Moving Forward

There have been a LOT of changes in my life over the last month. Some horrible, some great. But I couldn’t really say anything about it until now.

I am sure some of you have skipped ahead of my text, as the photos below caught your eye. So I’ll start with the horrible and end with the great. As many of you know, I have a day job… well… had a day job. The photos below were take 2 days after a rampant fire destroyed our building (no one was hurt, THANK GOD) and left us, quite literally, in the dust.

Photo 1: The warehouse from the back end/loading zone. No roof, no internal structure, floor littered with 2-stories worth of charred product.

Photo 2: A look to the right, where you can see our neighbor’s destroyed warehouse. The fire started on this wall, on their side. An electrical conduit overheated, sparked, and set the whole place ablaze.

Photo 3: What is left of my office. Luckily the personal belongings I had there were nothing of value, or that could not be replaced.

Photo 4: The building from the front end. Upstairs are the owner’s offices, below the door to my office and the door to our common room/lunch area.

It’s gone. All of it. Turned to ashes in under 2 hours time. The fire  happened on the 16th of January at 9:30 at night. Being at night was why no one was present, and so no one was hurt. But it is also why it got so out of hand – no one was there to try and stop it, or even knew it was happening until the roof was on fire and could be seen from the freeway.

While it was deemed an accident, as it was an electrical short that sparked, that doesn’t seem to make things any easier for the owners. While the fire didn’t start or end in our unit, we suffered the most damage by far. We were the only unit that burned from front door to back door, and one of only two left with no roof. This was a truly devastating fire for our business, and business around us, and will take time to recuperate.

The good news is that they WILL recuperate. They will be back on their feet, and they will continue on. It is just a matter of time. However, they will have to go on without me.

I had decided back in September that 2012 would be the year I went full time with The Pampered Chef. I had a plan, and was putting my ducks in a row to make a smooth transition from Office Manager to Soon-To-Be PC Director in March. The plan was complete with time to help the company replace me, and for me to even train said replacement. I was going to gradually ramp up to full-time Chef status over 3 months.

When will I learn? For all the careful planning I do, for all the research, for all the work and effort that goes into having and executing a game plan… when will I understand that I’m NOT in charge?

I’ve had no choice – My resignation from this company was not what I wanted to give them, especially after they stood by me when Abigail came so early. Having a feeling of “forced” enthusiasm masking desperate attempts towards growing my business is not how I saw me taking on this next stage. But as my mother so wisely put it, “It’s now or never, hon.”

So Be It.

Fast forward to today, and you are looking at a Full-Time Pampered Chef Consultant. I am working on getting 4 more shows for the Month of February and 6 (SIX) more shows for March. I am less that $1000 in sales away from my very first raise with the company ($15,000 in sales milestone! Woot!) and a mere 3 recruits away from promoting to Director. The goal is to meet the first milestone no later than the end of March (but, really, I should be able to do it in Feb.) and to reach the second so that I can attend my first Director’s meeting (as a fully fledged Director) on May 2nd.

The path my Director has put me on is fast paced, but so rewarding. Before a quarter is over, I expect to be pulling in more than double what I was making at my day job. And working about the same amount of hours, or less, each month. How cool is that?

The best part though, is that I am now a WAHM (Work at Home Mom) and can stay home with my baby girl. With her ever growing schedule of appointments, therapy sessions, classes, and play dates, it is more important than ever that I am both a Stay-at-home-Mom AND a financial contributor to our family.

So forgive me for this one, but woman on a mission here:

If you would like to host a Pampered Chef Party in February or March, please leave a comment with your email address (or just email me at jenfrancis.pc@gmail.com). I would LOVE to come to your home and cook for you and your friends, and help you get a ton of FREE and discounted product for your kitchen.

And if you, or anyone you know, is looking for extra income (aren’t we all???) then consider this: Only 6% of ALL working women in the US make a 6 figure income. But 80% of those women are in Direct Sales like me. AND, only 5% of Pampered Chef consultants are male, but they make up the majority of the top 3% of sales for our company each year. Can’t argue with those results!! Not everyone needs a new job. But everyone needs more $$$. So if you need a full-time gig to pay bills, or if you need something on the side to pay off credit cards or pay for extras (like shoes and purses, or a family trip to Disneyland) then PLEASE come talk to me. Or check out my website at www.pamperedchef.biz/jenfrancis

Ok, shameless plug over. And really, please, say a prayer for my former bosses, Nick and Christine. They are doing a phenomenal job of picking up the pieces and moving forward with their lives and their business. And from one small business owner to another – it isn’t easy, but well worth the effort.

