Happy Holidays from American Airlines

Happy Holidays from American Airlines

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Elf Wanted

I just glanced at my calendar to see we're just two and a half weeks away from Christmas. Based on the amount of preparation I have done up to now, I'd say Christmas is going to be very low key around here.

My dear husband got the Christmas spirit the day after Thanksgiving. Here it was in the 70s and a gorgeous day. Traditionally it is a great day to put up your lights. I was exhausted from a day of cooking and entertaining that had evolved into a night of entertaining, so I haphazardly participated, not quite ready for Christmas.

Mark got out the lights and proceeded to determine what worked and what didn't. We lost one of our two large evergreens out front this year, so we had a few extra lights from that tree, which I had enjoyed decorating with large balls and ornaments. (I sort of wonder if I killed it doing that. The balls were all made in China.)

Anyway, Mark took a strand of those big, old fashioned lights and strung them along the front of our porch. He did this while I was checking email or something, and when I came out, I wasn't thrilled. But, trying hard to have some Christmas spirit, I didn't say anything, then.
Instead, I suggested that we head to town to see if we could find a new "show piece" for our outdoor lighting display. I wanted a large "PEACE" sign, the words, not the symbol, that could present my goal for this holiday to the neighborhood. Mark reluctantly agreed, reminding me that it was Black Friday and WalMart would be a zoo. I convinced him that would be half the fun and off we went.

Either WalMart decided no one wanted holiday decorations this year or they were all sold out, because the shelves there were void of my giant "PEACE" sign and anything else that might have been considered as a "Show Piece." We bought some toilet paper and left.

We headed to Lowes to see what we could find there. They had all sorts of those big blow-up things, even a Santa golfer with a bunch of elves who spun around to swing at the ball. It was pretty cool, but just wasn't what I had in mind. There were no lighted Peace signs, and only a handful of other things that I felt might work as a "back-up" plan. None thrilled me. So we left Lowes empty handed and returned home.

So for the last week, as the weather has turned cold and the rain has come in buckets, our house has had just one sorry strand of lights (silly old fashioned lights) on it. I haven't even bothered to turn them on. A few neighbors have somehow managed to get their lights up, and some displays are very nice. But participation this year seems down. I hope it's due to the weather and not to the economy. I guess time will tell.

Inside, my house has fared a little better, but not much. Mark pulled down a dozen or so boxes marked "Christmas," and I have made a few feeble efforts to decorate, but I'm not thrilled with the results just yet, and the boxes I want seem to be missing.

We also had a sad mishap this weekend when I headed to the attic to find my missing boxes. I was looking for my ceramic lighted Christmas tree and all the pieces of my Nativity Set. The tree was a gift from Mark's mom when we first got married. We have had it more than 20 years. I love it. It stays on the entire holiday season and has beautiful lights. I've seen other ceramic trees like this at craft fairs and such, but ours has always been the prettiest to me.

Mark followed me up to the attic where I found a box that I peeked into that seemed to contain my Christmas pillows. It wasn't very heavy, and not very big. I certainly didn't think it contained our favorite ceramic tree when I handed it to Mark and said, "This is pillows, just toss it down." Mark tossed the box down the steps to a resulting smattering of broken ceramic and lights. He looked down the ladder, and sure enough, our ceramic tree had been tucked lovingly in between two Christmas pillows, and it now lay in a million pieces.

I took the blame, but Mark felt the guilt. I tried to be non-chalant, but he was less so. He went downstairs to clean up the mess while I kept looking for my Nativity scene and tried not to be bummed out about our favorite tree, although the incident definitely put a damper on my decorating plans and enthusiasm for the task. It took Mark totally out of the game, so I got bored quick too and quit.

So at this point, that's the status. The fireplace mantle has been cleared and our stockings are hung. A couple wreathes have been hung outside on either side of the front door and a few more are scattered around the porch. I poured through the women's mags over the weekend and got all sorts of ideas. But nothing is done. Not yet. My inspiration is here, but my action plan is not.

So I'm looking for an elf. I'm praying for an elf. I want someone to inspire me and get me going on the decorating part of Christmas. To me, it's the best part. I always love my home when it's decorated for Christmas inside and out. I love getting up in the morning and plugging in the tree so that our home is festive at breakfast and throughout the day. I love turning on the outdoor lights at dark. We just aren't there yet, and time is fleeting.

And don't even ask me about shopping. I haven't done a thing other than ask people "What do you want for Christmas" and get "I dunno" as the answer. It's all good though. The holidays are not about the material things but the celebration. But that doesn't change the fact that a Christmas elf who could light a fire under me this year would be a handy thing to have.

Dec. 1, Now What?

I flipped my calendar over today onto the last page of the year. I did it unceremoniously. I looked at the days and the picture of a serene, undeveloped beach at South Padre Island, Texas, and I tried to get sentimental. I looked at the month hanging there before me, and I tried to feel excitement or melancholy or satisfaction. All I could think was "I have to get a new calendar."

In previous years, early in the history of this blog, I wrote some sentimental stuff. We're coming up on the end of the year and the start of a new one, and I'm not sure exactly what I feel. There's a definite sense of calm, and I feel like that should alarm me. But it doesn't.

December is one of those months that, when done right, allows your personal life -- and if you're lucky your family life -- to overwhelm your work life. Sadly most people don't do it right. They try to maintain "balance" or fit the personal stuff into the cracks of a busy "end of year."

Don't get me wrong, December -- the whole holiday period -- is HUGELY busy for me work-wise. I have some retail clients and the biggest trade show in my business (one of the biggest trade shows in the world, in fact) happens early in the year every year, so we're knee deep in preparations. December is a time for proposals and new agreements and negotiations too. Clients want to get together and I need to send gifts, buy some new company mugs or something (help, Susan). Plus the family cards, which I think are so important, have to get done (the earlier the better and you get more back!) And let's not even get started on the whole shopping thing. This year I just think even talking about it is bad form.

When I started my business, and when my kids were small, I would tell people "I don't work much in August or December." I didn't because I couldn't. August was vacation and back to school time, and if I'd had a busy summer, which I usually did, by August I was guilt ridden with how many times I had plunked my kids in front of a movie or made them play "the quiet game" so I could work. I "took August off" for many years. It was a company rule, and a very good one. I had to give that up the last few years, but it was a good tradition while it lasted. I also used to not work much in December. Years ago I had fewer clients and they were corporate clients and they literally shut down new projects (it seemed) from Thanksgiving through the new year. That was fine with me. I had time for birthdays (there are two December birthdays in my family) and school parties and Christmas and didn't worry about work. I no longer get my December free.

