I’m pretty worn out from our little road trip. I finally got to see my friend Denise for the first time in almost 7 years. Donald raced his R/C cars with about 250 other boys hiding in men’s bodies. Biscuit and Wrangler stayed in hotel for the first time (that they remember), had a blast riding on elevators and taking a dip in an indoor swimming pool. I am recovering today.

And here’s what I hope to get for my birthday present:
Michele’s Birthday Wish

Ain’t it a beauty? It would sure make working in bed a lot easier!

cows, goats and crops
a skunk’s perfume lingers on
ungroomed trees portraying character
sunset clouds of orange, pink and purple

awareness of more than myself while gazing out the window
memories of yesterday and daydreams of tomorrow
imagining the past as a nomad, explorer, gypsy
stars, stars, stars… I missed seeing you

a small foot in my back… kicking me
another child snores softly
how old is this map?
are we there yet?

As most of you know, I originally started my business from home and ran it as a single mother. In the past few years since remarrying, I moved my business into my husband’s brick and mortar hobby store during the day so that I could help out with his customers. Now, keep in mind that I kept my business 100% internet based, although a few of his regular customers realized that I actually ran my own business from the back and I added them to my list of clients. For the most part, this worked out fairly well. Until my plate began to overflow…

During this time, my business hit the crossroad most business owners wait impatiently for. The path you have been traveling has been littered with stumbling stones and obstacles. You struggle to get the word out about your business, attract the customer, close the sale, deliver your product, repeat, repeat, repeat, all the while attempting to keep up with ever changing technology that is essential to running a business in today’s fast paced world. Then one day, sometimes seemingly overnight, you realize you’ve been doing less of the “grunt” work and more closing and delivering of the sales. Now normally, most people wouldn’t complain about that, but in my case, I was quickly losing my momentum and focus each time I was pulled away from closing my sales to tend to Donald’s business needs. I would go home feeling as if I had played musical chairs all day. To put it quite bluntly, I sabotaged my own business.

After much debate and agony, I made the hard decision (I’ll be telling you about some of the influences that helped me reach this decision later) to tell Donald that “I ain’t workin’ here no more”. To my suprise, he took it pretty well and I’m excited to announce that I’m going back where I started… HOME! I truly believe this ONE decision is the most important decision I could have made to return the organization my home and business life have been lacking the past year. I have been working against the very system I created to free myself.

Could you be sabotaging your own business? A while back, I read a manifesto from Rich Schefren that opened my eyes and helped me down this path to realization. I want to share this excellent resource with you now. If your business is stuggling, or maybe it’s YOU that is struggling in your successful business, you owe it to yourself to check out this free video:FREE: Rich Schefren’s Startup to Freedom Video

I started the morning the same as most weekday mornings, rubbing my eyes as I turned off the alarm.  Since I’m not a morning person, I usually continue to lay in bed while my husband takes his shower.  When I hear him turn the water off in the shower and turn the water on in the sink to shave, I grumpily get out of bed and dress the boys.  After they leave to start the day, I smirk as I crawl back into the bed and enjoy the silence before I take my own shower and greet my work day. 

RING RING RING …  Dang it!  So much for my sweet silence.  “Michele, its Donna.  “Wrangler” is sick.  He’s pale and even his lips are white.  We need you to come pick him up.”  So, I dress for the occasion - Donald’s sweat pants and long sleeve shirt.  I call Pops and ask him to open the store and wait until Judy,  our assistant, arrives.  Then I grabbed Levi’s dinosaur blanket and head to the preschool. 

On the way home, I started planning the work I could take care of while I was home for the day and realized I very well could have jeopardized a normal job by calling in sick or leaving early to pick up a sick child.  It’s great to be the boss and know my job will be there the next day!

This is the view from our balcony of Orange Hill Beach in Nassau, Bahamas. What made this view and beach better than perhaps a swanky resort like Atlantis? Look at the photo a little closer. No people! That’s right … I never saw more than 5 people on the beach at a time. No one trying to sell anything, no fear of being hit by a jet ski, and less odds of better looking beach bunnies catching your man’s eye! It was like having our own private beach for an entire week! =)


We stayed in this pink cottage at Orange Hill Inn. The cottage had a kitchenette and remote control A/C.  If you really want to relax, I recommend staying at Orange Hill compared to the resorts. Bus service runs every 15 minutes if you want to go into town. Just plan to eat at Orange Hill … Yvonne is the best cook on the island for dinner!



