Well tonight, I made a pot roast for dinner. Roasts are one of my favorite comfort foods. Jonathon is not a big fan, and Bailey has never touched one before. Well despite the opposition from those two, I make a roast anyway once every few months. Today Bailey smelled it cooking and started asking what it was. She said she wanted to taste it. At dinnertime I put a few carrots, pieces of celery, and meat on her plate. Along with a half a banana, a buttermilk biscuit, and some corn. We always give her at least one thing she is guaranteed to eat (in this case the corn and banana) and one thing we KNOW she won’t eat (the roast) and one thing that she might try (biscuit).

She started off by telling us that biscuits were for dogs, and flat-out refusing to taste it. So she kissed it goodbye and handed it to me. That was fine. Then she ate all of her corn, as expected. Then I casually picked up a carrot off my plate and commented, “I’m going to bite this little carrot in half.” She picked up her own carrot, repeated that, and ate it. Then she said, “That’s very good!” and ate the rest of her carrots. AND tried the celery- which I thought she would hate- but she said, “These green beans are good!” Since the child has honestly not eaten a green bean in at least a year I guess she didn’t even know that wasn’t what it was. We just went with it and she ate about five bites of cooked celery and took seconds on carrots!

Once she was done with that, she wanted to get down and I told her to eat her banana first. She did, and then as I was washing dishes she came into the kitchen and asked for more carrots. I’m not one to ever deny my child a vegetable (maybe because she only eats them once every six months) so we stood in the kitchen and picked cooked carrots out of the pot and ate them together.

We opened a new silicone baking pan that I got from Avon, and I showed Bailey how we can make little cakes and muffins in the shape of butterflies, ladybugs, etc. She wanted to try it, so we used a Jiffy chocolate muffin mix (the box ones that are like 2/$1). It was the perfect amount of mix and they only took 12 minutes to bake. She was so excited to watch them in the oven with the light on. After we took them out I told her they needed to cool off, and that when we got back from delivering Avon we could have a tea party with our special cakes.

We went to deliver some Avon orders and drop off new brochures to my customers. She mentioned a few times how she wanted to go home and eat one of her special cakes. She had fun deciding which one to try. She ate a ladybug one and I had a butterfly. They turned out really cute. This is my child who will NOT eat any sort of bread, muffin, or cake. She has has problems in the past with gagging on these textures and basically avoids them at all costs now. I think she was excited enough to try these, that she didn’t worry about that. She ate almost the whole ladybug and then told me she wanted to save the rest for later.

This was a super way to make a snack into something fun. I am going to have to buy more healthy mixes (like berry ones instead of chocolate!) so we can do it again soon. If you have a child who is a picky eater, this pan is an absolute miracle. They aren’t available yet on my website because they are brand new, but I can advance order them if anyone is interested. I believe they are only around $10 intro price.

Anyway, all this talking about food. If you have a child who eats normally it doesn’t make sense. If your kid is a bad eater like Bailey, well first of all HUGS to you, and second, you know why I am so happy about this small step we took today!

If you are tired of trying home remedies for blackheads or breakouts then I have to recommend this Avon product called Clearskin Immediate Response Spot Treatment. All you do is dab a little bit on the spot and it clears it up superfast. It’s clear, it doesn’t sting or anything when you put it on, and it seems to be fairly gentle. I have sensitive skin and it has never bothered me. The best part is that it’s on sale right now for $3.99 and you can use the code FSANY to get free shipping from my Avon site!

We were flown into Miami and had a welcome dinner. There were over 950 Avon reps on this trip. We stayed at the Downtown Hilton and it was really nice. I spent that first afternoon at the pool until I had to get ready for dinner.

The view from my hotel room… I love cities where all the buildings downtown are white- it just looks so much cleaner! My city has kind of a crummy downtown area in a lot of spots.

Me with one of the “Avon Celebrities” at the dinner. There were a few president/ceo/important type people there and we got our pictures taken. I am just leaving her name out for goo.gle reasons.

One of the pools on the top deck of our ship. It was 12 stories high and my room was on the 9th floor- which had the biggest staterooms except for the suites. It was still only something like 160 square feet! Rooms on ships are tiny!

On the island of Nassau

Straw market

Snorkeling- the snorkeling here was the best snorkeling expedition I have ever been on. The water is SO clear and beautiful. It was 15-20 feet deep where we were and you could see straight to the bottom and see every detail on the coral. There were thousands of fish- all different kinds. It probably helped that our guide was throwing Cheetos off the boat to make the fish come!