My assistant was here yesterday and she's done with her shopping. I was impressed. I have done a little shopping -- early shopping -- incredibly frugal and downright embarassingly CHEAP shopping. I've spent the last few days searching for the things I KNOW I bought the last few months. (I'm a good hider, with some great hiding places.) I've started making lists of things I need to do. But I'm easing into it. I'm a giver, so I don't stress over holiday time. I savor.

So anyway, it's December already. Another year is about shot, and yet December itself is full of promise. This month gives us a chance to wrap up the year with a little extra effort. I am gung ho about business, buckling down for the next several years, which will involve putting my children through college. (That will sober you up if the rest of mid-life hasn't already.) But I am busy, every week brings new experiences (usually involving waiting up for teens and this mid-life emotion called "worry"), and I am loving the momentum. I believe good vibes attract good stuff. That isn't very prophetic, but dang it, it's early in the day.

So flip your calendar over -- I just flipped another one to reveal two beautiful quarter horses in a winter brown pasture covered with a dusting of frost. They don't look to be in a hurry. They're chillin'. That's a good message for this month. Slow, measured paces through the routine of life, and throw in a few celebrations and a lot of thoughtful giving, and that will be a nice wrap up to a very different year and a nice wind up for what I believe will be one of the most incredible years of our lives. 2010. I can feel it. It's looming like a big tidal wave. I'm seeing housing construction, restaurant construction, and lots of activity around our town, and Dallas never did seem to slow down...so enjoy December. Savor the serenity and the IDEAS of the holiday season. Get your decorations out and enjoy them. Stay the course.

Then toward the end of the month, hang up a new calendar, strap in and hold on, because this rebound is going to be a wild, wild ride, and it's definitely headed straight for us. I can feel it. But for now, let's just enjoy December. It really is the best month of the year.

Idea of the day

If you've read my blog any time over the last year, you have been privy to a random list of things that go on in my head. Blog posts usually arise out of me needing a warm up for the day. You have seen singers warm up with scales. For a writer, at least for me, blog posts are a tool, one of many, that I can use. It's much more stream of consciousness than anything else I do, and I break a lot more grammar rules than any client work I do, but I also know I don't have a million readers I'm offending, so I think it's really okay.

So I was thinking about, this is sort of weird, thinking. My job involves a lot of thinking. I like that part. It's something I get paid for, because thinking leads to ideas. My clients want ideas. Actually, they have ideas. They want good ideas, and great ideas if they are good at their jobs, and my clients are. So let's just say they all want great ideas, and they want me to help them do them. Since my job is to DO these ideas, it's important to me that the ideas are not only good, but they're doable, and have a good probability of success. I also like it when they can be fun to do, or when it allows me project budgets that I can get creative with, but a good idea is a good idea, and coming up with them is not always easy.

Just having a good idea is the first level, but that's no guarantee that it's going to work. Since clients want results, not flashy executions that cost a lot of money and that might be fun to do: they want real results, so you have to think things through. It can't always be rushed. Sure, you can be on a call or in a meeting and get a good idea. That does happen all the time, but a lot of times those good ideas end up not being that good of an idea. It's certainly something else to think about.

So, if you're still with me, cool. There is a point to this post. The cool thing about having "think time" is it's what makes the difference between a successful marketing or communication program or an okay one. I am fortunate to have great clients that value the strategy part of business. That's the fun part. When you are being strategic, it's not a chase, it's an avid and deliberate pursuit. That's fun. It gives you something to measure too. I have great clients who think in goals and objectives and strategies and tactics. That's how I think too, so it works out. I like that I do get paid to think, not on an hourly basis, per say, but more the value side of the equation. It's why lawyers can charge $300 an hour or why photographers charge $2000 a day to take pictures. It's the value thing. Mine's idea-related value.

I like that there's no hard labor involved in thinking, which is not to be confused with thinking hard. There is such a thing as thinking hard, or having it BE hard to think of something good. But there are ways to get around that, and professional thinkers know them. I have my own. Everyone does. The best part about thinking (and the thing I think most people forget), is you can think all the time. One might say you really should. Not about work, so much, but just about whatever. It's important to be present in the moment, but there's also a lot of your brain that can be thinking without you really being tuned into it. Even in yoru sleep. I think I learned to play bridge in my sleep last night. I had read about it in depth last week, and last night I think I dreamed I played. Now I know how to play. That's what's cool. The brain is really amazing.

I hope it's not just me,but when you are thinking, it's important to write things down. Otherewise, again I hope this isn't just me, you will forget your ideas. That's because when you learn to think, you come up with all sorts of stuff. Weird, random stuff sometimes. It might be valuable, it might not. It's best to just write things down. I get ideas every day that I do write down. Most are for clients. Some are not. In fact, a lot are probably just random ideas that I write down out of habit. I find scribblings all the time on bank slips or other pieces of paper out of my car, and in my phone, random stuff: scenes for screenplays labeled only, "tuna sandwich and bad Spanish scene." I have no idea what that really means. I know what it's for, but I have no idea what the scene is about, although at one point I apparently thought of something I thought was a good enough to write down. I need to write more detail with some ideas, because even the good ones can be fleeting. Memory is a funny thing.

I thought of an awesome idea for a screenplay about a young bridge player. It's hilarious. I have the casting figured out and everything. Of course someone needs to write it, and it's in my head, so that would seem to need to be me, but I don't have a lot of time or any one willing to pay my mortgage for me while I write the screenplay. That's an example of a great idea that will hang around a while. I may try to do it, or find someone to help me do it, but that's a side issue...

Today my great idea was to start a business to provide college search services, and even expanded beyond that, to include scholarship identification and applications. I'd like to own that business, but maybe not work at it. I searched the term, and people are doing it. I think it's really interesting. I'm doing it pro bono, and there's nothing horrible about the process. It would be harder to do for someone else, but not impossible. I really have let my son lead the process, so that would be the same with just about any client. I have to think about it a little more. I like the idea. After all, I've learned how to do this, mostly because I had time to think about how to do it. I also had an assistant who really has been helpful in organizing all the hundreds of pieces of information related to everything from testing to transcripts to scholarship deadlines and individual college brochures and applications. I have my son driving the process and saying, "Yes, No, Hey Mom Look at THIS." We've done a lot. Probably more than most. I see it as another way to make money, because money you don't spend is money you make. I have justified spending time on this because that is how I THINK about it. What "normal" parent has time to do this? I hope all, but I know not many. If you're about to fork over $100-$150,000 of your money over the next four years on college (or go into debt or whatever) why not pay someone SOMETHING to help you and make sure you are getting everything you need to get and are doing everything you should do? It's a good idea. Maybe even a great one. Perhaps even viable. We'll see. If you want to work in that business, call me.

