Reunion update...

Well, we survived the reunion...There were about 3 people there that I knew.
It was a very boring 8 hours. It even crossed my mind to have Jim take me back to the RV and let him go back to the reunion by himself!

First, it was at a VFW Post...as I walked through the door, stale cigarette odor hit my nose. When we got back "home" last night...we reeked of cigarette smell -- even though no one smoked at the reunion.

Second, the "catered food" was actually premade & wrapped barbeque sandwiches. There were lots of baskets and bowls filled with chips, candy and gum packages. There were about 5 different jars of dips and a couple bowls of tortilla chips. I just wonder where everyone's $32/person went.

Third, the band was fairly good, but SO LOOUUUDDD!!! We asked 3 different times for them to turn their amplifiers down & also asked the sax player not to play so loudly...all this fell on "DEAF EARS"!! No one could hear conversations; we had our fingers in our ears for 99% of the time while they played. It was miserable & deafening. I just thought their inconsideracy was terrible. When they quit playing about 9:30 p.m., it was a blessing! Most everyone began leaving around 9-9:30 (it was supposed to be over at 11 p.m.). We left about 10 pm.

It's amazing how much everyone has changed in the past 15 years! They showed a video of us at the last reunion (15 years ago), and I saw how SKINNY -- and YOUNG -- I was!!! Waaaahhh! I wanna' look like that again!! I explicitely remember telling people many years ago that I'd "NEVER get fat or let myself go"!! Man, have I eaten those words!!

The first thing I did today when we got home, was wash the clothes we wore last night! Ewwww they smelled!!!

Big day tomorrow...need to get a banner made for the 4th of July picnic in town. I'm one of the sponsors through the radio station. I wish my brochures would get here before Friday. I need to hand something out besides business cards.

Hugs, LeAnne

High School Reunion

This weekend is Jim's high school reunion...we'll let the number remain a mystery!
We'll leave in the morning with the RV to our favorite RV resort. The reunion is about 45 minutes from there, from 1-11 p.m. I don't know if there'll be anyone there that I really know anymore (I didn't attend his school, but know the buddies he hung around with and their wives).

My reunion should be next year. I usually don't attend it. It's awkward to go and not know if anyone you know/used to know will be there. The people I keep in touch with live in other states and have never attended our reunions before.
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I met with the radio station lady this afternoon. My on-air ads will start probably on Tuesday. I gave her lots of "copy" to mix-and-match for announcement spots. I hope they'll be alright. I have final approval.

Please help me spread my business through word-of-mouth. If I had anything monetary to offer y'all, I would. But I have expenses and no income right now.

Love and hugs to all,
LeAnne

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Chamber of Commerce Ribbon Cutting

Yesterday afternoon was my official ribbon cutting for my travel agency!

I had 4 guests attend besides Jim (daughter, son-in-law's mother, and 2 friends/neighbors). The others in attendance were from the business community (radio station, city council, county officials, bankers, Chamber president & members, etc.).

I will also be listed on the Chamber of Commerce's website with a link to my agency's website.

I've also contacted 2 radio stations about on-air advertising. I've pretty much decided to go with an FM station that plays more of a smooth genre of music ranging from the 50's (occassionally) to more of the 60's through today, some smooth jazz. I've noticed most of the businesses that I go into have this station playing as background music (dentist, doctor, cleaners, jewelers, boutiques, courthouse, restaurants, etc.). The other station has 2 stations: an AM, and an FM country/western. Their prices were higher with not as much coverage. I don't listen to either of those stations, which is one reason I'm hesitant to advertise right now.

And right now I have no income coming in (commissions aren't paid until after the client(s) travel -- all my bookings are for September through December!!). I have to watch my expenses carefully until commissions begin being paid.

I sure can use some people wanting to travel this summer = NOW!

And I really need everyone's help in spreading the word about me!!

Hope everyone's having a great summer!!

