The Great Kaysby

Soapbox Session

Warning…normally I try not to write about political things because I do not like arguing with people, and I have found that you cannot have civil conversations about a lot of topics when people feel their beliefs are the only right ones. However, I feel the need to pull out my soapbox because I’m trying to be understanding which means I need to put my thoughts in writing. If you don’t want to read my ramblings, then I’m okay with you closing this post now. If you can read them without being judgmental, then feel free to proceed.

1. If you’re against things that help people because they don’t help you, then is it possible you need to do some self reflection? Lately it seems that anytime something good happens for a group of people, there are naysayers who have to voice how displeased they are with people getting help. What’s really disparaging is how many of the naysayers claim to be religious because I’m pretty sure that the majority of religions are founded in helping people and loving others.

2. Why are there so many people who shouted “My body! My choice!” when the government was mandating masks and vaccines, yet they applauded and praised the government when the government restricted access to abortion? Doesn’t it seem hypocritical to only care what happens to a body when it is yours?

3. Along the same lines, doesn’t it seem that a vast majority of people who claim to be “pro-life” are really just “pro-birth”? Being pro-life should mean helping people through all phases of life. It should mean finding ways to take care of the elderly; it should mean finding ways to help those with physical and mental health needs; it should mean making sure children are clothed and fed with roofs over their heads; it should mean finding help for those living with trauma. There is a lot more to life than just birth!

4. Why are people such Judgey McJudgersons when they don’t know a situation? It drives me bonkers when people make snap decisions and blanket comments about things like unemployment, food stamps, and debt forgiveness. I cannot stand when people act like everyone who has relied on assistance at some point in their lives is a bad person. This is one where I am quick to defend those who need help because at various points in my life either myself or a family member has relied on assistance to survive. Spoiler, if you know us, then you know we’re some pretty good people. Second spoiler, even good people who try to live right sometimes fall on hard times and need help.

As I put my soapbox away, I want to offer some free advice. The most important thing to do is “love thy neighbor”. For Christians this is the main thing that Jesus asked if you. Other religions believe that what you put out into the world will return in your life. Some people aren’t religious at all, yet they still strive to make the world a better place. No matter the case, instead of putting people down because you don’t agree with them, maybe it is time to start building people up and promoting love. Until next time…

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

10, 7, 5 Principle!

This evening I was listening to a recent conference from my direct selling business, and there was a concept that really stuck out to me. In 2017, Pamela Waldrop Shaw discussed three things that drive change. Her three things were as follows: 10 – Significant Events, 7 Critical Decisions, and 5 Influential People. When I heard this, I immediately thought about the recent change in my life to Work From Home Mama and how the 10, 7, 5 Principle applied to that change. Here is my reflection so that you can see the Principle in application!

10 Significant Events

First Pregnancy & Miscarriage – 2018
Princess Court of Sales Achievement – 2018
Second Pregnancy – 2018 and 2019
Birth of LilKsby – 2019
Mr Kisby Layoff – 2019
Covid Pandemic – 2020-Present
Pandemic Teaching – 2020-2022
Mr Kisby Graduates – 2021
Mr Kisby New Job – 2022
Social Issues and Injustices – Ongoing

7 Critical Decisions

Mr Kisby deciding to go to school instead of finding “just another job”.
Keeping LilKsby at home during the 2020-21 school year. This made me realize how much I longed to be at home with him.
Realizing that I don’t like being made to feel expendable. Also the existential dread associated with starting the last two school years during Covid peaks was mentally overwhelming to me.
Deciding that homeschool feels like the best option for us as we want our child to grow up with an education that reflects our values. This means more than just intertwining faith and academics. It means teaching equality, respect, fairness, and how to be an ally!!!
Determining that an abundance of money is not as important as living a fulfilled life by our priorities. Yes, I know things cost money. Yes, I know you have to have enough money. Yes, we like to play the lottery. However, money is not the most important thing to us.
Realizing that it is more important to live by our priorities than the priorities others give us.
Making the choice to leave teaching after 11 years.

