January 2006

I’ve become kind of obsessed with pens lately. I’m not sure where the fascination came from. I mean I never really gave them a second glance, but now all of a sudden they rock my world. These Aromatherapy Pens are just unusual enough to make my must have list. Again, I can’t explain it but I know it to be true.

These aromatic pens come in:

• PATCHOULI/SENSUALITY (red)
• ROSEMARY/ENERGY (amber)
• EUCALYPTUS/WELLNESS (green)
• LAVENDER/SERENITY (purple)

Lavender’s one of my favorite scents, and the red one’s mad sexy - so I think my first two are pretty well decided upon.

(You know, now that I think about it, I seem to remember a pen back in high school that wrote with scented ink….)

Hopefully, “Eat more healthy foods” had top billing on your list of Resolutions. That, and possibly the E word…

I’m convinced that lunch time is our dieting downfall. We usually manage a pretty good breakfast, and sometimes even drink juice with it. (In addition to coffee, of course.) And often, supper is healthy enough, complete with a variety of vegetables. But, if we were to be honest, our lunches are far too often far too fattening - and nothing even close to healthy.

You could easily leave the house with the best of intentions - planning to grab a salad out instead of a burger and fries. But…

• A. Salads are, surprisingly enough, pretty expensive - even in fast food places.
• B. The willpower that was so strong when you started outwill bottom out when you see that burger and fries on the menu, or worse yet, if you step inside and smell them!

Solution? Make your own awesome salad at home and take some with you for lunch. The Salad Chill & Go above is available at Improvements Catalog.com.

From the website:

No one enjoys soggy salad, so fill the Chill & Go™ with your fresh garden ingredients, and fill the separate in-lid container with up to 6 tbsps. of your favorite dressing. Double-wall insulation keeps it cold for up to four hours. When noontime comes, just twist the lid off, pour your salad onto your plate, then unscrew the lid’s leakproof inner cup and pour the dressing over the crispy salad!

Check it out! You’ll find the little lovelies under Indoors>> Kitchen >> Cooking Tools>> Measuring/Hotpads/Utensils.

Ingenius!

Below is a link to a funny little article by a man who’s had the pleasure of interacting with humans in their work habitat. Not for the faint of heart.

He lists 7 things that should never, ever be uttered in the workplace. I’ve heard variants of 5 of them! I can also add one I’m pretty proud of. I placed a lenghty order once at an eating establishment….okay, it was Burger King and I was in the drive-thru. Knowing how the game’s played, when I finished slowly giving the entire order for my family, I waited for my total. But the gal on the other end went totally silent, then she said, “Could you repeat that? I wasn’t even listening.”

I repeated it. At Arby’s.

This crazy cool shelf mounts in two different directions - as a vw or as a zig zag. Either way, it makes a great place to keep books…. a place where I’d know exactly where to find them. The new “Wicked” book by Gregory Maguire? On the wall, right next to Dean Koontz’s follow up to “Odd Thomas.”

Okay, so “Read more deeply.” wasn’t one of my resolutions.

However, “Joi, Organize thyself.” was and a few of these shelves would take me in the right direction. They’d be equally helpful in the kitchen keeping my Paula Deen cookbooks right where I need them. Love her. Muchly.

A website that just entered my life is Improvements Catalog.com. They have tons of organizationally-inclined products for the organizationally-uninclined person. There are shelves, magazine holders, desks, electronics… Pretty much something for every room in the house. They’ve even got doggie strollers and toothbrushes. (I hope you’re as impressed with that last one as I was.)

Take a look around the site, I guarantee you’ll see at least one thing that’ll make you say, “Oooooh.”

This beautiful artwork comes with the admonition: “Drive: Our aspirations are our possibilities.” Wonderfully motivational quote, but I’m most moved by the beauty of the picture. You can almost feel the morning on your skin.

This is only one in a series of motivational, golf-themed prints. They’d look beautiful in our own home office, but they’d render my golf-addicted husband useless. He’d just sit and stare, plotting shots and working out swings.

Click here for a larger view of the picture.

If you work from a home office as well, here’s an article you’ll find interesting: Create a Home Office Design That Matches Your Work Style. While there, check out the other articles and tips for the rest of the house. Good stuff!

I found this recent quiz in an old book and thought it was pretty interesting. I also thought you might get somewhat of a kick out of it, so here ’tis:

Answer the following questions as honestly as you can. Since we’re online rather than off and I really, really don’t want you to try to write on the screen (people would talk), just mentally keep up with the number of “check marks” you’d put beside each. Or, if your memory is about as long as your nose, use scratch paper.

1. Which of these terms describe your attitude toward your job?

_boring

_beneath me

_too much work

_stressful

_hectic

_ constant crisis

2. Which of these things are typical of what you think or say about your job?

_”I hate this job.”

_”I can never get along with_____”

_”It’s Monday (or some other day); Mondays are always terrible!”

_”I’ll never get my work done on time.”

_”I’ll be glad when this day/week is over.”

_”If he/she says that to me one more time, I’ll scream!”

3. Which of these describe your analysis of your immediate boss(es)?

_incompetent

_unappreciative

_nonsupportive

_poor communicator

_poor listener

_disorganized

4. Which of the following types of conversations do you frequently have with your co-workers?

_complain about the work environment

_gossip about co-workers

_gripe about pay

_bad-mouth managers

-complain about the work load

_criticize management decisions or system

5. Which of the following have you done more than once in the past three weeks?

_arrived late for work

_turned in assignments late or miss deadlines often

_taken too long lunch hours

_made too many personal telephone calls at work

_left your desk (or office) unattended to chat with others

6. Which of the following have you done in the last three months?

_asked your boss for performance feedback

_offered to help a co-worker who had a heavy work load

_did something for a client or customer that you did not have to do

_got to work early or stayed late for a special project or heavy work load situation

7. Which of the following skills have you tried to acquire or improve in the last six months?

_telephone manners

_listening skills

_dealing with angry people

_professional appearance

_body language

8. What professional development have you pursued, either formally or informally, in the last six months?

_software education

_presentation skills

_other job-related education

_computer education

_time-management skills

9. Which of the following have you ever done?

_asked for more responsibility

_suggested a better system to give more efficient service

_proposed a rewrite of your job description

_asked for a training session

_checked out local opportunities for furthering your education and skills

10. Which of the following do you practice?

_return phone calls promptly

_keep track of and follow up on every commitment and promise made and every responsibility accepted

_compliment others who do a good job

_ask co-workers for advice and comments when appropriate

Questions 1 through 5: For every answer you WOULD NOT check, give yourself 5 points.

Questions 6 through 10: For every answer you WOULD check, give yourself 5 points.

0-20 Not even surviving - on your last leg!

21-75 Barely surviving.

76-110 Surviving with good and bad days - more bad than good.

111-170 Better than just surviving; you thrive on occasion.

171-200 You’re a thriver most of the time.

201-260 You’re growing and thriving all the time.

The assessments above were by the author. Personally, I’m far less refined. I’d offer: If you’re over 100 - you’re swimming along. If you’re under 100, you’re sinking fast and might just need a new pool!

By the way, I love the thought of someone asking for their job description to be rewritten. Seems all kinds of bold to me. Has anyone here done that before?