BRB

in a few days.....

Thursday 26th January

Facebook Timeline

So what if I don't want the Timeline?

Read this article.

My 'ideas' box

Spring Break?

Have you started thinking about that yet?

Yolanda Adams - Battle's not yours

Have a great Sunday!

Cloud Girlfriend anyone?

Did anyone ever sign up for Cloud Girlfriend?
Here's a post I did on it a while back.
Just asking.....

BLITZ

Barely. Living. In. The. Zone

What a week! So glad, it's Friday! 

REPOST - What's your relationship status?

He checks on her every 5 minutes

Perpetually aware of her every movement

He’s never more than a foot away from her

And when she’s not with him, he feels bereft

He loves it whenever she talks to him

Excitedly absorbing the messages she relays

He gets paranoid when she’s too quiet

And he panics that she's unwell and unable to communicate

Holding her close is his signature stance

It's a fatal attraction - him to her charm

Ever so often, he buys her new toys

More things to make her, more fun and engaging

His whole life revolves around her reactions

Agonisingly waiting for her to give him a glance

Depression sets in when she makes no contact

He feels all alone, without a friend in the world

It’s a sad relationship between this guy and his ....... phone – right?

Wait a second, you didn’t think I was talking about a lovesick teenager / stalker / wierdo – did you?

Or was I??

What's your relationship with your phone?

Project Management and Delivery at its best!

The geeks amongst you will understand this! 

Have a great 'HUMP' day!

Letter to the CEO of Zumba

In an ideal world (one where I am in the present for starters, and certainly not dreaming!), here's the letter I would send to Beto - the Zumba Creator

Dear Alberto Perez,

I thought I should contact you and let you know of a brilliant new business opportunity which I strongly believe will be well worth your time.

Zumba has been extremely successful in recent years and this has been primarily due to the fun nature of the routine - providing remarkable results for your customers in a fun and relaxed setting.

As you know, Janet Jackson is on Nutrisystem, Mariah Carey is on Jenny Craig and Jennifer Hudson believes in Weightwatchers. These are all your competitors.

You probably already know Beyonce Knowles Carter (popularly known as Beyonce). She's an American songwriter, singer, actress and record producer. She is also a fantastic dancer, as you can see from any of her music videos. (Single Ladies is one of my favourites!) 

Beyonce is married to JayZ (Shawn Corey Carter), who is an American rapper, entrepreneur and record producer. The couple recently had a baby girl and I am pretty sure that she would be considering some fitness options to maintain her stunning public persona. (This is customary behavior with celebrities, as they seem to be on a mission to get back to pre-baby weight in the shortest time possible)

Now whilst I am not sure if Mrs Carter has opted for producing her own fitness DVD - as many of her fellow celebrities have done after having a baby - I do believe that contacting her to get her support for your product offerings and your brand, will open up some new business channels for you and your organisation.  (Madonna and Jennifer Lopez are already huge followers and their stage performance style is very similar to Mrs Carter's, hence my suggestion)

Your colorful costumes and highly intricate, intense and sexy dance steps (reminiscent of Beyonce's music videos), is what leads me to the conclusion that this partnership will be a great business opportunity for both of you.

I would love to be of assistance in any way, should you need to draft a marketing strategy for this new venture.

Sincerely, 

The Globetrotting Executive

What do these 3 have in common?

Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Hudson

What do these 3 celebrities have in common?

Any ideas....No....Ok....I'll get you out of your misery.

They're all promoting one weight-loss program or another.

Janet is on Nutrisystem
Mariah is on Jenny Craig
Jennifer believes in Weightwatchers

Now I have to say, green goddess of envy aside, these ladies look absolutely amazing!

Which brings me to my muse of the day - I wonder which product Blue Ivy Carter's mum will endorse? (Beyonce is Blue Ivy Carter's mum, by the way)

Some celebrities prefer to launch their own fitness DVDs (Jessica Simpson, Cher, Jordan, Elle McPherson, Geri Halliwell....and the list goes on), so that could be a possibility for Beyonce.

This route seems a fairly simple way to show off the stunning bodies that these celebrities have worked very hard to attain with the help of their nutritionist, fitness instructor/personal trainer, personal chefs, private doctors and all the other personal staff that us mere mortals cannot afford, whilst making some brisk money on the side. (So we buy the DVDs believing that following the instructions on each DVD, religiously for 30 minutes each day will get us the same svelte bodies that they have. Hmmm..)