5 Influential People

The Holy Trinity – I prayed a lot over the decision to make the change from teaching to work from home mama. Ultimately I was able to follow what was put on my heart, and even though my brain wants to panic sometimes, I’m doing my best to follow FAITH over Fear! When change is imminent, I highly recommend praying to your Deity. Not religious? Then I recommend lots of self reflection!
Mr Kisby – My husband, my partner in life, my biggest cheerleader!
LilKsby – My Sweet Boy and the one who learns more from watching us than anything else.
Homeschool Friends – I see the magnificent wonders they have worked in their children’s lives, and that is what I want for LilKsby.
Entrepreneur Friends – Seeing them live their truths by their priorities is impacting!

So there you have the 10, 7, 5 principle! My 10, 7, 5 spanned a four year time period. For others their time period might be longer, and for some it might be shorter. Also, a lot more than 5 people influenced me, but that gives you the concept. As I’m embarking on this change, I think it is good to reflect. It keeps the perspective fresh and the path set right.

What change are you contemplating?

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

The Great Resignation

By this point most people have heard of “The Great Resignation.” It is a phenomenon happening in our country where people are leaving jobs in mass. This is not occurring because people don’t want to work (despite what certain groups want you to believe). It is occurring because people want to find work that does more than pay the bills; it is occurring because people want to feel valued and purpose filled. On June 30, I joined “The Great Resignation”.

People who know me know that I’m a hard worker to the point that I’ve been known to work so much it’s bad for my health. With only a few gaps, I’ve spent the last 21 years of my life working. Of those years, 18 were with my last employer in a couple different positions. A lot of great things have occurred in my life involving work. So what changed and led to me joining “The Great Resignation”? In short, I changed.

For me becoming a mom and the Covid pandemic reshaped my priorities. My top priorities have become faith, family, and living by my beliefs along with living a purpose filled life based on said priorities. So when provided the opportunity to become a work from home mom, I couldn’t pass up the chance. I’m still transitioning to work from home life, but I can already say that I’m doing the most rewarding job I’ve ever had.

From my own experience, I encourage you to re-evaluate your priorities. If you’re not living by them, then consider if it is time to find something new. Joining “The Great Resignation” could bring you more joy than you ever knew possible!

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

I’m Playing in the Rain

In the song “I Am” from Kid Rock’s self titled album there is a lyric that asks “Have you seen the Nothern falls, ot the Midwest seasons changing? A Montana storm, or a warm Kentucky rain?” While I’ve never seen the Northern falls or a Montana storm, I can attest to the beauty and calm of a warm Kentucky rain. One of my favorite things to do in summer is be outside when it is raining. There’s something naturally refreshing about having rain pour down your skin on a hot day. I can’t put it in words, but it is a feeling that I hope everyone can experience at least once a summer.

Today, we got to experience our warm Kentucky rain for the summer. It hasn’t really rained where we live in almost four weeks, so when I saw the rain clouds today, I figured they would be like all of the others and pass us by. Thus without thinking about the weather, LilKsby and I started on a parking lot walk while Mr Kisby had to run an errand. As we’re walking, it began sprinkling. In my mind this was all it was going to do, so we kept walking. To our surprise a warm rain shower began! It was over quickly, but it had enough water to make some puddles. So we took advantage of the occasion and went “puddle hunting” as LilKsby loves a good rain puddle! As we were “hunting” a deluge came! The deluge wasn’t as warm as some rains, but it was so fun! We splashed; we laughed; we got thoroughly soaked. It was peaceful and calm while also being thrilling! The deluge gave us five minutes of fun that will be remembered for a lifetime! It was 100% worth driving home shoeless and being chilly in the AC for a little bit!

If you’ve never played in a warm summer rain, then I suggest putting it on your to do list. There’s nothing like it in the world! If you’ve planned in a warm summer rain, did you enjoy it?

