There's No Rest for Those Who dream of Success

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I always say that I am going to slow down in life, but there's no rest for those who dream of success. I'm going to keep hustling until I get to where I want to be!

Here are a few things that I was able to accomplish this week:

>> Cruise dining seating set up (table for two is a  must)
>> Hotel purchased
>> Taxes submitted & paid!
>> Designed Opt-in for Blog Email List
>> Emailed companies RE: collaboration opportunities
>> Finished eBook on Money Saving Tips
>> Lined up 20+ Reviewers for new eBook
>> Added my new eBook to both websites
>> Cleaned couch cover, shower curtain + liner
>> Hubby installed hood vent above stove
>> Hubby installed 5 new window trim
>> Hubby caulked cabinets
>> Cleaned yards
>> Sold a couple of items on Swap & Shop (working on my decluttering goals!)
>> Merged cell phones to save money
>> Ordered 2 extra iPhone cables, computer speakers, and vitamins
>> Joined more business Facebook Groups (Entrepreneur, Author Groups, etc.)
>> Joined all of the free Kindle Book sites (let's just say I have a TON of new books to read!) If you haven't already, sign up here to get access to my free kindle book list!
>> Started a new Book Club online (see below) & created graphics for blog and social media
>> Submitted & set up my book promotion starting next week + created graphics for marketing (My VA Business book will be discounted, so be sure to look out for it starting Monday!)
>> Mended several pieces of clothing
>> Added new book link to email signature
>> Cleaned garage (threw out quite a bit!)
>> Daily running + healthy diet
>> 2 outside tanning sessions (read a book that I've had forever!)

Goals in the next 4 weeks:
>> Move remaining house items from Albany
>> Finish cleaning out Garage & have a sale
>> Finish painting exterior house
>> Successful Book Promotion
>> Weight Loss
>> Schedule hair appointment
>> Finish a couple of product reviews

For me, life's all about what you make of it. It's not up to anyone else to make your life better; you get to choose how your life plays out every day. I choose to work hard and become the person that I dream of being and believe me, it's not easy! It means working 10-14 hour days on my business and my books, social media marketing, personal house updates, exercising, etc. If I've learned anything in the past year, it's that I write my own story and I can sit around and choose to focus on the negative or the things that I don't have in life or I can choose the positive things and look forward to all of the wonderful things that God has planned for my life!

Speaking of being positive and inspired, if you love to read, come join my new book club on Facebook where I post quality free & bargain books during the week. "The Book Clique"- I sort through free & bargain kindle books to find the quality ones to save you on time! I post lots of great books on self-help, spirituality, business, etc.

Progress!!

I feel like I'm always saying this, but life has been a little crazy lately and that's a huge understatement! I had a deadline this Saturday to turn in my final manuscript for my new book "From Assistant to #theBossBabe!" and I just finished it at almost 12:00 a.m. Friday night! If you want a fun, light read that is filled with friends, life changes, fun and romance- definitely take a look at it! It's a perfect read for a road-trip or the beach. The only reason that it wasn't done sooner was because I just wanted to keep adding to it! Next time, I plan on giving myself a longer deadline; I really pushed myself too hard on this one.

I also just finally received my W-2's from my old job and finished up the taxes today- I had to do taxes for my old job, my husband's job and my new business. Let's just say that I hate accounting- I don't know how people do that all day! I'm so glad to have that done because it was really stressing me out! I also finished another eBook to publish on Amazon titled "From Frazzled to Freedom!" I wrote it with busy entrepreneurs and solopreneurs in mind to help them create systems and automate their business so that it runs more smoothly. 

All of this craziness happened this week and then my husband got sick on top of everything and my Mom decided to drop in to bring me some honey for my allergies. And can I tell you the pollen has coated our entire house and I have the worst allergies to begin with. If anyone has an awesome natural cure please share it with me! I would love you forever!! (I have been trying local honey and natural allergy pills but it hasn't helped much). I am glad that I pushed through and finished my book, ebook and taxes even though it was a battle. Success is definitely not for the lazy! 

