Here at Lizard Chinchilla we feel it's a good practice to have an all-hands meeting once a week to gauge progress, review strategy and make an action-item list for the coming week.

Right now, all-hands consists of me and my dog, Stormy. Discussion about adding another office assistant, most likely a kitty, has been tabled for now. Too much travel is on the calendar to begin interviewing right now. 

Uplift:

We like to start our meetings with an uplift story. This week's uplift was a visit to Mid-Ohio Food Bank on Wednesday about volunteer opportunities. Mid-Ohio is a Feeding America-network food bank that services hundreds of food pantries here in Central Ohio. Follow-up with the volunteer coordinator is scheduled for next week.

By the numbers:

This week five job applications with cover letters were submitted to potential employers. One has already replied and that should be a promising lead for freelance work next week. 

Five blog entries were created, accompanied by four Instagram posts. Work has begun on a Facebook page and that should launch next week.

Oxygen mask:

Each week we will recap what we did to improve the physical and mental well-being of the staff at Lizard Chinchilla. Self-care is vital. After all, we are instructed on planes to put our own oxygen mask on first before helping others.

Besides starting a new fitness routine at the pool, this week I got my hair colored and coated in Keratin, which not only makes me feel better about myself but also means less time will be invested in daily hair care, leaving more time for creative endeavors and job searching. 

Gratitude log:

The all-hands meetings will close with the gratitude log, where we recount what made us happy and/or grateful this week.

Besides being eternally grateful to Phil Nelson, my angel investor who is helping push-start this enterprise, I was happy to discover A Proper Garden, a delightful shop/plant nursery in Powell.

I am relatively sure it's where Phil and I bought all the perennials that now live in our side yard, but that was a couple of years ago and I do not recall the shop there resembling Wonderland, complete with Mad-Hatter-approved cups and saucers.

Having an Alice moment was just what I needed this week.

I fell in love with this patio furniture and if I ever earn a great deal of money -- like Oprah kind of money -- I will come back to purchase it. 

There is also a charming little bistro in the store where a chef makes fresh sandwiches and salads or, in my case, just a simple cup of coffee with a dark-chocolate-drizzled almond pastry, which was a perfect afternoon refreshment. 

Next week: Submit more applications as opportunities arise. Create five new blog entries with at least two recipes and at one entry about Restaurant Week. Post to Instagram at peak times determined by analytics and get the Facebook page up and running.