Thank you for your prayers and your support, as always. God Bless you.

-Jen

The Next Phase

Another day, another adventure! Today we start Speech Therapy. Her new therapist should be here in minutes, and I am both anxious and excited.

These days, Abby is almost totally typical for a 20 month old (20 months!!!! Holy cow!!!!). She is no longer waddling, or even walking. She is RUNNING and laughing and discovering the world around her. She is an absolute champ when it comes to eating.

She is growing like a weed! She is over 30 inches tall and weighs more than 23 pounds. Wearing 2T with no baggy shirts or too-long pants, and her hair is now long enough to put into pigtails!

But the one thing she can’t do is talk. No, wait. I take that back. She “talks” more than I do! But she doesn’t speak. We had a speech evaluation 2 weeks ago and she failed it. According to that test, she had ZERO words. Now, that is not entirely true. She says hi and bye consistently, she just wouldn’t do it for a stranger. And she said “ball” for the evaluator, but she wasn’t playing with a ball at the time. She calls all toys ball. So that doesn’t count. And she knows names, like Mommy, Daddy, Nana, Teta… She almost had Poppi down, too. She attempts Tia, Jido, and even Elissa! And that one is hard! But the bottom line is that by her age, she should have close to 20 words that are NOT names down cold. By her corrected age (16 months) she should have no less than 10. For the first time EVER we are behind her corrected age. Boo.

Insert speech therapy. While I struggled with all of the “failing” the eval and being labeled “delayed”, I have to admit that I am happy we are moving forward with this. Abby is not one of those late bloomer types. Some people who hear we are doing speech therapy at this age think we just haven’t given her enough time to get the hang of it. But anyone who spends half an hour with her can tell… Something is off. You can tell she understands. You can tell she is trying to say things. And you can tell she is frustrated that it just isn’t working.

I’m reminded of when her brain was trying to tell her arm to move to get a toy, and it would take all of her concentration and energy just to get her arm to do something… Anything! But it was rarely in the right direction. It’s the same thing now. You can tell that her brain speaks English. But her mouth speaks Klingon or something. And it makes her mad. She knows that what came out of her mouth is not what she wanted to say. And she throws fits on the floor with a red face and crocodile tears almost every time it happens.

I’m so done with the fits.

So I’m looking forward to this phase. All micro preemies need it at some point. I’ve talked to a few micro moms about it and all have said this therapy helped immensely on all levels. Of course, it takes time and patience and more hard work from all of us to help her. But we’ve been doing that from day one, so I feel ready for that.

So say a prayer that she tackles this hurtle the same way she has faced them all: head on and with stellar success!

In the meantime, enjoy a few recent photos! I’ll keep you all posted in her progress.

2011 in review

I love that wordpress gives us what they call “Crunchy Numbers” or rather, stats about how my blog did in the year before. I like knowing what you read, what you wrote about it, how you found me, etc. I posted the stats last year, and thought I’d do it again this year. enjoy my Crunchy Numbers! (click on the link at the bottom.)

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 9,800 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 4 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Goals for 2012

I owe all of my readers a sincere apology. I put excuse after excuse up, but the reality is that this year, I just plumb forgot to blog regularly. Ooops.

Well, not in 2012. See, I’ve never been one to make “New Years Resolutions.” I’m a “goal setter” so I set goals instead. And the goals I set out for 2011 just didn’t move me. It was almost like I made them just to have goals, not because I was passionate about achieving them. And my life has reflected it. I was so ridiculously unproductive and such a procrastinator this year. All of my beloved hobbies and inspiring work fell to the wayside, only to be replaced by countless hours staring at my smart phone. (This won’t be helped much by the fact that I am getting an iPhone soon…).

This coming year, however, my goals are shifting. They are “overall goals” rather than “specific goals.” Things like less stress in my life and more family time. Goals like finding new hobbies or passions, which will help me to find and renew my old passions. Sure, there are specifics among the vague – I WILL BECOME A PAMPERED CHEF DIRECTOR IN 2012! But the theme this year is to simply be a happier, healthier, and more inspired ME.

