Fear & the iphone

It's done. I'm doomed. I did it.

Ever since starting my new job I have had permission to purchase an iphone (smart phone) to help me do my job. While this was exciting and very liberating to think about...I will show you the number one reason why I was full of fear at the thought of making a change like this:

This is my old phone, a Nokia 'music phone' that's supposed have a decent amount of storage for mp3's, etc. Notice, the strip of exposed wiring to the left of the screen. This was where my 'play/pause/fwd' keys once lived. Fortunately, I've only been without that panel for about 4 months and I haven't been shocked or electrocuted just yet.

This phone did what I needed it to do, send/receive phone calls and text messages. I also played the occasional game of Guitar Hero. After seeing this embarassing excuse for a phone, you can probably understand why I was more than a little afraid to walk into the Apple Store yesterday and trade in my sturdy and heavily abused Nokia.

However, after about two hours of playing with my shiny new miracle of technology, setting up an itunes account (yes, I'm a bit behind the times), and downloading free apps...I am no longer afraid! I have completely embraced the new 'phone' (I don't think the word phone really does it justice...it's a camera, computer, ipod, PDA, and probably lots of other things I haven't figured out yet).

The only thing I'm afraid of now is scratching it, dropping it, or losing it.  

This is not Jake.

Cash Flow

I am always thankful when 'Pay Day Friday' rolls around, it gives our bank account a little extra room to breath, even though we've got the same bills to pay at the same time each month. God, in his infinite wisdom, matched me up with an incredible husband who is also an incredible saver. The past few years have been heavily focussed on socking away savings to minimize the amount of debt we'd have to acrrue while he is in school. It has been a huge blessing to learn how to practice the discipline of financial planning with Jake, but also to have the cash flow to do so!

Now that I am werking from home, it's a lot easier for me to reflect on ways I might have used our 'cash flow' diffrently when I was werking in the Land of Cubicles. A coffee date here, lunch out with friends there, drinks after werk on occasion. All of these are great opportunities to indulge in my love of eating out and my love of people! Very often, stewardship of our cash flow would take bottom priority when these opportunities presented themselves to me. (Very much the way the Starbucks on the corner of Garden of the Gods Rd. and Cenntenial Blvd. presented itself to me 1...2...3 times a week!).

My venti skinny Vanilla Latte was a comforting reward for long hours at the end of a productive week. There's nothing like the feeling of starting an 8am meeting, Starbucks in hand. Perhaps Starbucks is to me, what shoulder pads and power suits were to women in the 90's?!
As the.homewerker, I brew my own coffee every morning, make banana nut muffins from scratch sometimes, and pour my own glass of Malbec on occasion at the end of the work day. Perhaps werking from home will tighten up that leaky faucet in our cash flow, otherwise known as "Jill's non-budgeted budget".

I've also cut down on the number of miles I put on our car each week, gallons of gas consumed, and I'm guessing we might even be able to write a decent amount of expenses off in our taxes next year. As far as my company is concerned, when looking at the DBE (Distributed Building Expense) for having me in a cube vs. having me as the.homewerker, the.homewerker looks a lot better on paper!

So far, I think I've engaged in a win-win situation...although I did just discover a coffee shop a few blocks from our home that makes a mean mocha picante (i think there's cinnamon infused cocoa in it!)...perhaps we'll reserve that for special occasions when I need a break from home office.

Have a wonderful weekend, may the rest of your werk week go quickly, end with a smooth commute, and a relaxing Friday night!

For you Starbucks lovers out there, consider this before you impact your cash flow...and your stomach...with this novel size...the Trenta!

Make Room!

Ever since we relocated to Denver a little over three months ago, I have claimed the guest bedroom as my future office, and have turned it into a dumping ground for boxes from my old office...and pretty much anything else random that is lying around the house without a home.

I work best under pressure, so when the Pottery Barn delivery guy called yesterday to arrange for the in-home delivery of my new desk and cabinets, I figured it was time to make some room!

So far I have worked my way through four boxes of work samples, mementos, and supplies. I even managed to throw some stuff away! The biggest obstacle to getting the room set for my new furniture is still that gigantic printing genius sitting it's 117 lb. self in the exact spot I am hoping my new desk will go. (Insert helpful hubby, here.)

Goodbye backache from the card table I've been sitting at! So long disorganized stack of papers that has been migrating between my briefcase and the card table for the past month! Hello beautiful brand new furniture and all of the organizational saavy you will bring to my life. I have been waiting for you.

The 4pm sugar slump.

