Someday Syndrome Interview

Filed Under Melodee's Musings, Virtual Assistance

A couple of weeks ago I posted that Someday Syndrome by Alex Fayle was one of my favorite blogs. Alex is a Someday Mentor. He can help you through the Someday Syndrome that affects your life:

I’ve struggled with all of those “somedays” at one time or another.

I’m mentioning Alex’s blog again because he has posted his interview with me today! Stop by and check it out :-)

And check out his new ebook, too!

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Add These Blogs to Your Feed

Filed Under Melodee's Musings

It’s time for another list of my favorite blogs.

This time it’s not going to be just Virtual Assistant blogs. I’m listing a few of the sixty-some blogs that I pull into my Outlook RSS feed folder. (Maybe I should ask Mrs. Malapert to post a tutorial on how easy it is to do that. Hmmm…)

Try some of these:

That’s all I have time to list today. If you know of some great blogs, please leave the name in a comment so I can check them out. You can never have too many blogs in your RSS folder, you know :-)

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Two Amazing Women

Filed Under Baby Boomers, Melodee's Musings, Women Entrepreneurs

I talked with two amazing women today – Lucinda Cross of Corporate Mom Dropouts and Gwen Orwiler of Discover Your Dharma.

Lucinda (a business midwife :-) ) helps women become successful entrepreneurs while balancing the other parts of their home life. We just talked on the phone for a little while, but by the time we were done, I was completely motivated to start a project that’s been rattling around in my brain for months. (More about that later.) Lucinda does “Business Birthing”, coaching, and has some great events – like an Incubator that provides comprehensive support for start-ups or new projects. Check out her events here.

Gwen is an engaging Baby Boomer who coaches other Boomer Women seeking their ENCORE career path. She’s a joy to talk with and had me laughing through the entire call. (What do you mean I have an accent? Wisconsinites don’t have accents! :-) ) We had a great time discussing how Boomer Women Entrepreneurs are going to take over the business world. You can check out her Boomer blog here.

It’s interesting how an email, or a chance (?) stop at a website can be the start of a wonderful conversation. Have you had that happen to you?

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Spa for Your Soul – Free Teleclass

Filed Under Melodee's Musings

My life coach, Mary Kay Aide of This is Your Life Coaching, is hosting a free teleclass on Tuesday, July 28, 2009 at 12:00 pm CDT. The name of the teleclass is “5 Tools to Rejuvenate Your Life!“

During the teleclass, Mary Kay will share 5 tools to help you feel more relaxed, balanced and excited about your life. And I guarantee – that’s exactly what she’ll do!

Mary Kay also has an inspirational blog, Spa for your Soul, that’s filled with personal growth tips. And don’t forget to listen to her podcasts from the Connie and Fish radio show on Z104. She’ll have you laughing and learning while you listen. You’ll find the links in the sidebar of her blog.

So, join me in attending Mary Kay’s free teleclass next Tuesday! Email Mary Kay to get the phone number and access code you’ll need to call in to the teleclass. If you’re not able to attend on that day, she’ll email a link to the audio when it’s available. Enjoy!

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My Stroke of Insight

Filed Under Books R Me, Melodee's Musings

Yesterday was Independence Day and I was tired after a hard week of Virtual Assisting so I spent the day reading a book: My Stroke of Insight, by Jill Bolte Taylor, Ph.D.

This book has been sitting in my “to be read” pile since it was published in 2006, waiting patiently for a day when I had the time and the brain-power to devour it. Yesterday was it.

Jill Bolte Taylor is a neuroanatomist – a brain scientist – who suffered a massive stroke one morning in 1996. She describes her thoughts and feelings as the stroke quietly stole her access to the left hemisphere of her brain. She lost the ability to communicate with the world around her, but gained an overwhelming feeling of peace and “oneness” with the universe. It took eight years for Jill to repair her brain, but she was never again the person she was before her stroke. She believes the stroke was one of the best things that ever happened to her.

Here are some of my favorite passages from this amazing book:

My entire self-concept shifted as I no longer perceived myself as a single, a solid, an entity with boundaries that separated me from the entities around me. I understood that at the most elementary level, I am a fluid.

If the boundary between what you can do and what you cannot do is not clearly defined, then you don’t know what to try next.

My stroke of insight would be: peace is only a thought away, and all we have to do to access it is silence the voice of our dominating left mind.

Although there are certain limbic system (emotional) programs what can be triggered automatically, it takes less than 90 seconds for one of these programs to be triggered, surge through our body, and then be completely flushed out of our blood stream. … If, however, I remain angry after those 90 seconds have passed, then it is because I have chosen to let that circuit continue to run.

If you have any interest in neurology, or consciousness, or know someone who has suffered a stroke, this is a must read!

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6 Life Lessons I Learned This Week

Filed Under Melodee's Musings

It’s been a busy week, but, as usual, I’ve learned some important life lessons along the way. Here are a few of them:

  1. Exercise can help stave off Parkinson’s disease (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/parkinsons/)
  2. Before sending a wire transfer, make sure the receiving bank accepts wire transfers – not all small banks do.
  3. Clearing off my desk at the end of the day makes the next morning more enjoyable.
  4. If I don’t schedule time to write and post my blog, it won’t happen.
  5. To end wrist pain from too much non-ergonomic “mousing”, rest the base of your palm – not your wrist – on the wrist pad.(http://www.yorku.ca/dohs/ergonomics/mousewristrest.htm)
  6. Pacemakers are good things.

What life lessons did you learn this past week?

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May is Get Caught Reading Month!