Not sure which way Beyonce wants to play this, as I'm sure there are still lots of products she could endorse out there, but my only suggestion would be for the Zumba guys contact her ASAP. Somehow, with the colorful costumes and highly intricate, intense and sexy dance steps (pretty similar to her music videos anyway!), that certainly seems well up her street - no?!

Because He lives

"Because I know He holds the future, life is worth the living just because He lives! "
Have a great Sunday!

Monday's child poem

Monday's child is fair of face

Tuesday's child is full of grace,

Wednesday's child is full of woe,

Thursday's child has far to go,

Friday's child is loving and giving,

Saturday's child works hard for a living,

But the child who is born on the Sabbath Day

Is bonny and blithe and good and gay

(Courtesy Wikipedia)

Do you believe this?

Rent or Buy

As a Globetrotting Executive, upon arrival at your new location, probably one of the first things you will be concerned about, will be where to live. Ever so often in the GT lifestyle, you are faced with the dilemma of whether to rent or buy, depending on which location you are in and how long you expect to be there.

I would advise doing some thorough research on this area on the Internet well ahead of time, so you have some prior knowledge of what to expect.

Some factors that could affect this decision are children and

• how settled are they in school
• does it make financial sense
• is it safe enough for you to be out there on your own or would you prefer to live in community-style accommodation with Globetrotting Executives like yourself?

and the list goes on...

Most companies enlist the services of a local Relocation Expert who is familiar with the region and will provide you with information about the area, schools, where to shop, and good healthy gossip !

If your company does not offer a Relocation Expert, it is always best to work with a registered estate agent/realtor, unless you are very familiar with the city.

So, the big question - Should you rent or should you buy ?

This really depends on how long you expect to be assigned to that location, how much money you have saved and whether you feel it will be 'worth' it.

In some economies, buying a house will always give a good return on investment, especially if you stay long enough to profit from the deal. Study the trends for homes in the neighbourhoods you might be interested in, check out house prices over a period and see if there is depreciation or appreciation, consider the taxes that you will have to pay, discuss your concerns with your relocation agent and then make your informed decision.

A rule of thumb, some say, would be 'if you are staying less than 3 years, rent. 4 or more - buy!'

Another option would be to rent initially, say for a period of 6 months, just for you to understand the intricacies of the home ownership process in that country, then you buy.

So, how do you go about your decision making for your new home, in your new location? What are your major concerns with renting or buying?  

REPOST - It's Cookie season

It's Girls Scout cookie sale time! 

Every cookie has a mission - to help girls do great things! 

Visit http://www.abcsmartcookies.com/cookies.asp to learn about the yummy cookies and contact me to place your orders. They're $4.00 for each box.

Our troop is taking orders now and they will be delivered middle of February! 

Thanks in advance for your orders! 

REPOST - It's all going according to plan!

Here's a repost of an article I wrote a few month's back. I decided to report today because quite frankly, things are going according to plan. My year is off to a great start and I am extremely positive about what lies ahead. So I impolore you, read on....

How are you? 
How do you respond when asked that question?

Some people just give a simple response ‘Fine’ or 'Good' and move swiftly on. Minimalists!

Some people don’t bother to reply. They look astounded and surprised at the question. I often think 
a) they don't feel they are worthy of someone asking after them, 
b) they feel they have too much to say and you’re not really interested in the real answer anyway. 

Some people take you on a long journey, giving you every single detail about every single thing that has happened to them since you last saw them. Not minimalists! 

My standard response is ‘Fantastic!’ That throws people aback, because they start thinking (wishing even) ‘I want some of what she’s having!’ But I kid you not. I do feel fantastic inside! The gift of life is fantastic and one I am always grateful for. (Do you have any idea how many went to bed last night and did not wake up to see the new day? There’s got to be a reason why I made it to the next day.). 

I am one of the ‘half-full glass’ people. I also believe that laughter is extremely essential! I generally look forward to each day. I live the ‘early-to-bed, early-to-rise’ life. I’m always trying to get a laugh out of people I meet (ok, sometimes, that can be really annoying and I apologise!). 

