From the monthly archives:

June 2006

Stainless Steel Notepaper Dispenser

by Joi on June 27, 2006

The sleek beauty above is from . It’s one in a large, impressive line of stainless steel office accessories.

They have ice buckets, waste buckets, magnet boards, umbrella stands, coat racks, doorstops, newspaper racks, cruet sets - whatever cruet sets are, keyboards, door wedges, magazine racks, etc.

I never haunt any website without peeking in their kitchen - and this particular site didn’t disappoint me at all. You’ve GOT to check out their Tea and Lemonade makers, coffee grinders, coffee brewing equipment, and a Soy Food Center that has me pretty intrigued.

There’s also a line of medicine cookers that’s too interesting to ignore. They’re kind of like Anna Nicole Smith and Howard Stern - nothing there you want or need, but too danged interesting to ignore.

Okay, there’s my nastiness for the day. I got it over with.

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Bringing Relaxation into Your Workspace

by Joi on June 22, 2006

Relaxify? Relaxify. Relaxify!

Love that word. Okay, wordsmiths, I know - if it were a word, I’d love that word.

Even more than the would be word, I love all that it stands for - CHILLIN’. Irregardless of what’s going on around you, with you, to you, or (my favorite) - because of you - to relaxify is to sort of shake off the stress and settle on down into your own little groove.

LifeHack.org has a great post dealing with this very thing. It’s all about “setting” a relaxifying scene around your workspace. There are some really great tips that we all could use from time to time.

I keep things around my workspace that serve to make me smile (like a little stuffed bison) and/or chill me out when life gets cute (like a stack of pictures taken from Pensacola Beach or Kentucky Lake - I’m not sure why, but water relaxes the bejesus out of me).

Have an amazing and relaxifyng day!
~Joi

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Miami Heat Merchandise for the Office

by Joi on June 19, 2006

Are there any other Miami Heat fans out there? If you’re like me, you can barely even function today! Last night’s game took an awful lot out of me. I was too wound up to even fall asleep. I was still watching the wall when 2:00 am rolled around, trying to get my game plan in place for the next game. In Dallas. Day-um.

My brain cells aren’t humming along just yet (maybe after the tenth cup), so I was just cyber snooping for Miami Heat merchandise. The Miami Heat Mugs at the top are from the NBA Store (the set of two is $24.99).

The NBA Store has some pretty hot tops and hats too.

The clock and the pencils pictured are from Whatever Sports . You really have to check out this website. Even if ((gasps)) you aren’t a Miami Heat fan - you’re bound to find great stuff. EVEN if you like Dallas. Shhhhh.

Whatever Sports has a ridiculously cute little Dwayne Wade Jersey for your drink bottle to wear. Maybe it’s from the lack of sleep, but I’m flipping over this one. I can so see my Diet Dr. Pepper wearing one of these.

Joi

Did I say “drink bottle” - what other bottle, pray tell, is there?

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Whatever Wall Clock

by Joi on June 16, 2006

Whatever Wall Clock

Lovin’ the attitude of this WHATEVER WALL CLOCK! Sure, there are deadlines in life. I get that.

A certain project or assignment has to be done by 3:00.

So and So has to be picked up no later than 11:00 sharp.

The appointment is scheduled for 1:00.

In the office by 9:00, glued to the seat until 5:00….work 200 miracles before clocking off.

The world is fascinated with time management and time constraints. We all pretty much live around the clock - at least to a certain extent. Yesterday, for example, I was driving a different car than usual. (Mine needed another vacation at the Dodge Dealer’s spa. My ride must be crushing on the mechanic or something - the past year she just can’t get enough of him. Fuel pump? What would make one of those go bad and why would a new one cost, like, 30 trips to Kohl’s? Frankly, that’s not the sort of “pumps” I give a darn about.)

Anyway, my car has a clock on the dashboard that I must look at more than I ever realized. Because in the stand-by car I kept catching myself glancing to the place that normally gives me the time. I must have automatically glanced there a hundred times. And I was looking at times when it really didn’t matter what freakin’ time it was!

(This might just be a quirky little day! Cyndi Lauper’s Time After Time played on the radio the whole time I was typing this post. I’d better get out there and see what I can get into.)

Joi

30 trips to Kohl’s. That just sat in. I’d go kick a tire but that’s what she wants. Another excuse to see Mr. Greasy Hands.

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Employee Satisfaction

by Mike on June 14, 2006

The Wisdom of the Flying Pig

Over at Pig Wisdom, my blog friend Jack Hayhow has a post from his book, The Wisdom of the Flying Pig. It’s about employee satisfaction and it’ll give you a taste of the book, which I have on the desk next to me.

