Toccoa Tuesday: The Depot

Hello, Everybody!

How about that Super Bowl 50 game?! An incredible defensive game was played. Congratulations to both NFL teams for making it to the "big game". Congrats to the Denver Broncos for earning the Super Bowl 50 Championship title! Now, I await Opening Day. :) OK, that is my sports talk for this Toccoa Tuesday. I know you want to hear about Toccoa, the spot on the globe where I live.

Yes, Toccoa, Georgia is where I work my corner of the book world. My sales and customer service representative experience did not begin with Purple Butterfly Pages. It began a few years earlier when my uncle from England opened a British antiques store in downtown Toccoa. I was in my mid-teens and selling antiques from England when the opportunity came for me to volunteer with the Toccoa-Stephens County Chamber of Commerce. I did not realize the impact that the opportunity would have on my life.

The Depot: home to Stephens County Chamber of Commerce
Welcome Center, Currahee Military Museum, and Amtrak Station

Once or twice a week, I would be dropped off at the old Train Depot which had recently been remodeled to house the Chamber of Commerce, the Welcome Center, and the Historical Society and Currahee Military Museum, and Amtrak Station. I learned to professionally answer the telephones, send emails, interact with visitors and Chamber members as well as restocking rack cards. Looking back, I believe the biggest task I did as an intern, was learn.


A few years later, when I was a college student and a new small business owner as an independent book seller, I would attend an occasional Chamber of Commerce event. The current staff at the time was the same that I had interned with as a teen. I eventually became a proud member of the Toccoa-Stephens County Chamber of Commerce!

Last week, I met with current TSC Chamber of Commerce President, Julie Paysen, at the Depot and I was honored when she asked me to be an ambassador for my Chamber of Commerce. I excitedly accepted the enjoyable and challenging volunteer position! Happy to be part of the team at Toccoa-Stephens County Chamber of Commerce.

So, encourage your family members, your friends, and your classmates to seize opportunity! I am so grateful I had the opportunity to be an intern when I was a teenager! Learn more about the historic Depot. :)

Believe.

Caitlin

Proprietor & Publisher

Those Twelve Months

Hello, Everybody!

Happy New Year's Eve! I had a wonderful Christmas with family. I hope you did as well! I've spent the week so far reflecting on the last twelve months. I am not sure how the year has come to an end so abruptly! Thanks for counting down my #TOP5 posts of 2015 with me! Without you reading the blog I wouldn't have the fun of putting together the countdown. 

#1 Stepping Away With Lack of Words

#2 Hello, New Year

#3 Mrs. Dianne Lawson

#4 Proud to Join the Fight Against Child Abuse

#5 Filling the Gap TIED with CMW 2015

2015 was about embracing the accomplishments and realizing (and learning from) the mishaps. Here are a few honest final thoughts on the past professional and personal year.

Professionally

I'll start by saying I did not reach every goal that I set for Purple Butterfly Pages this year, however, I find success in the unmet goals by realizing harder work is what it will take to meet those goals! I worked to accomplish things this year such as sponsoring and participating in the Power House for Kids 5k/10k; guest blogging for Stephens County's Chamber of Commerce blog; and watching Their Inheritance climb to #12 on the Top 100 Free Christian Historical-Fiction ebooks list during March! Woo-hoo!! 

Personally

Part of connecting with readers, customers and future clients is being more open. This is why I started to blog! In my journey to being a better business owner and blogger I want to let you all know what is happening by letting you know more about myself. About the last twelve months...I can honestly say it was a good, but not for reasons you might think. I didn't have fun every day. I wasn't always happy with how situations turned out. I had angry and confused days. I did not reach all of my goals I set for the year. Watched family and friends go through really difficult times But....

I made unforgettable memories. LEARNED a lot about myself. Made new and existing relationships stronger through personal changes. I gained confidence. I accepted more people and situations for who/what they were instead of wishing they were different. I sought God in more situations and in life more this year...and He was always there. 

Onto 2016!

The upcoming year holds plenty of opportunities. I aspire to connect more with you readers on levels of social media and through this blogging. On top of blogging more, I will be entering into the next stages of the publishing process with my current "project" in 2016! Can not wait to share more of that process with every one of you. I am so excited to be a more actively involved member of the Toccoa-Stephens County Chamber of Commerce during the new year as well!

Wishing you all a safe, prosperous, happy, and healthy NEW YEAR! Go work for it! 

Believe.

Caitlin

www.PurpleButterflyPages.com

Thankfulness

Hello, Everybody!

Thank you for reading my blog. Last week seemed to be a dark week in the world. I appreciate you all taking time to read my thoughts there. As I begin to blog more frequently than once a month, the topics will be changing. However, I aim to continue to keep my blog professionally oriented with a touch of personal. As I sit here with my younger siblings about to watch 'Home Alone', I want to share what I am up to in this week of gratefulness. :)

Their Inheritance's Thanksgiving

As the Williams children prepared for their first Thanksgiving holiday since their parents' death, the children tried to make their Thanksgiving the same as it was celebrated when their parents were alive.    James, Alexandra, Christine, and Lee spent Thanksgiving with their friends, the Unruhs. 

