WARNING: Rebecca D. shows flagrant disregard for the rules of punctuation... She uses ellipsis with wild abandon... Punctuation interventions have been done to no avail... If you are offended by such irreverence to the rules of grammar... The very glue that holds our society together... STOP READING NOW... Move on... There is a little button at the top that says "next blog"... You would be well advised to use it... You were warned...

Had To Share...

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Two posts in one day?!?! 

Sorry, Just got this from my daughter and had to share!


She had just finished breakfast so her mom set her up in the living room to play while she cleaned up in the kitchen... She was in such a happy mood she decided to snap a few pictures when her husband came home unexpectedly. Look at the sheer joy she has seeing her Daddy walk through the door! 


Thanks for listening,

Getting Over Myself...



Like most direct sales companies Mary & Martha offers an "incentive" trip each year... You always hear about women who earn these trips but after being in several direct sales companies I had come to believe that only the "top" performers ever go on these... Since I an not now nor have I ever been able to be even close to a top performer in direct sales I should have scaled back my dream. But when Mary & Martha announced the trip to Los Cabos, Mexico in August I was hooked! I was hooked, but it wasn't looking good... You see, I have an teeny tiny little team and even though I have (though sometimes miraculous means) been able to be consistent with my sales my team has not, so getting the "paid as a leader" bonus has been off and on. (More off then on, if I am being honest!) 

BUT, just before the trip to Texas I did the math and with the double PV* (*see below)it was doable... I needed about $2000 PV* and I had 5 gatherings left in January... I was so excited, I thought it was in the bag. Then the flu hit our area... Hard! Before I even left Texas I was down to three gatherings... Harder, but still doable. By the time my plane touched down in Maine I was down to two... Challenging but not impossible... "I" could do this! I was clearly missing the point because in the next 48 hours I lost those last two gatherings and not even because of the flu... They just cancelled... "I" was defeated... 


(*Direct sales lingo for they are doubling our sales in January... "PV" is personal volume... Sales before tax and hostess rewards.)

For about 24 hours I had a pretty good pity party, then after some wise words from my husband I went to the Lord and spilled my heart out. In that prayer I was able to see my sin... It was once again about all "Rebecca" could do... Through HIM all things are possible, not through Rebecca all things are possible. I prayed and prayed and told the Lord I was willing to do the work if he would open the doors.

I reached out to some wise women I met in Texas at the Leadership conference for help and I kept praying. $2000 in sales and NO gatherings seemed beyond impossible but I thought... What do I have to lose? Through some advise I scheduled some W.O.W. (within one week) catalog parties... I must have called 30 people to get TWO to agree to do them. 
(Although my Feb & March are looking great!) Then I lit up Facebook trying to get sales... Posting daily what my goal was... Sometimes hourly!


Through the grace of God, as of last night those sales and party totals put me over the $2000 mark!!!! I passed the goal last night AND those parties are still going until tonight!!

Thank You Lord! There is no reason for this leader of a tiny team to do it... Let's face it "I" couldn't do it!!! THANK YOU LORD!!!



Thank you for listening,

Blessed Beyond Measure...

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

When I first promoted in Mary & Martha I had to name my team...
One thing kept coming to mind.
We are team "Blessed Beyond Measure" 
Because I am in fact, blessed beyond measure!

(found by a friend... One of my many blessings!)

So today I will count just a few of them...
(In no particular order except the first one!)

I am blessed to be a daughter of the one true King!!


I am blessed to be married to this amazing man...


Photo taken this past August on a day cruse we took on this schooner


Yes, I am blessed to live in such a beautiful place!

I get to be called "Mom" by these amazing girlies! 


One of whom blessed me with this son-in-law & baby...


Lets take another look at that last blessing... 
The one who will call me Gigi when she learns to talk!


Can you believe she is SEVEN months old already!?!?!?

I am blessed to be able to help support my family with a business that allows me to talk freely about blessing #1 on this list...

Because of this business I have made new friends and strengthened friendships that have made my life so full and rich! 

Then there is YOU... My bloggy friends! I say I am afraid I chased you off with my poor blogging habits and you guys comment, email and Facebook me all day to reassure me you are still there! I do not deserve you!! 

I could go on and on but seriously, isn't that enough!?! 
I didn't even touch on our cozy home, other miraculous income sources, abundant food and provision, and the fact that the Lord doesn't just supply our every need as he promised but supplies much more then our fair share of our "wants" too! 

I am truly BLESSED BEYOND MEASURE!



Thank you for listening



Same Ole Rebecca...

Saturday, January 25, 2014

My worst blogging fear has happened... By being the least consistant blogger on the planet I have driven away my dear bloggy friends... I get it... I post and promise to be "back" then promptly disappear again... and again... and again... Plus I have noticed something about myself... If I am not posting, I don't read other people's blogs... It's as if I don't deserve to know their stories if I am not doing my part... 

