I love Halloween. It's the one day a year that I can dress up like anything I want and people will smile and say how cute I look. It's like being a little kid all over again.
I found out that Halloween is a big deal at work. Nearly everybody dresses up and there is a big party and costume contest. We had a lot of fun and got absolutely no work done.
This year we got ready for winter early as I dressed up as the Ice Queen and my adorable husband was Old Man Winter.
I'm a little late in posting this, but better late than never. The Provo High Bridal Fair was on Saturday, Oct 18, and I, of course, went all out. It was so insane but also a lot of fun. My booth was decked out for winter, which was perfect, as the majority of the brides I talked to were getting married in December and January (that's a crazy time of year to plan a wedding).
I got quite a few compliments on the decor (which is good since that IS my business) and a lot of great leads. Melissa provided the lovely flower arrangement which was also very popular. Consequently we handed out a lot of her business cards as well. (For more of Melissa's lovely creations, please see: www.tickledpinkfloral.com)
All in all, I think it was a grand success. Now is the busy time of following up on leads, sending mass emails (YAY!) and really pushing my business. If everything goes well, I could potentially have a wedding every weekend in December and January. I already have someone very nearly signed up for the first week of January, and someone else in February, so things are going really well.
Here are some pictures of my booth: 
As many of you already know, I am a co-host on a gaming podcast called PolyCast. This is an entertaining 45 minute show devoted to discussing the latest in the gaming world, specifically the Sid Meier Civilization world. (Yes, I also think it's weird that I'm a co-host for a gaming podcast.)
PolyCast has just been announced as a competitor for the 2008 Podcast Awards. Hundreds of shows were nominated, but out of all of them, PolyCast has placed in the top 10 in two categories: Best Produced and Best Gaming PodCast. The voting for the winners has just opened and people are welcome to vote every 24 hours until November 6.
If you are interested in voting for my podcast please go to: http://www.podcastawards.com/ and vote for POLYCAST in both the Best Produced and Gaming Categories.
If you are interested in listening to snippets of the PolyCast episodes and hear my embarrassing performances, please visit: http://polycast.apolyton.net/polycast/
If you listen to the most recent, entitled "Episode 55: It's Expulent!" you get a bonus as my wonderful husband, Alexander, is a guest co-host and he's really funny.
I have a new challenge for myself! YAY!! I am learning German for my sweet German husband. Because I don't have a lot of free time, we have decided to kill two birds with one stone by reading the German Book of Mormon together every night. It takes me forever to read a verse and translate it, but I am learning. I am sort of proud of myself as I have been making progress even though we just started a couple nights ago.
I'd like to be able to speak it so that if/when I ever have children we can teach it to them so that they will truly be able to take advantage of their German heritage and citizenship. We are having fun doing it, and it feels good to be stretching my mental limits a little. Hopefully I will be able to keep it up. :)
Lately I've been just a little bit bummed. I feel like I don't really fit in anywhere outside of my home. There are all these little groups around me and I am by myself. I'll give you a few examples:
In my ward: I am one of maybe 5 women in the ward (and that includes the very newly married) who doesn't have children and is not pregnant. Plus, most women don't work, so they find it inconvenient when I tell them I can't help cause I work full time. They have their little click-ish play groups and spend all day talking and eating homemade cookies while they watch their kids play.
In my family: My sister is getting married in November. All the girls (except me) are bridesmaids and my brothers are groomsmen and they are all wearing matchy matchy outfits. I was told it didn't matter what I wore, and by that I take it to mean it doesn't matter if I am even there. I understand that married women are not bridesmaids, but I still feel incredibly left out.
My friends: Okay, first of all, I don't see my friends very often but when I do the talk is all about babies and kids etc. Which is fine, I love babies and kids, I just don't have any of my own to proudly display and discuss.
At work: I just feel awkward. I feel like people don't get my jokes or my personality and my comments are not funny and fall flat. I also feel like my opinions don't matter and that I don't have enough experience to be taken seriously.
I don't know, maybe it's just been a blah day and the craziness of this week is wearing me down. I may be overreacting, but I don't feel like I am.
Do you ever find that there are things that you need to do that you absolutely dread and then when you finally get around to doing that horrible thing, you realize how much you love it?
Weird, huh? So what was all the fuss about? I think it has something to do with the lies that we tell ourselves. You know, those little things that you convince yourself are true but deep down you know they aren't?
This weekend was very progressive for me because I had two separate self realization moments about things I was dreading but turned out that I really enjoyed. Once I realized the truth I was able to inspect why I had been telling myself the lies. It appears that they were lies of convenience, it is just easier to believe the lies than to face the truth. Sound familiar to anyone else? Now that I have the awareness of the lies, I can obliterate them from my mind. It won't be automatic, they are ingrained in my mind and my habits. However, very few things are actually impossible, so there is a good chance that I will succeed.
I wonder what other lies I am telling myself?
My company has a new book out entitled, "Influencer". In correlation with this book, they are also offering trainings on how to become an Influencer. Everyone in the company must take the course, and last week was my turn. It was a good class, focusing on goals and changing something you haven't been successful at changing (there were many things on my list). You can pretty much count on hearing more about this topic later. However, one of the concepts that stuck out to me the most wasn't even a main topic. It was all about convincing Opinion Leaders to go along with your idea, and thus change something in your company, family, etc.
Okay, so I honestly didn't care much about convincing opinion leaders, I just wanted to become one. An opinion leader is someone whose opinion is valued by everyone around him. An opinion leader is sought out by his friends and colleagues and is highly valued and respected.
Wouldn't it be cool to be someone that everyone goes to for ideas, input, and opinions? It's not really the idea of being popular that appeals to me, it's the idea that of being perceived as being knowledgeable and wise in your circle of influence.
If you are like me, you will want to know how to become an opinion leader. Here are some steps to achieving that goal:
First, you have to possess a great deal of knowledge in the issue at hand. Second, you have to be trustworthy and care more about other people's best interests so you are not seen as manipulative. Lastly, you have to be generous with your time. Take time to talk to others and be accessible.
If you do these things correctly, you will be both respected and connected. :) *(Patterson, Grenny, Maxfield, McMillan, Switzler; Influencer; pg 153-154)
**By the way, these authors are experts. They are also my bosses, the top CEO's, or as we call them, "The Authors". On Monday, two of them took me and 2 other new people out to lunch to get to know us and see what we thought of the company. They instantly won my respect and it was nice to see people practice what they preach.