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

Captain’s Log – Potty Training Day 1

Captain’s Log – 28th of May in the year 2022 – Daily Journey 14 Hours

Today we began the journey of potty training. After one day I’m far from an expert, but I thought other toddler parents might like to know they aren’t alone in the journey. So here are my learnings thus far…

1) Don’t force the potty on them if they aren’t ready. We were guilty of this last summer because we thought as soon as LilKsby turned 2, we needed to push potty training. Well we pushed too much, and he stopped going to the potty all together. He was not ready for the potty, so he quit using a diaper too. It took weeks of doctor calls for advice and lots of pleading to get him to pee regularly again.

2) Wait until they understand what the potty is for. We’ve spent the last few months in preparation by modeling to him how to use the potty. We even verbalize what we’re doing so he would be familiar with the steps. By this I mean saying things like “I’m going pee in the potty. I peed now I get to use toilet paper! I used toilet paper, so now I’m going to flush! Now I get to wash my hands!” This repeated modeling sunk in because today these were the steps he wanted to follow.

3) Don’t let a book make you feel like a bad parent. I read most of a potty training book. At one point it made me feel like a horrible mom because according to the expert, I had failed my child by missing the perfect window of 24-30 months old, and I failed my child because he didn’t have the speech skills of his same aged peers. Side note: the book was written pre-pandemic, and I recently noticed that the CDC has updated their language milestones to levels lower since the pandemic had limited so much socialization and verbal communication without masks. In hindsight I realize that I shouldn’t let a book make me feel like a bad parent, but at the time I wanted to throw the book against the wall.

4) Some tips from books/online articles are helpful. For example, having little potties upstairs and downstairs was helpful. Having him go without a diaper for the first day was also helpful because we could watch more closely for potty signals. It was also beneficial to explain at nap and bed time why we were using a diaper again after making such a big deal over getting rid of it.

5) Potty training takes commitment from the parent(s)/guardian(s). For potty training to be successful you have to be willing and able to commit enough time for them to get the idea of going potty in an environment where they are comfortable and won’t be embarrassed by an accident. To do this, we waited until we had a three day window with no plans which meant for me waiting until school was out. I’m hoping that three days at home solely focused on time together watching for potty signals will give us enough of a window to realize how often we need to go to the potty, how long we can leave the house without the potty, and what trips will require taking the little potty with us. Also, we had to be committed to not getting upset about accidents. We knew they would happen, so instead of getting mad, we addressed what to do different next time. Finally, knowing his love language helped. LilKsby loves words of praise, so you can bet every little tinkle got lots of positive praise!

I’m sure there will be more wisdom learned along the way, and I’m prepared for varying levels of success. Captain’s log signing off…

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

It’s Okay to Have a Bad Day

I’m going to tell you a little secret. You know that super positive person that’s in your circle? The one who always seems to try and be positive even to the point of being annoying? Sometimes even that person has a bad day! And guess what? It’s okay to have a bad day!

For me today was one of those days. For the majority of the day from like 6:40 am to 8:30 pm it seemed like nothing was going right. Instead of just taking a deep breath and stepping away from the frustrations, I just let them keep piling up. There was a point when I thought I should just go to bed and start again tomorrow.

But I didn’t go to bed.

Instead of giving up on the day, I found little things to bring it up to okay. First, I found what we’d been looking for five hours. Then, I changed the cat litter and took out the trash. This led to remembering to water my plants, so I watered them at 10:30 pm! To my surprise, they are bouncing back wonderfully, and it made me happy to see their beauty! After that I managed to start laundry, run the dishwasher, and knock a couple of other things off my to do list. All of this took about two hours. Now I’m lying in bed, eating tiramisu, watching Step By Step, and reflecting.

As I reflect, I’m amazed at how such a bad day could become okay. Was it great? No. I’m not even sure I’d classify it as good. However, tomorrow is another chance to have a great day. Tomorrow is another chance to get done the things that couldn’t be completed today. So as I fall asleep, tomorrow will be my focus!

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

39 Things

Six years ago, I had the idea to make a list of 33 Things that I wanted to accomplish while 33. It was exciting! I then did the same things for 34 and 35. Then along came 36 which included having a baby and the start of a pandemic. The past two years were such a blur of trying to stay healthy and survive Covid that I never allowed myself to make fun goals. I was so obsessed with me and my family members not dying of Covid (because as a semi-hypochondriac you have to know that in my head getting Covid was a death sentence) that I didn’t allow myself to really dream. Well, even though Covid is still a possibility, I’m tired of it running my life. So guess what??? The list is back!!

