Categories
Thought of the Moment

Respecting Time & Relationships

If you're not following through with your commitments to others, how does that reflect on your character?

Throughout my life, I feel like I have mostly been respectful of others’ time, making sure I arrive early to meetings/work/etc. In this day and age, it’s easy to alert the other party if I *am* running late, but I try my best not to do so. I’m human–so I don’t have a perfect track record–and I don’t enjoy the look on the other person’s face when I see that I am so terribly late and essentially disrespectful of their time. I feel a great sense of shame when this happens to me and remind myself to not do this again next time.

Understandably, not everyone operates the same way and everyone has different values. Over the course of only the past couple of months, I have realized that I need to distance myself from those who don’t respect time: those who are consistently late to meetings/events/etc. and those who cancel last minute. I understand that life comes up, and things DO happen, but still–it reflects badly on the person when they cancel last minute. I have heard many kinds of excuses: didn’t know where to meet (it was in the Google Calendar invitation….), traffic, something happened at the business, etc. Time is valuable, and that time reserved for the canceled individual could have been allotted towards something/someone else.

In the end, these individuals do me a favor and remind me of why I shouldn’t do business/be friends with them: if they don’t respect my time, then they clearly don’t respect me (even if they wouldn’t admit this fact to my face). As the saying goes, actions speak louder than words.

 

Categories
Entrepreneurial Journey Slice of Life

Off to a good start

My January's already filling up! Crazy!
My January’s already filling up! Crazy!

I’m quite surprised: 2016 is already starting off on a good and busy note. This week has been nonstop that today, I just had to take an afternoon nap to catch up on the sleep I’ve fallen behind on all week. I can’t recall quite a busy January in the last five years, so this is definitely welcomed. My calendar’s filling up for the month, making me tell prospective clients to start booking for February already.

Despite the fact that January IS my birthday month, I have felt in previous years that the month is generally slow and a bit depressing: no big holidays going on and even though most people are in the whole “New Year, New YOU!” mode, people aren’t doing much/fall off that bandwagon soon enough.

This January is already feeling good–and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the month has in store for me, let alone the rest of the YEAR. I have great hopes for this year…up-leveling for sure!

Hope your week has been going well as well, readers!

#CrazyCatLady Helene & Kitty say hello to 2016! ;)
#CrazyCatLady Helene & Kitty say hello to 2016! 😉
Categories
Year in Review

That’s a Wrap, 2015!

Unexpected snowstorm in Denver in mid-December.
Unexpected snowstorm in Denver in mid-December.

Over the course of this month, I’ve enjoyed reflecting back on all that has happened this year, and how far I have actually really come along this year (it’s really mind-boggling to me how much GOOD has happened this year). In case you missed my entries from the month:

  1. Part 1 of 4: Financial Peace University & Turning 30
  2. Part 2 of 4: Hashtagitude + Working With My Coach, Kelly Lynn Adams
  3. Part 3 of 4: Better Health & Crochet
  4. Part 4 of 4: Speaking Engagements & Vacation in NYC

So, now what? What are my goals, my “resolutions”, my plans for 2016?

I feel like it’s been a few years since I’ve seriously thought about resolutions around the New Year: for 2015, I just made a list of things I planned on doing rather than saying they were even goals or resolutions. For 2016, I am doing the same, and focusing on broader topics rather than “Do x 10 times”:

  • Better time management and “work-life balance” – I definitely know that I suffer from being a workaholic and being my own worst enemy/toughest boss I’ve ever had. I want to be better about really taking time off for myself and to spend more quality time with Ryan. In fact, this past week I have taken time off since I worked a bit much around Christmas! My youngest nephew kept asking me, “Why are you STILL working?” Yikes!
  • More time with more quality people, both online and offline – Negativity wears anyone down, and I know especially for myself, I get weighed down when I’m around super negative people, whether in-person or even through social media. Yes, we all have our challenging moments, our moments of sadness: not saying I want to be around sunshine-y people 24/7 either! I just don’t want to feel like I am constantly picking others up.
  • Saying “NO” just a little more – Related to my first point above, I need to not spread myself thin so much! Have to focus on taking care of myself and my time better.

The clock will strike midnight soon in NYC, but I’ll be up for another couple of hours to ring in 2016 in Denver with Ryan. Here’s to another amazing year!