When I do post I blog about heavy, weighty subjects and there is very little trace of the witty, funny Rebecca you all met back when I started this blog as a New Year's resolution back in 2010. Then to top it off, when I do come back I am promoting a business... I know I deserve the silence... The day after day of "No Comments"... I earned them and I will just keep blogging into the void and hopefully someday I will earn readers again! I have once again resolved to be a blogger... I miss it and I miss all the amazing ladies I met through blogging! 

Just to prove to you guys that I am the same ole Rebecca I figured I'd share some of my embarrassing moments since joining Mary & Martha with you... (You know, just in case you suddenly thought I became a put together business woman!) 

Here they are, my top 10 most embarrassing moments as a Mary & Martha consultant:

10. Spilled red punch down the front of my yellow shirt as first guest arrived and didn't have anything to change into and had to go the entire night with dribbles of red down my shirt

9. Write down the address wrong and show up at the wrong house for gathering.


8. Be so gabby upon arrival at said wrong house and did not figure it out right away until man who opened door asks who you are and when you tell him you are there to do his wife's party only to be informed he is single. 


7. Feel so sweaty after setting up for a gathering I sidestep a hug and knock over the host's coat rack


6. I got so lost on the way to a gathering that I was the last to show up and so I did the gathering one item at a time as I unpacked them


5. Trip over welcome mat upon enter hosts home and greet her by landing with a thud on my knees at her feet.


4. "Broke wind" during gathering in the silent but deadly fashion causing the eyes of several guests to water... Never claimed it and the hosts dog took the blame!


3. Get home to find hosts cell phone I accidentally picked up and put in my purse.


2. I call host by wrong name for most of the gathering until someone corrects me... I even went around and asked how everyone knows "Carol" only to find out her name is Heather. (In my defense, Carol was my host the next day.) 


AND #1. Stepped on hem of my draw string skirt partially exposing my underwear clad rear to everyone during a gathering! 


There you have it folks... Just when I kinda sort of can pretend I have it kinda together... I am still able to compile a list such as this!


Thanks for listening,

Maybe Everything Is Bigger...

 So, as I told you yesterday, my "Mary & Martha" business has really started to take off... I tried other direct sales companies in the past but in the end either ended up spending more then I made or never really going anywhere with it... You see to advance and make any real money you need a team and I kinda sorta stink at asking people to be on me team... I still do but the Lord has brought several people to me. People who have already made up their minds to join. 

So thankfully the Lord is in control or I would have just bought my dishes and faded into the woodwork, but he had other plans and sure enough I found myself promoting and a "Team Leader" within my first 60 days... I love my team and most of us meet around my kitchen table once a month and celebrate each other's triumphs and work through struggles with each other. They also helped me earn a trip to San Antonio, Texas! I just got back from there this past Sunday...


I flew into San Antonio on Thursday, Jan. 16 and met up with a hand full of other leaders to be whisked away to the lovely Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort & Spa... 

This is the most of what I saw of Texas. It was a working trip so I mostly saw the inside of the hotel...


We had a lovely room and I got to room with a super nice leader from Nebraska who I became fast friends with! I really lucked out roommate wise... She really got me and we were very comfortable with each other. I had nightmares of ending up with a really soft spoken shy person who I would totally overwhelm but alas I should have known that was unlikely in this line of work! 

(*Beware... From this point on most of the pictures were taken with my cell phone!) 

We spent the majority of our time in a ballroom working...


Here are all the new leaders on stage in said ballroom the first night...
(That's me on the left in purple & gray)


It isn't a huge company... Here's who is left... More then 60% of the leaders are new this year! I love being part of not only a faith based company but one with so much room to move up! 

There was of course new product revealed...





And the unveiling of the new Guide...
We spent a great deal of time going over our business... Where we are in the marketplace... What happened in the past to get us where we are and how we will proceed from here... We each made business plans with our corporate mentors and got to drink in the knowledge of those who have walked the path before us...


The company also paid for us to spend an afternoon at the spa and that was very nice of them. It was the most beautiful spa I have ever been to but I personally would have rather gone on a sightseeing tour of San Antonio but that was probably just me...

We did get to leave once to go to the lovely "Biga on the Banks" on the San Antonio Riverwalk... 

We dressed up for this evening... Here is my up-line "Team" 

The lighting was terrible! 

But our food was splendid...


The appetizer was shrimp but since I am allergic to shellfish they brought me this...


It was amazing even though I really am not sure what it was! 

Here is the salad...

entree...


The only Texas beef I had and it was splendid!


and dessert... Oh yeah!! 

Here are my lovely dinner companions...

My sweet (and crazy in a good way) roommate Linda 
(with me apparently actually saying cheese as the photo was taken!) 


This is Linda with Ruth... Possibly the nicest person I have ever met! 
(And that is saying something since EVERYONE was great!) 


The rest of the table was my amazing team! 


They had awards... Here is the president of DaySpring (who spent the whole time with us) saying a few words...

After dinner we had the option to visit for awhile or go out and see the Riverwalk... Since this was my ONLY chance to see any of San Antonio I quickly gathered a few hearty ladies and went for it. It was about 10 PM on a Saturday night... The only thing open were the bars and there was a (tiny to me) chill in the air, but we had 45 minutes so we went for it! 

