To blog or not to blog?

I have a question for the readers... I have been at this for several months and my purpose was always to share with others in a way that would help them. Although, I rarely have time to do this every day, I try to get to it for at least once a week. With the exception of a few really unusual and really high days of visiting volume, I have found that interest has not really picked up. I am at a decision point where I need to decide whether I want to continue or just call it an experience. I would love to hear thoughts from you on whether I should continue... is it really bringing benefits. And, if so, how I get more volume out there for a wider audience.

To date, I have submitted it to the search engines mutliple times. I have also reached out to many other popular sites to see if I could submit my link for referrals (and learned most sites won't do this). Another option is to close this site down and just become a contributor to an established site. So, I turn this over to you to decide the faith of this blog for the WORKING WOMAN AND MOTHER... I look forward to hearing from you.

40 and Overweight!

Ok, so if you have been following me, you know that I took control of my life and got my professional life better balanced. I am spending more time with family and traveling less! Check... But now, I have the even harder task ahead of me. I have got to make myself a priority and kick some of this weight. I have been married all of six years and in that time had two babies with the last one on bedrest for half of my pregnancy. The trouble is the last one turned four in July and all of my excuses are gone...

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out I need to 1) eat better and 2) exercise more. Sounds easy, right? Then why is it so hard to get jump started? For as driven and commited as I am to other things, I can't seem to get out of this rutt. I have about 60 pounds to lose. No easy feat.

I recently learned about a diet from someone close to me. It's called the TCG diet. I had never heard of it but this person is one of many who in two weeks already has lost 16 pounds. I have never dieted before and am so fearful to fall prey to what so many go through... lose 10, gain 15. I never wanted to be a yo-yo dieter. So, instead, I have held steady at this weight that I packed on during my last pregnancy. No more, no less. This is the first diet I am tempted to do and I would love to find out if anyone out there has experienced it. I recommend you do more research to learn more about it. But, in summary, you use TCG (which is found in pregnant women) in the form of drops under your tongue. It is supposed to help control your appetite while helping your body burn fat instead of muscle. This is a key point. Then you go on a 500 calorie diet. That part sounds nearly impossible but I am watching people do it and because of the TCG they don't feel hungry at all.

Again, I am firm believer in "if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is." However, I have found the original studies and they sound legitimate and as I already shared, I know some really intelligent people who are doing this and experiencing good results. You have to follow it strictly and you can't exercise (after all you are only taking in 500 calories). I am traveling for the next two weeks and plan to start it when I am back. So, it would be great to hear your insights while I am on the road...

Believe it or Bullshit?

Are you connected?

I was at a conference this past week and a number of the topics were around social media. I have always thought that I was a relatively connected person who kept up with the times, although my teenager would tell you I am far from it. Sitting there and hearing about all the different social media vehicles people are using today made my head spin. It could easily become a full time job in order to tweet, linked in, facebook, foursquare, yammer, and on and on....

The stark reality is that information is more widely available today than ever before... there are websites to rate companies and managers and people are using them to make job decisions. This has really caused me, as an HR Executive, to step back and think about how to operate in this new world. It's exciting if you think about it but the consquences of getting it wrong can be far reaching. People are relying on their news and information from a wide array of sources... some who may not have even earned to right or credibility to be one.

I am guessing that if you are reading this blog, you are likely well on your way to communicating successfully in the new electronic world. What have you found to be the best "places" to be on the internet in order to reach a wide audience in the professional world? Certainly linked in has been a great source of connections for filling jobs... but what about for getting your message out... your cause?

Sit back, buckle up and turn your computer on... because by the looks of it, we are in for one heck of a ride. I think I need to go get a reverse mentor who is an expert on social media... perhaps a teenager!

Getting to know your children

As I was dropping my child off today to kindergarten and talking the the preschooler on the way to her school, it dawned on me that for the first time, I am really getting to know my children. Since having stepped down from the CHRO role I was in and taking this much more manageable job as the Organizational and Talent Development Leader for another one of our businesses, I have covered more ground with them in 2 months than I feel like I did with my nineteen year old in all her years.

