(1) Who are we? Part 1

The women who work with me are so incredibly special. I hope that they know how much they mean to me and how much I value them. Their friendship, support, encouragement and incredible talent never cease to amaze me.

This post has been far to long in the making. I kid you not that I have taken numerous photos in my attempt at getting here. Finally I have arrived. It has been a year since this adventure began - it all started as I worked with Karen.

The first person I would like to thank tonight is Karen - her encouragement and support have meant the world to me. Karen moved from California when her hubby Scott started a job here in the Northwest. I feel so lucky to have her within 20 minutes of my home.

Who is Karen? She doesn't like to say much about herself so I have to come up with a bio for her - LOL! Karen, did you know how dangerous that might be?!? Her experiences in life have included working in the gift industry and also working as a personal chef. Her culinary skills must be excellent, but I can't tell you being that she has never cooked a meal for me - LOL! See Karen - I told you this could be dangerous - I just invited myself to your home for dinner sometime :D

We talk on the phone almost daily. Each conversation is filled with laughter. When we get together to share ideas and create I can almost feel the electricity in the air - it is so incredibly stimulating to work together as a team.

Then there is Nicholas! What a darling little boy - he is definitely the apple of grammy's eye. Guess who gets to go on the Polar Express with Big Daddy and Grammy this weekend? I love hearing Nicholas stories - they make me laugh!

There is so much more that I could tell you about Karen, but being I have numerous other bio's to include I will stop for now. We didn't get a chance to take a "headshot" of Karen to include in this post and so I will just have you visualize a beautiful, smiley face. Karen I appreciate you! and you are NOT off the hook for writing a little something about yourself SOON!

Left to Right: Beth, Malin and Malena

These three women are my lifeline - I kid you not! Beth began helping me once the kids were in school this fall. She is my CFO Ü She works daily helping with the bookkeeping and customer service. Her quick wit and fun sense of humor make me happy to have her here! Malin, my dear friend who watches out for my kids, my dog and my well-being - Malin, who made me get tears in my eyes when I read the bio she wrote today. Malin and Malena help receive inventory, organize, organize and then organize again. They pack boxes, ship boxes, help me in whatever capacity I need. Malena came to my rescue this summer when Malin headed back to Sweden for the summer. She has continued to stand by my side since that time. They all nod when I ask them if it looks OK - LOL! When I ask for suggestions they are there to help me make decisions. All three are an absolute delight to have around and I thank them from the bottom of my heart for rescuing me on a continual basis from my overcommitments.

I guess I should include our littlest of helpers here as well - I'm thinking you might get a grin out of this picture.

Left to right: Buddy, Nino and Jasper - they are sitting atop a chair in our family room, looking out the window waiting for the kids to come home. Somehow they have this sense of time and they just know when to start watching for their opportunity to distribute lots of kisses and tail wags.

Yep, they are all Havanese. We joke with Beth that it is a requirement to work here - ha! ha! So perhaps sometime we will have four in this picture :D These three adorable little boys get in trouble constantly. They provide us with plenty of kisses (licks) and quite a diversion when we are supposed to be working, with their adorable antics. Buddy is the youngest and belongs to Malena, Nino is the oldest (it's his fault - I fell in love with him you know) and he belongs to Malin. Then there is my little Jasper - who looks enormous and scruffy right now being that he is in desparate need of a haircut. That is to happen this Saturday. He brings so much sunshine to our lives each day. I had no idea that my heart could be stolen by a puppy as it has been.

Following are the girls bio's in order of who started with me first:

Malin joined me in May of 2007.

Hi, I'm Malin. I moved to Seattle from Dublin, Ireland 7 years ago with my family. We bought this gorgeous house (your first house is always fabulous) in this great community and the first people we met were Ellen and her family. It was a perfect match. She has two girls and so do I, plus we have our little Prince Charming. We have the same interests in Food, Photo, Skiing, Hiking and last but not least STAMPING. Our husbands with the same initials, J.J., enjoy the odd Pickle Ball and Poker game together. It's at least 5 years since Ellen and I were introduced to the magical world of Stamping. We took the same class and it was a lot of embossing powder at that time... anyway, we both loved it and got hooked a.k.a. had to buy it all. Ellen is a great Artist and when she became a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator she took it to a whole other level than any other I have seen.

As time goes by the kids grow up, the girls are now in High School and Middle School, and Katrina and Max who used to be the cutest little couple together, are now on opposite sides of the fence. One is a mature well-spoken girl and the other one is an energetic, sporty and very afraid of girl-germs boy... oh well, I guess we just have to wait a few more years until Prince Charming is back in town.

Ellen started her business a year ago when she had more time for personal development as Katrina was in school fulltime. The Business took off like a rocket and she asked me if I was interested in helping her out a few hours, until it had settled down. Well girls I can only tell you this... it's not slowing down and I love every minute of the day working for Ellen and with Malena and Beth. It is a great privilege to be able to enjoy your work, have your friends as your colleagues, walk home for lunch, bring your dog to work, and have the kids play or do homework at your job while you finish up and see to it that every last order that can, is shipped out.

