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| knitted squares baby blanket with ruffle edge {1st time to ever do this} |
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| additional view of knitted squares baby blanket with ruffle edge |
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| additional view of knitted squares baby blanket with ruffle edge |
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
baby blanket {finished}
Baby Blanket for Ryan & Alisha Machalica
2014 Goals & Resolutions
Each Year, I create my list of Goals & Resolutions for both personal and business goals, but the last 5 years I started publishing them on my blog also. If you wish to review the previous years, you can do so by clicking on these links: 2009 Goals & Resolutions, 2010 Goals & Resolutions, 2011 Goals & Resolutions, 2012 Goals & Resolutions and 2013 Goals & Resolutions. Some years I have up to 10 goals and multiple categories. I find more strength and focus when I limit it to just a few. Last year, I condensed both my personal goals and business goals to 4, this year at the recommendation of Michael Hyatt and taking part in his course Best Year Ever, I am going to not have any categories and limit it to a total of 7 goals. Additionally, I am going to skip creating a theme for the year and do it at the end as a reflection of the results of my year!
2014 goals
#1 take care of me FIRST before anyone or anything else {I am very good about taking care of everyone else and everything else, leaving me to not be tended to, squeezed in the middle of all the other demands, and no time for me...this habit needs to change so that I have more of me to be able to give more and be more to those I give to}, this means I will need to say NO to more things and YES to the things that really matter
#2 be even more intentional who I spend time with and my time with friends: weekly make a girls date, host & entertain company one weekend a month {by fixing a meal and spending time with my friends in my own casa, because I love to do this and have missed it}
#3 increase my intentional efforts daily of reaching out to encourage people by emails, letters, prayer sessions, phone calls, lunch dates, etc to one person every day and scheduling time with my people in person who need it {this includes old friends, new friends, Facebook friends, bible study crew, clients, and strategic business partners}
#4 finish writing my first book, about my life, to be ready to publish by January 2015; I will partipate in Jeff Goins My 500 Words Challenge; I will get headshots done for Author Website by June 2014; I will have www.mistygilbert.com live by June 2014
#3 increase my intentional efforts daily of reaching out to encourage people by emails, letters, prayer sessions, phone calls, lunch dates, etc to one person every day and scheduling time with my people in person who need it {this includes old friends, new friends, Facebook friends, bible study crew, clients, and strategic business partners}
#4 finish writing my first book, about my life, to be ready to publish by January 2015; I will partipate in Jeff Goins My 500 Words Challenge; I will get headshots done for Author Website by June 2014; I will have www.mistygilbert.com live by June 2014
#5 increase the monthly payment amount on my house to meet my goal of having it paid for by February 2017! {10 years from date of purchase}
#6 resolve to find a way to manage my adrenal fatigue more efficiently and effectively, by digging into more research material to figure out what is not working, why, and how to change it; read one health book a month
#7 create set work hours instead of a begin time only and no end time {gonna try something new to create new work habits}; read one book every other month relating to achieving a work life balance
#6 resolve to find a way to manage my adrenal fatigue more efficiently and effectively, by digging into more research material to figure out what is not working, why, and how to change it; read one health book a month
#7 create set work hours instead of a begin time only and no end time {gonna try something new to create new work habits}; read one book every other month relating to achieving a work life balance
YearInReview for 2013
I did this before and loved it! Life gets busy sometimes we forget to do the things we love.
As I reflect on 2013, it was a challenging year on many levels, but at the same time, I am grateful for the growth it produced in me. Not all of the effort was easy, and in many things, it was harder than I ever dreamed it could have been. Wow. Impressive to think and reflect on. So here my friend, is a list of 2013 highlights:
As I reflect on 2013, it was a challenging year on many levels, but at the same time, I am grateful for the growth it produced in me. Not all of the effort was easy, and in many things, it was harder than I ever dreamed it could have been. Wow. Impressive to think and reflect on. So here my friend, is a list of 2013 highlights:
- My Dad passed away February 2013
- I got to see my sister at the Memorial for Dad after 8 years of not having seen her, I am thankful for the fact that she asked to have time together and that all 3 of us siblings were able to have breakfast together.
