My son told me a few days ago that his girlfriend discovered my blog. That puts a whole new paranoid spin on my blogging, as you can probably imagine. I’m now re-evaluating stuff wondering if I’m setting a good example for a young lady that I know personally. I have determined that I probably am not… so I’m now enjoying the cool, comfortable sense of relief that such a realization brings.

On the bright side… she read the blog about my inability to get a date to see Brokeback Mountain…

And she has muscled up her feminine wiles to extract a promise from my son that he will view this particular, controversial movie with me. *Glee*… so having a son grown up enough to have a girlfriend… maybe it’s not such a bad thing.

We women… we have to stick together, eh? :O)

Lets see… the DVD is going to be released next week — over spring break — so we should be able to watch it once a day for a WEEK! (I think we will, even if it’s a HORRID movie, just for the pure pleasure of torturing him — and having someone on the other side flanking him and pushing him WITH me in a direction he doesn’t want to go.)

Hmm…. I wonder if this is how my father felt, all those years, being outnumbered three to one by the girls in the house. Poor thing. Bwahahahaha!

*Ahem* (Thanks Brittney!) *wink*

Being an Internet entrepreneur, you would think I’d already learned to take change as it comes — even to welcome it, and to stir things up when change doesn’t come along of its own accord. Well… not so much, I’m afraid. Change is tough. It’s a difficult undertaking and there is so much of it going on in the private sector of my life at this point, that I’m finding it hard to even grapple with it enough to blog.

Imagine… ME having difficulty blogging.

It’s like having to believe that pigs really DO fly.

Let’s see… First, there’s the possibility of a physical relocation. That’s always pleasant. Then there’s the change in schools for the kids, if the change in home base actually materializes. I’m not upset to have Derrick possibly moving to a new high school — so long as he can stay there for his final two years of school and graduate from the same place. It’s got to be better than the current high school. Alex, on the otherhand, has an excellent elementary school. I worry about moving her. She didn’t do well with the move from her original elementary school. To be so outgoing, losing friends and having to make new ones… it’s a tough prospect for her.

I can work from anywhere, so the possibility of a move — other than the basics of moving my office — is not a big deal for me. My 800 number will travel with me and my mailing address can be anywhere, so no issues there. My business is on the web and a physical relocation doesn’t really affect my websites, other than some changes to my GEO metatags. *Shrug* Sure, it will be a hassle, but nothing too overwhelming. Now, moving the family… that’s a bigger deal.

On the bright side, we’ll probably be closer to my extended family with this proposed new move and we will definitely be closer to Wayne’s… if the move actually happens.

I’ve determined that the definition of hell for me is “limbo” — I simply cannot bear waiting around for things to start falling together. I have to push and shove and urge things on… probably prematurely… so that I feel I’m accomplishing something. It’s a horrid personality trait. I am so impatient with myself and with my own situations, and yet, can be patient with clients and theirs. I can be patient with my friends… and have NO patience for foolishness with my children and hubby. What’s up with that?

Anyway, this summer will be challenging. No matter how things shake out. There is so much to do, so much to consider, to plan for and even to coordinate… and there will be many times more to do if the move actually happens. And the farm. My dream location will become our vacation spot. It will be our “getaway” for a few years, rather than our “home base” and that brings a sense of loss. I know that I’ve accomplished what I came out to the woods to accomplish — I’ve found myself, established my place in the sun. I even stretch and soak up sunbeams from where my life is situated now — compared to the cold, unknown place where I lived before my farm “adventure” came to pass. But still, there is a grieving, and a very real sense of loss for me.

It seems odd to me that, while I work with real estate agents every day — that since Realtors and brokers are some of my top clients– that the thought of making my own move… well it brings that sickening lump of dread to my stomach. I look around at all my “simplification” and wonder where all this stuff will go. I wonder why I have it all. I wonder if I should keep any of it. I feel the overwhelming urge to purge myself of all this extra “stuff” — and that lasts approximately 20 minutes after I’ve pulled everything from all the closets and chests and shelves in any given room. Then I sit there, in a sea of “stuff” and gaze at the wonder of the volume of it… and become immobile.

There I stay for quite some time wondering when, exactly, I became so “in need” of belongings.

So, now you know why I’ve not written. Why I’ve been to scattered, mentally, to sort out my thoughts enough to blog. When I’m not working, I’m re-evaluating every single “thing” in my life — the physical things, anyway. And, when I’m working, I have to shut down the personal part of my brain, so I can provide the caliber of service my clients deserve — and so I can continue to make a living, build my business and move my career along.

Life is full of challenges… and stuff… these days. I hope to have some of them sorted and conquered, and the rest properly disposed, before I blog again… and I hope to blog again in a couple of days.

Last month we covered how to select an excellent URL to help build your brand. Since April 26th is World Intellectual Property Day, I wanted to cover a few pointers on how to protect your own intellectual property, your brand, your current projects and even your future endeavors. Here is how you do it …What is Cybersquatting?