I know I am so behind on posting and I have millions of pictures to wade through but at least I got started…

Bailey has been seeing an Occupational Therapist for a few weeks now for her eating issues and they are improving. She is also working on movement, like swinging and rocking which she has never been able to tolerate. I have a lot to say about this, but right now I just don’t feel like typing it all out. The therapy is hard, but it is going well. I hope that makes sense. It also gives me a new respect for moms who go to therapy multiple times a week, month after month… it takes a lot out of you. We only go twice a week but I have already discovered this.

Jonathon and I are doing well. We usually are, so it’s not like that is big news, but just something I like to be aware of. I have a good marriage. I met someone a few days ago who just left an abusive marriage and her thirteen-year-old daughter was also hurt. I don’t want to get into details but ti reminds me how blessed I am.

Avon is mostly good. I worked at a career fair on Thursday and then helped my manager with some meetings on Thursday night. It was a long day but I feel like I made some good connections. I am still working hard toward winning a cruise. My numbers are good so far but I need more orders- so if there is anything you want, let me know! You can shop on my Avon site and order for Representative Delivery.

I also had a quick break in between everything and got to run into Gymboree to pick up my holds. I got some great stuff, including this dress and these sunglasses (not to wear together) but I am so excited about them!

Bailey also loves, LOVES her friends. Every day she asks me where we are going and then checks to see if we will be seeing Addison, Kenzie, Ella, and always Gabe. Gabe has been her favorite for a long time. Which is funny because they ignore each other when they are together. Here are a few pictures from a playdate with Mackenzie and baby Tristan. Bailey was obsessing over Tristan again and kept kissing him.

So what I am proposing is a win-win situation for all of us. I am offering you Avon products at 40% off the price shown on my website. (With the exception of clothes, shoes, licensed characters and some gift items which will be 20% off). This will help bump up my sales and help you get some CHEAP stuff! If you don’t live near me, I just need you to pay for shipping.

Interested? Here’s what you do. Visit my Avon site. You can fill your shopping cart on my site and then when you submit it, choose “Representative Delivery.” I will figure out your total and get back to you with information on payment (and shipping, if needed). I accept Paypal, checks, USPS money orders, and credit cards if you will be paying in person. I would like to have the orders by the end of May.

If you don’t care about the discount or don’t want to pay for shipping (like if you have a very small order of heavy items or something), you can shop online and choose Direct Delivery. Avon will ship your items directly to you (use the code FSANY for free shipping) but I will NOT be able to give you any discount on this order.

Thank you so much for your help. I appreciate the orders that I have already gotten. I am looking for a ticker or something to track my progress!

Oh and last night I had an appointment to sign up a new girl and do her sales training. Well I got there and she brought her friend, who after about two minutes agreed to also become a rep. Good thing I had an extra contract in my car! So sometimes it just really goes my way… other times, not so much. But lately it’s been good.

And another thing that makes me happy? Oh of course, Bailey. Who announced last night, “I Muffin. Hello, Muffin!” Now if the expressions on her face in these pictures don’t make you laugh, then I don’t know what will. First she was glaring at me and then she decided to fake a smile to get it over with. And I should also mention that those pants are supposed to be capri’s!

Bailey got some cool new stuff for her birthday. One of her favorite gifts was the monkey play-dough set from her friend Mackenzie. She got a little obsessed so we (I) made a rule that she only got to do play-dough with Daddy!

Speaking of her friend Mackenzie- here they are at church. They see each other every week in the hallway outside the nursery and get so excited! They were rolling around on the floor and laughing.

Then I decided I should try to get a picture of her with Grampa, but she wasn’t really into it.

And at home watching Barney after church, wearing her sunglasses, OF COURSE. Because she likes to wear them ALL THE TIME.

This is a Dora nightgown that Grammy gave Bailey for her birthday (or Easter, maybe). She loves to wear it around the house but she WILL NOT sleep in it. She thinks it’s a dress and I haven’t been able to convince her otherwise. But it works well for a comfy play-around-the-house outfit.

I don’t remember if I posted this one before but she was putting puzzle pieces all over Jonathon. He let her do it for a long time… that man has much more patience than I do! It was pretty cute though.

And just one last one of her playing… if you look on the table you can see some Weebles stuff. I found it at a yard sale in our neighborhood and she was with me at the time. She thought it was Little People and started yelling “Peeeeepole!” One of the best $3 purchases I have made lately- she can interchange a lot of it (size-wise) with Little People and she just adores any type of little guys/cars/houses/animals like that right now. This set came with a house, swing, about five guys including Santa and a snowman, a motorcycle, and a car. Hours of fun.

