Narratives of a Night Owl

Pinterest!

2012-02-08T23:22:00.003-05:00

Saw this on Pinterest today... oh how true! I've become a little obsessed with the newest social network on the block. As someone who writes all day long, I find it so nice to just sit there and look at all the beautiful pictures. The only problem is you're trapped for at least an hour after getting on! It's kinda like going to Target! :)

I'm such a social junkie. Keeping up with two blogs, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and now Pinterest - and those are just my non-work accounts! Where in the world do I find time to sleep?

Ok - I've gotta get back to pinning!

Celebrating Diversity!

2012-01-16T13:22:00.003-05:00

As we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. today, let us all think about the value of diversity in this nation. Diversity is much more than skin color, race or sex, even if those factors make up the unique people we are. But it's diversity of thought that is truly important. Each person has their own ideas and beliefs. We each have the ability to make our own decisions and act as we see fit. In the end we each have our own opinion on how to do things the right way.

This diversity of thought can sometimes cause problems - especially when two people don't see eye-to-eye. But that's the beauty of diversity, we all don't have to agree. We only have to agree to disagree. We have to understand that everyone has their own values and opinions and that they should all be respected.

One of the most detrimental habits we have as people is the tendency to "group think" - we don't follow our own beliefs because it doesn't follow that of the greater group. It takes a strong person to stand up and disagree, especially when it's not the "accepted" thing to do. But by voicing your opinion, and doing what you believe, you're celebrating diversity.

Take a minute today to appreciate the true value of diversity. I hope one day everyone across the world will truly believe Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream that, "all men are created equal."

Charismatic Leadership Inspires!

2012-01-15T23:23:00.005-05:00

I recently read an interesting article from Psychology Today called, "Charisma: What is it? Do you have it?" In it they define charisma as a, "constellation of complex and sophisticated social and emotional skills. They allow charismatic individuals to influence other as a deep emotional level, to communication effectively with them, and to make stronger interpersonal connections."

As a social person by nature, I'm always inspired when I meet a charismatic leader. They make me feel energized, ready to take on the world. They often times see the glass as half-full and talk about possibilities of the future rather than dwelling on the past. They look for solutions rather than road blocks and their positive attitude is contagious.

The strange thing is that charismatic leaders are sometimes criticized for the same great things that make them stand out from the crowd: their ability to connect with people, their optimism and their sincerity. I know there's always good in finding a balance, especially when you have a strong personality, but I also know that the great leaders in this world have one thing in common - charisma. It's the one trait that will stand the test of time.

What charismatic leaders have inspired you? More than 15 years have passed since I met the most influential person in my life - it was one of my high school English teachers. His name is Bruce Saulpaugh. He was unconventional and thought-provoking. I could listen to him talk for hours about about philosophy and his life experiences. You could feel his charisma every day when you walked into class, and he was my inspiration for becoming a writer.

Feeling Guilty for Not Having Mom Guilt

2012-01-11T16:28:00.001-05:00

I read a really good blog post the other day from the Culture Mom called “To Work or Not to Work.” She talks about her regret of quitting her full-time job after the birth of her two children. I laughed as I read through her story because it rang true to me. I did the very same thing years ago after my first child was born. I left my wonderful job in corporate communications for a Fortune 500 company to be a full time stay-at-home mom. It was the life that I thought I always wanted. My mom was home when I was little and I guess I always assumed I would want the same thing when I had children. I could imagine the endless days of crafting and playing, enjoying my children and cuddling on the couch. Ha! Ha! Ha! Fast forward three kids later and that dream of a life had turned into a bad reality tv show. I spent all day playing referee to fighting toddlers. I never looked nice, never felt nice. I wore sweat pants and maternity shirts for probably 1000 days in a row. I spent my days changing diapers, making bottles, and getting food thrown at me (or worse – spit up on me!). I found myself unhappy, unhealthy and uncertain of my decision. Not quite what I had in mind.

I eventually went back and much like the Culture Mom, I think I’m happier as a career-mom. Maybe it’s my internal drive to climb the career ladder, or my social personality, or maybe the fact that I was bored silly by being at home, but coming back to work was the best decision for me. I love connecting with people; I love writing; I love being challenged each day. The deadlines and the pressure motivates me and working with high-level career women inspires me.

There’s only one thing I feel guilty about and that’s not having the mom guilt. I don’t sit at work and feel bad for not being there. I don’t yearn for the days of being home with my kids. I don’t even really give it much thought other than when I talk to other career-moms who feel the same way. I kinda feel guilty for not feeling guilty… strange, I know. But there is one thing I know - being a career-mom rocks.

The Power of Intrinsic Motivation

2012-01-10T22:28:00.002-05:00

What motivates you? What drives you to do your best each day at work and/or home? Is it something internal - a desire to accomplish your personal goals and perform something truly meaningful to you? Or is it something external like a big salary, a nice car or a fancy house?

