Favorite Things

My husband and I have many conversations on ways to “go green”.   Ultimately, we would love to live off the grid. Practically speaking, that won’t happen any time soon!

Below are my top 3 favorite, easy and I like to think impactful ways to help reduce waste, without breaking the bank.

1.  BYOB #1  This one is soooo easy! Stop using plastic grocery bags.  I purchased several totes made of organic cotton from Reusablebags.com and they work great.  We keep them in the car, they are washable, hold a ton of stuff, and look clean since they are black.   This means one less plastic bag flitting about the freeway and threatening to melt to the undercarriage of my car;-)

2.  BYOB #2  Bring Your Own Bottle!  Somehow tap water became a piryah and now we  drink municipal water that has been filtered and put in a plastic bottle.  Save yourself $$ and the world a bunch of plastic waste by filtering your own municipal water. I like the Brita + Nalgene combo.    The Brita filter has a nice meter on top that tells you when to change the filter (make sure you get the one of the indicator), the water is always refrigerator cold, and it is MUCH less expensive, and infinitely more convenient than buying and disposing of plastic water bottles.

3.  BYOLB Bring Your Own Lunch Bag!  I just bought myself an early birthday present – this adorable and completely functional lunch bag.  Today it fit a large grapefruit, a container of blueberries, a hard boiled egg and a yogurt – with a ton of room to spare!  It is perfectly shaped and infinitely better than a paper or plastic sack that will end up in the landfill.  This one is a lot more manly but certainly not as cute! 

As a sales hiring manager for the last 6 years, I have been the recipient of many resume submissions.  Over the course of time I have come across a few Do’s and Don’ts. 

DO:

1. Remember to attach your resume (Seriously. I get at least 2/week with no attachment)

2. Include a short concise cover letter IN THE EMAIL.  Not once have I opened a cover letter attachment.

3. In this cover letter, tell me why you are the right candidate for the position.  What knowledge, qualities or skills do you have that are well suited for the role?

4.  Please, please, please submit a resume that clearly states what you did, what your accomplishments were, and, if you are in sales, quota attainment.

5. Spell check!!

DO NOT:

1.  Don’t include the phrase “the birds were singing”, or anything else as equally non sequitur in the cover letter/email.  This sets you apart, but not in a good way.  This exact phrase appeared in a submission from 2 weeks ago.  Needless to say that resume wasn’t opened.

2.  Don’t include a long, tedious cover letter with no content.  I can’t tell you how many I receive elaborating on what great sales experience the person has. Blah Blah Blah. Great sales people will tell me why their product (themselves) is the perfect solution to my problem (open position).  And not in a cheesy way!

3. Don’t leave any grammar mistakes on the cover letter or resume.  Seems simple, but showing an eye for detail on your marketing material will help show you can apply this same attention to detail on the job.  The opposite is also true.

I know, not rocket science:-)

Last Night in Twisted River is the latest by John Irving. Let me begin by saying that I count The Cider House Rules and A Prayer for Owen Meany amoungst my favorite books of all time.

Sadly, Twisted River is not one of my favorites. In fact, I made it only halfway!!  I just couldn’t finish it.  It went on, and on, and on. It didn’t go anywhere, and I didn’t care about the characters.  I think the worst offense was the characters.  And the lack of plot.  <sigh>

I really don’t like not being able to finish a book.  It feels like quitting.

Haven’t heard of the Theracane?  Neither had I until my sister so kindly purchased one for me for Christmas.

This plastic, albeit strange, looking device is perfect for anyone who has hard to reach knots in their back and neck.

Theracane is perfectly shaped to easily hold while reaching the middle of your back, without having to pull off a yoga move to get your opposite arm into the right position.

This is an easy $26 purchase decision in my book!

First, I must say I am surprised that I like Windows 7 (vs. xp).  It starts and shuts down much faster, and I like how it manages stacking of open windows so my system tray isn’t the cluttered mess it used to be.

My main gripe – not all the apps I use seem to have caught up with 7.   Salesforece Mail merge is one such app I would really like to work, and doesn’t. I only found one other post on this so thought I would post as well. The response to my Salesforce support ticket is below…

“Thank you for contacting Salesforce Support. I am following up with you in regards to case xxxxx.

At this time Windows 7 is not fully supported to use with Connect for Outlook, therefore we cannot guarantee full functionality of the Connect for Outlook plugin. Unfortunately, there is not a time frame when Windows 7 will be fully supported with Connect for Outlook. Also, please keep in mind the below system requirements for Connect for Outlook.

