Jill Victoria

I finally have time to sit down and do an update!

I started working regularly on Monday at my new job. So far it’s not my favorite job ever, but it’s also not my most hated one. I do enjoy most of it. Working with Laura is fun and the other women in the office are nice.

There’s not much to tell when it comes to what we do. Mostly it’s making phone calls. I do also do data input and help ship out orders.

Getting a job when I did was great. With my last boss still owing me close to $1,000, I was getting way behind on bills. My parents and David were helping me with what they could, though I hated having to rely on someone else to support me. I know they did it out of love. If they were in my place and I in theirs, I would be doing the same thing.

It really is great to see how God works things out. He tends to make things happen exactly when I need them to, even if it’s not in the time frame I had in mind. Obviously, He knows best.

Tomorrow David and I are going up to Chattanooga to get our engagement pictures done by David’s cousin, Kathleen. She is an excellent photographer and was even nominated for a Pulitzer Prize! We’ll be going up Saturday morning to do some inside shots and then we’re spending the night and doing photos outside on Sunday morning as well. I went and picked out some outfits, so hopefully those turn out well. Just need to get with David and coordinate them.

Please pray for good weather and for good hair days for me!

Oh, and I’m still doing Mary Kay! We have some great new products for the summer, so make sure you check out my website and order while you can!

Current Mood: Cool

Here’s a life update on me.

Today has been a very good day! I had my second meeting with Leslie, my wedding planner. Felisha, the proprietor of the Hazlehurst House, was also present for this meeting. My mom and Emily came and we all talked flowers and center pieces and cake and layout for the ballroom. It was a lot to take in, but I’m glad it got done all at once. I have some paper work to fill out for Leslie so she can get the ceremony planned and timed out, and then our last meeting will be in September.

It’s a lot closer than I thought!

Before I got to the meeting, Laura called me to tell me that her boss at her new job was looking for someone to do data entry. She asked if I would come in for an interview and bring my resume. I told her I could be there after my meeting with Leslie, so I headed out there right after I finished up.

The interview was very quick and I was hired on the spot. I go in tomorrow so Laura can train me.

So, that is one prayer answered! And not a moment too soon, either.

After the interview, I stopped by Moye’s so I could give some of my Mary Kay customers their orders. Then I went to meet my two maids of honor, Emily and Krista, for lunch at La Parilla. We had a good and cheap lunch there and then I headed to get my eyebrows waxed. They were long overdue.

Tonight I’m eating at Baci’s in Fayetteville, where mine and David’s rehearsal dinner will take place. It’s a family owned Italian place with excellent food! My stomach rumbles just thinking of it!

In other news, my room is well on it’s way to being cleaned and packed up and ready for the big move in October. I get a weird sensation whenever I think of moving. It’s crazy to think that I’ll finally, and I mean FINALLY be out of my parents house! Not that I don’t love them, I just want to be out of their house and out living my own life. I’m sure they want me out as well.

Hopefully David will be off soon and I’ll see him. I haven’t been able to get in touch with him all day, so he doesn’t even know I had an interview, let alone that I got the job. He’ll be excited to hear it!

Maybe life will get back on the right track now. *crosses fingers*

Current Mood: Esctatic

It’s been a while since I last updated. I used to make a point of trying to write on my blog every day during the work week. At that time, I was also at a desk and online for eight hours. Ever since I got cut from full-time to part-time, I haven’t been online as often as I used to be. I’ve missed writing here. Every so often I’ll see something or hear something and think to myself, “That would be a great blog topic!”. Then I never get around to it. I still have a hord of ideas, though.

So, what’s been happening in my life? I’ve been working a lot on Mary Kay. Today I sold to a cashier at Bed, Bath & Beyond, who is now one of my customers. I also sold more products to a lady at my mom’s work. She’s probably my best customer after David.

Lauren and I are working hard for two events this coming weekend. We have the Geranium Festival in McDonough on Saturday, May 16th and then A Taste of Fayetteville this Sunday, the 17th. We’re both looking forward to it because it means building a bigger customer base for us both.

My mom went with me Tuesday night to Mary Kay’s customer appreciation night. She won a lot of free stuff and had fun. She told me today while we were out doing our errands and having mother/daughter time that she wishes she had known more about Mary Kay at a younger age. She would like to sell it now, but doesn’t think that at her age she can. I told her that she could! If she has the mindset and the will power, she can. You can do anything you want as long as you’re going to put the work into it!

I don’t get the people who bash Mary Kay. I mean, I understand that it’s not for everyone and that people can become discouraged and take it out on the company. But my experience with Mary Kay on several levels has been nothing but good. The directors are wonderful and inspiring women and they have never pressured me to buy inventory or to meet a made up quota (Mary Kay doesn’t ask it’s consultants to meet any type of quota on a monthly or quarterly basis) or force me to do anything I don’t want to do. It’s MY business. They want me to succeed and are there to help me, but they will never FORCE me to do anything.

