Fun Friday!

I went to Whole Foods this morning. That’s what I did for self care today.

I’ve worked in marketing in both the corporate and entrepreneurial world. I’m intrigued by why I buy certain products or brands and have thought about it enough to know what marketing works with me and what won’t. I can tell you with absolute certainty that Whole Foods is the perfect marketing storm for me.

Whole Foods and I have had a long and profitable (for Whole Foods) love affair.  It goes back 15 years. I can still remember the first time I stepped into one.

It was on a Saturday in 1994, we were in Mill Valley, CA and my ex-husband told me he was taking me to a grocery store that he discovered through a co-worker.  I thought cool!

Little did I know.  We walked in and I was visually hit with an explosion of colorful perfectly stacked fresh veggies. My knees went weak and I drew a quick breath in to steady myself. I had never seen such perfection in a produce department before. I knew at that moment I had found my nirvana. And let out a yelp of pure joy.

This may sound over the top. My family can tell you it is not. Over the years I have had to limit myself to one or two visits per month and to keep it under $50. One year when my mom and I took my daughter who was one at the time camping, we stopped at Whole Foods to do our shopping for the trip. It was the yummiest camping trip I’ve ever been on!

What do I buy that I can’t get from any other store? Well, nothing.

See I’m all about different cultures, natural beauty, health and nurturing. Whole Foods has all those elements down cold. The packaging and presentation of their goods is gorgeous. Doesn’t matter if it’s the meat or produce department, cheese or cleaning supplies. Their products are healthy, varied and I feel nurtured by the food that I eat from there.

Brian knew I loved all things food related and when I heard that a Whole Foods was going to open up near us…I was beside myself. He didn’t get it. He thought I was off my rocker.  After it opened and he went on a couple of shopping trips with me…he can see why it appeals to me but he’s not a convert. My girls know. They say it’s my version of Toys R Us

Everyone needs something to feed their soul. My soul feeding also just happens to feed my tummy.

Leaving for Las Vegas….

Yikes…I’m going away this week. I have a conference in Las Vegas and while I look forward to connecting with clients and new people; I’m always apprehensive leaving my family.  That’s why I got into self employment in the first place…so I can spend more time at home. After all I’m the only one who can run the house and make sure the animals, husband and kids are cared for…right? Right? That’s what I thought. I said that to my husband. He promptly reminded me that he didn’t starve and had clean clothes before we were married. Ooops…that’s right I don’t have to be responsible everything and everyone. I can do something big for me. Something like take off for a week to Las Vegas.

It’s not only good for me to get out and be around other entrepreneurs and mompreneurs, but it’s good for my family to function without me overseeing homework, bookbags, laundry, groceries and schedules.  My girls will learn that they will not perish if they miss a Girl Scout meeting and that Dad will still take them to Taco Bell on Thursday for a snack before karate. (A big concern since me and the girls never miss a Taco Bell Thursday).

So while it’ll be business almost as usual at home, I’ll be sleeping in a King sized bed with soft down bedding (white down bedding no less!) and growing as a person…we’ll come  back together on Thursday happy and more appreciative of each other!

Fun Friday!

It’s Friday…a no “work” day for me. It’s my time to practice self care, take time to learn something new that will benefit my practice and do some business planning. Not all in one day…usually a mix of activities while the girls are in school. It’s generally a time to work ON my business not IN it. (Practicing self care counts as working ON my business…I am after all my business’ number one asset!).

I’m on my way out the door to go workout then maybe do some shopping and just enjoy the sunny day. The last two Friday’s I did some business planning and caught up on some audio from a couple of teleseminars that I signed up for.

What are you doing this Friday to refresh yourself and your business?

Have a great weekend!