Here’s my official quote which appeared in the article today:

If you can swing it, try having a career at home

“I have been a work at home mom since my kids were babies.  It does require discipline and focus, especially with little ones to care for. However, it has provided me with the opportunity to both have a career and be at home for their needs. Yes, sometimes you have to hang up because the baby is crying or the kids come home from school, but the joys of being home for every important event is worth all the challenges.”

- Jody Heckenlively, Branch Manager, United First Financial

I believe every word of it!  Being able to help in our children’s classroom, attend their sporting events and be there when they come home from school are experiences  I cherish.  Our kids grew up so fast and it was truly an honor to be a full time participant in their early years.

Once they became teenagers, although they didn’t like me being home quite as much - I knew it was more important than ever to keep a watchful eye on their comings and goings.

Although I missed out on water cooler conversations at the workplace, I would make the same choice again. These days I help other working Moms learn how to work at home successfully!

I want to clearly state that this is not a product I am selling!  I do not stand to gain financially in any way if this works!

I took my first capsule yesterday 20 minutes before lunch.  It was a late lunch, around 2.  Lunch was a salad and by the time I started eating, I could feel new energy (not speedy AT ALL) and my appetite was decreased.  I was satisfied after lunch and didn’t continue grazing.  This is one of the main difficulties of working at home! I had a light snack late in the day, and my energy stayed strong.  An 8:00 evening phone appointment lasted until 9:20, and I didn’t eat dinner until very late…9:30!  Although this isn’t unusual in many countries, it is rare that I don’t eat dinner before 8:00.  The point is, my relationship to food is beginning to shift.

So what is in Focoselean?  Here’s what the label says: Brown Seaweed (Undaria pinnatfida) (Added concentrate fucoxanthin, 10mg/100mg,10%) Bladderwrack (Fucus vesiculosus),Sargassi Seaweed (Sargassum muticum), Irish Moss (Chondrus crispus), Green Tea (50% extract), Raspberry, containing ellagic acid, Chromium (polynicotinate) 240mcg.

I’ll keep you posted of my progress.  This will not be a scientific test, but rather an experiential report.  I’m not going to weigh myself or measure.  I’m just going to take one capsule 20 minutes before a meal, twice a day and see what happens!

Becoming Branch Manager is a marker of achievement in several ways.  It indicates that we have assisted others in finding the fastest way to become debt free, and it indicates we’ve  built a wonderful team of agents who too are helping others become debt free.  To be able to provide hope in the midst of these economic times is great work! Becoming a United First Financial Branch Manager is also an indicator of not giving up in the face of adversity.  It’s easy and thrilling to show a client how to flow their money differently to become debt free when their minds are open to a new way of looking at things.  But when minds are closed, so are doors!  To continue on, looking for the ones who are seeking what we offer was the path upon which we chose to stay…most of the time.  And that is the path that led us to where we find ourselves at the blossoming of 2009.

So, what’s next?  As Branch Managers we take on the mantle of leadership.  Of creativity, training, support and growth of our team.  Our goal now is to assist our teammates in becoming Branch Managers.  And we will continue to seek new teammates, as our cause is a worthy one.  Helping clients step into greater awareness of what is possible for them with a few small changes in their financial lives brings them a welcome feeling of relief and hope.   We will continue to focus in the direction of a positive shift in our nation’s economy…one family at a time.

Why am I blogging about dog hair?  Well…the last time I brushed Roxie I got to thinking that dog hair comes from the same source as everything else.  And if I know that dog hair is unlimited, then it’s probably true that there are lots of other things that are unlimited too.  Like ants, for example.  Or flies.  And here are a few more: sand, leaves, grass clippings, pens, salt, junk mail, advertisements, and rocks.  And how about these: wishes, blessings, love, humor, smiles, visions, friendship, opportunities, ideas, creativity, wisdom, growth, breakthroughs, stars, dreams, music and art.

Is this then also true for physical and financial well-being, or are these arenas somehow governed by a different source?  Hmmm…something to think about as I brush Roxie, and learn to appreciate dog hair.

I am a member of a Ladies Book Club - well,  that’s what we call ourselves, but it’s not really what we are.  We don’t read books and gather to discuss them like most book clubs.  We are actually an art group and we make pass-along books.  There are 13 of us and this is how it goes: The first month each artist decorates her own cover of a 12 page water color spiral bound tablet.  By the last week of the month we mail it to the next person on the list, and we in turn receive one from someone else.  So each month, I have a page (two sided) to do.  There aren’t any restrictions; any media and any subject goes.  We’re just at month two of our second year.  This picture is one I did last year.  I can’t show you any current creations as we gather after 13 months for a grand finale where we present our books to one another.  It’s all oohs and ahs when we finally get to see what others have created for us.

Yesterday was art day.  After a productive and  creative time something wonderful happened.  I received a phone call from a potential client who I had been waiting to hear from for quite awhile.  The red light turned back to green as the conversation  reopened.  So what does that tell me?

Sometimes I can get my best work done when I step away from my work and nurture my being.  Art nurtures me and gets me reconnected to that place of creativity where all things are possible.

A few days later I was in my morning meditation and clearly received the message to call a certain someone I hadn’t spoken to in many months.  Being one to act upon my inner promptings as often as possible, I called that certain someone.  She is quite the talker (I hope she doesn’t read this!) and so I listened to all the news of her family.  And the weather.  I listened and listened some more.  I really wasn’t sure why I had been moved to call her based on everything she had talked about so far.  Then the conversation moved to the topic of signatures at the end of emails and how people use them to promote their business.  And then she says, “You know who I got an email from the other day ?  D….S……”  And do you know what?  That is the name of the person I was trying to remember.  An amazing coincidence?  I sure think so.  The moral of the story?  Keep listening to my inner voice!