand on September 1.[1] In New Zealand, RAK day began at a national level in 2005[2] by Josh de Jong, Marshall Gray, Megan Singleton and Reuben Gwyn. It is not a holiday, rather a national day where the entire country is challenged to do something kind to a friend or stranger for no reason at all.
We really were tickled that here we were talking about this and it is this Friday February 17th - just two days away. This gives everyone plenty of time to prepare for this awesome opportunity - to do something kind for someone without expecting anything in return. What a novel concept! The idea of giving to give - just for the sheer joy of it.
Join us in celebrating National Random Acts of Kindness day this Friday!!!!
- Myspace Layouts,Graphics, and Comments!
Must Love Dogs
I've always loved dogs. My grandfather, "Pop-Pop" raised dogs. He raised champion hunting dogs - Pointers and Retrievers. As you probably know, I'm not a hunter and actually don't condone hunting. Yet, my Pop-Pop was a hunter. Mostly I think he loved being with his dogs, working them. He always had a whistle in his mouth to call the dogs. At four years of age, I can still remember running behind him to keep up with him and the dogs. At age 100 he was still going to the Bird Dog Club.
My first dog was Susie, a Cocker Spaniel. Apparently she was a lot of work for my mom with three small children because she "went to live on a farm." In this case, I still want to believe that's actually where she went to live.
Our next dog wasn't really our dog, it belonged to our neighbors. They went to Japan for a year and we got their dog, Ginger while they were gone. Ginger was a poodle. Not my favorite dog to this day. We were supposed to get a puppy when they returned. She never had puppies.
Next was my first "very own" dog - Misty. Purchased for five dollars, she was the best investment I ever made. A shepherd/collie mix. What a great dog. I was ten and we went everywhere. I tried to teach her to be a seeing eye dog but ended up running into a tree. End of that lesson. She used to pull us on the icy roads (we lived in Indiana in those days). That was really fun. She died my junior year in college. I was away from home. Still sad. I'm still a shepherd lover to this day.
My next dog was Bandit, a sheltie/shepherd mix rescued from the shelter. He was with me until he was fourteen years old. At that time we also had Buddy, a pit bull/Mastiff. Dumb dog. Allergic to everything. Lived to age ten when he was hit by a car. Awful, awful - I had to bury him as Joe was taking his master plumber's exam that day. Bitter sweet - he passed, the dog died.
Fiona, our border collie, was also a rescue. I found her while horseback riding in Ireland! She was the best souvenir ever. She had a very interesting life - stray dog on the moors, mini farm dog and in her final years, companion to autistic twins where she was the only dog.
Tiger was our black lab/pit bull/chow mix. She was a rescue. Took Joe a long time to find the right dog - she definitely was. Kind, sweet and had a face that took a little getting used to. Once you did, you believed all black labs should have a round face, black tongue and little chow ears. She died young - age six, of cancer.
That's full circle. Fawn and Tobie are my "junk yard" dogs rescued from Buddies for Life. Kira is my blonde shepherd rescued from Pet Rescue by Judy. Corkie and Leiden are both AKC registered. Cork was born to a neighbor's dog so she has always lived in Chuluota. Leiden was a gift from the Universe - she found me through her owner while I was having lunch one day in Winter Park - neat story that I'm always happy to tell. Sienna is our service puppy from New Horizons Service Dogs.
I love dogs.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
See you in Hawaii - Be there Aloha!
Teresa and I are off to Hawaii in a week or so! We qualified for the VIP Incentive Trip for SendOutCards. Qualifiers earned points for team building! We feel really blessed to be a part of this awesome trip!
It's funny, I really didn't think we had a chance of qualifying - in fact, I was begging my other SendOutCards friends to let me come along as their roommate! It wasn't until Mary sent me an email that we were right on her tail that I had any idea we might actually qualify ourselves! But, since this is a team building effort, it can't be done alone - it requires the activity of team members.
We have an awesome team! We are building an even better team for the future. SendOutCards is a great company with a great opportunity for anyone who wants to change their circumstances in life. In other words, if you want to build financial freedom, this is the way.
So, we are looking forward to Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore. We are also spending a two nights at the Modern Honolulu in Waikiki Beach. Can't wait to see all of our SendOutCards friends - so many wonderful people that we've come to know over the last three years - and those that we are still adding to our list of SOC friends.
You can be there too! Join our team - come with us. Next big adventure will be the Treat Em Right in Tampa on May 4 and 5, 2012. Then off to Las Vegas for the annual Convention June 6 - 9, 2012. We'll be at the Mirage Hotel. You should be there too. See you soon!
It's funny, I really didn't think we had a chance of qualifying - in fact, I was begging my other SendOutCards friends to let me come along as their roommate! It wasn't until Mary sent me an email that we were right on her tail that I had any idea we might actually qualify ourselves! But, since this is a team building effort, it can't be done alone - it requires the activity of team members.
We have an awesome team! We are building an even better team for the future. SendOutCards is a great company with a great opportunity for anyone who wants to change their circumstances in life. In other words, if you want to build financial freedom, this is the way.
So, we are looking forward to Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore. We are also spending a two nights at the Modern Honolulu in Waikiki Beach. Can't wait to see all of our SendOutCards friends - so many wonderful people that we've come to know over the last three years - and those that we are still adding to our list of SOC friends.
You can be there too! Join our team - come with us. Next big adventure will be the Treat Em Right in Tampa on May 4 and 5, 2012. Then off to Las Vegas for the annual Convention June 6 - 9, 2012. We'll be at the Mirage Hotel. You should be there too. See you soon!
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