D_Victoria_Virtual_Assistance

As a teenager, I dreamed of being a writer. Many evenings were spent writing stories, plays and poems. My stories ranged from downright silly, a play where the main characters met New Kids on the Block, my idols of the time. To serious, a dancer who was in a terrible car accident and lost her ability to walk. The story followed her through waking up from a coma, to being rehabilitated, falling in love with her physical therapist and finally, dancing once again.

I was determined to be a writer and in high school I took journalism and creative writing classes. It was during this time though, that my dream slipped away.

I wrote a story for my creative writing class and mustered up my confidence, walked up to my teacher and handed it to her for review. As I stood next to her desk at the front of the class, I watched her read it and eventually she began to mark it up with her bright red pen. I was horrified.

What really happened and what I thought happened next were two entirely different things. From my perspective, she told me my story was horrible and I should never write again. What probably happened was that she told me my story could be greatly improved and to please read through her...

The answer to the question "If you could meet anyone from the past or present or future who would that be and why?" is simple for me.

If I had a time machine and was able to travel back in time, I would travel back to the 1980s for afternoon cookies with a wonderful lady. This lady was strong, smart, loved to cook, bake and lived and breathed for her family and friends. She was a wife, a sister (she was sister number 8 out of a family of 9 daughters), a friend, a wife and a mother.

This amazing woman waited at home while her young husband fought in World War 2. Years later she became a mother. Along with her husband, they raised three wonderful children together. As with any family, there were some bumps and bruises along the way..but she remained the family loving person she always had been.

In the 1970s and 1980s, when her children were all grown up and had families of their own, she added grandmother to her already long list of titles. The love for her family flourished. All of her grandchildren loved their grandmother and she returned that love -- two times over.

If I could go back in time, I would sit down with this wonderful woman, who passed away much...

This month's VAF Blogging challenge is simply: Essential.

Essential can have many meanings to each and every one of us. In fact, what one person finds essential in their daily business or life, may not be the same for another. With that being said, here are the things that are most essential to me when it comes to my Virtual Assistant Business.

It is essential for me to continue to learn; this allows me to continue to not only grow my business, but offers me much professional growth as well. I am lost when I am not learning something new.

It is essential for me to communicate with my clients; for that matter, it is essential that they in turn communicate with me. Communication is a major key to my success.

It is essential that I take a step back every day to take in all that I have accomplished and to also evaluate what I have not. This allows me to be grateful for what I have and provides me with the motivation to forge ahead for the things I am lacking.

Above all else, it is essential for me to believe in myself. My skills, my capabilities, my thoughts and ideas are the things that have gotten me this far. I can do it, I will do it and nothing is going to...

This month's VAF Blog Challenge was a bit challenging for me simply because I am inspired by so many things! A photo, a movie, something someone says, these things can all resonate with me and inspire me to feel a certain way, think a certain thought or do something I wouldn't have otherwise thought of doing.

Once, as a teenager, I watched the movie Alive. The movie was a story about a plane that crashed in the Andes and told the story of the passengers on the flight. It was graphic, at times hard to watch and extremely powerful (at least for me). Moments after watching that movie, I closed myself in my bedroom with my teal painted walls covered with images of kittens and rock stars. I took out a pack of white index cards and a pen with purple ink. On the front of each index card, I wrote the name of a friend or family member. I flipped each card over one by one and proceeded to write my heartfelt gratitude and expression of love toward these important people in my life. I cried, I laughed, it was a time of deep seeded reflection. I must have only been, but 15 or 16 years old. How a movie such as a Alive can evoke such passion in me, I will never know. I can tell you this though, that was not the first time nor the...

Ah, yes, Spring Cleaning time is here again. And that means it is time once again for window washing. There are two types of window washing. The first type, I absolutely loathe and if I could, I would hire someone else to do. This type includes windows of the glass variety.

The second type of window washing, I thoroughly enjoy and oftentimes, find it to be a time of reflection and enjoyment. This type of window washing involves my computer. Oh yes, I am talking about spring cleaning my Windows OS.

Why not use this time of year to clean your computer? You are already in the cleaning and organizing frame of mind, right? I like to go through all of the folders on my desktop and in my documents, organize my files, look at images (that is where the time of reflection comes in) and read old emails, letters and documents (that is where my enjoyment comes from). I take a look at my desktop and delete any shortcuts I haven't used in months. This is actually my motto when it comes to cleaning my house too. If I haven't used or touched an appliance or item in over 6 months...out it goes into the goodwill box!

So you see, window washing doesn't have to be hard at all. Well, that is as long as you...