Don’t wait until it’s too late

I feel like I failed.  I feel like a hypocrite.

Here I am promoting, embracing and preserving family, your legacy, your heritage and… I neglected my own.

On May 19th, 2009, my mom passed away in her sleep.  She was only 60 years old.  Yes, she was still young.   Was it unexpected? Yes and no.  She had been on dialysis for nearly 15 years… that is about the average life span of someone on dialysis.  Did I know this? Probably.   I think it was mostly denial on my part. 

When she was first diagnosed with kidney failure, she had the option of getting on a transplant list.  She did not want to.  She said she did not want to risk of organ rejection and taking the pills every day for the rest of her life.  It was a hard decision to swallow when we first heard her share it – but the decision was hers to make – not ours.  And she began her treatments with great strength and devotion.  She drove to her treatments, she followed her diet and as time went on, she remarked how some people who had started on dialysis and got transplants, ended up back on dialysis because they did not take care or went back to bad habits.  So she was doing good and I was proud of my mom!  

In 1999, she had a bad scare and they had to medi-vac her to Oahu, where the medical facilities were more eqiupped to handle her condition.  Her heart rate was alarmingly low.  I left my new job and career to go back home and stay with her.  Well, she got better and reluctantly I moved back to AZ. Two years later, I found her a good kidney specialist and my parents moved to AZ.

Over the years, she became more and more frail.  ER visits were frequent – for various things.  Bad reactions to new pills doctors gave to her, pneumonia, congestive heart failure but she always bounced back – and alwayswith a smile and her famous sense of humor.  She stopped having the energy to go places with us and for a while there spent a good amount a time sleeping… but she was still strong and had her wits and humor.  I saw who she was and not the frail body that she had become.  I talked to her like I did every day: New funny stories, new places we should check out, new dishes to make, how to make her famous dishes for dinner that night… you know, chit chat.  Once in a while we’d talk about “the good ol’ days” and she’d tell me stories about my gramma or grampa or when she was a kid.  I always thought, I should really get these in a book one day…

I always thought there’d be one more day…

I miss her terribly and although I hope that the tiles I gave her on Mother’s Day told her how I felt, I don’t know for sure.  She was there one day, and gone the next.  I never told her goodbye or that I loved her that night, I was so sure she’d be there in the morning… same smile, same humor, same mom…

As I look at the life story guide, I am coming across questions that that I thought I knew… but didn’t know about her.  Her favorite childhood memory, friend, or place.  I could ask her anything.  She always had the answers I needed.  She was always there. And now she’s not. 

Don’t wait.   Record those memories - and learn from my mistake. 

 

12/14/48 - 05/19/09

 I love you, Mom

The best Mother’s Day gift

Did you all have a wonderful Mother’s Day?  I did!  Not because I’ve been a mommy for three years now, but because I had the pleasure of giving MY mom something that showed her how much she is loved by her daughter.

Every first Friday of the month, the West Phoenix HM gang hosts a DIGI-Crop at Fire & Friends Z Art Studio and for April we designed 12×12 or 8×8 sheets to decoupage to a tile.  (Doesn’t sound like much but they look fabulous, trust me.)  The sheets came in well before the workshop and I took my client to pick out some tiles that would compliment his sheet desgins.  Then, we used May’s DIGI Crop time to “Modge-Podge” the sheets to the tiles and let them dry.

Well, the Mother’s Day Tiles turned out AWESOME!  Check it out.  This is one I made for my mom “from Haylee.”  The wording in the middle says, “When a child is born, so are grandmothers”  It’s one of the many quotes found in the Studio library.

Mother’s Day Tile from Haylee

 And here is the one I made from me…

The tile I made for my mom

I put them on the dining room table in the iron stands pictured and put a bouquet of pink roses in a vase between them the night before knowing that she would be up early on Mother’s Day and would see them.  What I DIDN’T expect was for her to start crying. 

I had gotten my mom cool stuff from fancy kitchen gadgets (she LOVES the Food Network) to jewelry and stationery but this simple item – that doesn’t have buttons or switches or smell nice – brought mom to tears!

