A lovely welcome

So I am playing catch up. November and December I didn’t blog, not because I didn’t want to, but because I couldn’t find the energy after working 10 hours a day at my job, doing motherly things with the twins, and then trying to blog about life.

However, I am back, work is still crazy, I’m still doing motherly things, but I learned a few things about putting some things on the back burner and handling some other things first…I think they call that prioritizing.

My business has picked up a bit, I love wedding planning. Went into a partnership with a good friend, we run a DIY wedding workshop company, more than just DIY weddings, but that is the main premise, and we are doing well in that area.

I have been working on (in my mind) writing down some of my goals. Spiritually, personal, and business wise. I think I know where and why I keep messing up in the New Year. I don’t write things out and I love writing things out. I am actually going to be writing out those things tonight and then typing them up, for some reason that works so well for me.

This isn’t a long, well thought out post, just something I wanted to share and say hi to all again! I am going to get to writing about all the wonderful things going on, especially excited about our blogging challenge happening in two weeks.

My Monday Morning Moment!

It’s Monday and we are very sorry for not posting on Wednesday or Friday. We love to blog but most importantly, we love to make sure our readers/followers/and those you comment are enjoying our content as well. We’ve been so busy, it’s been crazy. I love taking time to make sure that everyone’s needs are taken care of, that my assistants are using their time wisely, and that my family life is just as happy as my brides. 

I am dedicating this Monday Morning Moment to a bride and groom I just enjoyed working with.  Their love and just simplicity of life for each other, their family, their faith was simply stunning and amazing. I thought to myself, “Is it really that simply?” Why, yes, yes it is. 

Not only is it that simply, but being happy, falling in love and really enjoying life makes things simply. I have just learned to embrace things, really watch my kids and simply smile at them. I’ve learned to slow down, even if my mind is racing, my body has slowed, which in the end slows my mind down as well. I didn’t think being in love was for me, I am not the prettiest, the most talented, or the smartest, but I do love being me and learning that has been hard. However, learning this, I have been able to just take things in.  

If things don’t come simple for you, that is ok. Things have always been a challenge for me to remember, obtain, or simply just enjoy. However, sometimes, we have to take the moments in life and simply be simple. Enjoy those moments, whatever they may be. Enjoy them with your special someone, enjoy them by yourself, or enjoy them with friends. However, take a moment out of your day and simply enjoy them.

 Thanks,

Erika S.

 

Also, if you don’t mind….

Take a moment to vote for Erika Swift Events as well (http://denveralist.cityvoter.com/erika-swift-events/biz/662032?r=short0a)

And check out my new business venture and my desire to look and feel super amazing and help other ladies feel the same way. (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mialisia-Jewelry-Erika-Swift-Independent-Founding-Designer/417268848386567)

Monday Morning Magnificent

From here on out on Mondays I am going to start my Monday Morning Magnificent! We should be so grateful that we get to start another week off alive. I know a lot of people hate Mondays, but I really love them. Not every Monday is a great one, but for the most part, they are pretty fantastic and I enjoy them so much.

My Monday Morning happiness has been to just be happy with me and my results of the day. My co-workers laugh at my happy dances, my goofy jokes, my laughter at everything, but it is contagious and I love how everyone seems to embrace it.

I hope that you can see every Monday has a magnificent start to a wonderful work week, even if there are bumps in the road throughout the week, we can always remember we have and continue to have a great support team. I love being able to share my bubbliness and my just eagerness to have a happy Monday.

I am also for wowed for your continued support in my race to win Denver's A List Best Wedding Planner! If you have it in you, make my Monday amazingly magnificent by voting for Erika Swift Events!

I hope your Monday is amazing and full of magnificent-ness!! 

Oh Mondays...how I love thee

A Monday Morning Me (A self note of refreshment)

As we push full steam ahead into July this beautiful Monday morning, we look around us and remember the small and big things we are grateful for. For a long while, I blamed everyone around me, and others too. I blamed them for my failures, their successes (weird, I know) and other things, but this is the way I was raised.

