Dreamers live for progress

I know I have a lot going on.  Ah, but for those of you who have been reading me any length of time, you know that's just how I am.  I love having lots of projects.

At the moment, I'm focused on having a healthy baby.  So, I try to take care of myself.  That means that I put my feet up a lot.  And if I'm working, it's usually on the computer.  I have to be as productive as possible.  Babies aren't cheap.  They have lots of needs.  Oh, and it will be our job to fulfill them.

Sam is happily at work today.  And I'm happy he is at work today.  I need to the space to get more work accomplished.  Really.  As much as I love having him around in the evenings, when I am trying to get work done during the day and he's busy trying to figure out what I'm working on and interrupting my train of thought, it can be very frustrating.  I have a plan...at all times.  I have goals that are constantly changing and being modified with the situation.

So, I'm hoping that with all the effort I'm putting forth these days, there will be a payoff into the new year.  I'm hoping that lots of readers will join me in the Live the List Challenge.  It's so exciting to watch the sales every day.  It's just starting.  And hopefully once the holidays are over, the sales will grow exponentially.  We need that.  And I'm hoping the efforts put forth on Rentable Me will pay off once we have more SEO done.

Of course, never one to sit and wait around, I have other projects I'm working on.  I have to have more books on the shelves of Amazon.  That means that I have to keep on writing.  And let's face it, my best bet id to get this writing done before the little one arrives.  I'm guessing I have about three months.  I also have about a half dozen partial manuscripts.  Guess that means I have a lot of work ahead of me.

Still, I like that.  If I play my cards right, I may just be able to fund my own maternity leave.  I'll be able to get back in the swing of feedings and changings and nappings...oh my!  And we won't have any money stresses because of the work I've done to prepare.  At least, that's my plan.

So check out the books available on Amazon, please.  And pick up Live the List and join the Challenge.  And if you love my writing style, hire me on Rentable Me.  I love to work.

Dreamers make great contacts

 For all people say about Twitter, I have to tell you, it's worked out pretty well for me.

I met a woman on Twitter in the fall who asked me to answer some questions for an article she was writing.  It was about women who work with they husbands and how that all played out.  As you know, Sam and I have been working together for years now in various capacities.  I've always helped him with his work one way or another.  Now, I get a title and everything.  The business line rings through to my phone and I get to make all kinds of important decisions.  All by myself.

So, I gladly responded to her call for information.  It was nice chatting with her and we soon realized that she lived just over the border in South Carolina, maybe fifteen minutes from me.  Naturally, I suggested we meet up.  That's the kind of risk taker I am.

Well, we finally managed to hook up for breakfast at Panera last month before Thanksgiving.  And we have kept in touch via email and Twitter.  And yesterday we met at Panera again.

She's a women's business consultant, which works well, since I am a woman in business.  We have a lot in common.  One of the best things is that we both want to help each other succeed.  She has an already successful business, while I am still starting out. 

What I love about working with Eileen of Sleeve Shirt Consulting, LLC, is that she is so positive and helpful.  She knows her business and she's great at helping others achieve their goals.  We have plans to meet again soon.  In the meantime, check out Eilleen and visit my new revamped business site: Rentable Me.  It's designed to help you find the business outsourcing solution you need and the marketplace for you to find work in your field.

Let me know if you have any questions.  I'm here to help.

Dreamers find a solution

I watch us as we struggle and scrape by right now.  And I do it in the hope that next year will be better, that these trials and tribulations will one day be a distant memory, and that we will live the life of our dreams.

Don't get me wrong.  I think  we all know that as far as accomplishing dreams go, we live pretty large.  Most of the people I know have never left the country, and traveled on a cruise ship.  Most people I know have never owned a sailboat or taken sailing lessons or spent glorious weekends living on that boat in Charleston.  Shoot, most people I know don't even have dreams.

So, tight as the finances are, we're doing just fine.

As for my computer project.  I have found a solution.  I usually do.  So far, my plan is this...write a bunch of articles for Yahoo!.  Sounds simple, right?  Only when I write for Yahoo!, I have to come up with all my own topics.  That's why they pay me more...which is still not a lot, but I'll take it.

