A GO-GET-ER TEAM

All day events generally take about three to four months to plan, sometimes six months, like in the case of a wedding. I have feverishly been working on an event over the last month that will take place the first and second of April. We are anticipating an attendance of 600 women. It's a live simulcast with Bible teacher and author, Priscilla Shirer. The event takes place at a local church. And I only have two months to get it going. Fortunately, I have a fabulous team of nine members (all volunteers from the church) who have been diligently working with me. Within two weeks we had all our publicity materials created and published. I could hardly believe we did it that fast, but I have a very dedicated and hard working group of people who wouldn't take "CAN'T DO THAT" for an answer. They made it happen! Now that the publicity end of it is completed we are gearing up for all the registrations that will be coming in. The registrations will be coming from several mediums--phone registrations, on-line registrations, mailings, and Facebook! We are all set. There are six of us who have split up the responsibilities and we are ready to gather the orders. Meanwhile, this same team is gathering volunteers to help out at the ticket stands. My hospitality team has been organizing and categorizing all the supplies they will need for the concession stands. They are gathering volunteers to help as greeters, ushers, parking attendants and workers at the concession stands and product tables. My tech team has been working over the last month preparing for the workings that only can happen on the internet, making sure that we are prepared and ready to air the day of the event. Soon my facility team will be setting up tables, etc., preparing a layout that will keep the flow of this event moving smoothly. Because this is a church event we also put in place a prayer team who have daily been on their knees praying for God to do His thing throughout the planning of this event, and during the time of the event. I am so excited and delighted to be a part of this special day! It's been a busy time, and I've had my moments of some weariness, but it has been so enjoyable! I just know that I couldn't have done it without all those diligently behind the scenes working along with me. I commend you my steering committee. You have been doing an exceptional job and I'm proud to have you on my team! If God can accomplish what He already has done through us, imagine what He will do for those that attend! God Bless!

DOING IT THE HARD WAY

Have you ever tried attempting a task that you know should be simple, but ends up being somewhat frustrating in the process? Recently, at the grocery store I frequently shop at, one of the workers in the produce section found me struggling with those plastic bags to put your produce in. You know the bags that come on a roll and are flat when you tear them off the roll. Once you have found the open end, you spend your time struggling to open it by pinching the open end between your forefinger and thumb, trying to twist it open. You make every effort to open it up, but to no avail. Watching me go at it with my feeble attemts, the produce worker came right up to me and told me that the bag was made special with handles so all I had to do was pull the handles apart and the middle would open right up. I no longer had to work so hard at opening those types of bags! I was very grateful for this workers kindness to give me such a fanatastic tip, and it worked beautifully! I have remembered that tip in returned trips to the produce isle, and even shared the good news with other struggling customers. I am a hard worker, but every now and then I find myself doing my work the hard way. Taking tests for example, has always been a challenge for me. I just get nervous, I guess, I'm always looking for the hidden meaning or the trick in the question that supposedly will stump me. As an end result I often find in my perfectionist ways I stump myself because there wasn't anything to be concerned about in the first place. Some days I can find myself very busy but feeling like I never get anything accomplished. Other days I end up being a problem solver for everyone else and not getting my own to do list done. Those days when I feel I've completed my day "empty-handed" I need to stop and make a list of what was accomplished. I often find that the day proved to be better than originally thought. My husband believes that days when I feel like I haven't accomplished anything is due to spending my time with busy work, not with result producing work. To some degree he's right. If I search for the most efficient way to get the results I need, I will spend less time with feeble attempts to do what is merely a simple task. My challenge today is to find a more efficient, complete, and smart way to get done with what needs to be accomplished, resulting in less stress, less work, and more play! Are you with me?!

UP AND RUNNING!

January has started out as a year of some new beginnings. After finishing my book, my husband took charge of getting my new website up and running! My website still comes under the name of ACO Virtual Services but emphasizes the entity of event planning. Besides information about ACO Events, the site has several links to keep everyone informed of what ACO is up to:

• Calendar page (up and coming events)
• Gallery page (pictures of our events)
• News page (news regarding ACO's activities)

Some of those links are still under construction, but shouldn't take long to complete. As soon as I see what is completed, I will then work on "filling in the blanks." My husband promises to teach me how to enter some of my own material, so now I can add managing a website to my repretoire! Take a sneak peak and watch for upcoming material and let me know what you think in the comment section below. http://www.acovs.com/

RESOLUTION SUBMITTED

Resolution--a determination to finish a task or goal. I never worried much about New Year's resolutions. The majority of people that I know get started in the right direction, but eventually set their determination aside and turn to something else, myself included. It seems life takes a turn in the middle of our hard work and we then either give up, never to return to our "personal promise," or something else has taken higher priority. I just always figured that New Year's resolutions were basically a waste of time. If there is something I really need to do or want to do, I will work at it when the time is right for me. I don't need the date of, January 1, of any year to do that. This year, I have considered some projects and dreams that I would love to fulfill, and one in particular has a deadline of January 15, 2011. (5 more days!) Over the past six months I have been compiling projects and notes that have become a book. When I first started writing I wondered if it was worth it, or if it would be a waste of my time. I found it enjoyable though, and through each and every experience I went through, I continued to add it to my book. In September of 2010, the challenge was set before me, as I was given the opportunity to enter a writing contest. With my husband, coach, and a personal friend and editor at myside, all of who were very supportive of me, I ventured out into something new. Today I am completing all the last minute adjustments of this project and will soon be sending my manuscript off for an elite group of people to read and determine whether it is a "seller" in their eyes, or not. I guess you could say my first resolve for 2011 is to get my book published. Though a time frame for publication is not yet in sight, the idea of it gives me great excitement! I know you're all asking: "What's it about?" It's called "Starting Over-From the Corporate Office to the Home Office." It's a book about my life over the past two years as I adjusted to creating my own business while the economic down turn of our country seemed to dismiss who I was and what I could do. It's somewhat of a "how to" book, although it's not a workbook. It just gives suggestions based upon my life's experiences-lessons I learned, things I read, challenges that were set before me. Although I share my faith walk in this book (because my faith in God is part of who I am) I don't know that I'd call it a "Christian" book. Rather, a non-fiction with Christian Truths shared throughout the book. It will probably take months before I even know the results of this contest, so I will have to keep you posted. I am grateful for the "theraputic" fun that it was for me as I wrote my personal story. My hope and prayer is that someone out in our vast world who may be discouraged by our country's recession and has struggled through many a hardship will be encouraged through the words composed upon the pages of my book. I'd love to hear about your resolutions. What life lessons have you learned and as a result are determined to resolve?! Please leave your comments below. Now that I've concluded the workings of my book, I'll have more time to get back to my blogging! Happy New Year everyone!