However, as an adult, we look back at our childhood, our mistakes, and we really search what went wrong, who did it (me), and why we made those decisions. As a child, I couldn’t control what my mom did or didn’t do, what we learned or didn’t lean, but as an adult I can control how it molds me and what I can do to change that. 

I have a HUGE fear of actually being happy and succeeding in my life, my faith, my job, my goals, and with my kids. Lately though, I have been shaking off that fear and moving forward with my dreams and goals and how they can not only make me happy, but show my kids that happiness does come from within.

I want to start focusing on the good. Lately I have noticed some changes in me, which have made me amazingly happy. I’ve also noticed my trials and tribulations and how I wish I would have handled things different on some, I wish I had stayed in those trials and endured my test.

The past isn’t to be dwelt on, but simply to be looked at, learn the lessons missed, and move forward. I’ve always let my past dictate my future and I can’t do that anymore. I love blogging and hope to utilize it more; I will be making some changes for my future and the outcomes of success I want. Growth is all about learning and I am really glad I get to learn about it. Use it and apply it to my life. 

Have a fantastic Monday!!

Want to help me have an amazing fantastic Monday (I'm in the running for the best wedding planner on the Denver A-List. Please, head on over to http://goo.gl/9C61O and vote for us today.)

Voting Counts

June 24, 2013 was a great day for me and Erika Swift Events. I started my wedding and event planning business up again and really want to put it out there, really wanted to make it work this year, and be a successful wedding planner all the time.

Last year in 2012, I was checking out all these wedding sites, places to place my ad, and really get my name out there and I noticed the Denver A List. Everything had already been closed and the votes were over, but I made it a goal for this year to be my year.

Yesterday marked the opening of voting for the Denver A List and I have been a marketing fool. I wanted to write a blog post about it on all my blogs for the businesses I have (Grooms Corner, Erika Swift Events, and The Life of Three on Wordpress). I hope that you share in my excitement to help my business grow. Success is in the numbers, not in the people that give you something, but in the ones who support you. Thankfully, I have an amazing support system, not only the people I have met through my blogs, my businesses, but as friends, and family members…it has been an amazing ride.

The best thing about this voting is that it lasts a whole month and I am ready to rock this out! Even if I don’t win, I would like to know where my stand point is and how things are going to play out.

I also have been working on my events, the Mock Reception (Colorado springs brides first) and the Grooms Room Event. This one is starting to be my all time favorite and I cant wait to unleash our groom power on the city.
We also have officially done our last edit for our website and the official site is all done. Check out Erika Swift Events and make sure you stop by and vote for Erika Swift Events and keep following us…we really do love your support.

(PS, you will have to click the lovely picture lol)

Just for you and me

With the new designs of my blog, my business, Erika Swift Events, and my life, things have been pretty amazing and busy. I haven’t had time to do anything, to really sit and focus on the good. I really have been working on, letting go of some things, and really putting some effort into a few major projects. I know on Monday I was going to write about Manic Mondays, and how it was supposed to be about this weekend, but I have been on the road since Friday and Monday I was driving home from Arizona.

So I will chat about something I did notice with my daughter, my lovely, happy, and funny daughter, Jazzy. One thing I have noticed is the growth of me and my daughters’ hair. I have had a love/hate situation with my daughters’ hair since she started getting these gorgeous locks. I haven’t been able to find anything that has helped but I did!!

I come from a very mixed family. My mom is black and I was raised by a white man, and my mom and he have three kids. My brother keeps his hair cut but if he lets it grow out, it gets really curly, my sister has really lovely hair, but it gets a bit kinky, she keeps it colored a lot. My baby sister has what people call “white girl hair” and it’s lovely, straight, sometimes curly, and makes me jealous.