Pray for rain in my area!! We're desperate here!

The travel agency is up and running!!

My travel agency is keeping me busy. I booked 6 packages last week: 4 to Vegas, 1 to New York City, and 1 cruise. And that was just my friends!! Spread the word: I need MORE business!!

I implore you to please, PLEASE go to my website and register for the FREE cruise for 2 which includes airfare. Also, register to join the 7Seas Club. By this week, I'm supposed to have 50 people registered...uh, well, I'm WAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaay behind!! And I need everyone's help to achieve this goal. I've sent out emails asking this be done, but I'm disappointed at how few have actually responded. Is it confusing on the website?? I need to know if so, because then I'll let the Big Kahuna in the Washington office know.

I joined the Chamber of Commerce in our county. They're having a ribbon cutting on Wednesday at 4 pm to "inaugurate" my new business. I've bought refreshments and party goods for it (cruising theme). I think Jim's having fun with this (although I seriously doubt he'd admit that). He sure has a lot of opinions and advice for me. And believe it or not, I'm really listening to him! He's very wise and has oodles of common sense, a "people reader" -- and very good at it.

Well, I've lost 1.1 pounds in 6 days on my Wii Fit board! Jim GAINED (about 5 lbs)!! He's NOT a happy exerciser right now -- just set his goal back.
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We leave Saturday morning for Rayford. It's Jim's 40th high school reunion. We'll spend the night in the RV and come home on Sunday. An-G's jewelry show is Sunday evening, and I want to go to that. She helped me with mine, and I want to reciprocate the favor.
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Mrs. R was here for 2-days. We drove to H-Town and picked her up on Saturday. She wanted to go to our little church. After church, we went to visit An-G. Mrs. R got really, really tired out. When we got home, we ALL took a nap! We were supposed to take her home on Sunday, but she was so worn out that she asked if we'd take her home today.

Jim got up with a really sore throat and chest congestion. So after he took his mom home, he went to our family doctor. She gave him Rx's for antibiotics and decongestants. I think he'll "live" now. I think he's got allergies from weed-eating and mowing the other day, and not wearing his mask outside. He's been through this before and knows that the grasses get to him.
Maybe he'll learn one of these days!
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Please go to my website and register for the 7Seas Club. Email me if you need the website.
Also, ask your friends and relatives to do the same. I would certainly appreciate it.
Hugs to all!! ~~ L

We have a Wii now!!

Who'da thunk??? The Rigsby's have a Wii console and games!

It all started on Father's Day at An-G and J's....the grandkids were playing Wii Sports. Jim was playing cards with An-G and T-ka...then he decided to try his hand at Wii golf. Well, 6 hours later, we FINALLY went home!! Well, not exactly -- we left their house & drove straight to Wal*Mart to see if they had one! They didn't. So I spent part of Monday calling Wal*Marts, Circuit City's, Best Buy's, Targets, Game Stops within a reasonable driving distance -- no one had any. Tuesday, An-G went to Wal*Mart and they magically produced 2 for her -- we'd just been there asking about them 45-minutes BEFORE and they "didn't have any"!! (Kinda' pi---- me off at Wal*Mart. I think An-G must be a "special customer" or something!)

I bought the Wii Fit Balance at Game Stop -- and LOVE it!! It's SO much fun!! I'm not very good at some of the games YET, but in time. It gave me my BMI (body mass index) which wasn't "purty"!! Then I set a goal for myself -- gave myself 3 months to lose 15 pounds. I wanted something realistic...I can change the goal if I see myself reaching it sooner, or NOT reaching it at all. Jim bought the PGA Tour Tiger Woods 2008 game -- he spent SO much time "creating" himself!!

T-ka and her daughter came over yesterday afternoon and set it up for us. If they hadn't done that, we'd still be reading directions! Kids are amazing when it comes to stuff like that.

