Your COMFORT Zone Is BARREN Land- Don’t PLANT Yourself In It And Expect GROWTH…

My sister actually used this quote on a radio interview with me. As usual, it took me a few minutes to understand the meaning. Cindy is a “Wizard Of Words.” Throughout our lives, diversity and determination have always saved us. How? We don’t limit solutions to problems in traditional terms. What does this mean? Well, while others might have given up, we got up, dusted ourselves off and trudged on. 

Failure isn’t an option. We left home at an early age and effectively “figured it out.” We didn’t have anyone to call for help which is why I started Texas Twins Events in 2009 when my husband lost his business in the real estate crash of 2007. It isn’t easy to “figure it out” when you go from $300k a year to zero but, I did. 

During the same window, Cindy’s husband was laid off after 23 years at Albertsons. The timing was terrible for the Texas Twins because we were already raising Cindy’s twin granddaughters, Maryssa and Makenna without benefit of child support. 

Figuring it out required selling everything we owned and learning using our product knowledge to “flip for profit.” In always asked how we came up with the barter idea. The answer? Experience. 

My husband and I sold our furniture, my furs and jewelry, couture clothing from my twenty plus years as a model and eventually our cars and even our custom home. 

Cindy did the same and although it was the first time in our lives that both of us were having a difficult time, we survived. Eventually, we also replaced everything we had lost too. Material possessions aren’t important in the scheme of things but, losing everything you’ve worked for is an eye opener. 

Taking our own experiences of “selling everything on eBay,” I learned how to refurbish antiques and furniture while Cindy learned about jewelry and precious metal. This knowledge was how we managed to start buying trades and refurbishing them by 2008 and making really good money. How good? Up to twenty times our original investment. 

Experience had presented us with a unique opportunity to make money on the side flipping items at Texas Twins Treasures. By 2009, my husband was back at work developing the Parker County Airport and building custom hangars that doubled as homes. 

By mid 2009, I was no longer worried about money, I continued to flip items for fun and additional income. Cindy’s husband, Steve had taken a job for Halliburton in Iraq as a fuel tank driver and was making far more than his old job at Albertsons but, with our husbands back at work, the Texas Twins were determined to put as much money back into savings as we could by continuing to flip items on eBay. We became workaholics because we never expected our husbands to be unemployed. 

My husband and I decided to sell our custom home that we had built at cost in order to downsize. I actually resented our dream home after years of fighting to save it and only miss the swimming pool. 

I was struggling with thyroid cancer by the time we sold our home and had jokingly told my sister who was helping me make all of the flowers for my son’s wedding, “if I survive this, we are using a chunk of my house money and starting a low cost Events business for people like us who can’t afford traditional price structures.” 

Cindy laughed because my sons wedding was one of the single hardest weddings I’ve ever done. In two thousand Events, that’s actually saying a lot. We decided on Texas Twins Events the same way we had decided on Texas Twins Treasures by kicking names around. 

My “idea” paid off. People came to me with all sorts of creative requests and although I had planned on weddings alone, Cindy and I found ourselves liquidating Clients homes and storage units at estate sales, handling baptisms and funerals and even consigning items for sale at Texas Twins Treasures. 

Based on my client base, in 2014, I decided to merge Texas Twins Events and Texas Twins Treasures to create The Pawning Planners. 

When a client wanted video for her event, we added Texas Twins TV. 

When another client wanted an Officiant for her Prison wedding, I became a Texas Department Of Criminal Justice Approved Officiant and branched Texas Prison Weddings With Wendy Wortham off Texas Twins Events. 

Having lunch with Cindy one day after a huge wedding and reception we were working at Stockyards Station, Cindy gave me one of her “busy Quotes.” Stirring my unsweet tea with lemon, I came up wit yet another idea for Pawning Planner Clients who had nothing of value to trade and… Pawning Planners Apparel was created to specifically fund clients with no money to book services or anything of value to barter. 

Although I had never planned on Maryssa and Makenna becoming part of our Texas Twins Events Team, Clients hired them as flower girls and ring bearers at hundreds of our events. Two sets of twins working Events together? You bet. We’ve been having fun together for eight years now. Demand for custom Pawning Planners Apparel in numerous languages is why we expanded our line to include custom options. 

Sales of Pawning Planners Apparel have funded up to 12 families every year. Sponsoring families from sales at Texas Twins Treasures shocks our competition but, we work to help anyone. Our most best selling tees are back in stock just in time for the holidays.

Not knowing that expanding Texas Twins Events to include Texas Prison Weddings would be such a “boom to my business,” it’s surprising that TDCJ Weddings compromise 75% of my personal bookings now with traditional event services taking up about 15% and bartered event services rounding out the gap. 

Monday through Friday, Cindy and I are traveling across Texas to meet and appraise items offered for barter or traveling to a Texas Prison. Saturday and Sunday, we are on location at Texas Twins Events and Pawning Planners Events. We work seven days a week together. When my niece Leigh Ann is booked for photography, Cindy joins me on location as the photographer but, her real talent is entertainment. Cindy is hilarious and loves nothing more than visiting on location. 

We are back at Bell Tower Chapel, AT&T Stadium, Mercado Event Center and Allred, Estes, Coffield and Parker County Units over the next two weeks so we are rolling into December staying busy. 

Since I’ve been asked about writing blogs on my iPhone, the answer yes, I always use my phone app and never use a computer for blogs. 

In fact, I’m sitting in front of Willow Lake Event Center writing this blog waiting on the wedding party. 

We are now restocked on our brooch bouquets and thank you for shopping with us at Texas Twins Treasures.Please allow 6-8 weeks for custom orders on brooch bouquets. 

Hoping you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and I’m thankful that tough times taught Cindy and I resilience. 

Had we not experienced what we had, I’m fairly certain that flipping, swapping and trading might never have occurred to us when I started Texas Twins Treasures…