As for me- I am winning a new prize for my Avon recruiting. We are getting two new gold iPod mp3 players in a few weeks! Jonathon was SO excited about this. I will have to figure out how to use it now…

And at least I don’t have to do something like selling insurance online. How cool is it that I get to stay home with my daughter AND have a career that I love?

Congratulations to commentor #8, chosen by random.org…

Here are your random numbers:

8

Timestamp: 2009-03-10 02:37:03 UTC

Commentor #8 is my friend Amy! Here is the winning comment:

“My current favorite candy is Peanut Butter M&M’s, but the tools at 7-11 haven’t had them in weeks since the whole peanut butter product recall. Second runner up, Snickers.”

She had three entries, since she registered on my Avon site and also posted about this contest on her blog.  (Amy- I already have your address, so I will get the stuff in the mail to you tomorrow!)

If you were not the lucky winner and would like to order the Magix product, visit my Avon site.  Thank you to everyone who played, and be on the lookout for another giveaway later this week!

It is made to put on before your foundation (or can even be used instead of foundation). It “blurs imperfections, gives invisible coverage and the appearance of flawless skin. Banishes shine for up to 10 hours.” It protects your skin with SPF 20. It keeps you from looking shiny by mid-afternoon. It makes fine lines less noticeable. And my favorite thing is, you can even slap some more on over your makeup before you go out to dinner and it freshens you up again without having to re-do your makeup.

Can you tell I am in love with this product? It is one of the most popular items that I sell. Similar products sell for around $30-40. This is regularly $10, on sale now for $7.99!
Want to try it? I will give one away on Monday evening. To enter, leave me a comment and tell me what your favorite candy is. Just for fun. Get a second entry by registering on my Avon site, and another entry by linking to this contest on your own blog. (Of course, you’ll have to leave me comments to let me know that you’ve done those things). Thanks for playing!

Also I had an Avon meeting on Wednesday night for people who are Unit Leaders. They have some really good promotions going on right now for recruiting new Avon reps. If you (or someone you know) could use a few hundred dollars a month, talk to me. It is only $10 for your startup kit, and you are not required to keep an inventory. There aren’t even minimum order sizes that you have to turn in! So it is the perfect thing to do for extra money because you can work on it as much or as little as you want.

And I could never end a post without a picture or two. This is Bailey on her new jungle gym, a.k.a. our kitchen table. I don’t know why the picture is blurry… I am still figuring out my camera settings so we’ll just blame it on that.

Here she was tilting her bread and pretending it was a slide for the peas. They said, “Wheeeee!” as they went down the slide. I love to see her becoming more creative and doing more pretending. It was pretty amusing to watch but once I got the video camera out, she stopped, of course.

I am absolutely in love with Patrick Dempsey Patrick Dempsey’s new cologne. It’s called Unscripted and he helped design it exclusively for Avon. It smells absolutely amazing. For those of you who are smell experts, here is the breakdown:

Top notes: black peppercorn, cardamom
Middle: violet leaves, fig, crisp lavender
Bottom notes: Leatherwood, patchouli, musk

This cologne retails for $32 but I am giving one away to a blog reader. I will draw on Tuesday at noon CST (using random.org) and ship as soon as I get your address, so you’ll have it in plenty of time for Valentine’s Day.

Want to win? Leave me a comment and tell me what your favorite cologne or perfume is. For a second chance, link to this contest on your own blog, then leave me a comment with the link.

If you are looking to earn some extra money, consider signing up to be an Avon representative! It only costs $10 to start, which pays for your first brochures and your paperwork/handbook/etc. There is no minimum order size and no inventory required so you can do as much or as little as you want. Contact me to find out more by visiting my Avon site or emailing me at: tara (at) twolinesonastick (dot) com

-I went to a really inspiration Avon leadership meeting last night. I am working on building my business and recruiting people to sell Avon. I have a pretty good team so far. If you are interested in earning some extra money, let me know! It only costs $10 to start and there are no minimum order sizes or inventory required. Really.

My giveaway item this week is the new IT Bag from Avon. It’s lightweight, fully lined nylon. 16x11x5 inches. This bag is so cute and can be dressed up or down! It’s new in the package so it could also be used as a Christmas gift.

Want to win? For a chance, leave me a comment! For a second chance, link to this post, and leave me a comment letting me know you’ve done that! The winner will be drawn and announced on Friday at noon Central time.