Right now, he's in the living room talking to it!! (He's playing baseball and apparently I'm one of the players.) I hear him saying, "There's LeAnne."
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If you've noticed, I've changed names/spellings to "protect" family members, at the request of my daughter. It's a valid request, and so I've deleted previous postings, etc. I know those of you who know me can muddle through this.

Hugs to all!

Please Refer my Travel Agency...

I'm pleased with the bookings I've made thus far.

I'd appreciate any "word-of-mouth" referrals any of you could give me.
Please email me for any information or call me.

I rebooked a cruise for a good friend's daughter's honeymoon...it saved her a little bit (the fuel surcharges took a chunk) more than when I originally booked it with my "previous" agency. But hey, anything helps nowadays! I'm pleased with it and so is she.

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Our Amish dining room table and chairs are to be delivered on Friday. We've been eating on "theirs" for the last 2-3 months. When they delivered the set back in March/April, the chairs and table top were wrong. Hopefully now everything's as it should be.

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I sent my and Jim's application in for a Cayman Island FAM trip in August. The Visitor & Convention Bureau is balking at a "couple" attending the same FAM trip. IF we DO get to go, we'll get home 1 day before we leave to go to Playa del Carmen! PHEW! I haven't done something like that in 4 years (we went to Jamaica for a week and renewed our 30th wedding anniversary vows, then came home & 2 days later went to Las Vegas for 5 days). The couple who kept Zoe for us during our cruise agreed to keep her again in August, too. This is a business trip for ME (site and hotel inspections).
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BTW, we NEED RAIN here -- badly!! We're a-prayin' for some!! The county even has a burn ban in force.

Hugs, LeAnne

I'm BAAAACK!!!!

(This is a volcano right outside of Sitka, Alaska.)

!!Hola Everyone!!

I've had lots of emails asking where I've been!! Well...I'm BACK!
There's been lots and lots happening in my life -- and really quickly I might add.

Our trip to Alaska was wonderful. Prior to leaving, everyone I spoke with who'd traveled there or knew others who'd traveled there, had nothing but GOOD things to say about the state. Well, they're absolutely RIGHT! It's beautiful and so "frontier" and basically unspoiled. I was amazed at how small the cities were -- even Juneau, the capitol. It's not much bigger than Brenham!! Whoa -- that in itself was amazing to me. The ONLY highway was 46 miles from one end to the other -- and went nowhere in particular. Ketchikan is about the same size, maybe a little smaller. The tour guides all said the same thing: the only way to these locations is either by boat, plane or birthcanal!!

But let me start at the beginning...

We flew into Seattle...encountered its crisp cool air. Very nice city, too. I had arranged a Lincoln Town Car to pick us up at the airport who took us straight to our hotel. The hotel was only a few blocks from the Space Needle. We were starved and walked about 5 blocks from the hotel to a wonderful little restaurant. Either I was super hungry or it was just the best corn beef (Reuben) sandwich I'd ever eaten! I noticed shortly after we were seated that everyone who came in were dressed up: women = dresses; men = suits.....us = jeans & tennis shoes! Come to find out, we were across the street from the ballet, concert hall, museums -- the fine arts district.

The next morning, we had the same Town Car driver pick us up and drive us to the ship terminal. Our check-in was quick and painless. We got onboard and roamed the ship, took a look at the shore excursions available in the 4 ports of call, ate a wonderful buffet lunch, and went to our cabin. At dinner, we met the other 24 travel agents who were part of the travel agent organization/membership that I belong. I discovered the majority of them were from the east/southeast (Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, & Florida). There were a few from California. We were the only people from Texas. The food was to "die for"! Jim and I were so stuffed we were absolutely miserable!! Five courses!! I finally learned later in the week to NOT order ALL 5 courses. The same for breakfast. I came home weighing the same as when I left -- not so for Jim!! He gained 9 pounds!!