* Microsoft Outlook XP (2002), 2003, or 2007

* Microsoft Windows® 2000, XP, or Vista™ (32-bit only; 64-bit is not supported)

* Microsoft Exchange Server

* Microsoft Word XP (2002), 2003, or 2007″

Where to start with The Lost Symbol…  It was terrible!!  Life is too short to read books like this. 

To summarize why it is bad: flat stereo typed characters, a plot that was hard to care about, a ridiculous “reveal” at the end that isn’t worth waiting for, I could go on and on.

Where The Da Vinci Code made claims that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene, the basis of Symbol’s mythology is that the human mind is capable of changing matter, and that this fact is actually the main point of the Bible.  Interesting, but if that is your cup of tea read The Secret.  Similar idea, but slightly more interesting and without all the bad characters.

I was eating my favorite breakfast this morning, Chobani Greek Style Yogurt, and enjoying the surprising number of pomegranate seeds that were in the mix.  Normally this yogurt has < 1 gram of fiber, not ideal of course, but I am currently enamored with the 14g of protein this particular brand/style of yogurt provides.  Given the nice pop of seeds, I expected this flavor might exceed the normal < 1g of fiber statistic.

However, when I looked at the label I found this: Dietary Fiber less than 0g.

What!?!  Does this yogurt not only not contain fiber, but does it actually somehow suck it out of my body??  Is Chobani Pomegranate flavor somehow a fiber black hole?

For now, I am going to assume it was mislabeled.   Or perhaps I am just not smart enough to understand < 0 as it pertains to nutritional value. Whatever the case I think it is the first time I have seen such a unique claim on a food label, and trust me, I read a lot of labels.

Have you watched Modern Family?  If so did you see the episode when they attend a Gymberee class?   Or have you ever just attended a Gymberee class yourself?

If you have, and especially if you are in the Bay Area, you are familiar with the crazily competitive parents out there, proudly trotting beside their 10 month olds who can walk, talk and make homemade bread simultaneously.

It is because of these parents we have avoided classes such as Gymberee.  However, we eventually concluded that this may be a selfish reason deny our daughter the opportunity to play with fun gym equipment and interact with other little babies.  We are now official Gymberee members.

Where does the Jolly Walker fit in?  I hate to think we are becoming competitively crazed Bay Area parents, but we did realize that of all the class, our kiddo was one of the few not yet walking.  Now granted she is on the young side at only 11 months. And it is honestly easier for me if she isn’t walking.  But perhaps we were holding her back to make things easier for ourselves; or perhaps we got a small bite by the competitive bug and wanted to see our little one toddling around the room as well.

Whatever the reason, we received the Jolly Walker as a gift from her grandparents for her first birthday, ensuring us this was the toy they used to get their youngest, a late walker, to finally walk. The walker was assembled, and the baby was stuck on the back of it, and she immediately started walking along behind her little “shopping cart” as if she had been doing it every day of her young life!

What is great about this particular walker is you can adjust the friction applied to the wheels, therefore slowing down or speeding up the rate at which the cart can role.  We have her at a “tortoise” pace right now, but I am afraid it won’t be long until our goal of her walking is met.  Just yesterday she stood on her own for the first time.

Therefore, I have to rate our experience with this walker as outstanding. It worked as advertised, and quickly, and it doesn’t “scoot” out from under her by going too fast.   Just be prepared to have your infant toddle her way into toddlerhood before your very eyes…

Granted, Macy’ can be cheaper, but their customer service is just horrible.  Yesterday while returning a couple of items purchased online, I had two experiences that will cause me to pause the next time I have a choice of Macy’s vs. Nordies.

1. In the bedding department, while the woman behind the counter begrudgingly exchanged my mis-purchased item for the correct one, she commented “I never buy things online, because in my experience, all people do is return it.”  Thanks a lot lady.  Do you have any idea how much I have spent ONLINE at Macy’s and didn’t make a return?

2.  In the shoe department, where granted they are on commission, so not only am I an inconvenience, but a possible lost sale, it was even worse. When the salesman found out I had a return, he processed my request without making eye contact ONCE.  And said nothing as he handed me my processed receipt.  I sheepishly walked away feeling like I had done something wrong.  What a good sales person would have done, was asked what was wrong with the shoes, and helped me to find a better option.  And I probably would have bought. Shame on you Macy’s!  You lost a potential sale, and worse, my good will.

