Promotion recognitions and celebrations!

Hey everyone! I'd thought I'd start today's blog post with a shameless Sunday SELFIE! :) I have no idea where to begin with this post, but I'm aware that if you've been following my blog for a little while then you'll know my "story". If you aren't familiar and are interested in a little more detail then have a read over some of my previous posts.

So here I am with the UK's Managing Director of the company which has come to mean so very much to me over the last 8 months.

And on stage receiving my third promotion in front of a mere 5000 people!

I honestly cannot tell you what a rollercoaster my life has been in recent months. Everything has gone so fast that I'm only just starting to catch my breath.

A long story short, made a little bit shorter... I trained as a primary school teacher. My dream job since I was 11. I became a full-time primary school teacher. I struggled to stay afloat of the workload and pressures.

I didn't know it at the time but a message from an acquaintance was about to change everything. In August 2014 I signed up to a company called Forever Living Products. Did I know what I was doing? No. Was I skeptical? Yes. Was I brave enough to take a chance? Yes.

In just 2 months, as my teaching job began to make my more and more miserable, I decided my business was good enough to allow me to drop a day in teaching and go part-time. I honestly believed at this point, and I must stress, that I thought this would be my perfect solution to my problems.

But by January I had already drowned as a teacher. The workload and pressures almost killed me, quite literally. Either I had to quit the job or my mind and body would quit on me!

Sounds perhaps a bit dramatic? I agree. But it's the truth.

It's been beyond tough. But I clung to the business and it has been my saving grace. Days when I felt lower than low I would receive a call from one of my team members or I'd get a big order or something...and I'd smile. It's the only thing that kept me going. And I wanted to get to Manager with everything I had.

It's amazing to say I DID IT! Above is a picture of me with one of my best and oldest friend's, Gina. It meant the world to me that she wanted to spend a precious Saturday watching me get recognised on stage as Manager. She didn't need to but she was there without question. I've realised that support really is everything.

My team have been incredible and I could not have done it without them! It hasn't been all plain sailing. People around me have been negative and told me that it wouldn't work. You can imagine how my family reacted to me packing in teaching. Granted some of them saw what it was doing to me and were initially quite supportive but even then I've had to soldier through the 'bad press'.

Let me tell you. Leaving something I'd trained so hard for. Worked towards for 4 years of my life...a lof of which was damn well HARD work aswell...all for what? It makes me feel sick. I get that kicked in the stomach feeling even whilst writing this. But, it wasn't meant to be!

I had the BEST day getting recognised and was so proud to see so many of my team receive theirs too!... I DID IT! And I think that it just goes to show that anybody can. Despite all the dramas and personal battles behind the scenes, I came through it.






And the celebrations didn't end there...

 





As an extra treat (as if the recognitions weren't enough!) a few of us were taken out to a gorgeous Indian restaurant! Upon arrival we received a special message from 2 amazing people in the team to say another big well done along with complimentary bottles of champagne!

 

The food was lovely and we then continued the fun with cocktails in a nearby bar!

I've never had a 'pornstar martini' before but it's certainly become my new favourite! YUM :)

It was such a great way to finish off celebrating achieving an important level in the company!...Now, to unlock all of the fabulous incentives the company offer!!!


Do more of what makes you happy  <3

Happy Monday!

Many people are truly depressed by the fact it's Monday...the weekend seems so far! However I say, smile! It's only another day.

If you aren't smiling you're doing something wrong. Maybe time for a change?

This business makes me smile.

And the fact I only have 4 more Monday's like today...

If you don't like what you do, only you can do something about it and change it!

Have a great day!!!

And

SMILE!

x

A good busy week

Hey. So I guess I'll start from the top, with Monday.

My week didn't begin too well as I woke up absolutely shattered with the onset of a migraine. I returned back to bed and called in sick at work. Was definitely for the best. Children and bad heads are never a good combo!

After dinner I came round a bit and later managed to do my standard core class followed by body pump. Smashing sess!

