You better be there!

Ladies we are SO EXCITED for tonight! You wont want to miss this!

Elevate Highlight: Jess

Hi, I’m Jess. My husband Dusty is currently in his seventh year as a Lead Tech and I’m in my third as a Vivint Wife! I decided to write this post because a lot of times wives on the tech side don’t speak up or get involved too much, and I would love to see that change!

We hail from Minnesota, and to be completely honest, it makes it really hard to fit in. My first summer, we were in a different complex than all the other wives, so I hung out at the pool by myself every day and picked up a part time job at the mall (which probably did more harm than good to our bank account). I really can’t complain about that summer, because it was amazing. I mean, how many people can say they got engaged on top of a mountain overlooking the city of Pittsburgh?!

Last summer took us to North Dakota, where I got to know a few of the wives because we ran into each other in the laundry room. They were so welcoming, which took me by surprise for some reason. I guess it can be kind of intimidating when you’re the only person from the midwest around. This past spring, I somehow got signed up for the Elevate lunch during the summer kickoff. I was nervous about going because I literally didn’t know a single person there, but that awkward afternoon really helped me out!

Shout out to all the speakers/performers there— you were amazing. I may have played that Lorde song on repeat for my plane ride home.! 

I signed up to be the team contact for our office, which pushed me to communicate with other wives to plan things. The Dakotas office is completely spread out, and there’s usually only a few of us in one area at a time. But we’ve still completed all of our challenges!

Most people outside of the Vivint family don’t understand living in extended stay hotels or surviving on whatever fits in the trunk of your car for five months. Its funny how a job, that may not even be your own, can alter your life so much. The fact that our memories are categorized by where we were at the time is pretty amazing. That’s why I love Elevate: we all understand each other. 

Vivint is pretty much our life between preseason, summer and extended season. Some people just aren’t cut out for it. But, for me, living out of a suitcase and traveling the country is the norm. And if it wasn’t for Elevate, I’d probably be holed up in a hotel room watching Netflix for 12 hours a day.

Wife-hack: if you hate it when your husband has to leave for a preseason trip, go with for a few extra days and make a vacation out of it. Its how we visited the Grand Canyon, Vegas and LA pre-kids.

A Way to Pay it Forward

To: The Elevate Women

From: Racine Altamirano Woolsey

Hi Ladies! I know it isn't service week and the only prize is helping this family! But, my mom recently told me about a little boy named Carson who passed away suddenly. His family started a charity that helps celebrate his life! His favorite toy was match box cars and so they've asked people will buy and hide matchbox cars where kids will find the toy, with a tag saying "Enjoy this toy! Take a picture and post it on this site to show where you found it! (insert site) "

Everyone can help and take pictures! Even our husbands can give these match box cars on the doors!

Check out the site to see where people have found the cars!
https://m.facebook.com/CarsonDeanCheney

Rocking our gear

Charity Event is Recognized

When Heidi asked us if we wanted to fundraise for the service project this summer, I think we were all a little skeptical. Heidi quickly made us believe in this cause and great organization---OUR. She has such passion for this cause. She is truly selfless and are proud to call her an Indy Wife!! We all love her and OUR does too. Check out the link below to see how they highlighted her and her generosity! -Diana Karren

http://blog.ourrescue.org/angels-among-us/

White Chocolate Covered Oreos

Thanks for sharing Danielle Arfaras!!

For the letters I mixed red and yellow fondant to make the orange you see in the picture. And hand cut the letters out. For the numbers I used our sons play dough cutters  
  
What You Need:
 12 OREO double stuffed Cookies 1-1/2 pkg. (4 oz. each) 
 Wilton White Chocolate (6 oz.) melted
 1 tsp. canola oil 

 Dip wooden stick into melted chocolate and insert stick into filling in center of each cookie; place on waxed paper and freeze for 10 min.

 Mix melted chocolate and oil until in liquid form. Dip cookies, 1 at a time, in chocolate mixture, turning to evenly coat both sides of each. And then place on baking sheet to harden. Refrigerate for 30 min or until chocolate coating is firm.