Mary Kay isn’t for everyone and not just anyone can come in and expect to make a lot of money or end up driving the signature pink Cadillac. It takes hard work, dedication, creativity, and knowing that just because you lose one doesn’t mean you’ll lose them all. When God closes a door, He open a window.

Just like not everyone is cut out to be a rocket scientist, a brain surgeon, a preacher, a missionary, a solider, a pilot, a singer or actor… not everyone is cut out to be a Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultant. I didn’t think I was, but I have become rather good at individual sales and have started to build my client base and my business. I’m proud of myself and so are my family, friends and my fiance.

If Mary Kay is a bad company with a scam running, then why do I sit in a room with women earning around $60,000 a year or having weeks where they sell close to a thousand dollars? Even better, why has Mary Kay been around for 45 years as a billion dollar, debt free company if it is not a good company? How many companies want you to climb the ladder and reward you with diamond rings and cars? How is it earning a profit when the media keeps saying we’re all doomed to an ecomonic downfall?

Obviously God has had His hand in this company. The motto for Mary Kay is: God first, family second, career third. I honestly believe that’s why both Mary Kay and Chick-fil-a both earned profits last year as other companies failed.

Sorry for the tangent on Mary Kay. I’ll get back to my life now.

My mom and I did a lot of running around today. We went all over McDonough, Peachtree City and Fayetteville today. We mailed things at the post office, returned stuff at Coldwater Creek, hand lunch and did a lot of shopping in Fayetteville and then in McDonough. I love spending time with my mom. I’ll still have to make Wednesdays our days even after I’m married.

David came over, per usual on Wednesday nights. We did vary our routine by going to Lauren and Carlos’ to hang out tonight. I showed Lauren all the stuff I got for the events this weekend and helped her with some stuff while David played video games. It was fun.

This Saturday night is the Plantation Ball, which is a charity event to benefit the Joseph Sams School located in Fayetteville. You buy a table and pay for food and there’s a silent auction. David’s parents invited me and my parents to come. My dad can’t make it because, ironically, he has to be at the school for a dance that some booster club is doing. I asked my grandmother to come instead. She should really enjoy this because she loves Ferrol “Sambo” Sams books and Sambo will be there. Plus the event will take place at “The Big House”, where Sambo wrote about in his semi-autobiographical books. When my grandmother introduces David to people, she usually does so by saying that his great-uncle is “the famous author, Dr. Ferrol Sams, from over in Fayetteville”.

A lot of people have asked me recently how the wedding plans are going, so I thought I’d put it up here too. In all honesty, the plans are done. No one seems to believe me when I say that, but it’s true! Once we booked the Hazlehurst House, all the planning was settled in one meeting. The only thing left is flowers (which is done other than meeting with the florist) and doing our final meeting and tasting. Other brides-to-be I know will talk about the stress, and I can’t relate. Yeah, I was totally stressing out there for about three weeks when I didn’t know what to do about a reception site or how to handle the flowers, the food, the cake or decorations. Going to the Hazlehurst that Saturday morning was the best decision we could have made about the wedding.

Our rehersal dinner location has changed since I last wrote about the wedding. We were going to have it at a place on the McDonough Square called Season’s Bistro. David’s parents made the choice to switch it to a place in Fayetteville called Bella Sera. The choice to move it came after many reasons. One was that since the Hazlehurst has Friday weddings, we have to have our rehersal at 2:00 in the afternoon, which is a far cry from dinner time if we finish up at 3:00. So, the travel time will put us at Fayetteville in time for a cocktail hour before dinner. The Coles also want to invite all our out-of-town guests, which will be quite a few. We needed a bigger place than Season’s offered. The price is also cheaper.

I’m excited about this weekend. It will be very busy and rushed, but it will be worth it. Please pray for Lauren and I as we continue to build our businesses. If you want to book a party or a facial, let me know. I’m also offering a $10 gift certificate to anyone who books a party with me in addition to getting free products for being my hostess. It doesn’t cost you anything to host a party and you’re not obligated to buy from me if you do. Please let me know if you’re interested!

I haven’t updated all week. For the first time since I started this blog I have been too busy to sit down and talk about something on my mind or give the obligatory life update.

Last Saturday was my Mary Kay debut party. Lauren hosted it for me and it went rather well. I sold over $400 in product that night. Over the rest of the week I sold another $243 and had two people approach me out in public after they saw my Mary Kay bag and asked to be contacted about buying products from me!

I feel very proud of myself. I set out with the “I can” attitude and it paid off! I’m placing my first order tomorrow (because some checks haven’t cleared yet) and still have other people to talk to. I’ll be having another party on May 9th and anyone is welcome to come or to contact me for more info. Also, if you host a party for me, you can receive free products!

Tuesday night at the Mary Kay class I was the top seller for the week. I was recognized in front of the whole group and got to pick out a prize from the prize table. I got the Microdermabrasion Set, which is like a $35,000 dermatologist treatment for $35. I was proud of that as well. Another director also commented to mine and Lauren’s director that we were both very well prepared for class and had ourselves together.

This job is so much fun! I get to look and feel beautiful and help others to look and feel beautiful too! Getting paid to do it is also a plus.