See, my mom was one tough cookie.  She spent her youth keeping up with her three brothers and multitude of cousins who loved camping and fishing.  Even in my youth, I watched her as she never hesitated to climb trees to get the best fruit. She scaled steep drop offs and hills to get to the best (and often hard to get to) fishing spots then going out to the farthest rock on the beach.   As you can see from the pictures, we were pretty close and some of the best memories I have of her are when she used to pick me up from work for lunch and we’d just talk story and hang out at the beach behind my work.  We laughed joked, gossiped and when I left for college, she wrote me practically every day.  When her health started to deteriorate, it was hard… but even so, I rarely saw her cry…

We don’t do much the things we used to do together anymore, more than not it’s because she is too weak.  I miss her spunk and energy.  But most of all, I miss her. 

And when I found the graphic embellishment above that said “A Girl’s Best Friend is her MOTHER”  it was the perfect touch.  I couldn’t believe something so simple and from the heart touched her so deeply.  It is, by far, the best gift I ever gave her…

(At least , until I finish her book! ;o) )

Who is the Heritage Maker in your family?

I just got back from spending a few days with my husband’s family in Wyoming.  It wasn’t exactly a planned trip but any time spent with them was an opportunity not to pass up.

The first time I met Troy’s parents, I was already pregnant with our daughter.  Yes, not exactly the perfect circumstance to meet your future in-laws but they took me in with open arms… even after we broke the news to them.  They had reason not to like me, they had reason to be upset, they had opportunity to make me not feel welcome at the family reunion that Troy insisted I go with him to.  But they didn’t.  Instead, they enjoyed filling me in on the wonderful stories of the family.  And as I sat and listened as everyone shared their favorite memories and antics, I remember thinking these stories probably never grew old – especially the stories told by Dad.  To me, he was a natural storyteller; everyone listened intently as he spoke.  He had a story about everything and about everyone and it always drew a smile or laugh from people who heard them.

This past trip was to help Mom get some things done around the house.  To tear down the old shed. To knock down the broken and fallen fence.  To take care of things that Dad no longer had the energy to do…

Dad slept most of the day and and got up in the afternoon or evening and did not stay up for long.   This man, full of charisma and inner strength seemed strong to me but I know to the family who had heard his stories of carrying 5 gallon steel milk cans as if they were toys, this was not the man they were used to seeing.

Several times during our visit, Dad jumped into storytelling mode again, the rest of the family laughing and chiming in. Some stories I heard at that family reunion four years ago, some new.  All were as entertaining and captivating as the next.  I glanced over to my 3 year old daughter who was busy gabbering her own tales to no one in particular, oblivious to the events going on around her.  

I thought, “Will she get a chance to hear Gramps tell his stories?”

I hope so.

But if not, she can read them…

Deadline for Mother’s Day Orders

May 10 will be here before you know it and now is the time to get your gifts together.

Get a 7×5 or 7×10 storybook and receive a FREE greeting card.

What better way is there to say “I love you”? Contact me for more details.

Mother’s Day Deadlines

For all books – US only

• April 20 – ground
• April 24 – 2nd day
• April 27 – overnight

For all other products – US only

• April 27 – ground
• April 29 – 2nd day
• May 1 – overnight

All Products – Canada

• Recommended by April 13 (We do not guarantee delivery times for Canada.)

Create your book in a couple hours!

Create your book in a couple hours with templates! 

Have you checked out our template gallery yet?  I made this book in a few hours with the help of the wonderful templates created by other Heritage Makers like yourself!   See the original by Melissa Skocypec here:

http://heritagemakers.com/index.cfm?event=projectBrowse&projectID=65470a18-c154-4699-b5aa-5668c7d4b648&productId=5

I fell in love with this template and it was just what I was looking for – an Alphabet Book!  When you just want to focus on content and not designing, templates are the perfect solution.  I just changed a few things, popped my own pictures and words and I’m done!   Check it out and see how quick and easy it is to go from TEMPLATE to YOUR book.