39 Things While 39

Ride a roller coaster
Ride a train
See the ocean
Take a vacation
Host a cookout
Go camping
Go kayaking
Go to Natural Bridge
Play pool
Go to a cave
Go to Boo At the Zoo
Hike Tioga Falls
Hike Bridges to the Past
See Dr Strange 2
See Thor Love and Thunder
Read 12 Books
Watch Young Sheldon 3 and 4
Watch Step By Step
Go to GenCon Online
Climb the Fire Tower at Bernheim
Sing Karaoke
Go to a Fireworks Show
Go to an art museum
Go to the Friends Experience
Go to the VanGogh Experience
Take a class on cake decorating
Go to an outlet mall
Complete 5 paintings
Go to Jeff Ruby’s
See the BSB DNA Tour
Complete NANOWRIMO
Go to a winery
Go to the horse races
Walk 100 miles (cumulative)
Walk the Big Four Bridge
Go to a casino
Go to Patti’s Settlement
Get a Casey’s Taco Pizza
Go to the State Fair

As you can see, I’ve got a big year ahead of me! What things will you do?

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

#blessed

Wow! Today marks another trip around the sun, and I am humbled by how #blessed I am! For the last three days, I’ve celebrated turning 39 with Mr Kisby, LilKsby, and other family members. As a bonus, I’ve received several messages wishing me a happy birthday. All of these have been remarkable reminders of how lucky I am to know so many wonderful people who know how to make a gal feel loved!

After two years of pandemic birthdays, feeling loved was the best treat! If the past two years have taught us anything, they’ve taught us how when we’re stressed by unprecedented pandemics, work, not enough time, not enough money, etc, we can forget to show others how much we love them. It’s not an intentional neglect, but more of an accident due to circumstances. I’m guilty, and I’m sure others are guilty too. Luckily, we can always change our ways and find our way back to showing others how much we love them!

As I enter my final year of my 30s, I must say that I’m super excited! This decade has been the best yet for me, and I’m sure that the next decade will be even better! Bonus, I feel like there are a lot of exciting things just on the horizon! For now, I’m going to concentrate on showing others the love that has been shown me!

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

Dream Job Day

Today was Dress Your Dream Job Day for mental health spirit week at my school. To those that know me this may come as a shock, but being a teacher is not my dream job. Teaching is a job that I enjoy most of the time (let’s be real we all have our negative days), but if I could be absolutely anything in the world it would not be my choice. As a child I would’ve have told you that I wanted to be a country music star like Reba; as a teenager I would’ve told you that I wanted to be a lawyer with a house just like Cher’s in Clueless. Those were all jobs that sounded great because I equated success with a lot of money. Nowadays, I equate success with living comfortably (note, I didn’t say rich) and doing a job you love. So what would be my dream job? I have a few!

1. Travel Critic/Travel Planner – I have always loved traveling! For as long as I can remember, I have loved exploring new places. In fact, part of the reason I started this blog was to write about food and travel. You can go back and checkout those early posts for fun! I still think it would be the best job if someone would pay me to travel!

2. Pro-Gamer – I was 5 when the first Nintendo came out, and I have loved video games ever since! I went through a major WoW phase, and I love The Sims (seriously I’m writing because my game is updating)! I also love board games, card games, and tabletop RPGs. If I could get paid to game, that would be a dream come true! I think it would be amazing to just stream myself playing games and have people watch. We started doing this during the pandemic on our Twitch Channel HouseofKs. TheGreatKaysby is also on Twitch!

3. Awareness Advocate – I would love to get paid to give a voice to those without a voice. I want to stand up for what is morally right for those who cannot speak for themselves. This would bring lots of joy to my heart!

