For us, Thanksgiving is a “Celebration of Family”. For this, we are truly thankful!

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday.  Sitting down with family and friends, reflecting on what is bountiful in our lives.  NO glitz NO glamour NO gifts – just pure content. Now our Thanksgiving celebration has even greater meaning.  More than I think we could have ever asked for.  Thanksgiving will always be more special to us for the remainder of our lives.  For us, Thanksgiving is a Celebration of Family. 

From the time I was a little girl I had dreamed of being a Mom.  It was something that nestled deep inside me and something that always seemed just out of reach.  In June 2005, after just being married for a couple of months, Sean and I found out that conceiving a child would not be possible.  Having close friends that had twice adopted internationally, we didn’t even hesitate with starting our own adoption journey.  We knew it would be a long process and that it wasn’t going to be easy.  However, we weren’t prepared for the emotional rollercoaster we were about to ride.  Certain that we wanted to adopt a baby boy, our research lead us to international adoption in Guatemala. 

After an exhaustive research of adoption agencies, we signed with For This Child in Texas in January 2006.  On Mother’s Day of that year, we received our referral of a beautiful baby boy, Gabriel.  He was so tiny at only 4 lbs 6 oz.  The next several months were full of highs and a lot of lows.  Sean and I held our child for the first time when he was just two months old and spent a glorious week with him in Guatemala.  Our hearts broke into millions of pieces when we had to leave him with his foster mother.  Only being comforted by her amazing bond with him, we knew she loved our son and would keep him safe.

We watched from afar as he gain weight and flourished in his environment; reaching milestones that we could only observe in pictures and read about in reports.  Our agency was very pro-active in keeping us informed.  Each month we received reports on Gabe’s doctor’s appointments and home visit reports along with 30 – 40 pictures.  We endured the struggles of the Guatemalan court systems.  The political unrest and continual security issues that would crop up overnight without warning made the end result seem far away and at times doubtful.

Initially, it was thought Gabe would be home by the end of August, then it was September and then by Halloween.  The month of October was fully of major instability in the Guatemalan adoption process.  Presidential mandates by the Guatemalan President to shut down adoptions were instituted and then rescinded. 

On November 2, 2006, while shopping in Target I received a call from our agency’s director.  She had an early birthday present for me which was just two days away.   We had exited the final court system with approval, Gabe’s new birth certificate was being issued and we should start to prepare for our trip to Guatemala to pick up our son. 

If you were in the Charleston Target that evening and saw a woman breaking down in the middle of the store – well that was me.  I started crying – I couldn’t speak.  I don’t remember how we ended the conversation – I really don’t remember the rest of the conversation. 

I realized that I couldn’t share our news with anyone.  Sean was teaching that evening and wouldn’t be out of class until 10 p.m.  He had to be the first one that I told and I wanted to tell him in person and not on the phone.  I don’t know how I got through those next few hours.  Well, I did shop for more baby things.  I bought a bunch of It’s a boy balloons and decorated the living room for when Sean arrived home. 

After two more long weeks, we finally got our travel dates to go to Guatemala the weekend before Thanksgiving.  We were booked to return on Wednesday (the day before Thanksgiving).  We knew that our return trip date would be dependent on the process in Guatemala and that we may end up spending the holidays there. 

It was such a joyous occasion to be reunited with Gabe.  I smiled so much my jaw hurt.  It was also heartbreaking to see his foster mother say goodbye. He didn’t miss a beat when he was placed in my arms.  It was if we had never been separated.   We had a few days to relax and reconnect and then complete the last steps necessary to bring our son home.

The end process was hectic but we somehow got it all achieved without a glitch and boarded our return flight home at noon on Wednesday; scheduled to arrive around 7:30 p.m. in Charleston.  Well like most travel plans on the day before Thanksgiving, they didn’t go as planned.  We arrived in Atlanta on time and hustled through the immigration process necessary to bring Gabe into the States.  We even participated in a swearing in ceremony for Gabe as a U.S. Citizen. 

We were quickly running out of time and raced to our gate that was at the opposite end of the airport only to find out that the gate listings were wrong.  We ran to our correct gate to then find out that our flight was delayed.  Through this entire day of travel, Gabe was an absolute angel.  He never cried or fussed.  A great relief to his new parents.

After several hours of waiting we board our final flight from Atlanta to Charleston at 11 p.m. to only be delayed again.  Sitting on the tarmac due to a generator failure in a tiny plane with cranky passengers, Gabe lay on my chest sleeping.  Finally, they get the plane running and we’re up in the air. 