I once worked with someone whose response to the ‘How are you?’ question was always ‘It’s all going according to plan.’ I think that’s an equally fantastic answer. Let’s face it - whatever is happening today in our lives is as a result of decisions, choices and plans made in the past. 

We can start the day deciding it is going to be a great day – or not. We can start the day believing it is going to be full of obstacles, and you know what – we subconsciously seek the obstacle ridden path to justify our thinking. We can start the day as ‘the-timid-self-deprecating-victim’, and then we spend the whole day putting ourselves in those situations, to justify it. 

Simply put, do you want ‘a-bright-sunny-summer’ day or ‘a-cold-bitter-blustery-winter’ day?.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I do have my occasional winter days. (Who doesn’t? My husband can probably write a whole volume about ‘my grumpy moments’!). I just choose not to share my grumpy moments with everyone I meet. Because in my simplicity, I believe I owe it to the people I meet in the course of my day, to be pleasant, polite, kind and well-mannered. (I would expect the same from them). 

I also compartmentalise, you see. My grumpiness has nothing to do with them, and I think it is unfair to make them share my grumpiness with me! So, on those days, my answer might not quite be ‘Fantastic’, but I’m pretty sure it will still be something positive. 

Because I’ve chosen to 'follow the sun' and not let ‘grumpiness’ detract me from 'the' plan!

SMART New Year Resolutions

For the past 2 years, I've had a reverse kind of New Year resolution.

I refuse to go to the gym each year, until about the tail end of January. 
Why?
Because I do not want to be tagged a New Year Resolutionist!
(Now this doesn't mean that I do not continue my exercise somehow - walking in my neighbourhood, doing weights or lunges at home etc - but I just don't go into a gym to do it)

Who are New Year Resolutionists? 
You know - those who make all the New Year resolutions (eat right, exercise more, organize more, relax more) on the 1st day of January and by 15th of January, have forgotten all those resolutions! They are the ones who flock to the gym religiously on the 1st (and the 2nd, 4th, 5th, ...10th even...) and by the 20th, the excitement has worn off and the gym is back to normal with the die-hards only.

Not sure why this happens, though. I know I have been guilty of setting really ah-mazing goals on 1st of January and not carrying them through. (Lose 30 pounds (hmmm) by Valentine's day comes to mind).

Were the goals too lofty? Too ambitious? Just not realistic?

The experts always say we need to make our goals S.M.A.R.T. (Specific Measurable Attainable Relevant Timely). 

Specific - The Who, What, Why, When, Where, How questions should be answered in relation to that goal. What do you want to do? How do you plan to do it? Why do you want to do it?

Measurable - How do I measure my progress? Do not rely solely on the scales. How about the way your  clothes fit?

Attainable - Be realistic. For me, 30 pounds by Valentines day (6 weeks) was not realistic and therefore I lost the incentive to persevere.

Relevant - How relevant is this to my daily existence? What do I stand to gain by doing this? Having a relevant goal makes it worthwhile and you are willing to work towards it.

Timely - Set stage goals for yourself. Pace yourself. You cannot reach all your goals in one day. (Keep in mind that the weight wasn't gained in one day either!). What goals can I aspire to today? In a fortnight? In a month?

What are your New Year resolutions? Are they SMART and are you still on track?

It's Cookie Season

It's Girls Scout cookie sale time! 


Every cookie has a mission - to help girls do great things! 

Visit http://www.abcsmartcookies.com/cookies.asp to learn about the yummy cookies and contact me to place your orders. They're $4.00 for each box.

Our troop is taking orders now and they will be delivered middle of February! 

Thanks in advance for your orders! 

Majesty

Here's a good one for today..Majesty by Delirious
Hope you find it as uplifting as I have..

Have a great Sunday!

Spouses at corporate events....

Yesterday, I had a post up about attending cocktail parties or events alone, where your only connection to the group is your absent spouse.  Events where you have to be polite and well-mannered, be careful what you say or do, because any gaffes might somehow have a direct connection to his next career move... Events where in an ideal world, you would rather not attend, but......