A final thought about thinking: the best thing about thinking is it can be done while you do other things, and it doesn't have to be done "at work." You can think while you drive, while you listen to music, while you walk a dog or do laundry. It can be done while you're cooking, but I don't recommend it. I've tried it. I avoid thinking about anything other than cooking when I'm cooking. There are just too many dangers: measurements, knives, hot burners. Cooking takes concentration, and for me it's fun in itself, so if I'm going to cook I'm going to enjoy that and not waste that time thinking. The reality, however, is that I don't get to cook very often. I'm usually writing away or thinking about something totally unrelated to cooking and someone in my house begins whining about STARVING. So then there's no time for a trip to the store for the fresh ingredients that Rachael Ray or Southern Living recommends, we can't have a child DYING on the floor from starvation, so we throw some burgers on the grill or (I have teenage boys) steaks under the broiler, and we go for easy to bake or microwave stuff that comes straight out of the freezer. I hate thinking about that. At least we recycle. We go through a lot of cardboard. I don't like thinking about that either, but I do. A lot. Again, I'm sure, more than most.

Last year I was thinking a lot about product packaging. I even wrote a post about it. Some companies are doing things differently now, probably driven more by cost than waste. Oreo, for example, took my advice (I have to think) and changed their packaging. There is far less waste now.

Okay, enough of this thinking about thinking, especially since it's lunch time and now Im thinking about food. It's funny how the mind works. It's amazing and definitely something to think about.

Now get back to work!

Some things are just for me.

I don't have a lot of free time, but the free time I do have usually hits around 10 p.m. By that time my husband has been in bed asleep for an hour "watching the game" and my teenage sons are behind closed doors on the internet, studying, I'm sure. It's the perfect time for an exhausted mom to kick back on the couch, in the dark, and turn on the big screen to watch whatever is on BRAVO TV.

BRAVO, for those of you who are wasting your time over on Fox or some other Spews Channel, is where it's at. It is the perfect mindless, ridiculous, almost "oh my goodness I can't believe they do this with cameras watching, what are their friends, opponents going to think when they see THIS season train wreck?" of a line-up that TV has ever had. I L O V E it.

Rachel Zoe, Josh and Madison and Chad, the housewives, Patti at the Millionaire Matchmaker. I love it. Plus Top Chef,whatever is on BRAVO, I'll watch it. Late at night.

Truthfully the main reason I got hooked on BRAVO is I don't really know how to work a remote that well. So if I'm lucky enough to find a channel with something I want to watch, I just have to leave it there, through the commercials and all. My remote problems have to do with a combination of fading eyesight (the buttons are so small), complicated systems, the fact I like to watch TV in the dark late at night (see above), but mostly because at that time of evening there are no men in the room. The men in my house have controlled the remotes for 25 years. I've never had a chance to learn how to use one. So BRAVO is where it's at for me. It's my one guilty TV pleasure, and it's the only thing I watch.

But the point of my post...personal assistants. On all these BRAVO shows everyone has a personal assistant. As a publicist I have worked with people who have personal assistants. I wrote letters to the editor for a genius of a man who basically invented computers and at one point was acting much like a personal assistant for he and his wife as they worked toward building an Eco-Village in the hills west of Boulder. I've wanted a personal assistant -- the right personal assistant -- for a long time.

I've probably written about my experience hiring people before. If not, I know I should, because I have some funny stories. People you hire always come with a cast of characters -- their family members, friends, parole officers.

I hired an assistant once who was great. For a week. Then all her "characters" started showing up. I had an office suite at the time, and she brought her 90 year old mom to work, put her in the corner, then proceeded to spend a few hours hooking up a TV for her mom to watch. There is much more, but she lasted a couple months. Maybe five weeks.

The next one was great and could do anything PLUS had great ideas. But she wasn't available during the day. I felt guilty because she had to spend all sorts of money to upgrade her computer just to get EMAIL, and she was not nearly as computer literate as I would have liked. She also could only work for me at night or on weekends, and if there's any time I hate to work it's at night and on the weekends. She always wanted to come on Saturdays. By Saturday afternoon I've been to a 5 a.m. hockey practice, maybe a game, played tennis, and I'm ready for a nap, not work. Anyway, that didn't work.

Then there was the friend who closed his business and then told me he was going to work with me and create a position for himself. I said, Great, bring it on, but after one day in my office I think he realized it wasn't for him. Anyway, that didn't work.

Then there's Jess. I've known her for a while because she worked where I get my mail. She had taken a couple other part time assistant things around the lake, and it was working for her. She had time for a few hours a week for me, so I grabbed her. She's working out great. She's coming today. When she is here, things get done. Important things. She gets the job sheets filled out or (as in today) off the floor and organized and filed and prioritized by deadline. She gets all my work up on the white board. She will go through all the college materials and get deadlines together for my son's college apps. She will order me football tickets if I want her to.

Since I'm a writer, I can't write when someone else is in my office. Or I prefer not to, so Jess comes on the days when I'm calling clients and doing research or interviews or pitching. When I'm on the phone, she's master of my domain and gets things organized, filed and put away. She only stays a few hours, and when she's gone, I get back to writing.

The more she's around the more I realize how much I can get done with help. ORGANIZATIONAL help. I have design help and business partners and lots of people I share work with who HELP me. But they are doing work for my clients. The personal assistant seems the most valuable to ME though. At the risk of sounding selfish. She's MINE. I don't want her working for my clients. She works for me. My work involves a business and a family and how the two co-exist. If she was available more, I'd have her handling my son's party tomorrow too. Those things are part of MY job. A personal assistant CAN help with that stuff. There's lots to be done. Take this party...

Tomorrow is Halloween and my 14 year old son guilted me into letting him have some friends over because "there isn't anything for kids like us to do but get in trouble." So he's having some teens over "NOT for a Halloween party," but just for a party party.

Parties throw the household into a tizz and are somewhat outside the domain of a personal assistant. For this, I really need a housekeeper. Like Zoila: Jeff's housekeeper on Flipping Out. Love that show. Yes. I need a Zoila. She could clean the crust out of my son's bathroom sink and clean my house so it sparkles. She could go to the market and buy the stuff for the frito pie for the party, and make sure there's enough soda and candy and all that Halloween not Halloween stuff.