Tuesday. Back to school. Highlight of the day was being reunited with my bed and napping! :)

Wednesday (like most days to be fair) was all about the evening. I hosted a Christmas gift party for my best customers. Was a nice night and I even got to dress up! So did my sister bless her. Check out my Christmas gift page.

Thursday...I got through the school day, as long as it seemed, and headed to a team member's house to do her a launch party for the business. Again a lovely evening!

Friday! It always makes me smile. After school I got to see my little pidge...

Also known as Brooke my niece. I love her to absolute pieces. After cuddles and as tired as I was I didn't stop and instead made the most of the evening and showed the business to someone interested in earning an extra income like myself. It went really well and she is going to be in my team! :P

Saturday. I slept in until 8am! Wow :) Caught up on Hollyoaks and cried my eyes out! I went Christmas shopping. Then did a party for another team member over Skype! Love technology. Was really fun! Then I got dolled up for a night of clubbing...

Was a great night and I'm sure I'll be finding glitter for the foreseeable hehe! :P

And today, Sunday. Supposedly the day of rest...but been quite busy! After getting in at 3am I didn't wake up until around 9am. However I felt pretty fresh. I headed straight for a Mcdonald's breakfast and then went to visit my Grandma! I then returned some products I'd borrowed to my team. About 1pm I decided to take a nap. I LOVE a good nap! Woke up, had lunch and then went with my family to see the new hunger games film. I really enjoyed it! Worth a watch I say :)

I hope next week turns out to be as good as this one! I sometimes feel like a rest but I genuinely enjoy being busy and being busy in my business always leads to good things! I just watched some fantastic training online tonight. Truly inspirational. Feeling very positive and ready for the week ahead.

Have a good one everyone!
x

A Tuesday Night Thought.

Tonight I did something for a work friend of mine. Nothing big. A little gesture with the sole purpose of making her smile.

I won't go into what it was as that's not the important thing here, but it was so worthwhile.

I know that right now she'll be smiling (once she's got over the crying...happy tears!) And she told me that it has 'made her night'.

Ironically, it's also made my night!

Just thought I'd share with you all.

Sweet dreams
x

Last Sunday was AWESOME!!!

Hello! So I've been wanting to do this post ALL week but I simply haven't had chance until now. So last Sunday, after the exciting few days I'd already had (see here), I woke up early to head down to Warwick for my business training day. I was excited to hear from the special guest speakers and also mingle with people in the business. Once the room filled, (@ the Hilton Hotel) there was approx. 250 guests.

I had absolutely no idea that the presenters planned to do a little celebratory recognition for people who had reached certain positions in the business. As I have recently become Supervisor I had to go to the front along with others like myself. Pretty daunting with a room full of people.

The opportunity arose for two of us to share our story. My heart pounding I decided to volunteer. I promised myself a few months back that I would say YES to more things and take any good opportunities that come my way. It's not everyday that you talk in front of a bunch of strangers!

Over the course of the day I gained so much knowledge and fantastic tips to help expand my business. The speakers were all so brilliant! ...

Then came the prize draw...

One of the many things that this business does well is: RECOGNITION. Already many of us had been applauded and praised for doing well in our businesses, but it didn't stop there. As an extra incentive for the month of October, some of the top people in the business had arranged a raffle type prize draw. There were so many brilliant prizes up for grabs, with the top prize being an iPad Mini.

Around 500+ tickets were in the hat, of which I had 14 of them. After a few announced winners...my name came out and I won a lovely Forever Aroma Spa Kit (which I would certainly recommend). Very happy, I went up and collected my prize!

Never did I expect what was to come...

I only went and won the main prize!!! Completely overwhelmed and shaking like a leaf I went up and collected my Brand NEW iPad Mini! Chris (a very successful lady in the business) asked me if she could ask me a question. She said 'has anybody ever given you a free iPad?!' To which I replied 'NO!!' Again, it was quite daunting in front of all those people but completely amazing at the same time!

