Well, I know my FB posts, Tweets, and even website posts were dwindling the past week. I was SO busy preparing for the Fort Hood Army Wives Spring Expo! The good news? I survived! LOL I think I got more exhausted watching the moms with their kids going to see the Easter bunny because I could totally relate to what they were going through! It’s not easy taking multiple kids to big events! I loved how they would come to get candy and parents would act embarrassed! No, really, I have 3 kids under the age of 6. Our oldest is on the Autism spectrum and doesn’t understand social boundaries, so kids coming up just to take candy didn’t phase me at all! 🙂 I had the candy out for a reason after all!
Watching all the wonderful volunteers run the Expo with such a friendly attitude and smiles on their faces was so rewarding! They are, after all, VOLUNTEERS! This wasn’t anything like what I was used to up in the DC area where booths cost so much you barely had enough left to get supplies to showcase, and the organizers were making a hefty profit! Wow, what a blessing to find such a wonderful organization with wonderful organizers! I can’t wait to be more involved with them and start volunteering more often myself! Check out the Fort Hood Army Wives on Facebook!

Overall, despite being right outside the door to the Easter bunny my booth was a little slow. I may be biased, but I think it looked rockin’, though! 🙂 I represented Nerium for this Expo (I am no longer with this company – see why I made changes), and I had a blast getting the word out! You KNOW my passion for paraben free products and sharing that passion and connecting with others who feel the same way about chemicals, preservatives, etc. was so much fun! It was great spreading the word that Nerium is more than “just a wrinkle cream” with results that passed the clinical trials at an average 30% whereas most that hit the market pass at 2-5% was so much fun! I played a Real Results Slide Show on my iMac on the front table and the Opportunity Slide Show on my iPad on the side table! It was also great having my iPad there so I could share how Nerium gives their Brand Partners an iPad for hitting a certain milestone! I love that! I have the iPad 2, but they will soon be switching their rewards to the new iPad!
I prepared my display by taping an 8×3 section on my floor using painter’s tape (I have linoleum flooring) and setting up my own 6ft table next to it. I then proceeded to place the items while my husband entertained our youngest who hates sleeping and loves getting in to things (a BAD combination when you’re trying to plan a display for an expo!!). I put pieces of paper with a label marking where the big items would go and then took pictures of everything with my iPad so I could set up my display easily when I got there.
Unfortunately, my husband was unable to go with me due to the babysitter thing, so I had to set up and run my booth on my own, so I wanted to make sure I was completely prepared! I armed myself with Inspirin, snacks, and water, and had emergency supplies on hand like nail clippers, which ended up coming in handy when I accidentally tore a nail! I added a couple of smelly good turquoise colored accents that matched the Nerium logo’s color very well, and I packed all my stuff in my personalized bags! Luckily the Wi-Fi worked for me because I realized after I got there I had NO idea how to loop a video on my iMac. The easy answer? Put the video in the playlist on iTunes and set it to repeat! It worked perfectly! Here was my display:

I have to admit, part of me is glad it is over, so I can take a break until the Fall Expo! hehe 🙂 This was a really great experience for me, too, because we’re still pretty new to Fort Hood, so I got to meet some new friends as well, which is always nice! I had a chance to meet some of the other vendors during our mid-day break as well as some that came to say hello to me at my booth! I was kind of stuck since I didn’t have someone running the booth with me. They had a wonderful system in place, though, that if you absolutely needed to make a bathroom run, or run something up to the front, etc. there were row monitors to help keep an eye on things while you did what you needed to do!
Did I mention how FABULOUS the volunteers were? 🙂 Now it’s time to take a breather until the next big event!! Another thing I really enjoyed? THE VARIETY! There were 110 vendors ranging from well-known direct sales companies to extremely unique crafters! It was awesome! I stuck around during the break knowing mooselion would only get upset if I went home just to leave again (he is SUCH a mommy’s boy!), so I had an awesome opportunity to just walk around and browse the other booths during the break! There were so many fabulous products!!

Check out some of the other great vendors!

Do You bake? Bake with Charise: All natural and ohhh so yummy!

Visit her website and “Like” her on Facebook

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Visit Diana’s Website and “Like” her on Facebook

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Indulge – to get your fun, funky, fabulous women’s clothing and
accessories! Custom sewing requests always accepted, we would love to make something perfect for YOU!

Visit the Owner of Indulge – Sarah Chance’s Website and “Like” her on Facebook

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LovingBird was one that really caught my eye! Do you see how cute her products are!? Our last two kids LOVED their wraps, and HOW CUTE is that wrap!? I would have loved to have a wrap that cute!!

Visit LovingBird’s Website and “Like” her on Facebook

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Check out Saleena’s eye-catching display! (I heard she had some excellent chips and salsa at her booth, too, but I didn’t get a chance to make it over there to discover this for myself! haha)

Visit Saleena’s Tupperware Website and connect with her on Facebook

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 Crystal Stagner Martin is a disabled Army wife who found crafting to help make her feel productive. She studied Interior Design and unable to utilize her studies due to illnesses she instead is using her creative outlet in her Deco Mesh wreaths and handmade jewelry.

Find her on Facebook

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Find More write-ups about the Expo Here:

DYB? Bake with Charise

Win Key Solutions

Killeen Daily Herald

Do you have something to contribute? E-mail me at emilee.roberts@peaofsweetness.com

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Last, but not least, congrats to my Expo winners!!

The winner of a FREE bottle of Nerium – the drawing from my booth is Megan W.!

The winner of $50 off a bottle of Nerium from the door prizes is Misty D.!

And the winner of The Scoop from Initials, Inc. is Destiny R.!