Friday, June 19, 2009
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.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
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.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
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! |
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
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.
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.
Monday, March 16, 2009
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.
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.
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