Elevate Highlight: Crystal Lee

How has Elevate made my summer better?

I'm Crystal Lee and my husband Aaron has been selling for 7 years! 

Growing up with 5 brothers taught me how to be comfortable hanging out with guys. However, I was always super shy around girls. Last year when I found out 15 wives were in our office, I was soooo nervous! As a mangers wife, (and the only experience wife) I felt a lot of pressure to make everything go smooth for our team. This is where Elevate really helped!

This is my 4^th year as a Vivint wife J My first year I was the only wife out in the summer! My second year there were 4 of us. (That was also Elevate's first year.) Although I wasn’t aware of what Elevate was, I remember seeing on all my friends in other offices' Facebook pictures doing fun activities. They did charity projects and got all dressed up for the movie Madagascar! I saw those pictures and thought that they seriously had the coolest office, creating those fun activities. It wasn’t until I got home that I talked to one of those wives and found out they were doing Elevate raffles!

I love the Elevate! The difference from my second year to third year was huge. My 2^nd year the wives didn’t do much besides go the pool (almost daily).  Last year I had so much fun hanging out with the other wives. We participated in all the Elevate raffles. Not only that, I was reading the blog and creating fun activities for our wives based off other wives previous experiences. We had a blast!! Our office was getting together all the time for the competitions and the charity projects and themed parties. We did things I wouldn’t have been able to come up with on my own. It has improved my summer in so many ways.

I think Elevate is essential for a fun summer. It is hard sitting at home everyday waiting for your husband to finish his day. Elevate understands that and created a program and tools to make your summer an amazing experience! I’m no longer just a wife supporting my husband, feeling like I’m not really cared about. Elevate shows that Vivint cares about me and the other wives. Elevate is amazing! I think everyone should put the effort to make it a part of their summer. You wont regret it J

Elevate Highlight: Jen Lish

The Landen and Jen Lish Family 

Giving an introduction online without a handshake or the opportunity for eye contact is always a little awkward... so let's digitally shake hands and introduce ourselves to get that out of the way. We can pretend we are looking into each other's eyes. :) 

Hi! My name is Jennifer Lish. I go by Jen. It's fewer syllables and easier to remember.  :) 

I grew up in a small town in Idaho and I married a guy from a small town in Utah. We are currently raising our three kids half the time in a small town, the other half of the time in a random city across the USA. Vivint life ya'all! 

We have a six year old boy, a four year old girl and a two month old baby girl. We just started kindergarten with our six year old which makes our summers a little more... what's the word... interesting! 

Landen and I started out our marriage with next to nothing. He was working a job where he had maxed out his raises and was paid a whopping total of 16 bucks an hour. Obviously this wasn't our life goal and we were always looking  for something better. 

Jared Fronk, one of Landen's friends from high school, had talked to him about "selling alarms" for two years and we had considered it but were afraid to leave what we had. We had recently purchased a home, we had a two year old with another baby on the way- due Sept 1. Not the most convenient timing. That, along with all the bad things we had heard about alarm sales guys having no integrity and companies not paying their employees, kept us from jumping aboard for the third year in a row. Or so we thought. 

Mid march 2009 we realized we were not happy with where we were at in life and the direction things were heading for us. I've heard this analogy several times and I completely agree with it. If you are underwater and have run out of oxygen, what's on your mind? The rose ceremony?? I think not- it's Oxygen! Get me some freakin' AIR before I DIE, right?!  Well, when you are above water, it is completely the opposite. You may not even be aware you are breathing, it is just happening and you are focusing on other things. That is how money is. When you have none, it's all you think about. When you have enough to cover your basic needs with a little extra, it's an after thought and you are able to focus on the things that really matter in life. 

So...After lots of talking and praying we decided we were sick and drowning and said "what have we got to lose?" We jumped in and two weeks after deciding it was right, we packed up our little car and headed to St. Louis, MO. I was 6 months pregnant and had never lived outside of Utah and Idaho. I was nervous but excited for the adventure, and we made the most of that first summer. We had never felt closer together- being away from everything we knew and clinging to each other. We took a chance together, we made adjustments and we survived. 