- I rear ended someone on my way back from a client and wrecked 2011 Honda Civic one year to the day it was paid off. The moment was a God Moment when she said to me "you were forgiven before it happened". Traded it in when they could not resolve all the issues and I was tired of fighting and purchased a 2013 Honda Civic. Paid off the balance on the car this month.
- I experienced a client hitting me in the head, which launched me into getting professional counseling, something I had never considered doing and that benefited me tremendously, though it was very painful.
- This year was part of learning to tell my story.
- I achieved my goal of booking and taking more vacations than I did in 2012. I took 4 vacations {some of them only 3 days long}: one to spend time with relatives and friends at Dumont Dunes in Baker, California, one with a girlfriend to Utopia, Texas, one road trip over Memorial Day Weekend with friends to Missouri, and one by myself to Franklin, Tennessee...{this is a huge accomplishment for me!!! and doesn't count going out to California for my Dad's Memorial or to Colorado for a girlfriends wedding}.
- I got to test drive a Corvette! and get it up to 115mph on the freeway!!!
- I went to my first Woman of Faith Conference with a girlfriend.
- I did two days of coaching with Chris LoCurto.
- I won the 2013 Savvy Chicks Rule award for Medical Account Solutions.
- I fired my 3rd client since being in business in March 2013.
- I begin writing my book about my life that I plan to publish.
- I took an Advanced Accounting Course and passed!
- My prayer life has increased tremendously.
- This year I achieved my goal of writing more blog posts than any other year and topping out my previous best year in 2010.
- I got a new fence installed at the casa after 6 years of living here.
- I got my ears pierced February 2013 and love wearing my pearl earrings the most!
- I bought my first pair of pants March 2013...never had owned a pair or wore a pair before this.
- I wore makeup for the first time when I was working on a video shoot for my business website {this was a requirement for the video and I had never seen myself with makeup}.
- I got rid of a lot of belongings this year and made over $1K in this mission to condense the extra things that I didn't need or had an excess of.
- My business made the same amount of money as I did in 2012, even after letting some clients go, on top of giving away over $10K in free services as charity.
- God's message for me this year to learn was: I Am Enough. He was purposeful in how he planted that memo, how he created and used things to help me see my fault in this area, and provided a message from Beth Moore with a whole Bible Study on it.
a concerned neighbor
I have been sick for the last 13 days with a sinus infection. I have had a hard time getting better. Is it because December seems to be one of the busiest months with work? Last minute Tax Planning with clients. Last minute Accounts Receivable work. Last minute Year End Deadlines and Projects. Or is it because my immune system always seems to be down in the winter? Or is it just because people get sick and spread germs? I don't know, but I wasn't sure that I was going to have any fun New Years Eve Party, but as the day wore on, I felt like I had the stamina to do it and made plans to hang with some friends. A quiet evening in their home by the fire, laughing, visiting and sharing in each others lives...oh and of course eating! I needed this. My emotional spirits were down. I needed my friends. I actually stayed up to ring in the New Year...of course, I slept in today to make up for the late night hour!!!
After getting up today, I made a fire, sat in my club chair turned towards the fire, knitting some baby booties for a little girl born two months ago, an hour into listening to a Coaching Call when the doorbell rang. My hair was not presentable. I was still in my pj's. And most importantly, I wasn't expecting anybody.
It was my neighbor behind me. Jack. He said they were concerned when they saw smoke coming from the house because they thought it was vacant and it was a really nice warm day to be having a fire. I laughed and said, I have lived here for 7 years and though I travel each week some on business, I do live here and the house is not vacant. I think he then realized that he knew me and that we had talked before, though only two other times and both times about fence repairs he did. I think he flat out didn't recognize me initially. I told him that I appreciated his concern and checking in on me.
