Transparency

Transparency...What is that exactly? The dictionary definition is this: The quality or state of being transparent, like glass. But what does transparent mean? One definition says honest and open, not secretive. I really like this definition.

About 10 years ago, God made it clear to me that I needed to be more transparent. I had been very attacked by the lies from Satan that what I saw on the outside of other women was exactly how they were. Through lots of quiet time and growth with God, He revealed to me that they were very much like me. Dealing with lots of laundry and dishes, dirty houses, cranky toddlers, and sibling fights. Marriage issues, friend issues, emotional issues etc. Since then, while I have tried to maintain that transparency, it is still very difficult to do so without looking like I am whining and have an awful life. Trying to find that balance with social media is very hard. Being positive and uplifting while being transparent.

My point to you is this, while you may not see on social media what people deal with behind the scenes, this does not mean that they don't have daily struggles. Our family has been blessed beyond belief in so many ways. But what you may not always see is the struggles we go through. Those closest to us may know what we have struggled with and what we have been through. We have an amazing life. Notice I said amazing not "easy". Nothing worth having in life comes easy. You have to work at it. There will be
struggles and roadblocks, heck sometimes boulders and mountains along the way! Those struggles, pitfalls, and stormy paths make us who we are. They define who we are and where we have come from.

Who I am, I am a woman of God. I am a daughter of a King. I am a mom, a wife, and a friend. I am a prayer warrior. I will and have stormed the gates of Hell for anyone in need of prayer and strength. I will and have stood in the gap for friends and family members that were unable to do so for themselves in their time of need. I have had friends stand in the gap for me when I was unable to do so for myself. This is how it works.  This is our real life. These are our choices.

I am also a successful business woman. I am an entrepreneur who has worked very hard to get where I am. I have dealt with loss of friendships and relationships and I am still standing. I see the bigger picture. I know what is at stake for my family. I know that because of my choices there are several other families getting to experience a better life. This keeps me going. Yes my family still struggles with day to day issues. My husband and I have our moments. Our kids are NOT perfect. Life is hard. Success doesn't make it easier. The desire to be better does. The desire to stand in the gap for God's plan for us does. What is His plan for you? Who needs you to stand in the gap for them right now?

Life is about choices

Yesterday Dalton and I had quite a day of travel! After being in Daytona, FL since Friday night racing Ricky Carmichael's Amateur Supercross, we took the 6:45am flight back home so that he would only miss Monday at school. What was supposed to be just a 2.5 hour flight home from Orlando turned into 9 hours on the same plane! There was some nasty nasty weather in the DFW area, so our pilot had to divert to Houston. And then we were on our way...and then we weren't...LOL This happened a few times. However we did finally make it home safe and sound! Praise for that! I know that several homes were destroyed in the area, so I am praying for all affected by that storm.

My point of this blog, is a few things that stood out to me. One being one of the flight attendants. He was very rude and quite honestly pretty snippy. Now, I would understand that if people were complaining and blaming him, etc. However, that was not the case. It actually seemed as if he were that way from the get go. Another being around the 8th hour, I heard a few people saying things like "I'll never fly American again". Well, I am willing to bet that was an empty threat! It wasn't American's fault. Thank goodness they were able to make quick decisions based on our safety!!!

Why go through life being miserable? Why blame others? I am so very grateful for all the behind the scenes workers that got all those messages to the pilots so that we were safe! Were we a little bummed that it took almost our whole day? Yes. Were we hungry? Yes. Did I have an out loud attitude of crankiness? No. Even Dalton who I was sure was going to meltdown at some point..Did AMAZING! I am grateful that with my business I have time freedom and this did not affect anyone else. That I didn't have to re-arrange others schedules, and that I didn't have to use any time off or vacation time to cover the day. :)

Choose JOY  in whichever situation you are in. Choose JOY in whichever job you have. Choose to be kind in the face of snippy. Life is a CHOICE. It is what you make of it. What choice will you make this week?

