A little bit of this...and that

How are my lovely readers doing this week?  I have been busy trying to get ready to leave town next week!  What are you doing for Thanksgiving.  As we all countdown to the holiday please enjoy this edition of working girl rules.  xoxo Work has been pretty crazy lately for me, has it for you?  I think it's because it's close to the end of the year and everyone is trying to get things off their plate.  Yesterday as I was answering emails I got a phone call from one of my sweetest friends.  She was struggling with being very sick and the guilt of not being at work because she was sick.  My friend is like most women, she has guilt.  Guilt about not being able to be all things, to all people, all of the time. I talked to my friend for an hour and what I realized is that she was being entirely too hard on herself.  She is working herself to the point of sickness and that isn't good.  No matter how much you love your job you have t...

Hello lovelies!  I thought it was high time for a working girl rules post.  I have had this one in my head for a while now and I am excited to share it!  Enjoy.  xoxo Is it just me or does the term "constructive criticism" seem to be a nice way of saying I'm about to blow your fing doors off?  For better or worse, in life, in business and in relationships from time to time you are going to get criticism.  Sometimes it is helpful and much needed and other times it can feel like an arrow straight to the heart.  I subscribe to theory that if you are hurting, uncomfortable etc. then you are growing.  That you are in the process of being moved out of your comfort zone and to a  different/new/better place.  Obviously this is a very hard thing to remember when someone is telling you something you don't want to hear.  At work we all have reviews, peer input etc.  At some point in that process you are going to hear what you do w...

How are the working girls this week?! I have been busy at my normal every day job and also helping out the hubs with his business venture, Cool-Cat (www.coolcatpro.com) In my wildest dreams I never thought I would work with my hubs.  I love the hubs beyond words but us working together wasn't something I envisioned.  We get along so well, probably because we are so much alike, so I worried we would butt heads.   Truth be told...WE HAVE, WE DO and WE  WILL!  Ha!   We disagree because sometimes we look at the same issue and feel differently or we disagree about how to tackle the issue/problem/opportunity altogether.  I will say it again I never thought I would work with my spouse so I haven't been prepared for how it can impact all areas of your relationship. At some point we had to have a big discussion about boundaries!  And at some point we just had to have a discussion.  My dad gives me the best advice in business and relationship...

Wow, it has been a while since I have done a working girl rules entry!  I have missed them.  :) This week I thought about knowing your enemy in the work place.  It always seems that no matter where you work, what you do there can be drama.  Some of it necessary and justifiable even, most of it not.  I got to thinking about enemies in the work place.  Often times your enemy in the work place can be an actual person or God forbid people.  Other times the enemy is you.  People don't often believe this but I was extremely shy growing up and still am in a lot of situations.  I normally overcompensate for this by being extremely outgoing.  The one thing about being shy is that it makes you a great observer.  You often see things that others don't and pick up on signs, body language that other people miss.  This can be a blessing and a curse.  It often leads to me seeing things that I wish I hadn't or getting my feelings ...

Happy Sunday this and thatters!  How are you doing on this beautiful day?  I hope all my FLA friends and family are taking the proper precautions against Isaac and if you haven't please do so! I am in my office today trying to catch up on some of the work I missed while I was in and out last week.  I actually like coming into the office during the weekend (I know I'm a dork) because it is quiet and I can get a ton done in a pretty short amount of time.  The phone isn't ringing, people aren't stepping into my office and I can fully focus on the tasks at hand.  I'm a huge dork I know :) This morning as I was driving into my office I realized that I had "the college dream" almost every night this week.  This is a reoccurring dream I've had for 10 years that takes on different variations but the net, net is I either don't have enough credits to graduate, forget I registered for a class and therefore can't graduate, don't study for a fin...

How are all my readers today? I, for one, am so excited to tell you about this latest project that the hubs has been working on.  I have been wanting to blog about it for months but I finally feel like the timing is right today.  Over a year ago the hubs had an idea for a head and neck wrap.  If you know the hubs, you know, he has very fair skin so when we are out in the sun he is fully covered and under an umbrella and I'm out in the blazing sun soaking up every drop :) He had this idea and I encouraged him to go for it, develop it and see what happens.  Over this past year he has truly lived every working girl rule (hee,hee) I have ever talked about.  He has believed in himself, had vision, seized opportunities, worked hard, learned a new business, kept his perspective, been resilient and never given up.  This year has been about finding investors, coming up with a business plan, perfecting a product and a website.  It has taught us a ton abo...

I have to tell you that I learned a lot about jobs, work and the type of employee I wanted to be from my dad.  For the better part of my life my dad worked from our house and his office/the guest room was right next to mine.  So on any given day I would wake up to his cheery, loud voice saying "Good morning dear."  or "Hey buddy, how are you?" Let's just say that this wasn't exactly ideal during the summer months but I truly think he helped me learn by osmosis.  He taught me to always be upbeat and happy to the customer even if everything behind the scenes was falling apart.  He taught me that people want to deal with someone who is friendly, social and funny.  He taught me to work hard and then work a little bit harder.  He taught me one of my most important lesson a few years ago when I was dealing with a very difficult issue at work.  I will spare you the details but I was having to perform a task and execute on a strategy that at the time ...