Just a few minutes after midnight, in the early hours of Thanksgiving morning, we land in Charleston.  To finally be home in West Virginia with our son was such a huge relief; I finally could exhale! Our son was home at last and we would all rest well tonight being under one roof.

We are met by our family and friends who waited long hours for our arrival and to get an up-close look at our newest addition to the family. Our adoption journey finally came to a fruitful end and gave reason for a true Thanksgiving celebration! 

Thanksgiving will always be a day for us to celebrate our family.  Our Forever Family Day - for this we give thanks.

Black Friday - Attention Shoppers: Create your shopping list

It is to be behind the scenes.  Secretly passing notes in the hallway.  Password protected boards sharing anonymous resources of the Black Friday deals.  But no more - either it’s publicized with the merchant’s blessing or black listed with the threat of lawsuit. 

Now there’s a one stop shop to create your Black Friday shopping list at Black Friday Info.  Deals are grouped into categories.  And if your favorite store hasn’t released its ad then sign-up for email notification

The Point

Save time and browse the ads on-line at Black Friday Info.  Then select your choice buys and create your shopping list.  No more fumbling through ads to find what you want when you’re still half asleep.

WordPress Blog – The How To Video Series

As a business owner, it is vital that you establish a blog for your business that relates specifically to your target audience. Your blog should identify you as the authority for the subject that you are discussing and that is of interest to your potential clients. Provide quality information related to your subject in the form of tips, resources, and courses of actions.

The mechanics of setting up a blog are honestly not that difficult. A resource was shared with me in the SSWT Elite membership forum that contains video tutorials. 

The video series by the 10-minute Expert shows how to set-up a Wordpress blog The tutorials are comprised of 10 videos. Topics are:

 

• How to Create a MySQL Database Using HostGator.com
• How to Download and Install WordPress
• How to Configure WordPress Options Part 1
• How to Configure WordPress Options Part 2
• How to Add a Post or Static Page to WordPress
• How To Manage Blog Posts in WordPress
• How to Manage Comments In WordPress
• How to Manage The Blogroll in Wordpress
• How To Change, Edit, or Install a Wordpress Theme
• How to Configure WordPress Plugins

The Point

It couldn’t be made any easier. Simple step-by-step instructions on how to set-up a Wordpress blog provided in short segments that are easy to digest. Makes it as easy as pumpkin pie.

TweetLater - Follow the leader, but which leader .… or just simply lead?

Recently there has been much to do about the use of Twitter add-ons and extras such as TweetLater that can be set-up to welcome new followers via public reply or direct message; automatically follow new followers; and set-up scheduled tweets. See my post How Do You Say It’s a Pleasure to Meet You! Too much of a to-do about well, not much. It’s so easy to get swept up into the roar of crowd about what is considered proper etiquette, acceptable and deemed appropriate.

Since I am a newbie of sorts in the social networking scene, I have fond myself jumping this way and that way. All the while wanting to do what is considered socially correct in the business networking circles; aka - the majority in Twitterville. After switching the Outllook rules that forward notices to TweetLater on and off several times over as many weeks, I think I’ve had enough. Actually, I know I’ve had enough.

I use TweetLater to acknowledge new followers. I don’t spam them with a link to my website. My website is in my profile so there isn’t a need. I simply want a timely tweet to let my new followers know that I appreciate their interest. You can’t be hooked to Twitter 24/7. I can’t – between building my Virtual Assistant practice and raising a family that involves keeping up with an active 2 year old – their ain’t no way, Joe!

The Point

As the adage goes - you can please some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time. So I’m pleasing myself and taking the lead. TweetLater helps me manage those that follow me. I can then go back as time allows and view a new follower’s site, see if I want to follow them (9 out 10 times I do) and send a more personal reply commenting on one of their blog posts or their website.

Photo by martellobrasile

Viral Marketing - The Point, In Other’s Words …..

Marketing Tactic - Focus developed through a lens.

Building a static website can be both a thrill and a chore.  The thrill lies in developing a unique presence on the internet - a proud moment for an entrepreneur that toils through what can be a long process.  The website is also a device that must always be tweaked and edited as your business grows and evolves – therein lies the chore.

A quick and easy solution to develop a defined focus on a segment within your business when time is of the essence and of limitation - build a Squidoo Lens; the brainchild of Seth Godin.  Wikipedia  defines Squidoo Lens  as:

 ….. a network of user-generated lenses—single pages that highlight one person’s point of view, recommendations, or expertise. Lenses can be about anything, such as ideas, people or places, hobbies and sports, pets or products, philosophy, and politics.

