New Year’s Resolutions

It’s beyond the middle of the year and I realize that I’ve in no way followed through on my New Year’s resolutions, have you?

Getting my finances in better shape.  Working on my health.  Building our business at the office….  Ok, I do work on our business, all the time, but aside from that…I’ve failed dramatically.  Does anyone ever accomplish what they set out to do in a year?  In 2016 I was working on losing weight and was doing quite well until the Christmas holidays rolled in.  I promised myself that in January I would begin again but that never manifested itself.  I used to be pretty good with my finances but then ‘real life’ set in with it’s myriad of problems and issues and my finances have never been the same  

In 10 years I’ll reach retirement age with little to show for it and when I really think about that I’m not sure how much it matters anyway.  I’m in no worse position than many people my age and better than some.  I have a wonderful husband, my family (for better and worse), an awesome cat who showers me with love and a puppy who, as obnoxious as she is at times, I truly love and enjoy.  I have my faith which sustains me throughout this life I’ve been gifted with.  I have a roof over my head, cool air in the summer and warmth in the winter.  I have a reliable 14 year old car that gets me where I need to be.  I have plenty of food to eat and fresh, clean water to drink.  I have energy to continue working and that’s a good thing since I’m sure I’ll end up being a Wal-Mart greeter when I’m 85, lol!  We struggle, like everyone else, but we have love and that is the greatest blessing of them all.

I will continue to make those New Year’s resolutions as long as I’m able because they help me to focus and I think, in some ways, that has to help at least work towards the goals I’ve set for myself.  What about you, do you accomplish your goals set at the beginning of the year?  Do you even set resolutions?  Everyone’s different but we’re still all so similar too, isn’t it cool?

The End of Chapter 2016

It’s an odd time of year isn’t it?  We’re getting ready to, in theory, put the old behind and look forward to the new.  It’s like ending a chapter in a book.  I don’t feel “nostalgic” for 2016, I’m glad it’s almost behind me, but I have spent a good part of this week thinking through it.

Much like any other year there were highs and lows.  The highlights, for me, were our travels.  We were able to go to Florida at the end of January, Maine in late spring, to the Midwest to visit my family during the summer, another long weekend in Maine this past fall and then Pennsylvania over Thanksgiving.  We also had two visits from David’s youngest daughter, Jila.  I became an aunt (again) in early December which always makes me smile.

The lows…mostly all work-related.  Our office lost a small fortune when our billers decided they didn’t want to do the work required.  We didn’t catch on to what was happening for a few months and when we finally did we had to really scramble or close our doors after 40+ years.  Since my husband is an optometrist and the billing was medical we weren’t able to recoup all of it.  In medical billing you have timelines and if you don’t get your claims in by a certain time after the exams your claims are rejected and you aren’t paid.  It took us a few months to discover because even when a claim is filed on time we may not be paid until 45 days later so the finances are always kind of precarious and we’re used to that.  I had to learn medical billing in about two weeks!  It was a scary year for us as we struggled to catch up financially, we’re still struggling but at least now we can see a light at the end of the tunnel.

2016 was intense.

January 1, 2017 we move on to the next chapter and we’re hopeful.

A Big Week Ahead for us All…

This Tuesday we will elect the next #President of the United States.  I don’t know a single person who isn’t dreading this.  I’ve never experienced an #election like it, the hostility on both sides has been surreal and extraordinarily unprofessional.  Imagine if we were to go in for a job interview with these same outlooks and actions!  We wouldn’t even be considered as a candidate for the job, yet…with the most important position the U.S. has to offer here we go.  There can only be one winner.

Wouldn’t it be interesting if they BOTH won and had to share and learn how to work with each other?!  Like we teach our kids.  That’s a whole other blog for a different day.  What DOES this teach our kids?  The loudest one wins?!  If you get caught in something try to lie your way out of it?

Wednesday will, in all likelihood, be a solemn day for at least half of the country.  Keep your chin up “We the People”.  Do good.  Be the example for others.

Fun but Busy Week!

For the past couple of nights I’ve been hosting Halloween parties online.  It’s been fun and I am learning every step of the way.  Example:  Originally this was supposed to be a 2-week long online event.  Thankfully, at some point beforehand, I realized that would be tough to keep up with 😉  I shortened it to 1 week.  Honestly that is also too much and I changed it to 6 days.  I was planning to host one on Halloween itself but people are going to be busy with their kids or answering doors to trick-or-treators so…I’m closing the party down the day before the holiday.  Timing is definitely one of the lessons with this first event!  Each night the event lasts about an hour and a half and takes more than 100 posts.  I had a blast putting it all together but wow, that is a lot!

I did publicize it as much as I could but there still weren’t many sign ups.  That may be due to the fact that it was over such an extensive time period?  I don’t know and I do definitely plan to do another online event so this is a good experience.  The people who are participating seem to enjoy it and I’ve gotten some very kind feedback which I’ve appreciated.  I’ve given out a couple of prizes and there are more to give so that is truly fun for me.

I appreciate all that I’m learning from this and look forward to sharing more events with you in the future!  They will be single night events and not more than an hour and a half 😉

It’s All About Avon