It's been almost five years since that day and I couldn't be happier about the decision we made to take the leap. We've seen so many more places and befriended all different kinds of people from every walk of life. Landen is an incredibly hard worker and has excelled with Vivint. Since we joined the company we have made the best of friends, seen all kinds of different places, watched this 'alarm company' evolve into a staggering 2 billion dollar technology powerhouse and bought into the life style of Vivint. By that I mean we are not perfect, but we are always looking to better ourselves and strive for something more. We want to emulate the company we work for by giving back to people who need it and giving our best to this life. 

We love Vivint and all that it stands for. 

Elevate Highlight: Simone Jooste

How attitude, gratitude and perspective make the difference!

*Notes from Simone Jooste's presentation at the 2014 March Kick-off Wives Luncheon

1. Life is hard, when you realize that, it becomes easy. –Pastor Allen Hawes

2. Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. -JFK

3. Life is rewarding because it's hard. If it were easy, it wouldn't be rewarding. 

4. They are called growing pains, because they are painful, but through the pains of life you grow.  Recognize pain is part of growth and the worst thing someone can do is stay stagnant.

5. At some point we all feel worn out and neglected. This is where I find wisdom in the words of Neal Rogers.  Neal is selfless, caring and generous. That is why he is successful.

Here are his most profound statements:

• One hour in the summer = a day. One day in the summer = a week.
• You feel neglected because you are.
• It's better to have a hard working husband than one that won't work at all!! 

The summer is concentrated. We have a limited amount of time. I know that I can’t afford to bother my husband for 30 minutes a day.  Reality is, that 30 minutes equates to about half a day. 

6. This job is an opportunity or a sacrifice.  If we only focus on the sacrifice you will miss the opportunity.

7. During the long summer days, plan something that excites you. Focus on that and the benefits of it rather than what we are sacrificing. 

8. “If I had to go through everything again, just to help one person I would”. 

 It’s really not about us. We are all here with a purpose.  Consider that you have to get through challenging times because one day you will meet someone and be able to help them. The difficulty is for more than just you.

9. We all have different personalities. Read about them. Learn about them. Learn about yourself. Learn why you do what you do and why others do what they do. It will help you understand others and yourself.

You will react to life based on your personality. Personalities have positive and negative attributes. Enhance the positive and change the negative. For those interested in learning more about how personalities shape our lives, I recommend reading Personality Plus.

10. The earning potential with this career is incredible. Which is why it's so important to be thankful. Take advantage of every day and find gratitude in what we have been so graciously blessed with.

11. We can find never-ending motivation because the focus is to help our guys and helping others in need. 

My husband and I do this job because we like to have a nice house, cars, clothes and go on vacation. But more importantly, we do it because we wan to help the helpless. Because we work hard, I know little kids will get educated and have a real future because of our ability to donate and serve. Giving back is motivating and helps me keep the right perspective.

12. You may not realize it, but what we do impacts the world. Maybe this is just a summer sales job. But what you learn through this experience will impact the world.

13. Don’t be hasty. Be consistent. Day in, day out. Consistency is key. 

14. “Tree’s don’t have spectacular days’’ Take the pressure off yourself and embrace each day as it comes.  I don’t need to be amazing everyday, but everyday can be amazing. If a tree resisted growth what good would it be to us? But as it grows consistently every day it produces something amazing. 

15. Love is a choice. Happiness is a choice. Confidence is a choice. 

BIG THANK YOU!

Our January Charity Events went so well! Thank you to all who participated!! 

We are fortunate to associate with and be surrounded by so many outstanding individuals! Thank you for your service and examples. We love our Elevate wives!!

