HAPPY NEW YEAR!

This will be a very short entry because this month is the busiest month for me at work; closing out the previous year. I would just like to wish everyone a Happy New Year! I am claiming this year as a wonderful year for us! I am finally ready to accept all the good God wants to give us. Took me a long time to figure it out, but I say "Better late than never". I pray for good health and prosperity for all of you!

GOAL SETTING IS GREAT!!!!!!

I am so glad I am learning to set goals. I have reached one of my goals. This particular goal was to have a Sebring convertible by the end of this year and we did it. Mike kept checking on E-Bay and he found a great one. So we now have a 2001 Chrsyler Sebring Convertible. It's beige with black pin striping and a black cloth top. I am enjoying it so much. We picked it up last Tuesday. Saturday we went out for a day trip with the top down and had a great time. I set a goal for this and I also prayed for it! God led us to a wonderful car! He is truly awesome!!!! And I am learning to accept that I deserve good things!

Where does the time go?????

I have been reminded by my older daughter to update my blog! Thank you Lisa. I just keep putting it off for some reason. I intended to use this as a journal as well as keep people updated, so I guess I should blog more often.
I had alot of time to think about things during my two trips with Lisa and the girls. I came to the realization that what I need most at this time in my life(after finally finishing my degree) is to take some time just for myself. So I started a schedule on October 19th to use my Gazelle exercise machine 3xweek. Yeah, I have been consistent with it for a month and a half. To some that might not mean much, but for me it has been a long time coming. I have found a schedule works great, because the other nights I don't feel guilty that I am not exercising. I also work out to music and since I love music with a good beat that makes it so much more enjoyable. It is paying off in numerous ways. I feel so much better physically, I have a more positive attitude, my clothes are already fitting looser and I went for my annual checkup on November 8th and had the best checkup in five years! That was such a great thing for a change. No more extra tests!! I haven't been letting things stress me out at work like I used to. I am also spending time just reading for enjoyment and playing computer games.
On to the next big thing going on. After having my little Nissan Sentra for 12 years, I am finally going to have to look for another car. Mike has already replaced the engine in it, but it is time to retire it. I have a pretty long commute and he is worrying everytime I leave for work that something might give out in it. So, we are looking for my dream car. I have been wanting a Chrysler Sebring convertible. That is one reason we didn't just buy an older used car and replaced the engine instead. I didn't want to settle for something I didn't really want. We are looking for a good used model so please say some prayers for us. Even though I am so excited, I still have to keep reminding myself that I deserve to get a car I really want instead of just settling for whatever comes along.

Flying out Wednesday!!!

I am so excited! I fly out Wednesday morning to meet Lisa and the girls. We are heading to the family reunion straight from the airport. I will get to see alot of the country I have never seen before. That will be interesting for me. I have found out how much I really enjoy traveling and seeing new places over the past 6 or 7 years. I am looking forward to seeing alot of my family again.

Laura and I are going to be doing some brainstorming tomorrow to get Jafra up and running when I get back. We both have alot of good ideas. Mike and Pat are both very encouraging and supportive. We just have to find something that works for us. We are also going to enlist Pat in helping us. Mike helps with what he can too. He talks to people he goes on service calls to and gives out catalogs to those that want them.

I will update after the reunion.

I'm Still Alive!!!!!!!!!!

Wow, I didn't realize just how long it's been since I have entered anything. Lisa reminded me a couple of weeks ago. I will give a short update to all. My son-in-law (Pat)had back surgery(actually on his neck, but that's what they call it). He had a disc in his neck replaced with a piece of bone taken from his hip and attached with a strip of titatium. His surgery went very well and his coloring returned to a healthy color immediately after the surgery. I must say, he has alot of moxy, I think is the right word. As soon as they brought him up to his room he asked the nurse if he could sit up. The dr told him he probably wouldn't want to sit up or get out of bed the first day. About 4 hours after surgery he called his dr and asked if he could get up and walk to the bathroom because he couldn't just lay down all the time. So he let him get up. Laura and I were even allowed to take the kiddos up to see him the afternoon of his surgery. He is looking so much better. He was released to drive July 13th. Since he can watch the kids and drive, Laura and I returned to our regular schedules. Pretty much! He still isn't allowed to lift over 10 lbs. His xray showed the discs were starting to fuse together, which is a good thing. He was also allowed to start working out on an exercise machine so he can start building up his neck and back muscles again. So he is definitely on the mend. Laura just has to make sure he doesn't try to overdo it. He should be able to start back to work by the first of the year! I almost forgot, he had to sit out two semesters of school, but he started back July 18th.

