Do you know what I learned today ??? I learned that webpages are not very easy things to build or customize even after you have been given a template. However, I will not be beat by the computer. Not me, not today!!!! :-)

I had a very restful break. I think I can keep going for 3 more weeks (Christmas Break).

My mom and sis left safely. Always good to have them visit.

Saw the James Bond movie. It is long, but it is also action packed. I enjoyed it.

Can't wait for this weekend. Christmas party at work on Friday and then our anniversary trip on Saturday. Wine, fine dining, my hubby, and a whirlpool. Should be oh so nice.

Do you know what I learned today ??? I learned that webpages are not very easy things to build or customize even after you have been given a template. However, I will not be beat by the computer. Not me, not today!!!! :-)

I had a very restful break. I think I can keep going for 3 more weeks (Christmas Break).

My mom and sis left safely. Always good to have them visit.

Saw the James Bond movie. It is long, but it is also action packed. I enjoyed it.

Can't wait for this weekend. Christmas party at work on Friday and then our anniversary trip on Saturday. Wine, fine dining, my hubby, and a whirlpool. Should be oh so nice.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROB !!!!

I just want to say Happy Birthday to my hubby. He is the greatest. I am thankful that he has another year to grow, to become who he is destined to be, and another year to blessed and to be a blessing. Love you Babe :-)

Thankful

I am THANKFUL for:

my family
my supportive husband
my health
my friends
my financial security
my creative outlet
my dreams
my life
my God

BE BLESSED today everyone and remember to GIVE THANKS for all the things we have been given...

I have some scrap supplies I am selling on e-bay. Some is extra new stuff I had and some is extra old stuff that I never used. I decided to sell it in a little scrap holiday bundle. Check it out.
E-Bay:

NO SCHOOL on Thursday or Friday, so I am intensely thankful for that :-)

I am an official business owner as of today. Yea me. I can now buy and sell products legally. I am so excited. I passed the paperwork test and can now focus on the business development and creative process. I am excited. I read an article yesterday that was very sobering, but still I was inspired to continue, which to me means that this is the right path for me.

My mom and younger sister are coming down on Wednesday night. It will be nice to see them. I am kinda sad that my other sister and her family won't be able to make it though. I love them dearly.

On Thursday I think I will blog about all I am Thankful for this year.

I wish everyone a HAPPY TURKEY and FAMILY BONDING DAY

I found some of my mojo Friday night :-) Thanks to www.personalscrapper.com , they are having an online crop. I created two LO's and it felt good after not having made anything in two weeks. One of the LO's is gorgeous. A personal best and absolutely going in my HOF entry. 5/10 LO's are completed. Rob looked at it and said I love it, I don't know why, but I love it. This was my reaction as well. It all just blends so well.

I just got over a cold last week only to get sick again on Friday. I guess it is a price you pay for working with kids. I hope it doesn't take me almost 3 weeks to get over this one as well.

Oh yeah, I am completely legal now, since I changed my SS# on Friday. Now the government recognizes me by my married name. Tiffany, you need to make that switch as well. You feel like a new person, lol :-)

Looking forward to trying to get some nice family photos this week as well. I am never very good at photographing people other than Rob and myself. I think that may be a hinderance to starting a photography business :-) so you won't see me advertising for that anytime soon, lol :-)

Oh, one more thing... I applied for my business license this past week as well. Yeah, I am very proud of myself and excited. I only have about 10-20% more governmental paperwork to complete. This has to be the biggest hurdle :-) I start work on the website next month. Love the creative experience inherent in that.

I am THANKFUL for the right to DREAM...

Luv ya :-)

Continually Learning

Yesterday, I went to the starting a small business workshop. It was worth the money. I learned a lot of stuff, got some good resources, and walked away with a better picture of all that I will need to do. I learned a lot about the legalities, licenses, and taxes associated with owning your own business.