I don't know what else to tell you. I'm Swedish too. We left Stockholm 11 years ago for a two year adventure in Dublin and see, here we are in the most Beautiful City... in at least the States... Seattle. We love the Mountains and the Ocean and everything in between. Where else would you ever want to live when you can go to Sweden for a summer vacation to see family and friends and then come home to sweet Seattle and your great job with Ellen.

Insert teary Ellen eyes here - I THANK YOU Malin!!

Malena arrived in June 2007

My name is Malena. I am 45 years old and have been married to Anders for 18 years. We have two kids. A boy, Daniel, who is 17 years old, and a girl, Ida, who is 15 years old. We moved here from Stockholm, Sweden a little more than 6 years ago. We all love it here, but of course we miss all our family.

I started to work for/with Ellen in mid-June 2007 because my friend, Malin was going to Sweden for the whole summer. She already worked for Ellen and needed a substitute. I told her I will work for her... and Ellen thought it was a good idea... *smile*. So here I am... still working and having a really good time doing it.

I really like crafts of all sorts even though I don't do very much right now. I also really like to bake cakes and cookies. I read books and love to watch a good movie. And of course, spend time with my family and friends. In Sweden I worked as a receptionist and switchboard operator. I studied marketing economics, but didn't get a chance to work with it since we moved here just after I graduated.

When I am not busy with work, I am busy with our kids' activities; competitive cheerleading, acting/modeling and soccer. It takes up a lot of our time, but our kids really enjoy it, and we love to do things with our kids.

Then we have the latest addition to our family... Buddy, our little Havanese puppy. Since Malin has one and Ellen just got one, we just had to cave in to our kids plea and buy one too.

Well, this was a little bit about me. Now you know who to blame if there is something wrong with your order *giggle*. To end this... I really enjoy working here and to pack/ship your orders!!!

My Dear Malena - you are a treasure - thank you for being here and being a part of this adventure!

Beth, our latest "victim" (chortle) began in September 2007.

I'm Beth. I relocated to Issaquah, Washington 8 years ago where I began my life as a stay at home suburban mom, complete with mini van and everything. I have 2 children, nine-year old Michael and six-year old Connor. We have gone from being dog people to cat people. After my black lab Sadie and my golden retriever Dusty died, we have an adopted cat named Lexi who has feline HIV. I get my dog fill from licky Jasper, pom pom Buddy and lap-lover Nino. That being said, I am an animal lover and all my pets have been from rescues.

I grew up in the seacoast area of New Hampshire. I went to college at the University of New Hampshire. My family is still there so I get to visit yearly. While I am loving the Pacific Northwest, I am a bit homesick for the beaches of my home. I also lived in Denver, Colorado, Wash park area, for 12 years. I love Colorado. I miss the sunshine, city living, and of course the skiing. I am a skier, and may work weekends as a ski instructor at our local ski area, Snoqualmie this winter.

As all moms are, I am striving for balance so I can pursue my passions, which are the environment (I am a green wip), teaching children (this will never end), and heal and fitness (another wip). My favorite TV shows are Dancing with the Stars and Greys Anatomy. My favorite drink is my first cup of coffee in the morning. My exercise of choice is rollerblading and swimming.

That's all I can think of for now.

Beth, I value so much how you treat each of our customers with kindness and how you can help bring a laugh to our days!

OK - so this is a LOT longer than I thought it would be so I am going to break it up in to two parts :D I hope have enjoyed meeting the girls I work with every day - leave them a note if you are so inclined. It is fun to get feedback and I know that it wasn't an easy task for them to talk about themselves :D Thanks girls for all you do to help me each and every day!!!

Comments

[Rose Ann]

It's great to "meet" you all! Thanks for doing all that you do! ;)

[Tami McBeain]

It's so nice to "meet" you all! What a wonderful group of friends!

[twinks]

Thank you, everyone!

Congrats!
Keep/get well, Ellen!

[Jennifer N.]

Hello, you wonderful ladies! I can personally vouch for Beth's helpfulness, as she went above and beyond the call of duty to answer my questions yesterday. I was totally impressed with her sweet demeanor and her great customer service! I have four cats, including two orange male tabby kittens, so I always love to meet another cat lover, too! : )

[Kathy McDonald]

Thank you Malin, Malena and Beth, for packing my orders so beautifully! It's nice to know that Ellen has such great help, and wonderful to hear how much you enjoy your work!

Kathy McDonald

[Debbie Olson]

Hi, Beth, Malin, and Malena! It's very good to finally "meet" you!

[Sherrie]

Wonderful info, so great to learn about all of you. Love your Havanese. We have one too, her name is Lucy. We are just in the middle of breeding her, can't wait to have those cute little puppies!

[Sue B]

It was enjoyable to learn more about your world. My husband and I will be visiting my family in Bonney Lake in a couple weeks. I miss living in that area but I love the midwest too.

[jackie M. - from Oregon]

Enjoyed hearing about your staff and sharing their stories. I also loved the pictures of the Havanese pooches. I have a 22 month old Hav, Bella. She is white, black and silver and very spunky. Don't know many people who have Havanese pals. I put my order in at 12:03 - thanks for the discount!