My kids think I pooped in my panties, and I hardly ever know what I'm doing. It's been a rough day, folks. 

I wish those were exaggerations or lies, but both statements are very, very true. 

My children do very much believe that I pooped in my panties a little today. My daughter found a pair of panties soaking in one of the sinks in my bathroom. She was horrified and wanted to know what on earth was in my panties. My son, of course, knew exactly what it was....has to be poop. What else could it be? 

I really hope you're laughing and not completely grossed out, but this is life people. Sometimes you need to soak your panties, and sometimes your above mentioned children conclude that the reason you are soaking your panties is because you pooped a little. {For the record, I didn't poop.} 

"Mom, did you think it was just a toot?" questions the 5 year old. 

"Yes, baby. I thought it was just a toot." 

Things are not always what they appear. Very rarely are things the way they appear actually. The more years I spend on this crazy planet, the more I understand that. 

I really hardly ever know what I'm doing. I mean, does any parent really have any clue how to do this successfully? And not even in parenting or foster care, I very rarely ever know what I'm doing in business or life either. 

Really. Hardly ever am I sure that I'm doing the right thing. 

I've observed that many successful women operate in the same belief. They don't know what they're doing....they mostly just fake it until they make it. That phrase is popular because it's real. 

I was talking to a girl who I would absolutely love to have on my Scentsy team today. She reminds me of myself. 100%. She doesn't want to misstep. She wants to do it right if she decides to do it, but she has everything it takes to be a successful business owner. I was telling her that I really had no idea what I was doing when I started as a Scentsy consultant. I just always acted like I knew exactly what  I was doing. 

To be successful, you don't have to have all the answers, you just have to be willing to find them when they arise. It's really pretty simple. 

If we always waited to do things until we thought we were equipped or ready or fully qualified, we would never accomplish anything. I think that's why so many people sit back and wait for things to happen to them. Maybe when they lose 10 lbs or when they have more time or when they feel better about their circumstances....maybe then. 

What about now?

I fail everyday in so many areas of my life. I have no idea how to parent 3 kids and a foster baby. I have no clue how to be the best wife for my man. I don't know how to inspire other people or lead them to success. I really don't. But I do it all. Every day. Somehow, all those things happen. 

We can't just sit around waiting for things to be perfect. 

Perfection doesn't exist. 

Maybe today is the day. Maybe today is the day that you hit the gym for the 1st time in months or maybe today is the day you start a new business. Maybe today is the day you love your spouse the way he deserves to be loved. Why can't today be the day? 

You're never going to figure it out. I'm never going to figure it out, but that isn't stopping me. Get up and do it anyways. 

Whatever it is. You don't have to know what you're doing. I hardly ever know what I'm doing. But that doesn't stop me from charging the darkness or doing things that I think are bigger than me. Fake it until you become it. You can. 

And even if you have a day when your kids think you pooped in your panties, pretend you did (even if you didn't) because maybe that's easier than explaining the truth to a 5 and 7 year old.  

Velata Vision 2014!

So I'm apologizing now for not posting about Velata convention earlier, but it was seriously exhausting in the most amazing way. 

I have to post now because I have absolutely no space on my phone, so the pictures need to be here, so I clear up some space for all the awesomeness that is about to happen this week at SuperStar Director Summit. 

Oh course we were greeted with a warm welcome to the Scentsy Commons with beautiful branding. Even the windows had balloons on them! 

There were beautiful Velata displays in the lobby. {This was only 1 of them.}

During the day, we found out about new seasonal meltables coming October 1st. The amazingly delicious flavors are Pumpkin Pie and Dark Chocolate Mint (think Andes mints meets Thin Mints). They are both delicious!

We had a lot of fun learning how to create all kinds of delicious and cute candies and treats with our Velata meltables.

We spent the afternoon painting bowls for an amazing organization called the Empty Bowl that has people paint bowls throughout the year, and then they sell them to raise money for hunger in the Boise area. We took our painting job pretty seriously.

Day 1 of Velata convention was a good day! 

September Goals

I love the start of a new month. It's like a fresh beginning every 30 days. 

If I had to choose a favorite 1st day of the month, it would easily be September 1st. The start of the new Fall and Winter catalog is always my favorite time of year. Mostly because I love scents like Pumpkin Roll and Salted Caramel Cupcake and Cider Mill. Oh just talking about it makes me want to warm all that deliciousness. 

I saw a facebook post from a sweet friend with her September goals, and I thought it was a great idea! So here's to having written down goals this month! 

So here goes. These are my personal goals and my business goals for the month of February.

Business Goals:

Sell $2,500 minimum.

Share the Scentsy or Velata opportunity with 3 new team members.

Create a Velata meal plan.

Evaluate and fine tune systems for communicating with my team.

Personal Goals: 

Pre-determine my time with Christ (see below).