January Charity Events

This January, Elevate and Vivint Gives Back are partnering to bring charity opportunities near you. (hopefully near enough to attend!) All spouses/significant others of Vivint home automation sales/tech employees are invited. This includes sales reps, managers, summer technicians, service technicians and NIS reps. See below for more information. Following the pictures are answers to FAQs. If you have more questions, please contact the coordinators below or send an email to elevate@armarketing.com

We hope you'll join us!!

Do I need to bring anything? 
You don't have to bring anything to participate. However, some of the events have needs for donations and supplies. Work with your neighbors and friends to help collect items needed. Check with your local Elevate Event Coordinator for more information.

What do I wear?
Feel free to wear a Vivint or Elevate shirt and/or comfy clothes.

Can I bring my kids? 
Most events are tailored to adults. We'd prefer to not have young children attend, as most of the events have limited project space.

Do I need to stay the whole time? 
Come for 30 minutes, come for 4 hours, or anything in between. We'll take what we can get!

What exactly are we doing?
We're hoping to make a difference in our local communities. For more information on specific events contact your local Elevate Event Coordinator or email elevate@armarketing.com

Fall Event

We are looking forward to our Fall Leadership Dinner! 

Elevate wants representation from EVERY office at this event! 

Each office was given 3 by-invitation-only 'spots' for leadership wives... Talk to your Lead Tech or Manager to see who is being sent to represent your office. If no one is RSVP'd for your office and you're interested in attending, ask them to submit your name ASAP! 

Questions: Email antaylor@vivint.com 

Packing Tips

The summer is coming to a close! Here are some packing tips that you may find helpful while you're trying to figure out how to fit everything into your car or suitcase.

Learn from your own experience.  What did you bring out this year that you could most likely go without next year? What did you leave at home and wish you had brought with you? Take notes and keep them handy for next summer. You’ll be glad you did!

Keep "summer stuff" separate: This is the best advice I could give. I have a box of summer kitchen things like cheap plates, cups, silverware, pots, etc. that I keep separate from my nice dishes at home. When I get back home in the fall, I keep the box from the summer all packed up and I store it on a shelf in my garage. This saves time, money, and space: I don’t have to worry about sorting through my kitchen and figuring out what to pack for the next summer, I know that I’m bringing out only what I need, and I’m not re-purchasing the same cheap dishes every single year.

The best part is that if, at the end of the summer, I don’t have room in my car for everything I need to bring back, I can just donate my cheap-o stuff and it won’t be all that upsetting to me or my wallet.

Don’t use boxes-Sure, boxes are convenient, but they take up a lot of space. I usually have a couple of boxes for kitchen accessories, pots and pans, etc. but other than that, I use what I’ve got. For example:  I use laundry baskets for my clothes, the bathroom trash can (cleaned out) for my cleaning supplies, duffle bags/backpacks for toiletries, etc. Pairs of shoes fit nicely under the seats in the car. Bedding can be draped over everything when you are done, saving space and keep your belongings covered.

Roll your clothes-This may seem like a lot of extra work, but I guarantee that rolled clothes take up much, much less space than regularly folded clothes. The extra time you put into packing your wardrobe may give you just enough space to fit everything into your car.

Donate food and belongings-Despite my best efforts to empty out our pantry and refrigerator before the end of the summer, I always have extra food. I hate throwing perfectly good things away.  If I have any items left over, I will ask neighbors, members of my church, and even the staff in the clubhouse if they would like my surplus.

Non-perishable (and unopened) items can be donated to the local food bank. Get together with some of the others on your team and see if they have extras they would like to donate as well. This makes it so that I don’t feel like I’m wasting money and it also frees up space in my car for other belongings.

This tip doesn’t just apply to food! Donate books you’ve finished reading, clothes you’ve grown tired of throughout the summer, and kitchen accessories you don’t need anymore.

Rent a trailer-if there is no absolute way you're going to fit everything into your car, you are definitely not alone. Whether you over packed in April or you just accumulated things through out the summer, renting a trailer may be your answer. Even small cars may be able to tow a small trailer. Ask around your office, others may be in your same boat! Team up and split the cost, but make sure that you plan ahead. Reserving a trailer near the end of any month may prove difficult without proper notice.

