My New Adventure

Starting next month, I am going to be an advisor with Lia Sophia jewelry. I am so excited for this, but also a little nervous and anxious. Lia Sophia is a beautiful line of jewelry that is sold exclusively through advisors - you can't buy it in stores. I've received a few pieces as gifts and loved them. It wasn't until a few weeks ago that I started looking into being an independent contractor with them. I will be doing this in addition to continuing to work at Minnesota Life, so hopefully it will be a fun thing to do to meet more people and earn some extra money. My advisor has been great and just having her to help me keeps me excited about the opportunity. She's only been doing this since September and she loves it.

I never strongly considered anything sales-related after my first job in sales. My first job out of college sounded like a great opportunity until I actually started doing it. It was your old-fashioned, door-to-door sales. Not residential, but commercial. I sold water. WATER. Yeah. Not fun. I have a vivid memory of the day I decided it was not for me. I had gone into my third or fourth business and received my third or fourth dirty look. People are not excited about salespeople. And the company wanted you to be pushy - which I'm not. You either want it or you don't, I'm not going to try to talk you into it. So I sat in my car in tears, hating that now I would walk in somewhere and instantly people didn't like me - just because they knew I was going to try and sell them something. I stopped at one last place before I left - and met a woman whose name I don't remember, but I will never forget how she helped me. I asked if there was someone I could speak with and she politely told me that they didn't have a need, but asked me to tell her my pitch anyway. She said to me that there was no reason for her to be skeptical or rude to me because I was trying to sell something to her, and that she wanted to hear what I had to say even though she knew she couldn't help me. She was the nicest lady I met during those sickening weeks. The next day, I drove back to St. Louis (I was in Indianapolis) to talk with my parents about it. My trainer had told me before I left to leave my books with her, then called me once I was back in St. Louis. They knew I was having a difficult time. I told her that it wasn't for me and I wouldn't be back. I think she was fine with it. The job had the potential for me to have my own business and client and I wouldn't have to do the door-to-door sales...but I had to do it in order to get there. I decided in the end that the monetary potential wasn't worth going through the degrading motions of having people look at me like I was a horrible person. I didn't want to make money like that.

I've not even entertained the thought of sales since then. Until now. But, I remember how awful that experience was and I know that this is going to be completely different. First of all, I'm selling jewelry - beautiful, quality jewelry. I am going into this knowing that it's not for everyone, but the few people I've shown the catalog to have fallen in love with the pieces because they have something for everyone. Also, I am going to basically help the jewelry sell itself. The jewelry does - it's that beautiful. I am going into this with the idea that I am going to help people who like this jewelry get it at the best price possible - which is by hosting a party, because the hostesses get amazing deals. I'm excited about this. I wasn't excited about water. I don't even drink water unless it's flavored. Even though I'm excited, I'm still nervous and anxious because there will be a sales component to this. There is great potential - and I control that.

Long-term? Well, I think it would be awesome to really hit the ground running and build up a clientele base to where I could eventually stay home and focus on this. I don't expect that to happen for a while, though. If I did this full-time in a few years, I could also focus more on my writing. More than anything, I just want to share this jewelry with others who enjoy jewelry. It's not well known in this area, but it will be in a few years. Everyone will have a piece of Lia Sophia. People probably already have pieces and don't know it!

If you would like to hear more about the jewelry, see a catalog, or even host a party - let me know.

I hope everyone is having a great week - just another one to go and it'll be Thanksgiving!

Transitions

Hard as it is to believe, my beautiful little girl is now officially 2. No longer a 'baby' - although she will always be my little baby - but now a toddler. I can't believe how fast the time has gone, yet it feels like she has always been here, with us. One of the strange ironies of motherhood. :-)

Becoming a mother was a transition - a very, very great transition. In a matter of a few minutes - the time it takes for the pregnancy test to shout PREGNANT - I experienced my first transition. No longer did my decisions just affect me - my decisions affected me and my new child. I tried to be healthy - when I could eat - and everything I did seemed to revolve around the pregnancy. The second transition came at 6:28pm on October 31, 2007 - the exact minute I went from being pregnant to being an actual, real mom. I had felt like a mom during the entire pregnancy, but motherhood took on a new meaning when I first held beautiful Lauren. People try to prepare you for what your life will be like when you have a child. I heard, "your life will never be the same" so many times it made me sick during the pregnancy. Yes, I knew my life would change. And I try not to pass on that advice to other pregnant women. But until that moment happens, you cannot comprehend just how your life changes. I never knew I was capable of such intense, unconditional love for a little being I had just officially met. When Lauren and I looked at each other for the first time - she was born with her eyes open, taking in the world - I could feel our connection. We knew each other. We loved each other. I knew in that moment that no matter what, I would do anything I could for her.

For the past two years, I have a been a mom. I love my role. I love being Lauren's mom more than I could have ever imagined possible. Having her changed me. We have experienced everything together - her first smile, her first laugh, her first time sitting up, her first foods, her first time crawling, her first steps, her first illness, her first fall, her first time using silverware, her first time pouring a bowl of Cheerios for herself. Everything. And it's been an amazing journey.

Admittedly, I am a hover-er. I always held Lauren, preferring that to putting her in a bouncy. I rarely put her down for naps - which then became a hard habit to break when she had to lie down for naps. I've not always made the right decisions, but I've made all of my decisions right. I have made mistakes, I'm not perfect. Through all that, Lauren has thrived and become such a beautiful little girl.

Now, I'm experiencing another transition. Lauren no longer needs me for everything. For the past two years, I have dedicated myself to helping her, caring for her, and teaching her. Now that she is older, she is becoming more independent. It's a transition for me because I have to let her do this, which means I have to re-learn what to do! That probably sounds weird, but it's hard for me to not feel guilty doing a household chore or even reading a book while she plays by herself. I have to give her that space though. She is like me, she likes time for herself every now and then. She's very good at letting us know and I am so proud that she can entertain herself. I am trying to let go of the guilt I feel when she plays by herself - I feel guilty because I think she is lonely, but really she loves it. She lets me know when she's done and wants my attention.

The next year will bring even more transitions. I never really thought about how we can divide our lives up by the transitions we've been through: graduation from high school, attending college, graduating from college, moving out for the first time, getting married, having a child. The transitions keep getting better and better the older I get. There are many times I think back on being younger and how great it was then. It's even better now though. I cherish each day with Lauren and Troy and look forward to our future transitions together.