Get up at 6am and use the time that no one wants from you.

Read because you want to read {10 pages a day}.

Sweat at least 4x a week {weights and cardio}.

Cook because you love it. 

Date your spouse {because he's hot and you can}. 

Make sure Friday = Family Fun Day! 

So there you have it, it's on paper and real. What about you? What goals do you have this month? Writing them down and sharing can make all the difference in the world. 

Coming Soon.....

Thursday we hosted a wonderfully successful Last Chance/First Glance Open House. It was a great day with tons of excitement over our new Scentsy and Velata catalogs. 

We've welcomed 3 new team members to our Scentsy Family this month, and we're flying to Pittsburg next month to launch 3 new team members (1 of whom we met in the Bahamas!). I love the excitement around being a part of this amazing business and working for yourself. My favorite part of this "job" is getting the opportunity to show women that they can run their own business and be their own boss. 

I'm also crazy excited about these new catalogs, so I thought I'd take a minute to showcase some of my favorites coming on Monday.....

Ribbons of Hope 

Our Fall Charitable Cause Warmer

Our Harvest Collection

Our September warmer of the month 

 Stella the unicorn and Scout the dragon

Amber and Seafoam Fluted Lampshade Warmers

Oh I can't wait! 

Preparing to be Full

We are definitely in a season of transition. My brother-in-law moved in last week to spend his senior year here playing golf. He's a good kid, and we love having him here. It's going to be a great year. Our kids love having him here despite Wyatt's face in the picture below. {I think he was concerned about the candles Brad had just blown out...ya know...our kids never see real candles.} 

Not only did Brad move in, but my kiddos went to school this week! I won't pretend I didn't cry on the 1st day. I lost it, and wanted to go back and pick them up, but it only lasted a day. After that, they were happy, we were happy, everyone was happy. What's not to love about happy? 

Plus, they only go to school Monday-Thursday. It's pretty much perfect {except that I thought it was Saturday all day today, and I took 3 kids to Target....who does that?} 

So I'm here, preparing for this house to be full. Full of family, people, kids, and love. Oh and food. Lots of food. 

As I've been looking through my journal from our Italy trip, I found a page full of a list I titled, "How I want Italy to change me." On that list was fullness. To be full of life. Full of love. To have a house always full of people. 

We are definitely getting that. My in-laws will be here this weekend and my mom, so I get to practice that full-house thing this weekend. 

Part of "preparing to be full" has meant that we're intentionally working through each room of our house to make it more functional to serve, host, and love others. Systems, a place for everything, a plan, if you will. It's all there. 

Even tonight, I sit here thinking about how we have a couple weeks to get in the groove of school and activities and business before Brian and I head out of town for almost 2 full weeks. We're headed to Boise for the 1st ever Velata convention. We are elated. Plus, we're meeting our friends there, and we'll spend a few days with them camping and dreaming and catching up. 

Immediately after that, we get to spend several days with Scentsy's top leaders at our annual SuperStar Director Summit. It's a time to re-charge and collaborate and learn, and it is sweet food to my soul. 

Brian and I will fly from Boise to Pittsburg to help launch the business of 3 new team members. 

To say it's going to be a busy week-and-a-half is an understatement. In addition to all that, when we come home from Pittsburgh, there is a very good chance that our home will officially be open as a foster home again which means, we will very likely welcome a baby into our home the middle of September (that's less than a month away folks!). 

When I say we're preparing to be full, I mean it. But full is good. Empty is bad. 

I want to be full. I want my home to be full. I want my heart to be full. So we're preparing over here to be full. Preparing to be full of love, full of Christ, full of community, full of good. 

Last Chance....First Glance

To say I'm excited about our new Scentsy and Velata catalogs is the understatement of the year. I'm like a kid waiting for Christmas morning, except it won't be Christmas morning, it'll be September 1st. It's basically the same thing. 

I'm crazy over our September warmer of the month. It's nostalgically perfect. 

I'm also the most excited I have ever been about Velata and our upcoming catalog. As I type this, my mind is reeling with ideas to implement to help get families around the table this Fall. 

My mind is running a hundred miles a minute. The ideas and the things I want to do are begging to be put on paper. (I'm also thinking about how my friend called me out for a Velata ice bucket challenge which means I have to pour a bucket of ice over myself tomorrow and donate $10 to our local food bank). That'll be fun. 

But, back to the new catalogs. I'm thrilled and excited and can't wait for our new catalogs to launch, so I'm hosting a Last Chance, First Glance party. Stop by, Book your Fall Party, Shop at 10% off, and sample all our new Fall scents and products. (oh and don't forget about all our specials!) It's the best of both worlds...Spring and Fall all rolled into one night. Laid back and fun. 

It's going to be one great party. Hopefully you'll join us, or host your own! The most important thing is that you keep it simple and focus on connecting with your customers, friends, and family.