Good Effort:

I decided to try to do "Pin-Up" makeup a couple weeks ago. Here's the result:


Not too shabby, I guess. I must say, I love my Mary Kay!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I just wanted to quickly express my thanks for the many blessings I have been given.

I am so blessed to have a great husband who loves me and supports me. I think I appreciate this blessing so much more than I otherwise would, because once upon a time I had a husband who did not support me, and I question whether or not he truly loved me. So, Patrick, thank you so much for being such a loving, patient, and forgiving husband. :) You are truly amazing.

I am very grateful for my wonderful family. I love my parents and my siblings, their spouses, and my beautiful nephews and nieces. All of my in-laws, too! I missed sharing this holiday with my family (especially mom's baking...Rolls to Die For), though I am also very blessed to have great friends who invited Patrick and me to their home for the feast. The rolls weren't my mom's, but they were still tasty. The turkey dressed in bacon and then baked was soooooo good!!

Which leads me to my friends. Great friends are one of life's most precious treasures. And I have a sack full of treasures!

I am grateful that I chose to take part in being an Independent Beauty Consultant with Mary Kay back in May of 2006. I cannot explain what a blessing this has been in my life. I have met so many people and found amazing mentors who have influenced my life for the good. The extra income is great, but I have to be honest - the life changes have been priceless. I anxiously anticipate the good things to come in my life through this great opportunity!

I am eternally thankful for my testimony of God's love for me. Boy have I been a screwed up person, and thank goodness Jesus Christ has made it possible for me to move beyond the screwed up version of me. :) I find so much peace knowing that all things are possible when God is involved, including becoming a better person. Just like with family...I cannot thoroughly put into words how blessed I am because of this knowledge. :)

I am grateful for the beautiful home we live in, our 3 kitties who make me so happy, and the food on our table. I live a good life. And it is all due to God's hand. Thank you!

Now I am going to go eat some more pie. (I'll post recipes for the Rolls to Die For and Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie soon! They are divine!!)

I heart Mary Kay

I just wanted to share one of the Mary Kay commercials that has been on TV. I seriously LOVE these products, and even more...I love that I don't look my age! :)

Feel free to contact me to try these great products or get anything that you need!

Alison Largin
www.marykay.com/alargin
alargin@marykay.com

P.S. Check out the awesome Holiday and Limited-Edition products on my website. Sooooo great!!!

Blog-Name Dropping and My Great Weekend

Rather than finishing my breakfast or getting in the shower, I decided to post this morning. :) Lucky you!

First of all, I have found a couple of blogs that put a smile on my face. There is the sailor-element to both of these, so for the tender eyes, just don't go there. For those of you who are as crusty and crass as I can be, check them out!!

Pacing the Panic Room (You may have seen the weekly pregnancy pictures the author takes of his wife...they're awesome photos and it's a great idea! Also, the author is an awesome photographer, so check out his work and send him good vibes for some job prospects!!!)

Scary Mommy (I've only read a couple of the posts, but dang, she's funny!)

And, lastly (since I really need a shower...), I had a great weekend. We had our area Career Conference with Mary Kay on Friday and Saturday. I've always enjoyed Career Conference...lots of great training and motivation. I especially love hearing from other women who came from much more difficult circumstances than I and have just conquered the world. Those women amaze and inspire me!

I'm also super excited about the company's Great Start program where new Beauty Consultants who sign an agreement ($100) are eligible to get a $100 rebate when they place a $600 wholesale order by the end of April. On top of that, they get $100 in free full size product, $113.50 in a free color look customized just for them, $56.50 in free samples, free personal website for 6 months, free catalogs, and the Starter Kit, alone, comes with over $300 in full size product. It's freaking amazing!!! My hope is that anyone I know takes a moment to look at the info and open their mind to the potential of the opportunity. :) It has blessed my life more than I could tell!!

I've made the decision to earn my first free car with Mary Kay. This is a huge goal, one of the best kinds - it's big enough to scare me! :) So, send me some good energy as I work toward this goal!!

Summit 2008

Saturday I went to my Mary Kay area's Summit Conference in downtown Salt Lake City. I'm glad I went. The recognition part got a little old, but that's mostly because I hadn't eaten breakfast and my head was throbbing. I'm sure if I was one of the people who had worked my butt off and was getting recognized, I would have been super excited to keep clapping and cheering. :) (Just a little perspective there!)

The training part of it was really good. I've always loved training. Deanna Spillman was one of our trainers, and I absolutely love hearing from her. She is so to-the-point about everything, and I love it.

For lunch, my Director, Amy Walker, and I went to Thaifoon to eat. I love eating there on days when I don't work. It's just funny to have my coworkers serve me. :) The food was great. It was Amy's first time there, so it was a good culinary experience.

My favorite part of the whole day was the very end. A Director's 8 year old daughter sang a song for all of us. I can't remember what it was called, but holy cow!! Her voice was beautiful. She was so confident. She was so adorable. She was just amazing. I totally teared up. I can't wait to have my own kids around that age who have talents, personality, and so much to share with the world. It made me think of my own nephews and nieces, two of which are in that age range, and they are so stinkin' smart and talented. I can't wait to see them all in Phoenix for Thanksgiving.