Yep. That would be nice. But for now I'll live vicariously through the people on BRAVO TV. I'll cherish the few hours I have with my own personal assistant. And if I'm really, REALLY lucky, my new assistant will teach me how to use the remote.

Please Give Generously to the American Cancer Society

My sister-in-law Nancy Shaw, shown here with my two sons and her husband Jim, recently lost her 4-year battle with brain cancer. Cancer takes far too many far too young. I encourage everyone to give generously to the American Cancer Society so that wonderful, loving people like Nancy can live long, healthy lives.

In Memory of Nancy Kay Holubar Shaw, May 1, 1954 - October 17, 2009

Children of the Corn?

I grew up in Iowa and even worked for Pioneer Seed Corn in the corn fields during the summers between my college years, but I have never seen corn like this. This photo was taken in Culver, Indiana on my uncle's farm. This field had the most amazingly TALL corn! I had to have my photo taken next to the field. If you are from the midwest, you understand how amazing this is. Keep in mind that I'm 5'9" tall, so this is VERY tall corn! I've never seen anything so healthy and green, although everything that we had out of the gardens in Indiana was also amazing -- tomatos, peppers. Living in Texas, I miss sights like this. There's not much that grows down here, and cotton just doesn't look this impressive. My aunt was telling me about a book she was reading about how corn really controls the world. With corn this tall, I can see how it could!

Put Yourself First First (sic)

With September 1 being my personal New Year's Day, and a nice relaxing long weekend behind us, I'm planning to put into play a new focus and renewed energy today.

I've decided that my role is to make other people feel better, and to help other people succeed.
Through this, my personal success is achieved, and definitely multiplied.

However, the only way I can help other people is if I have my own act together. (Therein lies the dilemma on many a day.)

But today I'm going to do whatever I can to be a success at helping others. To do that requires a good cup of coffee (or two or three), a bit of exercise, some meditation, some prayer, some order (which involves a little cleaning), and some bill paying. (Designers and printers and magazines need to be paid!) After that I can focus on the other things that help my clients succeed: writing, media relations, research, radio shows, web sites, trade show ideas...
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I love this time of year. The long hot summer is about over, and people are doing what they can to jump start new ideas and new initiatives. The economy is sputtering along, but people are starting to realize they have to do things differently than before, and I'm fortunate that for me that means the chance to do a lot of new work.

Life can be very good. You just have to be happy with what you encounter every day and enjoy it to its fullest. Quit wishing you were doing something else. You're not. Just do what you're doing the best you can.

That's what I'm trying to do.

Life Happens

In the last 90 days, within my family, there has been a wedding, a divorce, a death, and a birth. We are also praying for a family member with advanced cancer, helping a family member who broke her ankle, and comforting a teenager whose first love broke it off two weeks into school. There's definitely a lot going on.

The range of emotions required to deal with my life at this stage of the game is intense. I'm lucky, I guess, because it's not my first time dealing with the realities and imperfections of life. I've been wearing the big girl pants for quite a while now. It's almost sad, because at this point in my life, nothing really rattles me. It's almost as if I've been through most of it anyway, so bring it on. I'm not afraid.

One thing I've also learned through all of the last few weeks is that you never ever ever know what someone on the other end of the phone or email line is dealing with. They too may be dealing with family issues, illness, or the death of a parent or a marriage. We tend to think that it's all about us. Someone doesn't return our call, and we think, "What did I do to her?" Someone doesn't return an email and we think, "They don't want to deal with me."

The truth, I believe, is that everyone is involved in complex situations all the time. You never know what people are dealing with. None of my clients probably realize that I'm crippled on a particular day with pain or heartache. I don't tell them. I figure it's really not anything they'd care to know or that impacts what I do for them. If it does, I'll let them know.

So on the flip side, now when I deal with people I am going to do my best to just assume that their lives are in tatters and that the one interaction that day that makes them happy or helps them laugh just might be me.

That's my goal. And for those of you who read this and feel like you can make me smile, bring it on. We can all use a little uplifting, not just now and then, but every single day of our lives.

Business is Booming (well, almost)

Every once in a while I get in the mood to remind my clients that I'm still around. In my business, that's actually a pretty good thing to do. Agencies come and go. Consultants (like me) get tired of the cash flow ebbs and tides and decide they'd rather have a job. I'm a little different, I suppose. I haven't had a "real job" in more than a dozen years. I've been through up cycles and down cycles in the economy, as well as the dog days of summer when you can't get anyone on the phone, but nothing in my self employed life has been as bad as the things I experienced in the corporate world.



Most people say they want the "security" of a corporate job. They want a paycheck every two weeks. I'd like that too, but I don't buy the security bit. I spent 12 years in corporate America, and I didn't see a whole lot of security going on. Sure, it was nice to get a steady paycheck and an annual bonus just for showing up. But I knew people that made a game out of seeing how long they could go without actually doing any work. Sometimes it could be months, if not years! Then there were the people who worked really hard, but they made someone higher up nervous or said the wrong thing at the holiday party and got sacked. Corporate just never made that much sense to me.



So because I don't ever want to have to go get another "real job," every few months I feel the need to send something out to my growing list of satisifed clients. Contrary to popular belief, a client is not just the person you're working with today. Clients are the people you worked with last month, last year, even last decade. If you treat them right, there's always a chance they'll come back. In my experience, they usually do.



In my line of work, you have to do things in advance of when you need it. If you want to be in a magazine in December, you better contact them in June. If you are expecting business to pick up in January, you need to increase production in October. The same goes for when business slows down, which it usually does just briefly for me around this time of year.



The good news is this is a great time of year to be a little slow. It's Texas and it's hot as Hades outside. I don't want to be pulling on panty hose and driving to the city. I want to come to work in my shorts and flip flops and maybe take off at 3 and lay by the pool. I want to play tennis in the morning while it's cool, or stay up late and watch a movie with my kids. Summer is a great time.



But summer ends and everyone has to get back to work. This year, we're waiting for the long summer called RECESSION to end and for everyone to get back to work. I've managed to stay busy during this time, and my clients -- knock wood -- are doing well. Perhaps it's because they didn't cut back on their marketing or PR and instead took advantage of having more space available in the papers for their news or fewer ads in the magazines which helped them stand out. Thats a good thing.



As summer winds down, I'm ready to jump back in with both feet. I'm hoping the dozens of clients I've had the privilege of working with through the years feel the same way. I think we're in for some real growth ahead. I know my business is preparing for it. I'm staffing up, cleaning up, and getting ready for 2010. Okay, it's still four and a half months away, but if you don't plan ahead, you won't be ready. Get ready. Business is about to boom for all of us. I can feel it!