I put a banner on my sidebar with a picture link to my Mary Kay website. Take a look at it and tell me what you think!

I’m getting ready to head over to Fayetteville for dinner. Tomorrow is Super Saturday, a class and pep talk time for Mary Kay consultants. Kris also asked if David and I want to go hang out with her as well, and we plan on doing that later. Sunday is Krista’s birthday, but I don’t think she’s having anything big planned.

This past Monday I went to eat with Lauren, and my two maids of honor: Emily and Krista. We talked some wedding stuff and then I went with Krista to Belk for her to look at a brown dress her grandmother saw that  could work as her maid of honor dress. She tried it on and ended up getting it. After we told Emily about it, she went the next day and bought the same dress. That’s two of my five girls taken care of as far as dresses now.

Laura went with Lauren and I to class Tuesday night. She was our guinea pig of sorts. Lauren practiced color application on her and I did my part as well. I hope Laura decides she wants to sell Mary Kay as well. She has great skin and would be a good candidate for it.

Hopefully tomorrow at class will go well. I enjoy going. My mom is coming too, which should be interesting. Maybe she’ll win free products, too!

Current Mood: Happy

So, what has life taught me lately? Or rather I should say, “What has God taught me in my life lately?”. I have learned that you have to keep going. As Henry Ford said: “Whether you think you can or can’t, you’re right”.

I think that’s where a lot of people go wrong. They start off something thinking they can’t, and set out to prove themselves right. I caught myself doing that a lot in high school, in relationships, in college, in job searching, in pretty much everything I tried. I was sabotaging myself, and I told myself to stop. Not that I don’t still slip up and start in with the “I can’t, I can’t, I can’t”s. I just learn to recognize that I’m doing it and to shape up and get to work on all my “I can”s.

It’s all a matter of your mindset. If you’re negative, lazy or just a cynic, of course you’re going to fail! With a positive, hardworking and optimistic approach, success will come more easily.

Starting up with Mary Kay is something I started out with saying “I can’t”. Then I caught myself doing it and decide to start thinking “I can”. Will it be something that is successful and easy to do right off? Nope. But what business is automatically something that brings in the big bucks. You have to work to build up your business. No one should expect to go into the world with a business and think that just doing the bare minimal will bring you money and success. You get what you deserve. If you are lazy and don’t do the leg work, then you get lazy results. No one is going to do the work for you.

I just believe in hard work. I look at people in my parents and grandparents generations and see how hard they work and wonder when people got so lazy. My dad is in his 60s and still works every day, even after having a tree fall on him. He walks with a limp, but he still is on his feet every day for more than eight hours straight. Never hear him complain at all. My grandfather is hitting his 90s next year and he still goes out and plants vegetables in his garden. My mom has a bone spur on her heel (a very painful place for a sharp object to be) and she still goes to work and is on her feet all day. My brother was nearly killed in a motorcycle accident and still has trouble with his legs, yet he gets up and does PT every day and chases after criminals in South Korea. He does what he needs to do and works hard.

Hard work pays off. My parents aren’t rich people, but God provides for their every need because they work hard for it. God provides for mine and David’s every need because we work hard. As Proverbs 19:15 says: Life collapses on loafers; lazybones go hungry.

Current Mood: Happy

I’m still remembering to count my blessings. It’s hard right now, especially since it’s now been two weeks since I’ve been paid. I’m supposed to get paid every week. That obviously hasn’t happened in about two months. I am stretched thin when it comes to money.

My friend Lauren is selling Mary Kay. She told me how it worked and offered her help getting me started and to arrange a meeting with her lead consultant. I went to that meeting with Lauren today and, after careful research, praying and figuring that the only way I’m guaranteed to fail is to not try, I decided to sign up to be a consultant with Mary Kay.

No surprise really that I’ve heard from people that it’s a mistake. Some people who told me I shouldn’t try really aren’t in the position to offer up advice on jobs. I appreciate concerns, but this is something I feel I need to try. I plan to make this a second income in a very part time job. I also plan to make the phone calls, have the parties and go to the classes so I can learn how to be a better businesswoman. So, I would appreciate good support instead of negativity. If I fail, then I failed. But at least I would have tried before I failed.

Later today I’m going over to Lauren and Carlos’ house with Emily for dinner, babysitting, movies and I’m sure wine and talk later. I’m taking over my bottle of Bitch wine that I bought in Fernandina. I haven’t opened it yet and Lauren and Emily are the only two people I can think of who I can share this wine with and they’d appreciate it.

I really hope things improve at my full-time job soon. I’ve been looking into other places to work, but no luck so far. I almosted hoped that someone at David’s company would be fired yesterday after something happened and I could take their job. Dr. Frank offered me the oppertunity to go back to school, but I’ve no idea what I’d study! Nothing really interests me all that much and I’d hate to waste someone’s money on an education that would just be another dead end. I’d almost rather tell him I’d take the money and pay off my debt. That would help David and I out in the long run, too.

It will all work out. I believe that this is just the valley and that I’ll be climbing up the mountain and out of the cloud cover soon.