Monica Ricci

I've Moved! (My Blog, that is)

2006-06-09T07:05:00.000-04:00

Just a quick note to say THANKS for stopping by... but I've pulled up stakes and moved. Catch me at my new home on the blogosphere. See you there!

~Monica

Thankful

2005-11-27T18:47:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because, well, frankly, I'm seriously into food! But Thanksgiving also evokes some of my favorite childhood memories of being at my grandparents' house with all my aunts, uncles and cousins, enjoying the smells and sounds of the beginning holiday season. It just warms me up inside remembering those wonderful carefree times. .

Because it is our household policy to not travel at the holidays, our Thanksgivings vary from year to year, depending on who is available and staying in town. This year, we spent the holiday with a small group of friends, dining on traditional Thanksgiving fare. Roast turkey, mashed potatoes, my homemade cranberry relish, my famous baked corn pudding, and much, much more. It was a lovely dinner, but I like to focus on being together around the table. Sure, the food is important but it always comes second to spending time with those we love.

I hope your Thanksgiving was as wonderful (and filling!) as mine.

Getting Organized -- It's a Head Game

2005-11-08T21:56:00.000-05:00

We all have areas of our lives we'd like to be more organized. Your area of disorganization might be something as small as wanting your pantry to be easier to navigate or craving order in your email inbox or it might be as large as every room in your home needing an overhaul. No matter what your organizing challenge, one of the most important steps in conquering it is the your attitude and the thoughts you produce.

James Allen, author of the timeless classic, As A Man Thinketh, wrote that as human beings, we are the product of our thoughts. He said we literally become what we think about. If you're feeling stuck and disorganized in any area of your life, if you're feeling like a slave to destructive habits such as procrastination or self-sabotage, consider that changing your thoughts can change your life for the better.

The beliefs you hold about yourself are based in the past and in the present; you believe what you have seen and you act in accordance with those beliefs. You believe you're disorganized, and so you are. However, if you can change your beliefs you can change your results. Whether you want to lose fifty pounds or change your disorganized ways, taking control of your thoughts and words will change what you believe to be true about yourself and your life.

The first step is to choose one area of your life that you'd like to change and become more organized. Let's say you want to eliminate the habit of procrastinating. Each morning when you wake up, and before you go to bed each night, say aloud to yourself, "I am an organized person. I handle every task right away and I enjoy doing each one in a timely manner. I accomplish great things because I meet every challenge head on."

The second step is to change the self-talk -- that's the endless tapes that run in your head. You may not even be aware of them, but try to tune in to them. They'll tell you what they're saying if you just pay attention. When you notice yourself procrastinating, stop and immediately think a positive thought to combat the old negative tape playing in your head that says, "I'll do that later." You must stop it mid-sentence and replace that destructive thought with your affirmation of, "I'm an organized person and I handle every task right away." It's not enough to stop a negative thought -- you must replace it with a positive thought, and preferably two! Your thoughts are immensely powerful, so try this exercise for one week and see if you don't begin to feel, think, and most importantly act differently.

November's Suggested Reading List

2005-11-06T22:13:00.000-05:00

I decided to create a monthly suggested reading list here for you. This is the first month, so we'll see if I can keep it up on a regular basis! I've pretty much given up on reading fiction. I can't remember the last one I read, actually. One of my clients loaned me two fiction books, but thus far I haven't cracked either one and I tend to not return borrowed books so I better get them back to her asap before they become part of my permanent collection!

Anyway, this month I'm recommending three books.

The Success Principles, by Jack Canfield.
If there's anyone qualified to write a self-help book on success, it's Jack Canfield, who's worked his way from scraping by as a teacher to holding a Guinness world record for having seven books simultaneously on The New York Times® Best Sellers list.

As a coauthor of the Chicken Soup for the Soul® series, he's sold more than 80 million books, and now lives "in a beautiful California estate" with his days of dining on spaghetti and tomato paste long behind him. "All you have to do is decide what it is you want, believe you deserve it, and practice the principles in this book," he says, and success is yours.

His advice is straightforward (examples: "reject rejection" and "surround yourself with successful people"), but rather derivative, with quotes from the likes of JFK, Colin Powell, Aldous Huxley, and fellow motivation author Napoleon Hill.Canfield's definition of success is primarily monetary, and he includes plenty of anecdotes depicting average folks who saved themselves from the brink of bankruptcy after following his principles. He could tone down the braggadocio; readers don't need to know that he's stayed in resorts in Hawaii, Italy, Australia, and Morocco. Despite those gripes, his cheerleader-caliber enthusiasm should benefit anyone looking to improve their lot in life. --Erica Jorgensen

The Wealthy Spirit, by Chellie Campbell.
The Wealthy Spirit is the only book that offers an approach to achieving both spiritual and financial wealth. Through a series of daily affirmations that focus on the reader’s internal strength and capacity for change, this book will set them on a path toward personal enlightenment and wealth in body, mind, and spirit.

Using a day-to-day approach, readers will learn six keys:
1. Think positive. Like mind over matter, mind over money begins with believing you deserve it and can get it.

2. Send out ships. You can wait for your ship to come in, but if you don’t send any out, it’s going to be a long wait.

3. Count your money. Money is a game and you have to know the score. The money score will tell you how well you’re doing at steps one and two.

4. Swim with dolphins. Being "in the swim" will depend largely on who you’re swimming with. Find "your people" and avoid sharks.

