It is also a part of my online portfolio. And therein lies some more areas which will need decisions in the next little while. For instance I have a personal Facebook page (who doesn’t) and I have done a good job of adding professional and personal posts but I don’t have a solely business page. Up to now my reasoning was having a coaching company and online magazine leaves little time to dedicate to a vibrant business page however Facebook has emerged as such a strong place to market I really cannot ignore the urgency there. So if I go ahead I have to decide what the marketing angle is going to be. I guess I am adding to my business side, not taking anything away. 

I have added to my personal life also when we adopted a dog from a local humane society in November. Unfortunately things got complicated with his pre-existing leg injury and we had to have the front right leg amputated on December 21 and a bullet removed from his hip. Not to worry he spent the Holidays on a big bed being thoroughly catered to.  Now the drains and stitches are out and his head cone is off he can lick his private parts again so he is feeling happier. We have to work on getting him back to a new physical normal which means building up the strength in the front leg and his overall muscle tone.

I do enjoy stopping here with my cup of tea or coffee so I will try and do so more often. I will share, vent and as I did today think out loud.

Happy 2012, Jill (and this would have been my father’s Birthday – still miss you after all these years)

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Post tags: dogs, Facebook, New Year

In 2010 Jill Crossland Coaching grew in the way that I had engineered, veering away from life coaching and taking on more business clients, an unexpected plus was working with male entrepreneurs. This works well as not all women like my direct and down to earth coaching style. As I said to one female client last month ”You don’t pay me to agree with you.”

TimeFinders Magazine is looking for a new name that better encapsulates its broad demographic with the common denominators of being a woman with a business, family and personal life. Contest details can be found at the bottom of the home page.

In 2010 I became part of  The Nuttermother online book club because I wanted to broaden my book choices; while I didn’t read every book the ones I choose took me  away from my usual genres. If you haven’t done so already I recommend that you read Little Bee and The Help before taking on the latest crop of bestsellers. Little Bee brings you face to face with the question what would you do in a life and death moment. While also looking at the possible actions of a significant other if they were there beside you.

The Help should be read before the movie comes out in August of this year. I am not convinced that Hollywood will do justice to the subtle nuances of both the characters and the time in which they live. I would have preferred to see the story brought to life through an HBO or PBS”s Masterpiece Contemporary production.  By the way if you were a fan of Upstairs, Downstairs new episodes are being broadcast in April.

Last years crop of  mainstream TV shows had very few bright spots apart from The Good Wife and Blue Bloods; both shows have a strong cast and well written story lines. For me The Walking Dead was just another zombie show only with a better cast and script then usually accompanies this type of entertainment. Whatever your entertainment preference is it is important to carve out time to relax. 

Every January I encourage clients to avoid the vicious circle of resolutions and instead we work on setting realistic goals and format a plan to find personalized solutions to problems. It is best to stay away from the one size fits all answers to life’s challenges. The National Post had another approach in their article “Instead of resolutions why not try solutions?”. The first thing that I have done was to purchase the new Blackberry Torch this weekend in the hopes of being a bit more efficient when out and about. Now to find the time to set it up to meet my specifications.

I haven’t mentioned the dogs in awhile. Mia is as lovely and easy going as always. She is enjoying the dog park that the town has finally opened. Neurotic Duke was really good  at the park for a couple of weeks but then suddenly started to be grumpy with the others dogs so we had to make the decision to stop taking him. That’s my boy, always a challenge no matter how old he gets.

I hope that you continue to drop by Life Deco and I will endeavor to stay current in my writings. Happy New Year!

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Post tags: Blackberry Torch, dogs, New Year, Nuttermother, PBS, tv shows

After touring some of the world’s best wineries, a week at a fabulous Spa, the train trip through England, Scotland & Ireland and shopping in Hong Kong; I would move to a town with a really good university and take courses in political science, international relations, women’s studies. While absorbing all this new knowledge I would work on expanding my coaching practice & online magazine because for me that all speaks to a life well lead.

In the meantime until Aunt Berta does pass way I have found some websites that provide online university lectures.  I am currently working my way through the ones from the Harvard School of Business.

YouTube Edu

AcademicEarth.org

TED.com

OpenCourseWare Consortium

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Post tags: education, online lectures, university courses

Unlimited Magazine has an excerpt from the book and what seems for many of us a down the rabbit hole lifestyle. Until I read that I had never really thought about how hard it must be to function in a world that predominately revolves around a 9-5 way of life.

© Jill Crossland for Life Deco, 2009. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: blogs, Life, lifestyle, New York

My new website is up and running, when you arrive at the main portal or home page you will see that we are now:

• Jill Crossland Coaching
• TimeFinders Magazine
• Create Your Team
• Fabulously Over 40

There will be more new & exciting things to come in 2009.

In TimeFinders Magazine, I want to attract advertisers who are compatible with the content. I am looking for wine, chocolate or luxuary food companies, magazines such as More Magazine,  travel agencies that book great trips for women, and beauty products for women over 35. I would like to include more women’s stories plus writers from the US and over seas. The area that is Fabulously Over 40, will be expanded to include other social media outlets such as FaceBook. There will be podcasting in the coaching area.

So many plans, so little time!

Email us:

• Your comments or suggestions
• About advertising in TimeFinders Magazine
  
• If you would like to write for us
  
• To inquire about joining the group of professional women on Create Your Team

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Post tags: business identity, Chatelaine Magazine, core business, entrepreneurs, looking for, magazines, Media, More Magazine, target market, Travel, wine, Women, women 40+