I read an interesting article the other day on building and motivating teams. It focused on the importance of intrinsic motivation - the motivation that comes from within a person, as opposed to extrinsic motivation, which is tied to external rewards. According to the article, the best way to motivate a team is to fill it with people that truly care about what they do. Not because of the great benefits, but just because they really love it.

After thinking about it more in-depth, I'd have to agree. When I'm at work I'm motivated by working on projects that inspire me, things that I care about and believe in. I'm happier when I work on those types of projects and in the end that makes me want to work harder. One example is diversity. It's a passion of mine, probably because my family is diverse by having a child with special needs.

I've had the opportunity to work on a few projects that focus on diversifying the workforce in our company and I really enjoyed it. Connecting with all types of people, and seeing how their unique talents can come together to make an organization stronger, really inspired me. I wasn't paid any more to do the work (most of it was actually done after-hours on a volunteer basis) but I was motivated.

I think everyone is still motivated by money and job titles (there wouldn't be a corporate ladder if we weren't!) but doing what you love is just as important. If you don't believe in what you do, or what you sell, then no one will believe in you!

The Life of a Pretend Structuralist

2012-01-03T20:59:00.004-05:00

Almost a month ago our team at work took a test called "Emergenetics" - simply put, it's a brain-based assessment of thinking and behavior. I love this kind of stuff, I think it's so interesting. Not just learning about my personality, but also learning about the rest of my team. It's really a fun way to see what makes people tick and I think it would be great if everyone had it done and then walked around with a little sticker on their shirt showing their profile so that you knew what to expect!... ok, maybe that's going too far. But I think it's extremely helpful, especially when you're working with someone on a project.

So after taking the test online, I tried to guess what my thinking makeup would be. You end up falling into four categories: Social, Conceptual, Structural and Analytical. I figured I'd be two things: social and structural. I love meeting/talking/working with people and I love organization! HA!!! Here were my actual results...

Social - 59%, Conceptual - 25%, Analytical - 11% and Structural - 5%! WHAT?!??! The Queen of Organization has been living a SHAM! I'm not structural at all! I sat there stunned. Now you probably wonder why anyone would actually care, but I did. I've always felt like I'm a pretty well-organized Virgo. I love charts, lists, spreadsheets. timelines... they make me happy. I'm an addict of the label maker, I could color-code organizing bins all day. I'm envious of the perfectly organized closets on tv. But then it dawned on me... I'm NOT structural at all. I'm a MESS! I'm CONCEPTUAL! My brain is all over the place! It never stops - I can go from point A to Z in 2 minutes flat. My house looks like a bomb went off on it at any time. I wake up writing in my head - and unless I jot it down, the ideas will just keep flowing. I can't keep track of my debit card, my keys, or anything that isn't strapped to me. I just use organizing, charting and making lists as a way to "calm down" my conceptual side of my personality! WOW - what an a-ha moment I had.

I then realized something else. I love living in chaos. I love it when things are all over the place, when I have 10 deadlines at once, when I'm working on multiple projects, when things change. Chaos is a motivator to me. It keeps me going fast, it keeps me focused. The minute things get too calm, I get bored and I can't focus. Maybe it's the adrenaline, or maybe it's just because that's how I'm hard-wired, but at least now I know that structure isn't what makes me happy - it's having chaos, something new and exciting, that keeps me going.

I'm all right-brained and proud of it!

Happy New Year!!

2011-12-31T11:16:00.000-05:00

I love starting a new year! Something about taking out a blank calendar makes me feel like it's a fresh start - a new beginning and a time when I can refocus on what I want to accomplish both personally and professionally. 2011 was a VERY exciting year - I went back to work full-time after freelancing for a few years while the kids were little. I can honestly say that it was a great decision because I work for an amazing company and with wonderful people. I really like the fact that I can see my career at Wyndham Vacation Ownership growing each year! My biggest fear was the mom guilt, having to put three kids who were used to being at home with me everyday into full-time school, but you know what? They're doing great! I finally feel like I have a good balance of both family and career. I'm fortunate to have a husband who supports me and helps me in so many ways. A happy wife is a happy life right? :)

I have a few resolutions for 2012 and in the spirit of the new year, I'll share three of them with you! Here's wishing you and your families a wonderful New Year's Eve!