5. Survive the storms. You must weather interior storms as well as exterior ones. Persistence is key.

6. Seek balance and enlightenment. Only from their perspective will you know when you have "enough."

The Wealthy Spirit offers readers peace of mind to help them build financial muscle and a successful, stress-free life.

The Aladdin Factor, by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen (co-creators of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series)
Personal happiness, creative fulfillment, professional success, freedom from fear, and a new promise of joy: they're yours for the asking. Anything is possible, if you dare to ask -- and The Aladdin Factor will show you how!

I hope you'll check out these books on Amazon.com or your local bookseller.

Chicken Soup Author Kicks In A Killer Endorsement!

2005-10-01T15:00:00.000-04:00

I just received notice that I got a killer endorsement from one of my heroes, Jack Canfield, author of oh, only about a zillion books, but most notably the Chicken Soup For The Soul® series and most recently, The Success Principles™.

Jack's endorsement of my new book, Organize Your Office In No Time:

"Monica's experience in her industry shines through in Organize Your Office In No Time. Her real life client stories, product recommendations and strategies for getting organized are right on target. You'll be more effective, productive and thrilled with your office space in no time!"
~ Jack Canfield, Co-author of Chicken Soup for the Soul and The Success Principles ™

Does that rock or what?

The New Thirty And The Keys

2005-09-30T21:40:00.000-04:00

"Old friends take a long time to make."

That's the sentiment embroidered on a pillow that was given to me several years ago by my dear friend Melanie. You may remember that in August, she and her husband came along on my surprise birthday cruise to Alaska. This was our second vacation together in eight weeks! Woohoo!

Melanie and I met in Mrs. Grider's kindergarten class in September of 1970. We were both five years old. We became fast friends and now, 35 years later, we still remain very close, despite the fact that she and her husband live several states away from us. We decided that since we were both turning forty this year, we should take a girls' weekend away to celebrate. By the way, if you haven't heard, forty is "The New Thirty". And smile when you say that.

We chose Key West for our vacation destination and boy was it fun! I managed to set up a book signing at the only Borders on Key West, so I did that for a few hours one day while we were there. (one photo of us at Borders is posted above). We flew into Miami on Saturday morning, rented a convertible and drove the three plus hours down to Key West. That leg of the trip was one of my favorite parts, actually, as well as the ride back up at the end of the weekend. Riding in the car, we had a chance to just hang out together, listen to music, see the sights along the highway and enjoy each other's company.

When we arrived in Key West, we were pleased to find that our bed and breakfast was lovely! It is an adorable little quaint place called The Popular House on William Street. Melanie had taken care of finding the place and making the reservations and she chose well! They had several rooms, all were charming and beautiful, and ours was on the top floor overlooking the town. A few of the pictures above show our room, as well as the view from our balcony.

We spent four days in Key West shopping, eating, shopping, drinking, shopping and just enjoying the island. Did I mention we shopped? We ate breakfast each morning outside on the lanai behind the B&B, which was a wonderful way to start the day.

One of our days, we booked an excursion on the sailboat Danger, crewed by the very handsome (and physically fit!) Danny and Haig, as well as Danny's girlfriend Jenny. The excursion included sailing, kayaking to see the mangroves, and snorkeling. The crew served us wine and snacks, and we got to know the other people on the boat, which was a lot of fun.

Back on land, we held our own Key Lime Pie taste test, the winner ended up being The Blond Giraffe. We also ate at a Caroline's on Duval Street, as well as the Half Shell Raw Bar and a Cuban place called El Maison de Pepe on Mallory Square, where I tried my first Key West Mojito. Yum!

Here's the basic recipe for a Mojito, in case you want to make one yourself:

1.5 ounces of light rum (Bacardi says to use their brand of course but any will work)
12 fresh mint leaves
Half of a fresh lime
4 teaspoons of sugar (or 2 Tbls of simple syrup)
Club soda

Muddle the mint leaves and lime in your glass and cover with sugar (or simple syrup). Add ice to the top of the glass. Add the rum and fill the glass with club soda. YUM-O-RIFIC!

All in all, we had a fantastic weekend and we have decided that our girls long weekend away should be an annual event. Got any good suggestions for next year?

First Book Signing Was A Succcess

2005-09-20T17:35:00.000-04:00

Well, my book Organize Your Office In No Time was published on August 15th, and I held my first book signing on Sunday September 18th at a Borders in Atlanta. It was a good steady turnout (75 people came by in three hours) which isn't bad for a first time author promoting a brand new book. If you were one of the folks who came by to say hello and support me, I thank you. Here are a few pics of the book signing event from Sunday afternoon...

A Girl's Day Shopping

2005-09-09T09:41:00.000-04:00

I admit, I'm not a typical female in many respects. The joke is when my girlfriends need the perspective of a man, they call me. :) As I get older, however, I realize I'm turning more and more into a "girl". Several few years ago I began to catch myself looking at dresses in the mall. "Hmmm how odd", I thought. I started to wear makeup a lot more often, and not just mascara. These days I'm into pretty undergarments, fun sparkly jewelry, and more feminine clothes. I even have a few more pairs of shoes than I have had in the past. So bit by bit, I'm stepping into my own version of "girlhood" that is just showing itself now.

