Where do I begin? Well for those of you here in the rain that don't know, Chris Fisher and I have become very good friends since the moment we started talking here in the rain. We also are working together, well have been for awhile, but just recently joined forces and went into business together. We have been talking alot about getting together and meeting each other in person, since we talk every single day. It finally happened, I got to meet my wonderful friend from California because she came out to help me!

I have been having problems, in alot of pain all the time and it was decided that a hysterectomy would help. So when this was decided Chris tells me she wants to come out here to help me for week when it was done. My surgery was on March 30th and they were able to it the better way so less healing time. Chris was coming in on the 7th of April, that whole night I could not sleep, was excited and nervous at the same time. My boys were the same way, excited to finally meet Chris. David left to go get her at 1am and I just sat here waiting for them to get back, couldn't sleep at all. When I saw him pull in, I walked out onto our porch and when she got to me and we hugged hello, it seemed so unreal that she was really here! I think we both kept saying we couldn't believe she was really here.

It was fun to be able to sit next to each other and work and talk rather than working and talking online all day like we were used too. Now I am used to talking to her with her right here next to me and I do miss it. We had a blast while she was here, although, there was a few days I was very ill, sick to my stomach and what not and Chris was a big help, occupying the kids, helping clean up and cooking too.

This is my middle son Josh with Chris. He had to go everywhere Chris went, it was very cute. He just loved having her here, he is the one that kept asking me, "Mom when is Chris coming?", "Mom just 3 more days and she will be here!" He hung out with her all day, sat out by her in the livingroom, just talking to her about anything and everything. He was even trying to get her to move here. Kept telling her, hey Chris there is a house for sale down the street you can buy that and move there. He really misses her being here now as he has said a few times already and cannot wait to see her again. Because he just "loves Chris" as he says.

To the left is Chris with my youngest son Chris, who demanded to just be called his nickname while she was here, which is CJ. I did forget a few times and when I said Chris, Chris looked but CJ ignored it or would say it's CJ mom. I have told her before that she had a CJ at home, her nephew that I got to see on the webcam reminded me so much of my son. I don't think she really believed it until she was here and saw for herself. She just got a kick out of his goofy, funny attitude and the silly faces he likes to make. He does know how to make someone smile as you can see in the picture he is smiling but has to be different than anyone else. He is such a character, but she loved it!

Of course then you have my boys' friend Kevin on the left of Chris, who is my adopted son as he adopted me as his mom, then my son Davey is on the right of Chris. The boys have been talking to Kevin about Chris on the phone all week and he knew she was a good friend of mine so he just HAD to come stay the night to meet her. Davey enjoyed hanging with her and drew a picture to show her how he would like his website to look, since she told him she would make him one.

I have to say all three of my boys loved being with Chris, she listened to music with them and watch funny videos, showing them the things she liked. They just had a blast walking around the house singing stuff Chris had them listen too, saying phrases of things and just cracking up laughing the whole time doing it. They all miss her now and want her to come back, but next time they want her to bring Rhiannon, her daughter with her. They got to talk to her on the phone and online which they enjoyed.

Okay, now I can tell you, Chris got me watching Absolutely Fabulous, a British comedy, so now with that said, my boys have been calling us the Ab Fab Crew. Her first night here, we sat here talking and laughing, had a few glasses of wine and ended up putting the show on to watch, it was great. Although when we got the wine, we didnt think about a corkscrew, realized this when we were ready to open it. We got one and were trying to open the bottle of wine, the cork wouldnt come out, so David came in was trying to get it out and then he decided to just push the cork into the bottle. Can we say wine shower? Wine splashed all over him, the counter, the cupboards, it was hilarious.  We also have another Ab Fab lover, that is my sister in law kelly.  Who is in pic with me and Chris below.

But even though I am recovering from surgery, I had a wonderful time visiting with Chris and being able to work side by side with her during her stay. I was very comfortable with her here and felt like she has always been here. I wanted to say thank you to a few people because without them, I wouldnt have met Chris and wouldn't have been able to have such a great friend and business partner. So the first ones I think I need to thank, is the Founders of Active Rain, having Active Rain made it possible for us to meet, so Thank you. The next person I really need to thank is Bonnie Westbrook, she sent Chris my way when she needed assistance with some work. We started talking and just hit it off, so thank you Bonnie.