Sad but true: I am the girl who used to used to count her favorite candy to fall asleep, instead of sheep. I am also the girl who gave up any form of refined sugar for 2 whole years. Right now, I am the girl who just wants to take a nap because it's almost 4pm and my body is busy digesting the chinese food I ate for lunch...plus the couch across the room looks super cozy...

Do you have that certain time of day, especially at werk, when you just know that you have two choices: slump or cave? Slump=tick off the remaining hour or two of your day in a drowsy haze tucked quiety inside of your cube. Cave= scavenge, forage, hunt for any scrap of sugar, chocolate or caffiene that may have been haphazardly left around the office. Just CAVE in and go for it, it will get you through the rest of this crazy day!

I have taken many approaches to this slump or cave dilemma. During my sugar free years, I was the least likely visitor to the calorie counter (my poor assistant's desk which gathered all unwanted/free-for-the-taking sweets/treats). During my sugar-FUL years, I was (and still can be) quite a monster!

I was known to keep a bag of Dove chocolates in my drawer, an artillery ready and waiting to shoot me through those slumpy afternoons. Unfortunately, these Dove chocolates with their clever wrapper quotes are easy to eat and lose count of, and definitely stick to the hips!

To any young girl new to the werkforce or Land of Cubicles, if you want to keep your figure, be sure you are stashing carrots, whole grain crackers, and fruit in your drawer to help you through any anticipated slump. Also, don't give in and partake of every delectable day-old dessert your co.werkers bring to the office since they 'didn't want it lying around at home'. That's code for, 'I knew you'd snarf it down and consume the extra calories for me!'. There's my public service announcement of the day.

As for me, I'm on a three day exercise streak with the dog, so I'm going to make it four and walk away from the kitchen, and the couch. I guess the third option instead of, slump or cave, could be RUN!

Here's a question for you my dear co.werkers, how do you handle the slump/cave/run complex when it rears it's nasty head? Go ahead and comment! :)

Lunch Break

The concept of a 'lunch break' has morphed for me through the years and the different positions I've held. At some jobs, it's been an instituted time when everyone on the team sits down around a table and consumes whatever meal they've bought/brought for the day. It's a conscious break in the day, whether or not you particularly enjoy the people you are attempting to make polite conversation with.

At other jobs, it's been a slice of 30-60 minutes where I can choose to eat/work at the same time so I can get out a bit earlier...i.e., fun from the building screaming to the comfort of my home or happy hour with girlfriends.

At the Land of Cubicles, my lunch break really depended on a variety of things: 1)if I had made plans with someone (which tended to shoot holes in our monthly budget due to excessive eating out...sorry Jake). 2)if I had a meeting over the traditional lunch hour, in which case I would snarf my leftovers down before the meeting or wait until after if my blood sugar level could handle the agony. 3)March down to the cafe with my team mates who were free and try desperately to make conversation about anything besides what we had in common at werk. After all, it's a lunch BREAK, right?

I have also LOVED not having to scoop up smelly, refrigerated leftovers into tupperware the morning before werk, just so I don't even have the option of saying "I didn't bring anything today, so I need to go buy lunch". The smell of enchiladas or the look of cold beef stroganoff  at 7am didn't always make me look forward to my lunch break!

Now that I am werking from home, most days my lunch break is a combination of a finishing off the pot of coffee from the morning, trying to decide if I want to eat cereal, leftovers, or just make something from scratch. This can happen any time between the hours of 11am and 2pm, depending on my schedule of conference calls, appetite, or general availability of tempting food in the house.

It's not so much a conscious break, as much as it is just 'lunch'. I also love that we go through our set of dishes on a regular basis now that I am eating my meals at home instead of scooping them out of the tupperware containers that used to dominate our countertops a day or two longer than necessary (sorry again, Jake!).

What's on the menu today? Probably some leftover Cuban Braised Beef with chips and salsa. On a real plate, eaten with a real fork and knife. There's just something civilized about werking from home. :)

Try this recipe, it's awesome, and easy to throw in the crock pot while you are gone at werk!:
 Cuban Braised Beef in the Slow Cooker!

The Internet

This is my ode to the internet, as I truly believe this wonderful creation is the primary reason for my existence as 'the.homewerker'. We had some friends over for dinner the other night, and our land line rang, and I think it honestly scared all 5 of us! My friend's husband is on the more reserved side, and he was apparently so taken aback by the sound of 'ringing' that he jumped, laughed, and asked, "What IS THAT??". Well my dear friend, that's a little piece of history known as a land line, and no, I have not figured out how to keep it in my pocket with the ring tone set to vibrate.

