I'll try to do better

It's been a long time since I've blogged. Seriously, I'll try to do better. It's just that most things that happen in my life are shared with facebook. I mean, who wants to read a super long story about how my kid got an A on her spelling test due to my genius parenting when I could just brag in a few words on facebook and be done? But here's the thing... you guys are finding my blog because you need help, or your curious and want more information and that's great. I just had another girl tell me this week "I read your blog! It helped me so much" and that's really what it's all about isn't it? So I'm going to try to give you guys something new every week!
I can't believe it's been 3 1/2 years since the blog that changed my life. Yes, a blog post changed my life. You see, I was just a normal stay at home mom with three small kids, some dogs, a cat, a husband who was probably the stinkiest of them all. I needed something, anything, to make my house not stink. I was happy with what I was using until my neighbor disrupted the force with something new. I didn't want to like it. I was loyal to my brand. But then I did like it. I liked it sooooo much better. It smelled better, and it wasn't made of stuff I would be ashamed to have in my home. I wanted more. I decided to book a party. But then, I researched some more and decided to join. Y'all, I wanted the kit and all the stuff in it I could smell anytime I wanted to. I knew i could make back some of the kit investment on my first party, and if it got high enough, I'd earn a quick start product credit. I had my party, I earned my hostess rewards, I made back my kit investment, earned the $75 product credit to get even more stuff and I was happy. I was ready to take my lifetime 25% discount and walk. But what I didn't account for is that my friends and family loved the stuff as much as I did. Y'all wanted more stuff. Y'all wanted to party. Some of y'all even wanted to join my team! Before I knew it, I was promoting for the first time, rocking top company sales, filling my calendar with parties and events. I've blinked twice and now it's 3 1/2 years later. I have made so many friends thanks to this business. Friends I will have for a lifetime. I have this amazing nationwide team, I'm a leader in the business. I've gotten to lead a regional consultant rally and train other consultants. I've gotten to create a workshop for one of our annual "family" reunions and teach other consultants and leaders on my strengths in the business! Me! How crazy is that? I was a big part of helping my neighbor and friend to become a leader as well recently. I've PCS'd to a new area where I get to introduce all new people to Pink Zebra and make more new friends in the process. and with another PCS on the horizon, I'm actually looking forward to spreading the love (and sprinkles) even farther! I am so thankful that someone chose to share this opportunity with me. And a sincere thank you to those of you who kept me going. Whether you knew it or not!
 Feel free to take a peek at our opportunity group on facebook if you're interested in more information! https://www.facebook.com/groups/1600680540157882/

fun at 4am

4am. I'm awoken by a high pitched beep. It's the smoke alarm. But it's not blaring to warn me of a fire somewhere in my house. No. Just a simple chirp. Ok back to sleep. ::beep:: that's kind of annoying. But I can ignore it. I am not getting out of bed at 4am. ::beep:: I am now angry. When we moved in last month they told us that all of the smoke alarms had brand new batteries and said we wouldn't need to change them until daylight savings next spring ::beep:: ok I guess it's not going to stop. Let's figure out where it's coming from. ::beep:: ok not in my room or ally's. Sounds like it's coming from the other direction. I am now standing in the dark at the top of the stairs. My dog is staring at me like I'm nuts because she knows I don't get out of bed in the middle of the night for anything. Probably not even the apocalypse. But this beeping is keeping me awake. ::beep:: "low battery" HOLY FUCK! Who said that???? Down the stairs I go. Time to start searching for a nine volt. I have no clue where one would be. I know where I kept them in the old house but I don't even remember unpacking them or where I would put them if I did. And so I search as my smoke alarm keeps talking to me. Every 45 seconds or so she reminds me that her battery is low. Taunting me with her voice that is way too chipper for 4am. I head back upstairs and accidentally wake up my husband looking in strange places for a battery. Then I start to wonder why they haven't made smoke alarms take more common batteries. Everyone has AA batteries handy. But who keeps a stash of 9 volts? I have one somewhere I know it. I'm not going to the store to get one at this hour (I've had to do this before. It was a Sunday morning at 7am when I couldn't find a replacement battery about 4 years ago. We lived in the middle of nowhere and I drove 25 minutes to a store that didn't open for another hour. The only open store didn't carry 9 volts so I napped in my car until the store opened). I'd rather beat the thing with a broom than do that again. Anyway I had the idea to check this smoke alarm to make sure it, indeed, needed a nine volt. Nope. 2 AA batteries. Woohoo! I changed the batteries and started heading back to bed ::beep:: "low battery"...... REALLY??? I guess I need to reset the thing. So I dragged the chair back over and climbed up and pressed the button. That's how you reset it right? Nope. ::BEEEEEEEEEP BEEEEEEEP:: "fire" crap. Every smoke alarm in the house is blaring. I hear kids coming out of their rooms and my husband shoots out of bed until he remembers I was just looking for a replacement battery so it must have been me. I yell "fire drill" up the stairs and snicker. They groan as I press the button again and it beeps differently and tells me "carbon monoxide detected" my snarky 9 year old yells down "is that a drill too?" So again I reach up and push the button and all is quiet. Not sure I'm ready to fall for that just yet so I wait. A full minute this time. No beeping. Yes! After about 45 minutes this fiasco is over! And now I'm wide awake 😭 my six year old slept through the whole thing. At least we learned something. 😴😴😴

Counting my blessings

sometimes we al just need to stop and think about how blessed we truly are. No matter how crazy life seems, each and every difficult experience is actually a blessing. Our most recent pcs was difficult on our kids. It was hard for them to leave their house, their friends, their school. We knew it would get harder as they got older, but we didn't realize the emotional attachment we had to their friends too. Many of them had become part of our family. For me, I had built a thriving pink zebra  business in Texas. I had an amazing team who had become some of my best friends, awesome customers, and a steady monthly income. I was worried about starting over! On top of that a good portion of our household goods came up missing, there was lots of damage to our furniture, and it took forever to get here! it was so stressful. But it's all helped me realize how blessed we are. We have had more time together as a family. The girls are bonding with one another because they don't have a friend's house to escape to. We've been hiking, playing outside, board games and Barbie dolls. They may not have realized it, but their best friends go with them anywhere they go. Sisters are best friends for life. As for me, my team is still awesome, I just don't see them everyday. They're still working their butts off and I'm so proud of them! I also get to build a team here! How awesome is that? My customers still love me and my business is still thriving. Plus, our new incentive trip was released today and I am definitely earning this all expenses paid trip to Costa Rica! These are things I've never dreamed of doing. My husband's job blesses us with the ability to live all over the country. I never thought I'd find my way out of New Jersey! But I've lived in the mountains of West Virginia. Spent a few years in Houston Texas and how I get to live in vegas! Yes! Vegas! And my job allows me the opportunity to make new friends anywhere we end up, the opportunity to travel for free! Plus they've given me some fabulous bling! I am truly blessed. Sprinkles. Who knew?

Coffee, a monkey and glue

Coffee, a monkey and glue. Those were my problems of the morning. Seemed everything was going wrong. It's not Monday, but it sure felt like one since the girls had off of school yesterday. I was dragging it pretty bad this morning and after shipping them off on the school bus, coffee sounded AMAZING. I popped a k-cup in the keurig and sniffed the air as the scent filled the kitchen. MMMMM. I mixed in some sugar and poured half and half in the cup, stirred, and that's when the problems started. What was that little white blob floating in my coffee? Another one. Another one. Those are friggin curdles. The date on the half and half is nearly 3 weeks away. :( Major sad face!!!! So I dumped the coffee and started my projects for the day. Project 1: diaper cake. I have never made a diaper cake. I don't even think I had one made for me when I had a baby shower years ago. Come to think of it, I don't even know if I've ever seen one in person and I am positive I never cared enough to look closely. But a dear friend of mine and I were chatting about her up coming baby shower and she mentioned that her loser friend who offered to make her one flaked out on her and probably wasn't even coming to the shower because it was her "Birthday weekend." She is about to have her third child and has never had a big all-out baby shower before. I'm not about to let her be disappointed. She touched on finding someone to make her one and paying for it herself. UM. NO. Since finances were kind of limited after back to school, 2 car registrations/inspections/repairs, and 2 baby showers this week, I had to do this on a budget so there was no ordering a ridiculously outrageously priced diaper cake option. So I Googled it. Easy enough. I had already bought her a pack of diapers so I opened them up and started rolling! I managed to make it almost look like an actual diaper cake. Woohoo. I set my goal low Somewhere between doesn't suck and at least it's not falling apart. Mission accomplished. Then my crafty brain took over and I busted out the craft box. After borrowing my hot glue gun back from the neighbors who borrowed it months and months ago (because I craft so often nowadays) I got to work glueing ribbon and bows and making it kind of pretty. Then came the monkey. Have you ever tried getting a monkey to stay in one place? Not easy right? Not even if he's stuffed. This stuffed monkey looked super cute at the top of that cake. But he kept falling over backwards. So I tied his legs to the cake with thread. That worked for all of 5 minutes. Then he started falling forward. So I tied some thread around his neck. I couldn't get it to tie properly around the ribbon or diapers without making him look like a crooked neck "walker" on the Walking Dead so I decided to glue the thread to the ribbon. Instead, however, I glued my finger to the ribbon. I'm pretty sure I screamed every curse word I could think of in that five seconds that my finger screamed with burning, searing pain. I pulled and I shook and I couldn't get the damn thing off my finger. I jumped up and ran, because apparently the glue was chasing me, and the entire diaper cake fell apart except for the ribbon that was still attached to my finger. Yep. I checked. No fingerprints left!!! Good news, the monkey was still attached to the top of the cake. I think I need a coffee :/