4. Samantha Stephens – I want to be Elizabeth Montgomery on Bewitched. If I could twitch my nose and do all of my chores, my house would be immaculate! Also, I love that she dressed up for dinner every night. That alone would give me an excuse to wear my Breakfast at Tiffany’s inspired pearls every day! Bonus? If I’m Samantha Stephens, I can travel by popping in and out of places. Oh, you want a croissant? Let me pop over to Paris and bring one back!

There are also other jobs that I think would be fun to do just once so you can say you’ve done them. For me these include bar tender, yoga instructor, karaoke host, tour guide on a historical tour, and seamstress (I kind of do this voluntarily). All of these would be fun once, but I think they would get old if done day in and day out.

What’s your dream job?

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

Faith Over Fear

When I was a little kid, I remember flying a kite with my dad in our field. As we played, the kite string broke, and the kite flew away. I was heartbroken! I threw such a fit that my dad pacified me by taking me on a car ride to find the kite. We never found it, and I was devastated. From that moment, I was CONVINCED that I hated flying kites.

Fast forward 30 (or more) years…

Mr Kisby gets a box from Amazon, and says he has a family surprise. Guess what it was? A kite! Immediately I had flashbacks and thought, “ugh, I hate kites.” However, as parents often do, I put on a happy face so that LilKsby would love the kite. A few days later we went to the park, and we flew the kite. To my surprise, I LOVED flying the kite! Watching it soar in the wind, while I laughed squeals of delight and ran around with LilKsby, was a great time!

That joy got me to thinking, did I really hate kites this whole time? No. What I hated was the memory of losing something. The hate of losing has become a life long trend. As I thought about it, I realized that I have allowed a hate of loss to be the reason I fear doing something. Then I remembered that if we let fear run our lives, we will miss out on a lot of great opportunities. Having faith over fear is a hard lesson to practice, and I think that we have to constantly remind ourselves to use it. As a parent, I frequently tell myself to not show fear of certain things because I don’t want my child to pick up on these fears and miss out. That’s a huge catalyst for me, and why I keep striving to live more fearlessly.

I know that’s a huge lesson to get from a kite, but don’t we find the greatest lessons when we aren’t even looking for them?

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

Happy Birthday, Mr. Feeny!

A few days ago, I did something that took me outside of my comfort zone. For the first time in over two years (aka pre-Covid), I attended a LARGE event. I still wore a mask, and I admittedly was still anxious, but there are some once in a life time opportunities that are worth getting out of your comfort zone to do. For me, that opportunity was the chance to meet William Daniels or as many in my generation know him: Mr. Feeny.

I had seen the advertisements for Mr. Daniels’ appearance at the Lexington Comic and Toy Convention several months ago. Admittedly, I was excited about his appearance from the start. However, numbers were surging with the discovery of Omicron, and there were a lot of factors that seemed very uncertain. Since that time, most everywhere has relaxed Covid guidelines with even the CDC making new recommendations about masks, social distancing, gatherings, etc. Because of this (yes, I’m one of those people who trusts real professionals and not graduates of Google University) I was already becoming more comfortable with starting to do more “normal” activities. Then last Saturday, I saw someone posting about the convention, and I remembered Mr. Daniels’ appearance. Immediately, I knew that I wanted to go, and I went.

As a kid growing up, I watched Boy Meets World and viewed Mr. Feeny through eyes similar to those of Cory, Shawn, and Topanga. I thought he was kind of uptight, but that he had good lessons to teach. As a bonus, he was always there to help them even when they did things that he didn’t think were good choices. No matter what happened, you always knew Mr. Feeny cared about his students. I always liked that kind of teacher. Fast forward, now I am a teacher, and there have been two fictional teachers that I have always sought to be like: Professor John Keating (Dead Poets Society) and Mr. George Feeny.

Both of these characters were EXCEPTIONAL educators. They knew their subject matter more than many of their contemporaries (yes, I know all of the knowledge was in the script). More importantly, they cared about their students. Keating and Feeny taught their students life lessons. They found ways to teach lessons that their students needed to know beyond the classroom in a variety of aspects of life. They were friendly while also establishing clear boundaries. These are the teachers (along with real life teachers like LouAnne Johnson and Jaime Escalante) that many of us have inspired to be like ever since we decided to go into education.

