Monday, December 8, 2014

Where Did The Year Go?

It seems as though I blinked and the year is almost over.  With this month zipping by so quickly, I hope you find a few minutes away from the hustle and bustle to so something fun. 
Here are some interesting dates to keep in mind:

December 9           National Pastry Day

December 12         Poinsettia Day
December 13         12-13-14
Couples are rushing to Vegas to get married on this special sequential dates. 
(The next sequential date on the calendar is 01-02-34 - January 2, 2034)

December 16           National Chocolate Covered Anything Day

Indeed,  everyday can be a celebration so if you're like me and you think Life is Sweet,  Go ahead and Celebrate Everything.



Merley


Monday, December 1, 2014

Communication Overload!


Communication Overload



 

There is no argument that technology has changed the way we do business today. It is fair to say that social networking affects every business. Today, customers can readily check Facebook, Yelp, Twitter  and so on for product reviews and make their decisions at lightning speed based on comments from friends, colleagues and even strangers. 

 

Perhaps Tina Roth Eisenberg of Swiss Miss says it best when she describes her personal communication overload: “Too many channels. Too many messages. Too much noise. Too much guilt… The world sends me tweets, direct messages, texts, chats with me on Skype, sends me Facebook emails (!) and actual mail and also calls me… Responding on all these channels is a full-time job, extremely distracting and exhausting. I feel constantly behind.”

 

I agree with Tina. After spending two hours yesterday afternoon deleting over 5,000 emails and unsubscribing from many publications, I have decided I need a new plan of action for the coming year.

 

Herb Kelleher, former CEO of Southwest Airlines, says: “The business of people is people.”

With the plethora of communication tools available to us today, we forget how important it is to                            actually make the human connection. It’s still okay to pick up a phone and talk to people. You might be surprised at the results.

 

The gift of a kind word goes a long way, so I never hesitate when the opportunity arises to do just that.

 

I recently read a newsletter that was very inspiring. I wanted to let the author know, so I sent him a thank you card. I don’t expect or need to hear back from him, but I thought it was important for him to know that his effort was appreciated.

 

My goal is to reduce the mail in my inbox to less than 100 at any given time. I’m starting with a nightly purge of my inbox. Will let you know how that is going.

 

That being said, we at Celebrate Sweetly are excited to share our newsletter with you. Sign up here www.celebratesweetly.com  to let us know if you would like to continue receiving our monthly newsletter. If you don’t, please let us know. We won’t take it personally; instead, we will blame it on communication overload.

 

Sincerely,

 

Merley

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

What Are You Doing?

Every year at this time the cashier at the grocery store, bank teller, postal worker and pretty much everyone you come into contact with asks the same two  questions.

What are you doing for Thanksgiving? Will you be shopping on Black Friday?
My answers haven't changed since I pretty much do the same thing every year.
The day usually starts off with the kids watching the Macy's Parade followed by the National Dog Show.   As much as I try,  I end up getting pulled in to watch the parade and I can't deny that some of the doggies in the show are adorable.

The next part of the day is getting my brined  turkey ready for roasting, have each daughter make her side dish and oh yes, my husband gets to pull out the Christmas decorations.

Our day is pretty relaxed as we simply enjoy each other's company. On Black Friday,  our trip to the Janss Market Place is for one reason only ----watch Santa parachute in to mark the start of the holiday season.

Losing my dad this past Summer makes me truly treasure the special times I spend with my family.

Wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving with your family.