Pink Zebra vs. Scentsy 2: The business model

So it's been over a year since I posted my very first direct sales related blog comparing two similar direct sales companies and their products. I couldn't be happier with my decision to join Pink Zebra and my success with the company! My team has grown to 40 on 5 levels, I've enjoyed two promotions, made tons of new friends and I wasn't even sure I wanted to sell the stuff! What was I thinking? But recently a facebook friend invited me to join her Scentsy launch party. I have tremendous respect for that company. They have a great product line. But I've proven that Pink Zebra is soooo much better so why would she invite me to her launch party? Am I not posting enough? Am I failing at informing my own facebook friends? (If you're friends with me on facebook, you know that this is not the case, I can't shut up about this stuff, it's just so exciting!!!) So what was it? I mean, I see the appeal. A bunch of your friends use these products and really like them so you should sign up to sell it and make a few bucks, right? Wrong. You should show them this awesome "new" product that's taking over the market and give them something new and fun to be excited over and instead of selling them a few $5 bars from time to time, you can upgrade all of their warmers instead, therefore increasing your commission check. But I'm getting ahead of myself. I recently took a look at their compensation plan. In case you're in the process of deciding which of these companies to join, let me break down a few pros and cons and try to be as unbiased as possible.
# of consultants 
Scentsy: Approx 120,000 current consultants in the US alone. This does not include the many former consultants and those in other countries
Pink Zebra: Approx 15,000 consultants ever. This includes active and inactive consultants because you're never "terminated" for not making a sales quota.
Scentsy is definitely more saturated. It's likely that the person you're chatting with is a consultant, used to be a consultant, has a close friend or family member that is a consultant, or once had a party...or two.... for someone else.
Location
Scentsy: worldwide including  Canada, Europe, Mexico and Australia
Pink Zebra: US only. Expanding international in 2016
If you're outside of the US and looking for something to join today, Scentsy it is!
Length of time in business:
Scentsy: 11 years
Pink Zebra: Less than 3 years
Being around a long time you become a household name and you build brand recognition. But being a newer company YOU get to introduce people to your company. Plus, it's much easier to build your team. Where are those people that joined Scentsy in their first 3 years? At the top. Where can you be in 7 or 8 years if you join Pink Zebra in it's first 3 years? __ ___ ___ :)
Requirements to be considered Active
Scentsy: $150 in a single month every 3 months.
Pink Zebra: $150 cumulative in a 6 month period.
Compensation plan 
Scentsy: 20% for your first $1000 then 25% and additional bonuses when you promote into leadership.
Pink Zebra: 25% on your sales. If you reach $900 in a single month you receive 5% bonus If you sell $2000 in a single month you get another 5% bonus for a total of 35% of your sales plus additional bonuses when you promote to leadership.
Consultant discount
Scentsy: None. You must order at full price and wait for a check.
Pink Zebra: 25%. You may choose to keep your commission up front or wait for a monthly check
Method of Payment:
Scentsy: Paid to your Scentsy Credit Card
Pink Zebra: Keep your commission up front in cash, elect for direct deposit, or sent it to e-wallet.
New consultant Incentives:
Scentsy:
1: length of time: 70 days
requirement: $1250 in sales OR 3 active recruits
reward: $50 product credit, pin and certificate
2: length of time: 70 days
requirement: $2500 in sales or $1250 in sales AND 3 active recruits
reward: $125 product credit, pin and certificate
3:  length of time: 70 days
requirement: $5,000 in sales and 6 active recruits
reward: $200 product credit, pin, recognition in newsletter and at convention
Pink Zebra:
1: length of time: 30 days
requirement: $500 in sales
reward: $75 product credit
2: length of time: 30-60 days
requirement: $1000 in sales
reward: $125 in product credit
3:  length of time: 60-90 days
requirement: $1000 in sales
reward: $150 in product credit
4: length of time: 90 days
requirement: 1 qualified recruit
reward: $75 in product credit
5: length of time: 90 days
requirement: 2nd qualified recruit
reward: $75 in product credit
6:  length of time: 90 days
requirement: 3rd qualified recruit
reward: $75 in product credit
Total you can earn if you meet all 6: $575 in product credit
Additional Incentives:
Scentsy: (I'm sure the Scentsy consultants will provide this information for me to update. I know they do charm bracelets for promoting and an annual trip incentive but I don't know of all the details)
Pink Zebra:
Annual trip incentive (lesser prizes of an ipad or dell tablet for small point totals)
Annual awards for top performers in several categories
Random free product incentives
Executive Managers and up get to attend our annual family reunion for FREE. Executive Directors and up get an upgraded suite and pamperings as well :)
Jewelry: Managers receive Silver Necklace and charm. Executive Managers receive bracelet and charm. Directors receive custom fitted cowboy boots and a VIP trip to home office in Houston, dinner with founders, tiara, and other fabulous pamperings. Executive Directors receive exclusive trip, and a diamond bracelet. Presidential Directors receive (this level has not been achieved yet! It's a surprise!)
Career Plan: (This is where the big money can be made in this business)
Scentsy:

Pink Zebra:

The differences:
These plans are very different. Pink Zebra starts out at 10% (7% for every personal sponsor plus 3 % level one) for every person a consultant sponsors while Scentsy starts out at 2%. Pink Zebra also does not have an initial team volume requirement at the lower levels while Scentsy does. However Scentsy offers a 2% bonus on personal sales volume to consultants while PZ does not. Also, Scentsy will decrease your paycheck as your level one promotes. Their commission structure is based on your rank and the rank of the frontline consultant. Pink Zebra's commission structure stays the same as rank increases but opens up additional levels of pay deeper into your downline as you promote.
The bottom line:
If you are a new consultant and start building your team, Pink Zebra will reward you better with 10% of your recruit's sales with no minimum team volume ($400 PSV). Scentsy will only be paying you 2% on sales of that very same recruit and you have to hit $1000 team volume ( and $500 PSV). Scentsy rewards you for personal sales at the higher leadership levels, but at that point in leadership you should be more concerned about team training than personal sales, no?
So if you want a higher pay on your sales on day one, a higher pay on everyone you personally bring into the company, a ground floor opportunity with the potential to make it to the top, go with Pink Zebra.
If you would rather a bonus on your personal sales as you promote and are ok with a percentage cut as your team members promote, and are willing to work in a highly saturated market Scentsy might be a better choice.

Ultimately, the choice is yours and your house is going to smell AMAZING. As always, if you've decide to join Pink Zebra, my team is hiring! www.sprinkleaddicts.com plus, I'm on facebook so look me up if you have questions that need answering. www.facebook.com/sandiessprinkles I'm always available for my team! I'd love to help you reach those goals, whatever they may be!!!

The blog since the blog

It was over a year ago when I wrote my first blog post. My neighbor was trying to get me to try a new product when I already used something else. Who would have thought that one year later this is where I would be? I tried that product. I loved that product. I stood behind that product. And that product has given me so many amazing gifts in return. Friends. This has been the best gift of all. As a military wife who moves a lot, it's hard to make new friends. Especially since my husband is AGR and we don't usually live on or near a military base with other women going through the same thing. I've got a great new tool to make friends. The rest is just a bonus in my opinion. But I'm getting ahead of myself. This weekend was AMAZING. To think, I had almost decided not to go. But I wanted to lead by example so I packed my bags and headed to Nashville, Tennessee for our 3rd Annual Pink Zebra Family Reunion (yes, third, we are 3 years old, ground floor, and quickly making a name for ourselves in this industry, come back here in 5 years and we'll chat about how awesome this is).

Friday: I was scared out of my mind on Friday when I showed up to register for this part of the weekend. Leadership meeting. As a brand new manager I would be surrounded by the top leaders in this company. Yes, they've kind of got celebrity status with us consultants and I got to have lunch in the same room with them. It was delicious. Then we got a private leadership training by one of the greats in this industry. If you haven't heard of Belinda Ellsworth, you're probably not in direct sales (yet. want to join my team?). She was awesome and gave me some great tips on leading that I'm already starting to implement! A quick change of clothes and we were off to the Grand Ole Opry! We got to go back stage for drinks and snacks. We cleaned them out of coconut rum. We all had floor seats for the show (which included Brad Paisley). It was such an amazing experience and I couldn't have picked better people to share it with than the leaders who helped me to succeed. That was just the first day! 

Saturday: Saturday was so exciting! I walked in the room and it was FILLED with zebras! I'm so impressed that so many came out to reunion, see the fall line, and learn some tips to boost their business! The morning brought recognition and I got to walk across the stage as a Manager! I received a pink rose and, of course, my manager necklace!! It's so cute. I think everyone should have one! We took a group picture and were treated to lunch. Then, another great seminar by Belinda Ellsworth! Then, it was workshop time! I was soooo honored to be one of only 4 managers asked to host a workshop. Partnered with another manager, we were able to deliver information to other consultants on what was working for us so we could help them succeed. I was TERRIFIED! But I did it. And it was FUN! Honestly I don't remember much because I was so nervous and kind of blacked out, but I've gotten great feedback. :) After workshops I got to spend some time with my family that came with me to Nashville. We got to have dinner together, then it was back for the reveal!!! I was soooo excited to see the new fall and winter products and smell the new scents. I definitely have a favorite, but I won't tell!! Dessert and Drinks were yummy and we were given lots of goodies to take home. I bought some more catalogs (who wants one?). I was sooooo tired when I got back to my room but my head was spinning with penguins and snowmen I could barely sleep! 

