Today was not one of those days. Two sticks in the back of my hand to get about 8 vials of blood for a bunch of tests… Thyroid, allergies, menopause…all hoping for some answers as to why I’m still wheezing after three months, why my eyes have been puffy and itchy for the last month, and if I might possibly be starting perimenopause.
A friend asked me to recommend some non-thinker books for the long weekend!
I have lots, and thought I’d share here, too! All the ones with a hear are actually the first in a series and they’re all good!
It’s was touch and go for a bit, but we finished with all 50 Teen Beauty Bags sponsored! And I delivered them today!
Standing on her sister right in my face.
Y’all—I’m at my second full weekend of SeneSister time in two weeks!
Yes, I went outside my comfort zone AGAIN and am attended a Wisconsin team training (at a stunning mansion right on Lake Michigan) with a bunch of ladies (none of whom I’d met before)! The main event is a personal training from Joni (again, the second time in two weeks!).
I felt very awkward (of course) because everyone knew everyone else, but we played some games and got to know each other and I tried to not be anxious.
I did have a roommate this time, so that helped!
I forgot to post these bank when they happened. Enjoy the Boston Terrier zoomies!
Afternoon group training—we were each responsible for a 15-minute training on any topic we wanted. I talked about Shout, the customer retention management and communication system I use.
Then I got to try a new release in advance of it being released! (The Wisconsin leader had received it earlier in the week at a Leaders event.) It’s totally my color!
After some relaxation, it was time for the main Saturday night event — and the thing I was MOST not looking forward to — a murder mystery dinner party. We were told we could dress up but didn’t have to — and from how many were concerned and anxious about it, I was sure I wouldn’t be the only one not dressing up.
I was wrong. Everyone had a costume (most really involved) and my roommate had two extra pieces she gave me that worked for my character…so at least I wasn’t a total fail.
It ended up to be much less worrisome than I predicted. It helped that we spent so much time together before the event. I still didn’t love it and felt very out of place but at least I did it!
I used an app tonight to upload 6 photos of me to turn into avatars. Not a single one of the 30 it created looks anything even remotely like me. I guess the chuckle was maybe worth the $1.99?
Since Lin only lives an hour away, she came and picked me up so we could hang out before heading to the airport! We went to Disney Springs where we wandered, shopped, and had lunch!
Then I ran into a SeneSister at the airport!
And it was good to get home to everyone…
Group training today…
After lunch it was out to the pool for the next session! We each had to write down the thing(s) that were in our life that if we could just get rid of, our life would be better.
And then they were mixed up and redistributed and we each read someone else’s card out loud. Lesson? Every single person has something stressful/heart breaking/anxiety-inducing going on even when it looks like we have our lives together and we are not alone. It was really eye-opening and emotional.
Then we had small group sessions in which we had to all say something nice about everyone else in our group. Lesson? It’s easy to discuss all the bad things about ourselves but it’s much harder to talk about and hear about the good things about ourselves. And it was hard hearing people tell us how awesome we were.
Compilation of ladies enjoying the waterslide:
Impromptu training by Abby!
And what Joni posted on Facebook…
I think this is the first birthday we’ve been apart and I couldn’t get a picture, so we’re throwing it back to your first birthday…and last week!
Showered, made up, and ready for a few hours of training from our CEO!! My Twister room is crazy, y’all!
Training with Joni started bright and early at 9!
At lunch, it was time for a surprise 40th birthday party for Jenna…
and margaritas!
And two of my SeneBesties.
And then group photo time!
And my first photo with Joni!!
And then finally pool time!
A bunch of ladies did karaoke. They had a blast…
But it’s not really my jam so I watched for a bit and then ended up grabbing a friend and chatting/brainstorming in my room for like two hours!
Our Airbnb was INSANE. Check out their promo video:
This is what you see when you walk in—Owen would have loved it!
This is Jenna, the one who adopted me into her group. I love her so, so much.
My Twister-themed room:
I had to FaceTime Katie to show her. She was totally jealous!
Did someone say charcuterie dinner for 45?
I was honestly overwhelmed once everyone arrived. There were like 45 of us staying in the house, and I had only met like 15 of them previously (and really only knew less than a handful of them) so I was a bit anxious…but I’m apparently good at faking it. I did tend to stick to the people I knew better but did go outside my comfort zone a bit.
I normally would have been sharing a bedroom with someone, but as it happened to work out, I was by myself. That was good because I don’t mind being by myself and having a place to escape, but it was bad because having a roommate helps get me out of my box and gives me someone else to talk to and get to know.
The end of a loooong day that started at 5:30am cst and ended at 11:30pm est.
My reading goal for the year was only 100 (because I wanted to read fewer than last year (because 187 seemed like too many)) but I think I might have to rethink that goal.
The Woman in Me
Holy shit. I’ve never been a huge Britney fan and never really followed her career…though of course I heard about some of the crazy things and then the breaking of the conservatorship. But hearing everything straight from her? JFC. #freebrittney indeed.
We found out that a friend of ours (TJ Wharry) was going to be performing at the Laugh Factory in Chicago, so we checked Vettix and they had free tickets so we went! ? We sat with his wife Janelle and then all went out to dinner after. (We met them way back when we lived in Troy and have kept in Facebook contact over the years!)
And then not.
Pre-concert dinner at Kura Revolving Sushi Bar! I’ve always wanted to do one of these and we definitely had fun! Our drinks were even delivered via robot!
Amazing seats (third row!) for Branford Marsalis at North Shore Center for Performing Arts. Thank you Vettix!
All this snow and ice just came crashing down off the solar panels and scared the shit out of the dogs who started barking like crazy. In their defense, it was really freaking loud.
Olive and Ivy were very aggressive when Jules came in the house…but they did finally settle down.
I wanted a Dream Box back when we were redoing the office…but they are super expensive (and then we figured out it wasn’t what I needed for my business).
Fast forward to Tom finding a used Dream Box on Facebook marketplace and the price was right so I grabbed it! It was 1.5 hours away so it was a little bit of work but she’s home and beautiful in the basement bedroom.
Now to fill it with all my Christmas stuff, crafts, art supplies, Cricut accessories…