Guess I'll be taking up residence on the couch with a purpose today...and tomorrow.  I have to write roughly ten or more articles to ensure I get the cash I need to make the changes to the site.  Templates and modules aren't cheap.

Sam was concerned when I told him all I was waiting on was more money.  He knows how much we've spent on the site already.  He wants to see a payoff.  (Don't we all?)  And I'm thisclose to making it happen.

Hence the frantic writing.  Hence the brainstorming.  Hence the incredible output.

Wish me well.  I have to make this goal.  I really do.  And when I do, I'm going to be so proud. 

And I'll start sharing links to all those articles as soon as they are published.  You can tell me if I've done well.   Oh, and if you have relationship or dating topic you would like to see me cover, do share an idea.  I reached out on Facebook yesterday, and the topic ideas were great.

Dreamers have a breakthrough!

So, I met with my computer guru yesterday.

We have been struggling to find a workable template for the rebuild on the website.  We had a long list of the options we needed to integrate.  It was frustrating.  I didn't want to have to spend a lot of money, since I don't have any to waste.  I didn't want to waste a lot of time, since I can't afford to waste a minute.

I want something up and running before the baby arrives.  I need it to be on auto pilot so that I can earn some money while being able to focus on more important things.  See, I don't have the luxury of disability payments for six weeks after this little one makes an appearance.

Well, it was a great meeting.  Really.

We found precisely what I need.  We found precisely what I was looking for.  It was perfect.  And with the template we found, I could be up and running in absolutely no time.

Guess this means that I have to get serious about earning some money immediately.  I have only months.  Time is flying.

And I'm really lucky because I have all the love and support I need to back this project.  I'll make the money happen somehow.  I'm pretty inventive when I need to be.

For the first time in a while, I feel the hope that I have been looking for.  Not the temporary fleeting kind, either.  This is the real thing.  This is the lasting hope. 

A month and a half until we start 2012.  I'm ending one year with a bang and starting the next running.  Care to join me?

Dreamers make progress

We had our first Angie's list Big Deal estimate yesterday.  And our second will be today.  We have a lot of things slowly happening.  Progress is being made.

It's exciting and frustrating at the same time.

I'm ready now.  I want to get going and moving forward with the business NOW.

And I'm a little scared.  It's nearing winter.

Winter is long.  Even in the south.  And with winter comes extra bills.  We have loads of holidays coming up.  There's Thanksgiving, my favorite cooking holiday.  There's Christmas, my favorite baking holiday.  And while last year was a lean Christmas...we have hopes that this year will be better.

We used the wedding gift cards.  The great room is almost done.  And by that, I mean that we ran out of money.  We would like a new floor in there.  We need new baseboards.  It will all come together in time.

How long have I been preaching time and patience?  It seems like for always.

And I don't feel like being patient so much any more.  Time is of the essence.  In fact, I have moments where I am downright impatient.

Sam reminds me how much better we would be doing if I was making more money.  I would like to be earning more money.  I feel like I am on the cusp of it, but can't quite get there.  I have all these novels and books that I need to finish and I just can't get it done.  There are so many other things and people making demands on my time.

*sigh*

And the problem is...it isn't a matter of prioritizing.  It isn't like I am busy doing things that don't need to be done at the moment.  It's that there is only one of me.

So there is progress.  It is slow going.  It is frustrating.  It is what it is.  And I have to believe it will get batter.  Always end with hope.

I'll look at my bright side.  It's quite pretty.  And I'll hang tough and dig deep and do what I have to in order to get it all done.

There will be pictures to follow.  Just let us get the trim up.  Patience.

Dreamers make connections

I didn't feel like doing much on Monday.  Sometimes, it's really hard for me to motivate on a Monday.  I was doing the best I could.

Sure, I woke up and did my posting.  I helped Sam type up a proposal.  I even took my walk.  I finished some more work on the computer.  I'm writing a blog for a company that I have been writing SEO articles for over the past six months.  Check out the blog.  We're hosting our first giveaway! 