Sunday morning I was sooooo tired, but not ready to stop! The excitement of the morning was enough to get me going! We were told we were able to offer $25 off the starter kit this month. Woot woot. But the big announcement was our next incentive trip. We're going to Jamaica!! For FREE! All expenses paid! I was so close last year. This year I'm GOING! Who is coming with me? It's so easy to do if you work at it steadily. I've already got my plan! We had one final seminar from Belinda (she's so awesome, I love everything she has to say) and more workshops from our peers. Our founder even sang for us :) I learned so much from everyone. I just had to soak it all in. Then I headed back to my room to shower and change for our dinner cruise on the General Jackson. Great food. Great people. Great night. I watched some of the top performers receive much deserved awards. I even made one of the top 100 lists myself (omg top 100 in the company??? That's soooo awesome!!!). We also found out that our next reunion is going to be a little closer to home. San Antonio, here I come!!! 

The loot:

As a leader I was given a beautiful leather bag and clutch. A pink and white zebra striped scarf. I also got a commemorative back stage pass and one of our gorgeous shades from our fall line. Plus a reunion planner to take notes! Don't forget the real backstage pass and ticket to the Grand Ole Opry, lunch, dinner and drinks! On Saturday, consultants were given our new fall Sprinkle testers, a single catalog, one of our beautiful new shades, and if they attended our last rally, they got a bonus red warmer! Plus 2 empty jars to fill with a single scent or recipe of their choice! Plus, in our rooms, we were given a 2-dish simmer pot and 2 jars of an exclusive scent! I also got my necklace for promoting to manager! How awesome is that? On top of all of the information I retained which was priceless! I love my "job."  Why are you not doing this with me??? www.sprinkleaddicts.com <---- Go there and get started so you can come hang with me in Jamaica and San Antonio!!!

generic sunscreen

For your benefit I will not post a picture. I am having MAJOR skin-feels-like-it's-on-fire problems today. Laying in bed last night I was belting out the Alicia Keys tune trying to make light of my situation. I recently bought some store-brand spray on sunscreen. I was going to go for the good stuff as usual, but the store brand stuff was on sale. And I had a coupon for 20% off of store-brand merchandise. So I went the cheap route. Anyway, a friend and I packed our 5 kids ranging from 2-9 into the car yesterday and took them to the beach. Upon our arrival, I broke out the sunscreen and started spraying kids down. One of mine hates the lotion and prefers the spray. One of my hates the spray and prefers the lotion. I usually keep some water babies lotion in the car for her but we weren't in my car. So I proceeded to spray my hands with the stuff and wipe it all over her. I handed over the can to my friend to spray her 2 year old because I'm pretty clumsy and not interested in being responsible for spraying a kid in the eyes. When she's done with it, she chucks it in the sand. Let me put this into perspective for you. My hands were COVERED in the stuff as I was wiping my daughter down. Therefore the sunscreen was all over the can. My friend chucked it into the sand and there is now sand all over the can. It's my turn to get sunscreened. so I pick up the sand covered can and spray myself all over. now my hands are covered in sand. Whatever, I sprayed myself. I'm good, right? wrong. After 2-3 hours at the beach we jammed these tired kids back in the car and by the time we made it to sonic for half priced slushies, I was feeling like my shoulders were frying on a pancake griddle. I look down and I have STRIPES ON MY SKIN. Apparently the places where I sprayed directly were very well protected and the rest of me were a nice shade of boiled lobster. I should also mention that this FRIEND I went to the beach with is getting married next week and guess who is the made of honor? She's going to have a zebra striped maid of honor in her wedding pictures alllll because I couldn't rub the sunscreen in with my sandy hands. OK it's not entirely her fault. But it's much more fun to blame her than have her mad at me for looking like a bottle of ketchup in her wedding pictures.

Accomplishment

The sense of accomplishment is a strange one. When you work so hard for something for so long, it becomes a part of you. You find yourself strategizing about it at all times of the day whether it is just for a few seconds or for a few hours, you plan your direction on how to reach those goals. You tend to surround yourself with those associated with achieving the goal.When you get close, the adrenaline that is present is palpable. The sense of excitement is running high. Then, when you've finally accomplished what you've been working towards, it feels great! You breathe a sigh of relief and smile at your achievement. Then what? Sure, you're supposed to start thinking about the next goal. But, when something consumes you for so long and you're on that adrenaline rush of being so close, how do you calm down and focus on another long-term goal and be so far away yet again?
Today is one of these bittersweet days. I finally promoted into leadership with Pink Zebra. I've been working on becoming a Manager for a few months now. The sense of accomplishment when I open my back office and see that little M next to my name is amazing, but I also know that my next promotion will be even more difficult to achieve, and it's a long way off. I've set a realistic yet challenging timeline to achieve that goal and know exactly what it will take to get me there. And I'm very excited about helping my team to achieve their goals along the way! But I can't help but miss the adrenaline of being so close!

Disclaimer: If you are unaware of what Pink Zebra is, you must be living under a rock. I will take no fault at all if, even after reading all of my blog posts and bazillion posts on facebook, you still have not chosen to join my Pink Zebra team. We are accomplishing some amazing things. You really should just go join right now     ( www.sprinkleaddicts.com ) so you don't regret it several years from now. Unless, of course, you don't like money, or free vacations, or if you like your house to smell bad. :)

The case of the missing ice scraper

Yay! 2 hour delay which means I got to sleep in this morning right?? wrong. My brain decided to wake up at 6:45 and wonder why my alarm wasn't going off. I managed to doze in and out for the next two hours before it was time to get up. Had the kids dressed in warm clothes when Ally started whining that her outfit was "hot" so I told her she could change. I refuse to complain about what she decided to wear..... So off to the bus stop where we stood in the cold for 15 minutes while ice fell from the sky. No bus. Of course this doesn't mean that they can stay home because Allyson has perfect attendance and she won't let that happen. So I'm driving them. We walk home, get Haylie dressed and in shoes and head out to the car which is frozen shut. Yes, this has motivated me to organize the garage so my car fits in there again. Later. Now I can't find my ice scraper. I look everywhere! I live in Houston, so it's not like I use it every year, but it should still be in my car where it belongs. Whatever. It's gone. I blame my husband. So I get the heat pumping and the wipers on and we play the waiting game. A lovely rendition of "What does the fox say" blasts through the speakers. Eventually, the ice melts enough to where I can use my Larry the Cable guy Christmas CD cover to scrape the ice out of my way! If nothing else goes wrong, we'll make it to school without a tardy and her perfect attendance will be saved! I forgot to factor in the fact that there are like 70 other kids on their bus who also need to be driven to school today. So we waited as the drop off line inched up while the minutes ticked by. As soon as I got close enough i opened the door and shoved them out. 10:15 on the dot! run! There were at least 40 cars behind me so unless the office staff wants to get carpal tunnel writing out tardy slips, I think they're all getting a free pass for the day. I pull out of the line to find cars pulled up on the side of the school letting their kids out in the "walker" line. For real? Are you that lazy you can't wait in line for a few minutes and instead, you're letting your 6 year old out of the car in the middle of the street where he needs to cross without a crossing guard because you're late and the guard has already left? UGH. Some people. Man! I need a coffee. So Haylie and I head to Starbucks. I can'e even make a left turn into the place, the drive-thru is so packed. But I've already promised the kid a hot chocolate and I hadn't brushed my hair so we're sticking it out. 30 minutes later, coffee in hand, we head. home! I pull into the driveway, open the garage and there, on top of the single piece of furniture that is blocking me from being able to park in the garage.... is my ice scraper. ::sigh::

