I DID IT!

I am head over heels happy to say I went to Las Vegas, Nevada, and had 0 alcoholic drinks! Nothing but constant bottles of water, and of course the odd ginger ale because I've been addicted to that since I was young. WHAT AN ACCOMPLISHMENT FOR ME!

Speaking of ginger ale, my girl B(eyonce) was spotted at that music festival, Coachella, with a good ol' Canada Dry in her hand! YOU GO GIRL!

But seriously. My plane to Vegas was delayed a whole 8 hours. First it was 15, then 30, then an hour, then 4, you get the point. While everyone is losing their mind due to interferences with work, or simply being by the pool drinking, it gave me a lot of time to think about my trip. I had prepared myself mentally for weeks prior to going, as the only two times I've been to Vegas previous to this trip, I was still in my party girl phase. In a way you could say that I had my "experience," but I have a feeling many would shake their heads and look at me and say "but you're so young!" Which is valid. But if you ask my brothers, I've been the age of 30 since I was 15. (Fake I.DS) Plus, it's a depressant, I have depression, we get it.

Having said that, it is not always easy. I will always have the odd thought of "wouldn't things be a tad easier if I could let loose?" but then I remember that feeling I would have later on of regret/hangover/anxiety and think "nah!"

The desert will get you, even if you do have a few drinks! Unfortunately for my boyfriend, he became so dehydrated I had to take him to the hospital as his body began to seize, he was puking up everything we tried putting down, he was shaking, getting delusional-- a slight heat stroke one might say! Classic America, we get to the hospital and they hook him up to an IV and granted he was in excruciating pain, but rather than offering a typical Canadian dose of T3, they gave him morphine!

Long story short, right then and there I knew that despite how fun it may seem, my life is so much better off. It is so full of love, and I give love like never before. I'm helping more children, contrary to working with one young boy I am now working with two other young girls! And of course my Arbonne gig is friggen phenomenal! I love the products, I cannot tell you how big of a game changer they are PURE SAFE BENEFICIAL. and I mean pure. I seriously have no idea why any other skin care line is possibly trying to bother because Arbonne has it all figured out.

Not only are their products 110% result driven, but what the company stands for is really what attracts me. I was at a conference while in Vegas, where the CEO Kay Napier and NVP'S had the chance to speak and tell their tale of how they began, and got to where they are now. Nothing but inspiration and truly making me feel "unstoppable." And guess what? They have a charitable foundation for today's youth, self esteem, which they have now raised 2.5 million for, thus far helping 40, 000 teens around the world. This is a company that will revolutionize the worlds economy.

I am also so excited and proud to say that I officially have an international business and if Nicole Prendergast is reading this, thank you for making this all possible for me. You are my inspiration.

15 Things Anyone Who Loves Someone With Anxiety Should Know

During the years my mother was still putting me to bed, I would ask her one question before she left my room each night: “Can you give me something good to think about?” I hoped her suggestions would give me a way to prevent my brain from spiraling out of control. I didn't realize it at the time, but thus began decades of trying to find ways to escape my own anxious thoughts. And despite the fact that I’ve likely had anxiety since I was a toddler, it’s only in the last five years that I’ve been able to acknowledge it and start talking about it.

Anxiety impacts over 40 million adults in the U.S. alone. And while certain anxiety-related disorders like Social Anxiety Disorder are split evenly between the genders, women are twice as likely as men to be diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Panic Disorder.

It’s hard to explain what it’s like to live with anxiety unless you’ve experienced it. But for every woman (and man) who struggles with these issues, there are a whole host of people around them who want to try and understand.

Below are 15 things anyone who loves someone with anxiety should know.

1. Anxiety is physical. Your chest tightens, your head feels cloudy and you are acutely aware of the effort behind every breath. When you feel as though you have a small child made of frenetic negative energy trying to beat her way out of your body, it becomes impossible to ignore.

2. And it’s all-consuming. One of the reasons that anxiety is so frustrating is because the physical discomfort makes it impossible to think about anything else.

3. You feel anxiety in your hands, your chest, your head, your eyes and your stomach, out to the very tips of your fingers and toes. It’s there and it wants to get the hell out of your body.

4. It can be treated, but not “cured.” Even with years of therapy, like any chronic condition, anxiety disorders require management. Treatment is more about giving people with anxiety the tools to help themselves than making the anxiety go away forever.

5. Therapy, exercise and anti-anxiety medication can all help. But each person needs something different.

6. Our anxiety might be exactly what makes us so damn productive. Turn in a paper late? Fail to finish a task at work? Not show up for an event we’ve committed to? Hell no.

7. And it can be a great survival mechanism. This comic comparing anxiety to a superpower really says it all. Anxiety can make you moreempathetic, driven and aware of the dynamics around you.

8. It means a lot if we’re talking about it with you. Mental health issues are still stigmatized, so it can be awkward to open up about them. Which brings us to the next point...

9. We’re not “crazy.” Ban the word crazy from your vocabulary ASAP. It’s attached to a long history of being used to invalidate women’s thoughts and needs. Plus, everyone has their sh*t.

10. Just let us cry. All. The. Tears. (#SorryNotSorry for releasing emotion.)

11. We know our triggers are irrational. Yes, we’re intellectually aware that we probably won’t die alone in an apartment full of cats, and we probably are not dry drowning at this very moment. Yet that awareness doesn't change the fact that there are things outside of our control which make it nearly impossible not to have an emotional (and physical) reaction.

12. But don’t make us feel stupid. Just let the wave of anxiety ride out, and be by our side while it does.

13. Sometimes a back rub makes everything better. And sometimes it doesn’t.

14. It’s not about you. It’s about us.

15. But we need your support -- and your patience. Thanks for being there. It means more than you know.

Article by: Emma Gray, Huffington Post Women, April 20th 2015.