Stay Positive - The one thing I can always count on to stay the same is change. 2011 was a year of tremendous change for me and my family and I don't expect 2012 to be any different. My goal is to stay positive. As a control-freak Virgo, it's easy for me to get a little flustered when my plans are thrown into the air, but if there's anything I've learned in since having three little kids it's that, "I plan and God laughs." I think it's important to make a conscious decision each day to be happy. No one can make you happy but yourself, so staying positive is key even during the most difficult moments.
Embrace My Strengths - Recently our department took a test called Emergenetics to learn more about our personalities. What I learned is that I'm very right-brained - social and conceptual (what a surprise right?!) I'm also expressive, aggressive and flexible. Sometimes I feel like my outgoing personality doesn't really fit in a corporate setting. However, what I do know is that my outgoing personality helps me connect with people and that's a good strength to have - especially when you work in the world of communications. Building relationships is key to my success and in 2012 my goal is to embrace the things that make me unique. Diversity makes this world a better place and it sure would be boring if we were all the same. I know I'm not a wallflower - never have been and never will be - and if there's one quote that makes me happy it's:

Learn, Grow, Lead! - Ok, I ripped that tagline off our Learning and Development team at work, but it's a good one. I've learned so much in 2011 and in 2012 I just want to keep learning. In the past year I've realized that I have a passion for social media, diversity, inspirational leadership, generations in the workplace and so much more. That's because I've kept my mind open to learning as much as possible. This is one reason why I love Twitter so much. It's like a 24/7 learning channel. I also want to grow as a professional, continue establishing relationships with those who are more experienced than I and keep an open mind when they give me advice. I have a wonderful mentor at work and I'm so grateful for the time he takes to guide and help me. He's a sounding board for ideas, helps me solve problems and gives me great advice. He inspires me to grow and lead others by doing the same. In a recent conversation he said, "You don't have to have a big title to be a leader - anyone can lead you just need to do what you can to inspire others." This pic says it best:

I hope everyone has a wonderful 2012! I'm excited to see what the new year will bring!

I'm NOT a morning person!

2011-12-29T09:42:00.000-05:00

My blog's two-year anniversary is coming up next month and I laugh because although my life has changed so much in the 730 days since it's creation, one thing has not changed - the fact that I am NOT a morning person! I call my blog, "Narratives of a Night Owl" because I'm just that - a night owl. I love staying up late and I rarely go to bed before midnight even though I know I'll have to be up by 7:00 getting ready for work and getting my three little ones off to school. I just love everything about nighttime. It's quiet, it's dark, it's peaceful. My brain thinks best at night, I'm the most creative then. My writing flows so much easier and I can spend hours reading about things that I find interesting. I've always been into blogging, but recently I've joined the world of Tweeting. I can spend hours reading articles from FastCompany, or DiversityInc, or on WorkingMothers. So just in case I didn't have enough time before keeping up with Facebook and two blogs, now I have my Twitter handle (@OneDrivenChick) and I also plan on starting a Pintrest account. I just love the world of social media and the best part is that you can do it any time of day. It's a 24/7 world out there and for Night Owls like me, it's so much fun!

I Need More Arms!

2011-12-27T10:35:00.000-05:00

How is 2012 beginning in less than a week? It's just not possible! This year has been a whirlwind - but I have to say I've loved every minute of it. On January 3rd I will celebrate my 1-year anniversary of going back to the the corporate world. It's been nothing short of amazing and one of the best decisions of my life. I was so worried about the mom guilt and how my kids would handle life without me 24-hours a day - and you know what? EVERYONE is happier! I'm just really excited to see what the new year holds. However, if there's one thing I could use, it would be a few more arms!

I feel bad that I've neglected my personal blog this year, but I've been really focused on JD's blog (www.followingjdsjourney.blogspot.com). In 2012 I'll be back to doing what I love to do - write just to write! Hope everyone had a wonderful 2011 and is ready to take 2012 by the horns!!!

Camp Boggy Creek

2011-03-17T21:00:00.000-04:00

I have to brag for a minute... I really have the best job in the world! I spent the entire afternoon at Camp Boggy Creek discussing my company's philanthropic program and our plan for supporting the Hole in the Wall Camps for 2011! What an amazing group of people - they dedicate their lives to helping terminally ill kids. I'm so happy that I can be a part of their program. I'm really excited about getting our associates geared up to volunteer... with 13,000 people we can really make a diffference.

It was a really eye-opening experience. Seeing these kids enjoying the camp with their family really tugs at my heart strings. It makes me appreciate how fortunate we are to have three healthy kids. Even with JD's disabilities, it's nothing compared to what these families endure everyday.

What the heck do I do?

2011-01-25T20:35:00.000-05:00

Since going back to work a few weeks ago I’ve had a lot of people ask me, “What does an internal communications manager actually DO?”

Communicate, right?! Well yes, but it’s a little more complicated than that. Since it seems that there isn’t a lot of familiarity with the world of corporate communications, I felt like this might be a good chance to give my friends and family a little insight into what I spend my days doing. So sit back, relax and let me tell you a story of a career girl in the big corporate world…

Imagine you’re the CEO of a Fortune 500 company – you’ve got thousands upon thousands of employees located all over the country, possibly even the world. Your days are spent focusing on the future of the organization, streamlining operations, increasing free cash flow… you get the idea. You’ve created a “senior leadership team” to support the company’s goals and forge the way into the future. Together you’ve spent hours meeting to discuss strategies, change integration initiatives, employee engagement. But how are these great plans put into place? Enter stage right – the internal communications manager – me!