The direct sales debate

Several months ago I was sitting around debating whether to join a direct sales company. I knew I loved a particular product and thought about how much money the permanent discount would save me. But as a military family, money is a factor. I didn't want to spend over $100 on a kit to join a business and not succeed. We were pretty new to the area. We don't have a huge group of family and friends because we move around a lot. I didn't think I would have anyone to sell the stuff to. Plus, I didn't know people who would book a party. I figured there was no way I was going to get beyond the point where I made enough money to pay back my kit. But I decided I was fine with that.
I had a launch party and invited everyone I know in the area (which is not many but they're all pretty great). Everyone was really supportive and genuinely excited about the product. Everyone placed an order! Plus, I had gotten a few online orders from family members. I had gained enough sales to hit my first sales goal and made back the money that I spent on my kit! One of my awesome friends agreed to have a party! I was on my way!
My friends' party went well and I received another party booking, but it wasn't for a few months. But after that, it was dry. I thought I was done. I just missed my second month's goal. The third month, we went away several times and were busy basically every weekend so I didn't market my business at all. I did buy some of the new catalogs and scent samples and I had a few people from my launch party ask for more products but sales were slow. I thought maybe I was done with the business end and just gonna hang around for the discount.
Then I got a phone call. One of the girls from my launch party saw the hostess exclusive I posted on my facebook page and wanted to have a party. That same week I had a party for the friend of my friend that had a party. I had so much fun! These parties were exciting! I booked one party from the two parties. I needed to figure out how to book more.
I started looking for events in my area and booked several. I met some awesome vendors that I today call friends. Plus, I was generating interest in the product. I was getting party bookings from these events and had found my groove. Who needs a bunch of friends and family when you have an awesome product that everyone wants???
At this point, I was all-in. I wanted to succeed in this business. I saw a post on facebook about a girl thinking about joining the competing company and I told her my story. Just like that I had my first recruit! The very next day, another girl who had ordered off an online event a few weeks back, asked me about joining. In two days I now had a small team of three.
This encouraged me to start sharing the opportunity with EVERYONE. I may have been indecisive in the beginning, but Pink Zebra showed me that I CAN do it and it's EASY!
Since the I have learned so much about this business, about being a leader and about being successful. I've learned that succeeding in direct sales doesn't require you to have a ton of friends and family who will be buying off of you all of the time. No. You book parties from parties and end up expanding your customer base to complete strangers!
If you're considering direct sales here are a few tips: 1- Find a product you love. Your passion and excitement will help you tremendously! 2- don't join a company that has been around forever. Join one that's pretty new (those in their first 2 years are still at risk of failure) The main growth stage occurs between 2-4 years old and this is the fastest way to quickly build a strong team. 3- Don't join a company who has a competitor with superior products. For example: There are a bunch of those locket companies out there but South Hill Designs and Origami Owl are the clear leaders depending on what you're looking for. 4- Don't pick a business based  on the start-up cost. If it's free, it's probably free for a reason. 5- This might be the most important....make sure your product is consumable. This means if someone buys your  product, they have to come back to you to get more. Makeup is one of those products. I didn't know this when I got involved (I got lucky). Pink Zebra offers consumable products because once you own one of our awesome warmers, you'll need to give me a call to get more sprinkles! Which means my customers are always repeat customers :) If you sell one-time products, you're likely going to have one-time customers.
I have to say, it's been a fun couple of months. I look back at that launch party and, from the attendees, I have had 4 hostesses, 2 team members (and hoping to add a third soon, when she's ready) and several repeat customers! I've been able to meet some great new friends and now have an amazing vendor family. I now have a thriving team of 20! I promoted for the first time, and just 2 months later, I'm close to my second promotion. I'd love to be one of the first 200 to hit this level in the entire country! So, if you're considering Direct Sales, consider Pink Zebra. It's changing my life. Be sure to visit my website at www.sprinkleaddicts to sign up with ID# 73843 OR visit my facebook page and send me a message with any questions. Even if you don't choose Pink Zebra, I'd love to give you some tips to find the company that's right for you! www.facebook.com/sandiessprinkles

best gift ever

I'm about to give you the best gift ever. The gift of cash, a new career, a retirement plan, whatever you want it to be! I used to dream about winning the lottery so I can help all of my family and friends with all of their financial troubles. Who needs the lottery when I can build a team with these people and help them to eliminate those financial difficulties? And there is nothing wrong with a little hard work getting there right? Except it's not hard work. It's easy. And so much fun!!!

When I thought about getting into direct sales, I came up with every excuse as to why I would fail. I don't have a lot of friends and family close by. I don't have enough people who will buy from me to make it very far. I don't think my friends would want to host a party. However, I didn't realize that my friends and family didn't even need to be a factor.

I slid into the direct sales business backwards. I found a product I loved and wanted in my house. I was going to have a party, but why? I could buy a kit, have a launch party which would pay for my kit in commissions, I'd still earn the same hostess rewards and I would have a 25% discount for life! Plus, I got a bonus product credit for hitting my first goals with the company! Afterwards, I asked a friend of mine to host a party and I was off to a start. I thought maybe I could make a few extra dollars in the process and support my habit for free! But I didn't realize I had an important factor on my side: My products are consumable. Once people use them, they HAVE to come back for more. I soon found myself very busy and immersed in Sprinkles!!

I spent the summer months on vacation and not really thinking about selling anything to anyone. But once the kids were back in school, people started calling me to host a party. That is when I realized I was going to do this. I don't do anything half-assed. I'm going in strong!!! It was about 3 months after I bought my kit that I decided I was ready to set some goals and make it in this business! Since then, I've surpassed my first goal and am close to hitting my second WAY earlier than planned. This company is growing so fast and I can't wait until I'm sitting at the top with all of you. I was recently told that if I am not sharing this opportunity with those that I love that I'm being rude. I would be doing you a disservice to NOT ask you to join my team. Set a goal for where you would like to be and I can help you achieve it. Pink Zebra is going to multiply ten fold in the next 3 years. Don't miss the chance to get into the company now and work your way to the top. It's not a get rich quick scheme. You will have to work for it. But in the end it will be so worth it.

There are so many ways to earn cash, incentives, jewelry, trips, and free products. Plus you get free training and a team of people who love working together and helping one another. If you have a little motivation and big dreams, I need you on my team. Pink Zebra is the best thing that has happened for me and my family this year. Don't miss your chance to get involved on the ground floor and fast track to the top!

www.sprinkleaddicts.com and click JOIN NOW! It could be the best decision you've ever made!!!

Oh and if you want to know more, send me a message on facebook and I'll any questions you might have. www.facebook.com/sandiessprinkles

coats and boots

I'm checking out at the grocery store yesterday and the poor girl ringing up my groceries was just trying to make conversation not realizing she was about to ruin my day. She started talking about the cold front coming in and how it was going to be in the 30's tonight. Huh? Cold front? I really need to start watching the news. You see, this is Texas. I moved here to get away from these cold fronts and anything with the word cold in it. So I pulled up the weather on my phone and, sure enough, it was going to be FREEZING out tomorrow. I know the girls' winter jackets from last year weren't going to cut it. Because last year, I was in denial and refused to buy new winter jackets. I made them wear their L.L. Bean ones from the year before. These things are still in great shape. I probably could have passed the older two down and just buy a new jacket for my oldest and be done. But then I run the risk of "that's not fair" and "I HATE this color" and I wasn't in the mood for that. No time to order new ones from L.L. Bean so I now had to figure out where in Texas I can buy cold weather clothes! So there is this store called Burlington COAT factory and I decided to give it a try. WRONG! It should be called Burlington-entire-store-is-one-big-clearance-rack Factory. I don't have the time nor the energy to pick through racks and racks of coats to try to find one that fits my kid and isn't hideously ugly. Oh and did I mention that their coats at the COAT factory are conveniently located next to the toy section? So my kids were just NOT interested in the coat thing. I couldn't do it. I packed them back in the car and headed to the mall where I feel more comfortable. Here is where I learned that everyone in Texas is pretty much in denial when it comes to the cold weather. It was difficult to find a store that had coats that would keep my kids warm AND weren't made of PLEATHER from the 1980s. During our travels, my oldest finds these boots that she just HAS to have. I was quick with my response. "I'm sorry sweetie, I would totally have bought those boots for you, but we already got you some remember?" These boots were $60. Back in August before school started, we were walking around the PX at Fort Hood. In the 100 degree summer heat, I found these ADORABLE winter boots on the clearance rack for $5! I bought a half size up for each of the bigger girls. They didn't have anything that would fit the little one. I was good right? wrong. The oldest remembered this morning that I had told her about the boots and wanted to wear them with her new jacket. They don't fit. In less than 3 months, her foot has grown a full size and nothing I bought her at back to school time fits, including the $5 boots. Damn. She's a smart one too. Her immediate response was "Well at least now I can get the boots I saw at the mall!" CRAP. I should have thought up a better excuse. Anyway, my littlest found her coat within 5 minutes of walking in the first store. The other two, however, visited nearly every department store/kids store in the mall before finding their coats at Macy's. And they were cheaper than the ugly ones at Burlington Clearance Rack Factory. I didn't send my kids to school this morning freezing. I guess that's a win for Mom.

Why YOU should join Pink Zebra

So  you're curious about this Pink Zebra stuff that everyone is talking about. I get it. I was curious too. Actually, I was skeptical. But that was another blog post. Joining this company is easily one of the best decisions I've ever made. I was sitting in a meeting yesterday with our company founders and some of the company's top leaders (How cool is that???) and something our founder said hit me like a slap in the face "We're at the point that, if you're not telling your friends about the Pink Zebra opportunity, you're just plain rude!" and it's true. I can't personally reach out to every single one of my friends and tell them why this company would benefit them. Why? Because it can benefit every single one of you differently. Whether you're family, close friends, someone I barely know, or someone poking around the internet for more information about the company, you are unique. Your needs, your goals, your situation, is all unique. That's what Pink Zebra is all about. Not only are our products designed to meet all of our customer's unique needs, our mascot, Paisley, is the most unique of them all. She's a Pink Zebra! So if you're thinking about joining us, here are a few of the most frequently asked questions about becoming a PZ consultant.

So why should you join?
We're growing like crazy. People are starting to learn what these products are all about. And they're in love! We're well on our way to becoming a household name. Imagine where you would be today if you had gotten into one of those other huge direct sales companies in the very beginning (maybe driving a pink car?). This is that opportunity. If you haven't gotten a chance to see, touch or smell these products yet, it is something you need to do very soon. www.sprinkleaddicts.com

Will I strike it big right away?
No. Pink Zebra will give you the tools and training to succeed. But it takes time to build your business. Seeds you plant today might take months to bloom. Give it time, keep with it, and the sky is the limit.

Where can I be in a year?
That's up to you. There are people in this company that, after a year, they are a modest team of one doing a few parties, or hanging around for the product discount. There are others who have, in 12 months, made it to the very top of the ladder and are making $25,000 per month. It all depends on your goals. We're only 2 years old and this is what people are doing in the business today. I can't wait to look back at this post in 10 years and see where we are then! That number has the potential to increase for them ten fold. I can't think of a person that would pass up a paycheck like that if it was offered to them. Why pass up this opportunity?

