Contesting

Here's a quick update on my quirky hobby. I'm still entering contests galore. I plan to inventory my contest winnings (or lack thereof) in early June to re-evaluate my strategies and to focus in on the type of contests (sweepstakes, single entry, daily entry, essay contests, photo contests, recipe contests, etc.) that are most beneficial.

Have you heard of any great contests or are you a contester yourself? Send me a note!

Hobbies

When and if I have time to spare (if you are a mom, you know that translates as almost never), here are the ways I like to spend my time:

* reading - especially non-fiction (parenting, health, cookbooks, politics, business, etc.)
* writing
* scrapbooking
* hiking, backpacking, or going on some outdoor adventure
* listening to a lecture or attending a workshop on a topic I'm interested in
* tinkering around with the guitar
* taking outdoor pictures w/ my digital camera
* trying new foods
* playing soccer, volleyball, or walleyball

Share your favorite pastimes.

Business Idea #2: Gourmet Food To-Go

Fast Food isn't my thing. Call me a food snob, but I just don't like McDonalds, Burger King, Taco Bell, and Jack-in-the-Box. I want healthy, flavorful, cooked-to-order foods prepared by experienced chefs in a clean environment...to go.

Business Idea #2: Start up a take-out place with nutritious, delicious meals to-go.

Dry Clean Only

Why is it that so many women's clothing items have to be "dry clean only"? I am always disheartened when I see that small text on the tag after I return home from a productive shopping trip.

I, of course, will never take the item to a dry cleaner. Nor will I return it. It's possible that I might use one of the home-based systems like Dryel. More likely, however, I will wash the item in a warm/cold wash with my other clothes and there's a 95% chance it will turn out just fine.

Without even venturing into the environmental side of things, I can make a somewhat reasonable argument against dry cleaning. It costs time and it costs money - two things I want to save and spend with care.

Plus, dry cleaning is old-fashioned. When was the last time you saw a dry cleaning establishment full of 25-year-olds? That said, I would be shocked if a large portion of the dry cleaning business doesn't go under with the advent of the Millenial generation near at hand. Now, if only the clothes manufacturers would catch on.

Gift

We recently signed up to sponsor a little boy from Zimbabwe, Africa through World Vision. His name is Gift. He is eight years old.

We hope, through our small gift, that we can help him and his family. The money will go toward food, clean water, medicine, and education.

Interested in finding out how you can help with the AIDS pandemic and extreme poverty by sponsoring a child? Go to www.worldvision.com.

The Right Kind of People

Jim Collins' NY-Times Bestseller, Good to Great, outlines the principles that allow good companies to make the leap into greatness. One of them is the concept of hiring the right kind of people:

"They hired outstanding people whenever and wherever they found them, often without any specific job in mind." (p. 42)

In essence, they understood that character, personality, and motivation are indispensable qualities. Skills and duties can be taught. Information can be shared. But "the core" of a person cannot be changed.

For example, if they were looking for a business executive, they didn't necessarily hire someone with an MBA and 10 years of experience. Instead, they hired people who were charismatic, hard-working, determined, commited, communicative, and professional.

Working with Baby...

is getting crazy. For those of you who don't know, I have been bringing my baby to work with me since she was four months old. It's been a wonderful arrangement and I absolutely love the fact that I don't have to miss any moments with her. Plus, she's smiling, laughing, and in a delightfully positive mood about 95% of the time.

That said, she's getting very active. She wants to sit and play and talk and roll and grab everything in sight. She especially loves "taste-testing" any items she can get in her hands and she loves to scream at the top of her lungs with sheer joy and excitement.

My last day on-the-job will be May 24th and I think it will be the perfect time for parting.