So Much to Do

Well, here we are- the start of the last week of July. How am I doing? There is so much to get done and I'm feeling rather overwhelmed. I need a lot of ad info from our date auction sponsors, I urgently need more fire fighters for the date auction, I need more of our gift bag items in hand and I need to follow up with people who we are working with to promote the date auction. I also need to wrap up calendar photos so I can move on to other things. We have 5 more shoots that need to be scheduled- these last ones are always the hardest- that's why they haven't been done yet. I still have that half month spot that needs to be taken care of. We are also way short on gift certificates for the date auction couples. I did pick up a restaurant gift certificate that can be given to two couples from No Name Restaurant in Boston- they have been very supportive for the past couple of years. They've donated two certificates for a complete dinner at the restaurant for two people each- quite a nice item.

It is really hard when people take a long time to get back to you- I spend so much of my day making follow up calls. I know that I am not perfect in getting back to people, but it is very frustrating. I've been trying to get in touch with some people who have said they will participate in the date auction, but haven't heard back from them. It really slows down things on my end when I spend so much time trying to get people to respond.

Anyways, enough griping. There is so no magic remedy for the unresponsive person problem, so I just have to deal with it. In better news, we received an unexpected $1,500 donation from an organization in Colorado today, which was excellent. There is nothing better than receiving an unsolicited donation! We also have a local bank back as an anniversary event sponsor- they sponsored two years ago, but weren't able to be a financial donor last year. They did donate an item for last year's silent auction instead.

Well, I am going to bed- it is super early, only 11:35, but I have a headache- I think that is contributing to my overwhelmed feeling tonight. I've had a headache every morning for almost a week, I think it has to do with the cold that I had- it hasn't completely gone away, but it is a lot better. I'm going to write my extensive list for tomorrow- until tomorrow friends... wish me luck for a very productive day please!

Back on Track

Ah, what a week- I can't believe it is almost over. I started getting sick on Sunday night and I was sick for the next few days. I did get a little done, but not enough by a long shot. It is so hard to get anything done when your sick. At least I have the luxury of being able to take a sick day when I need it, but it is also hard to know that there is no one else that can help get stuff done. I was back to work yesterday, so that was good. Today was a calendar photo day- I did photos in Quincy. We had a really good turn out as usual, they are a very supportive department. The photos came out great. Then I was in Marlboro doing photos there, they came out really good too. There are twins in Marlboro who have been in the calendar for quite a few years, this was the best photo shoot with them. I got some really cute photos of the girls sitting on top of the police cruiser.

This morning, I was at the police academy recruiting single police officers for the date auction. That is always a fun time! It is very formal there- the recruits stand up when you enter and everything is 'yes ma'am', etc. A friend, who is a police Lt., organizes it for me- he comes with me and speaks to the recruits about his experiences with giving stuffed animals to children, then I speak about PS and then talk about the date auction and recruit! They are usually a receptive group. I also did a group photo of them for the calendar- some of them held stuffed animals for the photo. The photos came out really well.

So what else is going on? The major focus is wrapping up calendar photos- I have 2 photo shoots scheduled for tomorrow, then I have 4 more that still need to be scheduled. Tomorrow, I'm going to be choosing calendar photos. Leni, our volunteer, usually helps with that. It really helps to have someone else to give feedback on the photos. Choosing the pics is one of my favorite parts. Sometimes, I like it even better than taking the photos- which I love. I really enjoy looking through all the photos and choosing the best ones.

I also need to keep working on auction items- we still have a long way to go. I've been following up with people who promised items, but haven't delivered yet and I've been reaching out to those who I haven't heard back from and I'm still contacting new places. It is a long, slow process to get items donated. It is amazing how much follow up it takes.

Well friends, that's it for tonight. I was going to get some more work done, but I'm getting kind of tired and I think I will just write my list and go to bed. Until next time...

Photos

Well, things are better since my last blog. My anxiety has eased about getting firefighters for our date auction, the firefighter who is helping is working hard and I've asked the guys who have signed up to recruit a friend to participate too- we will get there. It may be slow going, but we will get there- before Sept. 17!

Calendar photos are coming along well. I did 2 good photo shoots today. The first one was with the nieces/nephew of a friend of mine, their dad is a police officer. The photos came out really cute. This afternoon, I was at the Ashland MOMS club doing photos of the little kids. I just looked at them and we have some adorable ones. I did have photos scheduled yesterday, but we had to reschedule because it rained. I have another shoot scheduled for Sunday. We have approximately 6 more photo shoots to do, so that is not too bad. I have to get on with selling that last half month. I haven't made any progress with that.

So what else is going on? Tomorrow, I need to catch up on a lot of things- I have a number of things that have been on my to-do list every day this week and I am determined that they will not be on Monday's list- they will be done tomorrow! I don't have any reason to leave my office tomorrow, so that will be a help. I also need to clean my office- it looks like a hurricane touched down- minus the water.

Well friends, that's it for tonight. I'm off to write my lengthy list, then bed. I was going to read for a bit, but my eyes are starting to hurt. Until next time friends...

Slowness

Well, today was not the most productive of days. I worked really hard, but don't have much to show for it. That is hardly anything new- there are plenty of dates where I work hard but don't see any results. My biggest concern right now is that I need more fire fighters for our date auction. We only have a few so far and I need 12. The fire fighter who has been helping is still working on it and we do have plenty of times, but I get very anxious. The fire fighters are such an important part of our event. It is always slow getting the guys signed up, I go through this every year, but it is still nerve wracking. I like to have things all set up and ready to go well in advance. I asked one of the FF who signed up to help recruit as well, he said that he would. I've also placed more calls to the FF who did it last year, but haven't heard back from anyone today.

