Diamonds Take AZ

I am a Diamond Leader with It Works Global, which is sort of a big deal within the company. I take it pretty casually, because tho I know my efforts are a big part of where I am at, I also know it could not have been done without my team. So I do not owe my success to just my own hard work.

This year, my upline teammates decided to host a retreat for us Diamonds on their team. The leaders consisting of Ann Lueders (The Bachelor), Jennifer House, Angela Badolato, and Jennie Croft Badolato (The Bachelor). All of which are incredibly successful with It Works Global.

The Dream Team Diamonds consisted of Senna Smith, Tisha Eisenbart, Tori Russell, Toni Terry, Shelley Rayford, Angela Hewitt, Reanna Alto, and myself.

To start with, before I headed down there, I figured I would get my hair done....

I knew I wanted to go shorter, and I was over all happy with the length, but the cut did not turn out the way I had hoped. My stylist has always been on point, this was the first time I walked away going WTF just happened. She is a friend, so I really didnt want to say.. FIX THIS. Plus.. as you can see, it doesn't look like a hack job. I just had to manipulate it a bit to make it behave in the way I wanted it.

Anyway, I really didnt have time to do anything about my hair, as I really need to focus on packing. If you have read my blog, you would understand how this is something I dread. Furthermore, I am a laid back sort. My friends and sideline sisters, are all perfectly put together beauties. I am not knocking myself here, but they are all amazing inside and out, and look the part as well. I am more of a casual clothes, sanuks or flip flips kinda gal. So this packing venture was even more so stressful.

My flight was rather delightful, and I had enough room on the flight down, that I was able to take a very much needed nap! Seriously, thank god! Because I only got 3 hours of sleep the night before, and I was absolutely exhausted. I was going to be bringing Senna and possibly Tori with me from the Airport, but both got rides. So when I arrived.. I would be rolling solo in trying to find Angela's house in Queen's Creek. Not a huge deal... but I would have liked a companion.

Interesting fact is, I have not met any of these ladies in person. So you can see there is this added stress. Senna is directly under me in the business and we have worked together for a year and a half. So I really had hoped to have some time just with her. Tori I didnt know, but everyone raved about how amazing she was. I am a bit anti-social. Which generally surprises people, but I am one of those extrovert/introvert types. Who can perform accordingly when needed, but really like to keep to themselves.

So lets see, I am flying into PHX and taking a rental car to Queens Creek.. which I am going to navigate alone in, through the beginning parts of afternoon commute. I am going to go to a house, of a person whom I have never met, to hang out with a bunch of ladies I have never met, and share a room or bed, with a stranger. I am pretty sure that is pushing comfort zones to the max for me. Now, I may have never met them in the flesh, most of them I have video chatted with and talked to regularly. So I do feel like I know them just as well. Still.. you get what I am saying here.

I reach Queen's Creek, and I am not entirely sure just how far away I am, but I pull into a shopping center to whip out my makeup. I had to leave at 4 am, so I really never took the time to get ready. I touch up my face, manage my less than perfect hair, look at my "I flew comfortably clothes" wondering if I should change into something a big more "hey... I am a put together person".. and decide not.

Now here comes the tricky part. Angela's house is pretty stinking new. New enough that you can not GPS her house. I was ONLY able to figure out how to get to her house, based on a picture of the front of her house, knowing the subdivision she was in, and a picture of her pool. So I used google earth to help me figure out where I was going. The directions GPS did give were incorrect. If I looked at Maps, it showed a vacant lot. All I knew was, I needed to get into The Pecans, a gated community, and find my way to her house.. by basically pictures I had seen her post and a general idea.

Thankfully I found her house, no problem.. or so I thought. Seeing how there is no real map to consult and there is no address present, I dont actually know I have found her house. Granted based on the pictures I have seen, this house is the ONLY house that looks the same... I do not know what other cars to expect there.

I try calling Senna, then Ann, then Angela... all are a no answer. I sit in the driveway, telling myself... "Ann drives a Yukon thing.. right?.. this has to be the place". Finally I just decide, I will talk to the door. Well there is a portico type thing with a huge gate/door. That was open, so I proceed towards the main door. I knock, no answer. There is no bell that I can find.. so I sort of just stand there like an idiot. Then I walk back to the driveway, thinking maybe I can find a way into the backyard, as I think I hear voices. I listen closely and I am certain I hear Ann. But no way to get into the yard. So I head back to the front door. If someone was watching, I am sure I was a spectacle. I try knocking on the door again. I look through the decorative glass window to try to see if anything looks familiar, and the only thing I can see is a pink baby bouncer. I assume this HAS to be Angela's house.