It was dark so we couldn't see much...


Here is the lovely Deneen who is on the same team I am and Amy (in the back) who is my corporate mentor posing on our quick excursion as most of the ladies were in heels and remained at the restaurant.


Here I talked Deneen into posing as if she was stealing a river boat... Because, why not? 

I did have a wonderful time... It was 70 degrees most of the days we were there and that was nice and I learned a ton and met some amazing women who are truly living Proverbs 31. Even though it was rushed I'd go again in a heartbeat!! 


Thanks for listening,

Hide It Under A Bushel... Ummm... Yes...

Friday, January 24, 2014

So, my next post was supposed to be what I'm up to these days but I have been deeply conflicted about sharing this with you guys...

Let me explain, back when I first started blogging I had a few Google ads on my site and made about .16 a month... Not the fast track to retirement for sure. Then I was approached to do a couple reviews. If you have been reading since the beginning you'll remember I used to do a weekly meme called "Five Favorites Fridays" so this blended nicely to doing some reviews... But it felt wrong... Up until that point anything I shared was stuff I chose and liked... It was a turning point. I took down the Google ads and just focused on blogging.

Why does this matter... Well, because I am doing direct sales, so to share what I'm up to is to rethink that position... But it has become such a big part of my life so not to share means giving up on blogging... So here is how I got into direct sales and to where I am today...

Early summer I had made the decision not to go back to the school this year and threw myself into the interior re-do of our house... I was coming out of one of the darkest seasons of my life and needed to focus on positive things... We were changing just about everything... New paint, new flooring, new appliances, new furniture, new decor, the works... So when I saw an ad online for some beautiful dishes I had to see how much they were.

They were sold by a company called "Blessings Unlimited" a direct sales division of DaySpring so I followed a couple links to check them out. Of course they were more then I wanted to spend outright for the whole set so I looked online to see if someone who sold it was nearby so I could book a party... Alas, the closest person was in Pennsylvania! Now I had a tough decision to make... Sign up myself, get everything in the kit, hold one party myself and try to earn the dishes 1/2 price OR just pick a consultant and place a random order on their account... I went back and forth for a few weeks... I had sold Tupperware briefly when Katy was a baby and Stampin' Up when Allison was a baby and dabbled with a few other companies over the years but always ended up spending more then I earned so I was ambivalent about joining... Plus, I was sure the reason nobody in New England was selling it was because there is no market for their products here... So of course I signed up... I'd get the kit, host ONE party, earn the dishes and be done with it... The Lord had other plans.

You see, I signed up in July of last year just as the company was gearing up for their annual conference... Not that I wanted to go, I'd been in the company for six days! But at that conference they announced they were ending the "Blessings Unlimited" brand and launching "Mary & Martha" a company dedicated to encouraging women to entertain in their homes... Their tag line is "Meaningful Entertaining... Made Simple" (ellipsis and all!!!) It was like a miracle... Like the Lord created this company just for me. I remember a few days later looking at the new "guide" online and crying... I told my husband I really thought the Lord wanted me to give this a try... So I had my one party... And within 60 days I had a team under me and had promoted to "Team Leader"... Not that it hasn't been work, but I love it... Here are some pictures From Mary & Martha Gatherings (as we call parties) in our home this fall & winter and some of the decor... (and a peek at a bit of our "re-do'!) 



(we plan to do a full remodel on the kitchen in the next year or two so we just painted the cabinets for now to "freshen" things a bit.)







Here is what I tell people when they ask Mary & Martha's parent company is DaySpring... The Christian division of Hallmark. We sell items for entertaining in and decorating your home as well gift items all with a Bible based or inspirational message." 

Is there a market for it in the spiritual void that is the Northeast? Well, no... But the Lord has blessed my efforts and that of my team... It is hard but the Lord says his word does not return void... I spend a lot of time talking about what the Lord is doing in my life while presenting my products at both home gatherings and vendor fairs... I get to share His word with people who would never listen to me if I approached them with a Bible... I love that I get to combine ministry with an opportunity to help my family. With Paul not working right now, my income from this business is our only real income so we are beyond blessed to have it! 

I just got back from San Antonio, Texas (I'll tell more about this in my next post) which was a trip I earned this past fall... 

Here is where I shamelessly ask for your help...  (I promise I won't make a habit of this!!) You see I am very close to earning a trip for Paul & I to go to Los Cabos, Mexico this April... I had to sell $20,000 to earn it and still need to sell $830 as of this morning by the end of this month. We have never been on a vacation together. We took the girls to Disney once but we have never been anywhere alone together... We never even went on a Honeymoon. Our 23rd anniversary is this April and I would LOVE to take him on this trip... If you feel led to, please follow the link below to my website and if you see something you'd like to purchase, I'd be deeply grateful! We are having a clearance sale right now as our new catalog comes out in February so you can save up to 80% off so now is a great time to stock up for Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Spring & Summer Weddings, Birthdays, or just buy a little something for yourself... Thank you in advance for looking! 


Thanks for listening,