Our Dream and other stuff....

What are we up to? Well, we just celebrated our One Year Anniversary and were blessed to be able to go to New Hampshire & Boston and see my favorite band, U2! There are some pix below~
Also, Don and I have begun our future as Independent Distributors with Shaklee! Currently, Don is working in Miami monday-friday, and it is hard for us to build our family together. This is not what we wanted. So, we began praying for a solution and we believe Shaklee IS that solution! We are building a business and a future, not just for ourselves but for our family and those around us! Shaklee offers great opportunity AND the business we build can be passed down to our kids!
My friend and upline Jacque sent this to me today, because it reminded her of Don and I....and its true.
We are going to live our dream, make a difference and Shaklee is our future. watch Coletta & Leonard Haskin

Don is home today. (super happy face here)! Its hard to not try to cram all the stuff we want to do in one stressful day. We are instead finding the joy in the everyday things we don't experience throughout the week. Drinking coffee together, sitting out by the pool. Planning a yummy dinner or riding bikes with the kids, the simple pleasures of life mean the most.
Enjoy your weekend my friends and savor the fragrant life you have.
~Natalie

other pix including U2, can be viewed here: U2 Pix

What's Your Dream?

"Welcome to Hollywood! What's your dream? Everybody comes here; this is Hollywood, land of dreams. Some dreams come true, some don't; but keep on dreamin' - this is Hollywood. Always time to dream, so keep on dreamin'." - Man on the street from the movie, Pretty Woman
No, this isn't Hollywood, but everything else about the statement is true!
What is your dream?
A 45' Beneteau Sailboat? A Beach House?  Perhaps it's something as simplistic as living a healthy long and secure life?  We all have our dreams.  No matter how much you have accomplished, secured or experienced in your life, there is always something around the corner that may or may not seem just within your reach.  Your dream is just that, it's your dream.

I dream too.  I look back on life and am very fortunate to be able to reflect on dreams of my youth and not so youth come true.  The first in all generations of my family to graduate from college.  A Masters degree to boot.  Owing my own home(s).  Traveling to Europe and Central America.  Scuba diving with sharks.  Flying an airplane.  Introducing someone to Christ.  Marrying my best friend - Lyndy!  I could go on and on.  I am truly blessed and have been been blessed.

I am not done though.  There are things just around the corner and there are a few things a little farther down the road that I am looking forward to. 

Our dreams are what drives us.  Without a dream, there is complacency. 

As a couple, Lyndy and I have a dream(s) together.  That is what really excites me!  It's cool enough to realize one of your own individual dreams coming true.  When there is a collective dream though, be it a couple, a family, team or organization, when that dream is realized, then it becomes a celebration!

As I mentioned above, one of our dreams was realized last September, on a little patch of beach grass at the picnic tables beach at Patrick Air Force Base.  But, we ain't done yet.  (That is proper english in most Southern States)

We have recently thought out individually and collectively what our dreams are.  As blessed as we are with the current job I have, one of our biggest dreams is simply, being together - ALL the time.  Not having the constraints of working for "The Man".  The flexibility of doing things together without the scheduling conflicts of meetings, business trips, training events that blog our schedules down.  We have started our own business and the future looks bright!

We are not doing it full-time together yet, but the caterpillar is in the cocoon and the wings are developing.  Stayed tuned for more to come on that.

Look at where you have come from and then ahead to where you would like to go.  Write those dreams down on a piece of paper.  List them out, not by priority, but just write them down as they come into your head.  As silly as they mean seem, write it down.  What is it that your heart desires and what you have always wanted, but never thought it could happen.  Write it down.  It'll never come to fruition if you keep it stored in the back of your head.

What's your dream?  Always time to dream, so keep on dreamin'

-d

headache, clouds, and 9/11

*This first paragraph may be a little to sad and graphic for some*

Well, after a really good productive day working our business, I crashed hard last night. I awoke with a headache, going on day 4, and a sad heart as I quickly remembered what today is. Eight years ago, when America as we know it changed forever...my heart broke big time. The events and loss of that day weighed so heavy on me.
Being very visual, I had no trouble at all seeing the loss in pictures in my mind. I would see the people screaming, falling, burning, children crying, parents weeping, people buried, reaching out for help, not being able to breathe. I would see people on planes, calling their loved ones, crying out before certain death. I knew it was horrible and I was imagining every detail of what the people were going through. It really weighed on me. I was deeply depressed, for a long time.
My faith was tested, the world was dark. I don't know why I am built the way I am, but it is what it is.  Even before 9/11, I would stay away from the news and some movies, because my mind can go there and focus and visualize tragedy so realistically. It took me a while, at least a year, to start climbing out of that hole. I am so thankful for my kids, and the life that they would remind me of every day. I don't think I would have found a renewed hope had it not been for them and God supernaturally working in my life.
I guess all that is to say, after eight years, my heart grieves around this time, and I remember that day and the loss and sadness that not only surrounded me, but thousands, maybe even millions....and except for that very long year, I don't focus on it too much. It wouldn't be healthy. But those who lost, and lived, they have it hard. It stares them down everyday, punches them in the face if you will. The choice is still there, to press on, to find hope, to hold on to faith, to love and laugh...but the mountain is higher for them than it was for me.
Even in my crazy, graphic, wild imagination, I can't conceive the daily battle they fight....for this, they are heroes, and represent the strength and perseverance and hope of America.

