Changing of the Guard

Out with the old.



In with the new.



Parting was bittersweet. This Nissan Versa is a 2008 and thankfully I did not have to settle for a silver or white one. Dealing with having a car payment now, but at least I have mechanical peace of mind once again.

Happy Jobaversary!

5 years today - the day of my mother's birth and her wedding anniversary as well. Five years ago I started on the track to doing what makes me happy and feels worthwhile. It's been fast too because at the previous place of employment, the first 2 years were a learning curve. The last 2 1/2 were about as close to hell as I ever care to be. I felt every. freaking. day sloooooowly crawl by, my mind dizzy with confusion knowing what I wanted and yet no so certain I could get there from here. It's easier to make leaps right out of college. Not so easy when you're leaping with a family and, at the time, the hope of homeownership on your back.

But I learned that speaking things DOES make them happen. You have to KEEP speaking it though. And write it while you're at it. Faith is a powerful, powerful force. Stepping out in faith is scary, but so necessary if you do want to get there from here. God conducts the orchestra but there will be no beautiful music from your instrument if YOU don't play it.

And so I play. Happily. And five years later I have more wonderful people added to my repertoire of friends and colleagues and I am as content as ever. I don't know yet when I'll plan my next major move. It's just a blessing to be able to be still and not feel like I have to know right now.

Ah, sweet peace.

Help! I Need Somebody!

If I've learned nothing over the past few months, I have learned that I absolutely can't get to the next level alone. But it's not just about having help, it's about having quality help. And the kind of help I truly value is the help of someone who knows how to do things I don't, someone who works like me and/or someone willing to do whatever they can without complaint. I've found I need that in my business. I've found I need it at work. I've even decided it's time to embrace the fact that I need it at home. To have that help is to free my mind to do what I do, whatever that may be depending on where I am.

And so I now have my virtual assistant whom I pay. She knows more than I do about a variety of things AND she works and thinks like me AND she's willing to do whatever it take. Who can't appreciate that? And I also have my virtual assistant who has been with me since day one - literally - my mother. She has done so much of what we have needed to lay a foundation for Village Works. We are on our way to making her glad she was there.

At work we have a really good set of interns who prove that you can find quality people still in college, even high school. It has brought a glimmer of hope that I can get out from under an ever-growing mound of work that is a mix of keeping track of yesterday, keeping up with today and planning for tomorrow. To-do lists are resurfacing because of this glimmer and I'm determined to make the most of this good fortune.

At home it's time to give up the things I hate. There are many things that don't bother me. I can do laundry any old day. My hatred of washing dishes when I was young has turned into a greater disdain for sinks overrun with them. But the refrigerator and the stove? I don't know what it will cost me, but I am giving them up.

In one of the many teleseminars I have listened to, one expert said you have to stop saying, "I can't afford it" and start saying, "What do I need to do to make this investment?" And so I ask and I move forward.

The result? The business has been busy every month and I'm about to dive in deeper with the business coach who leads the inspiring group I am a part of. I expect to see that next level I always knew was there.

At work, I can feel the control coming back stronger than ever as I give up some of the minors in order to make the majors. After all, one of my strengths there is being the person who knows the history of things and the where and why, in addition to managing projects in a way that makes it easy for the person behind me to do what they need to. I like being that person and I want to strengthen that as much as possible.

At home? Well, I still have to find someone to do what I need and then I'll be able to say for sure. But I imagine it'll be a sweet feeling to click away on my computer knowing that my family at least has a clean stove and fridge to use. I don't need much more than that. After all, that's what kids are for and it's for them that I'm doing this in the first place.

Ah! Things are lightening and brightening making it easier to go far. Stay with me. We'll get there.

Car for the Course

A month. It's been a whole month! Too sad. So now what am I up to? Oh the usual. The business has been busy, as have we. We have had jobs every month so far, thus my delinquency over here on my personal blog. I have finally taken on a virtual assistant to help do the things I can do but that take a lot of time to do so I can focus on other things, like the membership program we recently implemented. That was actually a lot of fun to put together because we were thinking about what we can do for our current customers, as well as new people who come along. And now we have someone we don't know in a state nowhere near us wanting to sell our puzzles.

It's been good.

And now I am looking for a new(er) car because mine needs to take a long break, or go to someone else who is willing to put the money into it that I no longer am. This is what I have now:


She's been good to me for 10 years. I love love love her. She can handle anything and I can't tell you how many times strangers have offered to buy her (I'm talking people following me into parking lots here, folks), but it's time to part ways. Trouble is I have never had a car payment before so I am not looking forward to that part of things. I need to keep this as easy as possible while I continue working on aspects of the business to help make things easier down the road for all of us. Plus I still have credit card debt that I want to kill. So I'll probably go smaller and do this:


It's a Nissan Versa and that may even be the color I get since the ones I found were either gray or white and I really don't want to do white if I don't have to. I've seen some lovely 2007s and 2008s that won't make me feel robbed. I think this one can keep up with me the way my Honda does now. Hopefully I'll make the purchase this month so I can put this whole car thing behind me because I'm just not into this right now. However, the reason I think I may do this (other than the fact that the car is cute enough for my taste and I had a good test drive yesterday), is because I told myself that if I get rid of the credit cards the way I want, then in 2 or 3 years I'll upgrade to a luxury SUV of some sort. Preferably an orange one. Now that I think of it, this is a fantastic incentive. I think it's time to fixate on a car to help keep the goal in mind - more business growth and no more credit card debt that can't be paid off in one month.

Yeah. That just made me a happy girl.