The beautiful, intelligent, wildly energetic blonde walks into the room (ok, I had to add that line) and senior leadership lets out a sign of relief thinking… “thank God, someone else has to worry about how to get the rest of the company on board with our plan.” Yes – that’s my job. I’ve come to save the day, to translate all the corporate BS and get employees on the bandwagon. I’m a partner, discussing the information that needs to be communicated and what the SLT needs to think about before hitting the “send” button. I craft the message, I outline the timelines, I select the communications channels and I ultimately send it live before those thousands of people in your company. In a nutshell I’m the traffic controller of the corporate world.

Yes, this includes writing memos, drafting articles for employee newsletters and sending out emails upon emails. It’s a lot of writing, editing and re-writing… not so much fun. But what my job has that most other jobs don’t is the ability to learn every aspect of a company. I work with all departments – I get to know all types of people from executive management to front-line employees. In order to effectively communicate I have to have a detailed understanding of each department and each project. Opportunities like these are priceless.

It’s not a job for everyone. You can’t be shy and you have to have a touch of confidence in your stride, but you also have to be a team player. You have to know when to speak up, and know when to sit back and listen. You have to be eloquent, but not too eloquent. You have to love your company and love to write even more. You have to be able to re-read documents over and over until your eyes hurt because you know that one error can ruin the integrity of the message. You have to be there, ready for anything, willing to jump in at a moment’s notice because when you’re called into a meeting with the CEO you better have your game face on! Luckily there are people in the world like me who live to “spread the good news” and I’m not talking about the Bible here! Call me a corporate cheerleader, I don’t care… I know that without me the best laid plans would go to waste!

Back to Work!

2011-01-07T23:29:00.001-05:00

Hello Corporate America! It's been a while!... actually about four years to be exact. Today ends the first week of my new position at Wyndham Vacation Ownership and I'm loving being back to work. Not that I didn't like my four years at home with the kids or my freelance business, I just love being part of a large organization with LOTS of people, ideas and projects! In December I took a position as a Manager of Corporate Communications and 2011 started with a bang. It's amazing how energized I am by working again... however there is one drawback... I miss wearing my beautiful sweatpants all day! :)

Surgery - Man it Hurts!

2010-11-20T01:07:00.000-05:00

Ugh... I feel like I've been such a horrible blogger since I've basically fell off the planet since the last time I was here. I can't say it's not without good reason though, 2010 has been a tough year and to tell you the truth blogging isn't the first thing that comes to mind some nights. However, with that said, I'm up and I can't sleep and the past few weeks have really made me appreciate the little things a bit more. I've spent the last four weeks in and out of the hospital and found out that my horrible pain was from gallstones. Thankfully I had my gallbladder removed and was on my way to recovery when I found out that I had one stuck in my bile duct (don't ask me what or where that is, but it's attached somehow). After four more days in the hospital I'm finally home and better. But it's funny because when I was in the hospital I just really appreciated all of the people that helped get me better. My surgeon, Dr. Enrique Sta.Ana, was amazing - it's not everyday when you meet a doctor and right off the bat you know that they are great - but even the first time we met I knew he'd made this horrible experience just a little bit easier. And when things didn't turn out quite as we expected and I ended up back in the hospital, he made me laugh through my tears. I am so glad that he was able to help me get better! I also am thankful for my best friend Katie who had to step in a take over everything while I was sick. Katie is our nanny and not only did she drive over to our house in the middle of the night so that I could go to the hospital, she ended up having to stay at our house for a week to take care of the kids. She ended up being in charge of a massive birthday carnival party for two of my little ones while I laid in bed recovering. That's love right there! Thanks Katiebug :) Without going on and on about all the people I love, I think what I'm really saying is that sometimes you forget how easy everything is until your life is at a standstill and you have to rely on other people to get you through the day. It's those people who are your true friends :)

Following JD's Journey

2010-06-09T16:30:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone! If you've been reading my blog you know that about 2 months ago we found out that our two-year-old son has autism. At this point in time I've decided to stop my freelance writing services until I get to a point where I feel that I can do both work and provide him with the support he needs through this journey. With that being said, I've decided to create a new blog called, "Following JD's Journey" to journal our experiences through the fight against autism. I hope that you'll take the time to visit the site: www.followingjdsjourney.blogspot.com and find out about more about autism and the daily struggles that so many families in this world face. Thanks for all of the support and I'll keep you posted on when Lindsay Graham LLC will be back up and running!

Our Story...