I will admit it is a little more than I anticipated. However, I think that is because I dream big. There are a bunch of ways I could scale down my business idea, but why should I. If I am going to be bold and take a chance, than I should be just as bold and give it my all. I want it to be nice, not simply sufficient.

Rob is great and has been super supportive. He listens to me babble on and on and lets me bounce a million ideas off of him. How did I get so lucky, I just don't know. But I do thank God for him each and everyday.













I just sketched out my Ad for the magazines. I need to take it into Adobe and play around with it. Here is my advertising tagline: Bring Your Memories to Life

Just a Simple Reminder

Just a simple reminder to appreciate the moments that make up our life (read this on Melody Ross's Blog):

"For most of life, nothing wonderful happens. If you don't enjoy getting up and working and finishing your work and sitting down to a meal with family or friends, then the chances are that you're not going to be very happy. If someone bases his happiness or unhappiness on major events like a great new job, huge amounts of money, a flawlessly happy marriage or a trip to Paris, that person isn't going to be happy much of the time. If, on the other hand, happiness depends on a good breakfast, flowers in the yard, a drink or a nap, then we are more likely to live with quite a bit of happiness." ~Andy Rooney

Confronting Doubt and Winning :-)

So I confronted my fear yesterday, took action against it, and came out victorious. In the past I think I probably would have let the doubt plague me until I decided it was a sign that this wasn't the path for me. It seems like chickening out in a sense, but when I think about it, if I was that easily discouraged than maybe it did mean I wasn't ready to move on and face the next challenge. Today I am ready to press forward and continue with discovering and carving a new road for myself. I was victorious yesterday and it felt really good. As women we need to believe more in the awesome power that we possess. We really are capable of anything.

I am getting my driver's license switched to my married name today ( I know it only took me three years :-) I have to in order to get my passport for our trip to Europe this upcoming summer. Also, I must say that this passport business is a rip off. Why on earth does it cost $95 to prove who I am ?????

Hoping to get some scrapping done this weekend FINALLY. I took some really great photos of Rob recently and I haven't scrapped them yet. I can't wiat for most of the new Christmas lines to come in my kit clubs or to come to my local Archiver's. LOVING the new CRATE and BASIC GREY paper lines. Just yummy stuff :-)

One of my action items today was to find out about advertising costs for scrapbooking magazines. The best way for a business to thrive is through effective advertising. I have wondered why more scrap businesses don't advertise in the mags and now I know. Almost $500 for a 4x2 ad space, for only one issue. Crazy I tell you. I have another big action step this weekend and next week. It is really coming along and I am glad.

In the book yesterday (Inside Every Woman), I read that if you begin to have doubts, you must conquer the fear or you will be forever frozen. I had a doubt earlier this week, and I plan to try and overcome it this weekend. Wish me luck.

It has been a busy week. Grades were due Wednesday in the computer and of course I was totally behind on my grading. For two and a half days all I did was grade. Fortunately I got it all done.

Congratulations to my hubby on his promotion and big pay raise. To celebrate we went to a steak house and had steak, lobster, and desert pear margaritas. Oh it was so GOOD. I am really happy and proud of him. His job has five levels and he has made level three in only five years. So proud of him and his talent and intelligence. You have to love an intelligent man :-)

We made plans for our anniversary. We are going on a two hour drive to wine country and staying at a B&B. We booked a limo to drive us to two of the wineries down there. I can not wait until the first weekend of December. I hope the room has a roaring fire place and a whirlpool. What could be more romantic? Someone asked if it has been a long or short three years and the answer is SHORT. Time is flying by, which I think is a good thing.

I haven't scrapped in almost a week and a half. I ran out of good pics and I am at a loss of what to scrap. This is the one time I wish I had kids :-) Hopefully I can get some good holiday pics this year.

I have felt lazy lately, like I wasn't utilizing my time well. The book I am reading has inspired me to be more productive with the moments of my day. So I started this new concept. I wrote down five areas of my life I wish I was more productive with (health, home, self, husband, work) . Each morning in my planner I write down one thing I will do to be productive or proactive in that area. Each night I cross off my list. It has been working well so far this week. I have done a lot and feel good at the end of the day.