I’ve often thought that one of the most important roles of the manager is to provide context. Managers have a responsibility to help employees make sense of an increasingly complex, often confusing, and startlingly fast-changing world. As a manager you have a responsibility to help your people understand their place in this world, how they fit in, and how they contribute. You have the unique opportunity to help your people connect their efforts.

Click thru and enjoy.

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Fitness - Cubicle Style

by Mike on June 13, 2006

Our Friend of the Freaks over at Life Hack has a post about Desk Side Fitness.

He’s also got a link to a 12 Week Fitness Podcast covering fitness, nutrition, self-esteem and a website review.

Click thru and live better, work harder and retire healthier.

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The Perfect Cup of Coffee

by Joi on June 12, 2006

toddy cold brew system My husband waxed brilliant a few weeks ago - blogworthy brilliant. Knowing my fascination with, addiciton to, and passion for all things coffee, he got me a new kitchen toy to amuse myself with. It’s the Toddy Cold Brew System. Like a kid with a new toy, it was of immediately course ripped out of the box!

The brewing process takes 12 hours, so I jumped right in and got 10 kinds of busy. tick-tock tick-tock tick-tock tick-tock tick-tock tick-tock tick-tock tick-tock 12 hours later I was rewarded with the (I swear) the best coffee I can remember having in a long time. And this from someone who scouts out the best of the best and even toys with the rest. I KNOW COFFEE!

“(The Toddy) is the ultimate coffee maker.”
-The Washington Post

From the website:

As important as those fresh roasted beans are to your cup of coffee, it’s what you do with them that counts the most.

In 1964, as a chemical engineering graduate of Cornell, Todd Simpson developed and patented a cold brew system that, using regular coffee beans, creates a superior-tasting cup of steaming HOT coffee. And, with 67% LESS ACID than coffee made by conventional hot brew methods, it’s easier on sensitive stomachs.

The Toddy coffee maker extracts the coffee bean’s true delicious flavor and eliminates much of the acidity, producing a bold, super-smooth coffee that can be served one cup at a time.

I haven’t tried it with tea yet, but apparently it’s just as heavenly.

Click the picture above to read all about a truly remarkable product. If, that is, you’re interested in the sexiest coffee ever!

Joi

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Makeovers For the Office

by Joi on June 6, 2006

If you simply must stare at your wokspace 40 hours a week, shouldn’t it at least be attractive? That’s the philosophy behind Kelley L. Moore’s hooray-for-hipbook, “Cube Chic: Take Your Office Space From Drab to Fab” (available from BOOKSAMILLION.COM).

The book is packed with gorgeous pictures and countless ideas for turning your Jane Hathaway office into a knock0ut. Moore, an interior decorator and designer from Seattle, takes the drab and makes it fab by injecting the personality and likes/dislikes of the occupants into the design. Each “cubicle” is given a theme, such as the ones below:

  • The Garden Cube: (For those of us who could honestly spend 6 hours a day in the company of our glads, tomatoes, herbs, and roses.) This cube features bright grassy greens, floral prints, and even a desk covered in bright gerberas.
  • The Cabin Cube: Brings the outdoors indoors with a earthy color scheme and decorations.
  • The Golf Cube: For the Michael’s of the world, this design features astroturf on the walls (okay, my girl may have gone one club too far on that one) and a leather golf bag serves as a trash can.

There’s also a CEO cube, a hip hop cube, a glam cube, a safari cube, and others. The whole idea is to surround yourself with things that make you feel good.

The author gives the following advice for decorating your workspace:

1. Get wallpaper to perk up your walls.

2. Don’t forget the floor - add a great throw rug or two.

3. The beauty’ s in the details. For example, if you’re a rock fan (much love), you can rock your work world with a poster or two (The All-American Rejects look amazing on the wall), a hot little mousepad, a couple of Rolling Stones (the mag, not the group), etc.

And don’t forget to match your computer’s wallpaper to your theme. In our home office - our theme pays homage to all the amazing places we’ve ever lived. We’re surrounded by Florida, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Kansas - each in one way or another. We even have a few of the license plates from some of the states. The wallpapers on the computers switch up between dolphins, whales, pelicans, horses, sunflowers, farm scenes, rivers, oceans, lakes, cardinals, bison, etc.

Whatever you do, have fun with it. Life needs more fun thrown into it!

Speaking of fun (only NOT) - if you experienced any trouble with this blog lately, if it acted up in any way, many apologies. We’ve been switching servers which proved to be the equivalent of having a root canal and tooth extraction. At once. Without numb gums. E-mails were lost, comments disappeared, updates vanished.

At any rate, if you experienced trouble, we’re sorry. We’re up and going again, and we’re hopeful that our sanity will return one day. We’re aiming for August.

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