A couple of inspirational points I took to heart from Summit:

*Am I a Victim or a Victor?
This idea was first presented to me months ago by a person I met during the Usana Conference in Salt Lake City. What was to him a business presentation of the company turned out to be a totally philosophical and spiritual conversation about life. It was a conversation I will always cherish and that I think of often when thinking about my own Mary Kay business.

*Be consistent with customer service.
Something I know I need to work on.

*Let go of something, even just ONE thing, that is taking away from time I spend on my business, like tv, internet, etc.

*Dream, Dream, Dream, Dream, Dream!!!!!!

*Set detailed goals.
Vision without action is fantasy.
Action without vision produces drudgery.
Action with viction results in Victory.

*My goals:
1. Red Jacket by end of November 2008
2. Team Leader & On Target for Car by end of January 2009
3. Submit DIQ by end of March 2009
4. Debut as a Director by June 15th 2009

So, that was the highlight of my weekend. Grocery shopping with Patrick was fun, too, but didn't light the fire under my bum like Summit did. :)

More Dramatic Eyes

I did my makeup a little different today, so I felt like taking a picture. I realized (after looking at this close-up of my face) that my eyes are wide set. This means the space between the eyes is equal to or greater than the width of an eye. I could be paranoid, but it looks like a lot of nose/bridge between those baby blues:

I used spun silk, cinnabar, espresso, and coal eye shadows, black eye liner, and black ultimate mascara.
Also, strawberry cream blush, but you can't really see that too well in the picture.
I need some color on my lips, too.

I don't think it's as noticeable with my hair more done (okay, I didn't really do my hair, I just put a headband on) and not so close to the camera:


I must say, I look pretty good for my age. :)

(This is my vain post for awhile...it could've been worse...I could have posted fitness update pictures!!! eeewww!)

Woo hoo!

I did it! I finished my Star!! It was a stretch, but I got it done, which is wonderful. :)

Now onto my next projects:

* Finish my Perfect Start this month (15 new faces/people/customers)
* Get all my paperwork together and get taxes filed ASAP (Patrick is getting more and more impatient by the minute! ...something about getting his hot rod finished...) :)

So, hopefully I'll have 1 new face tomorrow, and a few Saturday. That leaves about 10+ next week. Totally do-able.

* And I need to pull out an embroidery project. I'm jonesin' BAD!

Reaching for my Star

I just like posting my goals...makes them more real to me... So, I'm busting my butt to finish my Star for this quarter that ends on Sunday, the 15th. I'm $319.00 away from reaching it, but that doesn't scare me. :) I still have 2 days to get it done!

My goal for the rest of June is to get into car qualifications so I can soon be driving a free car, compliments of Mary Kay. This goal actually leads into my bigger goal, which is to have a consistent and lucrative business that will provide the income and opportunities that Patrick and I need, so we can start a family in the next few months. Yep, I want to have a baby! And I so badly want to have a baby before I turn 30, which is in a little over a year. So I have a lot of work to do...and I'm excited about it. :)

Yikes...it's been awhile!

It has been FAR too long since my last post!! May turned out to be a busy month. :) So, here's a quick report:

Mary Kay: After getting myself "active" again in April, I decided to make May a great month. I set a few goals: 30 brand new first-time facials, $1500 in sales, 2 new qualified team members, & 4 classes per week.

My first class and facials for the month were on May 18th. I had 14 people at that class!!! In the 2 weeks after that, I finished 30 first-time facials...brand new customers. That was freaking awesome. My sales came up to $1350 at the end of the month, I have 1 new team member that may place a $200 wholesale order, and I only did 3 classes in those 2 weeks, as well as a couple double-facials and a few facials.

I'd say that is amazing. To go from doing absolutely nothing with my Mary Kay business to making some good extra money the next month is pretty great. The flexibility of working my business when I want to is one of the biggest perks for me.

So, to keep the momentum rolling, I'm setting some bigger goals for June:
20 faces each week, 12 new team members, and earning my free car. If I don't finish the car, I'll at least be on target to finish my car.

Now, I KNOW that this is a hugely intense and seemingly overwhelming goal, however, I also KNOW that I thrive on having something big and meaningful to accomplish. Plus, it's the end of the Seminar year, and I'd like to show up in Dallas with my head held extra high. :) Now to register and get my flight arranged...




I am missing being crafty. I haven't picked up a needle and thread other than to sew on a button the other day. I need to work on some projects that need finishing. I'll get going on that (among my other big list of "things to do" and will get some pictures up here.

Back in the Saddle

I'm getting back in the Mary Kay saddle again! I'm starting small and simple, and I hope by the end of 2008 I will be working Mary Kay "full time" anticipating the arrival of a new baby in the family. :) I hope.

The Bumblebee

I found this on Mary Kay's New Zealand website. It reminded me of why I started Mary Kay and why I will always be a part of Mary Kay... Although the principles of aerodynamics suggest the bumblebee cannot fly - its wings are too weak and its body too heavy - the bumblebee, not knowing this, flies anyway.

The bumblebee is a reminder that you can do anything you set your mind to. If someone suggests that something can't be done, the bumblebee is your inspiration to do it anyway.

Believe in yourself. Whatever you can conceive, you can achieve.