One day I will look back on all of this when I'm extremely sucessful and I can honestly say that I deserve every bit of it because I have worked my butt off for it! And I have gotten to where I am at without stepping on anyone else or being dishonest. I would never want to be successful, if it had to be at the cost of hurting others. 

Now that I've gotten some big things behind me, I can stop putting my personal life on hold. I'm hoping that I can get back to helping my hubby on the house and start back a running routine to get healthy. I also have a few entrepreneur books that I would like to finish this week. And I still have plans to celebrate my Birthday some place nice; just the hubby and I. Honestly, I had so much going on that I didn't even have time to celebrate it. 

To all of you out there working hard to be sucessful, don't give up. Just keep working and doing it the honest way and you will get there! 

I'm working hard but I'm also putting my trust in God at the same time that he is making a path and a plan for my future!

Hope that you all had a lovely Easter Weekend!!

Getting Ready for 2016!!!

Hi Loveys, I had the best day yesterday! I have been working hard on my business even through the Christmas Holidays trying to get as much accomplished as I can before the new year.

|| Finished writing & designing my E-Book Guide on "Ditch Your 8-5 & Start Your Dream Business in 10 Easy Steps"

|| Hired my web designer to set up website landing page + woo commerce options

|| Restructured my VA Packages + Prices for The Dream Virtual Assistant (I'm no longer doing hourly because it was not working for me)

|| Let go of a few clients so that I can start the new year off right and work smarter & not harder

||Took Square Space Course + signed up for the trial- thinking about moving over to Square Space in the new year.

|| Designed new banners for my Facebook and Twitter pages

|| Finished my vision board for 2016

|| Hubby hung pictures for my new office!

|| Office Wish List items checked off: Verismo, new computer + software, new desk + chair, printer table,  Kindle

Later today, I plan on playing around with my Square-Space trial to see if I want to switch over and also work on drafting some blog posts for my business + this blog while I have some time. I am feeling so ready for the new year-What are some of your goals for 2016? I would love to hear them!!

Bring on 2016!!

This weekend was another busy one! The hubby and I are doing a 6-week challenge to see what we can accomplish before 2015 is over!

 This week I:

>> Did some cleaning- pantry, fridge, closet, laundry, dishes, mopped wood floors

>> Re-arranged Entertainment Center

>> Kiltzed remaining rafters- now I have to go back & paint them

>> Hubby put up my two new office pictures

>> Had a Blog Makeover! Still need to do a photo shoot for the Header

>> Ordered custom leather luggage tags via Etsy

>> Sold iPhone 5

>> Set up & had 1st Skype (for the record- I still hate being on video!)

>> Set up my Newsletter, Designed Newsletter Header & sent out first newsletter! Also created Signup-forms for Facebook, Sign-up button for website

>> Wrote blog post for The Dream Virtual Assistant

Look-back on 2015:

>> Housework- installed Wood-flooring, shelving & extra racks in walk in closet, finished Hard-board exterior siding, Painted all interior doors, stained underneath deck, kiltzed about 100 rafters on second story, Painted 2 1/2 sides of house, 

>> De-cluttered & donated 2 truckloads to charity

>> Joined unroll.me in January & it changed my life!

>> Hubby bought me a Vita-mix for my Birthday!!

>> Celebrated 16 year Wedding Anniversary with my amazing husband! 

>> Finally updated Estate Planning

>> Stood up for myself & stopped caring about approval from other people & stopped listening to people's negativity about my dreams & goals (I wrote about it here)

>> Mended relationships with my family

>> I ended up getting sick, lost 20 lbs. & reached my goal weight

>> Bought furniture for entire house including chair, love-seat, office desk, bed, dining table + chairs, dresser, wine-rack, Patio furniture and grill, new mattress & new pillows, dinnerware, coffeepot- pretty much everything!!