I have to tell you that sometimes the hubs says really funny stuff.  He isn't one to talk just to talk (which might be why we do so well together) but when he does you better listen up.  When we were having dinner the other night he informed me that "80% of the time you handle things like a dude would so when you act like a girl the rare 20% of the time it throws me off".  I busted out laughing and realized that like most things he says, he was dead on.  What's funny is I haven't always been this way.  Handling things like a dude is something that being in business taught me.  I realized early on that I had to be faster, better and smarter because I was younger than everyone else and they expected me not to do as well.  When you are at a disadvantage in business for whatever reason it is up to you to figure out how to close the gap.  For me I had to be taken seriously and that was hard at 25 years old.  So I brought out my A game meanin...

How are my working women this week?   I have to tell you that this working girl is tired!  I had a trying week and at the end of it wanted nothing more than to go home, eat a pizza and watch dateline (and have some wine, who are we kidding?).   As I was drifting off to sleep last night I got to thinking about being in school and how we use to get gold stars for doing something well or being the star student.  I got to thinking this morning about how it would be great if this happened in our adult life.  If outside everyone's office or cube there was a chart where you could be rewarded a gold star or stars :) Unfortunately that doesn't happen so often times we are left with only the words people know to say "good job" "well done" "thank you".  Sometimes after a completely crazy project or work week these words fall short.  I want a physical representation of the words "good job".   But truth be told my employer does...

How are my lovely blog readers this morning??   In Atlanta it is dreary and for some reason I couldn't sleep last night.  It wasn't all bad I got a lot done from 3 a.m. until now and I also decided to write about the kind of tired you can't sleep off.  So what is the kind of tired you can't sleep off exactly? This is something that is going to happen to you no matter who you are and no matter what you do.  This phenomena might start out like a slow ache but eventually it will blossom into a full blown "thing".   The kind of tired you can't sleep off happens when you are burned out, overworked, not getting enough "me" time or alone time.  It can happen when it's time for you to make a move or when something is going on that you know isn't right but you have no control over.  Maybe it's just your busy season or you are working on a project that isn't going well.  It happens when you aren't doing something that you are pass...

I have something to admit....I'm a bit like a mobster.  I know this might seem like a shocking statement but stay with me for a minute.  I have to start out by telling you I've always been fascinated with the mob for years and to that end have watched Goodfellas, The GodFather Trilogy, Scarface, The Untouchables, and Donnie Brasco too many times to count.  I live for AMC's Mob Week and never miss an episode of Mob Wives. I think a lot of people are drawn to the mob and fascinated by it for various reasons.  For me I have always found the loyalty aspect of the mob to be the most interesting part of them.  While they may do other things that aren't very ethical they never lack for loyalty. I got to thinking about all of this because the other day I told someone "That person is D.T.C."  and their response was "What the hell does that mean?"  and my response was "Dead to Caroline!"  The person then commented that I was just like th...

For this edition of working girl rules I decided to talk about the hardest rule for me which is keeping your perspective.  This one is hard because I think it is really easy to lose your perspective and vision when you are tired, working too hard, or are in a bad mood.  Sometimes I think we let work become our entire life and that causes us to lose our perspective.  Work for me has always been a great source of pride and self-esteem which is great but you have to be careful.  You can't let work become your singular focus because it will make you less productive.  I know some people don't believe that but I truly feel like well rounded people make the most amazing co-workers and employees. I think it is important to create a balance in your life that includes family, exercise, hobbies and work.  I think allowing yourself to explore other areas makes you appreciate your work life and then excel in it.  Listen I have been the one first to the office...

For this edition of working girl rules I decided to talk about working hard and knowing your business.  This might be the most important rule for a number of reasons.  First of all I am a big believer that working hard can make you successful in most things.  You might not be the smartest, or the most experienced person at the table but if you are willing to work the hardest you will end up winning in the end.  The ability to go the extra mile is often times what separates the winners from the losers. I have won some great battles at work because of hard work.  I have heard the old saying "work smart not hard" but I don't really agree with that.   I think you have to do both work hard and work smart.  I made a promise to myself years ago that I would never lose a battle because I was out worked by someone else.  The second part of the rule is knowing your business.  I have a dear friend that I have worked with for many years and we...

For the third installment of working girl rules I decided to talk about taking initiative or seizing a moment.  While this might be kind of hard to grasp stay with me :)  One thing I love about being a woman is the fact that we have a strong gut sense or what is better known as woman's intuition.  Let me tell you a little story about seizing opportunity and following your gut.  About 8 years ago I was working at the Capitol but looking for another job.  Someone told me that my current employer was hiring.  I got so excited!  The only thing was I didn't know the two individuals who were hiring for the job.  Frankly I had only been at the Capitol a handful of months so I didn't know a ton of people. I had a moment were I froze and thought about just letting it go or letting someone else put my name in the hat.  I got over that fear quickly, desperation and frankly naive youth pushed me to approach these two individuals about the job.  ...

The second working girl rule just might be my favorite one :)  Some people may not think that believing in yourself will help you succeed at work but I totally disagree.  Finding your voice and then speaking your truth is one of the best ways to get ahead in business.  Early in my career I would be too afraid to speak up because of my age or because maybe my idea was dumb but mostly because I didn't believe in myself.  I would then share that idea with someone to get their thoughts and they would take is as their own.  It was beyond frustrating.  Finally I decided it was time to believe in myself and speak up.  Believing in yourself also means having the confidence to handle things you might not think you can.  My extremely wise and perceptive boss always tells me "you must do the thing you think you cannot do" Eleanor Roosevelt originally said that so you know it's good advice!  Facing a huge obstacle at work can make you w...