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

     -- Robert Frost

I love this poem.  I have used it, quoted it and referred to it many times in writing. 

I haven’t updated this blog in a long time.  Partly, because I was somewhat discouraged as a new consultant. But mostly because I was not really focusing on Heritage Makers. In fact, I almost decided to give up being a consultant.

You see, I wish that I could say I am highly successful as a consultant but I’m not.  In reality, some things just don’t come easily to some people.  Discouragement will come, sometimes more often than not for some than others.

So, in this moment of discouragement and restlessness, I applied for a job opening at my work.  The job would mean learning totally new things, working harder and proving to myself that I can do something different.  For a moment, I balked and regretted applying for it.  I was relieved when I thought I may not have to make the decision when I heard that I may not have gotten the job.  I could go back to my comfort zone and the familarity of my current position.  At that same moment, I realized that my hesitations about the  job opening was exactly what was going on with me and being a Heritage Maker consultant.   I needed to learn this new job, work hard and step outside of my little comfort zone.   So… I signed up to do the Glendale Chocolate Affaire and decided I would get out there and get exposure.  Surely, if I did the show, I would have to invest more of myself as a consultant.  I was willing to make that commitment.  And, as I was hiking up my pants and tightening the laces on my hiking boots, getting ready to head down that path…

I got the job.

So, what do I do?

I’m still excited about HM.  I love this business. 

I love the company I currently work for and I’m excited to learn new “techie” things. 

But, because they require both time and dedication, I’m kind of split down the middle and I am but  one traveler trying to go down two separate paths…

Can it be done? We’ll see…

Ready for Christmas?

Christmas is around the corner.  Have you gotten those Christmas Cards done already?  The deadlines to submit your projects is next month! 

When I moved to Arizona, I realized that certain things that once was easily accessible were now a challenge to get… like to a beach… REAL Hawaiian Shave Ice… and Hawaiian Greeting Cards.  I couldn’t just run to ABC Store or Long Drugs and grab a Mahalo (Thank You) card or a get a box of Christmas Cards from Liberty House anymore (and I heard that Liberty House is no more?)

Yep, by 2000, I realized that getting my holiday cards was going to be pretty hard to do – and I’m pretty picky as to what they look like and what they say inside.  So in 2002, when I finally found a decent color/photo printer,  I ventured to create my own using various applications (like MS Word & Serif Photo Plus and before that, MS Paint *GASP*).  I won’t post those relics here (and I hope any one you who got them from me back then have long chucked them in the recycling bin!).  Since then, I’ve gotten into stamping and card making using ribbons and such. In 2007, I made the invitations to our wedding.

This year, I get to play with a new medium- Heritage Makers’ Studio!  I’m excited! So far, I’ve got a couple invitations done up.  The front has one large area for a picture, the back has room for some text and three smaller pictures. I’ve got a couple greeting cards in progress, too, which I’ll post as soon as I’m done with them.  Let me know if any of them interest you.  If there’s enough interest, I’ll try and submit them as templates.

October 18, 2008

Take a look at my Heritage Makers projects!

FROM: Mayve ReedProject Name: Mele Kalikimaka IN2 Author: Mayve Reed Project Type: 5×7 Invitation: Landscape If the “View This Project” button doesn’t work, copy-and-paste this link into your browser: http://www.heritagemakers.com?event=projectBrowse&projectId=afe94c26-1020-4606-a443-c85282ff50dc&productId=68&projectSponsor=300115   FROM: Mayve ReedProject Name: Mele Kalikimaka IN Author: Mayve Reed Project Type: 5×7 Invitation: Landscape If the “View This Project” button doesn’t work, copy-and-paste this link into your browser: http://heritagemakers.com?event=projectBrowse&projectId=19e3c40f-3048-322b-c0a9-63802392966a&productId=68&projectSponsor=300115

Using A Photo “Brag Bag” To Promote Your Business

Here’s another interesting article I found…

Using A Photo “Brag Bag” To Promote Your Business

Original article: http://ezinearticles.com/?Using-A-Photo-Brag-Bag-To-Promote-Your-Business&id=1027460
By Tracy Carrigan

As a Direct Sales Consultant, one of your biggest challenges is to continue to meet potential new customers and recruits to keep your business growing. It is often uncomfortable when you are out in public to strike up conversations with others about your business. Carrying a Brag Bag Photo Purse will help you to advertise your business when you are out and about and attract potential customers to you!