>> Purchased a new riding lawnmower

>> Visited new stores- IKEA, Pottery Barn, Anthropologie, Crate & Barrell

>> Hubby pulled groin, hurt ankle & got food poisoning which put us behind on housework & I reverted back to being a Nurse (see post I wrote here)

>> Re-opened my Fig & Peach Etsy Store and then decided to close it- have my hands full withmy new business.

>> Renewed my Passport but ended up with a terrible photo!

>> Traveled to Puerto Rico, Turks & Caicos, Bahamas (beach-front couples massage), Savannah, Destin, Amelia Island

>> Tagged along with the hubby to Savannah for his school/exams & had fun eating, shopping my way through Savannah!

>> Dined at lots of great new Restaurants!

>> Went on first Carnival Cruise- worst cruise ever, but we made the best of it (definitely sticking to Celebrity & Royal Caribbean next time!)
>> Took a photo with a two Iguanas on me- that was a first!!
>> Visited Conch Graveyard & found some amazing huge conch shells for my souvenir travel collection

>> Made decision to put in notice to leave 8-5 stressful job & go after my dreams finally!!

>> Started my online business The Dream Virtual Assistant & worked with over 10 clients all in 6 weeks! 

>> Read lots of great books! Big Magic, 4-hour Workweek, Nice Girls Can Finish Last, The Woman I wanted to Be, Girl-boss & more!

>> Joined new Boss Facebook Groups-have met so many encouraging, supportive business women!

>> Listened to some inspiring podcasts!

>> Set up CRM, Accounting, Business Bank Account, Logo creation, Skype, Marketing,Signed up for Hoot-suite, Buffer, Tailwind

>> Upgraded to an iPhone 6s in rose gold for my business and for better reception

>> Had a Blog Makeover!

>> Revamped my Twitter, Facebook &  Pinterest Page (Rich Pins, upgraded to Business, re-arranged boards visually, etc.)
>> Wrote over 4,000 words for book
>> Purchased a selfie stick for vacations
>> Purchased new 5 piece suitcase set

>> Learned to trust in God even more! God gave me a vision about my career future & every since I put my trust in God & made the leap, things have been going better than I could have ever dreamed!

And I know that this is my blog, but I am so proud of my amazing hubby for accomplishing several goals of his own this year! Including taking & passing 2 exams, doing tons of work on our new house (too long to list!), supporting me through all of my stress and + leaving my job & getting back to designing house-plans! I'm blessed to have such an amazing husband:)

2016 Goals:

>> Grow The Dream Virtual Assistant even more! Create an E-book + Grow my Email List

>> Travel more! Use free Delta airline tickets

>> Start back running

>> Adopt a pet? Thinking maybe a Hedgehog, teddy bear hamster...

>> Photo-shoot with the hubby

>> Have more adventures! 

>> Have a Garage Sale & get rid of remaining clutter!

I am always excited for a new year- it's brings a fresh start and a new slate to wipe clean! Thirty-nine days and counting!

What are some of your accomplishments for 2015 and goals for the new year?

Crazy Good||

 My dream office via EveryGirl

Hi Lovies! Another crazy good week- busy, busy but getting so much done over here!

This week I:

|| Designed + Ordered new Business cards!
|| Finally got GoDaddy email to be redirected to Gmail- now I have a dot com & it was free!
|| Talked with CPA about Business & what I can write off/Accounting Practices, etc.
|| Had two more new clients this week + 2 more VA Consultations for potential clients
|| Listed my business on every directory that I could find!
|| Completed accounting for the business
|| Booked weekend trip to the Beach! Shopping + Beach + Seafood- yes please!!
|| Signed up to try out Tailwind, after trying Buffer- I love how TW works so far!
|| Finished up a book that I was reading

Last night, I stayed up until 1:30 finishing up some work on a Holiday Guide List for a client- I had two coffees from Starbucks & there was no way that I was going to sleep anyway! It was really nice waking up this morning, only having to work on tweaking it.

Today was a pretty great day- it was the first day that I've actually had extra time to go walking or have any time for myself. Since the business start up part is behind me, I now have extra time to focus on marketing, work + some me time. Tomorrow, I have a couple of projects to work on in the morning, then I will be packing for our weekend trip to the beach!! So that's it pretty much- off to have some dinner + relax!