Yesterday I spent the day with a dear girlfriend of mine and we went shopping. I'm not a huge fan of shopping really, but somehow when I go with Lisa, I always have fun and sometimes I even buy things. In fact, I think she may be a bad influence on my wallet! Anyway, yesterday during our girl's day out, I ended up with a cute new necklace and a few really great greeting cards. I've been into greeting cards for many years. From the time I was a teen, I'd keep a sizeable stash of them on hand so I'd have the appropriate card at a moment's notice. I still do that, but these days I'm even more concerned and focused on the verbiage of the cards than ever before. Yesterday I found a fabulous card that I doubt I'll ever send to anyone. I'll keep it for myself because it's the perfect encapsulation of my life's philosophy and I have it hanging above my desk. It helps me refocus my energy when I need a boost and it reminds me of why I'm busting my butt to build my business. It says LIFE ISN'T ABOUT FINDING YOURSELF. LIFE IS ABOUT CREATING YOURSELF.

To me, it says, "Take charge. Decide what you want. Decide what you don't want. Decide who you want to be. Then take action every day to move in that direction."

So even though I bought that card just for me, I'm sharing it with you. Start creating!

So It's 4:00 a.m. and The Phone Rings...

2005-09-08T09:07:00.000-04:00

...nearly every night lately! I roll over, pick it up and it's a fax machine, whispering sweet nothings in my sleepy, aggravated ear. BEEP BEEP BEEP! And once isn't enough I guess. The thing calls two of my three phone numbers, so I get disturbed twice each night. Oh, it's lovely! When it first started happening, I thought it was a fluke. Mistakes happen, I understand. But this is getting ridiculous. Grrrrrr...

Last night when it range for the second time, I had absolutely had enough. I got out of bed, walked to my office, got out the phone book (yes, I keep one of these relics around) and looked up the code for "Call Blocking". Yahoo! There it is! I gleefully hit *60, which is supposed to block the last number that called in. Except for one minor detail... it won't block out-of-area or "unknown" callers, which my mystery fax certainly is! DRAT! Back to square one. I try hitting *57, which is "Call Trace". I have visions of telephone company Men In Black, wearing sunglasses and waiting around the seedy phone company building to see who my mystery faxer is the next time he calls me. But the call tracing service won't work with unknown callers either. DOUBLE DRAT!

I call the phone company. Surely they can help! After a long conversation with two different people, the nice lady tells me that she can upgrade my voicemail so that it will accept faxes. Which means that when my mystery faxer calls again, the fax is supposed to get saved into my voicemail, where I can later retrieve it and print it out on my fax machine. It is my hope that when I do print it, there is a name and phone number on it, so I can contact them to tell them to take me off their list, or I'll be forced to take them to small claims court where I will be awarded $500 per unsolicitied fax call that they make to me. Woohoo free money! Hey, it beats delivering pizzas, right?

The lesson here is to get your number on the DO NOT FAX registry. But wait... it's not that easy. The Bellsouth lady gave me the number for the FCC to register my numbers with them, however, when I called, I couldn't find one voice prompt to lead me in the right direction. So I went to their web site and found the same thing. I was forced to email the FCC begging them to show me where the registry lives. I'll keep you posted...

Your Attitude and Language

2005-09-01T22:36:00.000-04:00

Given the scope of what the southern coast of the U.S. is enduring now, I felt strongly about writing the following and wanted to share it with you. Understand right up front...this is not a political statement, so please don't bother emailing me or posting comments bashing the current administration or politicizing this in any way. I hope you have enough respect me enough to honor that request. This note is about countering "human nature", eschewing the path of least resistance, and focusing on what's actually possible.

I believe it is incumbent upon us to maintain as positive an attitude as we can about this disaster in the Gulf Coast and here's why... it's oh so tempting (and easy) to jump on the bandwagon, and to adopt a gloom and doom attitude about these kind of things as they relate to the future. I have heard people saying, "we'll be crippled by this" and "this will kill our economy" and "recession is looming".

Well, I'm not that smart, but I do know one thing is for sure... If people keep SAYING it, it WILL become a self-fulfilling prophecy. So why don't we try to NOT join in the doomsday predictions? Let's NOT revel in the drama and play the blame game. How about we choose instead to take the high road and do what we can to help out, while continuing to keep the economy rolling as best we can instead of griping about it and spreading more negativity. We didn't let 9/11 ruin us and we can't let this thing either -- but if we don't have positive attitudes and high expectations for the future, we will cause our own ruin. And that benefits nobody.

Self-fulfilling prophecy is absolutely a truism. When someone (and it's often started in the negative media) yells "POSSIBLE GAS SHORTAGE", people panic and start hoarding gas and well, imagine that... surprise! You created a gas shortage.

Go ahead and yell "WATER SHORTAGE", you'll have people panic and start hoarding water and there you have it... you've created a water shortage.

Alan Greenspan yells "THE HOUSING BOOM IS OVER" and people begin believing that it's true, so they stop buying/building and there you have it... you've created your own reality just by speaking it.

It's important to understand that the thoughts we hold in our minds and the words we use are incredibly powerful influencers of the state of our own lives and the lives of those around us. The more we all say keep saying something, the more power we give it, then the greater number of people believe it, and THEY continue to say it and it spreads like a cancer. And then out of fear, people act on what they've heard and said AS IF IT'S TRUE, which causes it to come to fruition.

After 9/11, a lot of people said they weren't going to let the threat of terrorism stop them from living their lives. Many didn't, and they continued to travel, buy things, invest, etc. and yeah things were a little tough for little while, but we got through it and our economy weathered it.