Our ports were Sitka, Alaska (Russian/American town...very tiny but quaint). There were so many bald eagles! I saw a seal in the harbor just playing in the water. Saw lots of otters. Found a porcupine in a tree in Juneau -- discovered that they LIVE in trees! Saw LOTS of whales -- but everytime I grabbed my camera, they'd already dived under the water! One huge humpback whale was withing 20 feet of the ship -- big as a school bus. Breathtaking!

The next day we sailed to Hubbard Glacier which was an amazing site. I never realized that glaciers would have turquoise blue in them (caused from air pockets in the frozen ice) -- gosh it was gorgeous. The icebergs were turquoise, too. We actually sailed through ice floes...VERY SLOWLY; I could feel the ship shudder. We couldn't get all the way into the channel where the glacier "ended" because the ice was beginning to pack and re-freeze -- the captain said we had to get out. But we saw plenty. As we were sailing into the channel, I saw a brown bear on the rocky shoreline turning rocks over looking for food! A once-in-a-lifetime event.

The day after that we docked in Juneau, Alaska (went to Mendenhall Glacier and Glacier Gardens); the following day we were in Ketchikan, Alaska (went to Bight Totem National Park and a city tour); the final port was our favorite: Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. I've never seen such a clean city with the most beautiful landscaping -- colors I never knew could be so vibrant. Every house (old, new, poor, wealthy) had perfectly manicured yards. I marveled at how a country/city can get everyone to do the same thing, or at least follow the same rules. Our shore excursion there was a self-guided tour of Craigdarroch Castle and a city tour (by bus). We even stopped at The Empress Hotel (very famous). This was the coldest port of all of them. I had to go back to the ship and put on a turtleneck sweater under my shirt, before we left for our shore excursion. Brrr!! Still having a little "winter" there.

I can't say enough about Celebrity Cruise Lines (owned by Royal Caribbean International Cruise Lines). The ship was very stately and elegant. I found it very easy to navigate around the decks (for & aft, starboard & port). The cabins were the nicest I've ever stayed in...mirrors along one wall, the bed had a rounded end, & mini-fridge in the room. Biggest shower I've ever seen in a ship, too (plenty of "turn around" room). These cabin stewards were "invisible" -- Celebrity doesn't want them to really have a presence. Our bed was turned down every night with chocolates on the many pillows. Yummy!

FOOD: The BEST was a huge brunch buffet the morning we were going to Hubbard Glacier. There was so much food -- anything you could think of from pancakes, crepes, eggs benedict, omelets & eggs made to order, to filet mignon, prime rib, roast beef, to shrimp cocktail, oysters, calamari, sushi, escargot, to pastas, fruits, vegetables; lots of pastries & breads, juices, sodas, tea, coffee, and "morning" cocktails (champagne, and mimosas: champagne & orange juice). We "rolled" out of there! Everyone couldn't get over the amount of food -- all you could eat. None of us had ever heard of a brunch being offered on a cruise line before. It was the hit of the cruise.

We had two formal nights, four semi-formal nights, and one casual night. The second formal night is usually the night they serve the lobster! Now 2-years ago on a Royal Caribbean cruise, I ate THREE lobster tails (they were small) -- oink, oink! But this cruise had the biggest lobster tails I'd ever seen -- I ONLY ate one!! Gosh it was good (I'm still drooling).

I thought the entertainment was the best I'd ever seen. They featured Broadway show hits (Tommy, New York New York, Hairspray, West Side Story). The costumes cost them over $1 million dollars, and the singing & choreography were fantastic -- synchronized perfectly. There were headliners, too. We had comedian Danny Shore, and an entertainer who played a xylo-synth, and some aerial performers who were just amazing. There was a big band group onboard who played in The Martini Lounge: Les DeMerle. He's played with Frank Sinatra, Tommy Dorsey, and others. He was a favorite with everyone. We enjoyed listening to him, too. In fact, all the lounges had excellent entertainment.