I am looking forward to the Family Reunion. I am flying up to meet Lisa and the girls and drive down with her. This will be the first time I will get to spend this much time in one year with them since they moved. So you can imagine how happy I am. I won't get to see Lawrence this time. That's the only downer to the trip. We were hoping Laura, Pat and the kids would be able to go. I would have been in seventh heaven being able to be with both of the girls and their families. But, the time will come. God has brought everything else to pass, he will bring that to pass too.

I would like to thank everyone for their prayers during Pat's surgery and healing process.

HOW TIME FLIES!!!!

I meant to post this sooner, but you know how it goes when you get back from vacation! I enjoyed my time with Lisa, Lawrence and the girls immensely. Of course it went by too fast, but I treasure all of it. We didn't do any sightseeing this time. I just wanted to spend time with them. I really needed it, especially this year. Lisa, I really did enjoy helping you weed your garden. It's work, but it's different when you are sharing that time with a loved one. When we all get moved up there, I will happily volunteer to help you!!

Yeah! Lisa time!!!!

It's time for my yearly trip to see Lisa, Lawrence and the girls. I am so excited. I can hardly wait to see them. I fly up this Friday and get to spend the whole week and fly back on Sat the 29th.

ANNOUNCEMENT!!!! RING THE BELLS!!!

Well, I finally did it. I finished school. I proved to myself I could do it and I carried straight A's thru the whole 20 courses of my studies. I now hold an Associates Degree in Accounting. I am so glad it's over. Thanks to all of you for your support and encouragement! All I can say is it's never to late to go back to school.

Fourth Semester Exmas

Yeah, I have my fourth semester exams out of the way. The college finally sent them and they arrived Wed. night. I was going to wait till the weekend to take them, but I was so hyped up about getting it over I decided to take them last light. I am glad I did! Now I don't have that looming ahead of me for the weekend. I feel very positive about them too! I will post the results as soon as I get them back. Thanks again for everyone's support.
Our Jafra business is starting to pick up. We held A Spa Pampering session 2 weeks ago and booked another from that for next Saturday. We have also had leads passed to us from our manager and another client from my Jafra website. We each have a website with Jafra. Mine is www.myjafra.com/eenz and Laura's is www.myjafra.com/lgeraghty . It is thru the main Jafra website so all of them are alike except our names and information, of course.
I hope you all have a good weekend! I certainly intend to!!!!!

ANOTHER STEP TOWARDS THE END!!!

WOO HOO!!! I have finally done it! I finished my last course in obtaining my associates degree in accounting. All I have left to do is take my fourth semester exam as soon as they send it to me. I completed this course in record time and with 6 straight 100's on my tests. I cannot begin to tell you what a relief it is to be done finally! I find it necessary to put this in my blog(taking into account of how I used to feel about myself). 'I AM VERY PROUD OF MYSELF!!!! And I know now I'm a lot smarter than I spent most of my life thinking I was. With all that has gone on in the past 4 1/2 years, I have still maintained A's all along. I was looking at my grades Thursday after I finished. I didn't realize that I had 4 courses out of 20 with straight 100's on all my tests. Only one course was a 90 and the rest were in between, of course.
I am going to chill out for about a week and then I am going to put my extra time and energy into Laura's and my Jafra business. I set my goals for the year, and I already met that in finishing my last course. Now I am on to bigger and better (and a lot more fun than studying) things!

Almost there!