After that it was shower time.  Lately, that simply tires me right out.  After the shower, I could take a nap.  Only, I didn't have time.  I was supposed to be at a cookie party.

So, I went.

Only my head hasn't been on right lately.  I drove most of the way there, only to discover that I had forgotten my wallet.  And I needed it for this party...and for driving...and for the grocery shopping I had to do later on the way home.  That meant I had to turn back.

Back to the house.  Only once I arrived, I really didn't feel like going out again.  I called to announce and explain my lateness.  And that's when I somehow rallied.

As much as possible, I try to keep my commitments.  I try to be whee I say I am going to be.  I try to do what I say I am going to do.  This dreamer is dependable.  Mostly.  When she's not forgetting her wallet.

Thank goodness I rallied.  It turned out to be a really important meet and greet.  Oh, and the cookies were good, too.  Ah, but not as good as me.  I only ate one cookie.  It was chocolate chip...only more like chocolate chunk.  It was so good that it was all I could do to not lick the crumbs off the plate.  I'm a good girl.  And I'm practically house broken.

So, I walked away feeling good about having forced myself to follow through.  And I felt good to have met the women I met because I can tell it is going to lead to bigger and better things.  And I'm still contemplating a nap, but history suggests I won't have time for one.

We have a big life planned.  Time's a wasting.

I keep using this word

Bliss.

That's the word.

I am euphoric. I'm trying to remember the last time I was this happy, this relaxed, this myself.

Nope. I've got nothing.

I realized it Monday afternoon. Sam came home while I was finishing up some work on the computer. I hadn't planned on him being home yet. I wanted to get to the library, check out some books on marketing and online business. I have a lot to learn. And I don't have a lot of time to make it happen.

Time flies.

In the past, I would have stayed home because Sam was there. I would have thought about what I wanted to do, but simply not done it because I felt that I needed to be there for Sam...at his beck and call.

Not any more.

Now I am comfortable going and doing what I need to do. It's a good thing I went, too. I discovered that the library would have been closed tomorrow. Can you imagine how out of my mind I would have been if I lost that much time? Yeah. It could have been ugly.

So, I'm ready to work today. I'm ready to get making money. I'm ready. I think that's the best part...feeling prepared.

I exercised. I cleaned. I wrote.

I'm on top of things.

Bliss.

How to build a business without breaking down

Yup. That's what I'm working on. I'll let you know how that goes.

My problem is that I'm working non-stop these days. If I'm not at work, I'm working at home. If I'm not working on the computer, I'm working around the house. If I'm not working around the house, I'm playing chaufer to the kids or running errands.

No rest for the wicked?

I must have been awul.

Or maybe I'me just uber driven.

Yeah, I'm driven. And in the process of working so hard, I'm also working on not losing it.

For some reason, it never occurs to me that I might fail, that I might have over-extended myself. So far, I haven't. And yet I am also so far from finishing the task at hand.

On the bright side, it is a challenge. I thrive on challenges. I laugh at adversity. I dig deep.

So far...I'm strong. So far...I've got this. So far.

Sick of secrets!

I hate secrets. I hate keeping secrets. I hate having secrets.

I suppose I blog because I love sharing. I love living my life out in the open. I love writing.

Only...lately, because we are so superstitious, because we are so afraid that it will all crumble around us if we share it aloud...I have to be secretive.

Secretive is bad.

I want to share with everyone all the exciting plans we are making. I suppose the only one I can share right now is the one that will be happening fastest.

I'm starting an online business. It's really exciting for me. It involves everything I love. It will enable me to develop some skills that I haven't had to use previously. I Tweet daily now. I Facebook every day. Still, my business will involve that and so much more.

I'm building on online social marketing company. The website should be ready in two weeks. The company should launch on May 1st. And by summer, I should be precisely where I want to be.

There's so much to look forward to...self-employment, building a business, building relationships, building the life I've always dreamed of.

If you know of any companies or businesses that might need my services, please have them contact me. My theory is that no company is too big or too small to build relationships with its customers online through these channels. And trust me, with what I have to offer, I'm a bargain.

Hope to hear from you!