It is my firm belief that our language and thoughts create our world. And right now we should all be thinking AND saying to others in our regular dealings every day, "The situation is hard right now but we're resilient, we'll adjust and we'll be fine". I believe by continuing to spread this positive, hopeful, confident attitude for the future, that it feeds itself. It creates and spreads public confidence and we can create a positive reality, just by speaking it among our own circles of friends and associates. I urge you to believe, think and speak confidently and positively about the future. If you agree, you are welcome to help spread the positive energy by sending a link to this to those you care about.

My very best to you,
Monica

I Hold In My Hand...

2005-08-27T17:34:00.000-04:00

...a finished book! Woohoo!

September 15th of 2004, I signed a contract to write a book for Que Publishing called Organize Your Office In No Time. Eleven months later, on August 15th, 2005, the book was released and is now available in bookstores and through my web site. Needless to say, I am thrilled and excited to join the ranks of published authors.

I am actively seeking marketing outlets for the book in the form of any sort of media coverage I can get. Radio, television, Internet, speaking engagements and that sort of thing would be terrific. If you have any contacts in these arenas, or ideas for me, I'd love to speak with you about the possibilities!

Also, for those of you in the Atlanta metro area, I want to personally invite you to my book signing event in a few weeks! ANYTHING you can do to be able to come to this event, I would really appreciate. I'd absolutely love to have a packed out house for this... not only because it would be fun fun fun to see you, but also because the Borders Bookstore is spending time and money to promote it, and I want them to be happy they decided to do this event. Here are the details:

Date: SUNDAY September 18th, 2005
Time: 3pm to 6pm
Location: BORDERS BOOKS in Dunwoody (4745 Ashford Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody GA 30338 for your Mapquesters). The store is in the shopping center behind Houston's Restaurant on Ashford Dunwoody Road by Perimeter Mall.

I hope you take a minute now to mark the date in your calendar to come by and see me at Borders in a few weeks! I thank you all so much for your interest and support through this arduous but fulfilling process.

My Mystery Vacation Finally Revealed!

2005-08-27T16:27:00.000-04:00

Many of you are aware that for the past eight months, my fabulous husband Ed King had been making secretive plans to take me on a mystery vacation to celebrate my 40th birthday... (he's quite the guy, isn't he??) Somewhere around April, he instructed me to block out August 13th through 24th on my calendar and wouldn't say another word about it. Since I LOVE surprises and he is the king of them, I set aside the time and didn't ask any questions. I suspected that it was a birthday vacation, since I turn 40 (which is, I've been told, "The New Thirty") on August 26th.

Fast forward to Saturday, August 13th... we went to the Atlanta airport where we boarded a plane to Chicago. Once in Chicago, we got a connecting flight to Seattle, Washington. We landed in Seattle Saturday afternoon, rented a car and drove to the home of our dear friends, Beth and Frank. At this point, I only knew what I knew... which was that we were visiting Beth and Frank. Of course, I knew there was more in the works, but I didn't ask, because I hate to ruin a surprise.

We visited with Beth and Frank for a few hours, went out for some dinner, went to bed and woke the next morning to drive to Vancouver, British Columbia. FUN! It's about a 2.5 hour drive to Vancouver and thankfully, crossing the border into Canada was fast and easy. We arrived in Vancouver, dropped off the rental car and were shuttled to Canada Place, which is a cruise ship terminal. Yippee! A cruise!

I couldn't have been more thrilled, because for several years now, Ed and I have been talking about how much we'd love to take an Alaskan cruise someday. Well someday came early! We got to the ship's terminal around 2pm, went through the various lines and security checks required, and by about 4pm we were checked onto the ship and unpacking our clothes in our stateroom.

But let's back up a bit. Our ship is named the GTS Infinity. It is almost a thousand feet long and accommodates roughly 2,000 passengers and 1,000 crew. (you do the math on the crew to passenger ratio) The cruise line is Celebrity, and when you see the commercials for them, people are wandering around in a daze at work, saying things like, "I was not to be awakened before 9am", "My butler knew just how I took my tea in the morning", and (my personal favorite) "I consider this a temporary exile." They've all just come back from a Celebrity cruise and are wistfully and reluctantly adjusting back to normal life. More on that later.

So anyway, we were all checked into our cabin on the ninth deck (with a veranda overlooking the ocean) when Ed said that there were a few more surprises. More surprises!?!? All right!!

Surprise Number One: It turns out Ed's parents had bought us each a new jacket from L.L. Bean. They are rain jackets with pockets galore and fleece linings that zip out so you can wear the jacket and fleece together, JUST the outer rain jacket or JUST the fleece. Totally great! These would definitely come in handy for a trip to the great white north! Ed's is bright yellow and mine is blue (to match my eyes -- LOL)

Surprise Number Two: Our friends Lisa and Steve had generously bought me a gift certificate for a treatment at the ship's fabulous AquaSpa! So Ed said we had to go down there to make an appointment. Woohoo!

Surprise Number Three: While we were getting unpacked and getting used to our stateroom, a knock came at the door. I answered it to find my oldest girlfriend Melanie and her husband Sal standing there! Uhhhhh... WHAT?! Oh my gosh, I was so surprised and THIS was the best surprise of all! Not only were we on a seven-day Alaskan cruise but we'd be spending with two of our dearest friends! I was beside myself with happiness and Melanie and I proceeded to drink the better part of two bottles of champagne while the four of us roamed the upper decks of the ship as we sailed out of Vancouver. What a great start to our vacation!