I then let him know that I had gone over to talk to them two other times to see if they wanted to split the cost of the back fence that I replaced this year but had never caught them at home. I told him that I didn't want him to feel obligated, but that if he wanted to contribute I would get him a copy of the invoice. Little did I know I was opening the door for him to let me know how irritated he was at me for putting in a new fence and taking his down. He was nice about it, but I could tell the irritation ran deep. I was shocked. This was my fence, what was he saying? I kept my mouth shut and let him talk. I just listened. As he talked, regret gripped me in the fact that I wished I had been able to connect with him prior to the install of the fence, but I couldn't undo that. I had tried and we had not connected. I could have left a note, I didn't. I wanted to mend things even though until now I never knew there was a problem, I didn't want an upset neighbor. They were obviously kind people to come over and check on my place thinking it was empty.
I said Jack, I am sorry. I thought the fence was mine, even though it was turned backwards with the nice side out, it went around my complete property line. Though I have reversed that now so the inside faces me, I still never thought of it as your fence. I am sorry. What can I do to make things right? He stated not to worry about it. I tried again. He stated not to worry about it. He then went on to let me know that when the fence was put in, they were out of town and had someone house sitting. The people let them know that they were surprised they had a pool and no fence. He asked them if they were sure they were at the right house. I am sure the whole deal got blown way out of proportion because of all this taking place when they were out of town and then to top it off, he thought it was "his" fence. We chatted about 25-30 minutes and shared stories about the issues we are facing with our houses, what improvements we have done, what he does for work, what his wife does for work (I learned she owns a local flower shop not even a mile from my house), and where they go to church.
I am amazed at how little I know my neighbors and how kind some of them truly are. I plan to make an effort to get to know some of them better. I also plan to send them a note in writing to say I am sorry for the fence issue and thanks for looking out on my place.
After getting up today, I made a fire, sat in my club chair turned towards the fire, knitting some baby booties for a little girl born two months ago, an hour into listening to a Coaching Call when the doorbell rang. My hair was not presentable. I was still in my pj's. And most importantly, I wasn't expecting anybody.
It was my neighbor behind me. Jack. He said they were concerned when they saw smoke coming from the house because they thought it was vacant and it was a really nice warm day to be having a fire. I laughed and said, I have lived here for 7 years and though I travel each week some on business, I do live here and the house is not vacant. I think he then realized that he knew me and that we had talked before, though only two other times and both times about fence repairs he did. I think he flat out didn't recognize me initially. I told him that I appreciated his concern and checking in on me.
I then let him know that I had gone over to talk to them two other times to see if they wanted to split the cost of the back fence that I replaced this year but had never caught them at home. I told him that I didn't want him to feel obligated, but that if he wanted to contribute I would get him a copy of the invoice. Little did I know I was opening the door for him to let me know how irritated he was at me for putting in a new fence and taking his down. He was nice about it, but I could tell the irritation ran deep. I was shocked. This was my fence, what was he saying? I kept my mouth shut and let him talk. I just listened. As he talked, regret gripped me in the fact that I wished I had been able to connect with him prior to the install of the fence, but I couldn't undo that. I had tried and we had not connected. I could have left a note, I didn't. I wanted to mend things even though until now I never knew there was a problem, I didn't want an upset neighbor. They were obviously kind people to come over and check on my place thinking it was empty.
I said Jack, I am sorry. I thought the fence was mine, even though it was turned backwards with the nice side out, it went around my complete property line. Though I have reversed that now so the inside faces me, I still never thought of it as your fence. I am sorry. What can I do to make things right? He stated not to worry about it. I tried again. He stated not to worry about it. He then went on to let me know that when the fence was put in, they were out of town and had someone house sitting. The people let them know that they were surprised they had a pool and no fence. He asked them if they were sure they were at the right house. I am sure the whole deal got blown way out of proportion because of all this taking place when they were out of town and then to top it off, he thought it was "his" fence. We chatted about 25-30 minutes and shared stories about the issues we are facing with our houses, what improvements we have done, what he does for work, what his wife does for work (I learned she owns a local flower shop not even a mile from my house), and where they go to church.
I am amazed at how little I know my neighbors and how kind some of them truly are. I plan to make an effort to get to know some of them better. I also plan to send them a note in writing to say I am sorry for the fence issue and thanks for looking out on my place.
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