What if I don't have a lot of family and friends to buy the products?
That is one of the biggest myths about the direct sales industry. Your friends and family are a great resource on the day you sign up. Throw a party, show them your stuff. They will purchase to help you out. This will help you to reach your first goals! But you can't depend on them to sustain your business forever. Convince one or two to host a party. They're your loved ones. They want to help you. They will bring their friends who will book parties who will bring their friends who will book parties....you see where I'm going with this? If you hit a dry spell, book an event and have access to an all new group of people. The more people you reach, the bigger your customer base will be, but you don't need to be the most popular person in town in order to get started! I'm (obviously) an Army Wife. I don't have a huge base of friends and family to show these products to. When I signed up we had only lived here for a few months. And I'm doing it. No excuses!

What does the future look like for Pink Zebra?
If you love the concept of the company, the products, or the potential, now is the time to join. The numbers that I have seen for our projected growth are astounding. Right now we have just over 10,000 people who have ever signed up to sell our products. Ever. For many unique reasons, not all of them are still active with us, but that is the total amount we have ever signed up. By the 2016 they expect us to have over 150,000 active consultants. These are people that will be on YOUR team and helping YOU promote because you joined the company today. A small investment today and a little of your spare time could potentially pay off big time in the future.

OK I'm ready. Now what?
Who you choose to sponsor you is huge. End up on the wrong team and your start is going to be much more difficult than it has to be. Choose someone you feel confident with. Someone you feel can teach you about the products, how to book parties, and how to recruit to build your business. Choose someone who is dedicated and motivated so you can be sure they will always be there to answer your questions. If you haven't met that person yet, I've got a wonderful team of zebras that would welcome you with open arms. I'd love to help you reach your goals with this company from the very small in the beginning to the new ones we will create together in just a few years! Just head to www.sprinkleaddicts.com and click "join now" to purchase your starter kit. It contains all of the products you need to get your business started! Plus you get ME to help you succeed!

Wait!!! I still have questions!!!
Feel free to shoot me a message on facebook at any time. I'm always here to help. www.facebook.com/sandiessprinkles

So I was having a bad day...

So I was having a bad day. I was drenched from head to toe on 3 separate occasions. The second, the worst, happened when I was taking Haylie to the bus stop. It was partly cloudy when we left and walked 4 houses down and across the street. But the bus was late. And after about 10 minutes of waiting (we always get there 5 minutes early) I saw the rain coming. So I prayed that the bus would hurry and get there before the rain. I didn't care if I was wet, but I didn't want poor Haylie to get drenched. No such luck. By the time we made it back across the street and 4 houses down, we were both soaked. We got changed and made poor sick Beka get dressed and come with us to drop her off a few minutes late at school. So after the third time I was soaked for the day, I trudged into the grocery store. And there, in the corner on the bottom shelf, was my Scampi sauce! The kind I have not been able to find since moving to Texas. The kind that I used to drive 50 minutes out of my way for at our last duty station. It always takes me time to settle into a new place and find the things that I love. My final mission has been accomplished. After normal things like decent grocery store, school, church, post office, my missions are as follows: Find Jersey food! A girls gotta eat! I need to find a good pizza place, yummy Chinese food, pork roll, Salt and Vinegar potato chips, and Shrimp Scampi sauce!!! And I finally found that Shrimp Scampi sauce!!! You know what this means? We're getting PCS orders soon. There is no way the Army is going to let me be this happy for too long! Yes, it's the little things like Shrimp Scampi for dinner that make me forget taking 3 showers outdoors fully clothed today.

Back to school blues

Back to school. Usually those three little words have parents jumping for joy. Not me. And not because I'm one of those overly protective Moms that is all "I'm gonna miss my babies" No way! I'm looking forward to a break. I just hate all of the work that goes into "going back to school" I'm thinking of becoming and advocate for year round school and I'll tell you why. Just after July 4th, retailers go in a frenzy about being the first to break out all of their back to school stuff. The summer hasn't yet begun and we were looking at backpacks and pencils. NO. Let us enjoy the summer. By the week before school is about to start EVERYONE is in a frenzy. Suzy needs a haircut, Jimmy needs new glasses, and every parent feels obligated to buy bags full of new clothes. I personally don't think that there should be ONE time of the year where you need to buy your kids new clothes and shoes. Clothes should be part of your monthly budget. Shoes should be bought when there is need i.e. they're falling apart or you are outgrowing them. Buy Billy a new pair of shoes now because he "needs them for back to school" even though the ones you bought him 2 months ago are still perfectly fine. Surrrrrre that makes sense. Then you'll have to buy him another pair in a few weeks when he grows out of these. But we ALL do it. Then comes supplies. In our district, we're given a list of supplies that we are expected to purchase. It's very specific. And no matter what, there isn't a chance you can get everything on the list without going to at least 3 different stores. Target doesn't carry orange plastic folders, but Walmart does but they don't have the yellow ones. Office max doesn't have the special notebooks you need, try your luck somewhere else. And there is always at least ONE thing on someone's list that you need to get at one of those specialty teaching stores. It almost makes more sense to just order the prepackaged supplies from the PTA but my kids are way too spoiled and they just HAVE to pick the color of their binder and their pencil box. etc.  etc. OK So the pile of clothes has been bought. I have found almost everything on their supplies list. They have new backpacks and lunch boxes and a couple pairs of shoes. they're ready to go. Then you get that ONE friend (you know who you are) that says "hey, we should get together and make our meet the teacher gifts this year!" Say what?? I'm supposed to make a teacher gift? OK I'm all for sucking up so the teacher falls in love with my kid, but WHEN was I supposed to make these crafts?? I have 3 kids. The littlest is in Pre-k and has 2 teachers. That's 4 teachers I needs to suck up to. I'm still trying to find that damn construction paper that needs to be made of special material and comes in a size not carried by anyone anywhere. AND I need to get to the grocery store before all the Moms who are "doing it right this year and sending lunch" get there and buy all of the bread and bananas. We ALLLL know that it's going to take you less than 2 weeks to give it up. Have you ever seen the grocery store out of bananas in October? no. But show up the night before school starts and tell me what you see. OK so Sunday night before school starts I'm walking around an unfamiliar craft store ( because Hobby Lobby is closed ) trying to find something quick and easy to make so my kids aren't the only ones without a gift for their teacher because apparently this is a "thing" now. I still have to cook dinner, unpack all of their backpacks and lunchboxes and "set" all that crap up and put them in the bath and get them ready for bed. I didn't help that my daughter lost a tooth that day and when I say lost I mean LOST. we have no clue where it is so now I have THAT to deal with. We settle on tissue paper flowers. I set them up and cook while they're working . We eat. As I'm placing their dinner plates on the table I "find" the lost tooth that she must have "lost during breakfast" when in actuality, I save baby teeth in our safe because I was never sure what I was supposed to do with them. So I went in an dug one out of the safe and "found" it. Whatever. It worked. Don't judge me. So we're clean, we clean up the playroom and pick clothes for the first day. We read the "first day of school" story we're supposed to read AND we read our tooth fair story. FINALLY! They are in bed. I nearly forgot to trade the tooth for some money before I passed out because I was so tired. I dragged myself out of the bed on the first day, made lunch, and dropped them off at school. Ran a bunch of errands I had been avoiding etc. and visited with a friend. By the end of the day I couldn't remember why I was dreading the first day! Until I picked them up. They're tired. whining. fighting. Yup school is back. And they've come home with all of the "mommy homework" that I need to fill out with all of the same information I filled it out with last year. Then, next week, the teacher will claim they never got it and I'll have to do it again. I'm in bed with them at 9pm. By day 3 my daughter realizes she's not happy with ANY of the school clothes she picked out because they were all PANTS and we live in TEXAS. So she's not going to wear any of them until it's not so hot anymore. Yea. I could have waited until November to buy her new clothes. But NOOOOO I'm required to buy them now. Whether or not she wears them now doesn't matter. I just have to buy them now.... Has anyone else ever sat and thought about how much sense this all makes?