Over the next seven days, we enjoyed the ship's amenities and stopped at three ports (Ketchikan, Juneau and Sitka), where we did really cool stuff like take a float-plane adventure, saw the salmon running upstream, shopped, ate, went on a whale watch, took in the sights, gambled (on the ship) and met some new people. While on the ship, we stopped for a few hours to view the Hubbard Glacier, where we saw quite a bit of "calving" activity (calving is when big chunks of ice fall off the glacier into the ocean). We also saw harbor seals, orcas, humpback whales and many sea birds as well as a few bald eagles. Alaska is truly an incredible, vast and beautiful place to visit.

At the first port we stopped in (Ketchikan), I saw a fellow that looked EXACTLY like Dennis Miller (formerly of Saturday Night Live and presently The Dennis Miller Show). Dennis does happen to occupy a slot on my personal Top Five List, for those of you who keep that sort of list. But I digress... later that day, I learned that it was indeed Dennis Miller I had seen at port in Ketchikan and that he was traveling on our ship. So we figured, heck, if Celebrity Cruise Lines is good enough for him, Ed made a good choice. While we were in Ketchikan, we took a floatplane ride with Island Wings. Our pilot was Michelle Madsen and she flew us to the Misty Fjords in her floatplane named Lady Esther, which was truly amazing! Michelle was a lot of fun, a skilled pilot (we felt safe the whole time) and we listened to music through our headphones while she showed us incredible wildnerness. Wait til you see the photos!

Another day we stopped at Juneau, where we had a fairly rainy day. I was just exhausted from waking up at 5:30 every morning to watch the sun come up, so I took the rainy day opportunity to take a nice loooong nap before dinner while Ed, Melanie and Sal shopped in the town's stores. Another day at sea, we stopped at the Hubbard Glacier, where the captain anchored the ship for a few hours so we could watch the giant ice chunks falling off into the water. It was breathtaking and Ed got great photos and video of it all happening!

Our last port was Sitka, which was our favorite of the three... picturesque and peaceful. We jumped on a whale watching boat, the Esther G, a 28-foot aluminum vessel that seats six passengers. The Esther G. just happens to be captained by the world's nicest and friendliest boat captain, Davey Lubin. We saw humpback whales galore which was about the coolest part of our whole trip! Check out the photos of all the flukes in the online picture gallery. I ask you... what are the odds that both vessels we chartered, the floatplane and the boat, would be named Esther?? I think someone named Esther needs to be playing the lottery somewhere soon!

Anyway, back to the boat... as on any cruise, the food on the ship is ever-present. The difference is that this ship's food was actually really good! There were several food options to choose from... the buffets and restaurants, as well as the AquaSpa Cafe, which offered a buffet of light and healthier options. We ate every breakfast and lunch at the AquaSpa Cafe, which really helped us avoid gaining ten pounds each over the course of the seven days! The spa cafe also has tables overlooking the water, which is a terrific way to begin your morning. In the evenings, we dined in the main dining room of one of the restaurants called the Trellis. It was the four of us, plus a couple from Israel, Itzik and Nili. They were delightful and we all got along well. (the Trellis actually offered us both vegan menus, and most everything we ate there was DELICIOUS.) Another plus for great personalized service!

There is an Internet cafe on the ship, a small library, a coffee shop, a game room, and many other places to spend your time while you're out at sea. The AquaSpa offers any number of wonderful pampering spa treatments (I got the Mediterranean Float treatment) as well as a large workout room with treadmills, elliptical machines, exercise bikes, and weight machines. They also offer Pilates classes. In the spa area, there is a large Thalassotherapy pool, which is half chlorine and half salt water. There are bubbling jets at the sides and heavy streams of water coming out of fountains to stand beneath. There are also several whirlpool and hot tubs as well as an outdoor swimming pool.

To celebrate my birthday we made reservations at the S.S. United States for one of our dinners. The S.S. United States is a four star restaurant on the ship which includes interior decorations that were originally on board the fastest ocean liner of all time, the S.S. United States. The restaurant is beautiful, the service is impeccable and the food is amazing. We seated at 9pm and over the next three hours, we had dinner. We started with an incredible goat cheese souffle appetizer (heavenly!), medium rare Chateaubriand for two with the best Bernaise sauce I ever tasted, an assorted cheese course (complete with both stinky and non-stinky varieties!) and raspberry souffle for dessert. (Yes, in case you're wondering, that night we leaped so far off the Vegan Wagon we couldn't even see it in the distance) After dessert, they brought a small birthday cake, which none of us could even begin to consider touching. Oh the fullness! In short, it was an incredible dinner and was only an additional $30 per person to dine there. Well worth the time and money!

The service on this ship was really incredible and although our first cruise (Royal Caribbean to the Bahamas in 2002) was a bit underwhelming, Celebrity Cruise Lines has changed all that and we officially have caught the cruising bug. We've learned to pick destinations that offer great shore excursions that mesh with your own style, and to go with a higher end cruise line. After spending seven wonderful days with our friends aboard the Infinity, being pampered and catered to, seeing incredible vistas and doing amazing adventures on land, we were terribly sad to come back to the real world.