I’ve already started. I’ve gone back to my sewing machine. My SIL and I are kicking each other’s butts and helping to make sure our side businesses (hand crafted items such as quilts and aprons for me, and hand-made hair bows for her) take off and soar. We are already working on stocking our inventory for a large local craft fair in March and I couldn’t be more excited!

I’ve promised myself I am going to get back to the written word. A love and passion of mine since the first time I tested past my standard reading level in elementary school. I am going to read more this year. I intend to gobble up every savory chapter I can. I will re-read my old favorites (Pride and Prejudice, The Red Tent, A Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing, Emma, The Harry Potters, etc), and dive into something totally new. Any suggestions? I am starting my reading this year with “The Help.” But I’ll need more after that!

And of course, that passion brings me back to this one. Writing. Several months ago, Anthony and I scolded each other for not picking up that pencil and doing what we do best with it. For me, writing. For him, sketching. He has a jump on me – working on “The Sketchbook Project” and his finished product will tour the country next year. I couldn’t be more proud of his efforts. So much so that I promised him we’d go see it (and all the others) on display in San Fransisco – his favorite city – even though it will come to LA. We will probably see it there, too. I’m looking forward to sharing that milestone with him. I, myself, have had a goal to be published in some way since I was 15 and have yet to succeed. And I’ve decided. 2012 will be the year! No, the book is not done. That is a long way off. But my short stories and a shorter version of what I wrote here during our Adventures with Abigail have homes in magazines like PARENTS and BABY among others. But most importantly, I’m coming back here. To this blog. This site devoted to my life and everything it entails. Yes, that means more adorable pictures of the Princess, but it also means more of my own adventures, too. More about me and the hubby, more about the things I’m passionate about (including my “Soap Boxes” category), and even more about my journey to further this crazy entrepreneur lady I’ve become. I promise not to bombard you too badly with “Last Chance to Buy” posts (although, those will exist) and instead focus on the love of what I do. More pictures of me in the kitchen, more recipes that work (and that don’t) and a little self publicity along the way.

Christmas comes this weekend, and our annual NYE trip to NorCal will follow soon after. I’m glad I took this opportunity in the calm before the storm to write this. And I plan to hit the ground running come the 1st of the year! Get ready to read, people! Because I’m ready to write!

Merry Christmas to you all! I hope you have a fabulous Holiday Season with your family. Get those 2012 goals set, and tell me about them!! I want to cheer you on in your passions, too!

-Jen

October in a flash

I still can’t believe I haven’t been able to make the time to blog about OCTOBER!!! And with each passing day, the stuff I wrote before was less and less relevant. So, here it is – a recap of October in a flash, with a few pictures that I love thrown in.

Drum roll please:

The first weekend I had a Pampered Chef Event that required my SIL’s help, so the boys (Anthony and his brothers) took the three kids to the Zoo. It was Abby’s first trip and she seemed to have a blast! And during that trip, Hubby took what is easily the BEST picture of the three musketeers to date:

Aren’t they adorable? I know I’m biased, but seriously people – those faces make my heart melt.

Anywho – that same day was their cousin’s 4th birthday! So we all went to celebrate at a children’s museum in Oxnard. Abigail had a blast! We played and ate and had a great time with the family.

Rowing a boat with Daddy and Uncle Phil

Pretending to be captain of a submarine

Getting in some good playtime with her cousin, Kyle.

Unfortunately, that was really all there was to report for the first bit of October. Because as fun as the museum was, both Abby and Max got sick and were out of commission for about 2 weeks. It was the first real illness Abby has had since her bout with RSV in January, and it had me worried because we did need to use the breathing treatments again, but she bounced back just fine and we had a fabulous end to October.

Here are some pictures of the three cousins helping their Teta (Anthony’s Mom, their Grandma) in the garden in our backyard:

Laila showing off the watermelonAbby playing in the dirtAll three hard at workNear the end of October, we had a chance to take Abigail to Underwood farms to pick out some pumpkins (as the ones in the garden are not big enough to pick yet). My mom got a great shot of her on one of the giant pumpkins reminiscent of the one we took last year. It is one of my favorite pictures right now.And, of course, the end of october brings Halloween! Abby got to go trick or treating for the very first time. I was super excited, not only because it is one of my all time favorite holidays that I hope to pass on to her, but because she was well enough to participate. She had so much fun. And she had her first piece of candy – a chocolate lollipop – that sent her on an hour and a half sugar high. It really was a great night.

