Category Archives: Business

Day 2978 – How We Wake Up At 5 AM And Actually Enjoy It – and – A Little Bit About Working With Your Spouse

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I think we have a new habit, and I think it will be around for a while: waking up at 5:00 a.m. on work days. Since we are building a business (real estate investing), there is a lot to do, all the time. I’ve really been digging in with data mining and management. We’ve recently started outsourcing calls, and it helps to put the pressure on me to keep up with finding numbers and not find excuses to be lazy. Since I don’t track my time on the weekends, I have no idea how many hours I put it this weekend, but it has been a lot. Oy. I have looked at SO many houses online! Though, it does get me dreaming about a home for us down the line. We have some pretty specific needs and wants, so it will likely take a while until we find it. Since Bret is back to school (today is the first day for the kids), having a routine is much more important. One way we’re fitting more in each day is by waking up at 5:00 a.m. I cannot believe I’m saying it….but we haven’t snoozed once since we started. I have ALWAYS snoozed. I have snoozed for HOURS. We’ll still be in bed, but we aren’t hitting snooze and trying to sleep for those precious 9 minutes. Once we have somewhat of a mental faculty going, we’ll start to say things that we’re thankful for. It can be anything from “I’m thankful you’re alive today” to “I’m thankful for this blanket” to “I’m thankful we prepped the coffee last night.” It makes such a difference in mood of the day right from the start. We’ll spend a little time chatting about the day and different things once the coffee is ready. Then I launch into my morning firsts (devotions, writing, blogging, etc).

It’s funny that we’re working together again. After we stopped photography, I thought it would be me working my jobs, and Bret teaching. Us working together, in a lot of ways, came out of left field. But I am SO pumped to be working with Bret again! Working with your spouse isn’t easy, it can be difficult, for sure, but the benefits outweigh those difficulties for us. One thing we’ve noticed is that I can get grumpy if I don’t get 8-9 hours of sleep. It takes a few days, but there is a noticeable difference. Last week, I was REALLLLLLLY grumpy, and Bret was like, ummmmmmmm, what? After more time than it should have, we realize it was because of my lack of sleep. Because Bret knows me so well, he can call me out on things, and we can work through them together.

A bonus to waking up this early is getting to see the sunrise. I was not disappointed this morning.

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Day 2969 – Sundays = Re-Grouping – or – Growing Businesses With Bret Is So Fun

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Today has mostly been spent in the brainstorming, and re-grouping state of mind. Bret and I had a long conversation about our roles in each of our businesses and daily life. It was very helpful to have his insight into my life and work, and that I could speak into his life. There are lots of intersections in both. I am so grateful for where we both are in our lives. We are open to change and we are open to correction. We have grown SO much in how we talk about things, and knowing our communication styles. We can see when one of us is talking about things in one way (like the planning portion) and the other is talking in the execution (how are we going to do this?)

I didn’t really learn anything I didn’t know about myself through the conversation, but it helped me to focus on the important and mentally cut out the not important. It’s a great way to head into my next work week.

What are you up to this Sunday?

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Did you like what you read? Here’s some ways you can support us and this blog!
Join our Facebook group, Planning an Epic Road Trip on Any Budget
Join the Journey With The G’s email list (bonus – you get my Epic Road Trip Budget spreadsheet)
Buy my book, Planning an Epic Road Trip on any Budget
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Check out our resources page.
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Day 2959 – My Reverse Bucket List (Things I HAVE Accomplished/Done)

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As I was trying to figure out what to blog today, one idea was a reverse bucket list. I did a little digging, and basically, it’s a list of things I HAVE done. I thought it would be a great exercise, not only as a way for y’all to get to know me more, but also a way for me to be thankful.

1. Meet and marry someone.

2. Marry my best friend.

3. Take a four cross country road trips.

4. See Jenny Lake again.

5. Make six figures (granted, this was in cumulative years, but still).

6. Write a book*.

7. Write another book*.

8. Successfully quit drinking.

9. Pay off and stay out of debt.

10. Start and continue a blog.

11. Make money from a blog. (It’s a little baby amount, but it’s something!)

12. Read a lot of books.

13. Jump out of a plane.

14. Work for myself.

15. Encourage others to grow their businesses.

What’s on your reverse bucket list?