It's hard to believe it's almost hockey season again. Probably because hockey never stops at my house. We're in the middle of summer league -- 4 on 4, no checking, no icing, no offsides, no clock stops...it's an interesting chance for the kids to play the game a little differently and maybe learn some new skills. I've enjoyed watching this version of hockey. Since my son's a big kid, taking the "check" out of the game is challenging for him. It's been fun to watch.

But "real" hockey season kicks off in earnest later this month. Fees must be paid, those early morning practices begin, and in my son's case, he enters his senior year and his last year of high school hockey. As for me, I'm going to use this inspiration to try to get a little new business. This ad may begin running in Ice Times this month (on a space available basis). I proofread the columns each month pro bono, and this week the publisher offered me an ad. (The HP logo indicates to other hockey parents that I'm a hockey parent. It's the magazine's way of taking care of its own.)

I'll report here if this leads to new business. The rinks themselves could sure use the help!

You know your Mom has made it when...

I have to laugh at my mother. Over the last ten years as she's settled into her retirement at Cedar Creek Lake she's become very involved in several clubs and organizations. She has a club for every day of the week. Literary Club, Garden Club, Civic League, Women's Club, Years Ahead Club, Friends of the Library, United Methodist Women, Joker groups...it's hard for me to keep track, but there's always a luncheon or meeting or event somewhere.

Influenced in part (I'd like to think) by the fact that I moved to the lake ten years ago and Mom had better access to what I do and how I do it, she gravitated into a PR role with many of these organizations. I used to help her with some articles, press releases and flyers, and I know I gave her the addresses and taught her how to attach photos and press releases to emails for our two weekly newspapers. She's a fast learner (National Honor Society in High School, graduated from college with honors too), and once I showed her how to do something on the computer or with her camera, she was off.

My mom's busy career as a club member and officer is inspiring. She does a lot of good for the community and gets to go out to lunch a lot. She's made great friends, and she's created herself a very nice life. I don't get the local papers, but Mom does, and her picture is always in them. I used to buy a newspaper when she told me she was in it. But they really started to pile up. It's a little ridiculous, and I'm not organized enough for scrap booking.

But today sort of topped it. This morning among my emails was one from Mom. It was one of her usual "FYI I'm headed to ..." We like to know when she's out of town, and she's even started calling me to tell me when she's driving up to Dallas. She's a young 70 and can take care of herself, but it's good to know when she's going some place. This morning she reported she was heading on an overnight trip to a casino in Louisiana. The funny thing was, it was addressed to my brother, my sister, myself, and -- I'm not kidding -- the local newspaper.

I don't know if that was a mistake (I hope so) or if this means this trip will make it into the paper. I don't know if she really thinks the paper cares? Nonetheless, my mom's promotional efforts have moved to a new level. I guess she's finally made it.

Next thing you know I'm going to have to follow her on Twitter. What a way to start the week. Enjoy!

The Guys from Extreme How-To Love Aurora Deck Lights

OutreachPR client Aurora Deck Lighting makes some great outdoor lighting products. In this video, the editor of Extreme How-To Magazine shows how to install some low voltage deck lights on an existing deck. This video is an excellent example of how magazines are reaching out to their readers with multi-media, linked to websites, and blogs.

Your Three Words - Good Morning America

My cousin Alexa Sears sent in three words to Good Morning America and was featured on their "Your Three Words" weekly recap. She's about mid-way through the video with her three words being: "No More Braces," and boy does she look gorgeous!

In case you're wondering, yes, this 16-year old is my first cousin. We share a grandmother. My dad was the oldest of five, and Alexa's mom Susan was the youngest. There is about 22 years between the two, so Alexa's parents -- my aunt and uncle -- are less than five years older than I, and my son Tanner is a year older than my cousin Alexa...

It was confusing for all our kids when they were younger, but I think they've figured it out now.

Here Comes the Bride! Congratulations Haley and Patrick

Weddings are so fun. Sorry for the shaky quality of this video. I'm no videographer, but since I was in the back row and had a great view, I couldn't resist.

The Texas Contingent with Grandma/Great Grandma Boswell

We just got home -- literally -- from a great week on Kiawah Island in South Carolina. My cousin Patrick got married on Saturday, June 13, in what had to be one of the most beautiful events I've ever been to. We were away for 8 days. It was a road trip that included things like a ghost tour in a hearse in Savannah, GA, several days on the beach on the island, a day seeing historic sites in Charleston, SC, and most importantly, time spent with the Boswell side of my family, including my grandmother, Esther Boswell. The highlight of my trip (besides the wedding) was being with Grandma. She showed me how to knit -- something I've been trying to learn on my own off and for a couple of years. And I think she enjoyed the experience as much as I did. Anyway, the photos below and to the left are from the wedding. It was incredible, especially spending time with my family shown here. When I can figure out a better way to post these photos, I will. It's good to be home. Tomorrow it's back to work. But it's been a great 8 days. I feel truly blessed.

Congratulations Patrick and Haley Boswell!

Check out my article in Extreme How-To!

Look Inside >>

The current issue of Extreme How-To Magazine (available at Home Depot, Barnes & Noble, all over the place) includes an article by moi called Bright Ideas for Deck Lights (see the cover). The story was written to showcase the products available from Aurora Deck Lighting, but it's a good over view of deck lighting (solar, low voltage, wired, unwired) -- truly everything you need to know. If you are interested in turning your outdoor living enviornment into a place you can use at night as well as during the day, check out Aurora's products, and be sure to tell them you heard about them from Extreme How-To magazine and the article by Connie Jean Holubar!

My future home

Discovering the line you won't cross.

As a writer I've done a lot of projects that were a struggle to do. Not because of the work itself, but because of the content. I worked for an ad agency in Dallas that had a client list that made people yawn. I could literally see them zone out about two clients into my list as soon as they had asked "Who are your clients?" My own mother once told me she guessed that I must be good at promoting boring things. I had never looked at it that way, but I guess she was right, because I've had a successful career.

When I started doing "my own thing" again here in Texas I decided I would focus in on areas of interest to me. It helped that I had a good customer base of clients who had hired me for my expertise in certain things (initially crisis communication, then economic development, then media relations and PR, and now I guess because I'm cheap). Long story short, I've always had the "luxury" of working for people I want to work for doing things I want to do. The few times that I've lost a plum assignment working for someone I really liked, I've grieved. I like my work.

Over the years and through the economic ups and downs, I've adjusted my business strategy and philosophy as needed. A few years ago I decided I would not work with people I didn't like, no matter how good the money or how interesting the product or service. About a year ago I amended that rule (economy and all), as long as the pay was good and needed, but I still am careful what I work on.

More importantly, perhaps, in the internet age than liking the client is having a sincere interest in their product or service and in having a desire to do what Jesus would do and help them out, no matter how much I like or dislike them individually.

Based on that measure, I've fired only a few clients who didn't deserve that treatment, who didn't treat me with the same kindness, but for the most part I have had the privilege of helping a lot of people, and I feel good at the end of the day. I price my services fairly, I give a fair days work -- more than a fair day's work, often to the point of not making much money on something at all -- but I do it because it helps someone.

Today I met the point where there was a definite line in the sand. I had been alerted as I am every day to a dozen or more jobs posted on a service to which I subscribe, and which, in all honesty, brings me in a not unhappy piece of revenue on an annual basis.

I usually find one or two things on this service every week or so that make sense for me or that I want to do, sometimes because they offer a unique challenge or because it gives me a chance to learn about something interesting. But today I found one that I considered for just a moment, but then clicked away, both saddened and disgusted, and energized to write this post.

I will not, I found out, take on the challenge of assisting with a grassroots campaign to sell an ointment that cures foot fungus. That's where I draw the line. I realize that ten million people suffer from foot fungus, which I assume is a rotting, icky thing that I've seen portrayed on TV by a nasty cartoon character (shown lifting up the big toenail and jumping inside with his nasty friends). You've see the ad. It's nasty. Anyway, two people have already bid on the foot fungus job, and so they obviously need that work worse than I.

So I'll return to the pile of work I do have and quit looking for more. That should make my current clients happy, since most are waiting for me to deliver something or call them or call someone on their behalf.

I return to my work knowing that I do have choices with what I do, and today writing about a company's marketing campaign, writing a few press releases, and calling a few clients and their customers for interviews to write a feature story will have to fill my need to do something productive. I don't have any new business to work on today, but I have lots of old business, for some really great people who have businesses that are doing well if not thriving in this economy.

This little exercise this morning also has given me another reason to be thankful. Not only is the sun shining with promise of the most beautiful day of the year thus far, but I, thank the dear Lord, do not have foot fungus.

Family Vacations

So far we are having a great time on our spring break trip. We saw the space shuttle Discovery launch yesterday and today we took an airboat ride in a real Florida swamp -- Boggy Creek.

Sure, we're five miles from Disney World, but we've been there, done that. Today was supposed to be a theme park day, and the kids had agreed on Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. But instead we slept in a little late and weren't really moving too fast today. So we opted for a lower key experience.

I had been on an airboat ride in Florida when I was a kid. It was somewhere west of Fort Myers in the Everglades. But the rest of my family had never been. I can't say anyone was too excited, but it was an easy 20 minute drive south of Orlando on a country road, and it was well worth the trip.

My favorite parts of Florida are not the theme parks. I don't like spending several hundred dollars in one day to stand in line. It was fun when the kids were smaller and they got so much out of it, and our family is a pretty patient group, but now I have teens. That makes it more of a challenge.

So we come to Florida and do different things. We'll go over to the beach (that's free), and we'll find a cool go-cart track. There's tennis here, and that's great. We played bingo this afternoon. (Yesterday we watched; today I wanted to play. We played four games for pots of money that ranged from just over $100 to $250. That's worth sitting an hour for, and it's worth the $6 it cost me to play. I didn't win, but I met Shirley and Larry from Pittsburg. It was fun.

We've only been here a couple days, and the vacation hasn't been perfect. I try not to let it hurt my feelings that my 14 year old told me, "I didn't come all this way to hang out with you." But it also was nice when, given the chance, the kids did not want to go to Universal Studios today by themselves.

Seeing the space shuttle launch was especially cool. We didn't drive to the coast as we'd originally planned because we were going to combine it with a beach visit, and the news said high rip tides made swimming hazardous. I didn't want to listen to the kids whine about going over there and not being able to swim, so we stayed here. It was fine though, because we scouted out a spot at the edge of the resort, over a lake, with a clear horizon. We gathered there with dozens of other families and my son took video. It will be up on YouTube when we get home and I'll link it here.

More to come from Kissimmee, Florida. Tomorrow we're going to try to get up early to hit a bucket of balls on the driving range and play some tennis. Tomorrow night we'll go see a spring training game: Atlanta Braves and NY Mets. Vacations in Orlando, even when you've outgrown Mickey, are worth the trip.

Family Dinners are Fun!

Our family helped my mother celebrate her 70th birthday on March 5 with a trip to Benihana in Dallas. If you haven't been to Benihana lately, you really should make a point of going soon. It can be pretty pricey, so be prepared for meals in the $30 - $50 per person price range,plus tip, depending on drinks, appetizers, sushi, etc., but the experience is well worth it. Even our three teenage boys had fun and THANKED us for taking them there. My mom and sister even tried their first sushi (well psuedo-sushi). Personally I liked the Mango Sakitini best. (And I could do without the green tea ice cream...ick.)

From left, bottom, my big brother Bob, my sister-in-law Amy, my mother, me, my husband, Mark. Top left, my son Tanner (16), my nephew Bret (14), my son Dylan (14), and my sister Kathleen.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Out of the mouths of babes...

We all know kids say the darndest things. They ask questions, and as parents we're supposed to answer them because it's our job to be their first and most important teacher.

Yesterday, as I burned the morning toast for the second time in as many weeks, my 14 year old looked at me and with a pensive, serious, almost concerned expression on his face he asked, perhaps more rhetorically than to me, "Why do they put a setting on a toaster that burns the toast?"

As the search engine in my brain took off in a slightly foggy, early morning quest for the answer, it bogged down. I couldn't answer. I didn't know what to say. Within a split second my brain processor had eliminated "To toast other things that require higher settings," because there was nothing I could think of that you toasted on the highest settings of a toaster.

I also had eliminated the response "For the bagels," quickly realizing that bagels require an even lower setting because otherwise the edges burn. Pop tarts require lower...

Holy Cow. Dylan had asked a question to which I was stumped. "Why does a toaster have a setting that burns toast?"

It's not the first time I couldn't answer a question, but usually the questions I can't answer revolve around school subjects like Texas History, of which as a non-Texan I've been spared, or algebra, or kid needs like how to string a guitar or reinstall XP. Usually when it comes to basic kitchen appliances I am master of my domain.