Chris, I want to thank you again for coming out here to help out, in my time of need. It was very thoughtful of you to take time to fly out here and help with everything. I appreciate everything you have done for me and honored to have a friend like you. I want to dedicate the poem below to you.

Helping Hand

As we journey down the road so mysterious,
on occasion, storm clouds cover our sun,
blinding us with terrifying darkness;
leaving us, needing someone to lean on,
A helping hand to guide us, to be our eyes,
giving us faith in our time of need,
supporting us and offering advice;
giving us the comfort we all need,
The day I met you,
God was watching over me,
He knew I needed someone like you;
who would always be there for me,
Through happiness, through sorrow,
Through difficult times, through special times,
Your loving and caring ways will always show;
Never letting me fall behind,
You my friend, I would like to tell you,
thank you for being who you are, I love you.

First off, I guess I should announce that Chris Fisher and I have joined forces completely as StagersLIST Websites, from doing virtual assistant work to building and maintaining websites. We have been talking about it for sometime and finally decided to take the step and go for it! I enjoy working with Chris, she is smart, creative and fun to be around. Things will be changing on my profile, my header and such as well, so keep a look out for that.

Chris and I, have also talked about doing something else as well and we have started that too. Just taking a little time to get it all set up!

You are probably wondering what other thing could we have possibly started. Hmmmm. We have been thinking we would like to help others learn how to do things and write How To's and Tutorials. We have started up our own group called "StagersLIST Strategy and Marketing Time Savers" In this group will be post tutorials and How to's, give great ideas and tips, to help our fellow rainers!

If you would like to join our group click here - StagersLIST Strategy and Marketing Time Savers

If there is something you would like us to write a tutorial on, just leave us a comment on oneof our blogs or on the welcome blog in the group and we will put it on our agenda. As always if you need any assistance or help, just remember we are here to help you! Below are some of the buttons, logos, headers and websites we have made.

My friend Chris Fisher, wrote this blog about Kym Hough, another great person I know and get to work with, with Chris of course. I am very happy and excited for Kym and I know this book will be beneficial to everyone in the real estate business.  Way to Kym, excited for you! Wooho!

Do not forget all you Florida Realtors and Stagers, StagersLIST is doing an expo on March 17th, in Winter Park, Florida! For more information click on the link in Chris' blog or contact Chris!

Great blog about Kym, Chris.

I know alot of people here in the rain, know who Brande Bradford is. However, she has started her coaching business as most know from her previous blogs and is using a new name for her business Home Grown Marketing, and I thought I would reblog her first post on her new name to help get the word out.

Brande, way to go on moving forward! I know you will be a success because your main motivation is helping others become successful. You rock!

I have no doubt in my mind that Chris will do great during her discussion on websites at the expo workshops. I say this because we work together everyday doing website design and she is just wonderful. No one could top what she does. However I did figure I would re-blog this in hopes of it reaching others that have not seen it.  Feel free to share your ideas or questions with her.

Okay even though this is one that I am not going too, I had to reblog it because well I am just excited about StagersLIST and all the expos coming up!

Even though it doesn't look like the one you linked to Chris, it is still a great blog and gets the word out!

Gayle wrote this blog about Chris Fisher, who is a friend and business associate of mine. We work together with StagersLIST.com, doing websites and of course a few other things. Not to mention we talk all day long through messenger while we work.

I couldn't help myself, I had to re-blog this because Gayle really said it all about Chris. She is a special gem of a person, wonderful mother to Rhiannon, great friend to everyone and goes above and beyond to help. You rock Chris, love ya chick!

Let me ask you...

Have you ever had a friend who was always there, no matter what, through thick and thin? A friend that is always there, always around. If you need a hug, a helping hand, some words of advice, encouragement or wisdom, a shoulder to lean on or cry on, who you can talk to about anything, that is more than a friend, but a part of your family?

I am lucky because I can answer this. I have Brande Bradford, and for that I am blessed. She has been there when I have needed her, even when I didnt think I did need her, I did. She has done a lot for me over the years, sometimes saying "Thank You" just doesnt seem fulfilling enough to me and so this is a Christmas Dedication to say "Thank You" from me to her.

Brande and I ment 9 years ago online when we started working together, I lived in Michigan and her in Kansas. We hit it off rather quickly, talked on the phone daily about business, kids, our likes, dislikes and over time we grew closer and closer. We hadn't met in person as of yet, but there were several times she went above and beyond to help me. As with anyone things get tough sometimes, just like today, alot of people are feeling the same tough times, but then, I was up in the middle of the night, worried and not knowing what to do, when my phone rings. It was brande calling to see if I was okay and we talked for awhile which of course made me feel grateful that I have a friend like her. There are more of those times over the years than I could ever count.

I could not wait to meet her in person and we talked about it a lot, that some day we would. It had been two years, since we met and we were best friends, when it finally happened. I will never forget that day. I introduced her to her husband Chris who lives in Georgia and my husband David had been transferred down to the Georgia office for his company. That was a crazy time, we rented a house that we had not seen yet, as we trusted this guy, we drive 14 hours after loading a Uhaul truck, get to this house to see that its porch is about 25 feet off the ground, now with 3 little babies, I don't think so. I ended up calling Brande who helped me find a storage unit around the area, so we could store our things until we found a house. What a mess, but Brande again was there for me and helped with whatever she could.

I got to meet Chris a few weeks before when we moved down to Georgia. It was actually the next day and we had not slept in over 30 hours, so we definitely was not at our best! Brande came down a few weeks later to see Chris and of course we made plans to meet. I remember sitting on a bench outside at the restaurant (there was a wait) waiting for Chris and Brande to arrive. I was nervous and excited all at once, thinking what should I say, what should I do then I realized, I will be who I always am and say what I normally say to her. When they pulled up, walking across the parking lot she was smiling and so was I. Honestly though my first thought when I did see her walking through the parking lot with Chris, ( I don't think I have ever told her this) I wanted to hug her and thank her in person for everything she has done and for being who she is. It was a very happy time though and I don't know how many times I had to take a second to stop myself from getting teary eyed.

Brande finally moved down to Georgia as well and after that, we would get our families together for dinner on the weekends, meet for lunch, sometimes dinner. But even then, I knew that her doors were always open for me if I ever needed and there were times that I did. Her doors are still open, it's just a lot longer of a drive now! There isn't a day that doesn't go by that I wish I was there still.

I lived on the North side of Atlanta and she lived on the south side of Atlanta, and anyone who knows Atlanta, Georgia, knows that traffic can be herendous driving from one end to the other. There was a time my husband fell and his ankle was very swollen, I took him in and then my blood pressure dropped so low that I passed out. My kids were in school and of course they would not let me leave the hospital until it came back up and my husband could not drive. I called her and she drove up too pick up the boys for me.

She has always been there for me in so many ways and has helped me in so many ways over the years, including financially at times. Over the past few months she has really been here, I have had some personal matters recently that I can honestly say have been hard for me and as always she has shined, stepping above and beyond to do whatever she could to help. So there are a few things I would like to say.

Brande,

Whenever I have been sad or scared,
You were there helping to keep my heart repaired,
Whenever I have been excited or happy,
You were there right along side me,
Always showing just how much you cared.

Over time you have been my guiding light,
always helping to keep things right,
Over time you have been my shining star,
always helping to heal every scar,
A special treasure in my life

So to you I just want to say,
That I am grateful every single day,
To have someone as special as you
Who is my best friend and my sister too,
Thank you for all the love and car you always display.

Brande is very good at what she does and has taught me a lot about marketing over the years. She is a wonderful real estate agent that really cares for her clients and now with her spreading her wings and coaching others to help them achieve success, I know she will help them soar as she has helped me soar over the years. Brande I know you will be a great success being a coach, because you care about others achievements and success before your own!

Marey Hoeppner Virtual Assist Expert Let me assist you with what I love to do, so you can spend more time doing what you love to do. "Success never happens in a straight line. There is always going to be twists and turns, ups and downs. Just remember that conquering those will make you successful!" Twitter with me! http://twitter.com/virtualexpert

This is a great post by Katerina, one of the clients that I do work for. I thought I would re-blog it because these sessions are great. She has not only been a client but also a teacher as she has taken the time to show me a few things. There is so much to know and so much everyone can learn about SEO. Anyone who takes this webinar will definitely benefit.