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* Amazon Affiliate link
Did you like what you read? Here’s some ways you can support us and this blog!
Join our Facebook group, Planning an Epic Road Trip on Any Budget
Join the Journey With The G’s email list (bonus – you get my Epic Road Trip Budget spreadsheet)
Buy my book, Planning an Epic Road Trip on any Budget
Buy my book, Trusting God With 2 Cents: 22 Days To Becoming A Successful Christian Business Owner.
Shop on Amazon (no additional cost to you, this gives us a percentage of what you order).
Check out our resources page.
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Day 2955 – 200 Books Read In 2017! – or – Reading Goals

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Last year, my reading goal was 75 books, last night, I hit 200 books read this year. In an effort to be open about what I read, and that it’s not THAT impressive, of those 200 books, 146 of them are children’s picture books. I do count books like my 200th book, pictured below, as a “full length” book. I have read some amazing books this year so far. Some hilarious and awesome children’s picture books (this is my top rated children’s books on my Goodreads account – feel free to friend me while you’re there!), business books that have changed my life*, and books that made me live every day like a child*. I started the year with a few reading challenges, and they pushed me to try new books, and pick up things I never would have thought to read. I haven’t really looked at them in a while, but it’s nice to know I have them in case I need some reading inspiration.

I feel as though a number of the books I’ve read this year have had small things that change a character’s life. It’s fascinating that our lives can change so quickly by a small change. Whether it’s finding a bracelet or winning a trip or finding an urn from the other side of the country. I want to remember this as I take small steps towards my big goals.

If I’ve learned anything in this year of massive reading, it’s that there are so many more books to read. I am so thankful for public libraries, and will continue to be an advocate of using them. Think about it this way – your tax dollars are paying for it, so use it!

Another big lesson is there is much joy and wisdom to be found in children’s picture books. Don’t write them off because they’re in the kids section. Check out my link above to my favorite children’s books I’ve read this year.

I think it’s fitting that this was my 200th book. 🙂

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* Amazon Affiliate link
Did you like what you read? Here’s some ways you can support us and this blog!
Join our Facebook group, Planning an Epic Road Trip on Any Budget
Join the Journey With The G’s email list (bonus – you get my Epic Road Trip Budget spreadsheet)
Buy my book, Planning an Epic Road Trip on any Budget
Buy my book, Trusting God With 2 Cents: 22 Days To Becoming A Successful Christian Business Owner.
Shop on Amazon (no additional cost to you, this gives us a percentage of what you order).
Check out our resources page.
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

Day 2954 – How To Be Thankful When Life Slows Your Pace

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I feel like I’m finally on the mend today, which is good because I have some work for one of my clients today! It was hard to take it easy this week. I thought this week would be one of knocking out a number of projects, making progress on things that have been sitting for a while, and just an all around catch up week. I was not expecting to get sick, and stuck in bed most of the week. But instead of getting discouraged in my lack of productivity, I decided to be thankful. Here are a handful of the things I AM thankful for this week:

– That Bret closed on his second house, which takes a little of the financial burden off me.
– That my clients are super understanding, and care about my health most of all.
– That it is a slow season on all fronts (Bret’s out of school, client projects are slower right now, etc)
– That I have jobs that allow me to take breaks when I need to.
– That I have learned over the years to listen to my body, and not push things.
– That the imperative things were accomplished.

What about you? What are you thankful for when life forces you to slow down?

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Did you like what you read? Here’s some ways you can support us and this blog!
Join our Facebook group, Planning an Epic Road Trip on Any Budget
Join the Journey With The G’s email list (bonus – you get my Epic Road Trip Budget spreadsheet)
Buy my book, Planning an Epic Road Trip on any Budget
Buy my book, Trusting God With 2 Cents: 22 Days To Becoming A Successful Christian Business Owner.
Shop on Amazon (no additional cost to you, this gives us a percentage of what you order).
Check out our resources page.
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel