Imagine That

Now I had thought about her before I left to Nashville.  "We live in this darling little town just out of Nashville.  My neighbors are such and such and so and so (not their real names) country music stars.  I am now running my own business, can you believe it?"

Annette, a beautiful stay-at-home mom, had been a training client and a friend for close to ten years before she, her husband and four kids moved away a few years ago.  I had heard through the grapevine that she had opened a business and "Sweet Ce Ce's" was doing gangbusters.

You might imagine how blown away I was when I happened upon "Sweet Ce Ce's" practically next door to the John Lennon art show in the little town of Franklin.  "Is Annette, I mean Ce Ce here?"  I asked the impeccable employee behind the immaculate counter of one of the most comprehensive self serve yogurt and goodies shop I have ever seen!

Julie, the employee, texted Ce Ce and within a few minutes I received a call.  "Where the *@#* are you?"  Small world we live in, really.

Yes, this is how Ce Ce looks after staying up all night  with her daughter's prom friends for an over-nighter!

The show was crazy as we were the main attraction for an annual street fair that weekend.  We had a mob within our walls and a mob waiting outside for twelve hours straight.  Finally on Sunday it rained and when we opened our doors, we had just a roomful of John Lennon fans.  Ce Ce (aka Annette) came in early and we hugged and poured out as much catch-up as we could in fifteen minutes.

When Ce Ce used to train with me she was pretty convinced that her best talents and strengths resided in her dedication to her family via the domestic route.  Her ambition was to raise healthy children and take care of her home while her husband brought home the bacon.  But, as the recession loomed over their heads, California became too much a financial burden.  Her choice to open a "Sweet Ce Ce's" had much more to do with her love for sweets and a mission to create financial freedom.

After only a year in business, Ce Ce had been written up in People and other national tabloids.  Just take a look at what this amazing woman accomplished in a few short years!  www.sweetceces.com

Oh, and by the way, such and such and so and so are regulars at "Sweet Ce Ce's".   Now they have sold franchises and there are twenty-six stores with another twenty in the works.  I have no doubt that most of you will find yourself in a Ce Ce's one day.

The crowds came in spite of the rain.  After all, some of these folks came from neighboring Alabama as their home was leveled by the tornadoes last week and they were in need of some "Instant Karma" and a little positive energy.   I think it is safe to say that survivors believe that when the sh*t hits the fan, you turn the fan off and get moving in a new direction.

What can you accomplish with a new attitude and a lot of hard work?  What is your passion?  What is holding you back from moving forward?

When in Rome

I did the unexpected yesterday.  I upgraded to first class on Virgin America, which is like the royalty of first class.  I wish I had taken photos of this seat I lounged on throughout my flight!  Virgin is like a classy New York nightclub inside the cabin.  Cool lighting, great TV screens, good food and  ordering made easy.  And the coach seats can fit the average sized person without folding their legs under themselves.

I am staying at a Best Western.  My "boss" usually goes for a bit more upper class, but this Best Western boasts the "oldest lounge act".  I have yet to check it out, but this was the draw.  

The days of the lounge act.  What is Sophia looking at?

I know I am supposed to write my "Feasting Friday" post, but I am not feasting.  Well, I did last night.  Starved to death, I followed the gang to a Trattoria near the show headquarters.  I ate two slices of lightly crisped Italian bread, two slices of pizza Margarita, a delicious dinner salad with goat cheese and balsamic vinegarette and we shared the filet mignon with a wine, mushroom sauce that demanded sopping your Italian bread in.  I can't remember the name of the desert we stabbed our spoons into like it was a wild beast, it was kind of a cannoli/ eclair thingie.  

I was stuffed and dragging by the time I checked into my room.  I collapsed into crisp, soft cotton (is that possible?) sheets.  I think reading a trashy novel in a hotel room is a must, but all I had was my book, Poser, by Claire Dederer.  It's a memoir as it relates to her yoga practice.  Funny, dark, unpretentious and truthful, this book isn't a gripping page turner as much as it is a book I can relate to.

I am off to the lounge for the breakfast that lasts from 7 AM to 2 PM.  Lot's of retirees live around here;  all day breakfasts are a must.

Then it will be time for my "lounge act";  Selling the art of John Lennon.  Wish me luck!  

In Atlanta with John Lennon

He was a complex man.  Being around his art and music this weekend was an inspirational blast that exploded my narrow imagination.  I truly believed I had an expansive, elevated and deep capacity for imagination, but, day by day my mind opened and my narrowness was exposed to me.  I, now, believe I will never be able to sit in total comfort of being.  I will need constant and challenging exploration of my mind through the examination of an other's.