Excerpts
 from Purple Butterfly Publications' ebook, Their Inheritan

   

My Thanksgiving

I usually spend the week of Thanksgiving in the mountains with my family. We eat too much, catch up on naps and our visiting relatives' lives, and we start watching our favorite Christmas movies. The Thanksgiving Day meal changes every year. The 2015 Thanksgiving Day meal will consists of stewed chicken; Sweet Potato Fluff (my great-grandmother's recipe) which is an annual Thanksgiving Day staple; green beans (not in the casserole form); and homemade baked corn bread. Can you say yummy?! After we eat, we nap or watch a movie before getting ready to go to A to Z Auctions' annual Thanksgiving Day Auction. For the past few years, A to Z Auctions has held an auction on Thanksgiving night in Hiawassee, Georgia. This auction is different from their other auctions as they auction off more toys and Christmas gift options than they do at the regular auctions. They also start the night off with a large empty toy box sitting against one wall. Throughout the night, bidders can buy the toys and put them in the toy box. The toy box contents are distributed where they are needed throughout the local communities. I love how every Thanksgiving auction the toy box ends up overflowing! The community and bidders really come together and remind each other of what Christmas is all about: the gift of love! The auction lasts pretty late, and I skip on the Black Friday shopping the next day. I do support small business Saturday! I encourage you to do the same. 

Small Business Saturday

Make it fun! Take the Small Business Saturday to get out and explore your town as if you were a visiting tourist. Go into shops that you don't shop in very often. Show your support for the small businesses in America. Whether it is your small town or big city, take fun family or solo photos in the stores and when you share your photos online, tag the stores! Business owners love to see who is enjoying their place of business. If you shop small with PBPages and download Their Inheritance, tag us! @PBPages or #TheirInheritance #PBP #ShopSmall

Thanks!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I hope you all have a fun, pleasant, and blessed Thanksgiving! Whether you are spending the holiday with family; friends; yourself; or with strangers, I pray you find something to be thankful for. 

I am grateful for you all reading this blog, being a patron of Purple Butterfly Pages, and for the supporters of Purple Butterfly Publications. I am blessed with a job that I enjoy everyday!

***Leave a comment below and share your Thanksgiving week traditions and your Thanksgiving holiday plans for this year! :)

#ThePurpleButterflyPurpose

Today's Battle: Brain vs. Heart

Hello, everyone.

My heart is heavy and my mind is racing as I come to touch base with you all. As you probably know, we were all cruelly reminded of the horrors that this world is capable of as terror rained on France this past weekend.

November 13, 2015

I had been babysitting my nephews all day and doing a little bit of online work when I came across the BREAKING NEWS on Twitter. I did not believe the tweets at first and went onto the news outlets to confirm the online comments. My heart sank and I began to pay attention to my surroundings. My local bearings. I was waiting to find out if my country was next. I was on my way home from dropping my nephews off back to their parents when the news broke about the hostages becoming fatalities. My heart froze. I joined my family, friends, and fellow American citizens in prayer and continuous thoughts for France. I even changed my personal Facebook profile photo to that temporary French flag shadowed photo in unity against hate and for life. Fast forward a couple of days to today. Hundreds of foreign people have come to America seeking refuge from their countries. Many U.S. government officials fight to keep these foreigners out. I find myself uncertain about this nation-wide issue. I see the pros and cons of being an American citizen fighting to keep my country safe and of being a foreigner wanting a better, safer life for themselves. It boils down to a battle of the heart and the brain.

The Brain

The brain has so many red flags flying over this issue. There are many questions being asked. Why must we help the foreign countries' homeless when we can't even figure out a way to help the homeless that live on the streets of our own neighborhoods? Why should we invite refugees in to our country and open ourselves up to more possible terrorism? The refugees are fleeing from countries full of terror cells. How do we, as private citizens, know the difference between the peaceful ones from the hateful ones? Do we need to know....

The Heart

...or do we trust our domestic security forces? I know Jesus Christ died for me and he took my sins with Him as He died on the cross. So, why should I support government officials denying refuge to foreign refugees seeking safety from their war torn homes? Should I not be supportive of those giving hope and shelter to the foreigners? Is it not my duty as a Christian to see this as an opportunity to share Christ's love with these people? Actions speak louder than words. We will all be judged on our actions here on earth, this temporary home. Do you put the barricades up; or do you keep your head on a swivel and stay alert as you interact with any foreigners, alerting authorities of all suspicions?

God gave us a brain and a heart for a reason. Use both of them to face today's battles.

My continued prayers are with France.

My continued prayers are with America.

- Caitlin

The Big Picture

Hello Everyone!

Boy, did October fly by or what? Hello, November! Northeast Georgia has had a wet, but colorful autumn so far. The crisp fall air makes me want to move my office outdoors. I find the autumn colors inspirational. The different hues on the autumn leaves draw me to the details of the landscape rather than just seeing the big picture. The big picture being that winter is soon approaching to leave the landscapes barren of bright colors; the air more bitter as the frost nips at the faces; and the holiday festivities to commence (can't wait for that part).

The Big Picture

The book world's big picture is much like the big picture of autumn. When publishing a book, the publisher can get carried away with the big picture and the goals and purpose of the book and away from the details of the project. This is why I am the publisher and not the author. <haha> I do see the big picture and goals that need to be reached to achieve the planned end result, yet fail to always see the details along the way. The recent season's changes challenged me to take my job day by day and to focus on every modest detail of my current publishing project.

New Blog Schedule

The kind of changes we make will decide what kind of results will be produced. As I continue to grow my experience as a publisher, the autumn season is a good time to make productive changes to my work. I've decided to blog on a more frequent schedule. The blog topics will still be about my experiences as a publisher and twenty-something entrepreneur. Follow along on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and of course here on Blogger!

Twitter: @PBPages or @GaPeach291
Facebook: Purple Butterfly Pages
Instagram: pbpublications
Blogger: The Purple Butterfly Purpose

Web: www.PurpleButterflyPages.com

Thanks for reading!

- Caitlin, Proprietor & Publisher