Filed Under Books R Me, Melodee's Musings

Reading is one of my absolute favorite things to do. Always has been. I tied for first place (darn you Gary Olson!) in a 4th grade contest by reading 101 books during the school year. I especially liked the Little House on the Prairie books that year. It’s great that there’s a month that promotes the idea that you should Get Caught Reading! As you can see from the photo, my nephew and niece (Erik & Elise Staff) “got caught reading” in their PJs :-)

These days I read all sorts of things – books, e-books, magazines, e-zines, blog posts, cereal boxes (although they’re not nearly as interesting as they used to be) and whatever else I can find. I just read a fantastic series of books – the Weather Warden Series, by Rachel Caine. The first book of the series, Ill Wind, grabbed me right away. Of course, reading about a female character that can control the weather and see auras, who drives Mustangs (very fast), loves the color purple, and hooks up with a seriously hot djinn – well, what’s not to like? I whipped through the seven books in the series and am waiting impatiently for the next book to come out in August.

For May, I’m going to finish listening to The Joy Diet by Martha Beck on CD (very inspirational), and then listen to The Power of Less by Leo Babauta which is going to help me streamline my life and free me from clutter! I also have a library book called Out of Our Heads: Why You Are Not Your Brain, and Other Lessons from the Biology of Consciousness by Alva Noë. Then I’m hoping I’ll have time to read a book given to me be a good friend who understands my fascination with molecular biology – Abraham Lincoln’s DNA and other Adventures in Genetics by Philip R. Reilly. (I do love my science!)

And, of course, there will be lots of blog posts and cereal boxes mixed in during the month.

I’m always on the lookout for good stuff to read, so tell me – how are you going to celebrate Get Caught Reading month?

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Butt Wiggle Diet Went on Vacation

Filed Under Melodee's Musings, Weight Loss

As I posted earlier, I’ve lost 15 pounds on the Butt Wiggle Diet. (Woo hoo!) If you’re new to my blog, the Butt Wiggle Diet is a specialized routine I have created for Virtual Assistants – and anyone else who sits on their duff all day long. It consists of rock music, a chair, and lots of butt wigglin’ to the beat! OK – so you also need to track your calories in and out (very easy to do with fitday.com) but the butt wigglin’ is the most important part.

Unfortunately, I went on vacation for two weeks and kinda forgot to practice my butt wigglin’ so I gained back a few pounds. Hey! I “deserved” to eat whatever I wanted – I was on vacation!

Fortunately, I lost them again once I got home and back into my chair. (Double Woo hoo!)

Why is it soooo difficult to lose a pound and soooo easy to gain it?? What was Mother Nature thinking anyway??

If you’re looking for more exercises to do at your desk, Sahar of Fat Fight TV provided Problogger with some great tips here.

If you’re on the Butt Wiggle Diet, I hope it’s working for you. Just don’t forget to get your wigglin’ in every day, even if you’re on vacation :-)

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Be a Better Virtual Assistant by Exercising

Filed Under Melodee's Musings, Virtual Assistance

No, I don’t mean by exercising your right to vote, or exercising your faith, or even exercising your dog. I mean exercising your body!

When you do aerobic exercise, you shove oxygen up into your brain. Oxygen that it needs to create new memories. It also helps you be happier and more relaxed. Amazing stuff, exercise!

I know if I don’t exercise, in a few days my brain starts to get that fuzzy, “where am I and why am I here?” feeling. I’m actually more tired if I don’t exercise, which seems backwards, but it’s true!

I find that my best ideas happen while I’m exercising, too. Maybe it’s because I’m not sitting at my desk trying to force myself to be creative. (Creativity apparently doesn’t like to be pressured.) When I’m doing an exercise video that I’ve done many times before, my mind gets to wander around in those musty, unused parts of my brain. (I must have lots of those.) I pick an untapped fact here, a long-lost memory there, and put them together. Voila! A new idea! Possibly even a solution to a client’s problem. Now that could be worth something :-)

Give exercise a try. Let me know if it makes a difference for you and your business.

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Butt Wiggle Diet Update!

Filed Under Melodee's Musings, Weight Loss

It’s 15 down and 10 to go! Pounds, that is.

The Butt Wiggle Diet is still working. (See how skinny the butt is looking?) And it’s all due to Fitday.com. And exercising has helped a bit, too :-)

What’s your favorite exercise DVD, Melodee?

Great question, Daisy. (She’s the voice in my head. Hmmm, wonder why her name is the same as my mother’s?)

My favorite DVD for the first exercise day of the week (usually Monday, or Tuesday, sometimes Friday) is Leslie Sansone’s 5-mile Walk at Home. Now, I don’t do the whole 5 miles (that would be crazy!) but I do the 3-mile with weights option which is 2-miles of fast walking and then 1 slow mile with light weights. OK, I don’t do the last mile, but the first 2 miles really give me a nice morning wake-up.

The best part of this DVD is the “Music Only” option. Leslie is a sweetheart, but listening to her pep talk more than 20 times is more than I can take. This way I can just watch what she’s doing and listen to the music. I think all exercise DVDs should come with that option. I also love the Prevention exercise DVDs.

Daisy: You’re doing more exercise than that – right?

Well, when you live in Wisconsin there’s always snow shoveling and shivering to increase the calorie burn. And, don’t forget to keep your butt wiggling in your chair while you’re listening to some rockin’ music!

I’m always looking for tips on making this weight loss journey palatable so please leave a comment with your favorites. I’d especially like to know how you work chocolate into your weight loss plans. (I’ve discovered Swiss Miss Sensible Sweets Fat Free Hot Chocolate – only 50 calories!)

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