{ Fall Clean Up Done! }

OK so my fast tidy up took longer than I thought, but it's done and here's proof (scroll down). This is my tiny little office. I was scrunched in the doorway to take this shot. The back of my chair almost touches the wall (a new chair is on the wish list, this one is TOO big). You can't see it from this shot but the window I look out of actually looks out to my flower garden, so don't feel sorry for me. It's a great place to have tea and run an empire.

{ Fall Clean Up }

The morning fog has descended and outside my office window all I can see are the leaves of the weeping cherry tree and the outline of the evergreen trees. But as my focus narrows and I'm brought back inside I see my desk. Sigh...so much filing, so little motivation. Mise en place should be painted over my window as a reminder, I've learned the hard way about not having things in their place. When my Mom died unexpectedly a year and a half ago and I couldn't get a flight out until the morning but had to spend six hours cleaning up my office so that my accountant girlfriend could come cover the decks while I was out of state for a week during tax season. When I arrived at my parent's home Dad and I spent the better part of two days wading through Mom's paperwork in the office. Dad was the kind of guy who pulled $40 from the atm and figured Mom had the rest covered...and she did, we just had to find it. I came home from that experience deteremined never to put my family and friends through that, ever. So this afternoon, mise en place....everything in it's place otherwise known as Fall clean up. I'll post a photo to prove I did it.

{ Put up or shut up }

I just posted a blog on Women Take Wing about how to approach a budget. Walking the walk is a hard thing to do when you deal with money. It is so easy to tell everyone how it should be done but I am the first to own that it's a struggle to follow through and do it. This week I am setting the goal of writing my fourth quarter budget for the household (yep, holiday shopping and all) and I'll post my progress here, so that for better or worse, I actually do it.

{ The Mission Statement }

Each day I visit one of my many bookkeeping clients with a goal... to bring balance and order to their business and to provide clarity through numbers. I went to college to become a history teacher and how found through the twists and turns of life, a whole new path. As a self taught bookkeeper, former retail store owner and current owner in a fledgling online business, I bring a unique perspective to my work. I truly love what I do. I feel each day as if I am working with my clients and my online community of women entrepreneurs to help them succeed and realize a dream. What's not great about that?

And yet, in my own financial world I know that I don't always practice what I preach so this blog is my place of accountability (no pun intended). Through my musings here I hope to explore the ins and outs of what it's like to be a self employed bookkeeper, a woman entrepreneur working to create balance and success not just for my clients, but for myself.