Categories
travel Year in Review

Highlights of 2015, Part 4 of 4: Speaking Engagements & Vacation in NYC

For the month of December, I’ll be posting weekly about a couple highlights from this year; granted, these highlights may very well leave out what happens this month, but we shall see what happens! ;) Also, I couldn’t decide on only four highlights, so each post I will highlight two moments/topics from the year. Enjoy!

 

More Speaking Opportunities

Speaking at Ignite Denver 20 on June 11, 2015. Thanks to @b_wleung for the photo!
Speaking at Ignite Denver 20 on June 11, 2015. Thanks to @b_wleung for the photo!

This year, I definitely got out of my shell more by engaging in more speaking opportunities around town: I spoke for the third time at Ignite Denver for its 20th show and also polished my Leads Group 7 presentations to make them more educational for my fellow members. I also had a blast speaking at SheSays Denver for their second SheShares event of the year: honestly, I’m still on a high from that event, even though that occurred in mid-July!

 

Some Much Needed Vacation…

Ryan and I in Times Square after watching Les Miserables on Broadway.
Ryan and I in Times Square after watching Les Miserables on Broadway.

I really enjoyed taking a week off in June to explore New York City with Ryan: first vacation together in almost a year (and the vacation we took in 2014 wasn’t completely relaxing either). We walked all over Manhattan, across the Brooklyn Bridge, and rode the subway around as we explored the many attractions around the Big Apple. I love visiting New York City, but I am very happy living in Denver!

Categories
health Slice of Life Year in Review

Highlights of 2015, Part 3 of 4: Better Health & Crochet

For the month of December, I’ll be posting weekly about a couple highlights from this year; granted, these highlights may very well leave out what happens this month, but we shall see what happens! ;) Also, I couldn’t decide on only four highlights, so each post I will highlight two moments/topics from the year. Enjoy!

 

Working Out & Eating Better = Healthier Helene!

Pretty nice medals from Rock n Roll!
Pretty nice medals from Rock n Roll!

I’m glad I made the decision in late 2014 to get back on the health & fitness bandwagon: for a few years there, I let myself slide backwards and undo the years of health & fitness I had accomplished in my early twenties. This year, I have made strides to get myself back into shape: it definitely helped that Ryan and I started off 2015 by participating in the Daniel Fast with our church. Since the fast, we have made a point to eat better together and also commit to working out together on a regular basis. As I had mentioned before, we ran our first 5K together back in October and hope to run more in 2016.

Overall, since November 2014, I have lost twenty-five pounds in a much healthier fashion than in my twenties. The road to better health is ongoing, and I intend to lose more weight in the coming year. Obviously, I will continue my healthier habits into the new year….Ryan and I do need more exercise ideas, though.

Crocheting Up A Storm

My current project: a Christmas gift for a family member (hmmmm to whom??!)
My current project: a Christmas gift for a family member (hmmmm to whom??!)

I am also most happy that this year was the year for me to FINALLY progress in my crocheting/yarn craft hobbies! I started off the year attending a Nerdy 30s Ladies of Denver Metro Crafting/Knitting/Coffee meetup (in fact, I just RSVPed for the same meetup event happening at the beginning of this coming January, too!) and have been crocheting pretty regularly since then. Granted, over the past 11ish months, I have also learned A LOT about the whole world of yarn crafts: gauge, different stitches, the size of the crochet hook, yarn weight, yarn material, etc. When I had first learned how to crochet, I thought much of what I listed above didn’t matter much, but this year I have learned that they DO matter….quite a bit! I’ve made hats too big because of the wrong sized hook or the wrong type of stitch…luckily, these were all learning lessons for myself!

Loom-knitting hats is SO easy....even a six-year-old can do it.
Loom-knitting hats is SO easy….even a six-year-old can do it.

I have also spent time learning more about loom knitting, and I do enjoy the round looms nowadays! I unfortunately made the mistake of learning how to loom knit on the long rectangular loom–which I just recently learned is actually harder than the round loom. Still, I love learning about all these different ways to create hats, scarves, etc.

This Christmas, I can confidently say that I am creating pretty much all of my gifts for my family members: several Christmases ago, I attempted this, but ended up with some too-short scarves and a couple of IOUs. Odd, right? But I’ve learned so much since then….and I can’t wait to share these gifts with my family!

This next year, I hope to continue my love of yarn craft hobbies and also make more goodies for my church’s outreach program. Hooray!