Playing Catch Up

I have been a bad blogger :-( Sorry

I don't have long now, but I wanted to remind everyone to vote tomorrow. There are key issues on the ballot and you want to make sure that your voice is heard. Voting is a gift we need to enjoy when the time comes around.

Making progress with my new business venture. I am going to a small business workshop next week to gather information on taxes and certain licences. I think I have found a good company to host and create my site.

Work is work, it is going by quickly, which is always a good thing :-)

My third anniversary is coming up at the end of the month. Time has just flown by.

I have completed four of the ten LO's for the HOF contest. I am proud of my entries so far. I need more photos though, so I can finish up.

I am loving the book: Inside Every Woman. It is filled with inspiration and motivating me to make some key life changes.

I had Quiche for breakfast on Sunday at a cute cafe and spent the rest of the day watching football on the sofa with my hubby. Enjoyed both tremendously.

Saurday we went to a trendy cuban bar/restaurant and ate tapas for dinner and had mojitos. The mojitos were great and the cuban/caribbean food was tasty as well.

Be Blessed Everyone :-)

A Passionate Life

Today's Positive Thought:

Every woman is born with passion and has the right to live a passionate life (Inside Every Woman: Using the 10 Strengths You Didn't Know You Had to Get the Career and Life You Want Now by Vickie L. Milazzo).

I have always been passionate about:

1) Creating
2) Traveling
3) Learning
4) Teaching
5) Being of Service

Today I am passionate about figuring out how to combine them.


What are you passionate about right now?

Fall Photo Shoot

Finally got a chance to take some pictures. Can't upload all the ones I took b/c I am using some them on my HOF LO. However, I really like these too. These are straight from the camera. I haven't cleaned them up in photoshop. I am really am trying to do more work in camera, so I can spend less time using photoshop. Rob is always good about participating :-) Fall is my absolutely fave season. While at the park we saw two families of deer. Very cool experience and great weather.

Tidbits

One Friday each month, a different department in the school is responsible for providing lunch for the staff. My department went this Friday and my Jambalaya got rave reviews. I had people e-mailing me for the recipe.

My mom and sister are coming up for Thanksgiving. She kept asking what I was cooking and I kept thinking, geez it isn't like thanksgiving is right around the corner. Well egg on my face b/c it is in 3 1/2 weeks. I think we will be having ham, turkey breast, macaroni, dressing, green beans w/bacon, pecan pie, sweet potato pie. What is your fave Thanksgiving dish?

I convinced Rob to go out with me today to take some Fall photos. Haven't used my camera in a while, so I hope I haven't forgotten all I learned in that photography class. I need some great fall photos for this 2 page LO I want to complete. Wish me luck :-)

Have a fab day!

Blog Content

I have been trying to figure out why my blog numbers have be down. My husband and I came up with two reasons.

One, I haven't been posting as many LO's and pictures. Reason: I am entering this big contest and you have to submit 10 never before seen LO's. The pics have to be new as well. So I am kinda stock piling my LO's to find the best ones to submit. I have completed 3 so far, and I really like them.

Two, my Blog content has changed. Rob says people don't mind commenting on your day to day activities, but they are more hesitant to comment on entries where you are writing about your hopes, dreams or failures. Makes sense to me. My last few entries have been about finding myself and acknowledging my life's passions. I Blog about what is going on in my life. For me right now, it is finding myself and my true calling.
So if you haven't been commenting lately, I understand and it is cool. Just say HI every now and then :-)

when you want to be inspired it comes from all directions :-)

Here is a little more inspiration for you today. Came upon this book on another Blog and felt really inspired after reading the author's intro. It is called: Inside Every Woman: Using the 10 Strengths You Didn't Know You Had to Get the Career and Life You Want Now by Vickie L. Milazzo

She basis the book around 5 promises that influence the hidden strentghs described in the book.