How has your week treated you?

Getting my Hustle On//

    

It's Day Two of being at home and I love it! Some people would probably get bored or not have enough things to fill their time, but not me- I have so many goals and things that I want to accomplish! 

Here are some things that I accomplished on Day 1:

|| Made hubby breakfast and packed a lunch

|| Gave hubby a haircut

|| Had a healthy breakfast for once! Scrambled eggs + GF raisin toast + grapes  (usually have a banana or protein bar for breakfast)  

|| Completed 8 Restaurant Reviews on Trip Advisor

|| Put up dishes

|| Washed bedding/made bed + another load of laundry

|| Cooked Chicken & Rice Casserole for dinner

|| Completed Blog Post

|| Listened to 1 Being Boss Podcast

|| Signed up for Photoshop Course

|| Fed the squirrels

|| Walked with the hubby for 20 minutes

|| Sent important emails RE: Blog & Career Opportunities

|| Hair Treatment

|| Made hair appointment at Madison Grove

|| Read 80% of "Nice Girls Can Finish Last"- I highly recommend this book to women are too nice and tend to not get back what they give to others and how they can change their behavior to get what they deserve! The author talks about you can still be nice, but be firm in what you ask for and expect in life and remove the people who take from you but are never there in your time of need.

This morning, I am currently listening to my second sermon of the day and finished reading my book from yesterday. I also just downloaded Photo Director 5 to start learning some new photo editing and I plan on beginning my Photoshop Course today as well so I can refresh my memory. So yes, busy day of learning ahead and I'm excited!

Hope you all are having a lovely day where-ever you are!

Life Lately//

Life has been busy- lately, I have been feeling like I have so many things that I want to accomplish and I've decided to just start doing the things that I have been wanting to do. Life doesn't have to be perfect to start going after my dreams- there will never be a more perfect time than now. If I don't start doing the things that I want to do now, I am afraid that I will wake up one day full of regrets and that is my worst nightmare.

 Weekend breakfast for the hubby

 Listening to music-one of my favorite things to do

 I finally broke out the sewing machine & made this tote bag- I haven't sewn since I was a teenager. Guess it's like riding a bike..

 I've been reading a variety of books- growing & learning about success, self-improvement

I free-handed these 2 signs- I used to dabble in calligraphy when I was a teenager - I think they turned out pretty good!

Went to Target & found lots of cute items in the dollar section

 Found some items for my Etsy Shop + home office supplies

Ordered these color blocked sandals that were on sale from AE

Looking forward to this t shirt set that I ordered for me & the hubby!

Over the weekend, I was able to get several things accomplished:

• I decided upon a new Etsy Shop name & it was approved on Sunday!
• I ordered a stamp for my Etsy Shop
• I emailed a couple of Etsy shops inquiring about logos for my shop
• I researched some great books about business, success in life, self-improvement & have put about 20 books on hold at our local library-I love learning new things!
• I mended 7 clothing items
• I finished staining underneath the deck
• I finished painting the trim & rafters at the front entrance (now I have the other 3 sides left)
• I cleaned the food  pantry + underneath the bath cabinet
• Food shopping for the week
• Hubby hooked up the new dishwasher (last week)-so happy to not have to hand-wash dishes anymore!
• Finally finished our Estate Planning (I hate doing those type of things where death/separation of me & the hubby is discussed)
• Hubby working on last bit of siding- another good weekend (without rain) & he will be finished! 

We're also looking at a vacation soon- hopefully, around August or September. Initially, we wanted to go to Europe or Hawaii, but I have been so exhausted lately that I just want something that is already planned- no flights, no hotel booking or worrying about meals and drinks. So I think we have decided to go on a cruise again- that way we don't have to worry about anything. The hubby's birthday is July and our Wedding Anniversary is August- so it will be the perfect time to getaway and relax. By that time, we will be finished painting and have the house pretty much finished.