Think of your Brag Bag as a walking Billboard. Carry it where ever you go – shopping, to your children’s school and events, meetings, clubs, restaurants – potential customers are everywhere! Select the largest size Brag Bag that you are comfortable carrying. The most popular size is the nine pocket bag. It’s the perfect size for showcasing your business and carrying your promotional information.

Begin by filling the clear pockets with eye catching items that represent your business. Display them in creative ways in each of the pockets. In the center pocket you may want to put your business card. Mount it on cardstock and mat it with a complimenting paper. To give it the finishing touches, use some inking, stamping, or chalking. Fill the remaining pockets with photos of your product and small samples. Again use cardstock cut to the size of the pocket to mount your photos on and give your samples a backing. Photos can be cut from your customer catalogs or taken yourself. If you are a scrapbook consultant, create mini-scrapbook layouts in some of the pockets. Just be creative and have fun designing your bag to reflect your business and personality!

Inside your bag, keep information packets ready to hand out and also your booking calendar to schedule parties, demonstrations, classes or appointments. In your information packet include things such as: your product catalog, schedule of events, recruiting information, samples or whatever else is applicable to your business. Your information packets could be contained in white, colored or even clear envelopes. Clear envelopes are fantastic for showing off your materials and giving them an extra sparkle! On the outside of your envelope attach your business card. This can be done with a glue stick, photo mounting squares, or a number of other adhesives. Again, let your information packets reflect your business and style.

You’ll find that carrying your bag in public will draw people to you. It’s an automatic conversation starter! People will comment on your bag and this will give you the opportunity to begin a conversation with them. Be prepared with your “one minute” business commercial. This should include: asking them if they have ever heard of or tried your companies products, a short description of what you offer and an invitation to do business with you. Keep your pitch warm, sincere, and focused on how your product can meet their needs. In closing, ask if you may call them after they have had a chance to review your material. Keep contact cards or a small notebook in your bag for collecting their name and other contact information.

You’ll be astonished at how the Brag Bag will change your business by making conversing in public a breeze!

Tracy Carrigan
My Favorite Memories
http://www.myfavoritememories.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tracy_Carrigan

Please note that this is an article from ezinearticles.com which gives you code to copy to your webpage. The general rule is to leave the articles untouched, always keep links & cite your references and resources. Always read through the terms of services. 

_________________________________________________________________________________________

The author Tracy Carrigan has a tried and true method of direct sales.  My sponsor Wendy has attested to this!  I’m on the lookout for a bag that I like… and here’s what I’ve come across so far:

What-A-Cute-Bag by CoryAnne – Design your own! You pick your style and fabric. (http://home.comcast.net/~coryanne/styles.htm)

A couple examples of What-A-Cute-Bag Catalog Bags by CoryAnne

 

The Croppin’ Tote Scrapbooking Tote by Craft Locker - Show off a 12×12 page with this tote. (http://www.craftlocker.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=6)

Croppin Tote by Craft Locker

Various Scrapbooking Totes at getorganizedco.com - getorganizedco.com specialize in other Direct Sales products as well. Check them out.
http://www.getorganizedco.com/scrapbooking/en-us/dept_4.html

One of several totes featured on getorganizedco.com

Catalog Totes by Endless Purse-abilities - Choose from what she has available or design your own – http://www.endlesspurseabilities.com/page/page/1907253.htm

Just one example of Handmade PreppyGirl Purses by Endless Purse-abilities

Expressyourselfonline.com Show Bags - Offers various products for Direct Sales consultants.
http://www.expressyourselfonline.com/pages/scrapbooking/specialty.htm