The author's words:
In 1982, the year I turned 28, I realized my life was headed all wrong.
I had gone into nursing wide-eyed, thinking I could make a difference—even improve the state of healthcare. Then I bumped up against the reality that no matter how hard I worked, my efforts would never make a dent. My financial advancement was also moving far too slowly, and I was forgetting what it was like to have fun on the job.

It wasn’t easy admitting I’d chosen the wrong career. I had worked hard to become an RN, earn my bachelor’s degree, then my master’s, and had worked six years in the hospital. Now my passion was dying and my potential was wasting away.

That was 60 million dollars ago. And that’s when I first made my 5 Promises. I have renewed them daily for more than two decades. These 5 Promises transformed not only my career but my entire life. I promise they’ll work for you, too.

PROMISE #1— I Will Live and Work a Passionate Life.
One of my passions was ignited in me when I was eight years old. For hours each day I taught an imaginary class. I was so absorbed with my class that my dad would come in and break it up to encourage me to play outside with my real friends. To this day I have no idea what I was teaching, but I was darned passionate about it.

At eight years old teaching was play. At 28, I turned that passion for teaching into a business, and I’ve been playing ever since. When I left hospital nursing to start my legal nurse consulting business, I promised myself I would work only my passions. Later, when I started teaching other nurses how to become legal nurse consultants, as The New York Times reported, I “crossed nursing with the law and created a new profession.” That’s the kind of Big Thing that can happen when you commit to Promise 1, to living and working a passionate life.

PROMISE #2—I Will Go for It or Reject It Outright.
If you want something better for your life and career, you owe it to yourself to go for it or reject it outright. Don’t wait for the conditions to be perfect. That will never happen. People who wait or dabble usually end up at their retirement party rewarded with a glass of watery punch and a piece of white cake. Own up to your passions, then step out and grab hold of them with both hands.
Despite a fear of cliff-hanging heights, I stepped out of an airplane at 14,000 feet to sky dive. I was terrified. Once out of the plane’s cabin I couldn’t step back in. I was truly committed, even if not by choice, and the exhilaration I felt later at overcoming that lifelong fear proved to be a catalyst for future accomplishments.

Most of us stay in the safe cabin of everyday life. We never step out into the audacious dreams that smolder and spark inside us. What would your life look like if you didn’t have the choice of that safe cabin? If your only option was to grab that dream and jump into it? To go all the way once you made the jump?
Fear will freeze you in place. Don’t tell yourself, “One day, some day, I might get around to living my dreams.” With that attitude one day, some day, you’re sipping that punch thinking about all the things you didn’t do.
If you want something, go for it all the way and go for it now.

PROMISE #3 – I Will Take One Action Step a Day Toward My Passionate Vision.
Dreams and visions are great, but without action they are nothing more than hallucinations. Without action your visions scud away and dissolve like clouds. I’ve met many people much smarter than I am who had dreams and ideas but didn’t do anything with them. They didn’t take action.

When a national news anchor from CNN asked me how I got to where I am today, in light of my humble beginnings, the answer was easy—one step at a time. I lacked business savvy, but with each small step I gained both knowledge and momentum. What I learned in the process and what still applies now is that it is less important what I do and more important that I do something.
By taking action every day you develop the habit and discipline to make your vision a reality. When you focus not just on the idea but on making it happen, you stay in motion, not just dreaming your passions but living them.

PROMISE #4— I Commit to Being a Success Student for Life.
All great athletes and performers practice every day. Even after they achieve a level of success, they continue to practice and take instruction from their coaches, learning new ways to reach higher levels. They are lifetime students.
Becoming a success student for life is about practicing being successful. What’s hard today is easy tomorrow—with practice.

It is a myth to think you can launch a successful career or succeed in other life goals without learning, even if your driving desire is as intuitive as being a full-time mom.
Even as a successful CEO, I still learn every day—from my students, staff members, favorite writers, speakers and other business experts.