Choices

There are moments in my life that I remember thinking "I would love for that to happen to me one day" but realistically had those immediate thoughts of..."Well get real because those things don't happen to normal people". Today one of those moments has become our reality. I am beyond grateful and yes we know exactly where our blessings come from! But this post is to encourage you that ANYTHING is possible! ANYTHING can happen no matter what your past, no matter who you are, no matter how you were raised!

Stop allowing others to implant negative thoughts and thoughts of failure into your mind! Things have happened to us these past two years because we changed our way of thinking! We changed “that can’t happen to us” to “What if”. And that “what if” led to “How do we” and “what is our next step” and “What do we give up” “How do we challenge ourselves?” “How do we help others” I can guarantee you that no professional athlete or any successful multi-millionaire has ever said “I’m going to cross my fingers and keep up with my old way of life and just see what happens”. It is all about mindset. It is about dedication. How you see your future. What you speak into your life and those around you. What you allow to settle from others words. Will you choose to filter out the negative and keep only the positive? There will be rejection in life. People will cast their fears and failures onto you. This has nothing to do with you and everything to do with them. But guess what? You write your future. You are in charge of your thoughts and how you choose to use them.

Everything we do in life is a choice. A choice to say yes or no. A choice to trust someone or not. A choice to look before you cross the street. A choice to change your current situation. What choice will you make today? What choice will you make tomorrow? Next week? Next month? You get my drift.... Life is about choices. And for the rest of your life to change, you have to make those choices daily. Will it be easy? No. But will it be worth it? Most definitely. 

Same Vision New Path

Almost 19 years ago I was searching for something. Desperate to find myself and my purpose. What was I going to do with my life? When would I become more than I was? Waiting tables, working in bars, in and out of college classes. There had to be more. And then I found it! I enrolled in cosmetology school. Hoping that this would be the one thing I would stick with, the one thing I would actually complete. Within my first few hours of my very first day, I knew I had made the right decision! And less than a year later, I was a licensed cosmetologist! FINALLY! Something to be proud of! A certificate and a license with my name and picture on the wall! This was HUGE to me and my family! For the 4 years prior, my life was up and down. Where was I going? What was I doing? And yes I had made the choices that put me in that position, but I just hadn't found my niche. Until that day in 1997! 

Fast forward 18 years, I  can honestly say doing hair has truly been my passion. I have been able to not only help clients feel better about how they look, but have also shared special moments and  memories with them.  They have become friends and several like family! I remember years ago telling Jason "I love my job!" Because not once has it ever felt like a "job". I have been an independent hair stylist for 14 of those 18 years. Able to set my own schedule for my family and with the ability to work around my clients needs as well. Sharing those "first" moments; banquet hair for young teenagers, prom, weddings, and even helping to figure out their new style as they crossed over into that new world and title of Mommy. Those are moments I will ALWAYS treasure and cherish. 

Tuesday December 29th will be my last day. Early retirement if you will. It has definitely been a bittersweet decision. Jason and I have actually been praying and debating on this for a year now. Finally a few months ago, God made it clear what I was to do.  While a piece of my heart will always be with cosmetology, right now our family has been given an amazing opportunity in health and wellness these last 2 years to help others. We have been beyond blessed to get to see so many friends and family members begin to feel better physically and emotionally. While we are also feeling the best we have felt in years! Not only do we physically feel amazing, but now we also have the time freedom to travel with our boys across the nation as they race motocross! We are having so much fun as a family! We have replaced our income, are financially debt free and both of us are now "rewired".   I love and adore my clients so much, some of them have been with me since 1998! Remember how I said some are like family? ;) 

This blog post today is to let those special people know how much I love and appreciate each of them. Also to let others know that sometimes God changes your path to use you for more.  And when He does, that's ok! Be bendable, be flexible, be open, and most of all, be grateful! I never dreamed I could be passionate about something else, something different. I am no longer desperate or searching, and God is using us as a tool to help others. 