Elevate Highlight: How Rachel Stays Motivated!

Hey Elevate! My name is Rachel Varella. This summer is my husband’s third year selling for Vivint and our second summer being apart from each other.  The first summer he sold I went out and lived with him for 3 out of the 4 months and came back early to find a job. I thought being apart for one month was hard! Little did I know, there was about to be many more months being 2000 miles apart…  The second summer I stayed home because I had a great full time job I just couldn’t walk away from while Thiago sold in Florida - clear on the other side of the country. After that first summer of being apart, I told him we would never do that again and I would definitely be coming out with him next summer. Well, here we are again. 2000 miles apart.

We have been married for 3 years now, and when we got married we set a five-year-plan for ourselves.  Basically, we set a bunch of goals like where we wanted to be financially 5 years from when we got married.  Although it is definitely hard to be apart, he is out there working hard for us and our future family while I am here working hard every day for us as well. I have never met someone who sets such high goals and does everything he can to accomplish them. I’ve never worked so much and so hard in my life! Although it is exhausting and a struggle being away from the love of my life, I know that we are getting our goals done and in just 2 more years from now we will be beyond where we hoped to be and this will all be worth it! I am only 23 and Thiago is 26 and we already own a house and have traveled to 4 different countries! It feels so great to see hard work paying off! Hopefully, in 2 years from now we can start a family, go on more trips, and not have to worry if we’ll have enough money for things. That is just a worry we do not want to ever have.  From a larger perspective, this is such a small sacrifice we have to make to have a greater future.  

I am so grateful for a strong, supportive, positive, and loving husband and for my friends and family who have made it a little easier for me to be apart from my love. As hard as it is being apart, we have grown so much together, worked so hard, and have come so far.  I think every couple should set goals for themselves and go above and beyond to reach them.  When we laid out our goals for our five-year-plan 3 years ago, I never thought that being apart for so long would ever be a part of the deal. It’s tough, but in the long run it will definitely be worth it and we've been able to enjoy ourselves along the way.

Elevate Highlight!

Greetings from Detroit! My name is Stacie Johnson and my husband Dusty and I have been married for 4 years. We met at school and it was kind of a whirlwind relationship right from the get go. We both love the outdoors, animals, movies, and pretty much anything fun. I am a complete child at heart; I love coloring, crafts, candy, and Disney everything. We have 2 dogs that are more spoiled than most children and we love how our life has turned out so far. Dust and I have been selling vagabonds for 4 years now and we just love this lifestyle. We enjoy traveling so why not move somewhere different each summer?! We have worked our way up to management which has been a great learning experience and something we are very grateful for. We plan on staying in this vocation for as long as possible. You gotta stick with what comes natural.

As you all know, the life of a summer wife can be difficult at times. After go, go, going all the time we become very stagnant and I have started to learn what works for me to keep me motivated and not deathly bored. I have picked up some new hobbies such as crocheting, sewing, and cooking new dishes. I also try to find new things to do around town because let’s face it; we will never be back in most of these cities after the summer so we better make it worth it. This is where Elevate steps in! They treat us wives very well and are conscious of our situations. The other Detroit Wives and I have had so much fun with their different activities/competitions they have set up. It is great to have a goal for a couple days and it is fun to work together to come up with something funny and crazy to show off our personalities. These are times that I will never forget. 

Like I said, summers can be hard. But if you let them, summers can be SO fun! I get to meet new girls that become close friends and we make memories that truly will last a lifetime. Dusty and I are forced to depend on each other while we are across the country from family and because of this we have learned a great deal about each other and the kind of marriage we want to continue to have. I always tell myself and others…Who can say that they have lived the life that we have? Not many. Live up this time because it truly is a blessing. You won’t get this opportunity again. 

Elevate August Raffle

https://www.facebook.com/notes/arm-summer/elevate-august-raffle/340123482786740
Details are up NOW for Elevates last summer event!! Hello awesome!! Good luck everyone.