Just a quick update! I just started my very last course Wed and I already submitted my Lesson 1 exam during my lunch period. I aced it!! 5 more lessons to go and counting down. I can hardly believe it will be over soon.
Also dealing with the stress of closing out the year. Oh the fun of being an accountant!! Yeah, right! I am almost done with that too though, so that's a good thing!

Finally an update!!!

I know it's been a long time since I updated my blog! I have been super busy. Last night I finished my next to last course in my endeavor to get my Associate's Degree in Accounting. I have managed to still maintain my straight A status! I am sooooooooo happy about that. I am so excited to be getting close to the end.
Now let me back track and fill in the last two months. In December Laura and I participated in a Winter Festival at a private school. Our Jafra manager asked us to help her with a booth for Jafra. We had a good time and made a couple of sales. It was a good experience. We learned alot from it , had a lot of fun and gained more confidence. We held a couple of Jafra Holiday Open Houses at our house in December. Didn't have alot of people show, but once again it was a good experience. We had alot of fun creating invitations, raffle tickets and a poster board for the display table. I am learning I am alot more creative than I thought I was. Of course Mike has been trying to tell me that for a long time. Maybe I should start listening! lol We already have a couple parties set up for January and have lots of ideas for scheduling incentives. Mike said he is really glad I got back into it. He said even though we aren't making alot of profit on it, he can see how much happier I already am. The last weekend in February Jafra is partnering with the Mrs. Florida, America Pageant that will be held here in Orlando. Once again our Jafra manager has asked us to join her. We both are really looking forward to it. Cheryl said it is really alot of fun. We will be spending the night before the pageant at The Gaylord Palms(I believe that's the correct name) and giving contestants mini foot spa sessions. Then the day of the pageant we will be helping with anything that needs to be done. All the consultants that participate will be sharing all the leads from it also!
We had a wonderful visit with Rhoda and Al in December. It was so good to see them and be able to take time off from work to spend with them. Damian still says he misses his Uncle Al.
I think I have about covered everything! I wish you all a wonderful 2006!

Busy, busy, busy!!!!!!!!!

I finally got my first lesson done on my new course "Intermediate Accountting II". I got a 95%. This is another hard course, but I only have five more lessons to go now.
Laura is an official Jafra Skincare Consultant now. We got her signed up Saturday night. We have a Spa Pamper Session set up for Sunday afternoon. We let everyone do mini-pedicures to try out the spa products. We are preparing for a 2 day Holiday Open House, so please keep us in your prayers that it is prosperous in leads and $$. We would appreciate it very much!
Laura and I are so excited. Lisa fashioned "Mama" bags for us with a divider in the middle so we have a purse and mini Jafra office. She is so creative. She has already finished them and they are on their way to us. Please check out her business site: www.mymorningglory.com.

ANOTHER ONE DOWN!

I have finished my "Accounting Spreadsheet Fundamentals" course with a 93%. I only have two more courses left for my degree. I am going to get started on my first lesson today!

Laura & I held our first Jafra Skincare Party a week ago. We had so much fun! Only a couple of people ended up making it but we still had almost $200 in sales. I thought that was pretty good for our first class with just a couple people. It was a very good training session for us too. The party we had booked for this past Sunday got rescheduled. It was probably for the best since we started getting bad weather due to Hurricane Wilma. We have another party this Saturday. We are really looking forward to it! Thanks so much again for everybody's support.

I am having Lisa make us mama bags. It will be a divided bag for a dual purpose of purse & mini-office for Jafra calendar, catalogs and brochures. I am so excited about it. I am enjoying working with her figuring out exactly how we want it and she searched for material for us. That was so helpful because I just don't have the patience for that. I don't know if you have checked out her website for her mama bags, but she does a wonderful job with them. She is so talented! I can hardly wait to show them off to people. And of course I will keep some of her business cards with me so people can order from her.

I almost forgot to say how well Mike's job is going. He is so much happier and looks like he will actually be making more money at this job! That is always a nice bonus! The fact that he is happier and more relaxed is the most important part to me!