Bragging Moment

It’s been a while since I have blogged, but I have to shout out my husband for a minute....He will absolutely HATE this by the way! He does not like recognition OR to be put in the spotlight. And I have been quietly watching him do this for a little bit. But I am feeling like it needs to be known and I am beyond proud! We have always believed in #Payitforward. You know how people will pay for the person behind you at a drive-thru? Even when we were strapped, we still would do it when we could. And I would silently pray “please don’t let their bill be over $10”! Maybe you know that feeling, maybe not. It’s the same feeling I used to have when I wasn’t sure if I had bought too much at the grocery store and would pray that my debit card would go through and not be declined. Yep, been there more times than I would like to admit. But God has ALWAYS been there for us NO MATTER WHAT!!

Well, we have been blessed lately and we still like to pay it forward. My sweet husband had a fabulous idea that honestly, I can say I probably never would have thought of. Sometimes I just don’t think very far ahead. LOL He usually tries to keep bottled water and granola bars in his truck to hand to homeless people or “panhandlers". But he recently started purchasing small increment gift cards to hand them for some kind of hot meal. And yes there were some people who were horrible to him on FB for that, because it wasn’t a gourmet/organic meal…But we won’t go there today. :) Anyway, he floored me yet one more time with his compassion when we were at Jimmy John’s and he bought our lunch, then went on to purchase a $100 gift card. I wasn’t really sure who or what that was for, but didn’t really think much about it until he handed the card back to the guy at the register and said “Here you keep it, and buy each person’s lunch that comes in behind me until it runs out”. Needless to say the guy was shocked and maybe just a little confused as was I and then it hit me what he was doing! Paying it forward even when there’s no one behind you in line! I have had those moments were I thought “Man today I was ready to pay it forward but there’s no one behind me”! Genius! LOL

Anyway, he has done this a few more times at drive-thru windows with me in the car, and I am pretty sure he has probably done it other times that I don’t know about, but would never tell me because he doesn’t brag on himself with things like that. This is not a bragging post on us or our blessings, I just wanted everyone to know how amazing and compassionate my sweet hubby can be. Because he doesn’t always come across that way in person or on social media. Ha Ha! And yes marriage is hard and we still have our moments. We are not perfect and never claim to be. But I would like to challenge you, how can you #Payitforward? It doesn’t have to be big. Sometimes the smallest gesture means the most! Have a blessed week friends!

Feeling Fabulous!

I can't believe I'm able to type that! I'm seriously feeling so good! For about the last 6 months or so, I have been in a serious funk. I was so overwhelmed with changes that were happening in our household. I was borderline depression, ok, probably past borderline. I couldn't keep a focus on getting anything done in our house. It got to the point that I would just gravitate back to the bed and play Candy Crush. I was able to get laundry done, but I think that's about all. Not only was this happening, but I was eating junk! Lots of junk! Life just seemed better if I was eating a bag of chips or a box of cookies. Well, not really but it seemed like a good idea at the moment. I couldn't wait till bedtime for the kids, because that meant my time to go to bed was really soon! I also wasn't sleeping very well, it would take me forever to fall asleep, and when I finally did fall asleep, I would often wake up several times a night. Then when the morning came, I felt like my feet were cement blocks! I just couldn't function until coffee-and then it wasn't even a real function, just enough to get the kids off to school and back to Candy Crush.

February 1st I started using a product called Thrive by Le-Vel. And before you roll your eyes and say "here she goes again", please know that I have also tried tons of different products and ended up with a lot of bottles and such under my sink. However, I love the simplicity of this product. In the morning when you first wake up you take 2 capsules, wait 20 minutes and drink a shake, then put on the Dermal Fusion Technology patch and you are done for the day! 1-2-3 and DONE! What???? I don't need to take 3 bottles with me in my purse? I don't need to remember to take something before a meal or after a meal? Yep, I can do 3 steps! And I have been, and guess what... I really am feeling fabulous! Of course, it didn't happen overnight. I am noticing different things about myself every week. But, I no longer want to just stay in bed. I feel like I can accomplish things. I no longer feel defeated. I want to eat healthy things. I want to eat less-I don't want to finish my kids plates after my own. I want to drink more water. I don't NEED coffee anymore! I am able to eat one or two cookies instead of the whole box! I have lost 7 lbs. My clothes fit better, I don't have that bloated, something heavy in my stomach feeling anymore.