PROMISE #5—I Believe As a Woman I Really Can Do Anything.
I was lucky to go to an all girls’ high school. Co-ed schools have advantages, too, but when I grew up men were expected to be the business geniuses, women to be helpful homemakers. I gained confidence in those formative years from not having teachers telling me the boys were smarter or calling on them instead of me. As a young woman I honestly believed I could do anything. Believing you can do it is 90% of the win.

Any time I have hesitated to go for it, it was because I had stopped believing in myself the way I did in those glorious adolescent years. Today, when an opportunity arises and I find myself hesitating, I remember, “I’m a woman. I can do anything.” I think back to my past success as an RN in the hospital, making split-second decisions that were the difference between life and death for my patients. Then I remind myself: If I could save lives in the middle of the night while the rest of the world was sleeping and a doctor was nowhere in sight, surely I could make effective decisions in my career and life.

Find your own example, a personal or career accomplishment that gives you pride and encouragement, then use it to bolster your resolve. Any time you’re not grabbing the opportunity, tell yourself, “I am a woman and I can do anything!”
Sometimes we make a promise, set about achieving a goal, and we do achieve it, but then it’s over. Success is a journey. Apply these 5 Promises daily—you’ll take your career and life to new heights. Promise BIG and promise NOW.

The Right Moment

Sometimes you do things and something happens, which makes you feel like it is the right moment and the right time. Yesterday, I put into writing something that has been on my heart for a while. I also wrote about overcoming fear and believing in my dreams. Today I read Ali Edward's Blog and she wrote about having confidence in your artistic endeavors. The article spoke to me and resonated with my spirit. I hope it inspires you to have confidence in your endeavors as well: http://www.lifeartmedia.com/newsletter5.html

A Life Lived in Fear, Is a Life Half Lived: I Decided that I want to be whole

Okay, so I think I am having one of those early life crisises. This is a new phenomenon that happens in your late twenties and early thirties. It is where you feel like you should be doing more with your life and you want to take some chances and live a few dreams.

If you have been reading my previous posts, than you know that I have become more and more unsatisfied with my job. I have been thinking about trying a new career, but afraid of the unknown aspect and lack of security. I have taken risks in my life, but they have been calculated risks according to my husband. Well based on our conversation on Sunday night, I realized that I didn't want to be impaired by fear. I don't want to look back and wonder what if I had been bolder. So I have decided to take a risk, I have decided to follow a recent dream, I have decided to do something that I think will bring me satisfaction...

I have decided to look into starting my own business in the scrapbook field. Typing it makes it seem more real somehow. Right now I am just doing the research on the different angles I could take. For those not familiar with the scrap world, you can: scrap for others, do an online store, do a brick and mortar store, manufacture scrap items, start a kit club, do direct sales, teach classes and hold scrap parties, do photography, or write books. I am not finding alot of information on the angle that interests me most, but I am not letting that discourage me. I am looking into licensing a name, tax considerations, cost factors, advertising opportunities, website creation, how I could put my mark on something, and reading about people's personal stories in the scrapbook field. I am reseraching and working towards a dream, and something feels real good about that. I know it won't happen over night, I know it may not be easy, but I am excited about the potential for success. If others have done it before me, than why couldn't I as well. So anyway, PRAY that I take it from the PLANNING stage, to the ACTION stage and then to the IMPLEMENTATION stage. I don't want to get stuck at stage one.

Also, if anyone has any tips or stories to share, please do so. Experience is good, but learning from others is also very helpful.

I have two LO's completed for my HOF entry. I feel good about them.

I spent the beginning of the day watching football and then napping with my husband. I spent the end of the day sipping good wine, listening to jazz music, and eating spicy sausage while learning about my husband, myself, and our future goals. Great conversation was had over two bottles of great wine and a home cooked dinner. No photos for moments like this.