Well the door had no knob. It had a long bar, but no knob to turn. So.. I just give the door a push... and there it opens. It is one thing to walk into someones house when they dont know you are there.. and you know the person. You have been to their home. It is a whole other feeling to walk into a persons house, when said person has never met you in person. It was just this weird feeling of.. "Should I be doing this? Is she going to get mad? Is this even the right house? Please lord, let it be the right house!!!"

I spy some ladies in the pool, so I head to the dining room, and open the door. Only to be fully relieved when it is, in fact.. the right house! Could you imagine had it not been tho! As expected, everyone was in their swimwear looking perfect as ever. I announce I am there, and tell them I was off to get my bags.

Something you should know about be, aside from the excessive planning. I am also one of those people who arrives to their hotel, rental house, whatever.. freaking cabin in the middle of the woods... who has to get themselves set up. Well, no one was sure where they were sleeping yet, so I was suggest to leave my bag in the room by the front door. Which is where pretty much everyone else's stuff is. But as I look at their carry on bags, and my jumbo bag, plus carry on, plus purse.. I am like.... ehhhh ok.

I slip my fat little booty into swim attire with appropriate cover up, and then get myself a glass of wine and join the crew.

We were waiting on several other people at this point, so nothing of purpose was happening, aside from cocktails in the pool.

That evening, the bulk of the party arrived. Jenni Croft from Brad Womack's season of The Bachelor, Ann Lueder's also from the The Bachelor, and she is also married to a Bachelorette winner alum. Jen House, Tori Brinks, Tisha Hoover, Shelly Rayford, Angela Hewiett, Reanna Alto, Toni Terry, Senna smith, and of course Angela Badolato (since it was her house).

We ate, we drank, and we were merry! It was a perfect evening with team building and fun. Friday morning, we didnt have any specific plans. We had a competition, and other than that it was pool time. Later someone would show up to do our hair and give us all massages, as we had planned on going out to dinner that evening.

Ann, Angela, Jenni and Jennifer had a meeting that night for all the triple diamonds and above, which was a pre-agenda meeting for our It Works U the next day. They took off to do that for the evening and expected to be gone for maybe 2 hours. Myself, Senna and Reanna were laying in bed watching Angela H. have a Brazilian blowout, when Raeanna said.. "lets do something crazy". I joked and said... "like get tattoo's" and she said "yes!!!" We pondered the insane idea of getting tattoo's and decided.. why not!

We looked online at various tattoo's which we could all get, and do it as a team building experience. At this moment, Angela H., us three crazy tattoo idea lovers, Tori, and Tisha were the only ones at the house. We found this perfect diamond, and all agreed. Angela H. said she wasnt going to do it. We said... "The only damn good reason for not doing this is because you are pregnant..."... and as it turns out... that is when we found out Angela was pregnant.

With her son little Jack at our sides, we eventually settled on the perfect tattoo, and then had to convince both Tori and Tisha who were honest to goodness good people who were not wild and crazy like us three.. that they needed to do the same thing.

Jack was a cool cat, and I had a lot of fun with him. I will admit when I saw a child, I was like

UGH.. a kid! But Jack is one of the coolest little guys ever, and I had a blast with him! Downside, it made me miss my monsters.

Man, I just want to squish those adorable cheeks! Anyway... Tori and Tisha were on the fence. Angela and Jack headed home.. and we set our sails for all things that are permanent. Now being a Friday night, the weekend prior to a holiday weekend... and the fact most places need reservations... we realized our options may be limited. But we had faith!

We called around to various places, all of which were booked... we also saw a few places near by. We figured we would just stop by. So we found the one closest to us, went in and had our little hearts broke when he told us he could get us all in next month. Reanna, bless her heart is a "goonies never say die" type and she started to talk to him about carrying our products and how she should leave her information there. Somehow this lead into.. he would give us all a tattoo. He had an appointment at like 9, but we should all take about 5 min each and if we started now, he could get us all in. He also did not take any form of card, soooooo..... we left Reanna, Senna and Tori there.. while me and Tisha went to find an ATM. I was going to cover Senna's, and Tisha (if she did it) would also help cover Tori's. Our time was limited, so we couldn't all leave to get to an ATM.

By the time me and Tisha returned, they were just finishing Reanna's tattoo, Tori and Tisha were still on the fence. I was in no hurry to get mine done, besides the fact that I wanted to bring up the caboose as they say, to ensure we all did it. Sure enough, one by one.. they went. Senna, then Tisha, then Tori, and then me.

In celebration we decided to also treat ourselves to some In and Out Burger! We also used that time to get some pretty sweet pics!

Mine would be on top and most red... seeing how I JUST had mine done.

We were really excited to surprise our upline, because we knew it would BLOW THEIR MINDS! We posted some pics on IG, and waited for the responses. Needless to say, they didnt believe we did it at all. That is what lead to the GREAT It Works Inquisition!