Moving Right Along!

It's been a long time since I have made an entry. I was working on my "Intermediate Accounting I(Financial Analysis) course. It required a lot of work and concentration, but I finished it last Thursday! I finished it with a 95% for the course. Now I am already on Lesson 2 of my "Fundamentals of Spreadsheets" course. This is an easy course and I should be done in about a week.
Another reason I didn't update my blog is Mike lost his job the middle of September. I didn't want to be entering a depressed blog entry. He had another job before the end of the month. It has been tough financially because he has to pay for supplies and then get reimbursed for them. We will get his first paycheck this Friday, so things will ease up now. Friday night he said he really enjoys what he is doing. I haven't heard him say that in a long, long time. So, with the old saying "One door closes and another opens". That seems to be the case here. He is much less stressed with this job.
Another bright note! With the end nearing on obtaining my degree, I knew I needed to do something or get really bored. I don't want to take any more courses right now either. Also, I would like to make some extra money to help get bills paid off so we can eventually move up to Oregon. I thought about it for quite awhile. The thing I thought I could make the most at is, of course, a bookkeeping or accounting job on the side. That doesn't appeal to me, since I really don't like it that much all week long. I would like to do something I can have fun doing. Mike has asked me a number of times why I don't get back in with Jafra Cosmetics since I talk about it so much. He also asked me what job I have enjoyed the most over the years. I was with Jafra about 21 years ago, but that sticks in my mind more than anything else. I loved what I did and interacting with other people. Laura needs to make extra money too, so we got together and discussed going into business together. We enjoy doing things together and thought it would be much easier if we had each other's support and help. Both Mike and Pat are completely supportive on this venture for us. We also thought it would be much safer if we hold night skincare sessions. I am now an official Jafra Skincare Consultant. Laura and I went to a Jafra meeting in Vero Beach called a W.O.W. meeting. It stands for "Wonder of Women". I had forgotten how good it felt to be in a room with so much positive energy. We both just loved it. We have our first skincare class scheduled for this coming Saturday and another on Sunday night of the following week. It is such a joy to watch someone open up as Laura has been doing with Jafra. She thought she would have a hard time, but when you believe in what you are doing, it comes so easily. She has already been telling alot of people at her work place and has already sold some Jafra products and she isn't even signed up yet. I think that is great. We are going to get her signed up with proceeds from our classes. We both have set a goal of becoming managers and replacing our present jobs with Jafra. I did it 21 years ago, so I know I can do it again. We are both very excited and ready to get going. Mike and I fixed up the extra bedroom for my "Jafra" office. I am prepared for it to take off running for us. I told Mike once I decided to get back into Jafra that I felt like I had "come back home". In fact I have a separate hotmail address now for my Jafra business. It is "jafraimback@hotmail.com. We set up separate e-mail accounts since we know we will have to split off after we get going with our own consultants. I will keep you all posted on our success! There are very few consultants in Orlando so we have a wide open market! Orlando, watch out cuz here we come!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Relaxed!

Well, I actually made myself stay away from the study books for a whole week to give myself a chance to pull my self back together. It did help. We rented a couple of movies Saturday night and bought some sub sandwiches. We haven't done that for a long time. Sat. night we watched "Finding Neverland". I haven't seen a movie yet with Johnny Depp that I haven't liked. Not only is he good looking, but I think he is a terrific actor and very versatile. Last night we watched "Hildalgo". I also love movies about horses. So we had a pretty relaxing weekend. So today, I am going to start crackin the books again and move forward.

Coping!