Once the cruise part of our vacation was over, Beth and Frank came to Vancouver to pick us up from the ship terminal, and we spent the day in Vancouver with them. We went to Grouse Mountain to see more incredible views of the city and Mount Baker, a snow-capped peak in Washington. We headed back across the border into the U.S. on Sunday evening and spent Monday and Tuesday leisurely tooling around the Seattle area, eating like pigs and just enjoying the scenery and the company of our friends. We flew home yesterday (Wednesday 8/24) and are both back in business today. It was really wonderful and as I have said in the past, I have the best husband ever and am so blessed and grateful for that. In case you're wondering, we both consider this a temporary exile...

Monica, thrilled to be turning "The New Thirty"
ps: Ed took over 800 photos on this trip, which you can view at:

http://bigedk.smugmug.com

Are YOU Freecycling yet??

2005-08-08T20:49:00.000-04:00

I recently (like yesterday) went shopping for some new clothing items to take on vacation with me. I don't particularly enjoy clothes shopping, but somehow I ended up with nearly $200 worth of new stuff, mostly shorts and semi-casual skirts and a bathing suit. Yes, I actually OWN a bathing suit for the first time in a long time. It's a little scary, but I'm feeling strong...

Anyway, one of our "house rules" is one in, one out. Every time we buy a new article of clothing, we try our best to get rid of an old one. It works well to keep the volume of clothing we have pretty stable so we never have to do a massive closet-cleanout. And guess what? More often than not, we end up getting rid of MORE items than we brought in new, so it's a double win!

So today, I offered up 12 tops, five jackets, four pairs of shorts, and six pairs of pants to the first person who wanted them from my local Freecycle group. If you aren't familiar with Freecycle, it's a fantastic online community where you join using your Yahoo ID and password, then you can begin posting items that you no longer need. Essentially, it's just a distribution list where you can tell those in your area of town that you have something to offer if they are willing to come pick it up. The stipulation is that everything offered must be offered FREE of charge. No trading, bartering or asking for money.

It's another option to Goodwill and the great part is that you never have to haul anything in your car. You just leave it outside on your porch and the person who claimed it will come pick it up. Simple. Check out Freecycle today and see if it doesn't make your decluttering a LOT easier and your garage, attic, basement and closets a lot emptier!

It's Not The Heat, It's The Humidity

2005-07-21T13:15:00.000-04:00

Living in Atlanta for the past nine years, I've heard that phrase a lot. I guess it means you might think it's the summer heat that makes you miserable, when in reality the heat wouldn't be so bad if you could just leave behind the humidity. How does that relate to organizing your life, you might wonder. It doesn't really, in a direct sense, but it got me to thinking that so many people believe that one aspect of disorganization is making them ineffective, unproductive and miserable. Yet it's actually something else.

They think if they just had the right tools, they could be more organized. So they purchase file cabinets, shelves, sorters, containers, boxes, and all sorts of other organizing tools. Yet still they are disorganized.

They think maybe it's their time management that makes them disorganized. So they buy a calendar or they take a seminar. Yet still they are disorganized.

They think if they just had more space, they'd be organized. So they buy a bigger desk, a bigger house or get a bigger office. Yet still they are disorganized.

They think it's their stuff's fault. If they could just declutter, then they'd be organized. They spend long arduous hours decluttering, sorting, culling out, and donating. Yet still they are disorganized.

This is beginning to sound like a children's book isn't it? Well just as children's books always have a lesson to teach, this has a lesson as well. Chaos is like a pie...there are many pieces that all connect. You can address one piece and that often helps the other pieces improve on their own a bit. However, there is no magic quick fix for chaos. It involves evaluating and fixing EACH PIECE to make as much overall improvement as you can.

You must address your time management and priorities, which means evaluating what you're saying yes to. You must address your space and storage potential to maximize what you have. You must address the amount of STUFFFFFFF you have in your life, how it got there, and how you can keep it from accumulating again. You must address your lifestyle and pace and whether it's working for you. And you must address your attitude, habits and behaviors, because until you can change your attitude, you can't change your habits and behaviors that caused the situation in the first place.

Remember that today is the result of your past thoughts, beliefs and actions. If you want to change tomorrow's results you have to change your thoughts, beliefs and actions today.

Episode Four - Reclaiming The Bedroom

2005-07-12T15:20:00.000-04:00

TUNE IN TONIGHT! (July 12 at 9:30 pm)

January 2005, I taped my fourth and most recent episode (#702) with homeowners Angela, Nellie and Charles. Angela is a sharp, young, single professional and owner of a beautiful townhome in suburban Atlanta. Three years ago, Angela's parents sold their home in another state and moved south to move in with her. A loving daughter, Angela relinquished much of her home to her parents and ended up spending most of her time in her bedroom. The 13.15 room was absolutely full with almost nowhere to sit or walk. She had crammed all the aspects of her life into this single small space and it just wasn't working. When I first saw the bedroom, it was clear to me that we could make a dramatic difference for her and she really needed it.

We did a total makeover, completely changing the paint colors, adding new lighting, all new furniture, shelving and a brand new closet system. For hours upon hours we sorted, pitched, donated, sold and shredded. It was a lot of hard work, but after it was all over, Angela ended up with a gorgeous new room that is more like a hip NYC studio than a suburban bedroom. It's no longer a crammed little room. Now it's decluttered, fun and a little funky. And with plenty of seating, dining space, an office, and oh yes, two places to sleep, it's a multi-functional and perfect place to hang out with friends. Click the episode number above to see the before and after pictures!