She was a lady bug, and Laila joined us as a butterfly. Abby was determined to climb the stairs herselfHer very first Trick-Or-Treat with our neighbor, Mark, next door. She was just a tad excited about the whole thing.Probably my favorite picture of the night. Anthony caught a real moment in time on film. My face says it all – that this little girl (who isn’t so little anymore) is incredible. I can’t tell you how special it was to be able to take her out like that. Like any other kid. To treat her 100% normally, and for her to enjoy it as much as she did was a real blessing. I couldn’t have been happier.Well, there you have it! October, the short version. Typed up on the first day (and into the second) of December of all things. I gotta get better at posting! I’m working on Disneyland and Thanksgiving. Promise.

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that your Holiday season is off to a great start! See you soon!

-Jen

Today I am Thankful For time to play catch-up!

Man oh Man is blogging hard to do when you spend 95% of your time chasing around a toddler! Here we go with the last few days of Thankfulness:

Saturday, 11-12
Thankful for Target
For no other reason than I was able to pick up my Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 with no problems finding it, and at a discounted price. Happy girl over here!

Sunday, 11-13
Thankful for Rebecca Keenan
One of the best friends a girl could ever ask for!!! I got to spend a WHOLE day with her. We went to lunch, hung out, got nerdy over spreadsheets, talked Pampered Chef Parties, AND she came with us to help out on Abby’s 18 month Photo shoot. Plus, she got to have dinner with the whole family, INCLUDING my nephew, Max, who was here for a few days. Always a blessing to get time with him. The 13th was a pretty awesome day!

Monday, 11-14
Thankful for Monthly Pampered Chef Meetings
We meet as a team, once a month, at our director’s house. We have training, share stories, swap ideas, and get the motivation we need to keep on selling for the month ahead. It is always refreshing and always helpful. I’m thankful for my wonderful team!

Tuesday, 11-15
Thankful for Bedtime Routines
We had a big day to prepare for, and I’m so thankful that the bedtime routine we’ve implemented works! Abby went down for bed with no problems, and slept through the night. She was rested and ready for our special day!

Wednesday, 11-16
Thankful for Sandy and Peggy W.
We got to go to Disneyland today, because a very gracious and benevolent friend got us day passes through her family. Going to the Park these days isn’t high on the priority list as far as cost goes, and to be able to get in those gates and not have to worry about the ticket price was a blessing and a half! It was a VERY special day for all of us, and Abby had a blast. I’m thankful for people who are willing to give of themselves. Full post about our day very soon!

Thursday 11-17
Thankful for my SIL and her ‘flexible’ Thursday mornings
Had a doctor’s appointment that I really needed to go to. Which is SUPER hard to do with a toddler in tow. And Nana and Poppi weren’t available (because, you know… they have lives!) and it was E to the rescue! She has a flexible schedule on some Thursdays so she watched Abby for me in the waiting room for my appointment, and the team that delivered her and saved her life got to see her again a year later. They were thrilled!

Friday, 11-18
Thankful for extra work
I’m out of the office ALL week for Thanksgiving. Normally, that wouldn’t be a huge issue, but since I went down to part-time, I don’t get paid for vacation. Nature of the beast. So that is a week without pay. Worth it, for sure, but still… So I’m thankful that my Bosses are not just willing, but happy to give me extra hours here and there when needed to make up for lost time. Plus, it helps ensure they don’t fall behind while I’m gone. It’s a win-win!

Saturday, 11-19
Thankful for Feedback
This past October, I celebrated one year with The Pampered Chef. It’s been wonderful and only getting better. And this weekend, we celebrated that! My very first hosts threw another party in my honor and let me show my stuff. Many repeat clients over the last year showed up to support me, and we had a blast! But the best part was the feedback. Many guests have seen my shows in the past and every one of them said they were happily surprised at how much I’ve improved over time and how obvious it is that I love what I do. Hearing that was better than any profit that comes my way.

Sunday, 11-20
Thankful for Rain. Real Rain.
I have to apologize to my niece, L, because her very first Horse Riding show got rained out. Please know that I’m not happy about that. But I love the rain. So does Anthony. So to have some REAL rain pour down on us, and to be able to share that with Abigail was so fun. Thankful for little moments to share with her, like that.