It's safe to say I went away from the event absolutely chuffed to bits! I still cannot believe the day I had!

I love this business! :)

Take a peek at it here.

x

A little positivity...

Hey. I've just seen this lovely little motto and wanted to share before bedtime. I'm all about positive thinking right now. I've seen what it can do and what can be achieved when your mind is in the right place. So strive towarrds your dreams and desires, but do it with a bit of style and sparkle ;)

Night

x

Halloween, Promotion && New Baby!

Hey! So if you've been following my recent posts you'll know I've been having the best time just lately. And things just keep getting better! I'm going to ignore the little feeling that's saying "things are going a bit too well", and enjoy it!

Sooo...Halloween! Let me tell you...I LOVE this holiday. It's my favourite actually. I'm a huge horror, blood, guts, and gore fan (as long as it's the fake kind that is!). So I definitely HAD to dress up.

After last year's Halloween Dorothy and Zombie 'Boot-Camper' (I did a fitness class as a zombie lol)...

...This year I went with Zombie Prom Queen :)

I went out with some friends and had a really good night :) There were some absolutely brilliant costumes and I loved seeing everyone's efforts!! It was also a great opportunity to celebrate my new job and earlier in the day....

...I got promoted in my business!! 

I worked really hard in the month of October to climb to the Supervisor position in my new business. If you bare in mind that I only started mid-August time, you'll appreciate the feeling of achievement I have! If you would like to have a nosey at what the business is and maybe look at earning an extra income like me, then please check out my website here for more information.

And then if a promotion and a Halloween night out wasn't enough in one day, my sister went into labour around 4pm! After a gruelling 19-ish hours...

...today baby Brooke was born! Weighing a mere 5lbs 14oz. (and that's 2 weeks late aswell!) I am one proud Auntie! I don't think the picture does her teeny tiny size justice but believe me she is itzy bitzy and super cute!!! 

I'm literally struggling at the moment to stop beaming like a fool. 

How has your week been? Any good Halloween pics? :)

x

A perfect Sunday to a perfect week.

Hey... Can I just say how nice it was to have the clocks go back and gain an hour. Sure many would have spent it in bed but I got up early and got a few jobs done. I also woke up thinking wow, what a great week! :)

In case you missed it, see earlier post, I got a new job last week and I'm still beaming about it. As you can see I did have some celebratory chocolates (from my lovely mum) but I've devoured the lot as they're my absolute faves!

So Sunday was a great way to end a great week. I headed off to sunny or not so sunny Skegness to visit one of my best friends. It was a pretty steady drive down. I've loved driving ever since I got my Mini Cooper Automatic and I love singing along to my iPod :)

Arriving at Abi's, we decided to hit the shops...After my retail therapy the day before, I wasn't quite done with the spending it seemed! I picked up the above shoe/boots and considered them a bargain! Very comfy!

Later we went to the cinema to see the very long titled PG comedy film. It was actually really good. Worth a watch for sure! Of course no cinema trip is complete for me without popcorn and an ice blast. YUM.

We got back to the best Sunday roast :D Her mum is a great cook! And then chilled with a film- 'The Heat'. The more I watch that film, the more I love it.

As the title suggests, it really was a perfect Sunday to a perfect week.

x

Exciting times: Do more of what makes you happy!

Hey everyone! Sorry I've been away for a week or so, but I've literally been focusing on the above motto. I've been trying to strive towards making myself happier in life and taking advantage of all the good opportunities on offer. Sounds a bit deep right?...Well let me explain a little.

From the outside, over the past year or so, the people I've come across and met would probably describe me as quite a bubbly, confident and clearly happy person...And whilst I'd love to say this has always been the case, it hasn't!

I hid my sadness pretty well and quite possibly convinced my friends and even myself to some extent that I was enjoying working life. Of course work wasn't my entire life, but it was sadly a good 90% of it. A lot of work and not much play. Teaching is commonly known for it's work-life balance issues so I just accepted it.