                              the Lady Liberty, taken by Natalie Norris, Dec. 2008
__________________________________________________________________________________

moving forward...
Despite my headache, I know today is still gonna be a good day.
Don and I will be together later and we are going for the dream! Tonight we are going to PGA National Resort and Spa for a Free Business Opportunity Meeting and then tomorrow for a full day of EXCITE Business Training.
WOW! The possibilities in this business are so infinite! The new leadership has brought together a great plan and support system for success! We are really excited about getting on the fast track to become Excutive Directors in 15 months! That means we can do this full time! :) Lots of people are achieving this goal, and with tons of resources and team support, I know we can too! I only wish I would have thought to do this earlier, so I could invite anybody to come and hear about the opportunity. Its FREE tonite, so if you want to, meet us there! :)(click those links up there for a detailed flyer)
I am really looking forward to our Distributor pak arriving on Tuesday! I think that Vivix is gonna help my headaches and overall health greatly.
Its pretty cloudy outside, so no beach this am, but that's ok. I got a lot to do to get ready for the day.
take care~
Natalie

Working in my jammies...

Well, its been a productive week so far. Don had major back pain, so he stayed home to rest. Hard to see him in pain, but also nice for us to have the time together and work to launch our NEW business.
Doc says he is sitting too much. Imagine that! He works 12-16 hour days right now, and sits 3.5 hours every time he makes the drive. It's no wonder his back hurts. He is on strict orders to get up and move around regularly which should help a little.
Even though Don headed back to Miami at 4 am, I am digging knowing I am working to build our business and our life together. Being all over the internet is something I do daily, anyway, so it's like its not even work! How awesome is that? :)
We finished up the beginnings of our new Shaklee website last night, and just before bed (at midnight) I was showing Don some of the edits I had done to the site while he was packing for the trip. We then checked our facebook when Don said, "Hey, we should share our page with our facebook friends!" I knew we would eventually, you know after we had it all "perfect" lol, but I
wasn't planning on it so soon. "I'm kinda scared", I said...He said "why?, it's great! Let's go for it!" (I love this about him!) So, we did!
After I got the second batch of kids off to the bus, I came home and got on facebook. Wouldn't you know, one of my friends in the UK had "placed an order" for some Basic H2! Well, that was super encouraging, and I hadn't even had made my morning coffee yet, and I am still in my pajamas....

What is the Super Grape?

Well first of all I gotta tell ya, today Don and I launched our new business. We became Independent Distributors with the Shaklee corporation! Now, Shaklee has been around for over 50 years, in fact they are Number 1 in the sales of health and wellness products. I believe in their products, but have not always been able to afford them as they are a little more expensive then the similar items you would find at the grocery store...until now! I am excited that, as a distributor, I am now able to buy the products from myself, at a discount! I also benefit from the QUALITY of the 100% natural products, which are better for me, and my family. Now, for the real kicker, Shaklee has a new CEO and a new goal : (to quote from their own website)

A Healthier Life for Everyone and a Better Life for Anyone^™
Maybe you’re looking for a way to get healthier. Or a way to make a healthier income. Maybe you’d like both. Maybe there are things that matter more to you than money.
We get it. Life can be better. You can live healthier, you can make a healthier income, and you can do it by making people and the planet healthier too!

Okay, now about this super grape, what is it?

It is the "vitis rotundifolia", a super grape with an extra chromosome.

Vivix Cellular Anti-Aging* Tonic is a revolutionary breakthrough in the fight against cellular aging. Developed after years of research by Shaklee Corporation, the number one natural nutrition company in the U.S., Vivix is the world best anti-aging supplement. In laboratory studies, Vivix ingredients have been shown to impact the four key mechanisms of cellular aging.*
A 30 day supply of Vivix delivers the equivalent amount of resveratrol found in 3,000 glasses of red wine, and Vivix ingredients are 10x more powerful in slowing a key mechanism of aging than resveratrol*.
All natural. Patent pending. Clinically tested key ingredients. Exclusive.
Watch this for more info!