I started looking around for hair care products when my jazzy was born because I was so scared about how to handle her hair, about how to style it, help it grow, etc. I found this wonderful product called Fast Growth. We used the oil and the shampoo and conditioner .

I love the products and really want Jazzy to learn about things that I never learned. The simply joy of taking care of your hair, learning to maintain it, and really using the right products. Growing up in a mixed household, I didn't know which types of products to use, and what to do with my hair. Her hair has grown a lot within the 30 days, I would say about 4 inches, and she even notices how long her braided pony tails are, and I love how my hair has also been growing and I take notice in these things too.

I really believe in bonding with my kids, really see that the simply things are what brings families together, not the major things, but the things that others overlook.

Jazmens hair is amazing, and I love using the hot iron on her hair now and she always puts her hands in her head with her head cocked and her hips all pushed out to the side. I would suggest everyone go to their website, like their Facebook page, and really enjoy these products. It is something that you and your kids can bond over as well. 

It is Friday!!

It’s Friday!!! It is time for announcements! So, I love wedding and event planning & traveling. I have combined those loves and passions and made them my businesses!

I re-opened my business, Wedded Designs, but under another name, it is now, Erika Swift Events. With a different look, another brand, and a new direction, we’ve embraced our more luxurious side. We have been working connections in Washington, D.C. and here in the Denver, Colorado area. Our business is geared towards clients and brides that have a luxurious lifestyle, a busier life, and wants someone to handle all their details and then some. We can do that. Check out our website at and our FB page and our blog.

Another business venture I am going into is being a travel agent with a lovely company.

MOM

{Moms on the move}

A travel agency dedicated to middle income and single moms. We handle all types of travel arrangements, for busy moms, families, etc. We also work with corporate clients and work with a company called Granted; they are a personal concierge service that helps locating that special thing you want that no one else seems to find.

Check out both of these businesses and make sure to follow our blogs and check out our Facebook pages.

What makes a day perfect?

...I don't know about you, but my kids seem to do the trick! I tend to carry a lot of stress in my shoulders and my back. I don't have too many girlfriends and I don't gossip or do anything of that nature, I tend to keep to myself. I am very social, love being around people, but lately I have been so focused on my stress, it has been hard to be "me". 

Today I took a moment and stepped back from everything going on and realized that I missed not having too much stress, that I missed being stress free. I had a few things going on these past few months that cause this stress, but I soon noticed that no matter what I do, the bills will still b there, the worry, the stress...its not going any where.

So, in stepping back today, I had an amazing day with the twins. Even stressed out, I could have an amazing day with them. They literally light up my life with their ways. I enjoy everything about them. My blog post today is just ramblings from yesterday. I enjoyed their laughter, their jumping up and down, my daughters tumbling (cant wait for her tumbling/dance classes to start), my sons innocent smile and the way his eyes light up when he does smile, and my sons stutter (its amazingly cute). I enjoyed just being a mom today! We went swimming...correction, my kids went swimming. I dislike our new pool in our apartment community. They tore out a perfectly good one (9feet, I might add), to replace it with a 5 foot, freezing cold pool. They say its heated but its solar panel heated, meaning if it only gets to 70...then the pool is only at 60. It is the dumbest thing and the whole community hates it, except the UCCS students who now are residents there since UCCS master leased two buildings...oh, I digress.

So, back to being a mom...today was splendid and super amazing. There isn't hardly ever anything to do in Colorado Springs, you always have to go up to Denver. However, I was reminded that the Territory Days are going on this weekend and I am taking the twins shortly. This is a huge vendor event, from all types of vendors, DIY, jewelry, candles, makeup, food (my fav) and musicians of all types, bands in different locations to wow each type of Coloradoan, and loads of just fun! I can't wait to show you all some amazing pictures!

Today taught me a lot though...I cant control what others do (even though I try...it is a Swift woman thing) and I cant control the stress (a little though I can and I know it), what I can control is how I handle it. Something new I learned on my lovely journey!