MelaniePenelope

Giving 'Til It (Almost) Hurts

Those of you who read here regularly know two things: I'm a big-time deal shopper ("extreme couponer", no, but I try) and I'm rebuilding my Jafra business. So when I found out that our local Girl Scout unit was going to be supporting the kids for Salvation Army's Christmas party(ies) and that older tweens and teens were underrepresented under the tree, I realized that I would be doing some serious de-stashing of the goods I've amassed over the past year or two. My family is going to be all-Jafra, all the time, because - not to sound like a perpetual commercial here, but - it's really good stuff, and I want the best for them. And I need to support my own business. So I went through MY bin (we still have to go through Rob's, to make stockings for the young men) and made a pile of everything I could get rid of, that I would only be using Jafra products for from now on. Here's my pile!

Oh yeah, and my make-up stash had to be gone through as well, since of course Jafra has an excellent color line, and I will only be putting our products on my face from now until Kingdom Come. Heh, well, that's the plan, anyway. So hopefully, I'm going to make some young ladies very happy when Christmas comes and their little brothers and sisters are getting coloring books and toys. Grown-up stuff for grown-up kids!

Don't think I completely depleted my stash. I kept everything Jafra doesn't have a product line for, like toothpastes and razors and stuff. So I'm still all set. (And please don't be paying for toothpaste. You should never have to, if you get into couponing! I seriously get so much, I could open a toothpaste store.)

Anyway. I received, from our GS unit, six stockings. These were supposed to be for my troop and Chloë's troop to fill. Well, uh, um, take a look:

Six stuffed-full bags of toiletries for some hopefully happy teen girls! They all get deodorant, floss, lotions and potions, soap, shower gel, and more. And look, you can see it's all good, name-brand stuff. No crap, nothing I wouldn't have used myself if I wasn't going Jafra-crazy. (I can admit it, you can say it.)

And that's only about half the girl stuff, and I haven't even touched the make-up stuff yet! Plus we still have Rob's bin to go through. I hope the unit leader in charge of this project has a half-dozen or more extra stockings, because I'm going to need them...

I feel so blessed and privileged to be able to help in this way. It feels awesome. Rob's reaction, when he woke up just now and I told him to go look at the bed, was, "Cool." And it is. Really cool. I just hope the kids like their loot!

Fin.

"The Big 'C'"

That's what my dear, departed grandpa called it. Cancer. "The Big C." He couldn't even really bring himself to say it.

As young as I can remember, my grandparents were smokers. My grandpa had his extensive collection of pipes, and there was always one in his mouth, while my grandma smoked More cigarettes. You know, those long, skinny ones? Anyway, one day, as he tells it, his dentist told him he was working on "The Big C," and he quit smoking tobacco that very day. Honestly. Got rid of all his pipes and never smoked again a day in his life.

My grandmother wasn't so lucky. She was helplessly addicted, and even though she'd had breast cancer twice - in her 30s and in her 50s - and was on oxygen, and then in a wheelchair, and had horrible emphysema, she still smoked. Oh, we begged. Once, we staged an intervention. To no avail, of course, because she would pull out her oxygen tube, puff away, and then stick it back in. The Big C is what took her life, too soon for me, but I suppose it never would have been a good time, eh?

So right now, I'm dealing with The Big C myself, in three different ways, and I'm so OVER it. Because Grandma had breast cancer in her 30s, and I'm now 35, I've gotten a referral to get the breast cancer gene test done. I'm going to call tomorrow and make that appointment. (My mother died at 33, too soon to tell whether she would've gotten it so early, but both my sister and I have had scares with lumps, so I was able to talk my way into getting the referral.)

Also, I have several suspicious skin things going on. I'm very fair-skinned, and I burn like nobody's business. I've had sunburns almost every year of my life, including multiple really bad ones as a kid and one so bad, in my first year of college in Miami, that put me in the hospital. So I'm being followed by Dermatology for skin checks, as well.

And finally, a little TMI. I had a near-complete hysterectomy (I have one ovary) on April 9, 2008 (I remember the date so well because it's the anniversary of Mom's death) after multiple bouts of cervical carcinoma with repeated LEEPs, colposcopies, and the whole deal just not getting rid of the problem. So now, with no cervix or uterus or anything left but the one ovary, why am I having bleeding and spotting? I went to the doc this morning, and she performed an ouchie exam on me. She was concerned, quite. So tomorrow night, I'm having a pelvic ultrasound to check on that ovary, and I'm also being referred back to GYN/Oncology, to see the docs who did my hysto.

I'm saying all this just because I'm a little anxious, which I think is natural in this situation. I'm not a pessimist, I'm not overly worried, but I feel a little like, "The Big C" is coming, and it's just a matter of when and where. I don't want to go that way. So if I get it, I will be strong, I will do what it takes to get well, and I will FIGHT. I'm just so sick of the threat of it right now, and I needed this post to get it off my chest.

{In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, by the way, I'm donating a percentage of all my Jafra sales to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Research Foundation. If you order and would like to have that donation made in your name, I will be happy to do so.}

So. May you all live long, healthy lives, and a big F-U to The Big C!!

Fin.

Sunday Stealing: The Lucky 33 Meme

I'm late today! Link up here if you're playing along.

1. Can you cook?

I sure hope so, as I'm teaching 3 cooking classes to kids this semester! I'm not the greatest chef ever, and I prefer to follow a recipe, but I can put on a decent spread.

2. What was your dream growing up?

For as long as I can remember, I wanted to be a marine biologist, except for the very young years, when I wanted to be a librarian, with the glasses and the bun and the whole deal. And for a short while, I actually was a marine biologist. Then the husband and babies came along and wrecked changed the course of my life. (I'm kidding about the wreckage, totally.)