Episode Three - Home Office Cleanup

2005-07-08T08:48:00.000-04:00

In September, I did my third episdoe (#609) with homeowners Chris and Renee Conde. These two gorgeous hipsters live in a funky downtown loft space and they definitely needed help. The other rooms in their loft were just dandy, but the largest room had been a disaster. About ten percent of the room was used as a makeshift office (I think any room where a computer lives can technically be called an "office"), and the other 90% was simply a dumping ground for anything and everything they didn't feel like dealing with. Enter the Professional Organizer to save the day! This episode was a ton of fun, and also one of the most difficult because we literally had to outfit the entire room with furniture from top to bottom. (I think we kept the original desk, but nothing else). It ended up being a fantastic transformation and in the end, we had a multi-functional room that acts as an entertainment area for guests, a Zen garden living area for Chris and Renee, an office AND a guest room, thanks to an incredible Murphy Bed by Inova. Check out the before and after pics on the HGTV web site.

A Handy Records Retention Guide from The Good Housekeeping Institute

2005-07-07T11:45:00.000-04:00

SAVVY CONSUMER: The paper trap:
What to keep, what to pitch?
Good Housekeeping Institute
Saturday, April 16, 2005

Now that the deadline for filing your income tax returns is past (or you've filed for an extension), it's a great time to take stock of your financial records and clear out the paper clutter in your home.

Here's what you should keep and what you can toss forever, courtesy of the new Good Housekeeping book "The Complete Household Handbook" (Hearst Books, $24.95):

Tax returns: After filing a tax return, keep substantiating records --- tax returns, canceled checks, receipts for deductible expenses --- for at least seven years. The Internal Revenue Service has three years after the year of filing to audit a return; six years if the taxpayer omits more than 25 percent of gross income; and unlimited time if fraud is found.

IRA contributions: You'll want to keep these records permanently. This is especially important for nondeductible IRA contributions since you might need to prove that you already paid tax on the money at the time you withdrew the cash.

401(k) and other retirement-plan statements: Keep your quarterly statements until you get the annual statement. Then you can discard the quarterly statements. Hold on to the annual statements until you retire or close the retirement-plan account.

Bank records: At tax time each year, sort through your checks and keep the ones for deductible personal expenses, home renovations, business expenses and your mortgage. Then toss the rest.

Brokerage and mutual-fund statements: Be sure to hang onto all purchase and sales slips. This way, you can determine your gains and losses for tax purposes. As with retirement plans, keep your quarterly brokerage and mutual-fund statements until your annual statements arrive, and keep end-of-year statements indefinitely.

Bills: The only ones you really need to keep are for large purchases such as home computers, jewelry, cars and antiques.

They'll come in handy if you need to prove the value of your belongings for insurance purposes.

Credit-card receipts and statements: You should keep the receipts until you get your monthly statement. Then you can discard the receipts, if everything matches up. Hold on to your credit-card statements for seven years for tax purposes if they have business expenses on them.

Paycheck stubs: You really need to keep these for only a year.

Home-related documents: Indefinitely keep records showing the purchase price, the cost of home improvements and expenses for buying or selling the home. These will be useful for tax purposes when you sell. Keep these records even after selling your house.

Insurance policies: Hold on to these as long as the policies are still in force.

To Shred or Not To Shred?

Although you might be tempted to shred everything --- or nothing --- here are the top five items you should shred in order to protect your financial information:

Anything you don't need that lists your Social Security number.
Unsolicited credit-card offers.
Credit-card statements and checks you no longer need.
Bank, brokerage and mutual-fund statements you no longer need.
Insurance claim forms you no longer need.

Where To Keep Important Papers

It's important to organize your financial and personal records well. Use these guidelines to help determine where to keep your valuable files.

Where: Carry with you
What to keep there: Personal ID, auto-insurance card (keep in your car), credit cards, debit cards, ATM cards, driver's license, car registration, health-insurance card, medical information, physician's ID card

Where: Home files
What to keep there: Checking and savings account info, credit records, employment records, estate-planning info, health info, household furnishings/appliance records, housing records, income-tax records, insurance records, investment records, privacy statements from financial institutions, vehicle info

Where: Safe-deposit box
What to keep there: Appraisals, photos, receipts of valuables, inventory of household goods, cemetery-plot papers, contracts/leases/notes, jewelry, list of insurance policies and agents, military-service records, mortgage documents/title and deeds, motor-vehicle titles/purchase receipts, personal records for all household members, Social Security card, stock/bond/mutual-fund certificates and purchase/sales receipts, tax assessments and records of home capital improvements, wills.

Episode Number Two - Multipurpose Activity Room

2005-07-05T16:00:00.000-04:00

In August I taped my second episode of Mission:Organization (#513) with homeowners Kim and Bruce Banta. Kim is one of the most creative people I've ever met. When I met Kim, her spacious craft room looked like a Michael's Outlet had exploded. Whoa! She was so much fun and so motivated that I knew she was the homeowner for this episode! This woman sews, does photography and makes every craft known to mankind. It's really incredible. We took her once cluttered and barely functional project room and gave it not only a facelift so it's beautiful, but it actually has three distinctly different zones to work, with mega-storage built in. There's a sewing area, a paper crafts and office area and a lounge-around-and-watch-tv area. It just rocks, if I do say so myself. Again, more long hours and hard work, a whole LOT of giggling during the late night work sessions, and a lot of fun. Check out the episode on the HGTV web site for before and after pics.

