It has been 10 days since The Wave arrived. (www.thefirmwave.com)  I have to say I am having quite a fun time working out with it.I have no complaints about it. Its a workout....I can feel the pain but I feel so good when I am done. It came with 3 workouts. The first one is Speed Slimming Sculpt, which is 30 minutes of sculpting and toning. It also gives you an express version. The second is Rock It Off,which is 40 minutes of high energy cardio and strength intervals. This also has an express cardio. The third dvsd is Express Abs,a 10 minute ab workout. I think I have done it  7 out of the 10 days that I have had it. So far I am feeling results.

Yesterday I read a blog about debt....somewhere in the blog the writer touched on sales people. Those smooth talkers. If it sounds to good to be true it is.....which brings me to my story.

Two years ago I saw an ad in the paper for women needed to sell Avon. I though...hey that would be an ok way to make a little money. So I started to ask women that I worked with if they wore Avon products. No....they didn't....but they did wear Mary Kay.  Well you can take a guess what I did next......yep your right. I contacted a Mary Kay lady and told her I was interested in giving it a try. Boy she was SO EXCITED. ( A little too excited...but I was not thinking clear) An appointment was set up to go to her home and discuss the opportunity of being an Independent Mary Kay Consultant . I told my wonderful husband about my idea and of course he was 100% supportive of my new adventure.

I did very little research on the company( not smart on my part).....but I did read the success stories which fogged up my rational thinking even more.  They were all so wonderful. Regular women just like me making tons and tons of money just by selling cosmetics. They all loved it so much that they left their full time jobs to pursue their Mary Kay careers. I was so ready for my appointment.

The woman I had my appointment with was very very nice....and very very smooth. Told me all the things I wanted to hear. She filled me stories of her own success. She told me I could make a lot of money in this business....all I needed to spend was the $99.00 for the starter kit. She told me she would train me the Mary Kay way.

Well,needless to say buy the time she was done with me all I could see were dollar signs. I signed up and gave her $99.00 and waited with butterflies in my stomach for my starter kit. It came a few days later and I was like a little girl on Christmas morning. I opened it and looked at everything...trying the products that came with it.

Next was the training the Mary Kay way she was talking about. Now lets see if I remember. When you are doing your business you always wear a skirt or dress...NEVER PANTS( I should have ran right there) She talked about approaching women in the super market....commenting on their skin...then telling them who you are. I could never do that.....I always hate when I go into a shop and the sales person invades my personal space...there was no way I was going to be that person.

Then came the part when she talked about getting my inventory ordered. Hold on....stop....what is this inventory that you speak of??? It is quite possible she mentioned ordering products to stock up on but my tunnel vision was blocking that part of the conversation with those dollar signs. She would say you can't sell from an empty wagon....so what did I do.....I took out a small loan and ordered product that she picked out for me. (If I sent the product back within a year I would get 90% of my money back...so it was almost risk free....riiiiiiiight) I was still excited at this point.....I was gonna sell it all.....make all kinds of money and take trips with it....pay off my student loans....buy a new car.......I just needed to book parties.

(Somewhere in the back of my mind my common sense was tied up....blind folded and gagged.....it had been kidnapped by this smooth talking Mary Kay lady who latched on to my vulnerability....my common sense was the a face on a milk carton...it was gone.....)

Now was time to "cold call" my friends....which was calling them and reading from a cheesy script telling them that I have started Mary Kay and try to talk them into hosting a Mary Kay party. You would think that would be easy. NOT AT ALL. If they did not answer...leave a message and try again the next day. I thought that it would be easy but when it came down to it I hated it. I did not feel comfortable at all.....I felt that I was bothering people....and even worse....they were dreading seeing my phone number pop up on their caller id.Sure there was the one or two friends or family members who said yes to hosting a party but snowy weather resulted in cancelations.

Then there were the weekly meetings that your unit had. I think I went to one.....which felt like a cult of woman who's God was Mary Kay. I should have known...I should have ran....common sense where are you.....where did you go....are you still there....can I get you back.....

Then came the day that I found a web site full of former Mary Kay consultants. Their stories are very much like mine. I think I spent hours just reading their stories. I think I could pin point the minute my common sense broke through and came running back to me. How could I have been so naive. I was very angry at myself for letting myself be duped. I am a smart sensible woman.....and I am the one who went looking for it.

In the end I sent everything back and sure enough I got 90% of my money back. However...not so many were as lucky as me. All those women who continued to order more product whether or not they needed it just to meet there "quota." All those women who where 10,20 even 30 thousand in debt with there business. Hiding it from their husbands. And these are smart women who where just taken by a smooth talker.

On a positive note...I did like the products....

Trick or treat night was fun. My husband and I sat outside and and passed out candy. We did not have very many kids this year....but at least they were kids that were dressed up and not teenagers in regular clothes. I did see an old classmate with her daughters....which leads me to my story......

I was in 2nd grade and spending the night with my friend....the classmate I saw with her daughters. It was bath time and  me and her were taking a bath together. Now...I don't know if that is ok to do these days...but 20 years ago it was. We had brought in toys and what not to play with in the water. I remember that she had a balloon....I remember that she took the balloon and was rubbing up against her vagina and told me that it felt good. I did not understand....I was confused and uncomfortable....I was only 8....8 years old aren't suppose to know that....I don't remember anything else about bath time except that she used Pert Plus to wash her hair and I did not like the way smelled...and have never used since. I do remember what happened after bath time.

My friend and her dad were in her bedroom alone for a very long time( not sure how long it really was....5 minutes can seem like an eternity for an 8 year old)....which I though was weird because my dad never came into my room when I was getting dressed. After he came out I don't remember anything.....but I never spent the night again......

I never forgot those two incidents...and as I got older I knew that it was not right. My friend's mother had left when she was very young and she was raised by her dad...and her creepy uncle. Her creepy uncle is a peeping tom in this county.....and her brother is a registered sex offender. I believe that this girl was sexually abused. I was too young to understand....but I knew things weren't right....I don't remember having any discussions with teachers about good touch bad touch. That was 20 years ago.....kids being sexually abused was not as discussed as it is today.  Maybe if it had been she or me or any other little girl who spent the night and saw things that just weren't right would have said something.