Conversely, at Nordie’s the same shopping day, the girl behind the makeup counter helped me even though it was “appointment day only”, and went so far as to not only pick colors for me, but showed me how to apply them!  I walked away spending more than I intended and much more loyalty for a return trip.

Feb 24, 2010 – update on this. I actually ended up returning shoes at Nordstrom’s a couple of weeks ago. The sales person addressed me immediately, asked if I had a return, when I mentioned the shoes were too narrow she apologized and asked if she could help me find a replacement.  EXACTLY as I said Macy’ should have!  It is amazing how two very similar retail companies, but run so differently, can produce such polar opposite results.

I tried this summer, really tried, to ween myself off the tube.  I made it through a several weeks of limited TV, and spent my time reading and making a lot of homemade baby food (I was particularly proud of my extremely popular blueberry puree). 

Then the inevitability of the Fall 2009 TV season rolls around, and I immediately, shamelessly, fall off the wagon.

What I realized, is that I am just too tired to fight the temptation.   However, I did manage to get several hours of my life back by breaking up with a few shows.

1. Heroes.  What happened to this show?  What started off with so much promise, is now rote and repetitive.  I don’t care about the carny characters, I don’t care about whiny Clair, and I don’t care about Syler popping in and out.  Ugh.

2. CSI (the original).  It was bad all last season.  Bones and Criminal Minds are so much better.

3. Mad Men.  This show can be very clever, and is subtle and well acted. It just doesn’t move quickly enough for my reality-TV-junky taste.

4.  Numbers.  I never really watched this one, but hubby did.  I still won’t watch it. The main character is so annoying!  “Math can solve anything!” The only math I am interested in is the math that will pay off my mortgage.

5. Law and Order. Still a great show, but it didn’t make the short list.

6. Dancing with the Stars. I miss this one. But we can’t watch it while Tom Delay is on it.  It is disturbing enough to see the clips on The Daily Show and Colbert Report.

What was I not strong enough not to give up? Survivor (love this show AND Jeff Probst’s blog), Amazing Race (can’t wait for Sunday!), Biggest Loser (this show keeps me motivated while spinning at 5:30AM), Bones, Criminal Minds, and Glee (I love that this show is unabashedly corny, while still well written) .

Happy watching, or for those much stronger than I, happy not-watching;-)

I usually love Jennifer Weiner’s work.  In particular I enjoyed Good in Bed and In Her Shoes. They were authentic, believable and most of all, the characters were likable.  I feel bad even writing this, but I just can’t finish Best Friends Forever.

I cringe while writing this post; after all, who am I to judge?  It is easy to cast stones, especially within the anonymous abyss of the internet.  I was really trying to finish the book, so as to have a complete review.  Perhaps it is my exhaustion at working full time with a 10 month old.  Jennifer, certainly you can understand that one!

In general, I enjoy Ms. Weiner’s work, loved seeing her when she spoke here in the Bay Area, and I think her blog is HILARIOUS!  I do however, recommend her earlier works more.

Up next – a book on the psychology of influence (similar to Made To Stick, but backed by some science), then Dan Brown’s new one.  Yea I know.  It’s going to be formulaic writing to the core, but it must be read!

We set out to Toys R Us in search of something to both help our 10 month old daughter learn how to transition from sitting to standing safely and easily, and to help her gain better fine motor control.  After browsing the aisles with much nostalgia (they still make Tinker Toys and Lincoln Logs!) we picked up LeapFrog Learn and Groove Musical Table (also available on Amazon.com).

She loves it!

The table plays such a wide variety of tunes that we are still hearing new ones a week later.  Even better, there is a singing mode where it will sing the ABC’s and 1-2-3’s in BOTH English and Spanish (we play the English one since mom can’t sing along that fast in Spanish as well as a music only mode.

When Caitlin finds a new sound, she looks to us with a big proud grin on her face.  Priceless.  The time it gives mom and dad to casually read a book or write a blog post while baby is otherwise occupied isn’t too bad either

The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson is AWESOME!   I know some reviews say that FIRE isn’t quite as good as DRAGON, but I thought it was just as addicting.  You learn a lot more about Lisbeth Salander in FIRE, and every bit of it has you rooting for her even more.

Do yourself a favor and pick up both of these novels and you will be just as hooked with anticipation as the rest of us for the 2010 release of The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest.

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Other Die was recommended to me by a co-worker.  Being that I am in software sales, it is extremely important that my own, and my team’s, messaging sticks.  And based on our prospecting response rate, it clearly wasn’t.  I would recommend this book to anyone who needs to sell a message – sales, marketing, teachers, parents, spouses, etc!  Really, anyone that has an idea to sell, this is worth reading.