NOW... the opportunity that was presented to me while onboard and which I've already announced via email to most everyone:
I joined (bought into) the FIRST franchise in the United States with Expedia Cruise Ship Centers !!

I've been with Way To Go! Travel since 1994. I will still do a majority of land packages through them (Funjet). But my cruise business will be through Expedia Cruise Ship Centers (the largest cruise supplier in North America). They've given me my own website, provided business cards, marketing materials, support, etc., to me.

I purchased two domain names and those are linked to the Expedia website. The opportunity I'll have with them that I don't have otherwise are cabin upgrades, onboard ship credits, and lowered deposit amounts. Cruise Ship Centers has $1 million dollars on deposit with all major cruise lines so that their agents can book into group categories and get these amenities that other agencies & agents are unable to get.

Jim came up with the name: J-Me's nickname with us is "Cricket." I told him I wanted something that had alliteration to it (i.e., Cricket Cruise). As part of my business venture, I joined the Washington County Chamber of Commerce here -- they're having a ribbon cutting for me on June 25th at 4 pm (in the Chamber's board room). I'll be linked to their website as well. And have my ad in 2 of their bi-annual publications (one for brides). I feel this is good PR and a good investment.

I've taken a three Master Agent courses through TAUniversity and TAAcademy since I've been back. I've qualified for a Cayman Island FAM (familiarization) trip in August, and an individual FAM trip to Playa del Carmen (Cancun) in August, too. Jim will be my "companion" on both, and Ann and Gary are going with us on the trip to Cancun. Our airfare and hotel arrangements are completed. These should be very informative, interesting, and fun! I can't wait!!

As of 8 p.m. tonight, I've sold 3 vacation packages in 4 day's time! I'm excited for them and me.
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On a personal level:
My 87-year-old "uncle" (actually my second cousin on my mother's side) died last Thursday of congestive heart failure. Jim and I drove to SA for the funeral. (His daughter, BJ, was my roommate back in 1971-72 when she moved to H-Town to attend nursing school.) It was wonderful seeing all my cousins and their kids and grandkids. It was great visiting with everyone, too. Whoo - we're a pretty large family! They had a catered reception after the funeral. My 97-year-old "uncle" came with his son and daughter-in-law (he's also my second cousin -- my mother's first cousin). That man is amazing -- still plays 9 holes of golf twice a week and walks the course! He's a hoot...he gets around fine...just uses a cane to steady himself. I asked him how many girlfriends he had at the retirement center, and he told me he's just crazy about one lady, but she has Alzheimers and just smiles at him!!!

On the way to SA, we stopped at Ann and Gary's house in NBs to change clothes and catch our breath. It was great to see Ann again -- Gary was working (he's a pharmacist). We went with her to pick up her twin grandsons from a church camp on the river. Boy, the G. River sure looked inviting for tubing! But very COLD!! There's a saying about the river: First your butt goes numb, then your brain!

When we got home that evening, our good friends and former neighbors from 32-years ago (Dan and Rhonda), now living in PA, came and stayed overnight with us Saturday night. They were in Houston for an anniversary party and on their way to our capitol to visit other friends. They're coming back on Thursday and spending one more night with us.

My Alaska photos are on http://www.snapfish.com/ -- if anyone's interested, I'll send the link to you!!

Love to all ~~ LeAnne

Alaskan Cruise

Our cruise was wonderful! I'm so glad we had the opportunity to go. I had two travel agent seminars to attend when we were "at sea". Jim attended the second one with me. We were offered the opportunity to join the first franchise in the United States for Expedia Cruise Ship Centers (Canadian corporations).









The photo above is our ship, Celebrity "Infinity" and we were in Sitka, Alaska, its first port of call. Sitka was a Russian settlement. It's so tiny...we walked all over the town. Our little town is bigger than Sitka!! It has tiny little islands dotted all over the place. People have bought the islands and built their homes on them. Very picturesque.