A moment to breathe

I’m fresh back from a very quick trip (less than 72 hours) to Philadelphia and back to see my dad’s side of the family. It was a last-minute decision with so much meaning behind it. My cousin was having a 35th b-day dinner and a lot of the family was going to be there especially my grandma who isn’t doing all that well. In the past, I have refrained from getting to personal on here because the site has never and is not about me; however, this weekend had such a profound impact on me.

Family is family… for better or worse. There is no perfect model family or mold and to look at what is missing/lacking is foolish. Appreciate what it is you have and strive to improve what you can… Accept what it is you can not change and embrace the love that is shared (no matter how much or how little it is). Open your heart up and accept every imperfection as beautiful… Reach into the depths of your soul and ask yourself what you can do to be a better daughter/sister/granddaughter/cousin/even friend… And, DO IT. As they say there is no time like the present and you never know what the future will bring…

I have been blessed with this opportunity over the weekend… Growing up there was a lot of pain that I felt. I was angry, confused, sad, and lonely… I was searching for answers without asking questions… I was banging my head against a brick wall that could’ve easily crumbled… I was resentful for what I didn’t have yet I never saw how much was there. I never heard the other side of the story. I never stopped to ask why… And, I never truly opened myself up to all that was there… It wasn’t what I thought it should be. It wasn’t what I wanted it to be. And it certainly wasn’t perfect… But nothing is. None of us are. In my mind, perfection is a formula we construct that prohibits us from taking full responsibility for ourselves. There is always something/someone to blame for the imperfections and it’s paralyzing.

I can not change the past but I can impact the future. I will not take a backseat anymore with my dad, stepmom, step-sisters, and the rest of that side of my family. I may be 3000 miles away but I will no longer be a visitor in their lives… From now on, I would like to be a part of it…

To keep the family spirit alive, here are a few of my favorite quotes about the fam…

Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one. ~Jane Howard

Just because somebody doesn’t love you the way you want them to doesn’t mean they don’t love you with everything they got ~Gail Lumet Buckley

Family faces are magic mirrors. Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present and future.

Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get — only with what you are expecting to give–which is everything. ~Katharine Hepburn

The love of a family is life’s greatest blessing…

So tell your family & friends you LOVE them… because you never can say it enough….xoxo

And so the story goes…

Time has managed to escape me and I’ve been swamped with work, work, and more work. Ugh! Why can’t we all be trust fund babies? Kidding (kind of). Anyway, we’re finally on the fast track to getting the new site up and I’m feeling a mixture of emotions– i’m excited, nervous, anxious, relieved… you know, the normal feelings we have when something big is about to happen ie: going to prom, leaving for college, the first day of a new job, and of course, launching a new website.

There’s so much that goes into launching a site that I had no idea about when I started this 2 years ago…(wow, two years already? time flies when you’re stressed out of your mind and having fun…) When I declared that this blog would be about starting a business and achieving your dream, I had every intention of going through the grueling from beginning to end. However, I find that everyday something new arises and while I will eventually backtrack and recount my experience, for now I’m just going to go from where we are today and whatever I have on mind that can hopefully be of value to someone looking to start a new venture…

The Ultimate Sacrifice…

Disclaimer: I’m PMSing hardcore right now so if I sound like a bitch in this my apologies…

First off, let me say that starting a business of any kind is f*cking hard work. Do not be fooled by the quick success stories you hear all around you. Success doesn’t come overnight. They aren’t lying when they say that it’s blood, sweat and tears. Lots and lots of tears. Lots and lots of stress. Less and less of wild nights out on the town. No more days booked but nights available… Your life becomes your work & your work becomes your life. It’s a problem but it’s quite common. Deal with it in the beginning then change it FAST!

So the ultimate sacrifice in starting a business is… YOU! You must be 100% dedicated and be willing to give 100% of yourself. I’m not going to lie… It sucks. A lot. However, in the end it’s worth it. xo

WorldWideWoman…What???