When we got back to the house, we went around back. Seeing how we didnt have a key, we were locked out. We planned for that, so put wine outside in the ice chest. We had stopped by Target to grab some cups as well. We were giddy with excitement and adrenaline.

Ann, Jen, Jenni and Angela B. walked out back upon their return and inspected all of our tattoos and most jokingly refused to believe they were real. Ann stated she believed I would do something like that, and Angela knew that Reanna would.. and they were even pretty sure that Senna would. But Tisha and Tori.. no way. So they pulled out paper and pens, separated us and interrogated us. Just to ensure we all had the same answers. We of course mostly did. But this was about an hour of hilarious fun!

The next morning we all had to get up early to be at IWU at the PHX convention center with the powers that be, so we all went off to bed after some cocktails.

We arrived early, to help some of the tip top leaders of our company set up. It was really quite an honor to work side by side with people like Sarah O'connell, Danielle and Drew Mahar, our own crew, and then of course Mike Potillo and Pam Sowder. Our small crew worked on the fundraising, and were very energetic about selling raffle tickets. In the course of about two hours, we raised EIGHT THOUSAND DOLLARS!

Due to our involvement and team, we were front row and VIP, so once we finished up our jobs we trotted in to take our seats and learn. Ann was on the stage and had some speaking rolls in the training piece. Then, all of us leadership level people had to go on stage. I really was not prepared for that.

We wrapped up around 5 pm, and headed back to the house for a catered dinner, cocktails and fun.

Most of us were headed home the next day, while others lived locally. So this was really our last moments together. We wanted to make sure we took advantage of them.

Ann, Angela, Jen, and Jenni called us to the back patio, we all sat down in a big circle and they shared with us some of the most personal stories about their struggles in life and how It Works literally changed everything for them. Each person shared their story. Their ups, their downs, and the things that pushed them each day. We cried, we laughed, and we hugged. It was one of the most raw experiences to have with a group of people whom you consider family, but really just met in person. Some of us of course already knew each other.. but as a whole.. this was the first time for many of us meeting one another. The exchange and experience was unlike anything I could explain. As our talk started to wrap up, we were all presented with a gift. To great surprise, we each found a diamond necklace, something that was custom made for each of us, months prior. That diamond was identical to the one we all tattoo'd on ourselves. It was literally meant to be...

We all said our goodbyes that night, toasted to our time together, and planned on seeing each other again as soon as we could!

For some of us, we knew it would be a long time before we saw one another, but that night, those tattoos, all of it was something I dont think any of us could put into words. We were officially side-line sisters for life. Branded as diamonds!

The next morning I woke up and Reanna wanted to go to lunch. I needed to pack up and get out of the house. I knew we needed to all be out by around 11 when the house cleaner was coming. I also had intentions of going to the far ass other side of PHX to see a friend of mine. In addition I needed to find a hotel room for the night. Plans fell through at Ann's and thus I was up to fending for myself.

Me and Raeanna made our way to a delicious little cafe and sat there and talked just as two friends would, but I will admit.. this person I had just met days prior had become one of my best friends. Saying good bye would hurt. I am not one to cry in front of others, so I managed to make it away with no water works. However the second I got into the car, game over!

These people touched my life, tho they may never know to what degree, we became a family of sorts. We became best friends in an instant, and I am grateful for all of them. Some I connected with more than others.. chemistry as they say. But all the same, these women are a part of my life now, and forever. I feel incredibly blessed.

I made my way to BFE, somewhere NE of Phx.. Buckeye I believe. I picked up my friend Janie, and we went shopping. Oddly, she also never has eat at In and Out.. and great up in AZ and had been living there the last year. So we went to eat there once we were done at the mall. I was able to see her baby grandson and say hello to the kids.

Then I made my way to Scottsdale, I wasnt sure where I was going to stay, but seeing how Scottsdale is expensive.. I figured it was a safe place to crash for the night. I decided upon the The Plaza Resort in Scottsdale. After a shower.. makeup.. and some much needed quiet time. I decided to head down to the bar around 9 pm for some dinner. I sat on the patio by a fire, ate by candle light, and took in the tranquility. Some people dont like to dine or do anything alone. I am not one of those people. I feel it is liberating, and I felt amazing as I sat there alone eating my salad and drinking my beer.

The next day I got out relatively early and had a few hours to burn. I swung by Ann and Jesse's house to live a thank you gift for both Ann and Angela, then sort of explored my way around Cave Creek as I took my time to get back to the Airport. Naturally I dined at In And Out one last time before I left.

I dropped my rental car off, and made my way to the Airport with plenty of time to burn. I found myself at the end of my terminal with a decent view and two power plugs, so I plugged in my laptop and phone and started to get some work done.

Eventually it was time to board and head back home. While I was sad to leave my friends and the dry lovely heat, I was excited to see my family. Plus I had a lot to get done before I fly out to Hawaii for 3 weeks!