On The Floor

Welcome to the store:

I was hired at Bath & Body works to be the Manager in charge of floor sets. What that means for you non retail people is that a couple times each month after the store is closed we come in & reset the sales floor. That is, to rearrange the way the floor looks, move things around, put out new product, even decorate for the season. It's a lot of work, but also a lot of fun! I'd thought I'd give you a closer look at this aspect of my job:

Ashley showing what our store looked like for Valentines Day!

Laura at the Cash Wrap

Our side window

Liz, putting together the new hanging flowers!
A lot of work goes into these floor sets, even ahead of time!

The Balloons have to come down before the flowers can go up!
That's Laura who "hearts" Bath & Body Works! :)

The store Manager Cindy, going over with Allysha
how this table should look.

Sara, getting new product out!

Alisha setting her table . . .

That will end up looking like this!

Allysha moving things around!
I think those bags weigh more than she does!

Amanda is the Queen of the front windows!
She always makes them look so inviting!

See for yourself . . .

The "after" of our side window.

Cindy & Laura working on hanging the new Cash wrap mural!
"Look out below!"

Brittany & Lori getting the flowers ready to be hung.

The sink becomes one of many catchalls!
Love the sign: Spread Love, not Germs! :)

And when something gets broke, you know it's Victorya!
Even when she's not working, we all blame her now!

Lisa, mopping up.
Always willing to do whatever needs to be done!

Me getting cheeky, while reorganizing the Lip table!

I bring snacks in for the girls while we work. And sometimes were there pretty late! But the store always looks great! See for yourself our finished product:

Ready for spring!

Looking good, if I do say so myself! (and I do!)

And just think, in a couple of weeks, we'll change it all again!

Girls In Curls!!

When my girls were little their hair was so stinking cute! With their little curly tops, people always stopped us to say how cute they were and that they looked like Shirley Temple . . .

But as they got older, it started getting thicker, courser & curlier! But, still it was manageable . . .

From the time they started Kindergarten they would make comments like "I want straightened hair like so&so!" It makes me think of the scene in My Big Fat Greek Wedding when the little Greek girl brings her traditional lunch to school & says she just wanted to have a Wonder Bread sandwich like all the blond girls!

It's true I guess that we all want what we don't have. People tell my girls all the time "I paid big bucks to get that kind of curl!" But It's little constellation when your so frustrated trying to care for it!

We've had to pay full adult Haircut prices for them since they were about the age of 10 due to the amount of hair they have. And I don't know how to take care of it either, my hair isn't near as curly & it is MUCH thinner! I've even wondered if a Jeri Curl would work on white girls hair! :)


They almost ALWAYS wear it pulled back in a pony tail or in braids. It's just easier for them then walking around with a bush on their head!

I remember being a teenager & complaining about my hair & my mom telling she'd give anything to have my hair. I just want them to love who they are! And that includes these heads of hair they've been given. But I'd almost given up hope it could happen.


Then last week we were in Target, looking at what else: Hair Care products, and another lady who was shopping commented on their hair & started telling us that her daughter (who is a twin as well) has a friend with hair just like my girls' & goes to this salon in down town Gilbert (where we live) that specializes in curly hair. I had John look it up on his iPhone right then & there & get the number. I thanked the lady & told her she may have been a God send for us!

It's called Curls Gone Wild! Love the name! I looked at their website, click here to see it. I called to make appointments and the girl on the phone told me how glad she was we had found them while the girls are still young, so they can start now knowing how to take care of & yes, even LOVE their curls!

The girls started talking about what it might be like to be able to actually wear their hair down. Erica said "hopefully my hair can go from being a Lion to being a kitty cat!" :) We started getting excited. I was afraid we be disappointed.

Today was the day! The website tells you the first appointment will take an hour and a half & they will teach you how to care for your curls. The girls are on spring break this week so it was perfect timing!

They taught us how to cleans (& not shampoo!) their hair. To moisturize it, which is the key. And the do's & dont's of styling it! And every chance they got they threw in how wonderful (not burdensome) curly hair is! And how lucky & blessed the girls are to have it. :)

Melanie (in the black & white) is the owner of the salon & has children with hair just like my girls, and had to learn how to take care of it. And wanted to share that knowledge with others, so Curls Gone Wild was born. And I for one am glad it was!