3. What talent do you wish you had?

I wish I was an amazing gymnast and a better dancer.

4. Favorite place?

Wherever my husband is, there belongs my heart.

5. Favorite vegetable?

Hm. I like a lot of them, but I'm pretty fond of broccoli (cooked), corn (if that counts), and carrots (raw or cooked).

6. What was the last book you read?

I haven't read a book in ages but would love to change that. I think it was The Kiterunner. Good book. Heartbreaker.

7. What zodiac sign are you?

Virgo, and I am a true one.

8. Any Tattoos and/or Piercings?

No tats, but I've been wearing a nose ring for 14 years now.

9. Worst Habit?

I'm self-indulgent. I have a hard time saying "no" to anyone, including myself.

10. Do you personally know anybody on Blog?

Do you mean, have I met anyone through blogging?  If that's the case, I've met many wonderful people online, but I don't think I have met anyone in person that I first knew through our blogging. I hope to change that, sometime...

11. What is your favorite sport?

To play or to watch? I love watching figure skating, but I'm afraid I'm not athletic myself. Maybe bowling, although I stink at it.

12. Negative or Optimistic attitude?

For someone who suffers so severely from depression, it may surprise you that I am a true Idealist. I usually romanticize situations. I'm definitely not a pessimist. Although I do fret and worry a lot over things. I don't know. I'm an enigma.

13. What would you do if you were stuck in a lift with someone of the opposite sex?

I would probably freak at first, as I would with anyone, but I could also have some innocent fun with that... ;)

14. Worst thing to ever happen to you?

It's a tie between being a motherless daughter at a young age and a sonless mother.

15. Tell me one weird fact about you:

I hate going to the bathroom anywhere except at home. I will hold it all damn day, if I have to.

16. Do you have any pets?

Four cats. Two adults who hate each other, and two twin sister kittens who are like toddler children. I'm always cleaning up after those two!

17. Do you know how to do the macarena?

I sure do! I was just thinking about that yesterday when I was in my Girl Scout training and we were learning songs. One of them had similar hand motions.

18. Is the sun shining where you are now?

It's going down, and it's overcast. It's after 5 PM now.

19. Do you think clowns are cute or scary?

I don't think either. I'm definitely not scared of them, so I guess I lean toward the "cute" side. I knew a few people going to clown college in Sarasota, FL, once...

20. If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be?

I wouldn't change my face, because my husband is always admiring it and telling my I'm beautiful. I might wish for a more defined chin, because I don't have much of one, but I think I've accepted that by now. It would have to be my body. I'm happy with my weight now, but I have a lot of loose skin to remove after dropping a fast 200+ lbs from gastric bypass surgery.

21. Would you be my good angel or bad angel?

Isn't the latter an oxymoron? I would definitely be a good angel.

22. What color eyes do you have?

My sister calls them "shit brown eyes." She's a blue-eyed bitch. LOL!

23. Ever been married?

I am, going on 11 years. ♥

24. Bottle or Draft? 

Neither. I am not a beer kind of girl. Sorry.

25. If you won £10,000 today, what would you do with it?

Pay down our debt.

26. What kind of bubble gum do you prefer to chew?

I don't have a preference, but I love blowing bubbles, so it's gotta be a good one, like Hubba Bubba. Do they even make that anymore?

27. What's your favorite bar to hang at?

Fat Tuesdays in CocoWalk, Coconut Grove, FL.

28. Do you believe in ghosts?

Nope. I'll believe when I see one.

29. Favorite thing to do in your spare time?

Mess around online, if I'm not in the mood to knit.

30. Do you swear a lot?

Like the Sailor I'm married to!

31. Biggest pet peeve?

Bad drivers.

32. In one word, how would you describe yourself?

Crazy!

33. In two words, how would you describe yourself?

Indescribably enigmatic.

Have a great week!

Fin.

Today, I Decided, Is Going To Be Different...

I'm feeling really good about things. "Things" being my Jafra business, which is taking off since I started back up on September 16th. I'm about to sign up my 2nd new Consultant under me, I'm getting lots of appointments and orders, and best of all, my confidence and pride in myself are growing.

I've decided to start dreaming again.

I want to make Rob's and my dreams come true. He's set to retire from the Navy in a year and a half, give or take, and after working his butt off for 20 years, I want him to be happy and doing what he wants to do. I'll keep homeschooling the children, but I'm going to give 110% to growing my Jafra business and making us, for once, comfortable or better, financially, so that he can do what he wants to do. That's my dream: to make my husband happy.

Oh, I have goals for myself, too. Don't get me wrong. I want to be out of debt. I want to get eye surgery, so people can see how great my skin looks using these products, instead of my glasses. And I definitely want to get my full body lift, because things are a sagging mess after losing over 200 lbs. But mainly, I want to build things up so that he can have what he wants, too. He's given so much to us, and he's asked for so little in return. Now I want to help support him, in every way I can. 

I'm really excited, for the first time in a while. I mean, really excited. I've been with Jafra for 12½ years, but we are better than ever. I truly believe we are the BEST company for women, with the BEST skin care products on the market, and those beliefs are helping me grow my business. Well, the product sells itself, but it's a matter of getting it on the clients, and I'm working hard at that! When I started, I was a young 22-year-old know-nothing, with few skin issues, if any. Now, I'm a more mature 35-year-old with fine lines and sun damage, among other things, and it's funny, but those things combined with my age make me feel more confident in approaching women about their skin care.

Anyway. I could go on for another hour and a day, but I don't want to bore you. I just wanted to share my excitement!

My website is here if you want any information about what JAFRA is all about, ordering (I give great discounts!), being a hostess (double hostess rewards in October), or even joining my team (or should I say, "my future empire"?). I'm in the building stage right now, and it's so fun.

Have a great weekend.

Fin.