D'Andra Simmons: Cary Deuber Constantly Uses Brandi Redmond and Stephanie Hollman

D'Andra Simmons is back from Croatia, and I do NOT mean the DSimmons1000! I am beyond thankful for my much-needed vacation, and grateful I missed the glass-shattering spectacle of the Brandiland White Party!

I truly appreciate that Kameron Westcott asked me to attend the walk-through for her launch party for Sparkle Dog. It means a lot to me that she respects my business acumen and my opinion as an entrepreneur, and more importantly, that she values our friendship as do I. It is wonderful to have close friends that you can count on when making critical decisions in life. I respect Kam’s opinion and guidance just as much as she respects mine. I am so very proud of all the hard work Kameron has put into Sparkle Dog and I am thrilled to see it come to fruition.

Now let’s turn our attention to the theater…the puppet theater! I do have to say I agree with LeeAnne Locken to an extent about Cary Deuber being a puppeteer. I have seen how she constantly uses Stephanie Hollman and Brandi Redmond as backup, and finally in Mexico she got her strings cut! Her arms were flailing and there was no life preserver sent in by Brandi and Stephanie to rescue her.

I laughed out loud when Cary said Brandi supposedly has a spell on Stephanie. It is ironic to me that she is making this statement when Cary herself tries to coerce the two into doing whatever she says. I don’t believe Brandi has a spell on Stephanie. I DO think sometimes Stephanie’s behavior is different when she is around Brandi than when she is by herself in a group situation. Stephanie sometimes uses that as a way out when she gets in trouble for supporting her bestie. Stephanie knows what she is doing, she is not dumb, nor is she under a spell. I don’t think Stephanie likes confrontation (we are kindred spirits on this level), but unfortunately, as adults we need to face the music sometimes…and it might NOT be Vivaldi!

Now, let’s take a break from lady drama and move to business drama! Like Kameron, I almost had a heart attack when I found out that the L-22 key ingredient for my new product L-22 Elixir had not been received by the lab. One of my mom’s favorite sayings is, “You can’t sell out of an empty wagon.” I saw visions of my mother telling me that I “let her down”, once again, and that “I was in no way ready to take over the company”, flashing through my mind. I was straight up petrified!

However, my brain immediately was set in motion to crisis mode, and I started problem solving in my mind. Over the years, I have learned to bite the bullet and take responsibility from the get-go in a crisis situation. The sting is less painful, and the quicker you can let go of anxiety and move on to problem solving, the quicker you can ameliorate the situation.

Brandi’s nanny comment about Cary in the car straight up SHOCKED ME, as I had not heard this prior to that evening. Even LeeAnne kept that secret from me! Kudos to LeeAnne! Of course, I went into business brain and not gossip-girl brain, calculating how the nanny job would have the same “pay rate” as the nursing job. Go figure! That is where I am always focused these days…on the bottom line and $$$ signs.

Sparkle Dog is launching! Dixie and Gypsy have pink hair feathers, socialites are eating dog food and the REAL drama is the fighting between my dogs and Brandi’s dog in the car on the way to the party. I didn’t know if I was going to make it to the event with all of my fingers!

Meanwhile, at the party, rumors of Cary and Mark’s history of infidelity are being circulated. My husband, Jeremy has been divorced from his first wife since 2004, and I met him in 2012. People accused me of having an affair with him! I know how it feels to be on the receiving end of someone’s hateful agenda, and I don’t wish that on Cary or any of my friends.

Back to the PARTY…HA! HA! LeeAnne and Mark are having a tête-à-tête in one corner and Cary and Brandi and Cary are having their own discussion at the bar. It was heated on both accounts! It even frightened me to watch. I think this is the only time I have seen LeeAnne almost speechless.

I was glad she took the initiative to extend the olive branch and ask Mark and Cary to attend her engagement party to Rich. I was also glad that she didn’t overreact at Mark’s defensive tone. She stayed calm and collected while he looked once again like an ass when speaking to a female. I was glad Brandi apologized to Cary as it was the right thing to do. On the other hand, I was surprised at how fast Cary accepted Brandi’s apology. First it was the doctor comment, and now it’s the nanny comment, and she is basically saying, “Okay, thanks, that’s all right, we all make mistakes. I’ll forgive you.” What??? Am I once again in the twilight zone?

Brandi was right to be angry at Cary for what she said about not being able to be friends with her and Stephanie. Brandi’s feelings were hurt and after carrying this “secret” about the nanny job she was not going to go down without a fight! I don’t blame her one bit.

During the course of the last few months I have been under an extreme amount of pressure at the office and in my personal life. I was literally at my breaking point the night of Kameron’s Sparkle Dog party. I had just heard the news that my new product might be delayed due to an ingredient snafu, and I was trying to process how I was going to deliver this unfortunate news to not only my mom, but everyone including stores and online retailers that had been waiting on the launch of L-22 Elixir.

The dog psychic reading was meant to be lighthearted and fun for everyone. I am such a pragmatic person that normally this type of encounter wouldn’t faze me at all, especially when someone is reading my pets’ minds! It was supposed to be all about Gypsy, however, I felt that the whole reading mirrored my exact feelings of the situation between my mother and me. Of course, I wasn’t exactly kicked off the teat as a baby, but my relationship with my mom has always been challenging. I take responsibility for the last 13 years, as I was the one who came home to work in the family business. It was my choice. Upon further reflection, I should have built a career elsewhere, which would have kept the mother-daughter drama on the backburner. However, I wanted to be near my parents and I am glad I had the time that I did before my father passed. I desperately WANT and NEED a normal relationship with my mother. She is one of my few remaining blood relatives (and my only living parent) in my immediate family. I honestly feel as though at times our business is tearing that chance apart.

Until next week’s installment of frivolity! Oh, and by the way, I am NEVER going to ask Kameron to teach me how to parallel park!

XOXO D’Andra

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