They cut curly hair entirely differently than straight hair. And I love that they really took the time to talk to my girls & to me. We were there for just about two hours, but the time really flew by!

They didn't bat an eye at how much hair my girls have. Trust me other salons have. And then let me know they have to charge us extra because of it. (Can you tell this has become a sore spot in our lives?!) Well hopefully not any more!

And when all was said & done, the girls looked very different from how they walked in there, and as you can see, not much hair had been cut off, but where's the frizz?! We wont miss it!


Thank you Priscilla & Melanie for all your help today! We will be back!

They also gave the girls a website to check out, full of tips on how to continue to care for their hair. It's NaturallyCurly.com

Lexi before & after:

Erica before & after:

Curls Gone Wild!

Take Note!

I've shared with you our heartbreaking story of how my daughter Lexi lost her Flute. And how we thought she would have to give up something she loved so much, since my Husband & I had both lost our jobs & there was no way we could afford a new Instrument. And the miracle that followed. You can read all about it here!

Well I have a little update for you . . . since that time, Lexi has been practicing non stop. She finds popular songs she likes on the Internet, prints out the sheet music for it & sits for hours at a time learning them (Just for fun!) It's Zach on the guitar all over again! I've heard her in her room playing Bruno Mars, Kati Perry, Paramore, Taylor Swift & the song from Titanic! :)

And here's the exciting part: She made FIRST CHAIR! Yay Lexi! She just had her first Band Concert & there, next to her name in the program was an asteric denoting section leader! We are so proud of her. And I just had to share her good news! Of course I let the friends of ours who gave her the Flute know the day she found out she had made first chair! :)

300!

Yes! This is my 300th Blog Post! Can you believe it?! 300!

I officially Launched my Blog on June 6th, 2008. With my very first post Why This Blog. Seems like a lifetime ago, yet just like it was yesterday! Though I don't have the time to put into it like I would like to, I just love Blogging. I read that Blogging is a Continuing Conversation. I like that. I've been continuing this conversation for Two and a half years now! :) Glad you've stuck around & continue to converse with me. Or for those of you who are newer to the Blog, I'm so grateful you have joined the conversation. Another quote I've found is A Blog is a Tool that lets you do anything from change the world to share your shopping list. (haha how true!)

Google Analytics keeps track of everything like how many views my Blog has each month, and which posts they are reading, which web sites my viewers come from, key words people search for on Google that brings them to my Blog, etc. Most months are pretty much the same, I get viewers coming over from My Husbands Blog, from some Group pages for Pastor wives I'm a part of, from other Blogs I read & comment on. From Facebook and Twitter, and a few even find it on their own!

This past December I had over 1200 views! My biggest month EVER! And the funny thing is all I Blogged about that whole month was The 12 Days Of Christmas Movies! I wanted something fun & different and knew I wouldn't have much free time to come up with Blog Posts since starting a new job in a very busy store during the Holidays! (And you know how I love all things Christmas!) But, now, with all those people reading my posts, I'm wondering if I missed my calling in life & I should have been a movie critic! :0

My Number One read & commented on Blog Post continues to be Teens & Tattoos! It may slip into the number 2 slot for a month, then it goes right back up to the top slot! People are brought to my blog if they search for things like parenting Teens, Jr. Highers, Twins, Boys, Girls, Pastor's Kids, etc. (I guess I've got them all covered!) I see many people who search Thyroid Disease and find me. And the most (& pretty much only) disturbing thing about my Blog is there are people out there who search the Internet (pretty much every single month) for: mom son sex. And I think it is hilarious that Google sends them to my little Blog about trying to raise good kids! I'm sure those people don't find it funny, but do I care what they think? Um, NO!

But, I don't only "converse" about my kids & my life, People also find my Blog, by looking up information on Books or Movies, if I've Blogged about them, they get sent here! The most found in the Book category is my Lessons Learned From Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons. And the most found Movie is It's Kind Of A Funny Story. And you know, I'm always reading! There are so many more books & movies to explore! There I am back at being a movie critic!

So, who knows what my Blog will look like in 300 more posts! (or 100 for that matter!) With my kids getting older, things change. But, I will try my best to keep the conversation going! And I hope you will continue to join me, YOU make the conversation so much richer. I can't thank you enough.

Talk with you soon,

Love, Star*