Why I'll never shop at Walmart again

I hold grudges. It often takes a lot to piss me off. I let things build and build and one small thing will set me off and leave a permanent scar. It's the same for people places and things. Forgiveness is rare. For example, as a kid, one clown pissed me off and now I won't even let my kids go to the circus. I know. I'm a terrible Mom. But if anything at all threatens my kids, look out world, it's Hurricane Sandie (no pun intended). So while away on a short 4 day family vacation, we needed some snacks for our hotel room. Plus, the kids were already bored with all of the crap they brought with them so we needed something new to occupy them with. A quick GPS search showed a Walmart fairly close by and a Kroger a little farther. SPOILER ALERT: We chose wrong. We decided on Walmart because it was closer and we assumed we would have better luck in their toy department. We neglected to notice the rough neighborhood we ended up in as we drove there. When we got inside, my husband grabbed a shopping cart and was going to let our youngest sit inside. However, when he put the seat down, he noticed something a little "off" upon closer inspection, he found a razor blade sharp side up wedged in the seat. Had we put our kid in that seat, she would have been sliced open. Had it hit an artery in her tiny body, she may have been killed. I decided we needed to alert the powers that be to the problem. So we started pushing the cart in the direction of customer service. Along the way, the blade fell from the cart. I wouldn't let him pick it up, so my husband kicked it off to the side and parked the cart on top of it while we went over to the customer service counter. Along the way, I asked several different employees for help. They all told me to go over to customer service. I explained that I didn't want to wait in line and this one woman told me "well the manager is right there, go talk to her" fine, bitch, I will. So I called over the manager and explained what happened. She stated "they are supposed to check those carts. Where did you put that razor blade?" So we pointed her in the direction and started walking to the back of the store for the much needed board game and bottle of wine. It wasn't until the shock wore off that I started to think OMG. what just happened? Did some moron who was opening boxes with a box cutter change out his blade and forget to throw the old one out? Or worse, did someone put that there to intentionally harm a child? What would have happened if we didn't see it? What would have happened to someone else's child if they didn't check the cart first? Then I started to think about the manager's lack of interest in the dangerous situation that we averted and couldn't even offer an apology!!! ugh. I remember the days when I lived in NJ that we would go nuts at Walmart buying everything in sight because we rarely got to shop there since there wasn't one close by. Now, we live close to one and I try not to shop there whenever possible. This situation really opened my eyes and as I started looking around I realized the quality of people I was surrounded by. This place sold wine by the gallon jug for like $4. I haven't seen those jugs since I was a kid. That's a large step down from boxed wine. My husband likes boxed wine. I prefer the bottle that you can recap. Once in a while we'll even get a bottle with a cork. Now that's classy. I guess what I'm getting at is that I'm too good for wine in a jug and apparently Walmart has become the jug wine of grocery stores. Once in a while I'll go to Kroger, the corked wine of grocery stores, but I fit better somewhere in the middle. This incident and the fact that the manager was neither alarmed nor sorry, has led me to want to never shop at any Walmart again, ever. I guess it's going to be another 20 years or more before I see another gallon jug of wine. Like I said, I hold grudges.

this is why i don't associate with most women...

Vent time. I was invited to a baby shower. I misplaced the invitation but I was pretty sure it was at 1pm. When I confirmed it with a friend who was helping to throw it, she said "no, it's at 2" So when Mike's fire department asked him to help with their fund drive this morning until around 12:30 I told him it was fine. Well last night we were chatting and someone else informed us the shower was at 11am. So I said "crap. I can't go" It's not like we have so much family and friends in the area that I can find a babysitter at 10pm for the next morning. It's part of being a military wife. The people that I choose to be friends with understand this. So my friend tells me to bring the girls. I tell her to ask _____ if it was OK because I'm not the type to just show up with my kids. So over a facebook chat in the next half hour or so, this girl makes comments like "they better be behaved little girls" and "we can just lock them in the room" and "i'm hiding all of the toys" and "my kid won't like sharing his wii, ipad, ds, xbox blah blah blah insert every video game you can think of" and "my house isn't kid friendly" etc. etc. etc. She has a set of "rules" for people attending the shower that makes it sound like a bunch of five year olds were attending so what's the difference? I just have a few things to say to this.
1- My kids are well behaved. Probably the most well behaved kids you will ever meet. I raised them right.
2-You did not see me complaining when I had never even MET you and your child came into my house and turned my playroom upside down dumping bucket after bucket of toys looking for something  suitable to play with. I also did not complain when I asked the boys nicely to pick up and put away what they played with and they ignored me. Don't worry, my well behaved children cleaned up after him.
3- I don't "lock my children in a room" and that 12 year old little girl you were going to put in charge of them busted her butt to help you with that shower. She deserved to attend the shower. Not babysit.
4- Your kid can keep his video games. My kids don't play them. They do productive things like read, write, make things, and dance.
5- "my house isn't kid friendly" Bitch, you have a kid!
6- Maybe you should think twice about offering to have a party at your parents' house. You have plenty of friends that have their own house that don't require you to come one step short of wrapping everyone in saran wrap so they don't disturb a speck of dust in the house.
7- A simple "I didn't plan on having kids here" would have done.
8- I hope you enjoy your party. My husband decided to stay home with the kids this morning. However, I decided I would much rather hang out with my "well behaved" children than with you.
9- I hope you enjoyed the house full of uninvited kids I heard showed up. I hope they enjoyed being locked in a room and staring at a wall because you "hid all the toys" and "your kid doesn't like to share" I'm glad I asked first because I wouldn't have wanted my children to feel so unwelcome.

Pink Zebra vs. Scentsy

Pink Zebra vs. Scentsy

My un-biased opinion

Backstory:

I love when my house smells great! I’ve always loved going to the mall and sniffing every candle in the Yankee Candle store. My mother-in-law ruined that for me. She tells a story of imagining her curious cat getting set on fire trying to play with the candle flame. My crazy mind takes it a step further, imagining my poor kitty running through my house on fire setting curtains and furniture on fire. Yea. No more candles for me.

I walked into a friend’s house one day and smelled the beautiful scent of sugar cookies: one of my favorite Yankee candle scents. I told her I wished I could burn candles again.  Then she showed me her Scentsy warmer. No flame. I was so excited. I had heard of Scentsy. I had not heard that the warmer ran on electricity, not fire. My friend, awesome as she was, also had an extra warmer. It was a plug in one that she didn’t use anymore. I took it home along with a few chunks of wax and set it up. My house smelled sooo good! A few weeks later, the movers came and packed us up to PCS to our new duty station. When we got here, we unpacked all of our things.  No Scentsy. I hope our house’s new owner enjoys it as much as I did.

            It wasn’t long before I found Jamie. She was talking Scentsy with someone and I felt like an addict needing a fix. I told her I NEEDED some Scentsy. She let me come over and dig through her inventory and find a warmer and some bars. In all of her awesomeness, she even gave me a discount. Since then, my house has been filled with the wonderful scents of Scentsy.

Pink Zebra

            I had started hearing talk of a new smell-good product out there: Pink Zebra. I watched a few people on my facebook from our last duty station talk about this stuff. They post their “recipes” and their friends seem really excited about it. My best friend and I started chatting on the phone about it and she tells me she was NOT impressed. However, my friend warms her smell-goods on her stove in a flame-safe dish. No warmer for her. Apparently Pink Zebra doesn’t work that great at high heat. But my neighbor, Melissa, who I love, invited me to a Pink Zebra party. She had just started selling the stuff and invited her friends and family over to try it. And she had wine. So I invited a friend who was interested in checking it out and we went to her party.

The parties

            Around the same time, I was also invited to a Scentsy party by another friend. The parties were held two days apart. I couldn’t decide where I wanted to spend my smell-good budget so I decided to split it and see which one of these products was, indeed, the best.

            First, I went over to the pink Zebra party. The consultant was brand-new and did a great job explaining the company. Even though neither of us are single moms, we appreciate that the company helps single moms pay for child care. That’s pretty cool. The sprinkle things are pretty cool too. She split them up into baskets so you could take turns smelling a group of them at a time. I had to smell them all. Every. Last. One. I’m OCD like that. I found a couple that I loved, some that I liked, and a few that just did not smell good to me. But I had heard of these recipes that people were making and I started combining them in my head thinking how great they would smell together. I had planned to just get a few jars and stick them in my Scentsy warmer to give them a try, but the lights and shades were so pretty, and because I felt that burning the sprinkles in a Pink Zebra warmer would allow me to give the stuff a fair shake, I ordered a warmer too. One suggestion if you’re thinking of having a Pink Zebra party: Don’t serve alcohol. At least not at the beginning. Especially if you have a clutsy friend like me. Before I even had a drink I managed to spill a whole sample of sprinkles all over myself. UGH. I managed to get most of them put back in the little container. Sorry, Melissa.

            Two days later, I headed off to my friend’s Scentsy party. The consultant had been doing this a while and had her scents divided into little groups. I’d been a fan of Scentsy for about a year but had never been to an official Scentsy party. Again, I had to smell them all!!! I started out in the area with the foodie smelling ones because I tend to favor them over the floral ones. I think this set up was much prettier but passing the scents around in a basket was much better than getting down on the floor to pick from a plate. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Again, I thought I was just gonna order a bunch of bars because I have loyalty to my particular Scentsy consultant and my friend uses someone else. However, I had just been thinking how I wanted some plug-ins for the bathrooms and I wanted to help my friend out with some free products. So I took advantage of one of the combine and save options.

The plan

So now I had a plan. I was going to put my beautiful Pink Zebra warmer downstairs where my current Scentsy warmer is. I was going to move the Scentsy warmer up to the master bathroom so it filled the bedroom and bathroom with beautiful scents. Then I’d have a plug in for the other upstairs bathroom and downstairs half bath. Hopefully, that will cover most of the house. Now I just need to decide whether I’ll have different scents in different areas or if the whole house will smell the same. (I’ve been informed NOT to burn the same scents throughout the house because I’ll develop an immunity to it and won’t be able to smell the deliciousness of them) And which company’s wax will I burn? This has sparked my personal Scentsy/Pink Zebra challenge. Let’s get to it:

Party: Both parties were fun. At one, I knew everyone which was great cuz I was hanging with friends. The other party, I was encouraged to bring a friend and I didn’t know everyone but that’s ok because I got the chance to hang with new people. Scentsy set up was prettier, Pink Zebra’s was easier to smell everything without getting my clumsy butt up off the chair. The Pink Zebra consultant had every scent available to smell while the Scentsy consultant was missing a few including one I’ve been wanting to sniff. Not good for my OCD. Both houses smelled AMAZING. Yes. That’s important.