Knowing all of that, I wanted to meet William Daniels. On one level, I wanted to meet him just because I think it is cool to meet celebrities. Yes, I’ve been known to totally FAN GIRL! Along with that, I also wanted to tell him thank you. As we completed our photo op, that’s exactly what I did. I told him, “Thank you for the character of Mr. Feeny. I’m a teacher, and a lot of us look up to him.” Just getting to do that, and seeing him smile at my words, made the whole outing worth it even in these (hopefully) final stages of the pandemic.

I wanted to write all this on Sunday, but I waited until today for a reason. Today is William Daniels’ 95th birthday. So I would love you for to join me in wishing him a happy birthday! From all of those whom you’ve impacted, “Happy Birthday, Mr. Feeny!”

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

The Success of Silence

I haven’t practiced yoga in a class since the start of the New Year (there was a great post about it that is worth revisiting); however, a couple of times in the past week, I have done some guided meditation mixed with yoga at home. The mediations have focused on filling in blanks with positive affirmation. For example, during the first mediation I laid in shavasana and inhaled with the thought “I am X”. Then I exhaled with “This is my love song.” For approximately three minutes, I just breathed and told myself positive things about myself. The silent affirmation and mindful breathing were game changing!

Immediately, I felt as though I had more energy! I completed this practice after getting my toddler to sleep, and I felt like it reenergized me and helped me accomplish a lot before bed. Additionally, I felt more grounded and open to receiving positivity into my day. Sometimes we close out the positive unknowingly, and it is important to open ourselves so that we don’t miss golden opportunities. Finally, this practice made me feel more balanced in mind, body, and soul. I connected my physical practice with my chosen spiritual practice, and I could feel them co-existing inside. It’s one thing to present coexistence on the outside, but believing it on the inside is what takes you to the next level. All of this was completed in silence, and I think that silence was the key to the success.

Why silence? When you’re silent, you’re more in tune to yourself and what’s happening around you. Don’t believe me? Ask a person who is successful in a field that interests you. They will most likely tell you that silent reflection helps them to succeed! If you’ve practiced silent reflection, I’d love to hear your successes! If you haven’t tried it, I invite you to do so!

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

The Influence of Affluence

Today in one of my classes, we had the students complete a quick write over the hopes and dreams of the lower class versus those of affluence. We gave them two minutes to write, and then we discussed it as a group. I’ve been thinking about this topic ever since this morning, and I feel the need to elaborate on it. The italicized portion is my initial quick write.

The hopes and dreams of the lower class and the affluent may appear the same on a surface level. Everyone wants a roof over their head, plenty of food on the table, enough money to cover their bills, and a better life than the previous generation. However, when digging deeper, the hopes and dreams are very different. For the lower class hopes and dreams may be as simple as a first family member attending and graduating college or joining the military for steady work. On the contrast the more affluent may dream of trips that cost a lower class person’s yearly salary or having more material items.

The more I thought about this topic today; the more I thought about the influence that people of affluence have on the lower classes. I immediately thought of negative or falsified influence. For example, you see the pictures in some magazines and on some websites that taut how celebs are just like us “regular” people. These pictures will be of things like celebrities going to the grocery, working out, or shopping for clothes. On the surface it seems great that “regular” people have something in common with millionaires, but is this accurate? I consider myself a pretty “regular” person, but what a celebrity looks like grocery shopping is totally different than what I look like. First of all, I’m typically shopping for the store brand (aka team Great Value) whereas they are shopping fancy pants brands that I have to Google to know what they are. Likewise, when I work out, it is either at home or outdoors in my spare time. The just like me celebs on the other hand are working out two hours a day with a personal trainer for multiple days a week at their five star gym. Aside from the fact that we’re exercising, we really don’t have anything else in common here. The same could be said for shopping for clothes. I’m happy to shop at Ross and find a bargain while the “just like me” celeb is shopping brands that cost more than my mortgage. Thankfully, I’m happy with my “regular” status, but I feel like some people are negatively influenced by this affluence. Some people tend to rate their personal worth by how they compare with someone of affluence.