So what is the answer? Why is there such a high setting on a toaster? Did a design team in some factory decide to add hotter settings just because they could? Did a marketing person suggest "more settings" as a way to get ahead of the competition and provide more fodder for bullet points in an ad? Did an executive devise the idea as a way to raise prices? Is it a conspiracy between bread manufacturers and toaster producers, perhaps combined with the power companies and big oil to get us to use more energy, burn bread thus increasing the rate at which a loaf is consumed...are the farmers and the grocery stores and the bakeries all in on this?

Or is this just a symbol of the waste that has been occuring in America as we add bells and whistles and heat settings to appliances that no one needs but that require more materials to provide thus more jobs and more expense and the resulting ability to charge consumers more money for the same old thing?

I don't know. If you think about it too hard it makes your head hurt. I'm sure my son forgot his question and hasn't given it another thought. I on the other hand have been pondering it off an on for about 28 hours now. Subconsciously, but still.

Out there somewhere is the guy (I'm guessing) who designed my GE Bagel Switch 4 Slice Toaster. He (or she) knows why there is a setting on a toaster that burns toast. He or she probably also knows what cooks in a toaster on the highest setting. If anything.

Jack Welch probably knows the answer. I don't know the answer. I'd like to know why my toaster has a setting on it that burns toast. Does this make sense? To anyone? Can something be done about this? Is there a watchdog group out there that needs a cause? Why hasn't Congress brought in witnesses? Why hasn't this issue been raised before...

I for one plan to use this newly acquired realization to remain above the influence. I plan to keep my toaster set conservatively on 6. I suggest, dear reader, that you heed my advice and do the same.

Valentines is over, so what do I do with the box?

My spouse thoughtfully gave me the traditional heart shaped box of Russell Stover chocolates. Although the chocolates were gone by weekend's end, the box has been laying around. Today I picked it up with plans to get it off my kitchen counter, but now it's on my desk, here by my computer, because I can't decide what to do with it.

I recycle just about everything. From cat food cans to plastic milk jugs, soda cans to Lean Cuisine boxes, if it's paper, plastic, aluminum or tin, I have a container for it and a recycling center down the road that will take it.

But what about this heart shaped box? It's really too pretty to throw away. It has Russell Stover's name stamped into it, so it's not really good for decorative purposes, I of course won't throw it away, but it's really too pretty for the recycle pile. I'm in a quandary. I really don't know what to do.

If anyone out there has a creative use for a heart-shaped box, let me know what it is. I did a quick search on Google looking for ideas, but to no avail. I can't be the only person with this problem. In past years I've received chocolates, so I must have gotten rid of the box one way or another. I don't have a stockpile of these boxes in a closet or on a shelf. But I can't imagine myself throwing them away either.

WHAT DO YOU DO WITH THE HEART SHAPED BOX WHEN THE CANDY IS ALL GONE???

Something Good About George Bush

People who know me will see the title of this post and wonder. But I finally have come up with something good about George Bush: He made us laugh. (Click on the photo to the left for a link to a great compilation of some of W's brightest moments.)

Yes, laughter is good. Although with Mr. Bush that laughter was quickly followed by the nervous twitter of realizing he was the leader of the free world. Usually that led to complete and utter embarassment --at least for me, and it should for our nation. But George Bush fueled the comedy of our nation and the world more than any president in history. He made us laugh more. Okay it was at him, not with him, but laughter is still good.

I'll miss him for that. But I'm really glad he doesn't have to try to be our president any more. I don't think he was cut out for that job. I'd like to see him buy another baseball team or something. I'd even love it if he bought a lake house down here and a nice bass boat. He could come down to get away from the city and hang with the weekenders at Don's Port Marina or the locals at Cedar Isle.

Enjoy your retirement, Mr. Bush. I'm very, very happy for you.

Ice Storm Schmice Storm

I don't watch a lot of television news, but when bad weather occurs, you have to watch. Since we live an hour away from the city, it can be fine where we are but deadly treacherous in Dallas. Since some teachers drive from quite a distance, our schools are often delayed and even closed when the weather "elsewhere" is bad. Thus is the case today.

The big ice storm of '09 is upon us, but not really. News reporters in Dallas and Fort Worth have dug out their cutest winter head gear to stand in the intersection of some major highway to tell you that it's slick out. There isn't much traffic on the roads, Dallas looks to be closed, and my husband just stayed home. With the economy the way it is he isn't overwhelmed at work. Since the company is in Dallas, they may close for the day or at least delay opening anyway. He's been there ten years. He has days off he can take. So be it.

Of course I have to work. There is no such thing as unable to get to work when your office is in your house. It also means I'll have to make breakfast later than usual and maybe take the kids to school when they start at 10. The bridges and overpasses will be icy, and my 16 year old has no experience with that sort of thing. (There are several bridges over a lake before you get to the high school from here.) On the other hand, he has to learn.

I don't like unexpected weather patterns. I don't like having three people "at work with me" unscheduled. These people know me as Mom and Wife, and they are used to talking to me and having me do things for them. Between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., I don't like to be Mom or Wife. I have work to do.

Ice Storm, Schmice Storm. The weather is fine where I am. I'm a little worried about my iris and Cana bulbs that have sprouted in the last week. My tropicals and palms that are in the ground are not looking too good either. (But neither are the pots of palms and other plants that got brought in for the winter. I just do not have a green thumb.)

But I digress, which is what happens when there are people home who should be at school and work, and when the reporters on TV are making a big deal out of a little ice. But it is a big deal in Dallas. We don't get ice often. People don't know anything about it. Pick-ups do horribly on ice, fishtailing everywhere, and everyone drives pick-ups. I even heard some idiot say, "At least I have four wheel drive." As if that would help! I lived in Colorado for 15 years and we had four wheel drive. It's great for snow or mud or going through streams or up mountains, but on ice it's like having four wheels out of control.

My husband tried something he saw on the news. The dumbest thing I've seen today. He put a cardboard pizza box over his windshield so he wouldn't have to scrape the ice off. I was out this morning doing a "weather check" in time to see him trying to get the pizza box off his windshield. Yes, it was stuck. I wonder how many viewers were dumb enough to try the same thing? And how many are sorry they did today. Once when I was in college I saw on the Dallas news that you could pour a pitcher of water on your windshield and melt the ice off if you didn't have a scraper. I did that with a steaming pitcher of water and my entire windshield cracked, costing me several hundred dollars. These people haven't got a clue!

My kids are getting ready to go to school. My husband thinks he'll take the day off. We've been painting, and he can finish one of the areas. Of course it's part of my office. He says he can do it without disturbing me. I doubt that very, very, very much.