I am consistently reassured about my decision to obtain better balance and invest more time in family in times like these. At dinner each night, we talk about what we did nice for others during our day. I can see the impact that my more engaged involvement is having on their lives. I surprised them this morning when I declared I would take them to school. My husband typically does this but in the last two months, I do it much, much more than I ever did in the past. They love these surprises of my time. We have great conversation on the ride and I can see that it is laying the foundation for the conversations we will sustain as they grow up.

I was pulling out of the youngest one's school when I turned and saw her standing at the back of the playground near the fence... She was smiling from ear to ear, waving and blowing kisses at me. My heart smiled and I thought to myself, "wow, I was missing this... and they were missing me." Now, don't get me wrong, I am not advocating for everyone to go resign from their jobs... everyone is different and needs different things in their lives and balances their priorities different. But, I can tell you that at this very moment in time, It is glaringly clear that my primary purpose is the be there for these girls more than my path was leading me. For, these years are only a blip on the time continuum of life. It is the least I can do. After all, I am only forty years old, I have a world of time ahead of me to rebalance it differently in the future.

Regardless of the amount of time your profession or extra curricular activities takes, I strongly encourage you to make a way to be a more active part of their lives. You will learn so much about your children and bring such joy to their lives. And in return, they give you their world and all the love inside of it.

Teenagers and Financial Responsibility

I have such a rare opportunity with a 13 year spread between my children to really see what parenting techniques paid off and which ones really need some fine tuning. I would say the number one thing I would handle differently is working harder to make my now 19 year old financially responsible.

Having paid my way through both degrees while raising a child on my own, I know how tough it is coming out of college and having steep debt hanging over your head. Because of that, it was important for me to provide a college education to my daughter. Now, she is entering her second year of college and I am reminded once again how easy I made things for her and the consequences that is having...

We pay for her gas, food, housing, classes, books, car... She pays for her extra curricular activities. In my mind, here are all the things I did wrong. I hope that you will use these to help you create your own parenting approach on this topic. I can assure you that we are doing things a bit differently with the next two kids...

What I wish I had done differently...

• Made her learn to save money... she often spends money before she even gets it. She is constantly borrowing and then having to turn around and give her money right way. The child has no concept of saving money and the appreciation for what that can afford you. Instead, I wish I had made her save a portion of any money she received... Sort of divide it into the save and spend buckets.
• Spent more time on explaining financial transactions... at least once a month she over draws on her accounts... why, because she just lives off of pulling statements from the ATM. As all of us knows, that is not a good account balancing strategy. Instead, I should have taught her to keep a paper or electronic tracking of her money, entering everything she deposits or deducts. I think this would have helped her grasp the concept of financial flow much better.
• Made her work toward some of the more major purchases (car, college). Don't get me wrong, she has always had at least one job and often two. She loves money and shopping, so she keeps jobs to support those hobbies. However, everything she spends her money on is short term, non-interest earning transactions. Instead, it would have been nice for her to learn to work toward something she really wanted or needed. I think it may have also helped her not take advantage of so many things she has. Perhaps having her pay for a % of her tuition or something like that would have been a better option than me paying for it outright.
• Held my ground... I think there were times when I set down the line on something financially and each little time I bent, she learned the skill of negotiation... and not in a good way. It would have been more effective if I had taken the time to consider consequences and then held firm to my position. Instead, I am quick to react and give on some things later. Although the negotiation skills may serve her well in other applications, it has taught her that everything is negotiable when we all know it isn't. It also kept her from learning from her mistakes sometimes.

Certainly, none of us are perfect parents. But, I will tell you that it scares me to death that I haven't raised a more financially responsible child. Yes, I had to work really hard but I realize now how responsible that experience made me. Constant prayer, which is where we are now, isn't the best parenting approach!