2010-04-11T11:30:00.000-04:00

It's funny, because for the first time in my life I don't know what to say. Usually writing comes so easily to me, but for the last week I've been practicing this over and over again in my head and I'm just going to take a shot. For some reason I feel like I need to tell my friends because my life has been changed - I've been changed. And I'm going to need all the support I can get. So here's the story...

JD just turned two on March 20th and on the Monday after his birthday I took him in for his well check. Now we just moved, so this was only the third time we've been to our new pediatrician. But just like every other well check, they asked me a bunch of questions. I knew JD's language was behind so I mentioned that. He can say about 10 words and he should be around 50. When the doctor came in he asked a few other questions. Can he point? Will he respond to a command? Like if you ask him to bring you something, will do it it? No - No - No. My stomach sank. JD was playing on the floor with a car that I brought with us. That was nothing new, he's done that since he was little. The doctor said to me, well I need to take him to a specialist because he's showing some signs of autism.

I guess what was strange was that I wasn't shocked. I've seen it for months - the way he plays with his cars, the horrible tantrums where he hits, bites and slaps me. The fact he can't communicate with me. It was all coming together, but I think at that point I still was holding out hope. He gave me some numbers to call of specialists in the area and we went home. It was like nothing big happened - in and out, no big deal. I was meeting mom and Jason for lunch and I just cried the whole way there.

The next day I started calling the specialists - hahaha - all of them were booked until late July, maybe August. I was sick, how was I supposed to wait three months until I found out? Luckily Jason had a friend in Ocala that's a pediatrician and he called her, she referred us to a doctor in Mount Dora. We called and got an appointment for a week later - April 5th. Ok, I can handle that. It took us the entire day to get something scheduled, but at least we made some progress.

I called my friend Amy that night because her son has autism and balled. I told her the things he did and his funny mannerisms. I knew she understood, and she was so helpful. I can truthfully say that without her in my life, I wouldn't be where I am today. She told me about ABA therapy and how I need to start looking into therapy as soon as possible - don't wait for the actual diagnosis - get him help now. I didn't even know that was an option, I thought I had to wait for a specialist to tell us to start treatment. Amy knew exactly what to do, who to contact, what he would need, what I would need - EVERYTHING. So I sat up all night doing research.

I'm not sure if that was a good thing or not, because eventually I wandered onto YouTube and watched videos of other toddlers with autism. Jason was working on his computer behind me and I just sat there in silence. In each video I watched I could see JD. There were kids stacking blocks over and over again, there were kids laying on the floor watching the wheels on their cars and trains, there were kids making the exact same vocal sounds as JD, almost like a repetitive babbling. I turned around and told Jason, this doesn't look good.

He made me get off - he knew it wasn't helping at this point. So I turned my attention to looking for therapy places. I found a website for QuestKids - it's a nonprofit organization in downtown Orlando that provides ABA therapy (behavioral therapy) for kids with autism and other developmental delays. I made an appointment and we were in two days later.

We met with a wonderful girl named Jen who took me, Jason and my mom and dad on a tour of the facility. They have individual therapy rooms for the kids and larger spaces to play. For the first time in days I felt a small amount of relief because I knew we were making progress. We sat down and she asked a bunch of questions about JD and that's when I think I "officially" realized that he has autism. Everything I told her, she said nodded her head yes. There were some tears when I realized that some of the things I thought he was doing for a reason weren't the reason I thought. For example, he always rubs his head against mine really hard, we call it a head butt. I thought that was his way of showing affection to me, almost like a kiss. But I found out that it's a sensory "hug" in a way. Something in his sensory world is off and by pushing against my head it gave him a relief of sorts. I still don't fully understand it, but hearing that was one of the hardest things she told me. We found out that there was a waiting list to get in (of course!) but luckily my dad's company does their insurance (how strange!) so my dad worked his magic and got us in! When I found out, that was one of the best days ever.

On Monday we went to the specialist and we sat with him for 2 hours. He played with JD, asked us a bunch of questions, watched him play with his toys and other stuff. Finally he got out a sheet and rated JD based on his time with him and what I had told him. I thought he was going to come back with a diagnosis of PDD (pervasive developmental disorder) which means that JD has some of the qualities of an autistic child, but not all. However, JD did have issues in all three qualifiers - behavioral, social and communicative. He said, he's on the spectrum, but he's high-functioning.

I can't imagine what I must have looked like - I think I almost just stared off in space because I knew it was real, but I felt like it wasn't really happening. He was such a wonderful doctor and was so nice about everything. We talked and came home and that evening Jason and I and the kids went out back and played on the swings and just spent good time together as if nothing ever happened. That was probably the best thing we could have done that night because it made me realize JD didn't change, he is the same little man that I love. We're just changing the way he's going to learn and love him.