Ice storm, schmice storm. What do they do in other parts of the world? Up north people can't possibly stay home everytime the weather is bad. I suppose that because people down here don't have proper coats or gloves or even ice scrapers, we have to shut everything down. But come on people. How is anyone supposed to get any work done when the city shuts down and my husband stays home. Do you know how easy it is to get me off task? Do you know how much I enjoy a day alone with my spouse, and how rare those days are? I have lunch plans and conference calls....this changes everything. Can we reschedule this storm for next week? I'm just too busy this week.

Is Today Sunday?

My kids have been home since December 23 nearly full time. My spouse has been home since December 24 full time. I have had plenty of time off. I have had a lovely, low key, stress free holiday season, with lots of laughs and plenty of family time. Holiday decorations have been put away. My house is clean, the laundry is done. Even the cats have adjusted and have started sleeping in. This has to be about over.

Don't get me wrong. No one loves vacation more than I. But now the entitlement of it all is starting to wear thin.

My mother will tell you that I have spoiled my boys rotten. I always figured it was my job as mother (and a privilege for me -- a source of pride too) to make my children a warm breakfast. I have made breakfast for my kids for 16 years. As teens they are becoming easier and often want just cereal, which they can get themselves. When it comes to lunch, they can make their own sandwiches but don't. I don't mind making lunch, figuring it saves me money if they aren't wholesale raiding my refrigerator every few hours. But having them home means there's been little time for much else between "feedings."

Meal time has been especially dictated by the incredible poison ivy rash that my youngest, who is severely allergic to poison ivy, decided to get for the holidays. His three times daily regimen of cortizone steroid medication requires food, so I've been a short order cook for a week.

The poison ivy episode itself was an ordeal. The weather has been nice. Dylan and his friends have been building a course for playing with their (I'm told) relatively harmless airsoft guns. On Sunday, Dylan's rash appeared, the itching kept him awake overnight, and by Monday his right eye was nearly swollen shut. After applying every home remedy on the internet (with some short-lived success) throughout the morning, we knew he needed a shot, so I took him to the doctor. Anyway, after a big shot of steroids in his butt he got immediate relief, but he needs meds with food three times a day.

That was five days ago. Since then I've made sure that he has taken his medication three times a day with food. If you can imagine how much time in the day that takes up, you can understand my growing excitement about returning to work, kids returning to school, and life returning to "normal."

The point of this post is that this has been a really good break for me. But it's starting to wear thin.

Yesterday I had a melt down over a movie the boys rented, which disapated into a melt-down about everything to do with them on that particular day. I was relaxing, having spent DAYS doing laundry and the day taking down Christmas decorations and cleaning., putting things back to normal and rearranging things a bit. I was sitting on the couch doing a Sudoku (Santa brought it) when the boys came in from town.

They were carrying fast food drinks and a new horn for the golf cart (honk honk). My boys are funny. They are small town kids, and there really isn't much to do here. They find their fun at WalMart (buying silly things like a horn for the golf cart), and they even enjoy going through the new carwash. Last week my oldest showed me a video he'd taken on his phone of the new car wash. "You took my car through the car wash?" I asked, "Twice," he had answered. "Twice?" I'd asked laughing before adding, "What a waste of money." "It's fun, and besides, Stephen paid," he'd said. "Oh," I'd said, thinking "at least I didn't pay for it." Our neighbors have small town kids too, and they're all loaded up with Christmas money. I guess if one of the neighbor boys wants to pay to go through the carwash for fun and they are in my car, I shouldn't complain. It's pretty funny stuff.

Anyway, you can understand how the kids are getting bored too. You can only go to WalMart and go through the car wash or to the movies or to the burger joint so many times before you are truly bored. That's why they had gone to rent some movies.

So back to this movie: I was sitting on the couch. I never watched it, per say, because I was trying to do a Sudoku, but from the moment it began until the moment when I said, "That's enough, turn it off," I heard nothing but fowl language. It wasn't funny. It was awful. I wasn't watching, but I could hear my husband commenting from behind me about the violence, blood and gore. Before "losing it" and demanding that the thing be turned off, I had been told by my children in response to my exhaltations of disgust, "If you don't like it, go to another room," and "You aren't watching it anyway so don't worry about it," and other disrespectful things.

Anyway, long story short, the movie (a Ben Stiller movie called Tribal Thunder) did not get watched and today I am going to try to take it back to Blockbuster to find out why they allowed kids under 17 to rent a movie rated R, and I'm going to try to get credit put back on my kid's gift card. I can be really calm about this, and I can only try. That movie was nuts though. I'm thoroughly disgusted with Ben Stiller's choice there. I don't know where I lost control of the boundaries with my children, but the fact that they thought they could bring that into my house and play it on the TV in my living room while I'm sitting on the couch relaxing and enjoying some down time, is beyond me. But they learned yesterday that there is a line, and that movie crossed it. My oldest even agreed. My youngest, I was appalled to hear, had already seen the movie at the theatre -- a 14 year old with his 13 year old "date!" What is this world coming to?

So the movie incident led me to the money wasting of buying $14 worth of fast food at 4 in the afternoon (when they would want dinner in two hours anyway) and buying a horn for the golf cart. Spend, spend, spend. I haven't even checked to see if they also washed my car.

It's definitely time for me to get back to work and for the kids to go back to what they do. I have enjoyed having my husband around, although if was around a lot I'd have to buy him a computer and add on another office because he has been on my computer and in my office a lot. There's good reason. He has been helping my son try to fix his XBox. This in itself has been a ten day ordeal that has involved something expensive and electronic being taken apart on my conference table, new tools were purchased, special trips to Dallas for salves and gadgetry were made, as well as two trips to Lowes for nylon then rubber washers the right size. They thought they fixed it yesterday, twice, but to no avail. Now they are looking to buy another broken Xbox off ebay to get the part they need to fix it...I'm not sure I get it, but it's their business. All these activities require a computer so they could watch "how to" videos on You Tube and find locations for stores to buy what they needed, and because I thought the experience was excellent for my son, I allowed it to take place and did laundry instead. Now it really is getting to be time for me to get back to work, and it's about time to get that stuff off my conference table. I haven't said anything yet though.

The problem with a long holiday vacation is that, while at the start of the vacation every day feels like Friday, toward the end every day feels like it should be Sunday. I'm not particularly fond of Sundays. They always have the aura of "Bummer, the weekend is over" combined with "I have so much to do tomorrow." I guess that's why God invented church. Maybe if you go to church on Sunday morning you are thankful for the weekend you had and the job you are returning to. I think I need church every day.

Oh well, it's been a great break...are we going back to school and work now...no, not quite yet, but I've just been informed everyone IS hungry.