ExpressYourselfOnline's Show Bag (large)

4knitters.com – http://www.4knitters.com/Knitting_Bags_s/68.htm

Bigpigdog – deisgn your bag http://bigpigdog.com/index.php

KBD (Kieren Bellis Designs) Specialty Bags - Show off those HM cards and 5×5 books, too! -
http://www.kierenbellisdesigns.com/Display_bags.html

 

 

Catalog Tote Bags by Petit Jardin Designs - Another design your own.  You pick the fabrics!
http://www.petitjardindesigns.com/products.php?p=79

One example of a Catalog Bag by Petit Jardin Designs

Catalog Bags by TRN Designs- Monograming and padded straps included.
http://www.trndesigns.com/cart/index.php?cPath=24

One of MANY different designs offered at TRN Designs

Writer’s Flood?

Is there such a thing?  I guess so because I’m suffering from it. 

My blog has been a little inactive lately. Not so much because I can’t think anything to write, it’s more because I don’t know where to start!

Ever since I came back from Reunion 2008, I am just floored with all of the awesome people I met, all the cool and exciting things that are going on with Heritage Makers and the world of opportunity that waits.  If you missed Reunion or haven’t been to Reunion yet, I highly recommend it.  There were guest speakers, workshops and entertainment. (This year we were at Disneyland and Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband provided their musical talents).

The People – I can honestly say that I work for two extremely innovative companies and I am extremely lucky to be a part of the team.  The leaders of the two companies truly believe in their company missions and it shows.  TW & HM have family and relationship as their core.  Maybe its because both are still budding companies but there is a sense of camaraderie and honesty that you don’t see in most other companies…

The Product -HM listens!  If you’ve used Studio before you may have noticed that it lacked one very crucial feature.  The Undo.  Well, guess what’s in Studio now?  I HEART the Undo feature!!!  And if you started out like me, you pretty much had to figure out how to manuever around in Studio if there wasn’t a Digi-Crop workshop scheduled.  Check out the new Studio tutorial.  It is awesome!  You show these in the new “Workshops” that now replace “Celebrations.” 

Studio Link

There’s also new product!  Since 12×12 digital scrapbook pages did so well, is wasn’t a big surprise that they expanded the product to now include other sizes such as 8×8 and 8.5×11.  And although they had done away with the 4×6 size cards, they have lower prices on a number of items!

The Opportunity – Finally, as I mentioned, HM is still a relatively new company.  It would behoove someone looking for a great opportunity to join Heritage Makers now as a business endeavor.  As my sponsor said, if you had the opportunity to start up with a small beauty and makeup company going door to door years ago with a woman named Mary Kay, where would you be now?  Look at all the consultants that are out there with Mary Kay now!  This is that chance.  Especially now that our storybooks have touched the lives of OPRAH herself.

Check it out: http://support.heritagemakers.com/comm/oprah/index.htm

Everyone who knows Oprah, also knows that anything she endorses seems to fly off shelves.  Books that she has on her list end up as best sellers.  Where will you be when word gets out that Oprah totally loves the idea of “Every Story Deserves a Book of its Own?”  On our team, I hope!

So, no, I’m not excited about Heritage Makers, I’m blown away by them!   I don’t think I did three days of Reunion justice with my little blurb but I always thought blog content is usually best in small doses. But in short, Reunion just reminded me that I found a company that is making a difference in people’s lives and that I made a good decision to become a Heritage Maker.   Click here to sign up.

True Story

One of the stories heard at Reunion 2008:

A woman was checking out the photo book sample at an Apple Store one day. As she flipped through the pages, the book was literally falling apart.  The salesperson seeing this came up to her and immediately said, “That’s because everyone keeps looking at it.”

Hrmmm…. I thought that was what books are for!

So again, why Heritage Makers?  Heritage Makers books are stitch bound, not glued. 

Our books would never fall apart like that.  Even if it did, all books are covered but the Heirloom Assurance Program, ensuring that your book will be there to pass on to generations to come.

They are YOUR MEMORIES TO KEEP!