I had a pretty rough start to teaching and my NQT year was traumatic to say the least. But it is true what they say, whoever they may be, the bad times sometimes do make you stronger. I could have quite easily chosen to give in. To quit the profession that I'd trained for for so long. My mum even thought I was going to have a break-down at one point. And I was close. But somewhere along the lines something switched inside me and I hardened up and starting seeing things more positively...things were going to get better!

And they did, sort of! I passed my NQT year anyway and that was a nice achievement. However, deep down I knew I still wasn't happy.

Little did I know a smile was just around the corner. In summer this year (2014) I was approached by a friend/acquaintance about a possible business opportunity. It was in the health and nutrition marketplace, which appealed to me immediately and the second income was also of great interest! Above is a picture of one of my business cards! Needless to say I joined the company called Forever Living Products and I haven't looked back since! If you're intrigued to find out a little bit more, I did a post a while back that you can have a read of: My new business venture or check out my website www.ellie.flp.com.

This business has been my reason for getting up in a morning with a big smile over the last couple of months and it continues to make me happy. I love being my own boss and taking charge of my business, whilst also being a part of a bigger team of people that have now become my friends.

And quite ironically the business is allowing me to become more confident with literally smiling, as the extra income is paying for me to have Invisalign braces! Something I have been wanting, FOREVER (another unintentional pun!)

But the happy just continues to get happier...

My Dad always says...if you aren't happy then moaning about it won't help. You have to go out there and change it. If you always do the same things then nothing will change or get better.

Cutting the fine details out, I went and dramatically changed my future this week and got myself a new teaching job. I received the letter for a interview on Monday at 10am, was doing the interview by 9am Tuesday and by 12:30pm that same day I was given the job! WAM, BAM, OVER THE MOON!

Start date: January 2015. Part-time Nursery teacher. 5 minutes drive from my house. Perfect.

Another motto that I swear by...It's true, you don't know how life will turn out. There will be ups and downs but there's only one person that can make things happen and change it...and that's YOU!

Hope everyone is having a fantastic week. I know I am!

:)
Smile more, it's good for you.

Tweet: @ellie1989 

Happy Monday!

Hello :) So I am in such an incredibly happy mood I thought I'd do a little post!

I actually think that this weekend has been the best weekend of my life!!! It obviously got off to an amazing start with the job offer on Friday and I was literally, and still am, completely overwhelmed! Despite contemplating celebrating with the odd alcoholic beverage I decided what I really wanted was a BIG FAT Mcdonald's haha so that's what I did!

Saturday I gave myself a well deserved chill day and got on with making my April Favourites video. I later watched some literally sick horror film called Mother's Day. Has anyone else seen it? I love a bit of gore so it made me very happy...I'm a bit weird sometimes hehe :)

SUNDAY, the day of all days. I started it by making a requested video about university before meeting up with a friend for lunch. I devoured a gammon and really enjoyed chatting away about teaching and what not, as she too is a teacher.

And then it was time to hit the town! And boy did we hit it good! I had one of the best night's ever :D Sounds cheesy but it's so true. You see... when you go out with your zumba instructor what happens is that you all end up breaking out into synchronized dancing! Obviously forgetting there's a club full of people watching haha....was so so much fun!

Rolled in this morning about 3am before spending part of the afternoon car hunting!....o0o sooo exciting :D I'll keep you guys posted on any developments on this!! Then later my parents took me for lunch where I had yet more gammon lol and then I worked out pretty good at the gym. Yay!

So yeah, I'm pretty much still buzzing over how great the last few days have been and rather excited about the big changes that are already starting to happen in my life. I haven't driven for 4 years (since uni) and so I've booked myself a refresher driving lesson next week with my old instructor to try and get some of my confidence back! (Bit scared, can't lie, but I'm going to take it as it comes and see what happens lol).

How was your weekends?!

:D :D :D If you're happy and you know it clap your hands... :)

Oh and my mood just got better by realising it's a Monday so MIC is on at 10pm. Yes.