Elevate Highlight!

Liam, David, Norabel, Dara Chessmore

"Home is now behind you, the world is ahead"--Gandalf. 
Much like Bilbo Baggins, the hobbit, I have never been on any great adventures. I'm a suburban Nebraska girl and never had plans to leave it all behind. 
The opportunity to join Vivint presented in December, we made our decision mid-February and we moved from Nebraska to a permanent home in Minnesota by March 1st. With a 2-year-old, 1-year-old and one on the way, I agreed to begin our adventure.
I had the impression this "adventure" would be humbling.

This isn't just about my first summer as a Vivint wife - it is my first summer in 25 years away from family and my home town. This is my first summer living in a third floor apartment, my first summer without familiar faces to spend my afternoons and my first summer in three years unable to spend Saturdays with my husband. 
With all nerdy Hobbit quotes aside, I believe a lot of the women I've met on this journey have a long list of sacrifices all their own. I've questioned my decision to begin our adventure more than once and I'll admit I've found myself homesick on occasion, but its a decision I knew was right for our young family. I knew in my heart we would be taken care of.


I've made it through my first summer of my husband's three emergency room visits, potty training, a crawler becoming a walker and even my toddler escaping our apartment naked. I made it through my first summer because of nine incredible women, who have become great friends. And, because of a company that more than motivates, it ELEVATES - not just its employees - it ELEVATES families.

Raffle winners announced!

Huge thanks to all the teams who joined in on the fun! We are so excited for the raffle winners. Click on the link to view the drawing!
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5tT6OGBYxk&feature=share

Show me the TALENTS

The deadline for Elevate’s July Event is fast approaching. You and your team need to submit your videos showcasing your talents by Wednesday (July 17^th). That’s THIS Wednesday!

Remember how nice it was for your whole team to go to dinner and have us foot the bill? Well, Elevate has upped the ante for July's Talent Event. Five talented teams will win a day at the spa including three services! THREE! Oh, the possibilities. Twenty-five teams win white and orange Vivint HQ ear buds with ceramic casing, Skull Candy components, and a carbon fiber Nixon style case.

As much as I would like to tell all of you not to submit anything so that my team would be a shoo-in for the spa day, I can appreciate some healthy competition. Plus, I want to see what all of the other offices put together. I was so impressed with the humor, talent, and creativity from May’s Introduction pictures. I just know that these videos are going to be awesome.

I love having these monthly events to work on with the girls. It has gotten our office communicating more and working together to produce something we can be proud of. This month has been my favorite event to date. Our team organized a potluck so that we could get together and brainstorm about how we wanted to approach the video. We then met three separate times to record segments of the video. One of the girls is now editing the video so that it will be ready and submitted by Wednesday’s (July 17) deadline.

I’m not giving away any more details about our office’s video though- you’ll have to wait until the videos are posted online to see how awesome and talented our office is!

Remember, all videos need to be two minutes or less. Get together, get creative, and showcase those talents! More details about the rules and submission for the event can be found on Arm Summer’s Facebook page.

ALL VIDEO ENTRIES WILL BE VIEWABLE ON SATURDAY MORNING... HERE ON THIS BLOG!!!

Watermelon Popsicles

My girls love popsicles (they must be my daughters!).  I started feeling guilty about all the sugar in most store bought popsicles, and last summer I started making my own all fruit ones.

These ones are our favorite, and perfect for us, since we can never eat an entire watermelon.

6 cups watermelon, cubed

2 ripe banana, peeled

2 tablespoons agave nectar/maple syrup/honey (or more to taste)

Zest from 2 limes

Juice from 2 limes (about 4 tablespoons)

Put it all in a blender.  (during the summer I don't have my big blender, so I just do parts of it in a little magic bullet, and then stir it all together in a bowl.)  Then pour them into popsicle molds.  

I bought these ones at Walmart for a $1.50.  The dollar store sells them too.

If you have a yummy recipe you want to share, leave it in the comments or email me at stayce581 at hotmail dot com.