Other products: Both companies have other products than just warmers and wax. Pink Zebra has candle kits where you can make your own candles out of their sprinkles. Great if you don’t have visions of a flaming cat. They also have reed diffusers, soap, and lotions. The coordinating caddies for the soaps are super cute. Scentsy also has their line of body products. This line is much larger and includes body wash, spray, creams, lotions, hand sanitizer, etc. They also have the Scentsy buddies which are super cute smelly stuffed animals. Especially the new Safari line. I’d probably be conned into getting three of these as my rewards if I ever had a Scentsy party which would totally eat up my free smell-goods.

Warmers:

Pink Zebra has two types of warmers. First, the simmering lights base gives off light which is a nice touch. You can now pick from four color liners to personalize your warmer. It uses a light bulb that they claim can be found in any store for easy replacement. The glass dish sits on top of the light bulb and warms your sprinkles. However, the base by itself is way too plain. Luckily they sell a ton of shades for your base. If you’re one of those people who want to change your style all of the time, this is a great option because you can change your shade without having to buy a whole new warmer. Pink Zebra’s other warmer is the simmer pot. These are more like Scentsy warmers with a dish on top of a bowl but with a warming plate rather than a light bulb. They only come in a handful of different colors.

Scentsy has a ton of warmers to choose from. The plug-in warmers are great for smaller rooms. They also have medium and large warmers in tons of colors and styles. They’re lit by bulbs that you have to order from Scentsy to replace. They also have their new silhouette collection which is a lot like the Pink Zebra base. It gives off light and you can buy additional “wraps” to change the style. They don’t have as many styles of these and they’re not as intricate as the pink zebra ones, but they do now have this option.

Price:

This is one of the most controversial subjects in this battle. Since the wax products are so different, it’s hard to compare the price of wax to one another. I’ve seen the comparison floating around on how long each product claims to last. A Scentsy bar has 8 servings. I usually buy them in 6 packs because of the savings. So I usually get 6 bars or 48 servings for $25. This is about .52 per serving. Now I’ve seen the paper saying there are 15 servings in a jar of Pink zebra. My calculations made me skeptical. So I pulled out a new jar of sprinkles and measured. I got just about 15 servings, minus the sprinkles I spilled on the floor. I calculated that out to about .53 per serving. So it’s pretty close. I find it important to note a few things. 1-you can’t spill Scentsy on the floor. Yea. I’m clumsy. 2- if you want to make the scent stronger for both, just add more. However, with Pink Zebra you can add a little extra, with scentsy you basically have to double your serving size or work with a knife. If I spill sprinkles so easily, I don’t think cutting wax with a knife is a good idea. 3- to mix scents to make your own unique creation, you can just use half a serving size of sprinkles of two different kinds to make one serving. You would likely use two chunks of a Scentsy bar to mix. Unless of course you want to brave the knife. 4- using a double serving will make the scent stronger not necessarily make it last longer. 5-  if you’re just buying one scentsy bar, your serving price goes up. My price above is calculated using scentsy’s best deal. Pink Zebra’s best deal is their carton which makes it about .39 per serving. But you only get one smell so I calculated it the other way to be more fair.

Warmers: Both companies offer cost effective ways to burn their products. Pink Zebra’s simmer pots are almost as cheap as Scentsy’s plug-in warmers. Pink Zebra also offers candle kits with glass jars and wicks that you can burn your sprinkles in if you don’t have a curious cat. These are inexpensive. Scentsy has a range of prices starting with the plug in and growing as the warmers get bigger and more intricate. Their most expensive is the Pink Zebra look alike silhouette collection. Pink Zebra has the most expensive warmer when you combine the base and shade. However I find it important to note 1-You can buy the pink zebra light without the shade at half the price but it’s not nearly as pretty. 2- Pink Zebra’s shades are so pretty. Much prettier than the Scentsy version. There’s even an option to create your own shade out of your own photos. Great gift idea! 

Shipping: My least favorite topic. Especially for a military wife with friends all across the country. It’s complicated. Scentsy ships free with $150 party. If you’re ordering from a party or even from a local Scentsy consultant, your shipping will probably be free. You might have to wait a few days for her to have an order going in and you will get your order from your consultant. If you want your stuff shipped directly (if your friend having the party lives in a different state) I’ve heard many different stories. Some say it’s $8 flat rate. Some say it’s $5. Some say it’s 10% if you’re ordering with a party. Some consultants will just ship it free and cover the cost because it’s less complicated. Pink Zebra is less complicated but more expensive. It’s $7.50 or 10% whichever is more, no matter where you ship. If you’re ordering from a party and having it shipped to your consultant, it’s 10% regardless of size. But if your friend having a party lives out of state and you’re just wanting to try a single jar of sprinkles, paying $7.50 to ship an $8 jar of sprinkles is not fun. Send your order to your host instead of ordering online and let her ship your sprinkles to you when she gets them. Will take a little longer but might save a few bucks.

Shipping timeframe: Like I said I attended back to back parties. Pink Zebra was on Thursday evening. The consultant took her online orders before the party and put the order in on Monday when the checks cleared. The Scentsy party was on Saturday. The hostess waited a few days for outside orders and put her order in on Wednesday. Pink Zebra came in the following Monday. It took exactly one week. And the consultant delivered the very same day. The Scentsy order took over 2 weeks but my personal Scentsy consultant says there must have been a discrepancy with the day the order was placed. Your results may be different depending on how busy the warehouse is. But I think one week is pretty great. HOWEVER My Pink Zebra base and shade were on backorder. So when my sprinkles were delivered, my base and shade had still yet to be ordered. Once the consultant was able to place the order, it was just a few days before it came in. There was an issue with the stuff, which was new to the catalog, getting through customs after the Boston bombings. Security was heightened and it just took longer. I’ll wait a few extra days if it’s a matter of national security.

Scents: My favorite part of these parties is getting to smell all the scents. I want to smell them all again. Right now. However, when I’m bored I browse through the catalogs plotting my next order. MOST of the Pink Zebra Scents are self explanatory. Strawberry, coffee, watermelon, pretty straight forward. After smelling them, they're also pretty realistic. But as I’m sitting on my couch, I don’t know WTF Luna, honeymoon, and yuzu dragon smell like. Cmon, Scentsy. Pink Zebra is guilty of this too but because they have fewer scents, there is less need for the odd names. And while they both describe them in the book, it’s hard to imagine what all of those things smell like together. It’s the same thing with the “recipes” that the pink zebra consultants are talking about. It’s great that you think those 3 sprinkles flavors smell great together but that means I need to buy three jars of sprinkles and mix them so I can smell it and see if I agree. If you really think I will like that scent, send me a sample of the recipe. Heck I’ll even pay the .53 for the serving. Will the company let you do that? Mix your own recipes and sell samples? I think that’s a great idea. Point for me. Oh and Scentsy, if you’re going to have a million crazy scents, don’t take them away from us. It’s meaner to make us “vote” for which one we need to come back so we can order a ton of it because it’s only available for a month and might never come back again. We’re addicts. It’s not fair.

Hostess rewards: If you love the stuff and want to host a party it’s a hard decision on which one to pick. 1-Everyone has heard of Scentsy. That’s both good and bad. Lots of people love it and will order from you, but most of them already have the warmers and might just be ordering stuff to go along with them. 2- A lot of people sell scentsy. A lot of people have scentsy parties. It’s really hard to coordinate a scentsy party without stepping on friends’ toes. 3- Pink Zebra is fairly new but it is gaining popularity. But lots of people are set in their ways. They’re loyal to scentsy. You might have to bribe them with booze. These people might also just get some sprinkles to put in their Scentsy warmers and that’s ok, but won’t maximize your rewards. 4- Pink Zebra offers better incentives. They give their hostesses more and their consultants more. They also have hostess specials that will allow you to purchase a particular host reward kit at up to 75% off! 

Comparison: Now for the fun part. I get to pick which product that makes my house smell awesome, makes my house smell more awesome! I’ve never really paid attention to how long the stuff lasts but Pink Zebra claims their stuff lasts longer. Challenge accepted.

I put a chunk of scentsy in my warmer and it smells up the whole room. The scent is pretty strong and ends up fading after a while. If I put two chunks in, the scent spreads to adjacent rooms and I can even smell it at the top of the stairs.

The first time I put Pink Zebra on, I put a serving of sugar cookie in my scentsy warmer. A little while later, my daughter comes out of her room (the farthest and most remote part of my house) and she yells “Oh Mom, are you baking CUPCAKES????” close enough, kid. So it seems that two servings of Scentsy doesn’t project as far initially as one serving of Pink Zebra. But after a couple hours they’re pretty much hanging out in the same area.

Pink Zebra melts faster than the scentsy. The little sprinkles make for faster melting. It also is much more powerful at first.

Scentsy is made of like a paraffin wax. It feels great on your fingers when you dip them in it. When the wax comes off, your fingers are soft.

Pink Zebra wax is made in the USA. It also dissolves as it burns so you can use it in candles. However, I’ve found that the scent fades before the wax is all gone in my scentsy warmer so I have to dump some of it anyway. I’m pretty sure the burning time that’s floating around in the comparisons is based on the time it takes for the wax to fully dissolve, not for the scent to go away.

If you need more and don’t want to wait for your order to come in, you can find a scentsy consultant at almost any craft fair. You can also call around to local consultants, it’s likely they have your smell in stock. Some might even be willing to let you sniff their inventory to pick what you want out of what’s in stock. It’s harder to find a Pink Zebra consultant with that kind of inventory but they are getting there.