Tomorrow we start at Quest. JD will be going Monday and Friday 10 -12 for the rest of April and then in May he'll go Monday/Tuesday/Thursday/Friday from 10 -12. We'll be adding speech therapy as well and hopefully get up to about 10 to 15 hours of therapy a week. It's called "Early Intervention" and doctors think that the more therapy they can get as early as possible, the more likelihood they will "recover" or lead a more normal life.

I'm so excited, an nervous and anxious because I don't know what the future will hold. My goal is just to be strong - forget about the "what ifs" and stop blaming myself that his happened.

Luckily I have my parents who have been a huge help. Therapy is NOT CHEAP and getting insurance to cover it is like trying to find gold at the end of a rainbow. Mom and dad are helping us pay until we can get the insurance to work with us, but if it wasn't for them then we'd have to wait months until we could start. I think that's what is holding me together at this point - I know we're doing what we can do for him as quickly as possible.

Things around the house are ok - it's a total mess because I'm having a hard time focusing on keeping it clean when all I want to do is research. Jason and I are going to a parent training class starting on Tuesday called "More Than Words" - it's an 8-week program where we'll learn how to communicate more effectively with JD and him begin asking for what he needs instead of using non-verbal ques. It also helps us to incorporate the same therapies at does at Quest with our everyday activities so he is getting non-stop reinforcement at home.

I'll keep everyone posted with how things are going. Probably through my blog and facebook. I just felt like I needed to like you all know. I'm proud of my little man and I know we're going to do everything we can to help him. But as long as he's happy, then I'm happy. I don't want to change him, just help him have an easier time everyday.

Thanks for listening and for the support. I appreciate all of you who read this.

~Lindsay

Locks of Love :)

2010-04-08T12:57:00.001-04:00

I forgot to mention in my last post that I cut off 10 inches of hair for Locks of Love. It was a great experience but I cried through the whole thing! Here's a shot of me with my hair pieces!

Kyle Graham is here!

2010-03-27T16:49:00.001-04:00

WOW - it's been a while since the last time I did a post! Things have been really busy in our house... baby Kyle arrived in November, in December we bought a new house, in February we moved and here we are already close to April. Where does the time go? It's been an exciting year so far. All of the kids are doing great and are happy to have separate rooms again! Ashley started a new preschool and has a new best friend right down the street. JD just turned 2 on March 20th and we had a huge Thomas the Tank Engine party to celebrate (with a trackless train and all!) and Kyle is already 4 months old and is such a sweet and easy baby! I'm just starting to get working again, it's taken me a little longer than I thought to get back up to speed but I'm excited to get moving on some projects with my current clients and finding some new opportunities! Here are a few pictures of the madness, hope you enjoy!

Client Spotlight: FMR Wealth Management

2009-09-16T22:38:00.000-04:00

I'm very excited to spotlight a new client of mine! FMR Wealth Management is an investment consulting firm based out of Winter Park, FL that specializes in Financial Transitions Planning. Pam Ghezzi, Founder & Principal, has spent the last 15 years serving clients who have encountered a dynamic life/wealth situation. In November Pam will be hosting a seminar focusing on the emotional aspect of the current economy and how individuals and families can adjust to their new financial realities after experiencing a sudden change in their income. I'll be helping Pam promote the seminar through various marketing and communications tools. I think we'll have a great partnership and I look forward to helping FMR get to the next level with marketing! For more information on FMR, visit their website: www.fmrwealth.com

The Virgo in Me!

2009-09-14T22:36:00.000-04:00

With baby Kyle coming in two months my to-do list is a little overwhelming.... get ready for Halloween, get all the baby stuff in order, move JD into Ashley's room, finish decorating the baby's room, prepare for Ashley's 3rd birthday (the week after Kyle comes!), figure out what we're doing for Thanksgiving, make Christmas lists for all the kids, get ready for Jason's birthday and finally CHRISTMAS!

Luckily I'm a Virgo so I've got it all under control! :) Today I went to Babies R Us with mom and got everything I needed for Kyle's arrival. The funny thing is that it wasn't really much because he's baby #3 and I already have (or refuse to buy) most everything! Then we went to Toys R Us and got everything needed for Ashley's princess birthday party in November (yes, it's September now!). Then I ordered all the Halloween outfits for the family off Amazon.com - the Grahams are going as superheroes this year - Ashley is Wonder Woman, JD is Robin, Jason is SuperDad and I'm BatMom!

Now I'm searching for the perfect family Christmas outfits and on to researching (yes researching - I'm a nerd!) present ideas for the kids and Jason.

I've got to say - I do love the third trimester for one reason and one reason only - I LOVE TO ORGANIZE!!!! :)

Here Come the Gators!

