Home Office

The whole “I need to get more exercise but my life leaves NO extra time for it!” dilemna can make you bang your head against the wall,  IF, that is, you had time for it.  One of my daughters and I were talking about that very thing yesterday.  We had been contemplating the idea of joining a gym such as “Anytime Fitness,” but finding the time to throw on exercise clothes, drive to the gym, work out, then bring it all back home seems iffy. 

I’m pretty sure we’d fail to get our money’s worth.  So, we’ll just keep saving up for a killer home exercise machine.

Until then, I came across some really ingenius tips from South Beach Diet.com.  Since I work from home, a few of the suggestions don’t apply to me - but they certainly will to others.  I have actually been doing #6, getting up frequently to walk around.  I make a point of getting up every 30 minutes - unless I’m in the middle of  something that just WILL NOT let me go.  In that case, I wait until it spits me out and I double up on my “movements.”  Sometimes I take a walk around our yard, or do a little yoga while catching the highlights of a favorite cooking show on Food Network.

It keeps my cats guessing.

Click HERE to see the list of suggestions for yourself.  The bottom line is this:  We all need to move more and sit less.   Have you seen some of these Olympic athletes?  The ladies volleyball team makes me want to cry.  That or never eat again….  I’m going with the tears.  These athletes didn’t get their golden butts by sitting on them.

I’m out.  I have a walk to catch…

The Office Poster
Buy at AllPosters.com

If you’ve ever felt like asking your office, “Why - So - Serious???,” here’s your chance. The Office poster, above, reminds everyone that if you look hard enough, you can make fun of just about everyone. Especially in the office - they’re like sitting ducks.

Click through to see the larger version - unless you have super colossal, alien vision, you’ll never be able to read what the post it notes say from here.

My favorite is the one in front of one of the funniest actors ever ever ever, Steve Carell. It says, “Would I rather be feared or loved? Um, Easy, both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me.”

Reasonable, that.

Even without a special deal going on, this HP Officejet Pro L7680 Color Flatbed All-in-One is ridiculously sweet. It prints, copies, scans, faxes, and (let’s be honest) looks high falutin while getting its busy on.

Yeah, I respect that.

Something else I respect is a killer deal and Staples has one going on right now - but you’ll have to hurry like never before.  While supplies last, when you purchase a HP Officejet Pro L7680 Color Flatbed All-in-One, you get a Free HP 5610 color all-in-one (an $80 value!).  If you have a young person heading off to college (or just their room, if you’re lucky enough to keep them nearby), you could treat yourself AND them at once.

Features:

1. Prints: Up to 35 ppm black, 34 ppm color
2. Copies: Up to 35 cpm black, 34 cpm color
3. Scans: Up to 2400 x 4800-dpi resolution
4. Faxes: Up to 33.6Kbps
5. Duplexing (2-sided printing); which uses 50% less paper
6. Network ready
7. 50-sheet automatic document feeder
8. Card slots included, PictBridge compatible
9. 2.4″ color graphics display
10. Looks techlicious

Click one of the links and check this great deal out while supplies last.  It’s an online offer only, so shake a leg!

Hello, hotness.

If only they knew what this does to me. I have, you see, a great love of pens. Maybe, to some degree, all writers do. All I know is I’ve never met one I didn’t like and, for some reason I never seem to think I have enough.

You know the people who are always looking around for a pen? They look under paper, under their desk, in their chair, in their hair… I’ve watched my husband frisk himself before. This really is never a problem for me. I always know where my colony of pens are. Everywhere.

But for someone who doesn’t surround themselves with the little beauties, this lamp from Enpieza could be the just the thing they need. For the rest of us, it’s just eye candy.

If you’re as into LOST as I am, your eyes are already popping. The Lost Hydra Mug is from Shop ABC TV and is riding pretty high on my “Things I gotta, gotta, gotta have” list.

Right now, when you spend at least $40 on their site, you get a great looking free Dharma Journal. It actually matches the mug above perfectly. Except, of course it doesn’t serve you coffee. But, it’s free - what’d you expect?

The store also has posters, dvds, soundtracks, glasses, tees, jewelry that’s nothing short of amazing, cards, action figures, etc, etc, etc - with each etc topping the last.

Click through one of the links or the image below to check it all out for yourself. After all, we LOST fans have to find someway to amuse ourselves until the show finally…..make that FINALLY comes back.

This gorgeous Motivational Print has Individuality written all over it.

It features one of my all-time favorite motivational quotes by one of my all-time favorite geniuses, Ralph Waldo Emerson:

“Individuality- Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Love that! The beauty of this quote is two-fold, really. One one hand, it encourages everyone to be the one person they can truly pull off: Themself. It lets whoever’s reading it know that it’s okay (even remarkable) to be different and to do your own thing.

Admirable, right?

