Changes

I'm turning 50 on March 27 and am on the Oasis cruise ship as I write this blog. It's kind of a surreal moment, to know that I'm out of my 40s. I have heard the 50s are the best of times, and I am going to embrace it with all that I have in me. Thank you everyone for your kind birthday wishes.

It's been another busy week for me, and I apologize for the delay not in getting my blog in by the time this episode aired. I hope you have enjoyed the season so far, and by the looks of the high ratings you do. Stay tuned -- there are a lot more episodes still to come.

This past week has been a very good week for me at work, as I have had one of my highest weeks of production in my career. There is something to be said about owning your own business and controlling your own destiny -- both with flexibility of my time, as well as setting your income level to be whatever you want it to be at. I mentioned a few weeks ago that I terminated two of my key employees due to the fact they were no longer being "team players" and were actually weighing me down from reaching my full potential. I now have a staff that is eager to learn, one that is proactive on "thinkin"” and inspires me to be all that I am meant to be. Amen to making changes! One of my favorite quotes that I love to live by is: "If you keep doing the same thing, you will continue to produce the same results." None of us like change, however sometimes change is good . . .and I am proof I am able to do it with no regrets.

To start, I want to thank all of you for your emails and prayers for my daughter Briana. She has definitely gone through some very challenging times with her health these past few years and this year was no different. Let me fill you in on exactly what happened. Briana was scheduled to have her thyroid removed and the doctor felt it was going to be a "routine" procedure. He was hoping that once he opened her up, it would not have been something that required removing all of her thyroid, as he was expecting just to remove a portion of it. The surgery was scheduled to take only one to two hours, and actually it took over five hours. When the surgeon came out to see me in the waiting room, he told me it was the ugliest thyroid he had every seen. It was discolored, multi-nodular, and was pressing on her vocal cords. He also told me that her lymph nodes in her neck also had to be removed, which led him to believe it was cancerous. Now I know cancer has touched almost every one of us in one way or another, when you hear that word referenced to your child -- it's devastating. Briana was in the hospital for five nights, and I slept right beside her each night. There was no other place I'd rather be than right there with her. Stay tuned for next week to find out what the results from biopsy are.

Many of you have asked how Michael is doing. He is great. He's been focusing a lot of weight training and body-building and has really transformed himself. He inspires me to do the same. I have had such a hard time lately getting to the gym on a regular basis due to my workload, filming, and family "issues." It is one of my new years resolutions to work out at least five days a week, which I recommitted to do for myself. Mike continues to work at my business Coto Insurance and is a leader in life insurance sales. He is an excellent sales person and really takes attention to detail. For any of you who would like Mike to go over your current life insurance options or looking for a free quote, please visit my website at CotoInsurance.com for more information.

One of the highlights for me from this week was the helicopter ride to Los Angeles from Orange County. It was under 15 minutes and was a beautiful day seeing the sights of L.A. from the air. Traffic to L.A. from Orange County can take anywhere from one and a half hours to three hours depending on the time of day you travel or the day of the week. If I had to drive to L.A. every day for work, and had the financial means to be able to afford a helicopter. . .absolutely! When I said I wanted a helicopter, I mean, why not? Who wouldn't want a helicopter?

It was really great meeting Heather and her friends. I think it's wonderful that she has a group of girlfriends who have the entrepreneur mindset that they want to have something for them. Owning a restaurant to me seems a little "out of the box" for them as none of them has ever worked in one or ever owned one. I would recommend a great boutique, a shoe store, spa, or something that all women would love to pamper themselves at. That actually seems less risky and more up their alley. I have known of so many owners of restaurants that had to close their doors due to not being able to turn a profit. Bottom line is whatever they decide to do, I am confidant it will be first class and support their decision 100 percent.

Some of you have commented about me leaving the table to take Brooks phone call when we were having lunch. From what I have been taught, that is actually the right thing to do and is perfect etiquette. It would be worse if I sat there and talked to him when we were having lunch. There is no comparison to Alexis and Jim when I voiced my opinion on her doing that in San Francisco a few years ago. The fact of the matter is Alexis had talked to Jim about 10 times every hour, and she has the opportunity to see him everyday. Brooks and I don't see each other very often. He was back in Mississippi, and we had been playing phone tag all day and there was some things we had to discuss.

Tamra and I had to take the limo back to Orange County because the fog was too low and the pilot did not believe it was safe for us to fly. The drive home with just Tamra and I in the limo was needed for both of us. We really don't have a lot of alone time together and when we do. . .our conversation tends to lean about our divorces. Those of you that have gone through a divorce understand how difficult it really is and also how great it is to surround yourself with people who have gone through it themselves.

I felt really bad for Alexis when some of the other ladies were making fun of her nose and her pending surgery. It is very obvious that her sinus' needed to be opened up and fixed from the looks of what the doctor pulled out of her. I agree with Alexis about also having her nose reconstructed while the doctors were in there. Now that her swelling is down, her nose looks amazing. I supported Alexis 100 percent on doing that procedure and think that the outcome was worth the pain.

I am a firm believer that if you want to do plastic surgery to enhance your looks -- go for it! Since the correlation of Ms. Piggy to myself, it has crossed my mind if I need to get my nose fixed also. I am German and Norweigan and my nose is a "pug" nose. It runs in my family. I tend to look a lot like my deceased father, and no one used to make fun of his nose. I guess that's what I get for appearing on a reality show. People hide behind their computers and make jabs at our looks, and I guess because we don't fit the mold of who the viewers/bloggers think we should look like. At first I was very hurt by those comments, but now I just have to realize that no matter what you look like -- there are still people who feel the need to tear you down, which is very hurtful. Tamra deciding to get her "boobies" smaller was a personal decision on her part as well. At the time when she was mentioning it to me, I didn't really agree with her. I thought she looked great, but now that she has the implants removed I think she looks better. Tamra is really little, and the big boobies were probably too big for her frame after all. Again, I supported Tamra's decision.

Speaking of Tamra, we are actually so excited about our new business called Wines by Wives. It's a wine club membership, which delivers you two bottles of wine to your home on a monthly basis for under $30/month (plus shipping and handling). Tamra and I will each select our favorite wines each month, which will allow you to enjoy what we enjoy. Become a member and join our club. It will be a lot of fun.

In closing, please remember to contact me if you need assistance on a 401K rollover or any life insurance needs. My firm represents every major insurance company, and we are licensed in almost every state and we would love to have an opportunity to comparison shop for you or to discuss your IRA/401K retirement accounts.

Have a great week and thank you for all of your support. Give a stranger a smile, call a family member you haven't talked to in a while, and love the people who love.

Warmly,
Vicki Gunvalson
www.vickigunvalson.com

AKA: Woo Hoo!