Building a lens can be as quick and simple as 15 minutes spent drafting text or it can be more in-depth in layout with added gadgets and HTML.  The following are a few uses for a Squidoo Lens:

• Feature new services
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Promote a new e-book or other give-away
• Reviews – books, software, services
• A “how to” – for your potential customers
• Top tools or sites relevant to your industry
• Launch an opinion survey
• Discuss new business trends

Here are two examples of recent Squidoo Lenses that I created.  The first lens is a series of the most commonly asked questions by those unfamiliar with the Virtual Assistant Industry - Virtual Assistant - Most Frequently Asked Questions.  This is a great marketing tool to use on Twitter when someone asks a question about a Virtual Assistant and our industry.  With Twitter’s 140 characters limit – the link can be tweeted with maximum impact.   

The second lens features new Internet Marketing Services in my Virtual Assistant practice.  As a recent graduate of VAClassroom’s Interment Marketing Virtual Assistant program, I created a Squidoo Lens that promotes the services I provide to entrepreneurs assisting with their internet marketing campaigns - Internet Marketing Virtual Assistant. 

The Point

Do you a new focus within your business that you want to promote quickly?  Need an easy marketing tool but don’t have time to revamp your website?  Create a Squidoo Lens that features your business and you.  An added plus - the backlink to your website assists with SEO. 

Photo by rabih

Blogging Inspiration - Andy Rooney finds inspiration in his kitchen drawer.

Throughout the years, I’ve always enjoyed 60 Minutes.  The in-depth look at what is current in the news.  The interviews provides a window into other’s thought process and the investigations intrigue the detective in me.  My favorite segment though is at the end.  The last 2.5 minutes spent with Andy Rooney.  Armed with his opinion and ready to tout off on cue, he looks straight into the camera and presents his view; sometimes brash, always laced with humor and practicality, and a bit of sarcasm tossed in for good measure. 

Did he pave the way for video blogging?   Wikipedia defines video blogging as: 

Video blogging, sometimes shortened to vlogging is a form of blogging for which the medium is video. Entries are made regularly and often combine embedded video or a video link with supporting text, images, and other metadata.

The structure is certainly there – recording of short snippets of video that is shared with others.  Mr. Rooney is on every week at the end of broadcast.  He always has some type of supporting prop that adds visual to his video.  Mr. Rooney uses his platform to speak his mind on happenings in his world or ours; to rant at what irritates him; to show others a different view; and to connect with his audience (his followers). 

So where does Mr. Rooney get his ideas?  I caught the clip below when it aired last month. 

 

The Point

This post – This Point is to me as well as you.  You don’t have to look far and search deep for a meaningful subject that will set the world on fire with words.  Just write.  Blog about the mundane and the simple as well as the complex.  Not all your posts are going to be stellar and be nominated for The Blogger’s Choice Awards.  Take a lesson from Mr. Rooney and open up your “kitchen drawer”.  Each post will resonate with someone or maybe just your own self.  

Consistent + Professional = Results! The proof of the pudding is in the eating.

Working in this virtual internet-based world, blunders happen, links break, and typo’s happen when we’re bleary eyed from long hours. Yet our mistakes take center stage to the fresh eye; our site visitor, potential client, competitor or peer. You never know who will discover you tomorrow. It is vital to put your best foot forward at all times. A professional appearance, even when you work virtually must be a priority.

Recently, I’ve come across a couple of blunders in blogs and websites. I searched for the site owner’s direct email address to alert them to the issue. In one case, it was one of my peers. An industry leader and someone I look up to as a guide for my business. They are also my competitor. Even so, it reflects on our industry - Virtual Assistant industry as a whole. My reasoning to tell them is simple. If one of my peers discovered a blunder or a typo that I missed during proofreading I would truly appreciate their efforts to seek me out and alert me to the issue. I didn’t do it with a big read sharpie like I’ve seen my husband do on his student’s term papers. I did it with respect and from a place of good will.

The Point

Proof of the pudding is in the eating – results are what counts. In order to achieve results, a consistent and professional appearance must be maintained. After putting in long days of drafting and writing to get a project completed, go back in a couple of days and reread what you’ve done. Tweak your posts; learn from your mistakes for the next time. Create templates for projects to simplify the task. Regularly check links on your website and blog to ensure they are not broken. Ensure that you’re landing page used in various advertising campaigns are loading quickly and work in all browsers. You can work in your pj’s if you like but your work shouldn’t look as if you did.
Photo by jonno259

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