As an example of why you may want to read this book – have you ever heard of the man who wakes up in a tup of ice with his kidney removed?  Of course you have! Why do you remember this story?  You need to read the book to find out:-)

On a side note, I normally avoid any political comments on my blog, but I will add one comment here – liberals, democrats, etc – you really should read Made to Stick.  If there is one thing we are not good at, it’s messaging. If there is one thing big business and conservatives are experts at, you guessed it, it’s messaging.

Case Histories is the second Atkinson novel I have read.  Having loved When Will There Be Good News, I had to see if they were all that good!

Admittedly, after reading through the first 3 “case histories”, I very nearly decided to take a pass on this novel.  It was so depressing!

However, I decided to continue reading, and having done so, I now think I get the type of stories Atkinson writes.  It seems many of her characters face all sorts of horrendous, heartbreaking situations, and through the course of the novel, they find a way to get past the tragedy and relearn how to embrace life.  It’s also a mystery, much like WWTBGN, as each of the “case histories” are really unsolved mysteries.

Would I recommend this book?  Yes, with the caveat that starts off pretty heavy handed with 3 sad “histories”.  Would I read another Atkinson novel?  Probably.  But I think I may take a break for a bit…

WOW! I am so glad I decided to read The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo!!  I really don’t want to give away any of the plot.  It is so enjoyable to read this one without knowing much about it.

In short – it’s a mystery of sorts that starts off a little slowly, but quickly gathers momentum with every page.  Before you know it you are completely hooked, and the book is over!!  I can’t believe we have to wait until July ‘09 before the sequel, The Girl Who Played With Fire, comes out in its US publication.  It’s also very sad that this phenominal novelist’s life was cut short.  In any case,  this is not a book you want to miss!!!

I haven’t read a Dean Koontz novel in ages, and my favorite was Watchers.  I drifted away from this type of novel for several years, but with the sleep depravation that comes with raising an infant, I was looking for something light and fast paced.  The Good Guy was also recommended by Stephen King in his EW article, so I gave it a go. It wasn’t bad.  It was definitely a fast read. It is a bit of a chase novel (like The De Vinci Code, but without the contraversy) but it held my interest.  I would consider this a good vacation read – light and fast.

I read Riding Lessons because I loved Water for Elephants so much.  It’s always intersting to me to see if I will love most novels by an author, or just the one.  For example, there are very few Stephen King novels I don’t like, and despite his towering ego, I really enjoy most John Irving novels. In any case, I thought this book was OK.  Water for Elephants was just so good, it’s hard to compare.  I found myself not liking the main character in Riding Lessons that much, which made it a little more difficult to enjoy.  It’s still worth reading, but you can’t go in with too high of expectations.

When Will There Be Good News was recommended to me by my mother in law.  I immediately downloaded it to my Kindle without even reading the summary, based on her enthusiasim alone.  I then saw that Stephen King recommended this book in his “Best Books of 2008″ article he wrote for EW.  I took that as a sign and read this book as soon as I could.  It was excellent!  I suppose at the heart of it, it is a mystery, but what I liked most is that even through all of the darkness that prevaled through most of the novel, there was a fierce hope and determination not to let that darkness win.  This is the first novel by Atkinson that I have read, but I downloaded a second to the Kindle just yesterday. I haven’t started it yet, but plan to soon.  I am curious of they are all as good as this one.

Why was my last post March 25 of this year, you may ask?  Because I found out I was pregnant in early April and struggled with morning (all day) sickness and finding enough energy to go to work, never the less post on the blog!  However, I did get some reading done over the last several months (and even some now that the baby is born – she still sleeps a lot and I am still on maternity leave;-).

One novel that I really enjoyed was The Host. As you know, I completed, and thoroughly enjoyed, the whole Twighlight series, so The Host was a logical next read.  I was curious how Meyer would handle a novel targeted to adults, and in my opinion she didn’t disappoint.  Without spoiling the plot, this is an interesting story about a race of sentient beings who believe they are improving worlds by “body snatching” other sentient beings.  That is the moral back drop of the story, but I really enjoyed the characters as well, both alien and human.  I am not sure my hubby would enjoy the book as much as I did, as there is a love story that figures as one of the central plot lines, but I suspect many of my girlfriends would.

In any case, I hear that Meyer is working on a sequel to The Host. If so, you can bet I will pick that up too!