I'm still trying to set up the remaining photo shoots for our calendar- that gets a little frustrating too when you have to keep following up with people to set up photo shoots. I also need to find that last half month sponsor as well and follow up with sponsors who still need to send checks.

I was working on auction items too, I did get through to some people today and got more commitments for auction items for the anniversary event, so that was good. Barefoot Wines is on board as the liquor sponsor for the anniversary event. Each guest will receive a complimentary glass of wine with admission. I'm happy to have them on board, it is a really nice addition to the event.

I've sent our date auction flier updates to Lisa, so we should have our event flier ready to go in a few days. I have to decide what I'm going to do about advertising in one of the Boston magazines, I don't want to spend the money, but I'm concerned about losing that marketing. I have another few weeks to make up my mind.

The date auction is only 2 months and 3 days away now, I can't believe it is coming up that quickly. There is still so much that needs to come together- most importantly getting the rest of our bachelors lined up, a lot of marketing work that needs done, gift bag items that need to be received, more auction items needed and certificates for the couples, program designed, ads on the website. Then there is the anniversary event just two weeks after that and our calendar- we still have quite a few photo shoots left to do. It is a lot to get done in a short period of time. The good thing is that a lot has been done already and we are on track, I need to keep remembering that when I want to lose my little mind!

There are a lot of other things that need my attention too, but the most important thing right now is our calendar and two big events. I wish I had more time to work on other things, but since I can't delegate to anyone, I need to focus on these 3 big things for the time being.

Well friends, I am off to write my list for tomorrow and keep reading the book that I'm loving. I should go back to work for a bit, maybe I will. Until tomorrow...

Progress

Well, today was a good day for the most part. We have another date auction financial sponsor on board! It is a returning sponsor from last year, they are matching the same level they did last year. We are now almost at our sponsorship goal, which is a relief. It is always such a good feeling to get financial commitments.

I did calendar photos of the cutest babies today- a Hopedale officer and his 3 month old identical twin daughters. They were absolutely adorable. They were really easy to photograph too, no tears or fussing. Later, I did photos with the daughter of a lady who helps with Project Smile things. She was 8 years old and a cutie too. It is a lot of fun doing calendar photos. Tomorrow morning, I am down in Rhode Island doing photos with the state police and then to Mendon for more photos. I still have a lot more to do, but we're making progress.

On the downside, one of our new calendar sponsors has dropped out. He said business wasn't doing well and he couldn't afford to sponsor. I had a bad feeling about it already, so I wasn't that surprised, but I didn't have a back up and I need to find someone to fill that half month spot.

I spoke with our calendar printer today and we are all set to repeat what we did last year- I wasn't expecting any changes, but it is important to touch base and make sure things are all set. I also spoke with our graphic designer to give her a heads up about all the things that I'll be sending her way soon.

I've updated our date auction participant list- we technically have filled our bachelorette quota. I like to have extra ladies though in case we have some people drop out. Last year, we had 2 girls drop out. I'm still waiting for a lot of the guys, but it is always that way.

Tomorrow, I need to work on date auction marketing, updates to our website, contacting the rental place for our stage/table rental, work on more auction items and I should also start our newsletter. I slipped with my newsletter way too much this year and I need to get back to the way things were- for years I always did a monthly newsletter, but this year it has been more sporadic- not cool.

Well friends, that's the latest and greatest for tonight. I'm off to read my book (I didn't end up reading last night, just conked out early), write my list for tomorrow (I've been slipping with that too) and then bed. Lots more progress to be made tomorrow. I feel like eating some blueberries too- already had watermelon and cherries tonight- I'm having a bit of a fruit craving. Until next time friends...

Back to Work

Well, I'm back to work. I was on vacation in Florida all last week- I had an awesome time. I came home on Monday evening, I was working yesterday, but by the time evening rolled around, I was too tired to blog. I did do a little work last while I was away, but not too much. I have a ton of work to get done now- calendar photos, date auction and anniversary celebration are the priorities. I did have 2 photo shoots scheduled for yesterday, but they were both rescheduled. I did photos in Burlington today and they came out great. The mom put the kids in a low lying tree and their dad (the police officer) stood next to them- I got some really cute photos. It was something that I never would have thought of doing. That is one of my favorite things with the digital camera, being able to look at the photos immediately. My camera, which is only a year old, has been having some issues lately, so I need to bring it into the store and have them take a look at it.

So what else is happening? The lady who is interested in sponsoring the date auction is coming over tomorrow- this is the appointment that got rescheduled from last month. Hopefully, I will have some good news tomorrow to report. We are still a little short on date auction financial sponsors. I did reach out to another potential date auction sponsor who was involved last year. I had already contacted them, but they wanted to wait until the summer before making a decision.

I did get some good anniversary auction items today- WEEI is donating another "Producer for a Day" certificate. That is always a popular item. Whole Foods is going to donate a gift basket which is another good item- they have lots of really nice products, so I'm sure it will be a popular item.

Tomorrow, I'm back to work on more auction items. There are quite a few smaller date auction things that I need to work on too. I also have two photo shoots scheduled- they are both local, so at least I don't have to drive very far.

Anyways friends, that is it for tonight. I think it will be another early night- my eyes are starting to hurt. I picked up a good book while I was away, "The Girl Who Played with Fire" by Stieg Larsson (it is really good), so I was going to read before going to sleep, but that might not be happening. Until tomorrow friends, please wish me good luck with my sponsor meeting in the morning!