Being Yourself

It's hard for me to come to the realization that some people feel that they are constantly under scrutiny to be like other people. That people outside of the circumstances one is in will tell you how they think you should handle a situation. However, they are not in it and they won't be able to tell you the true answer of how they would manage those circumstances. That because this person or that person doesn't understand why you do the things you do or say the things you say. If you start to agree with them that means you are wrong and they are right. The reality of the situation is that you don't know enough about who you are to trust yourself enough if this is happening. In the process you will never truly find happiness or love or anything besides that feeling of never quite being enough.

I urge everyone to make decisions based on your standards and not someone elses. By allowing other people to make decisions on situations that they are not intimately involved in, you will most certainly lose- and lose yourself in the process.

Be Kind.

MN

I rarely make it out of state anymore. This past Thanksgiving I took a little road trip up to Minnesota to visit one of my very best friends from college. We had a blast!

Friday evening we attended a cocktail party that was quite swanky. They took some beautiful (and fun!) portraits that turned out awesome. Here's mine.

Saturday we shopped IKEA and the MOA. It was a long day of shopping, but I found a pair of sunglasses that are indiscernible from the $100 ones that I craved for only a mere $6. Plus, they have darker lenses- which is a huge bonus for me.

Saturday night we went to Chino Latino. It was my first time. The food was great, but we could have made some better choices. My friend ate the Habanero Hell Poppers. They came with a warning.

After dinner, we had our fortune cookies. What Latin-Asain fusion resturant would go with out those. Check out our fortunes. YIKES!

Then we headed out to the bar where we had some great conversation and plenty to drink. The left overs from dinner came in real handy at the end of the night. I am craving an empanada as I type this.

Thanks to Shonda, Jennifer and Minnesota for the great weekend!

NBA Lockout

I will be the first to admit that I am NOT a basketball fan. Roo is, however. The NBA lockout makes everyone sad around basketball. Fans are losing each and every day but they're not the only ones. It's really a Lose-Lose-Lose situation. We all lose individually and as a whole. Networks lose, players lose, the NBA loses, vendors lose, apparel companies lose. The list goes on and on. Now they want to disband the NBPA. All these players are losing out and they want to get theirs. Everyone wants to get theirs. But the players will sue the NBA for damages. When did the world come to such a terrible place? It's a sport. It's a past time. It's great that you make millions of dollars and can wear those fancy close and huge diamond studs. My thoughts about basketball are with the kids that want so badly to become sports stars. What can I say, I wanted to be on Star Search. It was completely valid when I was a child. It worked for Brittany. Well, kind of. I digress.

The point of my little rant here is that there are so many blue collar workers involved with the NBA season. It's not just the players that are losing out. There are so many people that aren't getting paid for a job they would have now been doing for over 130 some days! Can you imagine if your meager salary went without 130 plus days worth of pay? That'd be one lousy Christmas for the kiddos.

To sum it up, I may not like basketball, but I hate the people that run it. Along with most of the athletes that play it. If they can sue the NBA for their losses, why can't the nacho vendor sue the NBA for the amount they are out so far for the season? Arg.

Planners are GREAT!

We've all been there at some point. Somehow, that project due date just slipped right up on us without our noticing.
 
That is why organizational skills are so important to performance. Who can afford to miss a due date just because we got lazy and didn't pay attention? Who wants to get "talked to" because we forgot to put our completed project in our briefcase the night before?
 
Poor organization skills can reduce your work efficiency and effectiveness. That's why you should learn to use a day planner the right way.

 

I splurged on my day planner and purchased a great leather binder from Franklin Covey.

 

 

One that I am proud to carry because it is sleek and attractive. Franklin Covey is a great place to shop for planners. Even though you will spend a little more on your binder, the refills are very affordable. You get to pick the binder you like and the refill that you like, so you can customize it to truly fit your style and particulars.

Tips for Using a Planner

1. Pick the right planner. Take your time when choosing a pocket planner. Find one that fits inside a special pocket or pouch in your bag if you can. 
2. Make the planner a part of your daily routine. Carry it with you at all times and remember to check it every morning and every night.


3. Fill in your assignment due dates as soon as you learn them. Get in the habit of writing in your planner while you're given the project. Don't put it off!
4. Learn to use backward planning. When you write a due date in your planner, go back a day or a week and give yourself a reminder that the due date is approaching.
5. Use a color-coding system. Keep some colored stickers on hand and use those for reminders that a due date or other important event is approaching. For instance, use a yellow caution sticker to serve as a warning two days before your presentation is to give yourself time to prepare.
6. Put everything in your planner. You must remember that anything that takes up time, like a date or a ball game, will keep you from working. If you don't put these things in your planner as time out, you may not realize how limited your time really is. 
7. Use flags. You can buy sticky-note flags and use them as tabs to indicate the end of a quarter or the due date of a large project. This is a great visual tool that serves as a constant reminder of a imminent due date.
8. Don't discard old pages. You will always have important information in your planner that you'll need to see again at a later date. Old phone numbers, past appointments—you'll want to remember those things later on.
9. Go ahead and congratulate yourself ahead of time. On the day after a big project is due, put in a reward appointment, like a trip to the mall or a meal out with friends. This can serve as positive reinforcement.

Things to Include in Your Planner

It is important to block off anything that consumes your time, in order to avoid conflict and crisis. Don't forget:

• Regular meetings
• Project due dates
• Presentation dates
• Parties, dates, celebrations
• Family gatherings, vacations, excursions
• Training sessions
• Holidays

Take a Brake for Funny

This is worth watching! I don't usually like these types of things. I think I have a very unique sense of humor. This is so funny, I can watch it over and over and still find myself laughing. Enjoy!