How does this stuff work? Why does this stuff work? It is all natural, and I know that doesn't always mean much LOL. Thrive is basically all the vitamins and nutrients your body should have on a daily basis. You know, our body was designed to need these vitamins and nutrients. Our foods originally had all these vitamins and nutrients in them. Our dirt used to have these things in it, and that's how our fruits and vegetables had them. This is no longer true anymore...but that's a whole 'nother story for another post! ;) The DFT patch slowly releases these things throughout the day. This is why you don't need to remember to take anything else! How awesome is that? If you have any questions, please reach out to me. I would love to see everybody feel this fabulous! Check out my website www.coolhairchic.le-vel.com

Oh! I almost forgot....Le-vel offers everyone the chance to get their product for FREE! EVERY month! Ask me how!

Home Hair Color Gone Wrong

This is a phrase I am quite familiar with. As a hair stylist now for 15 years, I have several long time clients that originally were referred to me by another client because they had a home hair "oops" and were in need of a color correction. They have since been clients for life. The following story is about a dear friend and client that I have had the privilege of doing her hair for over 8 years now. I was recently on vacation, and while I was gone, she (who at her request will remain anonymous), had a cocktail party and decided her roots (new growth) needed to be done. She then went to Sally's Beauty Supply and asked the clerk to help her match her color so that she could color it herself. Her thought in all of this, was that she didn't want to bother me. She is afterall very sweet.

Well, she went home and applied said hair color formula that the Sally's clerk had recommended. Her hair is normally a very chocolate brown. It turned out BLACK. As in she now had a black stripe at her roots and the rest of her hair was brown! She had to go back to Sally's to get more of the same color so that all of her hair would match. Why she didn't give in and call me at this point, I still don't know. LOL So, she then returned home and applied the hair color to the rest of her gorgeous chocolate brown hair. Did I mention that she has been growing her hair out? So, due to some personal schedule changes, she had to reschedule her early January appointment with me. I think she was trying to let it fade and sneak it past me. ;)

When she walked in for her appointment last week, I immediately cocked my head and looked at her funny. I couldn't help it. I said "Why does your hair look so dark?" Her response "Well, I've got some xplainin' to do". She then told me the story above. I love her, and couldn't contain my laughter. The funniest part, is that her teenage daughter told her immediately "Amber is going to be so mad at you". Ok, so she wanted her beautiful chocolate brown color with slight natural light highlights back. Here is what her home hair oops cost her in the long run.

*First, I had to decolorize her hair TWICE. (Process of removing the black color while making sure not to damage her hair anymore)
*Then, Replenish the hair with a Redken personalized Chemistry Treatment to reassure that her hair would not continue to be damaged.
*Blow dry hair
*Apply desired shade and gloss.
*Deep conditioning treatment to seal her hair and again reassure that her hair would end in a soft, conditioned look.
*Cut off damage that remained from the original color oops. I was able to save a lot of the length, but her layers had to be shaped a lot.
*Blow dry and style new shiny, chocolate brown, long layered style.

Cost:
Original product purchase (twice) at Sally's $25
My services breakdown:
Decolorize-$65(2)
Chemistry Treatment $20
Desired shade application $65
Deep Treatment-$15
Cut and Style $50

TOTAL=$305

I personally love all of my clients, and would never ever be upset if they texted or called me while on vacation. If this ever happens to you, please know that I will either refer you to one of my esteemed colleagues, or walk you through something to tide you over till I get back. If you are considering that $5-$12 purchase of haircolor at the store, please think about the time and cost it may result in.