2009-09-12T22:40:00.000-04:00

Ahhhh football season is back! My husband and I both went to the University of Florida so we live for this time of year. My favorite part is dressing up the kids in their orange and blue... and since they have red hair and blue eyes they look SUPER cute! I just wanted to share some pictures of the family dressed in their best Gator garb! I can almost feel the cool weather coming as we speak! :)

Owls Are In!!

2009-09-12T21:25:00.000-04:00

It's so funny because when I created this blog it was hard to find an image of a cute owl to use... here we are about a year later and owls have made it to the scene in a big way! With Halloween right around the corner the "retro owl" look is on everything - clothes, decorations, hair bows, bags - you name it and I bet you can find an owl on it. Just check out Etsy.com, right now I searched owl and there's 903 pages of handmade things you can buy! That's not a good thing for me because I'll sit there and go through all 900 pages just to see what's out there. I just wish I had more use for random owl items! :)

Two Months to Go!

2009-09-07T00:20:00.000-04:00

My husband and I are expecting our third child this November! His name is Kyle Logan Graham and in about two months our whole world will be turned upside down again.... sleepless nights, endless bottles, diapers galore...but we wouldn't have it any other way! I've always wanted a big family and I'm really excited to add another one to the mix. I'm frequently asked how on earth I manage to take care of two kids, work from home, be the room-mom at school, organize random events like my reunion, and so on and I think I've narrowed it down to three things: I stay up way too late at night, I have an amazing husband and I am a Virgo - I like to be in control of everything and have everything scheduled, planned and organized. I'm excited to meet Baby Kyle and see his little personality come to life! I wonder how he'll fit into the Graham Cracker family!

A Great Event!

2009-08-23T22:29:00.000-04:00

This weekend's reunion was the culmination of many months of planning! I'm really excited that everything came out great - we had the best attendance in years (thanks to Facebook and the website I created for the event!) and I was very happy with how the venue turned out. We held it at The Tap Room at Dubsdread which was the perfect size. I have to say that working them was a complete joy because they were very flexible and accommodating. The decorations were great and my absolute favorite part were our giveaways - custom made cookies in the shape of a hornet by Cookie Cousins! They were amazing, I'm blown away by how perfect they turned out! If you are looking for an original momento that is really worth the price, then check out their website: http://www.thecookiecousins.com/. I've used them for a few events now and every time they really impress me.

The Car Seat Conundrum...

2009-08-21T00:08:00.000-04:00

Since my oldest is starting preschool in two weeks my mind has been endlessly racing about filling out forms, getting back to school clothes & shoes, paying tuition on time... so on and so forth. But today I had another worry enter my mind. How in the heck am I going to put three car seats in the minivan so that I can still drop Ashley off in the carpool line? (Ok, I know it's a luxury that I shouldn't even be worried about because most preschools don't even have a carpool line, but in reality it would be such a lifesaver to use it since I will have a newborn and a two year old who I don't want to have to park, put in the stroller, cross two major roads downtown and then haul Ashley back from her classroom. I've been reading posts on the internet on the best way to configure three car seats but I have to tell you - this is going to be way more of a pain than I thought! I just thought I would share my frustration with the world. I'm sure we'll figure it out just fine!

Client Spotlight

2009-08-18T13:59:00.000-04:00

I thought it would be nice to spotlight one of my clients from time to time. I've been working with Alvarez, Sambol, Winthrop & Madson, P.A. since January 2008. They are a law firm located in downtown Orlando that serves the legal needs of Florida's business community. They have offices in Orlando, Miami, Ft.Myers and New York. As their freelance marketing professional, I help them with a great deal of projects.... creating bios for their attorneys, updating their website, writing/distributing press releases, creating ads for print pubs... that's just a short list! If you'd like more inforation on their firm visit http://www.aswmpa.com/. If you'd like samples of the marketing materials created by Lindsay Graham LLC then please contact me!

It's Been a While...

2009-08-17T21:58:00.000-04:00

So my family has been on a blogging craze lately... my sister, my aunt and even my mom. I've had mine up for almost a year and haven't updated it since SPRING! Well it's mid-August now and with a full dose of teasing from my family members I've decided to give it a new look and a new post! It's been an eventful year for my business but it will be slowing down for the rest of the year because I'm expecting baby #3, Kyle Logan Graham, in November. I'm trying to wrap up projects and do business plans for 2010 so that all of my clients are ahead of the game when I get back on my feet! My problem is that I enjoy having too much to do and not enough time so as I write this I'm thinking about work, planning a reunion, getting the kids ready to go back to school and decorating the baby's room! Let Fall begin!

Spring Projects

2009-04-19T11:32:00.000-04:00

I'm happy to announce a new client of mine - Internet Hosting Services (IHS). I'll be working with them do to some website copywriting! If you're in need of website hosting or design including services such as content management systems (CRMs) and client relationship management (CMS) then please visit their website: http://www.hostservices.net/.