Cybersquatters are individuals or companies that buy registration rights for popular, trademarked and established business names with the purpose of reselling to the rightful owner or diverting traffic from the rightful brand-owner to other sites. A few years ago, this was only a problem for large, national and international companies… think “McDonalds and Wal-Mart” – but as the importance of local search increases, cybersquatting for smaller company names and typosquatting (purchasing variations and misspellings of popular names) will be on the rise. This means there is an increasing threat to smaller companies like yours. Brands like yours. Names like yours.

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Although I don’t use my Treo for everything like I once did… (I know I can, if it’s needed, but I don’t make a habit of trying to run my entire business from my phone)… I still rely on it for many “above and beyond” functions. Among those functions that I use on a “many times a day” basis, is the eWallet. I have both the desktop and the Palm version and I swear by them. In fact, when I met with a client for all-day consulting session on Saturday, the use of a password wallet came up. She said that she just set all her passwords the same, to keep it easy to remember… being the security freak that I am, I pitched a mini-fit!

I told her that keeping things secure is something that is required in our modern, digital world… and that being able to look up those little bits of information was essential…

I even recommended the eWallet program for her, despite the fact that she doesn’t own a Treo. I suggested she get the desktop version. I love mine. It’s what helps me keep things all organized and straight. And… I can backup the data (still password protected) onto a portable hard drive, my backup external drives, or even a thumbdrive.

It makes looking up the information (that I need many times a day) quick and easy.

For me, it’s an essential application — both on my desktop and on my Treo. Then today, moments ago, I got an email announcing a new upgrade to the program, and inviting me to come download my own free. I love vendors that give me free upgrades and treat me like a valued customer. It helps me to feel that my business is appreciated. The new version adds 256-bit RC4 key encryption for a more secure lock-down of my personal information.

So, if you are interested in learning more about the eWallet program, visit them at: www.iliumsoft.com. I no longer use their other programs (ListPro and DockWare Pro) but I can’t imagine running my business, keeping up with my software serial numbers, my essential personal information and the slew of online username/password combinations without this little gem.

And, for those of you using the 700w — they also offer a windows mobile version! A flavor for every appetite!

Challenges abound when you have an ex. Anyone who has one, or knows someone who has one, understands. I actually had a friend ask me yesterday if I killed someone brutally in a previous life to deserve my own ex nightmares. I had to laugh… ok, maybe it was more of a whine. But then it hit me… and I figured it out.

OK
OJ
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Into every life, a little rain must fall. That’s a given. But, in my life, I have a great husband, healthy and happy children, a job that I adore, both parents (still married to each other) only a phone call away — and always available for me no matter what happens, true friends that are never “too busy,” no matter what’s going on in their own lives… basically, I have it made.

So my rain, my balancing and equilibrium to this much GOOD in my life… well, it had to be something, right?

This hit me yesterday when I was returning from a client appointment. I had two Indianapolis real estate agents (with a great new service business) come down and spend Saturday in a fairly intensive 10-hour consultation session. We made an incredible amount of progress, and as we left, they (a husband-wife team), were so sweet and thanked me for my time (especially on a Saturday) to meet with them. I don’t usually work on Saturdays, but this was enjoyable and I’m glad I met with them. It was a seriously productive day. And, I love days when I make good progress. I adore my clients — each and every one, and these two are particularly special.

I don’t work with people I don’t truly enjoy and admire. I don’t have any “jerks” in my professional world. I do what I enjoy most, with and for people I honestly like, and I get paid well to do the work. I’m not sure, but I think that may be the definition of heaven.

So, that gives me a new perspective on the ex situation. Yeah, maybe I don’t get why some people are so negative and act so ugly, why they must try to sabotage other people’s happiness in an attempt to achieve some of their own. When I’m not irritated to the point of anger, I honestly feel sorry for that personality type.

So, driving home last night, it hits me… I scraped and sacrificed and worked around the clock for years to get to this point. I thought on multiple occasions during the first three years in business that I’d never make a go of if. I wondered if I should give up and get a “real” job but, I never gave up.

This is my reward. Making my living by helping good people to do good work and build their businesses and find their own bliss… that’s a pretty dang wonderful calling. So yeah, into each life a little rain must fall. And, thankfully, my rain isn’t my job, my husband or my children (usually). My rain, when it falls, doesn’t even really matter… if I can just manage to keep the rest in perspective.

Indianapolis
Indianapolis’s
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am-out
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sabotage
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I’ve had an incredibly busy week. I’ve not even blogged (and today is Thursday!) One of the many things I accomplished yesterday was going to get my son signed up for his classes for next year at the local high school. While there, I had a conversation with the principal about the possibility of Derrick leaving a couple weeks early to go to Colorado with my father.

I figure that a trip out west would probably be more educational than the last two weeks of school. I remember how little was actually accomplished the last couple of weeks, and apparently even less is accomplished these days if the tales my children tell me about watching movies and “free days” are valid.

The response I got was a bit surprising… (more…)

I just discovered a cool tool for “virtually” creating a virtual office — or a home office — or even an office in any available space. It’s brought to you by the folks at Ikea and is another great example of interactive software created to make the buying experience a bit “cooler” when it’s all “geeked out.”

It’s all about value-added these days, and this is no exception:

Visit IKEA to redo now… so long as you want to do your “redo” with their stuff. Always a catch… isn’t there?