Corporate Spouses at such events fall into different classifications.

a) The super successful wife - Successful in her own right, and her husband is also a high flyer in the company. She looks awesome (super skinny, perfect skin, hair, nails, clothes). Drives a posh car. Her personal career is on track and she lets you know with each sentence starting with the simple phrase 'So because I had to take the day off at work....'

b) The new comers to town - Shy, nursing the glass of wine or cold water like it's a lifeline. Reluctant to make eye-contact. Looking like creatures about to be slaughtered. Usually leaning against a wall or somewhere in the corner. The bartender becomes a close friend, as they try to hold a conversation with him, ignoring their fellow spouses.

c) The veterans - Have been here for a while. Have attended a lot of these events. Are extremely cynical.  Sit in a corner with a glass of wine (possibly their 3rd already) and passing comments of the arriving guests. They are dressed nicely, but not in the same league as Super successful.

d) The new mummys - With young kids in tow, diaper bags in hand. Looking hassled. The ones that are new to town use their kids as a shield for their shyness, the ones who have been here awhile leave their kids running amok - afterall, they are amongst 'friends'.

e) The ethnic 'clusterers' - Grouped by ethnicity or country of origin. Little clusters of people from certain regions sequestered together, enjoying their own private conversation. You want to join, but then you know you will be intruding. God help you if you are from a small country, as the chances of you finding another from your country will be v.e.r.y. slim!

Do you have any other classifications? I'd be curious to find out!

So what does your husband do???

Ever been to one of those events where your only connection to the group is through your spouse but he is unable to attend and you still have to? You have to be on your best behavior because any wrong move could/might impact his career!

Clueless??? Let me explain.

As part of the GT Lifestyle, my husband's company has a very active spousal network and a lot of effort is made to get the spouses together. (primarily women but sometimes, some men turn up)

I usually prepare for these meetings in a specific way.

• hair - check
• nails - check
• clothes/shoes - check
• confidence - check
• wash my car until it is gleaming. (you never know who might see you on arrival or departure. Perception is reality.)
• I have to look my best. Heaven forbid, I arrive there looking shabby and shoddy. I singlehandedly could be pivotal to his next career move, you see! This is my contribution to our continued success! This is my role as his wife, his partner for life! ((you may puke now))
• ask my husband what he does.

This last point, is the reason for this post. It is my 2 minute elevator speech. This is where I introduce myself - not as myself (I do have a life of my own, but none of that counts in these settings, I find!), but as the spouse of 'xxx' who does 'blah, blah, blah!'.

I ask my husband this for each event and he looks at me oddly. He's probably thinking 'So, you still don't know what I do? Remind me again, how long have we been married??'

I need to know though, because the people I am going to meet will be judging me sizing me up based on his position in the company hierarchy. And you can tell those who immediately think you are not worth their time.

Fast forward to event, and I make my grand entrance. Every spouse looking more successful than the next. All impeccably dressed. All looking affluent.

They approach you because they are judging your book by the cover (you look good, you smell good, you walked in with confidence) and then the following conversation ensues.
Spouse 1 - 'Hi, I'm Carla, you are....'
'I'm GT' all of a sudden, I have gone all hoarse.
Spouse 1 - 'You are?'
Me - 'GT'
Spouse 1 - 'Nice to meet you. How long have you been in this town'
Me - 'We arrived 6 weeks ago'
Like vultures to some new prey, suddenly the crowd around you increases and the much anticipated question comes up.
'So, what does your husband do'
'Erm, he's .....' and I waffle through my well-rehearsed lines...

You can immediately tell who is listening and those who have given up on you. If you finish the description of your husband's job, and you've still got people around you - then you've scored a hit.

Most times, the people just start walking away....

I'll talk some more tomorrow about the clusters of women at such events (by ethnicity/country/lifestyle)

Thank you Lord

Trust...

Trust in the LORD with all your heart 

and lean not on your own understanding;  

in all your ways submit to him,

and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6

What an anti-climax!

Well, it's back to the grindstone. The holidays are over and it's back to normalcy.
(Reports say people get very depressive right after big holidays like this, as the reality of life hits them again)

Hopefully, the New Year resolutions still remain fresh, to keep one motivated.

• Exercise more
• Eat better
• Be kinder
• Read more
• Pray more
• Spend more time with family
• Blah, blah, blah....and what ever else you had on your list...

Be happy! 2012 is here for the next 363 days!

January 2, 2012

"Any form of art is a form of power..." — Ossie Davis

Blogging is my art, but I'm still working on the power element! 

2012 - bring it on! 

It's here!

Happy New Year!