Updated to add: US and Canada only, thanks for asking!

And remember my contest? I still need help! These are the states I have:

Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Florida
Indiana
Louisiana
Michigan
Missouri
New York
North Carolina
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
Texas
Virginia
Washington
Wisconsin

If you live anywhere else, please please help me out! The contest is still going on and I need lots of states. All you have to do is go to my Avon site and place an order for Direct Delivery. You can use the code FSANY for free shipping on any size order during this contest. There are chapsticks for 59 cents so even if you don’t need anything, you can help me out for about 65 cents including tax!

I am working on getting little thank you gifts sent out in the mail to those people who have already ordered. If you haven’t gotten yours yet, it will be on its way in the next few days. I am also ordering some new promotional pens and calendars and stuff to give out to my customers. I am really enjoying building my business. I know January will be slow, but right now things are great!

Also, I have a really cute kid. Need proof?

Isn’t that just the sweetest little profile you’ve ever seen?

Now I’m off to spend another day and a half with the inlaws. It’s mostly going better than expected. Wish me luck and patience!

This is the BIGGEST Shopping day of the year! Avon customers should be given a special shopping experience too…

I am really excited! I am in a contest and in order to qualify, I must have $1,000 in retail sales on the day after Thanksgiving. Sounds like a lot, right? Well, that’s where you come in – FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 28th is my SPECIAL DAY FOR YOU.

To save up to 40% all you have to do is call me and leave a message with your name and the product numbers you would like to order from the Campaign 25 brochure during the specified times below. You must include the product numbers to qualify for the discount. (Please note that products with a symbol (*) prior to the name are excluded from this discount):

1:00 – 2:00 P.M. 40% discount
2:00 – 3:00 P.M. 30% discount
3:00 – 4:00 P.M. 25% discount
4:00 – 6:00 P.M. 20% discount
6:00 – 8:00 P.M. 15% discount

**Since you are shopping online, please view my brochure HERE — you can also see which products are eligible. Post a link to this contest and receive an extra 5% off your purchase.

You can email me your order: tara (at) twolinesonastick (dot) com (please include the time on your email so I can give you the correct discount) or call me if you know my number! I will ship for free once I receive your cleared payment. I accept checks, cash, credit card, or Paypal.

HAPPY SHOPPING!

Tara

I am participating in an Avon contest with my district. It’s called Miss America Avon and the goal is to get an order through my website from each state in the USA. The first rep to get an order starting on 11/12 (Wednesday) from each state wins a prize. Like if I get the first Missouri order, I get the “Missouri Prize.” Also the rep who has the most states total (even if they weren’t the first order-er from that state) wins a prize at the end. Anyone who gets all 50 states also wins a big prize.

So here is what I am proposing- if there is anything you can POSSIBLY order from my website, please order it! Even if it is a 79 cent lip balm. It doesn’t matter the size of the order. You can use the code REPFS for free shipping. You have to choose Direct Delivery (Avon ships to you) for your order to qualify. Also if you decide to do this you will get a little thank you from me! Feel free to spread the word if you want.

Here is the link to my site

I will update here with the states that I have gotten orders from. If you don’t want me to list what state you ordered from, let me know but otherwise I’ll give you some linky love.

Alaska- Wendy AND Chasing Groundhogs
Arizona- Megan
Arkansas- Unkempt Mommy
California- Audrey
Florida- Bethany
Indiana- Kelly
Louisiana- Stacy
Michigan- Harmony (she also sells chocolate)
Missouri- Barb
New York- Jill
North Carolina- Rachel
Oklahoma- Bethany
Pennsylvania- Girl (check out her etsy shop!)
Texas- Wildmom
Virginia- Feels Like Happiness
Washington- Geoff (BIL)
Wisconsin- Constance

Last week our new division manager came in town. She came to my house with MY district manager for a meeting. Then after that, we went and had another meeting at a restaurant, so we ended up spending about four hours together. I felt like I got to know both of them a lot better and I am more comfortable asking my manager for help with different things. I also think she sees how hard I am working now… or at least I hope she does! I set a few new goals for myself, one of which I have ALMOST met and one of which I need to reach by February-ish.

I guess I am starting to see this as more of a career and not just a little side job. Not that it can be a full-time career right now (because I want to be a SAHM still and have my focus on Bailey) but I can develop it into a career for when the kids are in school. I like seeing potential in something since I struggle with feeling like “just a mom” some days. And I want Bailey to see me working hard toward something and making accomplishments, even if it is not in a 9 to 5 type job.