There’s an irresistible “flip side” to this mindset that most normal people don’t pay attention to. This is where those of us who are abnormal earn our keep:  See, when you embrace individualtiy (and even have an art print hanging in your home or office announcing it), just about anything you do can then be construed as an intentional display of your individuality.

Misspell a word?  Classic case of you thinking outside the box.

Forget a meeting?  You were to busy being you to bother.

Fail to answer a call? Couldn’t hear it over the beating of your drum….

Oversleep and arrive at the office 2 hours after everyone else?  Classic case of nonconformity.

You bungle something beyond repair?  Totally expected.  That’s what you do.  Let the fixer-uppers come in and clean up after you.

Oh, yeah, a print like this could change your life. 

Staples has a huge line of other motivational prints (these things are absolutely gorgeous) covering topics such as Integrity, Initiative, Working Together, Leadership, Risk, Opportunity, Teamwork, Goals, etc.

Those of you who’s office is wherever you have to be at the moment will love the Acer Core 2 Duo 1.8GHz 1GB 120GB DVD±RW 14.1″ Vista - it’s as free-spirited and ubridled as you are.

This little wiz kid is powered by an Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T7100 with a 1.8 GHz CPU Speed and 1 GB of DDR2 RAM (expandable up to 4 GB). It features a 120 GB hard drive preloaded with Microsoft Windows Vista Business.

Preloaded with Microsoft Windows Vista Business. See? It knows how you roll.

From the website:
Burn and play DVDs and CDs with the SuperMulti DVD±RW drive and download your digital photos via the 5-in-1 memory card reader! Enjoy brilliant images and text on the 14.1-inch widescreen TFT LCD display and get more from your computer games and DVD movies with the Intel High Definition Audio with two stereo speakers!

For features and specifications, see the Acer Core 2 Duo 1.8GHz 1GB 120GB DVD±RW 14.1″ Vista page at Geeks.com.

During a recent move to a larger server, we lost a few week’s worth of updates.  Amongst the casualties was a lamp post (snicker snicker) I’d done right about here.

I remember what gave me the idea for the post - I was annoyed with the desk lamp we have in our home office.  I went to turn it on and, lo and dimly behold, it was already on. 

I began my search at that very moment for better, bolder desk lamps.  The kind that look professional and nice but can light up your work area like the 4th of July. The lamp to the left fits the bill.  It’s the Halogen Desk Lamp with Glass Shade 15″” High Brass Poles on Black Metal Base and it’s available online for around $50.00.  The site I found it on (and linked to) even offers free shipping and handling for orders over $50 - so that’s a boon.

Click through the link and take a closer look. I think you’ll agree, this one’s a winner.

British Bulldog Puppies on a Park Bench, 1994 Framed Photographic Print
(Mirrorpix)
Buy at AllPosters.com

I read an article a while back about how closely related happiness and health were.  Somewhere between extoling the virtues of a happy marriage (which I completely agree with) and extoling the virtues of saving money (which I completely ignored), the author said something really interesting.  He/She (I guess I ignored the name, too) said that we should fill our homes with things that make us happy. 

I glanced around and realized that I’ve certainly done that.  Animals are one of the rare things that I love as much as coffee, so there are animal-themed goodies here, there and everywhere.  I’m also all kinds of wild about movies and the golden age of Hollywood, so there are Audrey Hepburn, James Dean and Marilyn Monroe Prints on the walls as well as I Love Lucy memorabilia. 

Every member of my family loves books, so there are countless (filled) bookshelves as well.  Agatha Christie even has her own shelf.  She rubs that in Grisham’s face from time to time. 

Basically, our home is filled with things that make us smile, so it’s a fun place to be.  The same mindset should be adopted in one’s office, whether it’s a home office or not.  Just because work has to be done within the walls shouldn’t mean that the office can’t have some life and personality.  Bonus points if you cause it to mirror your own personality.

Putting a little creativity into your decorating will put a little more happiness into your world - even your work world. Take for example the print at the top of this post. It makes me smile every time I look at it. I’m flipping mad about bulldogs, anyway. In fact, we have an invisible one named Duchess. It’s the only kind of dog our cats will allow us to have. And even then she’s only allowed in certain rooms.

Click through the Bulldog Puppies to see other bulldog prints. There are countless other categories as well, of course. Just keep browsing until you see something that makes you smile. Then, find a spot for it in your office and make a date with future smiles!

Pretty, Pretty, Pretty. This beautiful burgundy executive chair screams class, originality, and comfort.  
 
The Burgundy Executive Chair would be perfect for anyone, of course, but it has a particular fondness for men and women who have more to offer than the average person.

Designed for the big and tall person, this chair offers a 500 pound capacity.  It features a swivel seat with pneumatic height adjustment, tilt lock and tilt tension on a five-star oversized base with dual hooded casters for added stability.

The Burgundy Executive Chair stands out in a crowd and looks all kinds of classy.  Just like the person who calls it home for 40 hours a week.