Of course, the highlight of our trip was becoming certified for open water diving! Donald and I are posing for our instructor inside a James Bond shipwreck at Stuart Cove’s Dive Bahama. Our experience was truly out of this world. We swam with beautiful fish, large and small. One dive area was infested with baby jellyfish. I held a shrimp and a sea urchin in my hand and was also stung by fire coral while posing for a photo!


You guessed it … we were down there with sharks as well! I have to admit, it was a very humbling moment to be so close to such creatures. Honestly, the sharks just weren’t interested in snacking on us. I guess they don’t like the taste of chicken. LOL All of the sharks kept their distance, they definitely weren’t as friendly as the playful school of fish that will swim around you.


These fish were sweet enough to pose for the camera as we explored the reef on our first official solo dive with no instructor! The kids say this is a photo of Dori blowing them a kiss while searching for Nemo. For some reason the kids think we were on a mission to find and visit Nemo. We brought them back t-shirts and shark tooth necklaces. They were so happy “Nemo” sent them!



Donald and I took a day off from diving to visit Paradise Island. We stopped for lunch at Bimini Road Restaurant. The atmosphere was great and so was the decorating. After Donald returned from the restroom after an extremely long time, he said, “That was the coolest restroom I’ve ever seen!” So, I had to visit the ladies’ room with the camera. That’s an actual aquarium with live fish behind the sinks. I know, I’m wierd!



Since we ventured over to Paradise Island, we just had to visit Atlantis. We took a tour of the The Dig and I took a break while Donald snapped a photo. Even if you don’t stay there, I recommend visiting Paradise Island and Atlantis while you are there. The hotel is definitely gorgeous but has the draw back of tons of people - unless you like spending your relaxing vacation with others!



Ahhhhhh … love was in the air for our anniversary vacation. We had to try parasailing before leaving Paradise Island. It was a peaceful and interesting experience, but we both agree we’d rather spend the $100 on scuba diving next time!

Denise and Eric were my neighbors at an extremely hard time in my life.  We spent several evenings chatting, playing card games and watching movies together.  They were the most friendly and loving people I’ve ever met and they proved this when they took my oldest son and myself into thier home for three weeks to avoid an abusive situation until I made other living arrangements. 

Denise and Eric were a very close couple.  It was obvious that they genuinely cared for and loved one another … truly best friends in every way.  After telling me about Eric kissing her goodbye their final morning together, she reminded me to let go of the little things and petty squabbles and love my children and husband every day as if it is the last time I will ever see them.  Immediately after hanging up with her, I called Donald at work to tell him how much I love him.  I can’t imagine spending the rest of my life without him.  It’s terrible that losing someone you know is the best way to realize your love for others.

Rest in peace, Eric.  Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your life.  Even now, you and Denise are teaching me valuable lessons. You were a special man and will be missed dearly.

After working the businesses today, I started some spring cleaning.  I have to admit, I was doing a great job until I opened a box that had a piece of art packed in it from my oldest son.  While smiling at it, I realized it was not a piece of art, but a Mother’s Day BOOK from last year!  How is that for attention to detail?

So, I opened the book and began to read it.  The book had the usual cute things like “my mom is as pretty as a rose” and “my mom is as helpful as a maid” but the more I read, the more disturbed I became.

My mom is like a computer.
My mom can do many things.  I think she is best at typing.
The “E” in the word mother stands for - You type Everything fast!
She likes to type.
She always works.
Sometimes she takes a break.
I really like it when she watches tv with us.
The best thing about my mom is she types fast.

When is kid’s day?  That book broke my heart.  The irony is that when he made this book, I was a work at home single mother 24/7.  So I should have had all the time in the world to watch tv and take a break, right?  Think again the next time  you scorn the parent that traded in Corporate America for working at home.  And if you work from home and are reading this, take a break and hug your kids before you unpack that box that breaks your heart. 

Michele - Herself (obviously)
Donald - Michele’s Husband
Cowlick - Oldest Son
Biscuit - Middle Son
Wrangler - Youngest Son
Nannie - Michele’s Grandmother
Nana - Michele’s Mother
Boo - Michele’s Stepfather
Gran - Donald’s Mother
Pops - Donald’s Father