Happy Halloween everyone!

Tonight, (this morning actually– 2:30 am Oct 31) I was able to finish most of what I needed to do to get the samples out. (I have some samples going out to some people who were kind enough to help me pick some scents for starting my business.) I will hopefully be getting those out early this week so my friends can enjoy them and let me know what they think. I’m hoping they’ll tell some friends and start spreading the word. At the very least, I’m looking forward to having some feedback and maybe some testimonials.

I was also able to finish sewing my daughters’ gowns for the wedding we’re going to tomorrow as well as trick-or-treating. I’m hoping to get better pictures of them tomorrow at the wedding.

Speaking of better pictures… The wedding we’re going to will be at a park. I’m hoping to take some of my products out there and get some good photos of them in a natural environment. *Crossing fingers*

This month is being interesting. It’s being a lesson in time management.

Several months ago, I agreed to help one of my friend’s with his magazine, doing the lay-out and design of it. As the magazine comes our every other month, it is an interesting ongoing project. We are hoping one day there will be enough of an income to throw a little something my way for all the work I’m putting in. However, at this point it’s pro-bono for a friend.

That same friend is also getting married this fall, specifically on Halloween. I have my clothes for this, which were bought for me last summer, (I hope they still fit). My daughters, though, are also going to be in the wedding. As it’s a Halloween wedding, we are all going in some kind of a costume. The men are for the most part wearing kilts and the women in period clothing. I’m going to be dressing my girls in 1700’s gowns. The only issue with this being that I have to MAKE them!! Ok, so it’s not really a problem except for the fact that I’m running out of time to do it in, I have about 10 days to sew 2 gowns and I only even have one cut!

I’m also attending school. I’m only taking one class at a time and online, but I have reading to do plus the assignments throughout the week. I need to be sure that I turn in all work and respond enough in the “classroom” to get as good a grade as possible. Plus, this month’s class is English, which has never been my strong suit. I love reading and writing, but not grammar.

Finally, I’m also working on Natural Bohemian. I’m working on recipes, and trying to get samples out to be tested. It doesn’t need too much time at this point, other then the fact that I have so many other things going on that have a time frame attached! This is the one (of the four), that I would rather be working on. However, this is the one that seems to be being brushed aside while I work on the ones that take more time and, as I said before, have time restraints on them. I do need to get to working on the samples, however, as I want to get them out ASAP to be tested with plenty of time before the holiday season!

I have rarely had so much to do at once. I really try to look at everything in my life as a learning experience, the good and the bad. This month of my life, I’m sure is working on teaching me the value of time management. I have, in the past, not been very good with my time management. I have put everything off till the last minute, and when I failed to get it done said “oh well”. This time, I feel as though I NEED to get this stuff done.

So far, I have actually finished with the magazine for the month. I got it done in about a week, where as I normally do it in two weeks. I have also got all the pieces for one of the gowns cut, and some of the pieces for the second one. I will be starting to sew the first as soon as I put down my computer after this blog. I will be “re-working” my schedule for the remaining 9 days to ensure I have a certain amount of work as a goal for each day.

I am truly seeing the value of time management and will be working on this more in the future.

Do you have any time management hints or tips to share?

Most people where born into families where their parents had a ideas and plans for that persons life since they where born. There is a good chance that you are one of these people. There where certain jobs or activities that where OK and ones that “are beneath us”. And you may or may not remember it, but it has had an affect on the rest of your live. There is a little voice that lives in your head that sorts everything out about what you do and who you are that stems from that time.

The first thing you need to do is realize that these aren’t your views. These are the views that someone else chose due to either something they were taught or something that happened in their past. Once you can see that you are free to feel any way you like about your life and what you do for living, doors open up, and you are free to really look at what you enjoy doing.

What did you want to do when you where little? Here is a good clue to things that you enjoy without the overbearing pressure of adulthood. This may not be what you want to do now, but it might give you an idea of things you might enjoy. For example, when I was 5, each person in my kindergarten class got a chance to be featured for the week. On Monday of your week, you would get to answer several questions about yourself and it would be posted up on the wall. The one part of this that I really remember was my teacher asking my what I wanted to be when I grew up. “A cheerleader!” I said proudly. Looking threw a book my mother saved of yearly memories like that, I found “nurse, “teacher”, things like that. Now, I don’t want to be any of those things, but if I look at them for clues I can see that I wanted to help people, I wanted to cheer for them, I wanted to help them know what they wanted to know… All of these things are encased in Life Coaching. Take a look at your child-self and see if you can find some clues.

Then step by step you can incorporate those things you enjoy into your life to reclaim your life.

Finding a coach can speed up the process by providing time to focus on making progress with your life.

As I’m beginning this blog, it’s really had me start to think. I’ve written personal blogs before. In those, I just vent about life and basically post stream of thought. I have written whatever comes to mind, and I never really had any consistency in writing. This is my first business blog. I am trying to figure out what should go here, as well as how often.

This really hits home with something going on in my personal life right now. I have recently gone back to school. I’m taking my second class right now, which I was dreading, English.  Writing has always made me nervous, and the idea of being graded on it just exacerbated that. One of this week’s assignments was writing a 500 word essay on the importance of good writing skills. The references we were given to start with all had a business basis and pointed out the importance of being able to express yourself clearly, in writing, for your job. The serendipity of needing to practice my writing for school as the same time as starting a business where writing will be a regular part of my life is too great to over look.

As I think about what I want to post here, one thing is becoming very evident to me. I am realizing that my blog will represent my business, my products but more importantly, it will represent me and what I stand for. In deciding what I want to share with you, I’m needing to take a closer look at my life.

Self-development is really important to me. I have been working on self-development for several years, I Have some issues that many people deal with through therapy and drugs. I have anxiety issues, depression issues. I haven’t gotten as far with self-development as I might have, but I keep working on it.  I think that’s one of the most important things in life, to keep working to make your life what YOU want.

If I had to send out just ONE message to everyone in the world, what would it be?

Create the life that YOU want.

If you had only one message you would like to send out to the whole world, one message to be remembered for, what would it be?

image from FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I though a blog would work well here!

I am so excited about this business. I know I love getting to have bath and body products. It makes me feel pampered, helps me relax, and just is fun. Having it as a business, I’ll be able to share that love of bath and body products with family and friends, both old and new. (Ok, not trying to imply any of my friend are old, because we’re not!)