Monday 11-21
Thankful for my In-Laws
Packing for a 5 day trip is not easy. And it is time-consuming. Throw an over-active toddler into the mix and lets just say I’m also thankful for baby gates that block her in! But our packing day went much more smoothly than anticipated… because my In-Laws were in town! And they took Abby for the afternoon to visit her great grand parents while we got our stuff done. And in no time flat, we had all of our errands run and all of our items packed (including getting laundry done) and she had a great day playing and getting spoiled by trying peppermint ice cream! Again, a win-win!

Tuesday 11-22
Thankful for Abby’s Easy-going attitude.
I don’t know. We must have done something fantastically humanitarian in a past life. Because on top of having your not-so-average miracle baby, she is one of the most mellow and easy-going babies I have ever encountered. She just makes it work. What ever it is. Today it was a 10 hour drive, plus encountering a lot of “new” family (people she doesn’t remember she’s met before) along the way, and then figuring out how to sleep in an unfamiliar place. And what does her attitude say to me, all day? No Big Deal, Mom. Stop worrying. She slept for half of the drive and played quietly for the rest. She talked to me all day and only cried once during the drive. She stuck close to me and Anthony during our family visits, but didn’t fuss at all. And bed time? Oh yea – she’s been sound asleep since 9 and went down with no issues. Again – no idea what I did to get this lucky, but whatever it was, I’M THANKFUL!

-Jen

Friday, I was Thankful For my Mom, and my hairdresser

As you will see below, this post is mostly about Abigail’s first hair cut. BUT I had to give a shout out to my Mom. As most of you know, my Mom (along with my Dad) watches Abby for me while I work during the afternoons at Charming. She and my Dad are amazing. They have sacrificed so much to help me (and Anthony) keep Abigail in a safe and happy environment. And they LOVE their job as grandparents/primary care givers. But what puts them over the top as shoe-ins for the grandparents of the year award are all the extras they do. It’s as if 20+ hours isn’t enough for them. Because on top of those hours, plus their jobs, plus their lives, they still manage to come through for me in a pinch.

I’ll be honest. I have a LOT of “New Mom” moments. Like, A. LOT. I’m pulling the “Still Learning” card here and saying that being a new Mom is pretty tough. And sometimes, what I think is a GREAT idea really actually sucks. Insert my sucky great idea: get my own hair cut at the same time as Abby. We’ll go together, make it one trip, and it will be all good! Hahahaha… yea. Didn’t think about a rowdy, energetic, MOBILE toddler in an area that is wonderful for adults but downright dangerous for kids. Go me. Mom to the rescue! Offered to help with Abby (i.e. sit in the car with said rowdy and energetic toddler for an hour) while I got my hair cut, and then come in and take pictures for me to remember the whole experience. Did I mention this was on her day off from Abby duty? A day that she had several appointments already scheduled? A day that this was probably going to be more of a headache than a leisure trip? But there she was, waiting for me in the parking lot, none the less. And the pictures (below) were great! Yup. Grandma of the year.

Both of my parents really are wonderful, for so many reasons. But on Friday, I was particularly thankful for my Mom. Thank you, Mama… for all you do. You’re the best.

Ok! On to the pictures! On Friday, I was also very thankful for the skills of my hairdresser, Lynn Hayes. She’s been cutting my hair, (plus my Mom’s, my Sister’s, my Sister-In-law’s, and my best friend’s hair) for years. She is VERY good, and it shows. Plus, she has extensive experience working with kids. So it was obvious who we chose to cut Abby’s hair for the first time.

Abby didn’t like it. She was confused as to who this stranger was touching her head. But she only cried a little, and was totally distracted by me singing her favorite tunes: The ABC’s, Twinkle Twinkle, Itsy Bisty Spider, and of course – The Hot Dog Dance!

When all was said and done, she did really well, and now her hair is cute and even and out of her eyes! Yippie! I’m thankful for the experienced hands of my hairdresser!

Getting Ready!Combing the hair out to see how long it really is.

Wet hair and the protective cape. We gave her the brush as a distraction.

Getting ready to make the first cut.

Snip snip!

High Five for Lynn after we were all done!

New Do’s! Ready for the holidays!

-Jen