Honoring America

2005-07-04T14:15:00.000-04:00

I'm an American. I was fortunate enough to be born here and I'm thankful every day for that. The risks our forefathers took to birth this great nation were tremendous and many died in the process. They gave their lives in the pursuit of liberty, and we should never forget it. Liberty is the reason we have become the greatest nation on Earth. Here we enjoy the freedom to create, freedom to speak and write, freedom to defend yourself and family against predators, freedom to assemble peaceably on the street corner and freedom to pursue happiness as you define it.

We can start businesses from nothing and grow them into empires, we can come up with a better idea, we can invent a service and market it to others, we have the freedom to enjoy FREE ENTERPRISE which is an incredibly powerful thing. A person filled with the desire to have a better life is incredibly productive, very industrious, and amazingly inspiring.

It's human nature to strive for more, to want to achieve, excel, and win. It's natural to want a better life for yourself and family, and thankfully in America, you can do that, if you seize the opportunities that exist here. We've all heard the phrase, "When opportunity knocks", but I don't believe that opportunity comes knocking on your door. You make your own opportunity. You ask for what you want. You choose your attitude, you choose your path. You sit down and figure out your priorities and your goals, then you do what it takes to meet people who can help you get there. You have a contribution to make to this world and in this country, you are free to make it through the capitalist, free enterprise system.

Sometimes things do go your way; sometimes there are "lucky breaks", but success certainly doesn't depend on luck or circumstance. Success depends on attitude and action. Repeated, habitual, focused action, day after day, week after week to create a critical mass of positive results.

So on this Fourth of July, I'm thankful that I live in the greatest country in the world, where a woman is free to own her own business and create the success and life she desires.

Shameless Bragging (or Mission: Organization My First Episode...)

2005-07-03T19:06:00.000-04:00

With the topic of organizing in the media forefront the past few years, the public has gotten increasingly more interested in getting organized. This, in my opinion, is a wonderful thing. Not only because that's what I do for a living, either, although hey, who's complaining? :)

I have been blessed with the gift of gab and as such, have fallen in love with radio and television. From the time I was fifteen and had my own radio show in my hometown of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania I have loved it. You can imagine my glee when February of 2004, I was contacted to be the featured expert organizer on HGTV's Mission: Organization. Not for eternity or anything, just for a few episodes.

In March and April, I taped my first episode (#503) with homeowners Christie and Curtis Crowder. We transformed their home office from a crazy hot mess into a beautiful, functional place where Christie can run her business and Curtis can work from home when he needs to. Christie and her best friend (coincidentally also named Monica) were both seven months pregnant at the time, but MAN they were both just bundles of energy! One night around 11:00 Christie, Monica and I were still putting together furniture for the next day's taping. Of course, I was wiped out but these two women, great with child and cheery, forged ahead. Truly amazing. This episode was full of very long hours, lots of hard work, but was definintely fun and interesting. And I'm still waiting for "One-Take Curtis" to break into the movies... check out the episode for before and after photos.

'Round and 'round we go...

2005-06-29T01:36:00.000-04:00

Some months ago I was at a neighborhood brunch, wearing the pin I always wear when I leave my house. It says, "Change Your Life. Get Organized." As you might imagine, it's a real conversation starter. Because of "The Pin", someone always asks about my business and, ever the marketer, I'm always happy to answer their questions.

Sometimes someone says something that strikes me funny. At the brunch, a woman asked me about my business (she saw The Pin!) and remarked, "Oh, I can get organized. I just hate that you have to keep it up!" Try as I might, my poker face failed me and I pretty much laughed out loud and said, "How often do you get your hair cut?"

She was (naturally) a bit confused. I went on to clarify that everything in life takes repetition. Over and over and over again, we do the same things for years on end. It's just the way life is (if you want your life to work, anyway). Dishes, housekeeping, getting dressed, eating... you can't just do these things just one time! It's the same with staying organized. It takes daily, weekly, monthly maintenance but it's time and energy well spent because investing a small amount of time to stay organized actually saves you a tremendous amount of time and prevents you from the daily struggle that chaos creates.

How can you invest five minutes today to make your life easier tomorrow?

Welcome to Blogland, Catalyst Style!

2005-06-28T01:50:00.000-04:00

Seven years ago, I had a thought... "I wonder if people would pay me to throw their stuff away?" In the moment, I squashed it, thinking it was ridiculous. Of course nobody is going to pay me to throw their stuff away. Jeez.

Or would they?

I had been soul searching, or rather, business searching at the time. I had sold my previous business and was biding my time working a job while trying to figure out my next move. I had heard about the woman who loved watching soap operas so much that she followed her passion and started Soap Opera Digest. So, hoping I'd stumble upon my passion, I sat down and made a list. God-given talents and skills went in one column, acquired skills and experience in another column. With fingers crossed, I examined what I had written and one concept kept coming up for me. Organizing. Simplifying. Streamlining. And yes, throwing things away.

We're back to my original question. Would people pay me to help them throw their stuff away? In a broad sense, a skill is marketable if it's something you can do that others can't or don't want to do.

I asked myself, "Is organizing a skill that some people have a natural affinity for while others don't?" I answered YES.

I began asking my friends... "Will people pay me to help them get their homes and offices organized because they either don't know how or don't want to do it themselves?" They answered YES.

I searched the Internet and lo and behold, I discovered an entire industry devoted to helping people get organized! (a young industry, but an industry nonetheless) Not only did I find an industry, but also a professional association created to help educate those who chose the profession.

I knew in that moment, a business was born.