Don't be afraid to say "Uh-lee-th-eee-uh"

What the heck is an Uh-lee-th-eee-uh? Well, it's a name... It's 'Alethea' spelled out in un-official 'phonetics' and hey, that's ME! For as long as I can remember, my name has been mangled, mis-pronounced, turned and twisted.


I remember back as far as grade school when a substitute teacher would come in the classroom and mispronounce my name upon morning roll call, the entire class would chant 'uh-lee-th-eee-uh' for me, the teacher would blush, then I would blush...

Honestly, it never really bothered me though. It's a difficult name of Greek Orgin, meaning 'truth'. (no I am not Greek) {that is always the next question LOL} Most frequently I am addressed as Althea, sometimes Aletha. When I was in customer service and sales dealing with many customers via phone I was Alicia, Olivia, Alethee and more.


I had so many people ask me 'can I call you Ally?' that I actually did that for a bit. I started spelling it 'Ale' and I was called 'Ale' like the beer. Then I tried 'Ali' and it was like the Boxer... So I then went to 'Ally'.

But it was not 'me'. If someone hollered for 'Ally', I'd not even turn as I knew my name as 'Alethea' and was not programmed to respond to Ally! (which drove people nuts sometimes resulting in a 'HEY BLONDIE'!)

Having a unique name is a bittersweet curse, as a child it can drive you insane. The other kids have trouble spelling it and saying it (as well as adults and teachers) I had all sorts of (ever so 'lovely' nick names none of which I choose to share here) When I got older, I lucked out in Spanish class in High School as everyone had to go with their 'Spanish' name, i.e. Joe was Jose, Mike was Miguel, well, I got to keep Alethea as it is also a Spanish name!


As you get older, this uniqueness tends to stand out in it's own way. For instance I worked in an office with 2 Jennifers. One was called 'Jen' the other 'Jenn'. We also had 2 Chris', one was Chris, the other Christine, both went by Chris. Often when people would call looking for one of them, and did not have a last name, we'd have to hunt down the correct person. Well, when people would call the office looking for me, even if my name was said wrong, they knew it was for me!


When I started web marketing, the uniqueness of my name was a blessing. Google 'Alethea Anderson' or search it in Yahoo and well, you find ME! There is some other Alethea who married some guy in prison, that's not me. There is also one who won some sort of boat race, not me either. And the long distance marathon runner, though I'd like to claim that achievement, not me either! But nearly everything 'Alethea Anderson' on the web is me, myself and I.

This is a very powerful tool when branding yourself across the web! But you know what, I am me, and that is what is most important. The reason I 'brand' myself is because I want people to see 'who' I am. I'm a Mom. I'm a wife. I am just like you. I kiss boo boos, am resident chauffer as well as in house chef. I scoop the cat box and gather dog turds from the back yard. I scrub the toilets and wash the floors. I love to garden and ride ATVs. I'm a sun worshipper and am SO ready for boat weather. I am an SUV Mom who goes on the dirt road on purpose so I can do doughnuts with the kiddo to make her laugh before school. I've been known to whip up breakfast for dinner and have cold pizza for breakfast. I'm wild. I'm sane. I'm insane. I'm normal. I'm human. I be.

One unique thing, other than my wonky name, Alethea, is that I have a home based business. Though I'm not at liberty to hand out names legally I am unable to give you the name 'Alethea', but, if you want a home based business, I can show you how to get started and grow one successfully...

Signing Off, I have branding to do!

Alethea Anderson

So I'm doing this new thing with STICKY notes...

I'm organized, I swear...Sometimes TOO organized to the point that it oozes an illusion that I might possibly be *gasp* UNorganized ~ can you relate?

Typically I use a spiral note pad, one with college rule lines. I write each of my 'tasks' and then make a nice little 'square' check off box next to each item. As I complete the tasks, I check each little box and I feel better as more of the boxes are checked off.


Sometimes I use highlighters in a rainbow of colors to signify the importance of each task. (Thinking this somehow will encourage me to tackle certain ones before others.)


However, I often find myself adding new boxes to the end of the list as I think of more 'to do'. Then I have a full page, that looks sloppy, and I re-write the list. Since I never tend to go in order, even with my pretty highlighted squares.



For some reason I tend to tackle the smaller beasties first, as I feel if I can do 5 of the little 'easy things' before I get to the big things, I'll somehow feel more accomplished.



I admit, I am one of 'those people' who says...

"Let me write that down so I don't forget..."

It's like I need a HUGE wall of sicky notes that beep and flash at me or something. You see, when you write your 'to do' list on a pad of paper, it is just to easy to close it up, and store it away. Out of sight, out of mind, right?


Well, I decided to try something new. Sticky notes. My logic on this is, 'if I put stickys all over my desk, they will drive me NUTS and this will force me to accomplish the tasks on the sticky notes so my desk will be clear once again.


I LOVE a clear and tidy desk. I have my main desk which has my lap top, a candle and a calendar and a pretty hand blown glass heart my Mom gave me. (thanks Mom, love it!)


I then have my credenza, that has my PC #2 with external speakers, the telephone and 2 pretty orb-like glass paperweights. Tidy and clear. The drawers have little organizer bins, pencil cups and hanging files. I have everything organized, even a file for my 'to do' list. (organized not anal, honestly)


So anyways, I've decided to give this a go. Now it's not the first time I've relied upon sticky notes. When I used to work full time I was called the 'Sticky Queen' (other stuff too I'm sure) as my computer monitor often was rimmed with sticky notes. I got creative and would write on the note sideways or upside down so it fit on the proper side of my computer monitor.


You know you've done it, you've had the sticky that was on your computer monitor so long that it fell off, you then taped it on there and it fell again. To the point you no longer even notice it and it has become a part of the landscape of your computer... only to realize that in 2009 you had dated the note 2006... (just an example, did not happen, really...)



So yes, I am starting new, sticky notes ON my desk. Right now I have 12. Not too bad! I have 3 on the corner as they are 'done'. One of them I just put there a moment ago, several others were 'emails reminders' that I emailed to myself that I converted to sticky notes. Quite a variety of things 'to do'. Surely I can tackle all these before bed tonite. If not, I may have nightmares of being consumed by some sort if icky sticky monster...

If this does not work, I'll consider other options. Techincally, I could have done several items on my list while writing this blog. However I found writing this blog much more fun than some of the things on my 'sticky list'. I suppose I shall blog on 'procrastination' another time. (ahem)

Alethea Anderson
"Sticky Queen" and Web Marketing Mom
Tweet Me Right!