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I hope you all had an epic 4th of July with your fam, loved ones and friends. We sure did!
The fourth will always be a special holiday for us as not only is it our nation's birthday, but also, my son was born 15 years ago on the 4th of July. There is a fun birth story to go with his arrival, but I will save that for when he turns 16, and maybe retell it when he turns 18 and then at his wedding. I don't know. Ha! I have some time to think about it.
For today, I thought I would just post a roundup of what's happening in life and what has got me all befuddled on the interwebs, and what I am enjoying lately that I think you would enjoy as well!
According to The Knot and our little wedding countdown, we are now at 84 days until my handsome and I say I do. I know I have not talked a great deal about my relationship and wedding planning, but a lot of it has been happening behind the scenes. Plus, my fiance wants to have a lot of the elements of our day be a surprise for our guests (I do as well), so he has asked that I not share a lot of the details on my social media in order to maintain some secrecy and have that "wow" effect we are hoping to achieve for our guests. I post tidbits here and there, but nothing too specific in order to give it away. We are getting married at the Dana Point Yacht Club in Southern California. Our wedding invitations (check out Truly Engaging if you are getting married or need beautiful stationary for your upcoming event) are about to be addressed and sent out. Bill and I have our bachelor and bachelorette trips coming up. Still have a few more tiny to-do's to cross off before our big day, but we could not be more excited. It will be here before we know it!
Our family just came back from an incredible week in Wisconsin and stayed at this adorable lake house over Silver Lake in Wautoma, WI. Bill grew up there, and his entire family still lives there, so every year, we plan on taking the entire crew of 6 to go visit and spend time on the water. And experience Friday Fish Fry (which I had not idea was a thing until my first trip to WI a couple of years ago). Let's just say my son is a huge fan of Wisconsin.
I rarely share personal photos on this site, but that might change slightly. One teen is missing from this particular photo because she was out on a nature walk (she is very familiar with Wisconsin and the area we were in as she has visited with her dad often). She was very safe!
Here he is with his girl as she drives the boat. She is pretty good! We can't wait to go back next year. Most of his family will not be able to attend the wedding, so we made sure to see as many folks as we could during our stay. Wisconsin is so lovely to visit during the summer. Nothing like lake life and good food and awesome people.
I shared on my socials that I passed my most recent exam last month. Hurray! Now, I am currently studying for my final exam. Then, I can really start training and getting to work. This last year has been the ultimate test of my patience and endurance. I have never been the best student. In high school, I received B's mostly. I excelled in history and english courses, as well as performing arts. Science and math flustered me a great deal. However, while studying securities and working to get the necessary registrations, I learned that I am not as stupid in math as I once told myself I was. Also, just as it is really with any business, what I am embarking on is about people. Serving them and helping them solidify their futures and reach their goals. To provide some protection when life hits you hard. Less about math and formulas and more about needs and caring for them where they are at. I can't wait to get started. So, I am studying my tooshy off to pass this last exam on the first go around.
I got fired up recently after reading a recent op-ed by a man who wants to question whether Taylor Swift is a good role model for young women, as she is currently 34, unmarried and without children. Listen, it is no secret that I like Taylor Swift. I am more of a fan of her new stuff than her older albums, but I enjoy her a great deal. My daughter, who is 18, and I enjoy listening to her together. We bond a great deal over her music and the lyrics specifically....and no, not every single song is about her love life. Only simpletons and illiterate doofuses like Ben Shapiro think that way. I said what I said. You don't have to like her. That is not the point. But I think it is incredibly sexist and demeaning to women when we try to reduce their influence and who they are based on their relationship status and reproductive life. There are plenty of men who are currently single and without children, or they were the perpetual bachlor and had no intentions of getting married and starting a family......and perhaps maybe that is how Taylor Swift wants to be. If yes, great. If not, great. Leonardo Dicaprio anyone? He regularly dates 19 year olds and he is 49 years old. Last I checked, he has never been married and has no children. But yeah.....let's talk about Taylor Swift and how she is not setting a good example for young women.
Listen, I am going to be real up front with you. Have we ever considered the fact that maybe, just maybe, the reason we have seen the tide change with women and their desire to get married and start a family is because men failed to step up and be men? I know it isn't all men. I am madly in love with mine and I can't wait to be his wife. But truthfully, I considered never, ever getting married again. I didn't want the headache and honestly, I knew I would be just fine on my own. If I wanted to go on a date just to enjoy some company and share a good meal, then that was what I planned to do. Men have no problem sharing that they went on a lot of dates before they found their person. But a woman does the same.....shame on her, I guess. No. Thanks. That's enough for my rant today. More to come, I promise. haha
I swear, the older I am getting, the less patient I am becoming when it comes to stupid, sexist, legalistic bs that is regularly spouted off. That was my sign to take a break from social media regularly. So, starting last month, I have started a practice where I don't go online at least once a week. I pick which day and just stay off. That may extend to more days during the week, but so far, one day a week is a good starting off point. I believe this is a huge part of building your own dream life.....taking a break from watching everyone else building theirs and log off to build your own.
I also recently invested in a subscription box for entrepreneurs. Introducing Sparkle Hustle Grow. For my girls who are out there doing the work to build their business and serve their customers, this would be so cute to gift yourself or your fellow female entrepreneur. You get a monthly surprise box with a business-focused book and fun office supplies to spruce up your office. And it's way more than just a box – you also get tools, training, & community to help your business succeed! They even had live trainings from famous businesswomen like Amy Porterfield, Candace Nelson, and Lisa Bilyeu.
Image from a recent SHG box
This month's them is called "Rise and Thrive". My box arrived on July 1st and it was so cute! I have already started reading the book of the month titled The 4% Fix by Karma Brown. Makes for a great read while at the pool or beach or while taking a quick breather from all your hard work. I am already feeling incredibly motivated to get back in to the early AM mode. Fun fact: when I had my health and fitness business, I woke up at 5am every morning in order to get my workout in, then take the kids to school, and begin work.
That is my goal for this year. To become an early riser once again. I was at my most vibrant, healthiest, and productive self when I prioritized putting myself first for at least one hour a day, and honestly, I am best in the morning. After 2:00pm, I am basically worthless and I dream of being lazy at the beach. So being super productive and busy and getting all my ish done by then is the goal and the schedule I want to create.
That's it for this roundup! Please share what is going on in your world! Tag me on Insta @dreambuildher so I can read along. Don't forget to subscribe (it's free!) to the blog so you never miss an update.
Rooting you on!
Your Dream BuildHer Bestie,
Tiffany Rhea
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