I am sure everyone that reads my blog already knows that Orlie passed on a week ago today. It has taken me this long to be able to enter a blog about it. I am so thankful for Mike. He spent several hours Saturday night listening to me while I was dealing with it. I have found these things bring up other things that you have to keep sorting thru in order to deal with things. I told him I felt sad and joyous at the same time and he understood. I am sad for losing just a wonderful person in my life but at the same time joyous , because he is no longer suffering. I have wonderful memories of Orlie though! I doubt if he had any idea how much of an impact he had on other people's lives, because he wasn't trying to, he was just being Orlie. I am so thankful he was a part of my life.
I haven't made any progress on my studies. I decided it would be better if I gave myself a break this week. I couldn't really focus very well for a couple of weeks before he passed on and found I will have to reread most of this chapter to even be able to finish the exam for this lesson.
I have no updates on the other situation either. I still haven't heard anything.

Clearing up confusion!

In case anyone was thinking they had read a blog that isn't there anymore, you are absolutely correct. Someone advised me to take it off in case someone ran across it and wanted to cause trouble. The people I put it in here for know all about it anyway, so I decided to delete it. I will still keep you updated on the situation though and your continued prayers are still welcome!
A fellow employee resigned Tuesday and I didn't even get to say goodbye. That makes me sad. She was very unhappy and it wasn't a good situation, so I completely understand. I do hope she gets in touch with me.

Update!

We signed the papers for the land Friday afternoon and gave him the first 1/2 payment due Aug 1. Since the agreement starts Aug 1, that comes right off the principal. I love that.
I finished my first lesson in Intermediate Accounting I and sent in the exam yesterday morning. This one was pretty difficult. Both chapters were very long and a lot of difficult problems to work on for the 2nd chapter and I had alot on my mind. Good news, though, I only missed one question and got a 95%. On to Lesson 2.
On a sadder note! I know you all know about Orlie going thru his ordeal with cancer. I have been reflecting on how much influence he has had in my life. Much more than I had realized. He was always a steadying male influence for me when I really needed it. When I was in high school and Dad was going thru the worst part of his drinking, I used to go see Frances and Orlie alot. They were always there for me. That has always meant alot to me. I feel frustrated right now, because I wish I could be there to lend support and a helping hand to Aunt Kathy and Uncle Len. I know this is extremely difficult for them, especially Len. But since no one knows how long he will linger, it would be very impractical to go up. I think I would rather go up and spend some time with them after it's all over. They might need it even more then. They could use some happy visits too, not just funeral visits.The best thing I can do right now is keep them all in my prayers and give emotional support whenever I can. I know they appreciate that too!

Land Purchase Update!

I realized I hadn't updated my blog to let you know how our meeting with Charlie went Sat. He was very fair with us. The land is valued around $41,500 and he offered it to us @ $38,750. Originally we were going to offer $40,00, then $39,000 and then we decided to offer $38,000. We went over all the details and agreed on those. We prefer to pay the taxes ourselves, rather than him escrow it. He also offered us 1/2 month payments since we have to do it that way anyway, so that is better for us. We pay interest on 15 days and lower the principal every fifteen days so we thought that was great! May not look like much at first, but every little bit helps. He also gave us no penalty for early payment. Well, everyone knows how I have always had a hard time standing up to people. Mike spoke up during the meeting, but he told Charlie that he would agree to the financial matters that I knew we could handle, since I take care of them. After we came to agreement on everything else, he handed me the 1st page of the amortization example and asked if we had anything else. I almost caved and said "No, that's all." But even though I knew he was being fair with us(he has never even charged us late payments over the past 5 years when we were late sometimes), I knew for myself I needed to speak up and say we hadn't come to an agreement on the price of the lot. He, of course, wanted to stay at $38,750 and we had already told him $38,000, so I said I would rather even it off at $38,500 and he agreed right away. I know $250 doesn't sound like much, but it wasn't really a matter of money on this issue. Most of my life I have just accepted whatever anybody was willing to give and I knew I had to make a stand sometime. Well, I did, and he agreed and I felt sooooooooo good about it. Not only does anybody that knows me well, knows I have had a hard time with that, but also to make a stand against a male figure made it doubly hard. I am so proud of myself, and it was so great when Mike told me he was very proud of me too. We will be signing the papers this week. Even though we had been purchasing the trailer and paid that off in June, we were paying lot rent on the land for the past five years. Now, we are no longer renters! That feels good!