I find that I get more burning hours out of both if I leave the warmers on. When I turn them off and back on, the scent is weaker than the last time I used them. By leaving them on, the scent doesn’t fade completely (like when it’s off for a few hours) so it takes longer for the scent to fade in the room. So technically you can say you get more smell time from them both when you leave the warmers on.

The comparison

My Pink Zebra warmer arrived this morning and I’m excited to get started. I had just put a chunk of French Toast in my Scentsy yesterday and I HATE wasting smell but this is an emergency! So I turned on the warmer and softened the wax a little to remove it. Now it’s time to select which scents I’m going to use in the challenge. I don’t want my house smelling gross so I needed scents that would complement each other without smelling terrible when they are mixed. I used a large room so I wouldn’t be too overwhelmed with double smell. I chose two sweet-smelling scents. Pink Zebra’s Totes Cherry vs Scentsy’s Posy Peach. I might be regretting this a little because I’m having a hard time determining which one I smell right now.

I popped them both in their warmers and watched them burn. I checked about 10 minutes later and Pink Zebra’s sprinkles had already melted and the Scentsy chunk was about ¾ melted. The Scentsy warmer also started a little warmer than the Pink Zebra one because I had warmed it a little bit to remove the old wax. Sitting in the next room I smell a mixture. However, when I walk into that room I smell the Cherry and can’t smell a single hint of the peach. Maybe these two scents are too close to one another for this challenge…Within a few hours the smells mold together. They smell like candy 

The PZ dish doesn’t get as hot as the full size Scentsy warmer but neither are hot enough to burn you. After about 14 hours, neither scent is very strong, I can't smell them upstairs but if I'm in the room with the warmers I can smell the cherry. Only if I get very close can I smell the Scentsy.

I turned it off for the night at about 16 hours burning. In the morning I walked into the room and it smelled like cherry. You can still smell the Pink Zebra scents slightly even when the warmer is off. I warmed them back up.The room smells like cherry but all of the smell is gone from the peach. It kind of smells like a crayon. You can't smell either in any of the other rooms. By the end of the second day, the room still has a light scent of cherry. Time to change the wax!

Conclusion:

I’m going to continue to use both of these products.I like the Scentsy plug ins for my bathroom. Although I have found that the Pink Zebra stuff still smells in the plug in warmers after 5 or 6 days! I think once I have a collection of Pink Zebra and can mix them into awesome combinations, I’ll be more likely to use it in my main rooms more than Scentsy. I like the stronger scents on the first melt. I’m not sure if it’s the different type of wax used or just the type of fragrance they add, but I like the way the Pink Zebra smells in the house more than the Scentsy. If you like your Scents strong and smelling up the whole house, you need to change them every day or two regardless of the brand you pick. Results may vary from person to person. Why not do the challenge yourself to see which one works best for you? Here are my tips:

Pink Zebra’s lights are so pretty! Scentsy’s warmers are less expensive than the light/shade package. But if you want to change your look you’d have to buy a new Scentsy warmer. You would only have to buy a new shade with Pink Zebra. Pink Zebra's Simmer Pots are cheaper than a Scentsy warmer!

If you’re gonna burn Pink Zebra, spring for one of their warmers. You can put the stuff in your Scentsy one, but in my opinion, it smells better in Pink Zebra. Apparently it has to do with the temperature of the warmers. 

Think of where you want your scents. If you’re looking to smell up your bathroom, kids’ rooms, or even car, Scentsy is the way to go. They have great options for all of them. If you have a large room or open concepts, go with Pink Zebra warmers.

If you like traditional candles and can burn a flame In your house, pink zebra’s candle kits are the way to go.

If you want to host a party, look through the catalogs and see which one has stuff that you want. Look at the hostess rewards and talk with the consultant about getting the most out of your party rewards. I think Scentsy offers a package with a warmer and a few bars that you can use as one half price item. This is a great way to get a warmer AND some bars for half price. Pink Zebra offers awesome hostess packages that change every month. This month’s package is a light, a photo shade, a simmer pot, a carton of sprinkles and a jar of sprinkles. It’s $105 value. If you host a $400 party you can get it half price. If you host a $700 party it’s 75% off - $26.25 That’s an awesome deal. Those deals are on top of the other hostess rewards. Plus Pink Zebra donates a day of child care for a single mom for every $500 party.

Keep in mind that a lot of people have heard of Scentsy while Pink Zebra is fairly new. There are advantages and disadvantages to both. Many people already have their Scentsy warmers. If they come to a party, it’s to sniff the scents and likely place an order for some more bars. Scentsy also has a ton of other products so your awesome friends might try something new or it might be time to order a new warmer, but higher sales are harder to achieve. But, it’s easy to get outside orders from your friends that can’t come because most of them already know what it’s all about. Pink Zebra will be harder to get friends from far away to try because they can’t demo the products from afar. However, your friends that come to the party are likely to order more because they will fall in love.

If you want to be a consultant you also need to consider these things. Pink Zebra is pretty new. There isn’t a ton of competition yet, and if you work hard, you can build a pretty good team. There are Scentsy consultants everywhere. There's a couple hundred thousand of them in the country. You really need to work hard to build a customer base because people will buy from friends having parties or from the consultant that is giving a discount or whatever. However, there are also a ton of Scentsy lovers out there who buy the stuff. People need to be convinced of the awesomeness of Pink Zebra.

So, after all of this, I’ve decided to have a Pink Zebra Party and you’re all invited! Look for the facebook invite with date and time and come hang out. There will also be a link to order online or you can message it to me and save on shipping. Now I just need to decide whether or not to order a consultant kit first :)

UPDATE: It's been a month since I joined Pink Zebra and I am so happy with my decision. I now have an abundance of this stuff in my house and it smells great! I have a great team of support and I couldn't have asked for better people to do this alongside. If you're reading this because you are thinking about joining Pink Zebra, DO IT! And if you want to join one of the best teams in the country with the resources to help you succeed, use my link www.pinkzebrahome.com/sandiessprinkles You can even use this link to place an order and try Pink Zebra for yourself. We ship anywhere in the U.S. You can visit my facebook page as well at www.facebook.com/sandiessprinkles if you have any questions or need help and to check out the latest incentive! 

Does this crap only happen to me?

This is probably one of the worst week's ever. Several times I have found myself missing WV whether it's just my best friend's shoulder to cry on or my dentist or my vet. Yes, I actually miss the dental care in WV. Ironic right? I took the girls for their routine dental exam. Haylie had her first cavity :( So I made her a follow up appointment 3 days later to have it fixed. I got a call the day before confirming Rebeka's appointment. I informed them that Rebeka didn't have one, but Haylie did. They promised to fix it. I show up and check her in. A few minutes later the lady says "Mam, is this for Rebeka" I said no. It's for Haylie. Rebeka is her sister. She asked  what she was getting done so I explained she had a cavity and needed it fixed. A few minutes later the other lady asks me "Is Haylie getting treated too?" I say "No." So I went out and got Haylie's treatment plan from the car to show the lady. I should have ran right there. They brought some forms out for me to sign so they could numb her. I explained I'd prefer she only have gas if she absolutely needed it. Our last amazing dentist only used it when necessary and was able to, more often than not, treat my kids without it without even asking me. This one apparently uses it for all kids. We walk in the room and they have Haylie get up on a table with a back board on it. It was then I realized that they were going to restrain her. I was told "It comforts them and keeps them from hurting themselves" BULL SHIT. I told them no way they were doing that to her. They also said I needed to wait in the waiting room. Yea, no. Forget it. Have a nice day. So today I call a dentist recommended by a friend and they give me an appointment to come in this morning.

Before I leave, there is a HUGE mess that looks like puked up Ketchup on my floor. I scrub it and move about my business. I got to the office a few minutes late, apologized and filled out the forms. We went to the back and I explained that since it was so quick I wasn't able to get her XRays yet. The dentist found 5 count them 5 cavities in her mouth. The one that was pointed out by the first dentist and 4 really small ones the size of pin pricks in various places. She told her no more thumb sucking and said that its causing crowding in her mouth which will make these small cavities between the teeth more frequent. Wow. We take really good care of her teeth and I'm shocked. She promises me to let me stay with her as long as I don't make her nervous and that she doesn't restrain. If she isn't able to get her work done peacefully, they send her to a specialist that will put her out. Yea. That's not happening either. The little microscopic cavities that you can't see without magnification should not be hard to fix. So we make plans to make plans and we leave. Things just got more expensive. :sigh:

I get home and there are two small puddles of blood on my floor. I start freaking out. I'm pretty sure the "ketchup" I cleaned up earlier was not ketchup. So I called the old vet in WV and asked what to do. Obviously Haylie's teeth have to take priority, but I wanted to get the vet's opinion. I'm thinking there is no way we can afford an emergency vet visit right now since her dental bill just basically quadrupled in the last hour. The vet says that he should be fine as long as he's not lethargic, and, knowing Scooby, he ate something he wasn't supposed to. Unless it's black and tarry not to worry. If he's still having issues tomorrow, I need to find him a vet. So I head to the pet store hoping to find something along the lines of doggy gatorade to keep him hydrated. I pull in and reach for my purse...no wallet. Damn. So back home I go. When I get home, I realize that I have cash in my pocket. I stopped at HEB after Haylie's appointment because she wanted blueberries and took $20 back so I had cash to send her for school lunch. So I had $18 in my pocket. Damn. Luckily, it's been about 2 hours and doggie seems fine. I'm sure I'll be pulling ANOTHER bra strap out of his butt in the next day or so. But that's a different story.