I have officially been working on achieving this childhood dream of mine for over a year and many times I have thought to myself (not to mention heard from others) that I should chronicle the experience of:

a. starting a business
b. starting a website
c. balancing business with pleasure

and so on… well, today i got another ounce of encouragement from my dear friend Jenka on IM (our favorite mode of communication – actually the source of the start of our friendship to be frank). After our conversation was cut short by my lovely macbook deciding to make me nauseous with the “thinking” icon (those familiar with macs know what I’m talking about – the multi-colored wheel that is worse than a tilt-a-whirl gone mad) spinning for close to 20 minutes leading me to whole-heartedly resist throwing my computer out my 5th floor window… I decided this unpredictable beast (a tribute to my grandma, meme, and her pc desktop) needed a rest & I myself could use one too. So as I lied in bed sweating b/c I was just too lazy to walk ten steps to turn the air conditioning on I started to think about all the lovely lessons I’ve learned over the past year. Well… in a nutshell I’ve learned a lot. However, I can’t even think of everything off-hand. So ‘what the hell’ let me try to recount the all the things I’ve learned and challenges I have faced (though I do warn – I can be a bitch & very blunt), and at least have in writing an excuse for the excess cellulite on my thighs, the added wrinkles around my eyes (thank you, Brad!), and the abrupt break-up with my straightening iron. Hmmm…. one word: STRESS! For anyone looking to start an online business don’t be afraid (just yet) this past year has been amazing. Nothing can replace the life-long lessons I’ve learned; however, just like in most things in our lives if only I had known I would’ve done it a different. Ain’t that the truth, mom!

It will be my goal to write about this experience at least every other day. Someone please hold me to this because as a complete victim of ADD I tend to get bored easily. I definitely need the everyday reminder b/c without it I will start this and probably never ever fully entertain and educate the masses on starting a business, a website, and achieving a dream. Oh yeah, because I am so a Mother Teresa… not even close! This is really as I stated before just for me & if lessons can be learned than cheers!

p.s. Sorry for those who feel cheated by the title of this blog. This is by no means a tribute to Beyonce’s new song.

We’re back…

on board our blog. Sorry we’ve been going through some big changes and yes, we are getting ready to launch our brand new HOT site. We are so excited and can’t wait to finally be able to show rather than tell everyone about what we’ve been working our asses off for. And no, we are not b*tching at all. We’re so excited!!! So remember to join our mailing list on www.girlsguideto.com to ensure that you are the first to know when our new site goes live.

xo the GGTo girls

In memory…

We want to send out our condolences to all 33 of the victims and their families of the Virginia Tech massacre. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of their families and friends.

NOW That’s What I Call Music! Contest

www.GIRLSGUIDETO.com is giving one
winner the chance to win the complete NOW That’s What I Call Music! CD
collection including the newly released NOW 24 CD with hits by Justin
Timberlake, Lily Allen, hellogoodbye and Fergie just to name a few…

Click below to ENTER now!!!!

XOXO the GGTo Girls

Keeping you in the loop

We’ve got some fabulous new articles up on the site (www.GirlsGuideTo.com) and are unveiling a great contest Tuesday. As far as the new site… it’ll be up very very soon with some major surprises involved. Thanks for the love & support…

Hope you had a great weekend and a very Happy Easter! xo

Happy Valentine’s Day (a few days late)

Better late than never, right?

Just to fill everyone in… Great things are in motion. Check out the site to read our new articles & keep posted b/c the new GirlsGuideTo.com site is going to launch soon. We can’t wait & we’re sure you’ll love it.

xo

Merry Christmas!!!!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!! Hope Santa brought you lots of goodies, family time has been full of love, & that your day full of joy and happiness…

And as a friend sent in a text message, “enjoy your family (even if they’re driving you nuts), the thought behind the gifts (the good, bad & awful), and the yummy food… cause it’s about LOVE above all else!”

Cheers! xo Brette