This made me think back to the early days of the internet in the Ridder house, and that lovely static/piercing ring of the dial-up connection, taking your only phone line captive for as long as the internet user chose to peruse things like 'AOL' instant messenger, and this new site called 'google' that was occasionally used when I needed to cite at least one source from the internet for my high school research projects. (How annoying!?)

I also remember sitting on the ground next the family computer, waiting very impatiently for my sister to hurry up and end her conversations on AIM. Seriously, someone might be trying to call the house, or better yet, IT'S MY TURN. :) Love you, Sis.

I don't quite remember exactly when the internet exploded, and became this living, breathing, non-negotiable resource, communication method, or vital part of our society. It was probably at some point in college (2002-2005) for me, and then Facebook was opened up to my college during Junior year...and I believe I have probably been dialed-up, connected, plugged-in, every day since.

Between lightning speed emails, 'messenger' programs, blogs, social media, and search engines, I truly believe I am a smarter and more connected person. The pace of knowledge is set to 'instant gratification' as long as you have access to google, and the ability to be connected with people across ten, hundreds, and thousands of miles is just assumed. Why not skype with your friends in Minnesota or China, have a conference call that spans oceans and continents, or hire vendors in other countries?

Really, 'the world is flat' (and I keep meaning to read this book), for those of us who have technology at our fingertips. My werkplace is flat, because of my wi-fi connection and telephone. My relationships are global, because it's easy and a lot more interesting that way. So thank you, Al Gore, for inventing the internet...it's because of your genius that I can werk from the comfort of my home, neighborhood coffee shop, or wherever my smartphone takes me.

Paranoid disclaimer: on a personal level, it's really a beautiful thing to completely unplug on a regular basis. Stop staring at those screens, obsessively checking your email, and just give it a rest. I do secretly fear what the constant exposure to screens is doing to my eye sight, what sitting in a chair is doing to my spine and overall health, and what being exposed to 'wireless frequencies' is doing to my cells....while my 'ode to the internet' is largely positive in this blog post, it's mostly because it's a means to an end for this season of my life....but  I know this lifestyle is not necessarily how my body was created to be used on a regular basis. hopefully some day I can strike a healthy balance!

Pet Friendly Work Environments

I am a dog lover.

I cry when the ASPCA commercial with Sarah McLachlin comes on TV, I want to adopt/foster/babysit dogs more than I ever wanted to for kids. I will even run a 5k if it benefits the local humane society. I am not a runner, but I am a dog lover.

A few years ago, I was pretty far into the interview process for a marketing position at the Guthrie Theater in downtown Minneapolis. A career in the arts, at the brand new architectural marvel in the Mill District? I was pretty much jumping out of my skin at the prospect. And then I think I actually did jump out of my skin when I was taken through their office space and saw that almost every employee had a baby gate on their office door and a cute little pup curled up on the floor inside.

This was a place where it was encouraged that you bring your well behaved dog to work! I'd heard of these places, but never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd ever come this close to one. It was like the unicorn of work environments.

3 years later, 2 jobs later, and I am finally in my own 'pet friendly work environment'. While we were looking for a new place to live in Denver, our #1 criteria was a fenced in backyard. We brought Lexi into our family while we were living in Colorado Springs, and without exaggerating, she is an active dog. Our townhouse set up with a tie-out lead out back was definitely not the best situation for her, and this found us on at least 3-5 miles of walks with her every day, just to get her tired enough to lay low in the evenings.

We now have the fenced in backyard, of which she is Queen. It's so fun to watch her relax out back, get amped up about squirrels, and 'do the polar bear' in the snow.

So far, having Lexi around during my werk day has been wonderful. She keeps me company, helps me get out of the house on walks, and even keeps my feet warm if I'm lucky. The only downside is that we might own the MOST talkative golden retriever since the beginning of time, and she occasionally likes to jump on conference calls or 'tackle-hump' me while I'm on the phone (she gets a running start and ends up in a hump on my leg while I am in the middle saving the world's children, one marketing campaign at a time). Many of my co-workers are aware of Miss Lexi due to these nasty habits, and most think it's funny, but most days, I do not.

We are working on her manners, and trying to help her understand that being on the phone is not the signal to start moaning, growling, or tackle-humping. If that's the worst I have to deal with, I'll take it! She smiles more than any co.werker I've ever had, and she's definitely a welcomed addition to the.homewerker's office.

(Lexi, about 10 weeks old, napping on my boots)

(Lexi, feeling 'guilty' about being caught on the couch)