Along the same lines, I think it is important to establish that hopes and dreams don’t all involve material things often touted by those of affluence. As an example, I don’t need a new Bentley every year for my birthday. I’m happy to get a new (or even new to me) Kia every ten years. More important to me are dreams like financing LilKsby’s education, taking fun (not necessarily lavish trips) with him and Mr Kisby, and not having to stress about paying bills on time. I don’t need a private jet or an entourage to make myself feel fulfilled in life. Are there big things I’d like to do? Sure. But my life isn’t tragic without them.

All this said, I realize that there are people of affluence that do positive things with their money like donate to charity, finance missions, etc. I’m very thankful for these actions! In fact, I would love to see more about this kind of affluence than so and so’s latest trip to their private island. What do you think about the influence of affluence?

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

Spring!

Spring has sprung! Is anyone else excited by the grass turning green, flowers starting to bloom, and warmer weather being on the horizon? For those of us who enjoy the great outdoors, Spring is like an old friend that we haven’t seen in ages. We welcome it with open arms and a smile on our face! In the excitement of our reunion, we start to make plans that will carry over into Summer and Fall!

My plan making started as soon as the weather began to improve. Some of the plans are superficial, and some of the plans are adventurous. Nonetheless, all the plans are fun! Since Spring and sunshine have returned, my plans in development have included:

Walks Outside
Wearing Sandals
Planning My Garden
Painting My Toenails
Kayaking
Eating Better
Going to Farmer’s Markets
Sitting on the Porch
Driving with the Windows Down and Blaring Music
Playing Outside
Opening the Windows at Home
Exercising More
Zoo Trips
Travel (since Covid seems to be slowing)
Visiting Parks
My Favorite Outfit #1 – Shorts and Hoodies
My Favorite Outfit #2 – Shorts and Shirts
Amusement Parks
Water Parks
5Ks (love promoting charities and wellness)

There are so many great things to do when Spring starts! Plus, l love having things to look forward to! What plans do you have now that Spring is here?

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby

15 Years and I Still Get Butterflies

I’ve been in direct sales for a little over 15 years, and I frequently get asked two questions: 1) Where is your pink car? 2) Do you still do that makeup thing?

I always answer the first one with a smile, and a response of we haven’t earned a car yet. To the second one, I always say, “Yep!” with a big grin. People always seem amazed that I’ve stuck with it for so long, and they tend to tell me a story of “well most people I know only do it for x.” I usually smile and tell them I’m not most people. Which is also very true. A lot of people would probably quit if they hadn’t felt like they had moved up the career path enough or shown enough profits. You know what keeps me going? Simple…after 15 years, I still get butterflies of excitement about my business!

Now let me clarify. That doesn’t mean that there haven’t been moments of doubt; that doesn’t mean that there haven’t been moments of thinking I’m never going to be a success because I compare myself to others (which is a whole different topic for another day). It also doesn’t mean that there aren’t parts of the business that I dread. For real, even after 15 years making phone calls can still be daunting to me and seem like a life or death task. I’m also still not good at keeping up with the clerical parts even though I have a business management degree. Although really that degree taught me what to do to be a success in management; it didn’t teach me to have an organized personality! Anyone who knows me knows that organized chaos is my preferred organizational strategy. LOL

Stronger than any of those negatives have been the positives of the last 15 years. One, I’ve traveled to places I never thought I would. For that matter, I flew on an airplane which is another thing I never thought I’d do. (Irrational fear is also a topic for another day.) Two, I have made friends all over the country because of my business. It’s so cool to know so many supportive people in a variety of places! Along with this, I have had the opportunity to get “paid to play” with products that I absolutely love! All of these things – the travel opportunities, the friendships that are like family, and products – still get me excited!

I’m even excited right now! As I type there are butterflies in my stomach because our virtual conference is starting in 13 minutes! Even though I’ve been to a ton of our educational events, I still get butterflies because I’m so excited for them! Do you get that excited about events for your job? Does your job still give you butterflies even after many years in business? If the answer is no, maybe it’s time to rediscover what gives you butterflies!

XOXO,

The Great Kaysby