Busy Bee

2009-03-24T22:05:00.000-04:00

I should start calling myself "Busy Bee" from now on!... on top of work and the kids, I've also offered to serve as the Chairman for my high school reunion. Our mascot? The Hornet! Who knew that planning a reunion was so much work? Thank goodness for Facebook - in two weeks I was able to find 140 of my classmates - that was much easier than trying to track them down the old-fashioned way! My favorite part so far was making the website: http://www.bishopmoore1999.myevent.com/. We've already had over 600 hits! Just another day in the life of a work-at-home mom!

Going Down Memory Lane...

2009-02-17T23:12:00.000-05:00

Almost nine years ago Jason (my husband) and I had our first date at a little restaurant in Gainesville called Cafe Gardens. It's one of my favorite places to visit every time we go back and for Valentine's Day this year, we took both of the kids up and had lunch out on the courtyard. Since I love taking pictures, I brought my camera and took some shots. One came out really great and I want to share it here. The funny thing is that I went on the Cafe Gardens website to see if I could send it to the owners and I realized their site had been "under construction" for a long time. I'm excited to say that I'm helping them write the content for their site - pro bono - since the times I spent at Cafe Gardens were such wonderful memories in college! I hope it helps spread the word about what a wonderful place it is to visit. Keep an eye out for http://www.cafegardens.net/ - hopefully it will be running at 100% very soon!

February Starts with a Bang!

2009-02-05T17:21:00.000-05:00

This month has been really busy! The law firm, ASWMPA, is updating their brochure, website and attorney bios. I finally finished the New Producer Welcome Kits for Penn Mutual and they turned out great. We went with a baseball theme and included items such as branded baseball and hat, a box of Cracker Jacks and a custom greeting card. I was contacted by a friend of mine who lives in Washington D.C., she works for a company called KaBOOM! - I'm hoping to work with them to revamp their corporate development brochure. They are an amazing non-profit organization that empowers communities to build playgrounds. I was lucky enough to have worked on a playground project about 2 years ago and it was so much fun. If you're interested in learning more, visit their website at http://www.kaboom.org/.

My Website is Up and Running!

2009-02-01T09:49:00.000-05:00

I'm so excited to say that my website (www.lindsay-graham.com) is up and running! I just wanted to thank Sandi from Think*Pink (www.thinkpinkwebdesign.com) for all of her hard work. She saw my vision and made it better than I could have ever dreamed! If you're looking for an informational website, I highly recommend her!

Spanish Translation Services!

2009-01-28T16:30:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone! The other day a friend gave me a great idea... we were talking about work and she mentioned how helpful it would be to provide translation services. I thought that would be a great thing to incorporate into my copywriting services. I'm in the midst of finding an experienced translator to work with so if you know of anyone, shoot me an email! I think it will be a great benefit to all of my clients!

My Website is Almost Ready!

2009-01-23T13:52:00.001-05:00

I've been sick for a few weeks now and I'm finally back up and running! It's nice to get so much work done again. Sandi is almost done with my website design and it should be up in the next few weeks! I'm SO excited! I love the direction we're going in and I can't wait to share it with my clients and friends!

Sick and Tired

2009-01-17T15:05:00.000-05:00

Today is day 6 of me being sick and I'm so tired of coughing all day and night. I haven't gotten much sleep lately and I'm running on E. This week however, was pretty productive for work. The law firm I work with has signed on to sponsor a bunch of good events for 2009 and we're way ahead of where we were last year with planning. They also had two new senior attorneys join their firm and we had some PR picked up on that. As far as Penn Mutual goes, we had a nice banquet dinner the other night at Del Frisco's to celebrate 2008 and we're starting to discuss work for 2009. They're going to be creating a website for their regional office, so I'll be working on the copy for that. The next few months should be busy so I hope that I feel better soon!

A Night Owl

2009-01-12T13:55:00.000-05:00

I found this great picture of an owl today and it inspired my blog for two reasons! First, I think of myself as a "Night Owl" because that's normally when I get all of my work done. The kids are in bed, the house is clean, Jason is normally playing video games! But more importantly it reminds me of a best friend and mentor - my former boss Lauren. She taught me so much and I am forever grateful for her support and friendship. She loves owls so this one is dedicated to her!

Bringing in 2009!

2009-01-11T23:26:00.000-05:00

Today was an exciting day. I've been doing freelance writing for over a year now and my business has grown by leaps and bounds. I'm finally ready to move forward with my web site: www.lindsay-graham.com. I met with my web designer today, Sandi from www.thinkpinkwebdesigns.com and we started putting together some ideas for the new site. I'm hoping it will be up by the end of February. You all have to come back and check it out! I created this blog to help inform my clients, friends and family of any new projects I'm working on or news that I'd like to share. Thanks for visiting and I hope to see you soon!